In the treeless area of the forest.

A big cloud made of black smoke created a death zone twenty meters large.

At some point, the wind blew and forcefully carried the dark cloud along with it.

On the ground, an almost naked middle-aged man looked in the direction of Ebonrest city.

There was only one wound on his body, a small cut on his shoulder, but it was already healing at high speed.

Two hooded men arrived in the place and looked at the messy scene.

The ground was leveled and no trace of life remained in that area.

One of them spoke toward the naked man.

"Lord Abel wh-"

However, before he could finish his sentence, a wind slash passed right on the side of his cheek creating a small cut on it.

Abel turned and scolded the other bandit.

"Never use our real names in this mission! I'm Number Three!"

Both the bandits bowed asking for forgiveness while Abel simply waved his hand in irritation.

"Number Three did you catch him?"

Abel looked at the still bowing man under him and shook his head.

The bandits were surprised.

"But he was clearly only a rank 1 cultivator while you have a rank 2 dantian and a rank 4 body!"

Abel became more irritated and replied loudly.

"I know, ok? I have misjudged his strength and made a mistake. I will personally report this matter to the Boss. Just notify the young master that there is a dangerous individual that uses sound attacks and black corrosive smoke to fight."

At the same time.

Noah was still speeding in the forest.

The chase had lasted for less than one hour but he didn't dare to lower his pace until he reached the borders of the woods.

His legs were still releasing smoke that destroyed everything it touched and his mental energy was depleting rapidly.

However, after spending almost four months completely focused on training, some signs of progress were finally showing themselves.

Since he had always had a blood companion, his mental sphere had never stopped enlarging even if by just a small amount.

Now that he could couple it with the second Kesier rune though, his training speed vastly surpassed the pace of normal cultivators.

'A strong mind, the pressure from the Body-inscription spell, the Kesier rune. I might become a rank 2 mage before I turn eighteen.'

If William knew that his disciple was aiming to reach the level of a rank 2 mage in only three years of training, he would be coughing blood from the irritation.

The time it took to break through ranks grew exponentially as it grew the level of the cultivator.

The average for a talented person was six years for rank 1 mage and eight for rank 2.

Noah though spent two years and a half to reach the first rank and had stayed for almost two years locked in the mansion with the blood companion exerting pressure on his mental sphere.

With his accumulated time in there, the advantage of his rebirth, the stability of his mental sphere, his new blood companion, and his workaholic personality, becoming a rank 2 mage in less than three years was totally doable.

It must be remembered that Noah was not even thirteen when he became a mage!

'If I don't use the full transformation, the consumption of mental energy is bearable for longer times. Uff, if only those fucking nobles had let me train freely.'

He continued to run for some more hours until he finally was out of the forest.

A vast green plain extended in front of him and an enormous defensive wall made of massive rocky bricks was in its center.

'Ebonrest city!'

There was still time before the beginning of the test but Noah felt that it was safer to arrive earlier.

He changed his clothes and wore a simple black tight robe with no hood.

He tied again his hair in a ponytail and moved toward the city walls.

There was only one gate along the walls and when Noah reached it, he could see the magnitude of the event.

There were hundreds of people in line in front of the eight meters tall gate, with caravans and guards that formed a large and messy row.

Near the gate, tens of soldiers with shiny green armors were sorting the people that wanted to enter the city.

'I suppose it will take a while to enter.'

Noah walked till the end of the crowd and waited patiently, he closed his eyes to pay more attention to his surroundings and moved whenever there was more space in front of him.

Most of the people there were nobles and it wasn't smart to provoke them.

However, many had noticed his arrival and began to whisper between themselves, sometimes sneering, sometimes snorting.

"Another foolish kid, what do they teach commoners these days?"

"Hmph, they are just here to fill the empty spots, it's not like they have any chance to win. They just hope that someone might have a good impression of them and then be recruited in their families."

"If they survive the test, haha!"

Many of these voices entered Noah's ears but he didn't mind it.

He was specifically looking for something.

Then, Echo sent an image to his mind.

A guard on one of the most luxurious carriages neared a young man with long hair and whispered something in his ear.

The guard pointed at the forest and then at Noah at which the noble nodded.

The guard bowed and went away from their group but the noble stared at the end of the line for more time.

'It's his family then.'

Noah was the only one in the last part of the line that was moving alone.

He had suspected that the bandits would have reported the accident in the forest to their leader and he was the one that fitted the most the description of the man that had escaped the wind mage.

'If no one else arrives alone after me, they will pretty much be certain of some of my abilities.'

There were merchants along the row of people waiting, trying to make some business before the entrance test.

Noah opened his eyes and signaled to one of them to get close.

As the merchant arrived, Noah showed him ten pieces of gold and spoke.

"If you tell me to which family that youth with long blond hair belongs to, these are yours."

The merchant gave a quick look to the carriage in the distance and replied with no hesitation.

"Large-size noble family, Muwlos family."