The Shining Star Above The Heaven

At this moment, the populace across the entire continent could see what was happening inside the stadium, as the tournament was also shown through the screens across the continent. All of them made the same movement as they went down on their knees, or even prostrated completely towards Aldrian. The silence, full of reverence and worship, filled the air, and none moved as if waiting for the voice of their god.

The outsiders who had not yet met Aldrian also finally saw him directly for the first time. The figure whose reputation had spread across the stars and remained a topic of discussion even to this day.

Aldrian looked at them with a calm expression before he opened his lips.

"At ease." The moment he said that, the populace stood up again and returned to their earlier positions.

Sylphia, Baek Jimin, Aldrey, and Irene then also sat in their designated respectable seats. Their seats were slightly behind Aldrian, with Sylphia and Baek Jimin on his right side, while Aldrey and Irene were on his left side.

Aldrian swept his gaze over the spectators, but his eyes subtly lingered for a moment on the arena where the participants stood, as if he were paying attention to someone, before moving on to the others. After he finished sweeping his gaze, he opened his lips.

"I know that all of you already cannot wait for the tournament. I also wish to see for myself the talents of this continent. You may enjoy this tournament as much as you like. So, without further delay, let us begin. With this, I declare the first edition of the Grand Barisan Tournament open!" His voice echoed throughout the continent.

"UWOO!" The silence suddenly shifted into a festive and spirited atmosphere again after Aldrian's declaration. Amid the roaring voices of the sea of people, Aldrian glanced at Orlav and gave him a nod as a signal.

Orlav, understanding the signal, turned to the spectators.

"Thank you to His Majesty for officially opening this grand event. Now, regarding the tournament, I will explain its format, what to expect, and the rewards for the winners of each category," he said.

"The tournament will be divided into different categories, each based on cultivation, from the Beginner stage to the Marquess stage. The difficulties for each category will, of course, be differentiated to ensure fairness, but they will still be enough to push all participants to show their best."

"For the first phase of the tournament, we will have a challenge called the Gravity Challenge, where each participant must endure the weight of gravity that has been prepared for their respective category. What you need to do is endure it for a minimum of five minutes. The longer you can hold on, the better your evaluation will be."

"The second phase is the Mental Challenge. Every participant will have to withstand illusions in their mind for at least three minutes. What kind of illusions? Well, the participants will find out, but they will not be pleasant, so be prepared."

"The third phase is Search and Collect. The participants will be transported into a secret realm. Thanks to His Majesty, his esteemed self has already created a secret realm with an environment that can support this phase. What the participants need to do is search for crystals and gather as many as they can. The more they collect, the higher their rank will be decided in the end."

"The last phase is the Normal Battle. The participants who pass through all of the previous phases will face each other until we determine the winners of each category."

"Now, for the prize. For the Beginner stage, they will receive one hundred thousand peak-level energy stones, a low heaven-grade artifact, a cultivation technique personally created by His Majesty. A powerful cultivation technique that will blow your mind once you practice it, a technique that overturns our understanding of cultivation itself."

"There will also be a six-striped pill that can help a cultivator raise their cultivation rapidly, with efficiency surpassing one hundred percent! A pill grade that could only be concocted by His Majesty."

Hearing this, many people widened their eyes in shock. Even the outsiders could not help but feel astonished. The Beginner stage, the very first step of cultivation, was already given such incredible prizes?!

Those who registered in this category were most likely only in their teens, as cultivation at the Beginner stage usually started around the age of fourteen, with some geniuses beginning even earlier.

Many had predicted that this category would be boring, since the participants had not cultivated for long and could not display much. But to think the prize for the weakest cultivation stage was this great... Shouldn't such rewards be reserved for the Marquess stage instead?

With one hundred thousand peak-level energy stones, they could cultivate all the way to the King stage.

As for the artifact, a heaven-grade artifact alone was already more suited for a Duke stage cultivator.

Then came a cultivation technique personally created by Aldrian the Great.

They had heard rumors about a new cultivation technique practiced by some people, those who followed Aldrian the Great as their god. Many said that these techniques were created by Aldrian himself, and that since cultivating them, they had gained much stronger power and advanced in cultivation far more quickly. This cultivation method was said to defy the common knowledge of the cultivation world.

It was claimed that this technique allowed those who wished to switch to it to do so without destroying their foundation. Most who first heard this dismissed it as nonsense, assuming those people simply did not know what they were talking about.

However, as time passed, more and more proof appeared.

Many began to wonder if the words of those who practiced this cultivation technique were true. Unfortunately, no one else could see the technique itself. It came to the practitioners in their dreams and became embedded in their memories, leaving no way for outsiders to understand its depth.

Not everyone had the ability to read memories, and even if they did, they feared offending Aldrian, for this technique seemed to be a gift granted only to those who regarded him as their god.

Now that the cultivation technique created by Aldrian the Great himself was given as one of the prizes, the participants would finally be able to get their hands on it if they could claim victory, and they might at last discover the wonder of this cultivation technique!

As for the six-striped pill, many had already heard of the appearance of this unknown grade of pill in the world. For the people of the Barisan continent, they first learned of it when this pill's grade was auctioned in the past. For the outsiders, they came to know of it when the news spread from the Martal Empire.

Both stories were the same, no one knew who had concocted the pill, as the organizations involved carefully concealed the alchemist's identity.

But now, Orlav had just revealed that the six-striped pills were actually concocted by Aldrian the Great himself, and that he was giving them away as one of the prizes of this tournament?!

This was the first confirmation after so long about the identity of the pill's creator, and it shook the hearts of nearly everyone present. Aldrian the Great's capability was not only his overwhelming strength, but also an alchemy mastery that shattered the common knowledge of alchemists!

All of these shocking revelations in one announcement caused an uproar among the people, with bustling voices echoing everywhere. The outsiders could not help but reassess Aldrian's true capability. For him to also be an alchemist, and a great one at that, his value in their eyes rose higher and higher.

Only those who already knew what Aldrian was capable of did not seem surprised.

"The prize for the Disciple stage is one hundred and fifty thousand peak-level energy stones, a low heaven-grade artifact, the same cultivation technique, and a six-striped pill," Orlav continued.

"The prize for…"

As Orlav went on listing the rewards for each category, the people grew even more astonished. The prizes became increasingly extravagant, to the point that even cultivators at the King stage drooled with envy. His Majesty was truly generous to bestow such magnificent rewards!

"For the Marquess stage, the prize is five hundred thousand peak-level energy stones, a peak heaven-grade artifact, the same cultivation technique, and three six-striped pills."

Hearing the prize for the last category, the hearts of the populace trembled. All of these rewards were truly beyond the norm for their cultivation level. With so many energy stones, they could advance their cultivation and still have plenty of wealth left to provide for themselves or their families.

Combined with the six-striped pills, their cultivation would soar rapidly, practically guaranteeing smooth progress! And as expected, the participants who heard the prizes for each category felt their hearts thumping with excitement and their spirits surge, they were more determined than ever to fight for them!

They had to obtain those prizes and bring glory to themselves. With such rewards, their lives could be transformed, leaving all competitors far behind!

The burning competitive atmosphere in the arena grew more intense by the moment.