After reaching the maximum level, my "soft rice system" finally arrived.

He wasn't bothered by it. As the saying goes, no one is perfect, and no gold is flawless. Everyone has their own unique strengths, and naturally, they should also have their own unique weaknesses and shortcomings.

With both high IQ and EQ, and unparalleled talent in the field of arcane arts, it would be unfair to others if he were perfect in other aspects as well. It is understandable that he is not very popular with women.

Charles was somewhat disappointed, after all, there are limits to humanity. Since becoming a legendary mage, Charles had only created and improved a few hundred new spells, which was just a drop in the ocean compared to the thousands of years of accumulation in the Black Tower Library.

However, what if one's arcane talent could be passed down genetically—

Then sons beget grandsons, grandsons beget sons, and so on, endlessly, until one day they can add the prefix "Charles" to all the spellbooks in the entire Great Library.

Imagine this: centuries from now, when wizards are at war, one shouts "Charle. Fireball Modified," and the other responds with "Charle. Wind Blade II," while both activate "Charle. Spell Shield" for defense.

Just imagining it is so satisfying.

Unfortunately, this grand millennium plan collapsed before it even began.

"Fortunately, the only requirement to complete the task is to get first place in the assessment. Otherwise, if the requirement was to reach a certain level of favorability, I would really be at a loss."

"Also, prohibiting cheating should include options like coercion and backdoors..." Charles muttered to himself, it seemed the system wasn't going to give him any chance to cheat.

He followed the flow of people in the Extraordinary Academy and soon arrived at a spacious hall.

This is the venue for the branch school assessment.

Outside the venue, there were personnel responsible for verifying identities. Their extraordinary aura was even stronger than that of the security guards at the entrance. However, under the influence of "self-disciplined cognitive distortion," they all regarded Xia Er as an ordinary examinee.

Xia Er mingled among the group of candidates entering the examination hall and casually found a seat to sit down.

If he were to arrive in his capacity as the chief and deputy tower master of the Black Tower, he would certainly receive a warm welcome from both inside and outside the academy. Perhaps a large red banner would be hung at the academy gate that reads "Warmly welcome Tower Master Xiaer to visit and inspect," and two rows of outstanding student representatives would line the way to welcome him.

However, considering that he couldn't explain what he was going to do, Ciel gave up on the idea.

……

"Hey bro, are you a freshman this year too? Are you from the aristocratic or the commoner faction?"

As soon as Charles sat down, some outgoing students struck up a conversation with him.

“Theoretically speaking, I should barely be considered a nobleman.” Charles straightened his clothes, which had been disheveled by the crowd. His family of origin when he transmigrated was also a minor noble family in the capital.

Although he was the lowest-ranking lord, he still had all the troubles that a noble family should have.

His birth mother died prematurely, and his stepmother disliked him no matter what. His biological father also ignored him. The two children his stepmother brought with her made things difficult for him in order to fight for the family property.

It's like a mix of elements from Snow White, Cinderella, Hamlet, and King Lear.

After his time travel, Charles calmly analyzed the situation and concluded that it would be one thing if they were fighting for the throne, but for these people to fight to the death over a meager estate of a nobleman was simply a sign that they weren't thinking straight...

So, to avoid becoming one of those brainless fools and being defeated by their rich experience, Ciel simply turned and left without looking back.

"Hey, who among those who can become extraordinary isn't a nobleman? Judging from your clothes, you should be a member of the commoners' faction."

The overly familiar student sized up Ciel, but under the influence of "Double Illusion," he only saw Ciel as a passerby in ordinary clothes. He waved his hand and said, "The aristocratic faction in this academy refers to the offspring of those important figures above the rank of earl."

"Oh." While responding to the other party, Charles began to deduce a new forbidden spell model in his mental ocean.

“In the past, the competition between the aristocratic and commoner factions for admission was extremely fierce, but this year is different. A very important person has come from the aristocratic faction.”

"Oh."

