Andrew and Aisha headed for the reception as soon as they were done choosing their courses. A young man seemingly in his twenties was sitting there looking at a screen. He was pretty skinny and had dark brown curly hair which was covering a bit of the left side of his face. Still, it couldn't cover up his handsome features. He had a pair of round glasses and small shiny earrings, both of which were only accentuating his good looks.

"Are you two here to register?" He looked at the siblings for a second before asking warmly.

"Yes, Sir." answered Andrew politely.

[This guy is strong! I can't feel his mana, but I can feel an innate pressure from him. Inspect] On the way here, Andrew was playing around with his inspect skill and found out that he was even able to use it on living people! Although he wasn't getting a lot of information, it was still very useful.

[Name: Shawn Artros

Age: 27

Level: ??? (Unable to accurately deduce the level of a being more than 30 levels higher than host.)

Occupation: Array Master, ??? (Beings at levels higher than 40 are highly likely to have multiple occupations.)

Elemental Affinity: ??? (Target's presence is affecting multiple elements in the surroundings. Unable to determine affinity.)

Mana Root Grade: ??? (Estimation: 7 - 12)

A powerful man likely with a very high position in the academy.]

"Sir? I am not much older than you. You can call me Shawn." he answered with a smile.

[Well, it's more about how powerful you are rather than about age.]

[Still, the grade of his mana root must be very high, maybe higher than Aisha's since he is so young and already above the Scholar stage.] thought Andrew.

"Anyway, for your registration, full name, age, stage of cultivation, elemental and mana affinity please." he took a better look at the siblings for a second before adding."Well, name is more of a formality, doesn't really matter what name you want to go by." He then waved two fingers towards his laptop and the screen started to change.

[Shawn's Personal Laptop

Technological device invented before this Era. A calculator able to perform a wide range of tasks. Extraordinary computational power achieved through last millennia slow technological advancement.] Andrew couldn't help but inspect the device.

[So this is a laptop. Uncle Coral was always against technology saying that cultivation is much more important but this gadget seems quite handy.]

"I'm Aisha, 13, Peak Refinement Soldier, Life Element and mana affinity grade 10." Aisha spoke.

A trace of surprise flashed through Shawn's eyes and then disappeared. The screen in front of him was rapidly recording the information Aisha provided.

"And the courses you wish to take?" Shawn continued. As Aisha answered the questions the laptop was completing the registration without input from Shawn. At the end, Shawn waved two fingers again and a new blank registration page appeared.

"And you?" he looked at Andrew.

"I'm Andrew, 17, Peak Mana Apprentice, Water Element and mana affinity grade 5." Shawn frowned in thought for a second before continuing with the questions.

"Alright you two, these are your personal ID's. Bind them with a drop of blood. You will find they are quite the useful little gadget." he said as he handed the siblings two small bronze badges.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Now, I suggest you two..." He was cut short by loud screams coming from outside.

"Just a moment, it seems there is a small problem outside." he frowned for a second before suddenly disappearing.

"Aisha come!" said Andrew while rushing towards the exit. The reason for that was the alert he received from the system.

[Warning! High level malicious darkness being detected! Host is advised to take shelter.]

[No way I am hiding. That guy is so strong. It would be a pity not seeing him in action.] thought Andrew.

As the siblings went outside they saw people panicking around them. Their thoughts were interrupted by a loud roar. They looked towards the skies and they were stunned to find a huge creature flying towards this location. By how fast it was flying, it would reach the outskirts of the city in a few seconds.

It was a snake-like creature with huge feathered wings. It seemed to be hundreds of meters in length.

"I will take care of it!" a loud voice boomed in the sky as the siblings saw Shawn flying rapidly through the air. He stopped still a fair distance away from the creature as the air all around him distorted chaotically. Then, cracks started spreading around Shawn and the space became like a thousand mirrors which shattered the next second.

[High level spatial fluctuations detected from target Shawn. Reassessing information...

Level: 55-60

Elemental affinity: Space(At least Top Affinity)]

Andrew wasn't really paying attention to the system at the moment as the scene above was too shocking. As the thousands of mirrors shattered, the shards pointed forwards before accelerating towards the creature. A clap was heard as Shawn brought his palms together. His right hand then flickered and made a cutting motion towards the giant snake. As his palm reached down, a distortion happened between his palms for a second before disappearing.

The creature wasn't idling either. As soon as Shawn appeared in the air, it opened its huge maw and a ball of black fire shot forward with blinding speed.

As the shards met with the dark fireball, they started melting. Half of them burned away into nothingness before the fireball was extinguished. The rest continued their flight and bombarded the snake. Small cuts started appearing on the body of the snake. Blood started gushing out like a fountain however the wounds didn't seem to be life threatening. The next moment though, a huge gash, tens of meters in length appeared on the snake's belly.

A loud hiss was heard before the snake's body started falling at a rapid speed. It crashed heavely into the ground before its mana fluctuations cut off completely.

The crowd went blank for a second before erupting in loud cheers.

"It's Grandmaster Shawn!"

"Yeah I heard he is the youngest person ever to reach the array Grandmaster stage."

"What array Grandmaster, I heard he is the youngest person ever to reach the World realm!"

"You are exaggerating...."

"Well, he might not be in top 5, but he is nonetheless amazing!"

While people on the ground were lively chatting, Shawn had a big frown on his face while looking at his right hand. If one looked closely, they could see small gashes being formed on his palm before blood started leaking.

Andrew, whose eyes didn't leave Shawn's figure until now received a prompt from the system.

[Target is showing signs of chaotic mana. Host is advised to take shelter as a Mana Burst is possible.]

[Excuse me? What is a mana burst?] Andrew was confused before looking at Shawn again. And indeed, something seemed to be wrong as the space around him was distorting again.

"Ah... it's happening again..." Shawn murmured while he took a step forward and completely disappeared.

[Mana Burst occurs when the cultivator becomes unable to control his own mana. If it is mild, the mana would explode outward creating a powerful shockwave with corresponding characteristics.]

[And if it is severe?] asked Andrew in his mind.

[The mana would explode inside the cultivator bringing instant death.]

[Ugh, I hope he's alright, he seemed a nice guy.]

One thousand metres underground, there was a huge cave system. On one tunnel, a trembling figure could be seen walking forward while gasping for breath.

"Teacher...help me..." Shawn said through clenched teeth.

"Tsk tsk, again? I told you many times before, until I find that damn plant for you, don't recklessly use your power.." a disgruntled voice sounded out. Light steps could be heard as a tall figure appeared in Shawn's view. Shawn dropped to his knees while his breathing became even heavier.

"I can't...." the space around him became cracked and wounds started appearing on his body as well.

"Hm.." the tall figure snorted before waving a finger. A red energy appeared around Shawn, forcefully mending the cracks in space around him while also pouring into his body. As soon as the energy entered his body his expression relaxed and he fainted while a formless energy held his body in the air.

"Such a pitiful fellow..." the figure sighed and then looked up. His vision seemed to penetrate the earth as it fell on Andrew's figure.

"Hm, but maybe there is room for change." he said while he turned around and left, Shawn's body following behind him.