Upon hearing the surname “Augusta,” Jie Ming felt a faint sense of familiarity.

It seemed to leave a mark deep in the dust of his memories.

After a moment’s thought, a hazy recollection from nearly a thousand years ago, from his apprentice days, surfaced—that year, among the same batch of entrants as him, there had been one from the Augusta family, hailed as a “little genius.”

Unfortunately, that person had chosen the combat path.

He still remembered joking about that proud son of heaven with Victor and Amy.

“Such distant memories…” Jie Ming sighed inwardly.

Unknowingly, these events had become matters from a millennium ago.

No matter one’s lifespan, for low-level wizards, a thousand years was already an exceedingly long stretch of time.

At this point, Wizard Augusta had already finished introducing Rex to Clark with a smile: “This is Rex, my only disciple. He has some talent in alchemy technique.”

Rex immediately stepped forward, bowing respectfully to Clark: “Greetings, Lord Clark.”

Yet in the instant he straightened, he quickly glanced in Jie Ming’s direction, his lips twitching imperceptibly as he sent a knowing look.

Jie Ming understood perfectly, responding with an equally subtle raise of his brow.

Though among those present—aside from Junior Brother Ang and his descendant—the rest were all “old monsters” whose ages were counted in millennia.

In front of their own mentors, they couldn’t help but reveal a bit of the “youthful spirit” from their apprentice days.

After the pleasantries, Wizard Augusta instructed Rex: “Rex, take Clark’s disciples to the arranged accommodations and help them settle in.”

“Yes, Mentor.” Rex replied, then turned to Jie Ming and the others, gesturing invitingly with a warm and attentive smile.

Jie Ming, Viola, and Ang with his son bowed once more to the two mentors in farewell before following Rex away from the entrance.

Behind them came Wizard Augusta’s unabashed, envious tone: “Clark, you lucky kid. Managing to find three good seedlings as disciples. Unlike me—after all this time, I’ve only found Rex, the one who truly suits me…”

Clark smiled unusually, without humility, and praised in return: “This kid Rex has good talent. You’ve picked up a treasure.”

“Come on, at our level, who doesn’t know that as long as knowledge accumulation is deep enough, so-called innate talent isn’t impossible to change…” Augusta’s voice faded into the distance. “You’re here just in time. A few of us old folks were planning to gather. Since you’ve arrived, join us…”

“Oh? Then my luck’s not bad.”

“Ah, yes, yes—you fate-manipulators always have good luck… Damn! You’re starting to look more and more like those destiny-system charlatans…”

“Do I?”

“Look, that expression again!”

As the mentors’ conversation gradually vanished behind them, Jie Ming turned his attention forward.

Rex was dutifully playing the role of “guide,” introducing the layout of Noren Academy No. 1 and some points to note.

Jie Ming remembered that Rex himself wasn’t originally from here; he must have arrived a few days early and done his homework thoroughly.

Jie Ming and Viola reacted calmly—they had seen their share of bizarre planes.

Noren Academy No. 1 also served as the headquarters of the Noren Workshop, its architecture grand enough, but not to the point of astonishing them.

Ang and his son Coles, however, appeared far more amazed, their gazes constantly darting over the surroundings filled with futuristic and runic wonders.

This was understandable; by the time they graduated, the elite trial system had likely long been mature and standardized, probably leaving them no chance to visit the workshop’s core headquarters in person.

Along the way, the wizard levels within Noren Academy No. 1 were noticeably elevated.

If the outer plaza was “wizards as common as mortals,” then here it was “strong ones gathered in clouds.”

Fourth- and fifth-level wizards were everywhere, and even sixth-level existences were commonplace—truly “fourth and fifth levels as numerous as dogs, sixth levels walking all over.”

Moreover, the wizards’ forms had become far more diverse.

Besides those maintaining standard human shapes, many exhibited elemental creature traits—bodies encircled by raging flames, chilling ice, or crackling lightning—or semi-transparent spirit-like entities akin to ghosts.

But without exception, they all wore wizard robes denoting their status, carrying an air of profound stillness and towering presence in their movements and conversations.

Yet Jie Ming keenly noticed that along the path, many wizards, upon spotting their group, would direct gazes of admiration and curiosity toward the leading Rex.

Jie Ming and Rex were on familiar terms, so he asked directly: “Rex, what have you done here? The way they look at you isn’t ordinary.”

At this, Rex’s face revealed an unconcealable pride, though his tone remained “humble”: “Nothing much. Mentor and I arrived early, and with time to spare, I just happened to help solve a few academic minor issues that had troubled them for a long time… So, I gained a tiny bit of fame.”

From his expression, Jie Ming knew those “few academic minor issues” were anything but minor—likely problems that even local high-level wizards found thorny.

Jie Ming understood this deeply.

After all, only someone like him, bearing a “cheat” like the Great Dao Book Pavilion, could truly appreciate just how “outrageous” the intelligence of native wizard civilization geniuses like Rex was.

Soon, Rex led them to a magnificently luxurious building styled like the ultra-luxury hotels from Jie Ming’s previous life.

He proactively exchanged a few words with an alchemical puppet attendant at the front desk and retrieved several faintly glowing room keys.

“These rooms all come with small laboratories. If that’s not enough, you can directly apply for advanced ones, though that would cost points…”

As he explained, he distributed the room keys to Jie Ming, Viola, and Ang’s father-son pair before preparing to take his leave.

Just before departing, as if remembering something, he said to Jie Ming: “Oh, right, Jie Ming—I contacted David earlier to see if he could make it. Unfortunately, he happened to be participating in a plane war; timing conflicts, so he probably won’t catch Grand-Mentor’s promotion ceremony.”

Jie Ming nodded, a trace of regret passing through his heart.

David was one of the few people he knew; though they rarely kept in touch, reuniting at such a grand event would have been a fine thing.

Unfortunately, timing waited for no one.

“Hope everything goes smoothly for him,” Jie Ming said.