On the second day, news spread throughout Mulan Academy about Moransiu casting the Fireball spell at the Blue Rose Tavern.
"Sorong, everyone outside is saying that that useless person suddenly can cast Fireball. Do you think it's true?" Bart, a fifth-grade mage, spoke with a disdainful expression in a dormitory.
Bart didn't quite believe the news. Regardless of what people said, a low-level mage casting intermediate magic was a joke. No matter how many people said the news was true, Bart thought it was unlikely unless he saw it with his own eyes.
"What do you think?" Sorong slowly opened his eyes, his delicate face showing no change in expression. He simply asked after Bart spoke.
Sorong, also a fifth-grade mage, was hailed as a magical genius at Mulan Academy several years ago. Bart shared a dormitory with him, but Bart had been stuck in fifth grade for three years. At his current pace, he would need at least three more years to reach the level of a sixth-grade mage.
Bart sneered, "How is that possible? Someone must be deliberately spreading rumors. Perhaps that waste wants to attract more attention, so he deliberately spread this rumor."
Sorong shook his head lightly upon hearing Bart's words.
"If he wanted attention, he wouldn't be absent all the time. Have you ever seen him in the academy?" Sorong asked.
At twelve years old, Sorong was indeed a rare genius to reach the level of a fifth-grade mage. In the Kingdom of Carlisle, there weren't many recorded cases of twelve-year-olds reaching the fifth-grade mage level.
The path of a mage's cultivation became more difficult later on. For example, advancing from a fourth-grade mage to a fifth-grade mage might only take a year and a half, while advancing from a fifth-grade mage to a sixth-grade mage might take three years. Advancing from a sixth-grade mage to a seventh-grade mage would take at least six years, or even never happen.
The disparity in strength between low-level mages, intermediate mages, and high-level mages is significant. Crossing the threshold from a low-level mage to an intermediate mage is a hurdle, and crossing from an intermediate mage to a high-level mage is another. These two hurdles prevent many mages from advancing in their lifetime.
"I just don't believe that a low-level mage can cast intermediate magic," Bart said, his eyes glaring, feeling incredulous.
Nevertheless, becoming a fifth-grade mage was a sign of exceptional talent. Although Bart's talent was not comparable to Sorong's, he was equally proud.
"How about we go find him to verify it?" Sorong was curious about this genius who appeared after him. What kind of person was this rumored genius?
In the previous period, there were rumors that he couldn't practice magic, but now there were rumors that he could cast intermediate magic like the Fireball spell. Moransiu seemed quite mysterious.
"All right, let's go now," Bart said eagerly, jumping off the bed.
When the two arrived at Moransiu and Muku's dormitory, they found that there was no one there. Moransiu and Muk were not in the dormitory.
"Let's wait here for a while," Sorong said, looking around the room.
"Damn, where could they be at this time? I can't wait to expose his lies. Hmph, just a low-level mage, bragging like that," Bart sat heavily on Muk's bed.
They waited for hours, but Moransiu and Muku still didn't return. While Moransiu was training at the edge of Liyu Mountain, Muk was probably outside the academy and wouldn't be back all night.
"Perhaps waiting longer isn't a good idea. Let's go back for now and come back tomorrow," Sorong said, noticing that it was already completely dark outside.
"These two guys," Bart muttered, slamming the door shut.
On the edge of Liyu Mountain!
Moransiu kept jumping around a big tree, his body as agile as a monkey, while his hands kept making various attack movements to dodge with his flexible body. If facing him directly, one would definitely see his face soaked in sweat.
He had been training for two hours straight today. Even with Moransiu's stamina, he felt a bit overwhelmed.
"Should I stop now? I always feel like something's missing," Moransiu pondered, not slowing down his movements.
He felt like there was a thin membrane about to break through, but he couldn't find where to start. The things on both sides of the membrane were separated by it and couldn't merge together.
Moransiu recalled the feeling he had yesterday when he was about to break through from a second-grade mage to a third-grade mage. Now, he faintly had that same feeling.
"Could it be that physical training can also lead to breakthroughs like with mages?" Moransiu wondered.
What he didn't know was that swordsmen's training was a form of physical training that generated internal energy in the body, enabling them to learn sword techniques. The higher the level of the swordsman, the stronger their internal energy. After breaking through to an intermediate swordsman, they could release their internal energy from every part of their body to form protective qi.
"Moransiu!" A familiar voice echoed in Moransiu's ears from afar.
Recognizing the voice, Moransiu had to stop his training.
Following the direction of the voice, Moransiu saw a figure walking towards him, wearing a white magic robe, quite conspicuous in the twilight.
"It's Vice Dean Billy," Moransiu recognized the person.
The person walking towards them was the vice dean of the academy, Billy.
"Dean," Moransiu respectfully greeted as Billy approached.
"Well, it's just the two of us here. You don't have to call me dean, you can call me Grandpa Billy," Billy said with a slight smile.
Actually, Billy's beard wasn't very long, but he didn't look very old.
Moransiu hesitated, feeling that calling him uncle might sound better than calling him grandpa.
"Hehe, feeling at a disadvantage?" Billy chuckled and asked.
"Not really, just..." Moransiu hesitated, unsure of what to say.
Moransiu felt that Vice Dean Billy was very kind, so calling him grandpa didn't seem inappropriate.
"Moransiu, can you really cast Fireball?" Billy suddenly asked about magic.
In front of Billy, Moransiu wouldn't lie. He nodded and admitted it.
"All right, follow me," Billy said.
Moransiu followed behind Billy, heading towards Liyu Mountain. Liyu Mountain was a restricted area of the academy, and until now, no students were allowed to go up the mountain. But since Billy was taking Moransiu, he naturally didn't have to abide by this restriction.
Billy walked quickly.
"If I didn't train my physical abilities regularly, I definitely wouldn't be able to keep up with Vice Dean Billy," Moransiu thought to himself.
It took the two of them two hours to walk from the foot of the mountain to the middle. Liyu Mountain was much steeper than Moransiu had imagined. It was his first time climbing Liyu Mountain, and he couldn't understand why Mulan Academy would place this mountain inside the campus.
Suddenly, Billy stopped, and Moransiu saw a gray house not far ahead.
"Why would there be a house built on the mountain?" Moransiu wondered, but now didn't seem like the right time to ask questions.
Billy's figure only paused for a moment before heading towards the house. Moransiu followed behind Billy, feeling a strange sensation about the house. It seemed to emanate a mysterious power.