Roland

Xuan Ye was deep in thought when the light before him suddenly dimmed, jolting him awake. Then that familiar, rough voice reached his ears.

"How is it? These are all my treasured collections. I had to pester my teacher endlessly to get them. Quite a few are originals, too. My teacher even went to some of his friends to ask for a few."

Like a small mountain, Blade strode over with footsteps that made the floor tremble. He came to Xuan Ye's side and spoke while enveloping him in his entire shadow.

"Not bad. Although there's a little less knowledge related to magic, there's a considerable amount of auxiliary knowledge based on records. It's a pity that, aside from someone with a physique like yours, very few members of the Human Race can use Dragon Language Magic. At the very least, it's not something we can come into contact with at the apprentice level."

Xuan Ye closed the book, held it in both hands, and returned it to its original place before nodding. At the very least, this had helped resolve one of the minor knots in his heart.

Looking back at this Mage Apprentice who was even more imposing than a Berserker, Xuan Ye muttered inwardly. Perhaps it was precisely because of his powerful physique that his teacher had gone out of his way to collect literature related to dragons from other friends for him. It seemed that Lord Roland valued this big fellow far more than he showed on the surface.

"I'm not bragging, but although I'm inferior to Senior Brother Jian in terms of realm, and Ian is just a little ahead of me, if we held a tournament, I'd definitely be the strongest Mage Apprentice in Stanrosai City."

Blade spoke with a hint of pride. He was one of the few people who could master Dragon Language Magic at the apprentice level. Although Dragon Language Magic had many drawbacks, its advantages could not be ignored. The combination of short syllables and simple spell models ensured that spells could be cast quickly, or even instantaneously. Although it lacked much of magic's finesse and wasted a great deal of mana, its destructive power was astonishing as well—simple and violent!

Yet while Blade was clearly taking pride in his achievements with Dragon Language Magic, Xuan Ye wore a speechless expression. This guy actually didn't need to cast any magic at all, did he? On the tournament platform, he could simply punch the other apprentices while they were constructing their models and preparing.

Apprentices in the Star Palace who had not condensed a Professional Core could not use core projections for automatic construction.

"Whew~ I've been here long enough. It's about time I left."

Before Blade could begin recounting his long history of victories, Xuan Ye spoke calmly.

"Huh? You're leaving already? Going to Ian's place?"

Blade swallowed the words he had been planning to show off and scratched his head.

"No. I mean that I've been in Stanrosai City for quite some time. I even advanced to an Eighth-Grade Apprentice here. It's time for me to leave and go back."

Xuan Ye simply shook his head, his expression seeming somewhat wistful.

As a soul that had transmigrated here, the vitality of his Spiritual Power was undoubtedly far higher than his merely above-average physical talent. Even though condensing the Inner Mansion Core first had a significant negative impact on his cultivation in the Star Palace, with the help of his improved meditation method, he had still successfully advanced to an Eighth-Grade Apprentice during the month he spent organizing and exchanging knowledge in Stanrosai.

He had even reached the peak of the Eighth-Grade Apprentice level!

No one knew that he had only recently broken through to the Seventh-Grade Apprentice level, so no one was particularly surprised. But if he broke through to the Ninth-Grade Apprentice level here, he would definitely scare a whole bunch of people half to death!

It had been less than two months since he had become a Seventh-Grade Apprentice! Although advancing from the Seventh Grade to the Eighth Grade was not a stage-like increase and was comparatively easier, this speed was already horrifyingly unheard-of.

Of course, aside from his innate Spiritual Power talent and improved meditation method, the most important reason he had advanced so quickly was that the environment over the past month had been far too suitable for cultivating Spiritual Power.

Whether it was absorbing knowledge during the day or engaging in occasional discussions at the Exchange Meeting, Xuan Ye had been forced to focus all his attention on digesting and absorbing everything, since his foundation was still shaky. Reviewing and organizing it at night had further enhanced the already extraordinary effects of his improved meditation method, resulting in his astonishing speed.

"Going back? Oh, that makes sense. You've improved so much, so your mentor will probably have new subjects for you to study. Ah, it really feels like time has flown by. You're a little short, but you're still quite interesting. We've all benefited greatly during this period."

Blade was stunned for a moment before coming to terms with it. There was no feast that did not end. Even some apprentices who had grown up together had been sent by their teachers to places more suitable for their development, let alone Night, who had merely been passing through.

"Hehe, there's no rush to leave today. I'll go notify them and arrange a farewell party for you. Who knows? We might meet again at a higher-level academy in the future."

Blade put on a silly smile, then reached out and pressed down on Xuan Ye with a palm as large as an iron pot.

"Don't worry. Even if you didn't stop me, I would have waited for them..."

Xuan Ye wore an exasperated smile but made no attempt to resist. Well, after interacting with them for so long, even he had gotten along quite harmoniously with the most rigid and sharp-tongued Jane.

Mages were actually an extremely simple group of people. Exchanges of knowledge could easily give rise to friendship. Over the past month, Xuan Ye's mood had also broadened considerably, and he had gradually emerged from the shadows of Luo Luoji and the others dying one after another before his eyes...

"Cheers!"

A group of apprentices dressed in mage robes stood outdoors before a long table on the grass, raising their cups together beneath the light of the Night's Silver Moon and the surrounding river of stars.

As mages, they were usually forbidden from drinking stimulating beverages containing alcohol. However, the cups before them were filled with fruit wine that carried only a faint alcoholic taste, and the atmosphere was lively.

"Night is already an Eighth-Grade Apprentice. If I don't work harder and adjust my state to perform the ritual, I really might end up being surpassed by you."

Jane, who usually wore a rigid expression, now had a somewhat stiff smile at the corners of her mouth. During this period, Night had earned everyone's respect at the Exchange Meeting with his sharp insight that struck straight at the heart of matters.

"Not at all. This breakthrough was also caused by how much we gained together. I still don't know how far I am from the Ninth Grade. By then, Jane will definitely already be a respected Formal Mage."

For once, Xuan Ye did not show off or pour cold water on them. Instead, he was uncharacteristically modest.

"Hehe, I wonder how our mentors will punish us if they see us drinking together. We'll just say that Blade brought it all out."

A rather playful female Intermediate Apprentice chimed in teasingly. In truth, this wine really had been hidden away by that big fellow.

"Hey, you can't do this to me! I even brought out my treasured collection..."

Blade shouted aggrievedly.

Yet at that moment, a gentle, magnetic voice rang out.

"Oh? Your treasured collection is wine?"

"Of course. It took me so much effort to... Uh~"

Blade had only managed to answer halfway before he froze. It wasn't only him—all the other apprentices immediately fell silent as well, as if they had been turned to stone.

Only Xuan Ye was distracted by the shock in his heart!

Having activated Perception Inner Mansion, he had not sensed the source of the voice in the slightest. After looking around for a while, he finally saw a white-haired, middle-aged man walking slowly over from not far behind Blade.

His gorgeous robe dragged directly along the ground, and he carried an exquisite staff. With a single-lensed gold-rimmed monocle, he looked like the purest kind of scholarly gentleman.

Although he was not emitting the slightest trace of aura, once someone looked at him, they could not pull their gaze away.

Xuan Ye's heart pounded wildly. If nothing unexpected had happened, this was probably the strongest person in Stanrosai City—the city's only Formal Mage, a peak Professional Core expert, and Six-Star Mage Roland!

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