The moment Starlight stepped onto the academy grounds, he was stunned by the incredibly high concentration of elements in the air.
While it didn't quite match the concentration of dark elements he had felt in the underground tomb, the staggering part was that he could clearly feel elements of every attribute dancing in the air here.
He felt as if every breath he took made the mana within him stir restlessly, as if it were on the verge of bursting through his body.
In such an environment, any practitioner of magic who came here to study and live would surely make immense progress. If one could not grow stronger while immersed in such an ocean of elements, it could only mean they were a talentless mediocrity.
Starlight instinctively looked down at the ground beneath his feet. Unless he was mistaken, there was almost certainly a massive magic formation hidden deep below the academy. It was concealed so well that an ordinary person would never notice it.
Gathering such a vast amount of energy was not something that could be achieved in a short time; it was likely the accumulation of hundreds or even thousands of years. This was undoubtedly one of the foundations that had allowed the academy to stand tall on the continent for millennia.
Thinking of this, Starlight stole a glance at Moen, who was also a mage. He saw a look of shock on her beautiful face, clearly as overwhelmed by the Central Spiritual Arts Academy’s grand scale as he was.
As for Po Kong and Xia Duo, who utilized battle qi, they didn't feel anything particularly special. They simply felt much more comfortable after entering the school grounds, as if a warm sensation were washing over them.
Before long, the four followed the surging crowd to a massive practice field. At a glance, there were already tens of thousands of people gathered there.
However, excluding the entourages, the actual number of candidates for the exam was likely less than a thousand.
“Which of you four are here for the exam? Go and register first.”
While Starlight was still looking around, a middle-aged man dressed in grey robes approached them and asked in a questioning tone.
Hearing this, Po Kong, Xia Duo, and Moen all looked at Starlight in unison. The middle-aged mage glanced at Starlight with some surprise but said nothing more. He simply handed him a badge with a number on it and gestured for him to line up to the side.
It wasn't surprising that others found it strange; Starlight’s attire looked completely out of place among the crowd of wealthy youths dressed in lavish clothing.
Even Po Kong had told him more than once to buy an outfit that looked more like a mage's robes, but Starlight had brushed him off every time.
In Starlight’s view, while those voluminous robes were ornate, they were quite inconvenient for movement. Having grown accustomed to weaving through forests, he couldn't imagine wearing such clothes in complex terrain.
Furthermore, those robes weren't just expensive-looking—they were genuinely exorbitant! Starlight could never bring himself to spend one or two hundred gold coins on a set of clothes he considered a burden.
Starlight glanced at the number four on his badge and walked with the other three toward the area marked with the number “4.”
Coincidentally, as soon as they reached the Area 4, they saw the young man they had encountered at the hotel the day before.
“Yo! It’s you! What a coincidence, we’re in Area 4 too.” Po Kong didn't hesitate to walk up and wave a greeting.
The youth, who had been chatting with his attendants, was drawn by the sudden shout. He turned around and saw Po Kong’s grinning face.
The moment he saw Po Kong, the youth looked as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over him. His body shuddered involuntarily, and he stammered, “You... you... you guy from the House of Mars... what are you doing here! This... this is the mage exam!”
“You know me? Wait... who are you again?” Po Kong was a bit surprised that the youth had identified his background immediately, so he tilted his head and asked in return.
“Are you trying to humiliate me?! I... I am I-Ivan Leon!” Hearing Po Kong’s question, the youth’s face turned beet red, and he summoned his courage to practically shout his name.
“Ivan Leon? No memory... Are you a member of the royalty?”
Hearing the youth announce his name, the surrounding crowd began to stir. Even Po Kong frowned, questioning as he searched his memory.
The surname Leon shared its name with the continent, and only members of the human kingdom's royal family were permitted to use it. Was this nervous-looking youth actually a prince?
“That’s right! Po Kong-Mars! Do you remember now?”
After declaring his royal status, the youth seemed to regain his confidence and spoke with a sharp tone. However, Po Kong’s innocent response nearly made him spit out a mouthful of blood.
“Hmm... Sorry, I really can’t remember... Is there someone named Ivan in the royal family?”
As a fellow descendant of the capital’s nobility, Po Kong actually forgot him? How could this not leave him shocked and enraged?
“You’ve truly forgotten? ...Five years ago, in the capital... at the Imperial Garden!” The youth squeezed the words through his teeth, his voice filled with resentment and helplessness.
Upon hearing those words, Po Kong finally wore a look of sudden realization, as if he had finally recalled something. “Imperial Garden... Imperial Garden... Oh! I remember now! You were that little brat back then? You’ve grown so much in a few years, ahahaha!”
Seeing that Po Kong finally remembered him, Ivan’s expression did not improve. Instead, he looked even more embarrassed.
“So you really do know him?” Hearing their conversation, Starlight thought to himself before asking curiously, “Did something happen between you two? Why did he turn into a cowering quail the moment he saw you... and yet you didn't even remember him?”
Po Kong scratched his head sheepishly and explained.
“That was back when we were kids. In the capital, there’s always a group of young nobles who like to compete in martial prowess. When I was bored, I’d join them for a few rounds... and then... well, I basically beat up almost every young noble in the capital. There must have been eighty or a hundred of them... How am I supposed to remember all their names? That would be way too exhausting, right?”
The two didn't lower their voices, and Ivan heard everything clearly. Upon understanding the situation, his face turned as red as a ripe tomato, and he felt like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.
He hadn't forgotten the scene from back then. He had intended to show off with the magic he had just learned, but the match had barely begun when Po Kong’s figure appeared before him like a ghost. Before he could react, he was knocked to the ground by a heavy punch to the face.
Po Kong hadn't shown any mercy just because he was a mage; he had knocked him out cold, even breaking his nose in two places. Despite the careful treatment from the royal physicians, he had been stuck in bed for an entire week before he recovered.
Rate on N.U.
