"Hahaha! Kid, do you think a liter was enough? Listen here, you calculated that based on the spirit stones conversation right?" Magnus asked.
If it was a normal conversation, he would have never laughed since he wanted to maintain his patriarch's image, but since it was a sound transmission, he talked like he normally would between friends.
Leyvi was caught off guard by the contrast and after a few seconds, he nodded. He did calculate it like that.
"Heh kid, looks like you are still inexperienced. Do you think you are only dealing with the travel cost here? What about our time? We live in a different direction. That would have wasted more than 20 days of time for us."
"2 Nascent Soul realm, 5 Core Formation realm, and 12 Foundation Building realm." Magnus excluded Selene from the count already.
"They all have higher cultivation than you, don't you think you have to compensate for their time too? Furthermore, you want to use our family name to deter other people right? That wasn't free too." Magnus continued with a serious face but chuckled inwardly.
Heh kid, let's see how you handle this. He had two airships, a spare smaller airship he always carries around for emergencies. So, they didn't actually all have to follow along. Only one person was enough to steer the airship and bring it back.
I would charge him roughly 30 liters of natural liquid Qi if my made-up circumstances were calculated. Sigh, this is a good thing, this kid is so lucky to have found it.
Since you snatched my cute daughter, I'm going to scam you a bit. After all, you don't just find only a few of them. It's either you found a full spring of it or just some small bottles from other people. Since you can take out a liter, you probably have the entire spring with you.
Sigh, this guy is a bit naive. Will my daughter be alright?
Leyvi was taken aback. Indeed, he hadn't considered the other factors. Leyvi sighed inwardly. He really didn't have the talent to do business. He should have talked about this with his secretary wife first. But it's too late. If he asked right now, he would look unreliable.
Their time must be extremely precious and their deterrent power must have been very effective. Therefore it will be extremely safe to go back with them. It's fine to pay more for safety.
"Forgive my ignorance, Mr. Goldstone, I didn't consider it thoroughly. After reconsideration, how about 100 liters of natural liquid Qi?" Leyvi changed the offer.
This time, it was Magnus Goldstone's turn to be shocked and almost fell. It was the first time in a very long time that he had shown a display like this.
"Husband, what's wrong with you?" Madam Goldstone asked while glancing at Leyvi.
What are they talking about for him to have a reaction like this? She wondered.
Magnus Goldstone regained his composure. Does this kid have brain damage or something? From 1 liter to 100 liters increase. Is he pretending to be naive to catch me off guard?
"Ehem, are you sure about that amount?" He asked.
"Yes. What's wrong? Is it not enough? I could add more." Leyvi said earnestly.
"Stop! Stop! That's enough. That's good enough." He could sense that Leyvi wasn't bluffing or trying to show off his wealth. He sincerely thought that it was the right amount to compensate them.
Which made it even more absurd and scary to him. How is it that he doesn't sense a little bit of reluctance coming from the kid? To part with such an amount of wealth? What kind of mentality does this kid have?
It wasn't just Magnus Goldstone, Leyvi's generous mentality would shock anyone too. If it was an objective conversion like calculating the spirit stones to natural liquid Qi and vice versa, Leyvi could be precise.
However, when it comes to subjective conversion, like paying people for their work, Leyvi would be extremely generous. The richer he got, the more generous he became, believing that it was normal.
Of course, this was due to the influence of the talent bead. The nature of it had slowly trained Leyvi to be a generous giver without him realizing it. It was just yesterday he let Hana take a bathtub full of natural liquid Qi for Bana's use to ensure his safety.
Today, Bana looked much better and more spirited than ever. His eyes were full of gratitude towards Leyvi. Not only he didn't have to worry about his daughter's future anymore, but he also would be able to live longer and may be able to witness the birth of his grandchildren in the future.
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Leyvi smiled at Magnus. "Then it's a deal. Mr. Goldstone, thank you very much." Leyvi spoke normally again.
"Hmm.. don't worry about it. And from now on, just call me father-in-law." Magnus said.
The entire Goldstone family members were stunned when they heard that. Just like that? Did he get our patriarch's approval that easily?
They were looking down at Leyvi earlier but now he doesn't seem so simple. There must be something special about him that made their patriarch acknowledge him decisively.
"If you manage to reach the Nascent Soul realm, I will hold a wedding for you and consider the Leyan Family as our true in-law. Until then, Selene will be considered running away from home and will be stripped of her privileges." Magnus stated his condition.
Leyvi's expression turned serious. It meant that Selene was 100% his responsibility now. "Yes, Father-in-law!" Leyvi replied, but still confused. How did he manage to get a real young lady from a famous family this easily? Shouldn't there be more trials and tribulations?
They all took a seat soon after.
Selene was still dumbfounded by what had just happened and her emotions were somewhat mixed. She was happy that her wish was granted but she didn't want to part with her mother either.
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"Hello everyone, I am Godari, the Third Elder of the South Region Alchemy Association. I will be the host of the Alchemy Competition this time. It has been 10 years since the last Alchemy Competition of this scale. I wonder if the youth of this generation would be better than the previous one." He said without rushing.
Elder Godari was a middle-aged man wearing a traditional alchemist's robe embroidered with the symbol of the Alchemy Association on his left chest. He was a cultivator in the peak stage of the Nascent Soul Realm and also one of the few Alchemist Grandmasters in the South Region.
Due to the bottleneck he encountered, he wasn't able to advance to the Soul Formation Realm nor was he able to become an Alchemist Prince. Since then, he has been focusing on nurturing the next generation of alchemists for the future. His achievement and dedication had made him one of the most respected alchemists in the community.
"The Alchemy Association would like to take this chance to thank the Seven Alchemy Giants of the South Region for contributing to the prizes of this Alchemy Competition." Elder Godari said while slowly turning his body to see the entire audience.
After a few seconds, he continued again, "For those who don't know who the Seven Giants are, I will do you a favor and introduce them."
"The first one is the Medicine Valley led by the renowned Valley King of Healers, Alar Thorne. If you want alchemy products related to medicines, they are the best ones in the region."
"Next is the Pill Ascension Sect. They specialize in pills for breaking through and increasing your cultivation realms."
"Pill Palace, had a wide variety of miscellaneous pills, if you like experiencing alchemy products with weird effects, this is the place you should go."
"The next three are the three big Alchemy Family. The Homun Family led by Tordin Homun, The Clover Family led by Vitali Clover, and The Goldstone Family led by Magnus Goldstone."
"Lastly, the Longevity Academy. It was an academy established through the funds of thousands of big cultivation families from the entire South Region to teach and raise their most talented descendants. There are experts from every field in the academy ready to nurture any kind of talent that emerges. So if you have any talented youth which you cannot help with their talent, feel free to send them to the academy."
"This academy sounds awesome." Leyvi showed some interest. Isn't that the academy Brother Lin Wei is from?" He asked Layla.
Layla nodded.
Suddenly, Leyvi noticed something. "Wait a second, where's Brother Lin Wei? Wasn't he one of the contestants too?" He didn't see Lin Wei's figure among the thousands of participants. He could spot Anda easily among the crowd but not him.
"Did he encounter some trouble?" Leyvi was concerned.
"Maybe it was related to that night when he hurriedly left." Layla speculated.
"That's right. That must be it. Haa...I hope he is fine." Leyvi sighed.
"Before we begin, I would like to announce the prizes that had been prepared for the ten most outstanding Alchemist in this competition and the format involved." Elder Godari's voice sounded again.