"You know Duke Brunstad, right? He's one of the pillars of the empire, a near-legendary who's just one step away from becoming a legend. His words can make the entire empire tremble."

"Ah."

"And his only daughter, Eisveda Brunstad, will be participating in this year's Extraordinary Academy entrance exam." The man's face was filled with longing: "If he could win her favor and marry into the Brunstad family, that would be a true meteoric rise."

"You should know that for this reason, many nobles who originally planned to join the army or study at the Black Tower have chosen to enroll in the Extraordinary Academy. Among them are quite a few overage students, some even in their thirties or forties."

"Hmm, no wonder you look so old." Charles replied casually, "By the way, does Duke Brunstadt have a daughter?"

Although he left the capital ten years ago and has not returned much since, after becoming a legendary mage, Xia Er created his own spiritual ocean, which he can use to examine his past memories at any time if needed.

He had indeed heard of the Duke of Brunsstadt, but Charles had never heard that the Duke had a daughter.

The new student lowered his voice: "According to the Shadow Council's gossip, Eisveda seems to be the illegitimate daughter of Duke Brunstadt, born from an extramarital affair, and he only recently brought her back to his home."

"The world of the great nobility is truly complex."

"One thing to say, one thing to say, indeed."

"Look, Princess Esveda and Duke Brunsstadt have arrived!"

As he spoke, the man ignored Charles and stared with a fanatical gaze at the noisy entrance to the hall.

Following his gaze, Charles saw an elderly man with graying temples following a stunningly beautiful young woman with red hair and red eyes, being escorted by guards into a private room on the top floor.

"Bloodlines?"

Chapter 5, isn't this a sure thing?

In the luxuriously decorated VIP room.

Aisveta stood on the high platform of the VIP room, looking down at the noisy crowd below through the glass window.

The soft glow of the magic chandelier illuminated the girl's delicate, snow-white face, reflecting endless brilliance in her crimson eyes.

Duke Brunstadt stood a few steps behind her, his face showing a hint of conflict.

"Your Highness, I think it would be best if you returned to the City of a Thousand Years as soon as possible," the Duke finally spoke, his voice aged. "Although the vampires are currently on good terms with the Aran Empire and their relations with the Dawn Church have eased somewhat, you are, after all, the only true progenitor of the vampires. What if something unexpected happens..."

Compared to what outsiders call father and daughter, the relationship between the two in the VIP room at this moment is more like that of a noble lady and her nagging old butler.

This is undoubtedly unreasonable. Even ignoring Duke Brunstad's status in the Empire, even within his own clan, as a near-legendary, he is a true vampire prince with a prestigious position, and ordinary vampire juniors treat him with utmost respect.

However, Esveda was the only exception.

The True Ancestor, appearing only once every thousand years, is the destined royalty of the vampire clan from the day of their birth. Each True Ancestor in the past has led the vampire clan into a completely new era.

Even though she was not yet fully mature as a True Ancestor, Esveda's status among the vampires was incomparable to that of a prince.

“No need to say anything more, Uncle Carter.” Aisveta’s cool voice echoed in the VIP room, reminding listeners of the sound of wind chimes at midnight: “I have waited for thirteen years, and I don’t want to wait any longer.”

Thirteen years... Carter Brunstad sighed inwardly.

Unlike other vampire progenitors who grew up safely under the strict protection of their entire clan, Aisveta almost died in a vampire civil war thirteen years ago.

At that time, a faction within the vampire clan launched a rebellion and attacked the ancient city, the ancestral home of the vampires, in an attempt to kill the newborn Aisveta.

Not all vampires were willing to submit to the True Ancestor. Led by a prince, the rebels gained the upper hand, and Esveda was secretly sent out of the City of a Thousand Years by her loyal vampires at the cost of their lives.

It was a chase and a flight, a gamble with time. The faction that supported the True Ancestor ultimately held the majority among the vampires, but if the rebels could kill Esveda before the other princes returned to their aid, then even if the other princes were furious, they would have no choice but to grit their teeth and accept the fact.

