Ernst Academy — the number one magic academy on the entire Yulan Continent.
Ernst Academy was situated in the forested mountain region about twenty li south of the Holy Capital, Fenn City. Founded and funded by the Church of Light, the academy naturally had deep coffers and occupied an enormous expanse of land — nearly ten li across. An academy this vast was practically the size of a city.
Outside Ernst Academy, there were no signs of civilization — just a stretch of open, barren hills.
Restaurants, clothing shops, bars, and other service establishments were all located within the campus. In other words, students at Ernst Academy lived entirely within its grounds.
"Quite impressive," Lin Lei stood at the entrance to Ernst Academy and couldn't help but marvel.
The main gate of Ernst Academy was a full fifty meters wide. Above the gate sat a massive semicircular structure, covered in all manner of arcane magical runes. Just from its complexity alone, one could tell that the magic array on the academy's gate was a grand-scale spell.
The entrance was fairly lively at the moment. A row of administrative staff had set up at the gate, and a boy was already presenting his admission letter and identity documents to complete his enrollment. Lin Lei promptly stepped forward with his own admission letter and identity papers to register.
"Official classes start on February 9th, and today is February 8th. According to the notice, I had to arrive before the 9th. The boy in front of me is only getting enrolled today too — he must live fairly close to Ernst Academy," Lin Lei thought to himself.
The boy in front of Lin Lei — though "boy" was generous, as he could barely be called a child — was half a head shorter than Lin Lei. An old man accompanied him.
"Hey there! I'm Rein, from the O'Brien Empire!" The boy ahead of Lin Lei suddenly turned around and greeted him enthusiastically.
Upon hearing that Rein was from the O'Brien Empire, Lin Lei was startled. "The O'Brien Empire?"
The O'Brien Empire — one of the four great empires. Keep in mind that the four great empires were all east of the Magic Beast Mountain Range, while Ernst Academy sat on the western side. To reach Ernst Academy from any of them, one had to take a detour around either the northernmost or southernmost tip of the mountain range. After all, aside from ninth-level powerhouses or Saint Realm experts, virtually no one dared cross the Magic Beast Mountain Range directly.
The Magic Beast Mountain Range stretched for over ten thousand li.
The journey from the O'Brien Empire all the way here was estimated at nearly twenty thousand li — and if one started from the eastern part of the empire, the distance would be even greater.
Twenty thousand li of travel would take roughly a full year just to cover.
"I'm Lin Lei, from the Fenlei Kingdom," Lin Lei replied politely to the boy called Rein.
Rein's big eyes blinked, and he sighed, "The Fenlei Kingdom? You've got it easy, then. It took me a full year just to travel from my home to the Fenlei Kingdom. Your trip must've been super short, right?"
"Right. It took me half a day from home to here," Lin Lei answered honestly.
"Uh..." Rein's expression was quite something to see.
One had spent a year on the road, while the other had needed only half a day.
"Student, hurry up," one of the testers urged from the side.
Part of the enrollment process involved testing each student's strength. Ernst Academy was, after all, worried that someone might steal an admission letter and try to enroll under false pretenses.
"Coming!" Rein immediately went to take the test.
But when Lin Lei saw the results, he was quite surprised.
The boy called Rein — his elemental affinity was rated "superior," and as for his mental power...
"Rein. Eight years old. Mental power thirty-two times that of peers. Superlative."
When the tester read out those numbers, Lin Lei's eyes widened. But the testing staff on the scene all looked completely unfazed, without the slightest hint of surprise.
"Lin Lei, what's wrong? Shocked already?" Rein said dismissively. "This is Ernst Academy, after all. Every year, only a hundred students are admitted from the entire Yulan Continent. Is there anyone here who isn't a genius? My results are only about average for the students here."
"But Ernst Academy gives preferential treatment to the Holy Alliance during admissions. It admits fifty students from within the Holy Alliance, while the four great empires and the Dark Alliance combined get the other fifty. Pretty unfair, if you ask me," Rein lamented.
Lin Lei smiled.
Ernst Academy was built by the Church of Light, of course it favored the Holy Alliance.