CHAPTER 653: UNEXPECTED FINDING?

The moment the shout echoed through the auditorium, the crowd grew louder and more spirited. At that moment, on the academy grounds, Aldrian and Baek Jimin were personally greeted by the academy’s headmaster, the sword sage Wang Weijian.

Several other teachers stood behind him, all bowing to Aldrian.

"Welcome to the Heavenly Path Academy, Your Majesty, Your Highness. It is truly our honor to receive your grand selves at this humble place. My apologies for having you enter through the front gate without an escort. We truly did not know Your Majesty would appear so suddenly without notice," Headmaster Wang said in a respectful and slightly regretful tone.

He already regarded Baek Jimin as family to Aldrian, which made her slightly embarrassed, though she kept her composure. At this moment, she was here as his partner, and she could not afford to disgrace him.

Headmaster Wang had already gathered information about the people around Aldrian, naturally, that included Baek Jimin through his own network. He knew she was someone important to Aldrian, and he did not hesitate to regard her as part of Aldrian’s family, both out of genuine respect and to present himself well in front of Aldrian.

"You don’t have to apologize, Headmaster Wang. I simply prefer to travel in my own way, so there’s no need to feel bad," Aldrian said, prompting Headmaster Wang to straighten his posture and nod respectfully.

"Even so, we are truly ashamed that we could not provide Your Majesty with a proper escort. An arrival like this was beyond our expectations," Headmaster Wang replied.

"Anyway, Your Majesty, before we proceed to the grand auditorium, allow me to introduce a few of the academy’s instructors. This is Luis, whom Your Majesty already knows... He is an outstanding practical instructor at our academy," Headmaster Wang said, gesturing toward Luis as he spoke.

Luis smiled and gave a slight bow as a sign of respect. Although Aldrian was his nephew, he still had to follow proper hierarchy in front of others. Aldrian understood this and returned the gesture with a nod and a smile.

Over the next few moments, Headmaster Wang introduced several other teachers before they continued on toward the grand auditorium.

As they walked, Headmaster Wang explained the general details of the academy. While listening, Aldrian glanced around, observing the place where thousands of disciples received their education in cultivation.

The academy was truly expansive and supported by the rich energy of heaven and earth. Moreover, ever since the shift across the continent, the density of the energy had only increased.

He imagined that if he had been born an ordinary being on this continent, he might have tried to enter this academy, a place where he could gain deep knowledge of cultivation, where he could make many friends. He would have lived like any other member of the younger generation, without concerns for greater problems or complicated matters.

He smiled inwardly, knowing it was nothing more than a passing thought. Fate had long since ensured that he would not live a normal life. His very origin had made that impossible.

As he continued listening to the headmaster, he learned more about the academy. It had been founded by the younger brother of the first emperor of the Vindas Empire, another reason the academy had long enjoyed its own autonomy.

The purpose of the academy was to train and produce outstanding cultivators who could carry the academy’s values into the world. Unlike sects, the academy did not require its disciples to remain loyal or stay permanently. Once they reached the Duke stage, they were required to graduate and move on.

The academy opened its doors to new disciples every five years, offering only one hundred spots. With thousands of applicants each time, the competition was truly fierce.

After walking for thirty minutes, with Aldrian receiving guidance and information directly from the headmaster, they finally arrived at the grand auditorium, a structure capable of holding tens of thousands of people at once.

Even before stepping inside, Aldrian could already hear the roar of the crowd echoing from within. He and Baek Jimin were guided to the backstage area, and just then, Aldrian heard a shout from the main hall.

"His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!"

The moment the shout echoed, the noise from the thousands in the auditorium gradually faded until the hall fell completely silent.

Aldrian had finally reached the backstage area, which connected to a high platform visible to all the waiting disciples. Aldrian and Baek Jimin remained behind for the moment, while Headmaster Wang stepped onto the stage to address the crowd.

After a few minutes of speaking, the headmaster concluded his speech and turned back to the disciples.

"Alright, without further delay, let us welcome our most esteemed guest, the great Emperor of our empire!"

As soon as Headmaster Wang finished speaking, Aldrian and Baek Jimin stepped onto the stage, prompting everyone in the auditorium to rise from their seats.

