Ramon smiled and continued.
"Good! The competition is going to be held here in the Riren Planet in a City called Anach. You still have two weeks before we need to go there, so please prepare yourself well. Yilio is also under the age of 35, so he will participate together with you."
Yilio then got curious and asked.
"Oh, that's right! Since you accepted the invitation, it means that you are under 35 years old. But just how old are you at the moment?"
Krune was indeed under the age of 35, in fact, he is way below that.
"Oh, I'm 12 years old."
Yilio and Ramon opened their eyes wide!
"Are you making fun of us?"
Krune shook his head.
"I'm really 12 years old at the moment. Because my race doesn't have that much of a life span, it looks likes I am a few years older. But don't worry, my race reaches the adult mind around 3 years of age."
Yilio couldn't help but say.
"Adult mind at 3 years of age... Are you a wisp?"
Krune knew that hiding his race would be useless since there are bound to be several experts in this Alchemy Competition. If he stayed quiet in his corner, that wouldn't be necessary. But he really wants that Elemental Path Stone. Also, there is the fact that he knows that wisps don't need to be afraid of being used as cultivation resources in this place.
"Yes. Is it a problem that I'm a wisp? Could it be that wisps are forbidden from participating?"
Ramon immediately shook his head.
"Of course not, there are no restrictions to which race the participants are from. It's just that it is too sudden, I really didn't expect that you were part of the wisp race."
Krune let out a sigh of relief.
"There is another thing that I must ask. My identity has to be kept secret. I will use something to cover my hair and face, as well."
Ramon didn't mind it since there were a lot of junior alchemists that did the same during the competition. Their elders were afraid that they would be stolen by other branches, so the best way to keep them safe was to hide their identities. Yilio just so happens to be doing the same thing this time around. Until now, no one except the Branch supervisor and a few trusted subordinates knows about Yilio's attendance.
"That is not a problem, I will arrange for your name to not be displayed."
Krune was satisfied with that answer.
"Well, then, I will go back to my concoction room to take a few more orders. Let me know when you guys intend to travel to that city."
Once Krune left, Yilio couldn't help but say.
"There is indeed no rules saying that wisps can't participate. But is this okay to have a wisp taking part in it with their life spans? As you know, this is a competition for the Headquarters to reveal Alchemy Geniuses to be groomed in the future. But with Krune's life span, there would be no point even if he wins the competition."
Ramon nodded.
"Indeed, but that's why we have you too. Everyone thinks that you are at the Five Silver Stars Level, but we both know that you are already at the Seven. Krune will be a good distraction for the others to look into while you silent advance in the ranks. Who knows, he might go further enough in the competition to bring some glory to the Branch as well. I can simply say that we don't discriminate against other races, and no one will be able to say anything."
Yilio couldn't help but agree with Ramon.
"Now that you said that, it really is a good thing to have the attention to be away from me while we are in the first stages. But did you notice one thing? Krune is only 12 years old and is already at the Five Silver Stars level. To be honest, his talent is way higher than mine. Even if the old geezers ruling the competition don't want to spend anything on him, it might be a good idea for us to do so. After all, he is already at the 6th Stage of the Core Formation Realm. I have little doubt that he will become one of those Divine Soul Realm wisps, or maybe even one of the rarest Soul Forging Realm ones."
Ramon pondered a bit and then said.
"Let's see how he fares in the competition and depending on the results, I might as well go with your plan."
Yilio nodded and left the room. On his way back to his own room, he pondered about this issue.
'12 years old and already at the 6th stage of the Core Formation Realm, and he was only on the 4th stage 5 months ago. That's quite fast, even for a wisp.'
He continued to think about this issue all the way back.
'Perhaps, those Soul Forging Realm wisps that I heard about were like this as well. Anyway, this is not my problem, so I better focus on my concoction for the moment. I'm very close to reaching the 8 Silver Stars Level. If I succeed in it before the competition, I might really have a shot at the championship.'
Yilio closed the door behind and decided to seclude himself for the next two weeks.
Krune was also back to his room.
"Hum... As far as I know, it shouldn't be a problem to say that I'm a wisp. The research that I made after that examination proved that the wisps really have it quite easy here. Their only issue is their life span, and that's basically it. Of course, they are also looked down upon since they can't go too far into the cultivation path. But it isn't exactly a threat to their safety."
Krune decided that there was no need to overthink it and went back to work.
That same day at night, Krune discussed what happened with Feifei and Tiane. Ruik was out in a mission again, so he wouldn't be back for the next few days.
When Feifei and Tiane heard that, they looked at each other surprised.
"You too?"
Krune was taken aback by that.
"What do you mean by that?"
Feifei then said.
"I, too, received an invite of the Formations Master Organization to participate in the junior formations master championship. Also, it just so happens to be on the same day and city as your Alchemist one."
Krune couldn't help but ask.
"Did you accept?"
Feifei nodded.
"At first, I wanted to refuse since I don't want my face appearing everywhere. But the Branch Supervisor was very annoying about it. In the end, I made a deal with him. I would participate as long as my identity and face weren't revealed. He even gave me a temporary face changing pill to use."
Krune laughed a little.
"It is the same with me, I also asked to not have my identity being disclosed. Although the Sacred Lands aren't after me, they definitely should have found out that I disappeared from the Divine Path Sect. If they aren't idiots, they will be able to connect the dots. So concealing our faces and identities is the best for now."
Feifei agreed with him.
"Very well."
Krune then changed the topic.
"Anyway, let's eat something first, and we can talk more later."
Krune then went to the kitchen to prepare the food.
A few days later, Ruik had just finished another mission. When he returned to the Mission Hall branch, quite a few eyes were glued at him.
"Isn't him that Two-Headed Snake? I heard that all the missions he takes are always far above his cultivation level. Still, he always completes it without a problem."
"Yes. No one understands why Ruik is so strong since his race is nothing exceptional. The fact that he can jump at least three cultivation stages to fight is frightening."
"Could it be that he bought one of those extremely expensive cultivation techniques and skills? Still, where would he have found the money for that?"
Ruik heard some of them, but his face didn't change outside. Yes, outside! Because on the inside, the story was completely different.
'Haha! That's exactly it! I, your grandfather, am strong! As long as Krune or Feifei don't appear to make missions, I will be the star of the Core Formation Realm in this Branch. Such a great feeling! Tiane, you just wait! Now that this grandfather is putting the effort, your destiny is to fall far behind the great Ruik in cultivation!'
Ruik then handed over the report of the mission. In fact, this is just to make things more formal since the contractor would always contact the Branch to tell if the task was completed or not.
The receptionist took a look and nodded.
"Excellent, another well-accomplished mission. The average level of this mission is for those at the 7th stage of the Core Formation Realm. Since you are three stages behind, you will get a 30% bonus in the Mission Hall reward system."
The attendant then passed a spatial ring over.
"Also, here are the Spiritual Stones payment from the client after the tax reductions. Please confirm that the number is correct."
Ruik checked the amount and nodded his head.
"It's correct."
He then turned around and started to make his way to the exit. At the same time, he kept his 'cool' instance, which he had built his image in the Branch. Of course, if Krune was here, he would probably laugh out loud seeing this.
Just as Ruik was about to leave, someone called him from behind.
"Ruik, wait. I need to talk with you."
Ruik turned around and saw a young woman. Still, he knew it was just the appearance since he couldn't feel her cultivation. That meant that she was probably way older than it seemed.
"Do I know you?"
The woman's mouth twitched.
"Shouldn't you at least know your Branch Supervisor's face?"