Jeming’s gaze swept over and he only then realized that it wasn’t just David who had come.

In a slightly more distant place, stood several familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar figures—Seraphina, Kaelen, Anya, and Reks.

These four, back in the day, were as famous as David, recognized as Tenth Level Talent super geniuses of the new generation at Nolun Workshop, shining brilliantly.

However, during that decisive elite trial, they were firmly overshadowed by the sudden emergence of Jeming.

Only David performed reasonably well, salvaging some face for their "genius group."

After carefully calculating, it’s been nearly a thousand years since Jeming last met with Seraphina and the others after the trial ended.

David, due to his involvement in helping settle the indigenous people of Elorcia (now the Nolun No.147 Plane), had some interactions with Jeming.

But over the recent centuries, as their respective battles and research tasks grew in intensity, their communication gradually lessened.

This is a common occurrence in the Wizard World.

With plane wars often calculated in centuries, and wizards losing track of time once they immerse themselves in their research, it’s routine for old acquaintances to find it hard to gather.

Jeming’s spiritual power gently stirred, and his perception quietly spread out.

David, Seraphina, Kaelen, Anya, Reks—all five radiated a spiritual force field that was solid and magnificent, each carrying distinct tendencies.

Clearly, they had all successfully mastered the rules, stepping into the realm of Third Level Wizards.

Honestly, in this conference room that had gathered the essence of several hundred years from Nolun No.147 Academy, the level of a Third Level Wizard wasn’t particularly impressive; it might even be considered somewhat low.

Even without counting other contemporaneous elites, among the students graduating in the following years, there were those who had already advanced to Fourth and Fifth Levels.

These five once-super geniuses now seemed, indeed, somewhat "unremarkable" in terms of their levels.

However, when Seraphina and the others focused their perception on Jeming and distinctly captured the spiritual power fluctuations that belonged solely to a Second Level Wizard, their reactions weren’t of disdain.

On the contrary, their eyes widened, filled with astonishment and... unabashed envy.

Hoo...

Dark energy spread across the body.

Like a shadow traversing, Seraphina’s figure vanished in place like a phantom, and in the next moment, she appeared beside Jeming out of thin air.

She examined Jeming closely with eyes full of amazement, like seeing some incredible spectacle: "Jeming?! You’re still a Second Level?! How is that possible?!"

The remaining three also gathered around, and even Kaelen, who usually maintained a graceful demeanor, seemed unsettled, his hand adjusting his glasses trembling slightly, muttering: "Second Level... actually still Second Level... what kind of monster are you?!"

Even the usually cheerful Anya had a complex expression in her eyes.

David, although psychologically prepared, couldn’t help but sigh when he saw it with his own eyes.

He couldn’t resist shaking his head, with a genuinely emotional tone: "We thought we had caught up to you, but... the gap between us hasn’t closed; it’s actually grown even wider."

Kaelen finally steadied his trembling hand, took a deep breath, and looked at Jeming with eyes as though seeing a walking paradox: "I can’t understand... Just how much have you accumulated to maintain yourself at the second level for so long?"

Their words and reactions stemmed from a unique understanding of level advancement in the Wizard World.

For an ordinary wizard, the faster the level rises, the stronger their talent, opportunities, and wisdom.

But for those truly top-tier geniuses, the assessment standards are often the reverse—slower advancement often indicates more terrifying potential.

Such a completely opposite situation arises because wizards are essentially pursuers of knowledge.

Level enhancement and power increase, in the eyes of truly wise wizards, are merely "by-products" naturally occurring in the pursuit of truth.

For ordinary wizards, improving their wizard level requires all sorts of efforts, but for top geniuses, it’s never an issue. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

They delay advancement only because, at their current level, there is still an ocean of knowledge to explore, countless ideas to verify, and a profound foundation to solidify.

Only when they reach the "end" of their current level, where there is no more room to explore, do they choose to step into the next phase.

For someone like Jeming, who possesses extraordinary talent yet stays at the second level for millennia, it can only signify one thing: he still harbors an endless source of inspiration and an abyss of knowledge to learn and integrate at the second level!

This is a state that any wizard aspiring to the pinnacle of truth would envy, or even jealously wish to experience.

Jeming observed the mix of shock, confusion, and envy on the faces of his old acquaintances and couldn’t help but smile, candidly saying: "I just feel there’s still so much I don’t understand, so I’m not rushing to advance. It’s been a long time, everyone."

David was the first to break free from the complex emotions; he stepped forward with his robust body, smiling as he patted Jeming’s shoulder vigorously.

His force was so strong that Jeming wondered if he was trying to smack him to death: "Enough of this, comparing people can be maddening. Jeming, in this elite combat unit formation, we might be assigned to the same or neighboring secondary battlefield. At that time, we might need your guidance."

Jeming naturally nodded in agreement: "You’re being too polite. On the battlefield, sharing intelligence and looking out for each other is only right. We might even have the opportunity to collaborate."

However, his words didn’t resonate with the others.

Reks, clad in mechanical constructs with joints emitting faint blue arcs of energy, seemed to recall some unpleasant past event and shivered involuntarily, his voice from beneath the metal faceplate tinged with a hint of fear:

"Contact and exchange information is fine! But collaboration... let’s forget about it! Jeming, teaming up with you, who knows what kind of earth-shattering ’mess’ might unfold? Wasn’t getting tricked by you in the last trial enough?!"

As he said this, both Seraphina and Kaelen, even Anya, instinctively nodded in agreement, revealing expressions of lingering fear.

Clearly, they all remembered certain "fears" dominated by Jeming’s "methods."

Jeming looked at this group of overtly reacting "former genius" teammates, a few black lines drooping on his forehead.

"...Just admit whether my methods worked!" he tried to defend himself.

"Yes, yes, yes, stuffing dung into their mouths right in front of the Divine Spirit, if there weren’t high-level witnesses, we’d have been dead meat." Seraphina rolled her eyes, retorting in exasperation.

The group exchanged glances and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.