Valahia Holy Empire Academy
Clack! Clack! Clack!
The sharp crack of wood echoed across the academy's training grounds as a young boy darted forward, his wooden staff moving rapidly through a combination of thrusts, sweeps, and feints.
Standing opposite him was Cornelius, who calmly deflected each attack with practiced ease.
Years earlier, Cornelius had been unable to remain in the Dacian Kingdom. Keeping the promise he had made to Scarlet, he carried his infant grandson Silva north and eventually settled within the Holy Empire of Valahia.
His reputation followed him.
As one of Dacian Kingdom's former great generals, Cornelius possessed decades of battlefield experience, and with recommendations from several old acquaintances, he soon secured a position as an instructor at the prestigious Valahia Holy Empire Academy.
The academy's principal accepted him without hesitation. Experienced warriors were already valuable, but a human powerhouse who had reached the Elemental Aura Stage was rarer still.
Human cultivation was notoriously slow.
Ordinary children generally remained between the First and Third Levels of the Mana Gathering Stage, while teenagers usually reached somewhere between the Third and Fifth Levels. Even most adults never advanced beyond the Seventh Level throughout their lives.
Only talented individuals, or those fortunate enough to encounter special opportunities, successfully awakened their Aura and entered the Aura Manifestation Stage.
Even the academy's principal stood at only the Ninth Level of Aura Manifestation, one step away from the Elemental Aura Stage.
The academy's greatest student prodigies usually graduated at seventeen somewhere between the First and Fifth Levels of Aura Manifestation.
Students entered at seven years old and remained for ten years.
Cornelius, however, had never allowed himself to become complacent.
He remembered his promise to Scarlet and continued training relentlessly alongside his duties as an instructor.
Seven years of effort eventually rewarded him.
Cornelius successfully broke through into the First Level of the Master Aura Stage.
For a human of his age, the achievement was remarkable.
Yet compared with Silva, Cornelius sometimes wondered which of them was truly abnormal.
He had begun formally training Silva at four years old, starting with physical conditioning, basic mana control, and staff techniques.
The boy learned frighteningly quickly.
By seven, Silva had already entered the Aura Manifestation Stage, accomplishing something many humans failed to achieve even after decades of cultivation.
His affinities were even stranger.
Most cultivators possessed one elemental affinity.
Exceptional individuals sometimes possessed two.
Silva possessed three.
Wind. Fire. Darkness.
Of the three, Darkness was overwhelmingly dominant.
Whenever Silva released too much of his Aura, the Darkness Attribute nearly swallowed the traces of Wind and Fire entirely.
Because of this, Cornelius had strictly forbidden him from revealing his full Aura in public.
Silva was already unusual enough.
Displaying three affinities—particularly one as powerful as Darkness—would only attract unwanted attention before he was capable of protecting himself.
Crack!
Their staffs collided again.
Cornelius suddenly swept low, forcing Silva to leap backward, then immediately redirected his weapon toward the boy's shoulder.
Silva twisted aside just in time.
Cornelius gave an approving nod, though he quickly corrected the boy's habit of retreating directly backward. Silva accepted the criticism seriously before attacking again.
The staff had been Cornelius's chosen weapon for most of his military career, making it the natural weapon to pass on to Silva.
More importantly, Cornelius believed it provided an excellent foundation.
A staff taught balance, distance, precision, footwork, reaction speed, and discipline. Even if Silva eventually chose another weapon, those fundamentals would remain useful.
They continued exchanging blows until Cornelius finally lowered his staff.
Training was finished for the day.
Tomorrow, Silva would officially enter the academy.
Until now, most of his training had been handled personally by Cornelius, but the academy would expose him to proper cultivation lessons, combat instruction, and students his own age.
Silva seemed excited at first.
Then his expression changed.
Cornelius immediately recognized what was coming.
Once again, Silva asked about his parents.
It was a subject Cornelius had avoided for years.
He assured Silva that his parents loved him deeply, but when the boy naturally questioned why they weren't beside him, Cornelius could only tell him that some answers would have to wait until he was older and stronger.
Silva reluctantly accepted the answer and ran off to return their training staffs.
Cornelius remained behind.
Every time Silva asked about Lucia and Raven, the weight in his heart grew heavier.
Seven years had passed.
Seven years in which Lucia had been separated from her son.
She had missed his first years of training, his growth, his achievements, and countless ordinary moments that could never be returned.
Cornelius knew she would have been proud of the boy Silva had become.
His thoughts inevitably turned toward Raven.
Whatever circumstances had surrounded his disappearance, Cornelius still blamed the demon for dragging Lucia into a life that had ultimately separated her from her child.
His fist tightened.
But anger alone accomplished nothing.
Cornelius had already reached the Master Aura Stage, and he intended to continue growing stronger.
When Silva was ready, Cornelius would search for Scarlet and Lucia.
And if he happened to find Raven along the way...