In unison, their voices rang out:

"To the brightest star and eternal light, we greet Your Majesty, the Great Emperor!"

Then, all of them bowed for a few moments before straightening their posture once more.

Aldrian raised his eyebrows at the greeting, clearly amused. Then he smiled, and that alone caused many of the women in the auditorium to blush. His handsomeness and charisma seemed to radiate even more in a moment like this, with his smile adding to his striking presence.

As for the men, they found themselves blushing at the sight of Baek Jimin’s rare beauty. They couldn’t help but follow her movements and gaze at her face. Though she wore an expressionless look, her natural beauty was captivating. Her white hair and red eyes gave her an otherworldly charm that made it difficult for them to look away.

Aldrian and Baek Jimin finally reached the center of the platform. Aldrian swept his gaze across the disciples, observing the young generation who had managed to earn a place in the most prestigious academy on the continent.

There were more than ten thousand disciples present, and all of them could be considered geniuses. Their ages ranged from decades to over a hundred years, with most of them having reached the earl stage.

Aldrian suddenly found it amusing. Technically, he was much younger than all of them, making him their junior. Yet, because his body had already matured and his strength far surpassed theirs, not to mention his absolute authority, they looked up to him like an idol, even a god. It seemed they had already forgotten that he was, in truth, far younger than them.

As his gaze swept over the crowd, he suddenly paused in one direction. What caught his attention was a brown-haired young man seated far in the back. His cultivation was noticeably lower than those around him.

He wondered why this disciple had such low cultivation, only at the High Viscount stage, while most of those around him had already reached the Earl stage. Feeling intrigued, he looked into the disciple’s information and couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows as he read it.

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Zander Alvrich

Age: 68 years

Race: Human

Cultivation: High Viscount stage

Cultivation technique: The Unity of Sword’s Realm Scripture

Attack techniques: Seven Move of the Valiant Sword, Meteorite Slash, Sun Flare

Defense technique: -

Movement technique: Chaotic Step

Supporting technique: Sword Unity

Note:

This human possesses the Solar Sword’s Body physique. This physique grants the cultivator exceptional affinity with swords, allowing them to manifest sword intent and sword will with greater ease. His cultivation is also closely linked to his comprehension of the sword and the swords he wields. His power increases significantly during the day, though it is slightly diminished at night.

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At 68 years old, he was still considered young for a cultivator. While his cultivation might seem lacking within this academy, it was actually quite impressive compared to the rest of the continent.

What truly caught Aldrian’s attention, however, was the fact that he had just encountered something new in a person’s information, something he had never seen before.

This was the first time he had seen someone with a special physique in this life. Of course, he knew what a physique was, a rare constitution that occasionally appeared in a being’s body. Those born with such a trait usually possessed unique abilities or advantages in their cultivation path.

The Solar Sword’s Body physique was something he recognized from his memories. He recalled that one of his followers had been a great swordsman who also possessed this very physique. Seeing another person with the same physique now sparked his interest.

Did this man gain the physique naturally or artificially?

How did he acquire it?

His cultivation technique might also originate from the higher heavens. There was even a strong possibility that it was the same technique used by that swordsman.

Still, he wondered why this young man had such a low cultivation level compared to the others here. Could it be related to his physique? Although Aldrian knew about the Solar Sword’s Body, he couldn’t recall whether it came with any setbacks.

Physiques could indeed be a blessing, but they often carried drawbacks that were not easily overcome. For example, there were physiques that required the cultivator to train in a specific environment in order to advance, while others demanded rare resources or strict conditions just to break through.

While Aldrian was lost in thought, the surrounding disciples began to glance at him with puzzled expressions. He appeared to be focusing on one specific direction for quite a while, which naturally drew their attention as well. Though they followed his gaze, none of them could tell who he was looking at.

As for the man—Zander—he felt Aldrian’s gaze fall directly on him, leaving him momentarily stunned.

"Is His Majesty looking at me?"

But he quickly shook the thought from his mind. "No... I’m a nobody. There’s no way someone like him would be looking at me."

But then, he saw Aldrian smile in his direction before looking elsewhere, and it made him freeze.

Aldrian, having decided to set the matter aside for now, opened his lips and spoke.

"Greetings to all the disciples of this extraordinary academy..."