When he returned to the office, Xu Yi was still replaying the scene from earlier, when the list of those who had passed the Level Five Examination was announced.
Perhaps because Xu Yi had drawn so much attention before, and his performance in the practical examination had been so unconvincing, the mages who had clearly performed better than him yet failed could not help raising questions when they learned he had passed the Level Five Examination. Some even demanded to know whether the Mages' Guild had rigged the results.
In response, the Mages' Guild explained that Xu Yi had ranked first in the written examination. His answers demonstrated a depth of theoretical knowledge far beyond that of a Level Four Mage, or even an ordinary Level Five Magic Mage, revealing exceptional mastery of magical theory. The examiners responsible for reviewing his results had therefore unanimously agreed to pass him.
Although the other mages remained dissatisfied with this explanation, they could not refute it. After all, the Mages' Guild had always stressed that mages needed a sufficiently strong grounding in magical theory. Since Xu Yi had demonstrated theoretical knowledge surpassing even that of a Level Five Magic Mage, letting him pass the Level Five Examination was reasonable.
As a result, however, many of the Level Four Mages present who had failed developed considerable resentment toward Xu Yi. Some even looked at him with a trace of hatred.
Before leaving, one mage made a point of approaching Xu Yi and snarling a threat.
"Boy, you may be a Level Five Magic Mage now while I'm only a Level Four Mage, but do you believe I could still beat you until your teeth were scattered all over the floor?"
Xu Yi responded with nothing more than a faint smile.
In his view, magic