The former general fully intended to give the foolish man a piece of his mind.
The Following Morning...
Valahia Holy Empire Academy was considerably more crowded than usual.
Hundreds of seven-year-old children filled the enormous central plaza, arranged into long rows beneath the watchful eyes of instructors and parents.
Some children whispered nervously amongst themselves, while others proudly carried wooden training weapons or compared their cultivation with their new classmates.
Silva stood among them.
For the first time, Cornelius would no longer be his only teacher.
The academy that surrounded him would become his home and training ground for the next ten years.
Gradually, the conversations faded.
At the front of the plaza stood the academy principal.
Once the crowd had fallen silent, he stepped forward and swept his gaze across the new generation of students.
His voice carried throughout the plaza.
"Welcome, future students of the Valahia Holy Empire Academy..."
The academy plaza quickly fell silent as the principal surveyed the hundreds of young applicants gathered before him.
After welcoming them to the Valahia Holy Empire Academy, he introduced himself not only as the academy's principal but also as a Lieutenant of the Holy Empire's Imperial Army.
The academy had been founded by the First Emperor with one purpose: to discover, train, and nurture the greatest talents of each generation. Whether the children sought strength, knowledge, glory, or simply wished to follow in the footsteps of their families mattered little. If they possessed talent and determination, the academy would give them the opportunity to prove themselves.
However, admission was not guaranteed.
Every applicant first had to pass two entrance examinations.
The first would take place within the Secular Oak Forest.
The applicants would be given twenty-four hours to search the forest for a rare material known as FOR Ore. Finding the ore would prove enough to pass the first examination, but there was an additional reward for the fastest students.
The first four applicants to return with FOR Ore would each be allowed to choose a weapon, which the academy's master blacksmith would personally forge for them.
That announcement immediately stirred the crowd.
A personally forged weapon from the academy's master blacksmith was something even many experienced cultivators would value, making the reward especially tempting to the young applicants.
The second examination was much simpler in concept.
Combat.
Applicants would face one another in hand-to-hand battles, allowing the instructors to evaluate their fighting instincts, courage, adaptability, and ability to remain composed under pressure.
With the examinations explained, the principal wished everyone luck.
Then, almost as an afterthought, he revealed one final piece of information.
"His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Darius, will personally observe today's examinations."
The plaza erupted.
Children immediately began whispering excitedly, while even the parents appeared surprised.
An emperor rarely had reason to personally attend an academy entrance examination.
But there was an explanation.
Among this year's applicants was Prince David, the youngest of Emperor Darius's three sons.
News of the prince's participation had already spread among many of the noble families.
The emperor's eldest son, Prince George, had earned the nickname Mad George because of his unpredictable personality. His second son, Prince John, possessed little interest in cultivation and was far more infamous for pursuing noblewomen, earning him the less flattering name John the Fool.
That left David.
Although still young, many within the Holy Empire already considered him the most promising of the three princes and therefore the most likely future heir—provided he proved worthy of the position.
For the applicants, however, the politics of imperial succession mattered little.
Knowing the emperor himself would be watching was enough to make many of them even more determined to stand out.
Yet unknown to everyone gathered in the plaza...
Emperor Darius had not come merely to watch his son.
Elsewhere Within the Academy
Inside a luxurious private chamber, Emperor Darius sat
Standing opposite him was a mysterious woman with long silver hair.
Her cold expression revealed little as she delivered the information Darius had been waiting for.
The Key had appeared.
More importantly, she was already inside the academy.
According to the silver-haired woman, the Key was a young girl who had arrived that morning as one of the entrance applicants. Why she had chosen the Valahia Holy Empire Academy was unknown, but her presence created an opportunity they couldn't ignore.
The woman's instructions were simple.
Darius was to capture her.
Before he could question her further, silver light surrounded the woman and her body dissolved into countless glowing particles.
Within seconds, she was gone.
Darius stared at the empty space she had occupied.
His expression darkened.
"...Arrogant woman."
He despised being ordered around.
Even more than that, he despised the demons who believed they could manipulate him for their own purposes.
Still, Darius had reasons for cooperating.
For now, their interests aligned.
So he would tolerate their arrogance and play the obedient ally.
But only until his own plans were complete.
After that...
He intended to make certain the demons regretted ever treating him like a pawn.
Darius placed the goblet down.
"Guards."
Two imperial guards immediately entered and knelt.
"Bring me the principal."
They departed without question.
A short while later, the academy principal entered the chamber and bowed respectfully before the emperor.
Darius wasted no time explaining what he required.
Once the entrance examinations ended, one particular applicant was to be quietly detained before she could leave the academy.
The principal was surprised by the unusual order, but he knew better than to question the emperor without reason.
"Which applicant, Your Majesty?"
Darius's eyes narrowed.
"A little girl."
His voice became cold.
"Find her... and make sure she doesn't leave."