Reynolds was quite a bit shorter than Linley.
Linley was now nearly 1.8 meters tall, which was rather tall for a nine-year-old child.
But for a Rank 9 Warrior, that height was perfectly normal.
When Linley saw Reynolds, it was like reliving the moment he had first met Yale.
Although the two of them had never met before, they just seemed to click.
So Linley smiled and said, "Hello, I'm Linley, from the Fenlai Kingdom."
"So you're a local from the Fenlai Kingdom?" Reynolds said, sounding a little wistful. "I'm so jealous of people from your kingdom. It took me a whole year to travel here from the O'Brien Empire."
"My family lives in Fenlai City. It only took me half an hour to get here."
Linley's words left Reynolds speechless.
After they had chatted for a few minutes, the academy staff urged them to begin their tests.
It was impossible to impersonate someone else at the Ernst Magic Institute.
After all, new students had to take another test before officially enrolling. If their results didn't match those from their Magic Test, they would be denied admission.
What surprised Linley, though, was that Reynolds had an affinity for the Fire Element, and his affinity was superior.
Reynolds's spiritual force was 32 times that of his peers.
In terms of spiritual force alone, he was stronger than Linley had been before he started cultivating.
"Are you surprised?" Reynolds said, shaking his head at Linley's expression. "The Ernst Magic Institute accepts at most a hundred students each year. My talent is only average."
As he spoke, Reynolds leaned closer to Linley with a mysterious look and whispered, "I heard there are two geniuses in our year."
"Two geniuses?" Linley looked puzzled. "Where did you hear that?"
"There've been rumors along the way." Reynolds waved a hand and continued, "One of them is from the Yulan Empire. His affinity for the Wind Element is superior, and his spiritual force is 68 times that of his peers."
Linley was a little astonished by Reynolds's words. "That's incredible talent."
Linley's talent had seemed even greater during his Magic Test.
But Linley knew that he had already been a fifth-rank magus when he took that test.
If you counted from when he had first started cultivating, Linley's talent really wasn't anything special at the Ernst Magic Institute.
"No, no, there's someone even more impressive." Reynolds shook his head. "I heard there's another genius from the Fenlai Kingdom. His affinity for the Earth and Wind Elements is superior, and his spiritual force is 69 times that of his peers. He's practically not even human!"
Reynolds sounded rather impressed.
Linley, however, had a strange look on his face.
The student Reynolds said wasn't human seemed to be him.
"Hurry up with the enrollment test."
The staff member urged them on, and Linley stepped forward.
"Hmm~"
When Linley placed his right hand on the crystal ball, it hummed. Earthen yellow, green, and a little fiery red light appeared.
"Superior affinity for the Earth and Wind Elements, and average affinity for the Fire Element?"
Reynolds gaped when he saw Linley's elemental affinities.
A thought flashed through his mind.
No way?
But when the staff member spoke, the last of Reynolds's hopes vanished.
"Spiritual force 69 times that of his peers. Identity confirmed. Here's your student ID and dormitory key."
The staff member handed Linley his ID and a key.
Linley turned to look at Reynolds, who was standing there in a daze.
"What are you standing around for?" Linley called to Reynolds. "Looks like we're in the same dorm. Let's go!"
"Gulp."
Reynolds swallowed and came over to Linley. "You're that freakish new student?"
Linley's expression darkened. "Do I look like a freak to you?"
"Are you not freakish enough?" Reynolds looked Linley up and down. "Superior affinity for two elements and spiritual force 69 times that of your peers. Do you know what that means?"
"Enough." Linley put his right hand on Reynolds's shoulder. "No matter what, we're both here to study, aren't we? Let's go!"
"Wait," Reynolds said. "Grandpa Loom, you can head back now. Don't worry about me."
As he spoke, Reynolds took out a crystal card and handed it to the staff member.
Seeing this, Linley was curious. "You have to pay tuition too?"
"Of course." Reynolds wasn't surprised at all. "The Ernst Magic Institute only waives tuition for students from the Holy Union. Foreign students like us have to pay quite a lot."
Reynolds looked a little indignant, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.
"Mr. Linley." The old man beside Reynolds came over to him. "My young master will be sharing a dorm with you. I'd appreciate it if you'd look after him."
"Don't worry, sir." Linley nodded. "I'll keep an eye on Reynolds."
"Oh, Grandpa Loom, I can take care of myself," Reynolds said hurriedly. "Go on back, and tell my parents I'm doing fine here."
The old man merely smiled, but didn't leave right away.
He waited until Reynolds had paid his tuition and walked into the academy with Linley. Only after the two of them had disappeared from sight did he turn and leave.
Linley and Reynolds walked along the academy's streets. Just as Loom turned away, Linley glanced back.
Then he raised an eyebrow as he looked at Reynolds.
That old man had actually been a Rank 9 Warrior.
Reynolds's family background was probably quite extraordinary too!
But it made no difference to Linley.
Linley already knew the waters of the Yulan Continent ran deep.
Still, Linley was now a Saint-level expert.
No matter what the faction, they generally wouldn't look down on a Saint-level expert.
After all, Saint-level experts stood at the very top of the Material Plane.
God-level experts had already transcended the ordinary power struggles of the Material Plane.
"Chirp, chirp~"
"Boss, is this the Ernst Magic Institute?"
Bebe poked his head out of Linley's chest and curiously looked around.
"Wow!" Reynolds cried when he saw Bebe. "Linley, you have a Magical Beast too? Is it a Shadow Mouse or a Stone-Eater Rat?"
"I'm not sure." Linley smiled and shook his head. "I found Bebe in the backyard of my family's ancestral home, and we made a contract afterward."
"Your name's Bebe, right?" Reynolds smiled and held out his right hand to Bebe. "I'm Reynolds. Nice to meet you!"
Unfortunately, Bebe ignored Reynolds's friendly greeting and jumped straight onto Linley's shoulder.
Linley couldn't help smiling at the sight. "Reynolds, Bebe likes good food. If you bring him tasty treats now and then, he'll warm up to you."
"Really?" Reynolds's eyes lit up. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a strip of dried meat. "Bebe, this is dried meat from a Seventh-Level Magical Beast, a Velociraptor. Want to try some?"
Bebe, who had been ignoring Reynolds, suddenly perked up. He turned into a blur, snatched the dried meat, then returned to Linley's shoulder.
Reynolds only saw a flash. The meat in his hand had already disappeared. "That was fast!"
"Chirp, chirp~"
"Boss, this dried meat tastes average. Your roast meat is better."
"You should be grateful you have something to eat." Linley rolled his eyes at Bebe. "You should thank him after eating his food."
Linley felt that teaching Bebe was no different from teaching Wharton.
If anything, Wharton was a little less trouble than Bebe.
At Linley's words, Bebe waved one tiny paw at Reynolds, still holding the dried meat.
"Chirp, chirp~"
"Thanks for the dried meat!"
Linley translated for Reynolds. "Bebe's thanking you."
"No need to thank me." Reynolds was thrilled. "I'll take you to a restaurant for all kinds of delicious food sometime."
"Chirp, chirp~"
"Boss, I think I like this guy!"
Before you continue