Wizard: My magic facility can be upgraded!

Chapter 57 The Silver Crucible Competition Officially Begins

The white-haired, kind-faced old man in the center, with deep-set eyes, was none other than Carlos, the leader of the Potions School, the "All-Spirits" sect leader.

To his right was a dignified old man with red hair and beard, whose pupils seemed to hold flowing lava—the leader of the Elementalist School, [Explosive Flame] Gorman.

To the left was a stern-faced, white-haired, golden-eyed old woman, the leader of the Astrology School, the Omniscient Selena.

The presence of three level 5 wizards made the thirty-odd contestants present somewhat nervous, fearing that they might make a mistake in front of these important figures.

Li Ang could feel countless eyes focused on the arena. Looking around, he saw Lottie and Helena in the audience, waving at him with excited expressions on their faces.

He also saw Matthew, who was staring at him blankly, seemingly unable to believe that the consumptive had become an apprentice wizard.

At this moment, the leader of the Carlos faction slowly stood up. His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present, as if he had used some kind of witchcraft tool.

"Children, welcome to the Silver Crate arena."

"The path of potions is vast and profound, and the journey of exploring life and its mysteries is endless. The Silver Cauldron Tournament exists not merely for victory or defeat, but also to encourage innovation, discover inspiration, and witness your thoughts and breakthroughs on the path of potions."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over each of the young contestants in the arena.

"The rules of this competition remain the same as always: two hours in advance. Here, using the tools in front of you, concoct a potion of your own creation. In the end, the winner will be judged jointly by me, the leader of the Gorman faction, and the leader of the Selena faction, based on the potion's creativity, practicality, purity, and performance on the spot."

The old-school department head raised his voice slightly and announced the rewards:

The winner will receive five gold coins and one thousand sect contribution points!

A suppressed gasp rippled through the stands. While five gold coins were a fortune to them, a thousand points of sect contribution was an unimaginably generous reward. After all, mentors only earned fifty points for each public lecture.

The Carlos faction leader smiled slightly and continued, "In addition, we would like to thank the Stanford Chamber of Commerce for their generous sponsorship. The winner will also receive an extra 'Gale' series flying broom."

Another low murmur of envy rippled through the room.

"Finally," the Carlos faction leader's tone became more solemn, "in the spirit of promoting the dissemination of knowledge and the development of schools of thought, the Wizard Tower will purchase the winning potion formula from this competition on a voluntary basis. The provider will immediately receive an additional 1,000 contribution points and will enjoy 50% of all proceeds from the sale of the formula over the next ten years. Ten years later, the formula will be included in the Tower's archives for the benefit of future generations."

The generous rewards, like pebbles thrown into water, created ripples in the hearts of every participant. Li Ang could hear his own heart pounding. Gold coins, contribution points, flying brooms, and the profits from selling recipes… these were all crucial for improving his strength.

"Then, I declare..." The aged yet powerful voice of the Carlos faction leader echoed in the arena.

"The 1037th Silver Cauldron Potions Tournament shall now begin."

As the leader of the Carlos faction announced the start of the competition, the entire circular arena was instantly enveloped in a tense and focused atmosphere.

The thirty contestants moved almost simultaneously. Li Ang took a deep breath, cleared his mind, and calmly focused his gaze on the control panel in front of him.

He opened the package, took out several roots and stems of the stone root grass, and began to quickly peel off the tough outer skin of the stone root grass to extract the root and stem parts rich in active ingredients.

He put the peeled roots into a crucible, added water, and boiled them. While waiting, he took out the Soul Stone and the mica. He abandoned the Ice Crystal Stone, which had a stronger effect but was too one-dimensional, and instead chose the mica, which was milder and had a wider range of applications.

The Soul Stone needs to be ground to an extremely fine size to maximize its surface area and enhance its affinity and storage capacity for spiritual power. Mica, on the other hand, needs to be ground into a uniform fine sand so that it can be evenly dispersed in the medicine to exert its stabilizing and harmonizing effects.

His movements were not flashy, and could even be described as somewhat simple, but his proficiency, which far exceeded that of an ordinary apprentice wizard, and his extreme control over details when handling materials, still attracted the attention of some sharp-eyed people in the stands.

"Huh? That young man..." Lady Selena, the leader of the Stargazing School, narrowed her golden eyes, which seemed to see through everything, and looked at Li Ang.

"His handling of the situation... was very skillful, unlike what one would expect from someone his age and rank."

The Carlos faction leader beside him stroked his beard and smiled without saying much, but a hint of barely perceptible expectation flashed in his eyes. He naturally recognized Li Ang, who was the only apprentice his daughter had ever taken in.

The Gorman faction leader of the Elementalist school was more interested in another contestant, Rodney Field, the eldest son of the prestigious Field wizarding family.

The liquid in the crucible in front of Rodin had turned a deep azure blue, with even and tiny bubbles, clearly indicating excellent control.

"The Fields' lad has a very solid foundation," he commented in a deep, booming voice.

Time ticked by, and the atmosphere on the field grew increasingly tense.

Occasionally, apprentices might make mistakes due to nervousness, causing small-scale magical fluctuations or abnormal coloring of the potion, but no one ever completely fails.

Those who can stand on this stage are all elites under the guidance of their respective mentors, and their psychological qualities and basic skills are quite outstanding.

Rodney Field was the first to finish. In the crystal bottle in front of him, the liquid was a deeper blue than that of ordinary underwater breathing agents, with a faint shimmering light.

He confidently presented the potion and announced loudly, "Disciple Rodney Field, the concoction is complete. This potion is named 'Deep Dive Potion'."

"Based on the existing underwater breathing agents, improvements have been made to enhance water element resonance and pressure adaptability, allowing for dives to deeper areas and extending the duration by approximately 30%!"

The three faction leaders nodded slightly. Carlos, the faction leader, gently sniffed the aroma of the potion and nodded, saying:

"The medicine is stable, has a high degree of compatibility, the approach is clear, and it's quite practical. The Field family truly produces many talented individuals."

His words were pointed, and Rufus, listening from the stands below, puffed out his chest even more.

Next, Sandramea finished her potion, a slightly turbid, reddish-brown liquid with tiny bubbles constantly forming and bursting inside, emitting a hot and slightly fishy-sweet aroma.

"Disciple Sandramea Maxwell has completed the 'Fearless Potion'."

Her voice was clear and crisp, with the straightforwardness characteristic of dwarves.