Mortal Realm, Capital Planet of the Hoborg Empire, Main Continent, Cloudmount City, Divine Fate mansion.

Guang Yang jumped up, excited. “That would be so so cool! Imagine meeting that legendary man after having heard of his story!” That made the adults chuckle and Bai Yue said. “It would be interesting. But that would be in the future. Now, why don't you keep telling us about what happened at your new school?” Guang Yang nodded and resumed his story.

After a few hours full of good food, good company and many chuckles, the group separated to go cultivate. After all, if one wanted to obtain result in their cultivation, they had to cultivate as much as they could. After all, unlike for the Rank 1, it could take hundreds of years or more to increase 1 level, even in the Mortal Layer. Guang Yang and Bai Yue both went to the Dream Pavilion for their cultivation, as they more or less claimed it as their personal cultivation ground. Thus no one bothered them for the whole night until the sun started to rise and the two woke up from their deep meditation. Right after they stood up, a message was transmitted to their Holo-Bracelet from Nung, notifying them that it was time to leave the mansion or the boy would be late for class.

After petting his head and wishing him good luck for his day, Bai Yue let him go with Nung. The two then headed for the parking area to find the car. They got on and left the property right away, heading directly for the school. After only a few dozens of minutes, they reached the entrance of the academy, and, despite the great number of vehicles around, they did not have to wait too long to go in. They then parked the car and hopped off. Seeing a robot walking towards them, Nung said to Guang Yang. “Young master, this is where I have to leave you. You should follow this robot to your class. I will come get you tonight when your classes are over. I wish you good luck for your first day. I'm certain it will go really well.” As he could see the boy's hands shivering slightly from nervousness, he added the last sentence to cheer him up.

Guang Yang nodded and smiled despite being a bit worried. “I have adventuring type class this morning and fighting type classes this afternoon. From the descriptions I've read, I should be fine, Uncle Nung. See you tonight then.” He said, trying to be brave. He then followed the robot towards the area with the campus shuttles. As he climbed into the flying vehicle which took off quickly, he started to think about some of the information he read about last night before going to cultivate. Thanks to his great memories and increased 'brain efficiency' that his cultivation level brought him, he could remember every details from the package sent to him by the academy's spirit and make all the associations needed, which helped allayed his fears. Indeed, it felt less scary to go somewhere you have never been to if you had maps of the place, for example.

He thought. “Mmmhh... So, I'm supposed to have all the classes in the Adventuring part of the curriculum this morning. That sounds like a lot. But in a way, it makes sense, since as cultivators we can remember many things and with our long lifespan we have much more time than mortals without cultivation. As for me, it should be quite easy to catch up to others from my level. Mmmhh... I shouldn't slack off in any case, since I don't want others to think I'm lazy.”

As the shuttle was flying quickly through the campus ground, a enormous slew of buildings started to appear in the boy's visions. They were all in the same style as the Sperakos Empire making for an imposing view that prompted students and teachers to feel respect for the Academy and their creed of educating as many people as possible. Since his teacher was not too strict in general, despite her high demands, he felt a bit subdued when the shuttle landed in its designated area that led to the different buildings around.

Although the place was so big that he risked being lost without a guide, he thankfully had his Holo-Bracelet to help him navigate the maze-like complex. There were a central road that went in the middle of the different impressive structures and as he was following the MPS (Mana positioning system), he noticed the incredible number of different sub-roads branching out from the main road. The more he walked and the more dizzy he felt from simply looking around. After feeling a bit overwhelmed, he decided to simply focus on his feet until he reached the classroom he was supposed to arrive at.

After almost 15 minutes of walking, he found the correct building, which he entered right away, glad that the ordeal was over. At least for now. When he started to check out the place he noticed that it was pretty similar to the main room of the Bibliotheca, which was mostly empty with a counter at the back of the room with a robot behind it. A few people were queuing there, and from what he could feel of the aura that they were releasing, they were all in the Rank 1. Most of them were only Level 1 cultivators, a few Level 2 and none reached Level 3 beside himself.

Of course, since he did not have access to Divine sense yet, he could not be certain of his deduction, but it made sense to him since all his Adventuring classes will be Level 1 classes. Which meant that beside people like him who did not have too much general knowledge because of some reasons or another, then most students here should have the knowledge that corresponded to their cultivation Level.

