The mocking voices had already vanished, replaced by the astonished and resentful gazes of the nobles. In their eyes, so what if this country boy had a bit more magical talent? How could he possibly compare to their own children, who had been immersed in magic since childhood?

They thought this way partly out of jealousy, and their sense of superiority made them look down on rural villagers from the bottom of their hearts. Some nobles were even scheming to find an opportunity to teach these two unruly country folk a lesson. They were still brooding over Gaia’s remark, “A bunch of idiots.” Now, seeing this boy’s remarkable talent, their narrow-mindedness made it even harder for them to swallow their pride.

“Let him try the sixth magic orb.” At that moment, the ethereal voice sounded again. But this time, instead of using magic to transmit his voice to everyone’s ears, he himself appeared before the crowd, dressed in magnificent wizard’s robes.

“Oh, it’s Archmage Mitchell!” At that moment, a cry rose from the crowd. All eyes turned to this distinguished mage. Once they confirmed that the elder was indeed Lord Mitchell, everyone unhesitatingly placed their right hand over their left chest, bowed their heads slightly, and performed a noble’s salute.

Mitchell nodded slightly to these nobles, his gaze falling on little Gaia. With a gentle smile, he said, “I hope you can light up the sixth magic orb.”

“Gaia, quickly salute the Archmage!” Jill, having recovered from his shock and realizing the old man’s identity, bowed to him in awe and trepidation.

Gaia was still young and didn’t know that commoners were supposed to bow to such a high-ranking mage. Despite Jill’s urging, he didn’t do so. Instead, he replied with full confidence, “I definitely can!”

In fact, at that moment, he was also thinking: The status of a mage is really high—even those seemingly arrogant nobles have to salute him... This only strengthened his resolve to become a mage.

“Mm.” The old mage who was testing magical talent nodded, keeping the five lit magic orbs floating in the air. Then he took out the sixth magic orb and let it float in front of Gaia.

The appearance of Archmage Mitchell made the nobles much more restrained. The entire hall was unusually quiet; you could even hear the breathing of some of the fatter nobles. At this moment, all eyes were fixed on the hands of that child, Emily Bolton, not even daring to blink. The whole process seemed to slow to a crawl.

Gaia finally moved. At this moment, his small hand was gripping the hearts of everyone in the hall. Lighting five magic orbs already made one an outstanding student at Nick Magic Academy. In fact, the most anyone had ever lit at Nick Magic Academy was six. If Gaia really lit the sixth, it could be said that he would become one of the most talented mages in Nick City.

As Gaia placed his hand on the sixth magic orb, everyone felt their hearts skip a beat! Even the old mage couldn’t contain himself, rising from his chair, eager to see the result.

Archmage Mitchell squinted his wrinkled eyes, and as that beam of light—burning like a flame—reflected in his deep gaze, a gratified smile gradually appeared on his withered face.

Yes, the sixth magic orb was lit as well. The dazzling light shot into every corner of the hall, and people could even feel its heat!

“My god, this is incredible!!” Someone could no longer contain their excitement and cried out.

“That country boy really... really did it!”

“He lit six! Six magic orbs!”

From lighting two magic orbs to lighting six, Gaia’s progress had tugged at everyone’s emotions in the hall. The transformation from utter contempt to utter shock was built up orb by orb, resulting in a dramatic shift.

“Finally, another one has appeared!” The old mage’s previous dissatisfaction with Gaia had long since vanished, replaced by an indescribable joy.

“Hmm, Gaia, right? We’ll admit this child as a special case, and his tuition will be waived!” Mitchell nodded knowingly and said to the somewhat dazed Jill.

It took Jill a while to react. Realizing that the great Archmage was speaking to him, he hurriedly saluted, stammering in excitement, “Ah! Archmage, s-sir, Gaia, oh, I am deeply honored... deeply honored!”

“Mm, Gaia, say goodbye to your father. I’ll take you to the Magic Academy in a moment.” Mitchell said with a gentle smile.

“Uncle Jill, I’ll definitely come back to visit you in the village in four years. Remember to tell my village chief father to prepare my favorite braised pork for when I return! Oh, and all those uncles and aunties, and of course, my little friends—I’ll definitely come back to see them after I finish my studies...” Gaia suddenly felt he had so much to say. Thinking that it would be four years before he could see the people in his village again, even with such a great achievement, he couldn’t help but feel a bit down.

Watching little Gaia’s figure gradually disappear into the hall, at that moment, Jill seemed to age in an instant: the wish of the entire village had finally been fulfilled...