As Julius opened his eyes upon hearing the ten footsteps, he understood he had been cultivating from dawn to evening without realising it. The Qingming Sutra of Serenity was extraordinary and caused his cultivation speed to increase significantly.


    Instead of shoving natural energy into his meridians and randomly guiding it to his dan tian, he made it travel through a specific route, conserving its energy and nourishing his body while he purified it using the sutra.


    In addition, his natural affinity finally proved beneficial as it helped him feel andprehend the five elements during his meditation. With the sutra, his affinity and his dius'' ability, he was sure he would reach the Golden Core Realm in a wink.


    He didn''t delve too much into the battle techniques yet, but after mastering them, he would finally have a way to use his Qi efficiently in battle instead of mimicking his big brother''s use of mana.


    As he clenched his fist, feeling the noticeable improvement of this first cultivation session, his lips curled into a grin as he gazed at Shepard and his disciples.


    "I hope you had a productive day reading." The arcanist started, gazing at Adam with a yful smile before continuing, "As mentioned yesterday, let me introduce my disciples to you."


    Raising his head from the alchemy book he read, Adam gazed at them, frowning. If he had to be frank, he didn''t care much about these disciples. Still, he had to.


    Wearing a fake smile, he said, "I was impatient to meet everyone. I''m Adam."


    In response, the oldest, a young woman dressed elegantly in red and brown silk clothes, approached. Her long silver hair danced around her as her grey eyes analysed the ghost curiously.


    "I''m Zenobia Vallorian, your senior disciple. Nice to meet you!" She said enthusiastically before letting the younger disciples introduce themselves.


    They ranged from twelve to sixteen years old, but the peculiar detail that caught his attention was their hair colors.


    ''Silver, green, purple and red,'' He mused, intrigued by the reason behind this ring difference when he heard Shepard''sughter.


    "Individuals with extreme mana affinity often have different hair colors." He exined with pride, smirking as he tugged at his grey hair.


    "Oh? And what''s your affinity?" He asked, using the situation''s context to confirm his assumptions.


    However, his crude question was met by the frowning gazes of the other disciples. How could he be so disrespectful when speaking to an arcanist?


    "Didn''t you realise already? I have a rare affinity to smoke." Shepard answered, his yful smile widening as he added, shocking his disciples, "I also have wind and water affinities. Hahaha, surprised?"


    Everyone knew about smoke, as it was evident, but no one knew he had three affinities! Even Adam''s eyes lit up in surprise because he missed thest one.


    Then Shepard said before leaving the kids together. "I hope you''ll learn to know each other and help the less talented to catch up with the rest."


    With Shepard gone, Morgane silently walked to a desk, retrieved a book and focused on it under the annoyed gazes of the three others.


    "Don''t mind her. She never bothers to talk," Zenobia said before adding curiously, "Teacher told us you''ll participate in the battle monster tournament next year. Do you think you have a chance?"


    As everyone anticipated the answer, Adam gazed at them in confusion, wondering why they reacted as if partaking was a big event.


    "I''ll win the tournament." He answered bluntly, causing their eyes to widen in excitement.


    "We all love this game but are too afraid because of the rules." Zenobia exined before asking, "Can you show us your deck?"


    "No," he responded, his voice tinged with annoyance, thinking Morgane''s approach might be the best to be left in peace.


    "Oh... I wish you luck then." Zenobia said, her shoulders slumped and her voice carrying her disappointment, making him feel guilty.


    With a sigh, he said. "I only have two cards and will rece one. My deck is notplete yet."


    The disciples'' eyes lit up, understanding their new friend was making an effort for them. The purple-haired one stepped forward, smiled and said, "We can help you build a strong deck. If we gather our knowledge, I''m convinced we''ll create unbeatablebinations!"


    The others nodded in agreement. They all used different archetypes and specialised in one or two types of monsters.


    With a sigh, Adam floated to Julius and asked him to show them his card, unwilling to be too harsh on the kind and passionate kids.


    As Julius stood up and walked towards them, they finally noticed the boy. But before they could greet him, their eyes bulged in shock as they read the tier four card''s title.


    Only Zenobia kept her calm and swiftly said, "Don''t participate in the tournament. If you lose, you''ll lose your card."


    The others shivered as she mentioned the terrifying rule. After each duel, the winner could take the most precious card of the loser.


    "Why? I''ll make a deck full of tier three and four cards and beat everyone." Adam said honestly, making the kids cough in disbelief. What kind of extravagance was that?


    A mediocre tier three card sold for 400 gold, while a good one could reach 1000. Not counting the tier four cards, which could reach 10000 gold, it meant that Adam''s deck would cost 8000 gold at a minimum!


    "No way! Even if you have the money, you won''t find good cards on sale." Zenobia eximed, doubting her new junior''s sanity.


    "Who said I''ll buy them? I''ll catch them myself with Julius." Silence echoed his answer as everyone thought he was crazy. How would he capture tier three and four magical beasts as an acolyte?


    As they gazed at each other in silent agreement, the most inconspicuous person in the group broke the silence.


    "Let me join." The taciturn Morgane said, her calm and t voice echoing against the silence, causing the disciples to doubt their lives.