After taking a few deep breath to calm his frayed nerves, he started to walk towards the end of the queue to wait for his turn. As it moved quite quickly, it only took a few minutes for him to reach the counter. When the robot saw Guang Yang he said. “Welcome, Mister Guang. Please proceed to the antigravity elevator to reach your classroom. The system will automatically send you to the latter directly.” When he heard the machine's instruction, he nodded and proceeded to one of the elevator on the side. “No wonder the queue was so quick. Since my personal AI connected to the school's Spirit, they already had all my information, which means I didn't have to say anything about my identity. Very useful.” He thought.

A few seconds after arriving in front of the elevator's doors, the latter opened silently. The boy then entered the empty shaft. Once the door was closed, he could see himself launched into the air extremely quickly. The interesting part was that he could not feel air resistance and if he closed his eyes, he would have the false impression that he was not moving at all. “So that's why they call it antigravity elevator. That makes a lot more sense. I'm curious as to how it works, though. I should maybe check it out later in the Bibliotheca.” While he was pondering about the mysterious mechanism, he saw himself pass by other shafts branching off the one he was in until he reached one where the force transporting him pushed him through. After less than 2 minutes of 'flying around' he stopped in front of a door which opened automatically. He was then pushed lightly towards it and as soon as he was through, the door closed itself behind him.

“That was very cool. It'll be fun if I can do that every day to go to class.” He mumbled. “I agree completely! Flying like that is great. Although if we can reach Rank 2 we'll be able to fly on our own.” Hearing that voice responding to his comments made his heart skip a beat from surprise. Wanting to know who decided to talk to him, he looked around and saw a few students lounging on the comfortable looking seats available. When his gaze moved around, he noticed a small group of three people with two young girls and one young boy. The three looked to be between 8 and 10 years old. However, with the rise of the individual's cultivation base, looks were hardly telling for someone's age. After all, himself seemed to be around 8 years old while he was not even 2 years old.

There was a way to find out someone's age if it was not hidden though. It was by scanning the cultivator with one's Divine sense. However, it was only possible to use it once one reached Rank 2, and it was also considered rude. Those two reasons made it impossible to tell their exact age, but he did not really mind. He was more focused on how to start a conversation with them, as they were the first people around the same age as him.

While he was pondering on if he should talk first, the three smiled at him and waved at him to come. “Come sit with us little brother.” When Guang Yang started to walk towards them nervously, the boy continued. “I saw that you seemed like a new students, so I thought that you might as well join our group. Even if you know other people already, it's always better to have many friends.”

When the young fox sat on one of the seat at their sides, he replied, a bit too hurriedly. “No no, it's my first day and I don't know anyone around here. So, do you mind being friends?” Anticipation and nervousness were apparent in his question, but the three did not seem to pick up on it. Instead, the tall red haired boy asked with a big smile on his face. “Of course! Since we're friends now, we should introduce each other. Otherwise, it'll be awkward when we have to call each other's names. Let me start, since I gave the suggestion.” He coughed slightly as if he was preparing himself to deliver a speech at a grand occasion.

Guang Yang frowned a bit in confusion before the other boy started to speak. “I am Angelo Pioli, the most handsome student in the whole Academy.” He was interrupted by an indifferent voice from the white haired small girl at their side. “The best braggart would be more accurate.” She then looked somewhere else, as if to ignore the other three. “Oh come on Lisette! I can at least joke a little, can't I?”

Noticing the pair quarreling, the other green haired girl looked at me and said apologetically. “I'm sorry about those two, but they keep teasing each other all the time. It's as if they are in love with each other.” A chuckle escaped her while the other two started to protest and accused her of slandering them. “Anyway, her name...” Pointing at the other girl.”... is Lisette Lalande. Although she looks like she despises everyone else, looks can be deceiving.” She did not continue her train of thoughts and instead introduced herself. “As for me, my name is Norah Greenhill. And before you say anything, I know that my name is not very original for a wood elf, but I didn't get to choose it.”

Hearing the last part, Guang Yang shook his head to deny it. “I think your name suits you very well. Not only because you're an elf, but also because of your beautiful green hair.” As she noticed the sincerity in his voice, Norah felt her cheeks heating up a bit. As she felt a bit embarrassed, she looked downwards and mumbled a thank you under her breath. However, she could hear the other two teasing her for being shy. Nonetheless, before she had time to say or do anything, Guang Yang started talking, a bit embarrassed himself to speak in front of the other three.

