Student

"Mr. Xia Lun... are you Lady Aina's student?" A mage in a deep blue robe asked hesitantly, his tone laced with curiosity and respect.

"Ahem... yes," Xia Lun coughed lightly.

When out in the world, your identity is whatever you make it.

Xia Lun subconsciously tensed his face, trying his best to look the part of Aina's student.

"Then your accomplishments in magic must be quite outstanding, otherwise Lady Aina would never have chosen you." The other party's tone carried genuine admiration.

"I suppose... so." Xia Lun was someone who had seen his fair share of grand spectacles, so his face maintained a calm and composed expression.

"Then could I ask for your advice on the relationship between the anti-mana resonant frequency of repelling-stone transport devices and mana concentration? I've been researching this lately." The mage who had struck up the conversation looked at Xia Lun with a face full of expectation.

He truly had no ulterior motives and wasn't trying to make things difficult for Xia Lun; he simply wanted to hear another person's perspective for reference.

"Uh..."

Xia Lun's expression instantly froze.

Those convoluted terms smashed into him like magic missiles. He hadn't even fully caught what the other person was asking.

Anti-mana resonant frequency... mana concentration... repelling-stone transport devices? What in the world was all that?

"Ah, my apologies, is magical material science not your area of expertise? I was being too presumptuous." The mage suddenly realized something and immediately apologized. After all, not everyone was a genius across all magical fields like Lady Aina.

Furthermore, Xia Lun looked like a very young human. His accumulated knowledge naturally couldn't compare to those long-lived scholars who were easily hundreds of years old.

"Ahem... it's nothing. Ah... you were asking about the relationship between the anti-mana resonant frequency of repelling-stone transport devices and mana concentration, right? I believe the relative relationship between the two is influenced by many factors. The most prominent of these is naturally the quality of the repelling stones, followed by the mana concentration. However, maintaining an environment with high mana concentration is a very extravagant endeavor that consumes a massive amount of magic stones, making it rather impractical for actual operation. In addition to this, temperature is also a highly crucial metric. Temperature variables are frequently overlooked and underestimated... If one could integrate a magic tool that controls temperature, it might very well improve the transmission efficiency of the repelling-stone transport device."

Xia Lun spouted a long string of professional jargon that he himself didn't understand, his tone even carrying a kind of well-thought-out steadiness.

Aina naturally couldn't let her husband lose face in public, so she secretly used telepathy to directly feed him the conclusion.

Xia Lun was merely mechanically repeating what Aina said.

Having fluently delivered this long string of professional terminology, even he felt a little dazed.

"So that's how it is! What a unique perspective!" The questioning mage's eyes sparkled with brilliance. "As expected of Lady Aina's student... Thank you so much, your line of thought has been a great help to me."

This exchange immediately attracted the attention of more people, and Xia Lun instantly became the center of a small discussion circle.

"Hello, Mr. Xia Lun... I would like to ask for your guidance regarding the spatial coordinate settings of spatial magic tools..."

"Mr. Xia Lun! I have a question too! Regarding the energy conflicts in composite elemental arrays..."

"Mr. Xia Lun, please..."

Xia Lun answered their questions fluidly and naturally, while Aina sat to the side, her eyes slightly narrowed as she elegantly sipped her tea.

Aina's long eyelashes drooped, concealing the faint, teasing smile hidden in the depths of her eyes. Whenever a question was thrown at Xia Lun, her cool and precise telepathic voice would chime in his mind at just the right moment, serving as his most solid backing.

No matter how thorny the problem, Xia Lun was able to provide a highly reasonable solution.

The way the people present looked at Xia Lun gradually changed. From their initial curiosity and slight scrutiny, their gazes completely transformed into amazement and admiration.

"What an incredible genius... No wonder even Lady Aina took him in as a student and kept him by her side to personally instruct him."

"He still looks quite young, doesn't he? To think his knowledge is so profound and extensive..."

"Even his problem-solving approach is exactly the same as Lady Aina's! He is definitely a student trained by Lady Aina."

Xia Lun's performance left everyone staring in awe, and gasps of admiration rose one after another.

Professor Manrid, who had been silently observing all along, shifted his gaze back and forth between Xia Lun's overly young human face and the leisurely and content Aina. His grizzled eyebrows furrowed slightly, revealing a trace of deep thought. Given the growth rate of humans, achieving such depth and breadth in the field of magic was truly somewhat inconceivable.

He stroked his beard, his eyes gradually becoming profound.

Aina noticed Professor Manrid's gaze and slowly raised her head to meet his eyes, saying nothing. Professor Manrid was slightly taken aback, but then, as if he had understood something, his furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and the corners of his mouth curled into a meaningful smile.

Just as the atmosphere was reaching its peak, a voice laced with obvious confusion and hesitation interjected:

"Uh... Mr. Xia Lun? And... Lady... Aina?"

Xia Lun turned his head to look, and a somewhat familiar face caught his eye.

"Ah, it's Mr. Goth."

Xia Lun still had some impression of this person. Back in Olifendo, they had explored the Ashen Corridor labyrinth together.

"You've already graduated from Olifendo? Congratulations." Xia Lun smiled and reached out to shake hands with Goth.

"Ah... I came with my mentor. I heard there would be an important figure giving a lecture today, but I never expected..." Goth's gaze was somewhat complicated.

He never expected that the important figure his mentor had mentioned would actually be his former teammate.

"However, Mr. Xia Lun, I remember that back then, you and Lady Aina were..." Goth's gaze lingered on Xia Lun and Aina for a moment.

The intimate behavior between Xia Lun and Aina back then made them look like a young couple no matter how you looked at it. How had they suddenly turned into a teacher and student?

Xia Lun discreetly winked at Goth. Goth was slightly taken aback, but he tactfully shut his mouth, subsequently revealing a hint of solemnity.

"Who is that young man? He knows Lady Aina?"

"He seems to be a newcomer who hasn't been here long, having come here after graduating from Olifendo."

"He's the student that old fellow Quian just took in."

"Quian? Didn't he say he wasn't taking any more students?"

"Oh, please, this is already his third final student." ...

"Lady Aina, long time no see," Goth bowed slightly toward Aina.

"Mhm," Aina nodded lightly in response, offering no other reaction.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Goth was here to network and build connections.

After returning, he would definitely receive more attention and importance.

But Aina didn't mind and was quite cooperative with him.

After all, in this place, one's true ability was the only foundation for establishing a foothold.