It’s so tall. 

Ryan hadn’t lied to him. At the very end of this road, Qiyu saw an elegant and imposing building.

It was indeed the tallest and most imposing one.

Above the main gate, Qiyu spotted a crest that looked somewhat familiar: it depicted a wand and a white flower branch.

He had noticed it before, but now, upon closer inspection, he could clearly see patterns engraved in the background representing the elements of earth, fire, wind, and water. 

Qiyu walked inside.

In the solemn hall stood several statues; Qiyu recognized one of them as an exact replica of the statue of the Goddess of Light in his homeland. Judging by the statue, the figure’s status must be comparable to that of the Goddess of Light.

A staff member approached him: “Welcome to the mages association. May I ask the purpose of your visit?”

Qiyu noticed that the man also wore a badge on his chest—one with an extra silver star beneath it.

“I’m here to apply for wizard certification,” Qiyu said.

“Very well, sir. Have you been certified before?”

Qiyu asked him, “No. What’s the difference between the two?”

As the staff member led him along, he explained, “For mages undergoing identity verification for the first time, we provide a free talent assessment and rating. If you’ve been certified before, you can skip this step and proceed directly to the magical power test.”

“…” He led Qiyu to the entrance of a nearby hall.

Unlike the lavishly decorated hall with statues at the front, this space had no decorations other than five columns, making it seem rather sparse. The staff member did not enter himself but instructed Qiyu, “Just walk down the center of the hall.”

Qiyu was a bit puzzled, but he followed the staff member’s instructions and walked down the center of the room. He remained slightly on guard; hidden beneath his mage’s robe, he already had a teleportation scroll from his backpack clenched in his hand. 

He was ready to tear the teleportation scroll to shreds and make a run for it the moment anything went wrong.

The moment he stood there, a glow appeared beneath his feet, tracing out a mysterious pattern.

The entire hall was, in fact, a massive magical array.

Qiyu felt the magic within him stir restlessly, and he involuntarily closed his eyes. 

Thick magical elements seemed to be summoned, converging toward him.

“Oh my God!” exclaimed one of the workers gathered at the entrance to the hall. Realizing what he’d done, he quickly covered his mouth to avoid disturbing Qiyu, who was at the center of the magical array.

Qiyu was now immersed in some mysterious state and could not be seen; from the workers’ perspective, the five dormant pillars in the corner of the hall had all been illuminated by his magical power. 

The light rose gradually from the bottom up, bit by bit. At some point, several figures had appeared beside the workers. Their eyes were fixed intently on Qiyu.

【Who is this? Whose junior is he?】

【Are you kidding? If he were one of ours, would we be hiding him here?】

【Has there ever been a genius in our Gold Hole City capable of lighting up all the magic pillars at once?】 

【With that kind of talent, why is he only taking the Association’s test now?】

Fearing they might disturb Qiyu, these exchanges took place in hushed whispers.

The staff member couldn’t hear them, but as he looked at this group of influential figures—whom he usually saw less than once a month—he nervously shrank into a corner, not even daring to breathe. 

Qiyu had no idea what was going on outside.

At that moment, it felt as if he had returned to that time in the Star Forest when he was seeking shelter from the rain, with countless multicolored specks of light surging toward him. Except this time, there were even more of them. The green specks here weren’t as overpowering as those in the Star Forest.

Perhaps because he was most familiar with green light, his subconscious clearly felt a sense of affinity toward the green specks. 

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Upon learning that his son had been in danger in the Black Rock Mountain Range and had returned safely thanks to a kind mage, Sean, the head of the Borg Chamber of Commerce—who had been left behind by the mage before even entering Gold Hole City—was now walking toward the mages’ association with a grim expression, dragging his good-for-nothing son Leslie along.

Qiyu’s attire was truly eye-catching, and when he asked around, one of his subordinates pointed out that the nobleman had headed in a certain direction. Leslie also hurriedly added that Lord Yu had said he was going to the mages association.

Before they had even reached their destination, a green beam of light shot skyward. Everyone in Gold Hole City turned their gaze toward this majestic glow. Many were confused, while others were so shocked they lost their composure.

“What is this…” Chairman Sean, a man of great knowledge and experience, was so captivated by the sight that he even let go of his wayward son’s hand. With a “thud,” Leslie fell to the ground. 

“It is the blessing of the Supreme God of Magic,” Sean murmured. “Which noble is so fortunate?” 

As if waking from an exceptionally restful sleep, Qiyu opened his eyes contentedly, keenly sensing that his magical power seemed to have risen to a higher level. He instinctively glanced at his personal interface and discovered that his profession—formerly a Level 2 Mage—had been upgraded to a Level 3 Mage.

Did the Magic Association’s aptitude test actually have this effect? He couldn’t help but look down at the magic circle at his feet, which was fading away, and wondered if he could do that a few more times.

