Ian listened intently.
Although Elder Mantle's speculations were not correct, in a certain sense, they indeed held truth.
Ian's innate physical talent was not particularly outstanding; at the beginning, compared to his peers from wealthy merchant families who consumed meat, he was even weaker.
His teacher, Hiliard, possessed a natural physique several times stronger than an average person. As a young knight, whenever he trained, his progress was much faster than others, and he even reached the Third Power Level in his twenties.
After swearing allegiance to the Former Emperor and becoming his knight, he immediately advanced to the Fourth Power Level with the support of the royal family's resources and became Fifth Energy Level before the age of forty.
This was the mark of a true genius, without any cheats or golden fingers, without knowledge or skills beyond his time, and without taking any shortcuts. Purely relying on talent, he incredibly made such rapid progress.
