Testing, Invitation

As time passed second by second, Green's line slowly moved forward. After waiting for a while, a blonde girl emerged from the tent with tears in her eyes. At last, it was Green's turn.

"Come in." A voice rang out from inside the tent, strong yet somewhat muffled. Its owner did not seem young.

There was not much inside the tent. Apart from several oil lamps providing light, there was only a table and chair in the middle, with something resembling a crystal ball resting on the table. A wizard in white robes, with more than half his hair already gray, sat in the chair.

"Come over and place your hand on the crystal ball." The old man spoke the instant Green entered. Perhaps because he had received too many people, there was already a trace of impatience in his tone.

Green did not dare delay and quickly placed his hand on the crystal ball's surface.

The crystal ball soon began to glow. Green felt a wave emanate from it, sweeping over his entire body and striking at his mind.

[Unknown force field detection detected. Block it?]

[Do not block it for now. Continue monitoring the unknown force field.]

The Chip's voice sounded in his mind. To avoid making himself seem abnormal, Green chose not to act rashly.

The strange waves continued to intensify, and the light emitted by the crystal ball before Green grew brighter and brighter. The impact on his mind also became increasingly powerful.

"Very good, keep it up! Don't let go!" Seeing the light from the crystal ball in Green's grasp grow stronger and stronger, the elderly wizard could no longer sit still. He rose to his feet and began urging Green on.

As the impact grew more intense, the rune in Green's mind began resisting it. The rune flickered with white light, and Green's spiritual power began to spill outward uncontrollably.

"Hm? This spiritual power... a Third-Class Apprentice? And this rune's aura... is it the academy's Basic Meditation Method?" The elderly wizard quickly noticed the spiritual power spreading from Green. His eyes were already filled with shock.

The old wizard directly interrupted Green's test. He grabbed Green's hand and asked sternly, "How did you learn the Meditation Method?"

A strange wave emanated from the old wizard and began scanning Green.

[Unknown force field scan detected. Block it?]

[Do not block it for now.]

Green was helpless. Seeing the old wizard's agitation, he could only give the Chip that command.

The old wizard looked at Green as if he could not believe what he was seeing.

"You're also a Grand Knight?"

Seeing the old wizard's utterly horrified expression, Green quickly told him how he had discovered information about the Meditation Method in three books.

As the old wizard listened to Green, a glimmer even appeared in his eyes, as though he were looking at some astonishing treasure.

"Enough, no need to say more. I understand." The old wizard grabbed Green's hand and directly dragged him toward another exit of the tent.

After leaving the tent, the old wizard led Green through several turns and directly boarded the ship belonging to White House Academy. Still holding Green's hand, he entered the ship's interior. After passing through a long, dim corridor, the old wizard brought Green before a room.

The old wizard knocked respectfully on the door. Without caring whether there was any response from inside, he said directly, "Lady Lilian, another apprentice has found the Meditation Method hidden by the academy in the three books."

The instant he finished speaking, the tightly shut door flew open. A powerful force of attraction immediately sucked both Green and the old wizard inside.

An elderly woman with graying hair and a kindly face sat quietly cross-legged in a long robe. She appeared before Green. Yet Green did not dare relax in the slightest; the Chip's warnings were already coming one after another in his mind.

"Warning: High-energy entity detected. Please move away as soon as possible."

"Warning: High-risk radiation detected. Prolonged exposure carries a 72.3% chance of causing physical mutation. Please move away as soon as possible."

"Unknown force field detection detected. It exceeds the Chip's limits and cannot be disrupted."

"Warning... warning... Please activate the life shield and move away from danger."

The Chip's series of warnings had raised Green's vigilance to its peak. Lilian, who appeared so harmless before him, was clearly not as simple as she looked.

"Not bad. It truly is our school's Basic Meditation Method. Your spiritual power has already reached its critical point." Lilian opened her eyes, looked at Green, and revealed a kindly smile.

"Child, don't be nervous. Being able to learn the Meditation Method proves that you possess talent far beyond ordinary people. We will not harm you. We are white wizards, not black wizards!" Lilian had clearly sensed Green's inner tension and softly reassured him. However, perhaps she held a strong prejudice against black wizards, as she took the chance to slight them as well.

"Come, place your hand on this crystal ball and test the grade of your aptitude." The witch rose to her feet and took a crystal ball from behind her.

Green had been watching the old witch closely and was certain there had been nothing behind her.

Spatial equipment? Green secretly guessed.

"Yes, Lady Lilian."

After hearing Lilian's words, Green still stepped forward and placed his hand on the crystal ball.

This feeling was completely different from before. The previous force field had struck at him constantly, while this one scanned him much more gently.

As the scan deepened, the crystal ball's light grew increasingly brilliant, nearly illuminating the entire room.

The more brilliantly the crystal ball shone, the gentler Lilian's gaze toward Green became. When the crystal ball illuminated the entire room, Lilian said in wild delight, "First-Class Aptitude, and a Grand Knight too! Haha, our school is saved!"

After her excitement subsided, Lilian grabbed Green's hand.

"What is your name? Would you be willing to become my apprentice?"

Hearing Lilian's words, Green revealed a troubled expression. Knowing nothing about the wizarding world, he had suddenly encountered such an invitation and did not know whether it was good or bad.

Lilian had not lived all these years for nothing and naturally saw Green's hesitation. "Child, don't be nervous. Let me explain the reason to you."

"It's like this..."

As Lilian explained, Green finally learned the full story.

Lilian's school cultivated a Meditation Method known as Klorus, also called the Extreme Meditation Method. This Meditation Method allowed a wizard's spiritual power to reach the utmost limit currently attainable by wizards. It provided many benefits for a wizard's breakthroughs, making failure almost impossible.

However, this Meditation Method also had an indelible flaw: its cultivation time was too long, and its progress too slow. Only those with First-Class Aptitude could learn it. Those with lower aptitude would reach the end of their lifespans before reaching their own limits.

The Extreme School Lilian belonged to had not recruited a single person in decades. It was not that there were no students with First-Class Aptitude, but First-Class Aptitude students had a great chance of advancing to Formal Wizards. Every school treasured them dearly, so how could they possibly give them to the Extreme School?

As for newly discovered students with First-Class Aptitude, there were still fifty-five competitors in the tents outside. Moreover, a student with First-Class Aptitude might not appear even once in more than a decade. The people of the Extreme School were so worried they were practically losing their hair. And even if there were students with First-Class Aptitude, they might not be willing to join the school. By practicing other Meditation Methods, those with First-Class Aptitude could also advance to Formal Wizards very easily.

By now, although the Extreme School had High-Level Wizards, it lacked successors and could barely continue.

After listening to Lilian's explanation, Green finally nodded. Her school was on the verge of extinction; no wonder she had been so excited.

"So, Green, are you willing to become my disciple?" Lilian's eyes were filled with expectation.

Green lowered his head as though he had begun pondering, but in truth, he was using the Chip to calculate whether cultivating the Extreme Meditation Method would allow him to reach the standard for a breakthrough before his lifespan ran out.