Jonathan's Talent

"Your name is Jonathan, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"You are very good. Come, walk into that magic formation. Remember to hold on as long as you can, the longer the better."

"Thank you for the advice, sir."

Jonathan was also surprised by his dual-element super-grade talent. He wasn't surprised by his Dark Magic talent, as he had already been cultivating a Dark Magic battle manual.

However, the Earth element truly caught him off guard.

Perhaps in the future, he could also comprehend the same Earth-style ultimate techniques as the protagonist, Linley.

After Jonathan walked into the magic formation, the bald old man asked in a gentle tone if he was ready.

"I am ready."

Suddenly, Jonathan felt a wave of pressure descend upon him within the magic formation. At first, it felt manageable, but as time passed, Jonathan began to feel a bit dizzy.

At the same time, it felt as if a giant boulder were pressing down on his shoulders, trying to force him to bend his knees and kneel.

Jonathan's willpower had long been tempered to be extremely resilient.

At this moment, he was even distracted, thinking, If my Dao Fruit cooldown were over, I'd probably scare this old man to death.

He could likely withstand the magic pressure of a ninth-rank mage for quite a while, and as his strength increased, the soul-protecting power of the Dao Fruit would only become more monstrous.

Time ticked away, and the dizziness gradually turned into a headache, as if someone were stabbing his brain with silver needles.

As this condition worsened, he began to grit his teeth.

Jonathan's expression grew increasingly pained, but the bald old man's smile became even more radiant.

In the end, Jonathan could no longer endure the pressure and, just like Ford before him, knelt on the ground, supporting himself with his hands.

He lowered his head and let out a long, heavy breath. "This level should be about enough. I wonder how many times my spiritual energy is compared to my peers?"

Jonathan's soul was inherently special, and every time his strength broke through, his soul would undergo a strengthening transformation, so he didn't know exactly how strong his spiritual energy was.

He figured that lasting a bit longer than Ford should be sufficient.

If he stayed in any longer, his head would truly start to ache.

The surroundings were silent; the sound of throats swallowing could be heard clearly.

Everyone looked at the bald old man, waiting for him to announce Jonathan's talent.

The bald old man scanned the surroundings, then, with a glowing face and excitement, his body trembling slightly, he said: "Spiritual energy, compared to peers..."

He deliberately paused before stating the number that shocked everyone.

"64 times!"

"Jonathan Bard, elemental affinity: Earth and Dark, both super-grade; spiritual energy: super-grade!"

This super-grade was not an ordinary super-grade.

In spiritual energy testing, 32 times was already considered super-grade. The reason 64 times was still labeled as super-grade was simply because there was no higher classification.

However, the bald old man would note the specific value for each person's test result to ensure the big shots above wouldn't miss it.

Hearing the result, Jonathan thought to himself, Not bad.

Once this result was announced, the surrounding crowd erupted in a commotion.

The recruiters from various magic academies rushed toward Jonathan with flushed faces, as if they had been injected with adrenaline.

As for the nobles who had mocked Jonathan earlier, they had long since hidden away.

"Jonathan, come to my Jiede Magic Academy. Our academy sincerely invites you to join. All your tuition and miscellaneous fees will be waived, and we will provide you with a generous scholarship every year."

"Furthermore, we will invite senior magic masters to instruct you!"

Every academy present promised generous rewards to Jonathan, hoping he would attend their magic academy.

Jonathan did not agree to any of them; he was waiting, waiting for the people from the Ulada Magic Academy.

Since he had intended to participate in the magic talent test, he had naturally done some research beforehand.

Ernst Academy was recognized as the number one magic academy on the continent, but unfortunately, they did not recruit those with Dark Magic talent.

The second-ranked magic academy was in the Yulan Empire, and the third was the Ulada Magic Academy, located in Black Phoenix City, the capital of the Bandas Kingdom, the primary kingdom under the Dark Alliance.

Since he couldn't go to Ernst and the Yulan Empire was quite far, the Ulada Magic Academy became his first choice.

Moreover, he possessed Dark Magic talent, and there were many experts in that field within the Dark Alliance.

As for the Earth element, it was relatively common, and every academy would have courses for it.

"Hello, Jonathan. My Ulada Academy sincerely invites you to become a member of our academy."

A middle-aged mage wearing black robes walked up to Jonathan, smiling politely. "I wonder if you are willing to join us?"

Magic could not be learned just by wanting to; besides having talent, one needed someone to teach them, otherwise, even with powerful spiritual energy, it would be useless.

Once Ulada spoke, the voices of the other academy recruiters fell silent.

In the Dark Alliance, they were simply no match for Ulada.

Setting aside the quality of the faculty, they could not afford to provoke the forces backing the institution.

Ulada Magic Academy was built with funding from the Dark Church, the ruling power of the Dark Alliance, and many graduates chose to join the Dark Church directly upon completion of their studies.

"Sir, I feel honored to be able to become a member of Ulada Magic Academy."

The middle-aged man in the black robe was very satisfied with Jonathan's attitude and nodded with a smile, "I will report your information to the academy. On February 12th of next year, bring your identification and undergo one more test, and you will officially become a member of the academy."

As he spoke, he produced a black letter, "This is your admission certificate. Remember to arrive at the academy before February 12th, or you will miss the enrollment period."

"Thank you, sir. I will remember that."

The commotion Jonathan caused was not small, but the testing still had to continue.

As for Ford, he also received an invitation from Ulada Magic Academy and accepted the black admission letter in a state of excitement and agitation.

"Jonathan, thank you for your blessing!" Ford looked at him with a sincere expression.

Jonathan was somewhat speechless; talent was innate and rarely changed by anything, so what did it have to do with his blessing?

"If you really must thank me, just pay me a blessing fee."

Ford immediately wore an embarrassed expression, "My father only gave me enough for the registration fee, but after we enroll next year, I will definitely give it to you!"

Jonathan glanced at him and patted his shoulder, "Ford, you're taking it too seriously; I was just joking."

"My father is here, I'm leaving now."

Ford waved his hand, "See you at Ulada Magic Academy next year!"

Jonathan walked toward Abraham and then followed him away in silence.

Along the way, Abraham did not speak.

He truly had not expected Jonathan's magical talent to be this outstanding, nor that he would be invited by Ulada Magic Academy.

However, this was inevitable.

Jonathan's magical talent was likely among the top in the history of Ulada Magic Academy.

"Jonathan, are you really going to Ulada Magic Academy?"

"If it weren't for the fact that Ernst doesn't recruit those with Dark Magic talent, I would have wanted to go there instead."

"Father, do you not agree?"

Abraham shook his head, "Since you have this talent, it naturally shouldn't go to waste."

"Once you go, study hard."

"I cannot go with you, but you must not fall behind in your warrior training either."

Jonathan nodded, "Father, I will remember that. I won't let you down."

"Let's hurry on our way, otherwise we might not make it back by nightfall, and we still have to get up for training tomorrow morning."

Abraham smiled slightly, and the two immediately quickened their pace, sprinting along the road.

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