"Good, good." The old man's face turned into a wide smile as he laughed joyfully. "Our Zhou Empire is about to see the rise of a new star. I must let the Headmaster know of this as soon as possible." He took out a token from his bosom and began to say some words that couldn't be heard. After about five minutes, he stopped and looked at Neif, all smiles, like an extremely loyal dog looking at the master who had just fed it two minutes ago. If he had a tail, there was no doubt it would be wagging like a dog's right now.
After the old man had sent a message, the test carried on while Neif was escorted to the mayor's house. Quite unlike most of the houses in Thousand Crow City, the Mayor's was extremely huge and luxurious. It seemed this was where the girl with the celestial spirit root was taken earlier. "Is there anything you would like for us to provide?" An old, bald-looking man who could easily have been mistaken for the mayor due to how luxuriously dressed he was asked Neif after he sat.
"Hmm?" Neif looked over subconsciously. "Are you sure you can provide me with what I need?' he asked. "Whatever it may be, Thousand Crow City will do our best to satisfy your demands," he replied. Apparently, he was the mayor. "I could certainly request the things I need, but he may very well be unable to provide them. No matter, I'll see which he can get for me." Neif thought. "Get me a quiver and some ink." Neif said. The servants behind the bald man hurriedly scurried about after a look from the mayor, quickly getting the required materials for Neif.
Neif took the quiver and dipped it into a bit of ink before scribbling a list of items on parchment and handing it to the mayor. The mayor took the parchment and read it, and as he kept on reading, his face turned paler. "As expected, the materials are too rare for a small time city to provide," Neif thought.
"Sigh," the mayor seemed to have become a few decades older after that sigh. "We can get you the materials here, though they are all quite rare and would take some time to prepare. May I know what you intend to use them for?" he asked, handing out the parchment to one of the servants behind him. Neif was pleasantly shocked but did not let it show on his face. "Good, it's good that you can get these materials. Naturally, I know you're not doing this out of goodwill, so I'll definitely remember your Thousand Crow City in the future. Moreover, it's not too much for me to tell you what I'm going to use it for," he said.
Neif beckoned the mayor closer while looking around carefully, making it seem as though he were about to reveal a very huge secret. The mayor came close enough that they were right next to each other before Neif directly whispered in his ear, "I'm going to create a panacea for which an old man gave me a secret recipe. Apparently, it can heal all wounds and stop aging too." The mayor's eyes revealed a trace of shock before settling down. He was the mayor of a city, so he had to have at least some level of brains. It was easy to figure that Neif was lying; after all, no sane old man would readily give up the recipe for a panacea that could stop aging. So, it was either he was lying or he was way too easy to deceive.
The mayor revealed a frown on his face for just a moment before it disappeared really quickly. He may know that the little boy was lying, but he didn't need to tell him that. After all, he could also be considered a businessman. He smiled and congratulated Neif before taking his leave. "If this stupid lad didn't want to say the reason, he could have just said so," he cursed under his breath.
Neif was likely going to become someone very powerful someday; this was the reason the mayor kept licking his boots. However, he wouldn't deliberately stay and take shit from a little kid barely around the age of seven just for that; after all, there was only a possibility he would become a prominent figure, and there were tons of people out there with that possibility.
Suddenly, a huge pressure descended on the mansion. Everyone got on their knees and was struggling to move. Neif stood still, his face as calm as the sea. "I'm not strong enough. This much pressure, and all I can do is keep from kneeling; I can't even move."
The door to the room was flung open, and someone walked right in. "Hmm?" A look of surprise appeared on his face when he saw Neif standing still, as though the pressure did not affect him. "Impressive. I had released my aura to see how you would handle it. I truly didn't expect to meet such a prodigy," he said to Neif, retracting his aura and the pressure that came with it.
"You must be Neif. I am one of the elders of the council that handles most matters of The Great Zhou Acdemy. Most everyone calls me First Elder," he said. "Now, mayor, if you'll excuse us, I believe the vice principal needs to know about this little chap."
The first elder swung his hand and a gust of wind cane from the sleeves of his robes and took both he and Neif into the air and out of the mansion before moving with great gusto towards the horizon."You're lucky, boy. You're not going to be lumped in with the likes of the plebes. You're a once in a thousand years genius, and you're going straight to the capital. I'm sure you would marvel at its magnificence."
They flew for a few hours in silence before seeing the capital of the Great Zhou Empire, and the end of the capital could not be seen even from so high up. The sight was naturally awe-inspiring, and First Elder looked toward Neif to see how his reaction would be, seeing as he was just a country bumpkin ad wild normally be extremely amazed by the sight. He was shocked, however, to see Neif with a plainly calm face, looking at the capital like it was nothing to extravagant. "This kid is getting harder and harder to read," he thought to himself. "Let's see what VP Kraus says about him."