"Fancy meeting you here, Young Duchess."
As those words were carried to the intended receiver, said receiver, the young duchess, moved one of her dainty hands to clear the mess made by the blowing wind on her smooth, shiny azure hair, the length of said hair poking through her downturned eyes and then through her golden pupils and making her wince, her every motion making her appear adorable, especially when she's still holding that charming smile on her beautiful face.
Before she can even reply to what sounds like a shallow provocation from the crimson-haired lady however, the two of them, along with every single follower walking behind either one of them, had their attentions pulled as they felt the violent rumbling of the ground, something that was then followed by a deafening blast, the sudden, shocking turns of events finally ending with a massive explosion that seems to come just a few hundreds of meters away from them.
Oddly enough, it only took these two ladies a single glance at each other in order for them to take action; instead of fleeing away from the source of the incident, they moved towards it instead, rushing to see who it was that dared to create such havoc within the heart of the empire itself.
It wasn't only these two groups of young geniuses aspiring to become students of the Lumencia Academy that rushed towards the source of the explosion, as groups with similar objectives as them, along with guards and curious nobles living within the area, also decided to rush towards the center of attention, all these people having different agendas from each other.
As the outside world is getting curious, even borderline panicking amidst the chaos that was created by this sudden act of what everyone assumed to be terrorism, the source of this commotion, the father and son duo, just stare at each other as if nothing happened at all.
"Is it the power of the system of improvement other than mana that you mentioned to me previously?"
Seeing the amount of strength that his son can dish out in a singular exchange, and having this sharp, gut feeling bordering absolute certainty that he can still continue fighting while holding such strength for a prolonged amount of time, Arthur couldn't help but ask, his interest now completely piqued by the method that his son previously told him about.
"It is, but this sort of power is kind of…"
Trying to find the right words to explain the fact that it is only due to his talent and the potential hidden within his body that allows him to exhibit such strength at the lower level of cultivation, Argus couldn't help but feel a bit troubled finding the right word, only for his father to complete his own words for him.
"I see that strength, it's not normal even for practitioners of that path, isn't it?"
With the question coming from him, the Sword Dragon got the answer he expected from his own son, the nod more than enough for him to realize that perhaps, just through the mercy of whatever supreme being it is that rules above everything in the world, the path of strength through refinement and use of mana was closed for him due to his potential lying on a far greater path than the previously mentioned one.
"Still, I am currently just at the first level of cultivation, old man, and even if it is an average cultivator in the same realm, there's no way for even the most talented Second Layer Mage to even stand a chance against them."
The mages have a pretty simplistic way of dividing the level of strength among their ranks.
From weakest to strongest, the First Layer, then the second, all the way to the Ninth Layer, mages who are capable of casting spells or using their martial prowess to level the mountains and tear the seas asunder, feats worthy of their title as this world's strongest powers.
Further down, these layers are divided into levels, each layer having seven classes corresponding to the mastery of a mana user over the true essence of each layer, with the seventh-class being the weakest among mana users of the same level and the first class being the strongest among their group.
And if one were to compare the overall combat prowess of a First Stage Body Refining Realm Cultivator, they would easily overwhelm even First-Class Second Layer Mages through the virtue of their bodies' incomparably powerful nature compared to mages of the previously mentioned level.
"Old man, to paint a better picture, in the first place, Second Layer Mages, hell, even higher-level mages like you, can only utilize the full strength of your bodies once you start circulating mana for the sake of reinforcing your bodies, as for cultivation…"
Pausing for a while, Argus smiles as he goes on to clench his palm, allowing his father's scrutinizing gaze to inspect the flow of everything around him, this old war veteran discovering the fact that despite the massive power being exerted by his son's grip, there's not a single trace of energy moving inside or outside his body at all.
"Well, as you can see, the baseline strength of a cultivator's body is way beyond what mages can ever compare to, not to mention it isn't only the strength, but the toughness and resilience of the body as well."
The young man added as he goes to show how insignificant the damages within his body are, in fact, there's not even something that can be considered as a damage, as even the worst that he received from the explosion is just a mere scratch on his knuckles directly in front of the center of the implosion that the two of them previously caused.
It could be said that this achievement is nothing all that impressive given that even his father came out unscathed from this explosion, even when his upper clothing is completely torn into shred, but there's one important thing to note, and that is the fact that this war veteran possesses strength and authority over mana far greater than most of the people living within the empire and its neighboring great power, one of the greatest deterrents that the Kyrios Empire possesses.
And as for the one who also stands unbothered amidst the violent explosion that tore the war veteran's attire even under the protection of his mana, the veteran's son, seemingly even less affected compared to his powerful father, as not even a single scratch falls upon the young man's clothes.
"Do I need to—"
"Ah, yes, don't worry about that, old man, you don't really need to abandon your strength as a mage and start all over again, there's a method for converting mana to the energy being used in cultivation, it might take some time but it's basically returning to lower levels while maintaining your strength, so it isn't all that bad at all isn't it?"
Explaining something in detail before his father can even speak about the issue he wants to talk about, the young man immediately managed to address the issue his father wants to address. These words from him finally allowed the Sword Dragon to start exploring the possibilities that cultivation holds.