“These haphazard thoughts of his.” 

Qiyu turned around and was startled by a large crowd of people.

But judging by his appearance, one would never have guessed it.

To outsiders, this young man of mysterious origins remained utterly composed despite the scrutinizing gazes of so many senior figures. Truly, he is a genius favored even by the Supreme Archmage! He certainly possesses the bearing of a great general! 

The high-ranking mages present could clearly see that Qiyu’s robes—though they weren’t sure of the exact rank—were already extraordinary enough to block magical detection.

“Hello, everyone?” Most of the people in this group were older. His first thought was that, with Master Tranquility Yields Transcendence present, he could probably still be considered a young “little grandpa.” 

The white-bearded old man at the head of the group asked with a smile, “I am Frederick, President of the Gold Hole City Mages’ Guild. May I ask your name, young friend? Where are you from? It is indeed a rare stroke of fate that you’ve come to Gold Hole City to undergo your mage certification.” 

“My name is…”

Qiyu hesitated: “Qiyu, from the Forest of Stars.”

According to Ryan, professional certification would follow him for the rest of his life—it was a lifelong honor. An honor—he certainly couldn’t use the alias “Yu” for that.

It was Qiyu’s honor—it had to be his own. 

As soon as he uttered “Forest of Stars,” everyone present exchanged glances, deep in thought.

“So it’s the Forest of Stars. No wonder he was able to achieve…” 

Qiyu couldn’t make out what they were muttering, but having such a large crowd blocking his only exit made him feel a little nervous.

Since they were a group of elderly people, he politely asked, “Excuse me, have I completed the mage certification process? Can I leave now?”

“……”

It was the first time he’d seen someone, after the talent assessment, not concerned about their own talents but eager to leave. 

A group of elders from the mages association hurriedly replied, “Of course, it’s already over.” 

“Then, if you don’t mind, I’d like to pass through.”

They’d never seen anything like this before. The guards obediently parted, staring blankly as Qiyu walked past them and left.

Qiyu found a staff member huddled in the corner and asked, “What’s the next step? Can I get my badge right now, or do I have to wait?”

The staff member gave him an admiring look while struggling to keep his hands from trembling.

My God, what had he done to deserve this? Not only was he witnessing a genius emerge out of nowhere, but he’d also managed to make that genius ignore a whole group of bigwigs and fix his gaze solely on him.

I’m scared—will the bigwigs make my life miserable? 

He cast a pleading glance at the person beside him: “Chairman?”

Chairman Frederick nodded: “Just follow the standard procedure.”

The staff member let out a sigh of relief and put on a professional smile: “Very well, Lord Qiyu, please follow me.”

Qiyu was led to a room resembling a lounge, where a staff member served him hot tea, fruit, and pastries, and carefully asked for his personal details, including the characters in his name.

“Please wait here for about half an hour. Your personal badge will be delivered to you shortly.”

Half an hour—that’s not too bad.

Qiyu called out to the person who was about to leave: “I heard that mages certified by the mages association receive a monthly stipend?”

“Ah, yes,” the staff member nodded quickly. “But that’s not my department. Once you’ve picked up your badge, head out the door and turn right. That building over there is the office where you can claim your mage allowance.”

“Okay, thanks.” So there really is a subsidy—I’m happy. 

The mages association is flush with cash, and the refreshments they offer guests are top-notch.

Qiyu took a sip of tea. He didn’t know what it was brewed with, but it smelled wonderful and tasted great. The pastries were exquisitely made, with a sweet and melt-in-your-mouth texture—delicious.

He didn’t recognize the fruit either, but it was delicious.

He enjoyed his meal all by himself. 

A figure walked over and sat down beside him with a cheerful smile.

Qiyu looked up and greeted him politely: “Hello, Frederick Sheng.” 

In his eyes, the mages’ association was now wealthy and extremely generous. Consequently, he had a very favorable impression of the Guild Master at that moment.

“Xiao Qi, may I call you that?” the president asked with a kind smile. “It seems the pastries we prepared are right up your alley. If you don’t mind, you’re welcome to take some home as a souvenir later.” 

“Really?” Qiyu exclaimed, pleasantly surprised. “You’re so generous. Thank you.”

Frederick：“……”

It had been many years since he’d seen such a straightforward child. 

It’s actually kind of interesting.

After a brief exchange, he realized that his roundabout way of speaking didn’t seem to suit the young man standing before him.

“To be a Level 3 mage at such a young age—Xiao Qi, you must have an exceptional teacher, right?”

Here was that question again—Ryan and Leslie had asked it too. It seemed people in this realm were always asking about teachers. 

Qiyu replied cautiously, “He’s quite mysterious and doesn’t show up very often.”