The final outcome of the bet is self-evident.

But that rebellion left an indelible mark on the heart of the once pure and innocent Princess Zhenzu.

“He said… he came from the Aran Empire.”

Aisveta's beautiful crimson eyes gazed at the twilight sky outside the window, a look of reminiscence on her face: "Back then, he was just a little wizard who had just completed his arcane initiation. I wonder how he is now."

"Given his age at the time, he should be studying at a high-level extraordinary academy now. I wonder if I'll run into him in the capital this time."

"If we can't find it here, we might have to go to the Arcane Capital."

“Your Highness, you are the True Ancestor we have waited for for many years, the Chosen King who should lead the vampire clan to prosperity and glory. How can you be entangled in these personal feelings?” Duke Brunstad said with some heartache.

"The person you mentioned had just completed his arcane enlightenment at that time. With such strength, he would have had a hard time even protecting himself on the continent. Even if he had survived by chance or had some fortuitous encounters, he would at most have only just entered the third or fourth tier by now."

"Even if he has done us vampires a favor, how could he be worthy of you! Even if one day you really need to find a spouse, you should look for a genius like His Majesty Charles."

“Uncle Carter, you don’t understand that feeling. It has nothing to do with strength or status.” Aisveta stood up, her long dress swaying slightly.

"It's like when you didn't even have shoes to wear, you met a girl riding a red horse in the wilderness. She said that if you were brave enough, she would take you to the battlefield, so you actually followed her back and ran to the battlefield. Many years later, you became powerful, surrounded by girls with impressive backgrounds, including princesses and empresses of demon kingdoms riding dragons, each one more dazzling than that girl riding a red horse. But deep in your heart, you still remember that figure on the red horse in the wilderness, because when you met her, you were just a little kid who didn't even have shoes to wear, and only she reached out her hand to you."

"Princess? Empress of the Demon Kingdom? Girl riding a red horse?" Duke Brunstad was somewhat stunned: "But Your Highness, aren't you a woman yourself?"

“These are lines from a novel sold at the Black Tower Bookstore. It’s so boring being surrounded by a bunch of coffins in the City of a Thousand Years, this is the only way to pass the time.” Aisveta took out a book from her storage ring. The cover featured a roaring dragon, and the pages were filled with pink bookmarks. “Uncle Carter, you’re so out of touch.”

"By the way, 'out' is also a reference in this novel, meaning outdated."

"However, this author, who uses the pen name Poppy, hasn't released a new book in a long time. I really want to urge him to update it if I have the chance."

"Out? A reference to poppies?" Looking at Eisveta's cheerful tone, so different from her usual aloof demeanor, Duke Brunstad began to question his existence. Had he truly been abandoned by the times?

……

"Do you know that author called Poppy? He hasn't released a new book in ages. I really want to send him a bunch of razor blades," the person next to Charles complained in the hall.

"Oh." Charles nodded expressionlessly; naturally, he wouldn't tell the other person that the poppy was himself.

When he was promoted to a mid-level mage, resources were severely lacking, and his teacher happened to be the type who disciplined but did not raise his children.

So Charles copied several best-selling books from his previous life at the Black Tower Bookstore, and that's how he finally earned the first pot of start-up capital for his money-burning life as a mage.

I heard that those books are still quite popular at Black Tower Bookstore, but I never expected to run into a fan here.

He withdrew his gaze from the VIP room, not paying it much attention.

Times have changed.

The long-standing, thousand-year holy war between the vampires and the Dawn Church, like the massive witch hunt three thousand years ago, has long been buried in the dustbin of history.

Today, the Western Continent emphasizes peaceful development, mutual benefit, and seeking common ground while reserving differences between humans and sub-humans.

With the development of alchemy and the maturity of technologies such as artificial blood plasma, it is not uncommon to encounter vampires who conceal their identities in human society today.

Even at the beginning of his transmigration, Charles had personally witnessed several vampire priests in the Dawn Church, which greatly shocked him at the time.