During this time, Dexter and Dawnseer were extremely quiet. Naturally, they were completely unbothered with regards to the killing intent the two representatives from the Arroeseek Guild were directing towards Kailen. Their confidence in his strength was unshakable.

At the moment, Mira and Max also sized Kailen and Julian up. So these were the famed geniuses of the Dawnseer Guild. They did not underestimate Kailen and Julian, but they were also confident in their own strengths. Kailen Darkhaven especially had an unpredictable nature; one never knew what he was thinking or plotting.

However, this competition would definitely involve direct confrontations in battle. He would have to resort to direct combat. There would not be an opportunity for him to scheme, neither would there be terrains and situations he could use to his advantage. They didn’t underestimate his unconventional and terrifying use of the principle of space, but he had just entered the Rank 3 novice-stage transcendent level, whereas they had been at that level for a while. Naturally, they did not deem him on their level, inasmuch as they didn’t look down on him.

As for Julian Seir, they naturally did not look down on him either, but they were confident they could defeat him. Kailen and Julian merely exchanged glances. They were neither friends nor acquaintances. However, there was an unspoken agreement between them to work together during this competition for as far as they would go, if the circumstances permitted it.

At this moment, the representative from the NGU head branch in the southern continent floated towards the center of the stadium. With all eyes on him, he spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sure you are well aware of why we have all gathered here. There’s no need to waste anyone’s time. So, let’s quickly proceed to what is important. Naturally, several interdistrict competitions are happening across various cities in not just the southern continent, but in all the continents of the empire at the same time."

"The guild that manages to emerge victorious at the end of the competition will advance to the intercity level of their continent. In your case, the guild that manages to win the interdistrict competitions will advance to the intercity competitions of the Southern continent. The guild that manages to emerge at the top of the intercity competitions in the Southern Continent will represent the Southern continent against the other 29 continents."

"The top 15 guilds at the intercontinental level will compete at the national level, where the first-ranked person on the top ten will get a slot into the Venzula Empire Academy, and the remaining in the top ten will be recruited into the National Guild Union. The guild leaders behind these top ten prodigies will be given leadership roles in the National Guild Union."

At his words, several nodded in understanding. This was to be expected; this was how the competitions had always run. What shocked everyone was the merits to be given to the guild leaders behind the top ten. They would actually be given positions in the National Guild Union. Naturally, this meant that their guilds would experience a leap of greatness, and they themselves would have resources they could not have imagined to have access to, to cultivate.

As for the participants, several glints flashed through several eyes. They had to advance.

"Alright, now let’s discuss the rules for this level. It’s simple. This level will simply be combat-based. Deaths are allowed. You can choose to spare your opponent if they admit defeat, or you can choose to kill them. Guild members are not allowed to face each other. So the nature of the pairing will be based on one guild member against the member of another guild. The winners of each round will advance and be further paired against one another in another battle. They will face each other till the ultimate winner is decided. However, if participants from the same guild are the last two standing, they will not face each other."

Everyone nodded. This made perfect sense. Very soon, the holograms glitched. The match-up had been done.

[Julian Seir (Dawnseer Guild) versus Mira (Flysparrow Guild)]

[Max Uthort (Flysparrow Guild) versus Kailen Darkhaven (Dawnseer Guild)]

[Tui and La (Arroeseek Guild) — On standby, would fight the parties who survive the first two clashes]

Julian, the vampire, and Mira, the gnome, were informed they would be the first to battle. Julian nodded towards Kailen as he stood up.

"I’m up."

Kailen nodded back warmly. Julian flew towards the floating stage. Mira stood up too. Max gave her a knowing look. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"I know, I know. I will win this fight." She chuckled. This fellow was too introverted; he could not even wish her good luck. Tsk.

Several started to place bets on Julian and Mira.

"I bet Mira will wipe the floor with him."

"Hehe. Don’t come crying for your gold coins, okay?"

"What makes you so confident Julian will win? Isn’t it because you are his fangirl?"

As the audience were engaged in chatter, the place where the higher-ups of the city were seated was not quiet.

"Marquis Hemsworth, what do you think about this battle?" A man with birdy eyes and a beak for a mouth said. He was a bird-looking demihuman. This person was the head of the Flysparrow Guild, Flysparrow.

Dexter replied, "I don’t think it’s advisable to decide the outcome too early. Perhaps we should observe and see how it will turn out."

"I agree with the esteemed Mayor. However, I am confident my representative will win this round," Flysparrow replied respectfully. He didn’t dare to speak in a proud way to the Mayor. This man was a Rank 5 novice-stage transcendent. Apart from the NGU rep here supervising the competition, he could crush everyone in the stadium with just a single attack.

Naturally, Dexter didn’t take offense in his words. They were merely exchanging opinions about the exchange between the participants about to happen. As for Dawnseer, she was looking very carefree. Many of the higher-ups, Arroeseek included, agreeing with Flysparrow’s perspective, could not help but wonder if she could keep having this smug, carefree expression on her face when her representative lost.

Everyone’s gaze snapped towards the platform. The battle between Julian and Mira, the representatives of the Flysparrow Guild and the Dawnseer Guild, was about to begin.