"Hey, isn't that…"
"Yeah, I heard he's a frail young master but that doesn't seem to be the case."
"My, what a physique~~~"
"And that face too, he sure takes after his father…"
Taking a good, scrutinizing look at the young man who appeared from the carriage bearing the insignia of the dragon, the crowd, both test takers and their guardians, elders and parents, couldn't help but mutter in admiration, most of the previous voices coming from ladies who couldn't prevent those words from coming out of their mouths.
"Haha, what use is good looks when he doesn't even have a scant trace of mana to him, he's just going to land as someone's boy toy in the end"
"Who said that? Your words contain quite the truth to it, how about we become sworn brothers from now on?"
"Well, give him a little bit of respect, even if the rumors say that his affinity with mana is mediocre, he's the son of the Sword Dragon after all"
Meanwhile, hearing the words of admiration from the ladies around them, some hot-blooded, rash young men retorted with quite the jealousy to their tone, pointing out and taking comfort in the fact that there's barely, if not any at all, traces of mana around the Sword Dragon's son, making them feel superior as even if this peer of theirs is the son of the most known noble of the empire, at the very least, they are certain that they are way talented than him.
'Haha, even in this lifetime, it's all the same'
Given that this young man, the once greatest sage and now a cultivator once again, Argus, is now on the Third Stage of the Body Refining Realm, not only his strength, but even his senses are greatly improved compared to when he still has his mortal body, the sharpness of his hearing allowing him to listen to the talks about him even when said talks are on a barely audible, hushed voice even for the people near the speakers.
And hearing those words, he couldn't help but wryly smile as he fought of the desire to shake his head in helplessness, keeping his calm and cool as he walks forward, with certainty, that wry smile turning into a faint, confident one, that expression pulling the attention to him all the more.
He pays those gazes of admiration and jealousy no mind though as for now, his sight is only focused on one thing, taking the top place of this trial, allowing him to showcase prestige and might that will completely erase the negative opinion towards his talents.
'Well, it doesn't really matter to me but the old man might like it…'
Having the facilities and open grounds more than enough to give the students all the freedom to roam and not get bored staying in one place, as well as the districts to make sure that they can still feel like they are living their lives even inside the academy, districts of commerce, living, livelihood, entertainments, both normal and even adult entertainments among all others, the Lumencia Academy is huge.
Or rather, it is massive, as given the current emperor, along with the previous ones, and their consistently unbroken policy to nurture the young ones, this sacred grounds for aspiring pillars not only of the empire, but also the continent, is practically made to give the students as much freedom to learn as possible, not only in terms of practical and academical application of mana and magic, but also in terms of way of living and survival as well.
Hence why as Argus walks, he couldn't help but feel quite the admiration for the emperors of this nation and their vision, allowing the emergence of great figures who stand up for the empire and the world during the time of its direst needs, the dreadful resurgence of the devourers that destroys the world whole.
'Of course, it's not like it's all good things, especially when there are still nobles and even common people who have rotten hearts even here…'
The young man muttered to himself with a helpless smile on his face as found a good place to rest on as he waits for the trials to start, his eyes fixated on a large, no, towering tree standing in the middle of the academy's plaza where everyone of said academy's guests are waiting, the sudden jolt of the passive circulation of spirit energy inside of him pulling his attention to the tree even closer than before.
'I've never known in my past life since I wasn't a cultivator back then but…'
Luckily for him, the tree wasn't really closed for anyone's access nor is there any restriction to it, given that some people also rest under its shade without any problem, allowing him to reach close to the fauna without any trouble at all, and as he reaches out, a touch, just a single touch allows him to realize something about this tree.
"… it's anything but normal"
He couldn't help but mutter as he closes his eyes, starting to feel the faint yet refreshing flow of spirit energy coming from the giant tree itself, what he finds peculiar the most being the fact that as his body absorbs this refreshing spirit energy, his body also gives off some of his to the tree in return.
Racking his mind to recall all sorts of interesting things, treasures and experiences he had amassed during his time as Xing Yuandao, Argus scratches his head in frustration as never was there any sort of knowledge in his mind regarding something like this, sure, there are things and treasures that have the same effect, but not a living being like a tree.
'Hoh? Not bad at all…'
As he continues to allow the tree to perform exchange between his spirit energy and the tree's own, Argus couldn't help but praise as he starts feeling the effect of this tree's spirit energy, the praise coming from a being who once stood at the very peak of existence something that says a lot about how good of a treasure this tree is.
As he starts pushing in more and more of his spirit energy towards the tree, the tree also starts increasing the amount of the refreshing spirit energy that it is giving, the two seemingly forming a symbiotic bond as despite the young man no longer keeping his hand in contact with this mystical treasure, the exchange between their spirit energy still continues without interruption and without causing any disturbance outside at all.
Other than the fact that this mystical tree can match his spirit energy output, a remarkable thing despite him still holding back quite a bit, there's also another reason as to why the once great sage couldn't help but praise the tree, and that is due to the refreshing sensation said tree's spirit energy is giving off, something that is not only a superficial sensation, but a significant boost to the one absorbing it instead.
'Interesting… truly interesting… just what sort of treasure are you?'
As the man and the tree continues to exchange their spirit energy for the betterment of each other, the man couldn't help but wonder, an immense intrigue taking over his mind as he decided that one way or another, he will learn about the nature and origin of this tree.