“I guess it's my turn to introduce myself. I am Guang Yang and I came to the academy to learn many things and make good friends. Also thank you for inviting me to join your group right away. It was very kind of you.” He then bowed his head slightly to the other three children.

Angelo then patted his shoulder with his hand while saying. “Don't worry about it little bro. Since you're part of our group now, we'll definitely take care of you. We'll also have a lot of fun together.” His antics made the young fox laugh and feel warm in his heart. In his head, he thought. “It's indeed better to have friends than staying alone in the mansion. Although I love my family very much, it's still not the same.”

The four children then proceeded to talk about themselves and their aspirations. Angelo wanted to be strong enough to support his widowed mother, since they were only commoners and did not have much money. He also wanted to help her reach Rank 2 so that her lifespan could increase a lot. After all, who would not want to have the people they loved live longer? As for what happened to his father, none of the others asked and he did not tell. That made the other three know that it was a sensitive topic. After all, if he wanted to talk about it, he would have done it already.

As for Lisette, she was not very straightforward with them on what her goal was, beside the classic 'pursuing the peak of cultivation'. Although she looked like she did not pay attention to what the others were saying with her indifferent expression, if one observed her carefully, then it became apparent that it was only a facade. Guang Yang could feel from his perception that she seemed to hide a similar loneliness as he did. Except more exacerbated. “She seems to be like me, feeling lonely and looking for friends. She seems to be shy about it though. It's weird.” He thought.

The last one was Norah. From her tales, she was apparently a low level Noble with both her parents being Level 4 Cultivators. The two were lucky enough to find a lucky opportunity that helped them reach that level and unless another one was found, it would be difficult to improve their cultivation further. As the daughter of two Rank 2, her talent was a lot higher than average Rank 1 cultivator's children, so she wanted to become strong enough to help them improve again.

Guang Yang thought that it was a good reason. After all, his goal was pretty similar, with wanting to protect his family and help them cultivate to a higher level so that he would be with them for a long time. After all, even if cultivators have more time than Mortals without cultivation, in the end they never had enough. The more one had of something and the more one wanted.

Norah also explained to him a bit about the different races in the Empire. The two most populous being Humans and Elves, the latter having mostly wood elves on the main continent. She emphasized that the different Emperors had usually one wife of each races to symbolize the unity between species. That was for the species that followed the Empire's Laws. However, there were also other species which did not care about it as they were as powerful as the Empire. And the main one would be the Mana Beasts. Those Rank 1 were mostly feral and anyone approaching them would be at risk of being killed by them. The Rank 2 and 3 were divided between those who took humanoid form and those who preferred their original appearances. Among the latter, many were hostile towards other races and they could be found anywhere where there were no humanoids. Of course, some were also peaceful. Among the former, most were neutral or sided with the Empire, with only some of them being hostile towards it.

All of it sounded complicated to the boy's ears, but in the end it all came down to: Be careful with Mana Beasts, whether they had a humanoid form or not. Of course, Guang Yang knew that it was only for unknown people, since his parents and himself were Mana Beasts. “Should I be wary about myself?” That thought made him chuckle, which puzzled the other three.

The young Fox then shared with them his funny thought, which made them exclaimed. “So little bro was a Fox Mana Beast! But I thought Rank 1 Mana Beasts couldn't take human form?” Angelo asked. “Well, you're right. But that's only for Mana Beast who were born in their beast form. And I was born in my human form. The downside is that I don't have yet access to my beast from. I'll have to wait until I Rank up for that.”

“So you can't transform into your beast form? That's a shame! Foxes are so beautiful and cute.” Norah said with her eyes almost looking heart-shaped. Lisette then said in her indifferent voice. “You wanted to pet him, didn't you?” The bullseye comment made the other girl embarrassed, which prompted her to mumble. “But they are so cute, so why can't I pet them?”

Guang Yang being pure of mind said to her. “When I'll be able to turn into beast form, I'll let you pet me if you want.” Despite the boy not implying anything, Norah's cheeks turned even more red and the other two laughed at the 'show' in front of them for a few moments. While the group of four were discussing with each other, more and more students entered the classroom and sat in the seats available all around. After more than twenty minutes, an adult woman entered the room and arrived at the center of the classroom.

“Hello everyone. Welcome to the new students among you and welcome back to the others. I am Miss Vidori and today I will teach you about Mathematics.”