"Three months after first-year students enroll, a trial is held to assess their strength. Anyone who fails will be advised to withdraw. You didn't know about this?"
Shao Hong and the others stared at Pei Ze with odd expressions, surprised that he was unaware of something so important.
Pei Ze cleared his throat, feeling a bit awkward.
He genuinely had no idea.
There was no information about it in his predecessor's memories, either. He had probably known he had no hope of becoming a Wizard Apprentice and never paid any attention to such matters.
'A trial...'
Pei Ze's heart grew a little heavy.
High Tower Academy was known for its rigorous standards. To put it bluntly, this trial was clearly designed to weed out the unqualified "trash."
"So, Pei Ze, will you join us?" Shao Hong asked with a smile. "If you join and find that we don't get along, you can leave anytime you want."
He had to admit, Pei Ze was tempted.
He wasn't interested in the so-called exchange of knowledge. The Eye of Omniscience was his greatest teacher; he had no need to discuss knowledge with anyone else.
However, the prospect of sharing information was quite appealing.
Especially since a few members of this society came from Wizard families—Shao Hong's parents, for example, were rumored to be Wizards. Such people often knew things that ordinary people didn't.
By joining Shao Hong's society, he wouldn't have to worry about missing important news anymore.
As for the risk of exposing his secret by getting too close to others... Pei Ze wasn't worried at all.
As long as he didn't reveal it himself, there was no way Shao Hong and the others would ever discover the secret of the Eye of Omniscience.
In just an instant, numerous thoughts flashed through Pei Ze's mind, and he quickly made his decision.
"Alright, I'll join."
Hearing Pei Ze agree to join, Shao Hong and the others all broke into smiles.
"Welcome," Shao Hong said with a smile, extending his hand.
Pei Ze shook it, only then remembering to ask, "By the way, what's the society's name?"
"The Star Spirit Society!"
A girl named Guan Ling eagerly jumped in:
"Star Spirits are Otherworldly Creatures with immense potential. Initially, their strength is only equivalent to a six- or seven-year-old human child, but they grow progressively stronger, eventually reaching a level comparable to the gods!"
"We named it the Star Spirit Society in the hopes that everyone in it will have limitless potential, just like a Star Spirit!"
Seeing Guan Ling's smug look, Pei Ze figured the name was probably her idea.
Pei Ze chuckled to himself. 'By that logic, they should have called it the Human Society.'
After all, humanity's potential was far greater than that of Star Spirits.
The powerful Wizards at the apex of the Wizard World were beings who could capture gods and slice them up for research.
Just then, another girl named Jiang Weifang stepped forward and said:
"Pei Ze, I heard you have a very high score in Basic Biology. There are many parts of the course I don't quite understand. Could I ask you for some help? Of course, I'll pay. How about 2 Gold Coins an hour?"
Pei Ze was stunned for a moment. When he came to his senses, he was overjoyed and agreed without the slightest hesitation.
"No problem!"
He had just been worrying about where to get money, and now a job had fallen right into his lap. It was just what he needed.
'It's just teaching Basic Biology, that's simple!'
With the help of the Eye of Omniscience, he knew the course material like the back of his hand. Teaching it to others would be no problem at all.
The moment Pei Ze finished speaking, several others made the same request.
Pei Ze accepted all offers without refusal.
'Now I'll have the money to buy the spell model for Plant Spirit Light,' he thought, overjoyed.
Shao Hong watched from the side, filled with admiration.
Students usually just exchanged knowledge among themselves. Only a top student like Pei Ze, widely acknowledged as the best in their year, was qualified to actually tutor others.
No one else had accumulated enough knowledge to do the same.
In just a few moments, Pei Ze had scheduled tutoring sessions and subjects with four people.
All four came from well-to-do families. Without even waiting for Pei Ze to ask, they readily paid for two hours of tutoring upfront.
With 16 Gold Coins suddenly in hand, Pei Ze was delighted.
He hadn't yet felt the truth in "knowledge is power," but he was now having a profound realization that knowledge is money.
"Let's go to the Shining Restaurant for a drink to celebrate Pei Ze joining us!"
Shao Hong's proposal met with everyone's approval, and the group cheerfully headed off campus.
「Half an hour later.」
In a private room at the Shining Restaurant.
"Cheers!"
The crisp clinking of glasses rang out, followed by peals of laughter.
Pei Ze took a sip of Cyan Apricot Juice. As his mind suddenly cleared, he couldn't help but marvel.
'As expected of the Shining Restaurant's signature drink. It can even boost one's Spiritual Power. The effect is negligible, but it's still quite a rare treat.'
'It's just a bit pricey. One small glass costs a whole Gold Coin.'
After some lighthearted conversation, the group's topic gradually shifted to the first-years' training progress.
"If we're talking about who's progressing the fastest, it has to be Pei Shaoqi, Gu Lin, and Yin Guang. I heard they're already Second-level Wizard Apprentices!"
The speaker was Yuan Wanjun, a boy who usually trailed after Shao Hong.
His parents were also Wizards, making him something of a "second-gen Wizard."
His aptitude wasn't bad, and with ample resources backing him, he had advanced to First-level Wizard Apprentice early on. In Class 3, he was in the second tier, just behind Shao Hong and Cheng Li.
But compared to the likes of Pei Shaoqi and Gu Lin, he might as well have been an ordinary person.
Yuan Wanjun's words resonated with everyone, and they all nodded in agreement.
Shao Hong sighed wistfully. "We can't compare to those top-tier geniuses."
"They've been taking potions to nurture their Spiritual Power since childhood. Their Spiritual Power was innately a huge cut above ordinary people's, and they construct Will Runes several times faster than we do!"
"It's more than that," Yuan Wanjun added. "As soon as they turned sixteen, they took the Seed of Enlightenment and became Wizard Apprentices instantly. While we were still struggling to construct our first Will Rune, they were already pushing to become Second-level Wizard Apprentices."
As the conversation continued, many of their expressions turned melancholic.
The gap was just too wide!
Seeing the mood darken, Shao Hong quickly interjected, "Everyone has their own path. We don't need to compare ourselves to people like Pei Shaoqi. We just have to focus on improving our own strength."
"I've asked around. In the freshman trials of previous years, as long as you can advance to Second-level Wizard Apprentice, passing is basically a sure thing."
"We still have over two months until the trial. If we all work hard, we can definitely make it!"
Hearing this, the group's mood finally lifted, and smiles returned to their faces.
That's right. Top-tier geniuses like Pei Shaoqi and Gu Lin were too far removed from their world. There was no point comparing themselves; it would only make them miserable.
They never dreamed of becoming top-tier Wizards anyway. As long as they could graduate from the academy without a hitch and become Official Wizards, that would be enough.
Amidst the group, only Pei Ze's expression remained perfectly calm from beginning to end.
Unlike the others, who felt a mix of envy and inferiority toward those geniuses, he never felt that they were far out of his reach.
With the Eye of Omniscience, surpassing them was only a matter of time!