I, the heir of the great Eastern nation

A piece of territory?

The white-bearded old man, Hills, glanced at Liu Zhao with a smile.

"You kid, I didn't realize you were so impatient. You've only just reached the Bronze rank, and you're already thinking about the next stage of advancement?"

Liu Zhao neither confirmed nor denied Hills's teasing.

After becoming a formal mage, he naturally learned the conditions for advancing to the next stage during his studies at the academy.

First, a profound accumulation of magical power.

Second, select an arcane rune as your origin rune.

Third, a great deal of prestige and enough great achievements.

Of these three necessary conditions, accumulating magic power is the simplest. Even someone with average elemental affinity can accumulate enough magic power by simply replenishing their supply with a large amount of magic potions, as long as they are rich enough.

For Liu Zhao, who possesses the special title of "Genius Magician," it was an easy task.

Needless to say, the primordial runes, with their vast array of Chinese characters representing countless images, are enough for him to choose the one that best suits him best.

Therefore, if Liu Zhao wants to advance to the next stage of Silver-level career advancement, all he needs are 'Reputation' and 'Great Achievement'.

As one of the ways for noble mages to accumulate 'reputation' and 'great achievements', compared to going to the battlefield to fight to the death and earn military merits, becoming a lord to govern the territory and thus gain 'political achievements' and 'merits', it is undoubtedly the safest choice to accumulate 'great achievements'.

Therefore, for Liu Zhao, who wanted to become stronger as quickly as possible, since Vice Principal Hills wanted to win him over to invest, he simply asked casually. If he could get investment, great; if not, it wouldn't be a loss. He could always think of other ways later.

Hills, on the other hand, actually thought about it seriously for a few seconds after making the joke.

Then, he showed a look of sudden realization.

"I've got it! You know what, this old man actually has a piece of land that's been sitting idle for a long time, which is perfect for your current situation."

"Alright, I have one condition. If you can fulfill it, I'll give you that territory. How about it?"

They're really giving it away?

Upon hearing this unexpected joy, Liu Zhao immediately became interested.

"What are the conditions?"

To this, the white-bearded old man Hills chuckled.

"In two weeks, the four major magic academies of the Kingdom of Os will hold an exchange meeting. At that time, people from the other three academies will also come to Solantia to participate. All you need to do is successfully defeat the top freshman from the Violet Magic Academy in the freshman battle at this exchange meeting."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhao immediately burst into laughter.

That's it?

Dude, you have the numbers now, the mechanics and the organic qualities, you're undoubtedly a well-rounded fighter, beating someone from the same period is a piece of cake.

"Okay! It's a deal!"

And so, the old man and the young man made a pact with a high five.

……

Since becoming the top student in the first year, Liu Zhao has received many admiring glances whenever he walks through the school wearing a white mage robe and carrying the golden badge that symbolizes his status.

This is a world of difference compared to the previous outrageous treatment where people would constantly mock him for his black hair and black eyes.

Of course, Liu Zhao himself was also clear that although his current strength was undoubtedly the best among the freshmen, the reason why those people's attitudes towards him changed so much was mainly because of the three powerful Chinese 'runes' he displayed in the competition.

In this world that places great importance on bloodline and social hierarchy, the Riley family, as a top clan in the Kingdom of Os with a strong magical foundation, still lost to Liu Zhao despite Daniel using bloodline runes. This clearly proves that Liu Zhao's family must also possess a profound foundation of equal strength.

Naturally, those who used to make a fuss about his identity as a "country bumpkin from a remote small country" stopped talking nonsense.

With fewer troubles, Liu Zhao was naturally happy to have some peace and quiet, and after class every day he would focus on studying his own unique Chinese 'runes'.

Soon, another week had passed.

With special protection and blessings, Liu Zhao not only has a deeper and deeper reserve of magic power, but also becomes more and more proficient in using Chinese 'runes'.

Meanwhile, the York Knights would bring him good news every two days.

"Your Highness, Supervisor Charlie has reported that after numerous trials and optimizations, the production process for dried fruit and candied fruit is now quite mature. These are the finished products they have sent to you for your consideration."

"Your Highness, thanks to the intervention of the Leilo Merchant Guild and the Lance family, the purchase of the land where Red Fruit Village is located went very smoothly. Furthermore, according to Manager Charlie, Mrs. Elira has high hopes for an outstanding young man like you, so she personally decided to gift you the ownership of this land."

"Your Highness, the workshop in Red Fruit Village has been officially completed and is ready for use at any time. The employment of the villagers has also been arranged, and the commission has been paid three times the market price as you mentioned. Manager Charlie invites you to attend the workshop's opening ceremony."

"..."

Upon hearing this last sentence, Liu Zhao smiled slightly.

"Never mind, I won't attend the groundbreaking ceremony. Sir York, I'll trouble you to go in my place."

The Knight of York nodded.

Just then, Simon's excited voice came from outside the door.

"Your Highness, it's Baron Karl! He's sent a letter!"

Simon walked in excitedly, carrying a well-sealed letter and a heavy money bag bearing the Lance family's iris emblem.

Liu Zhao took the envelope, but did not open it immediately. Instead, he looked up at the top of Simon's head.

There, a commoner was clearly visible.

Liu Zhao smiled.

It's important to know that before this, Simon had basically only held the professional title of "servant" because he had always been ashamed of his status as a serf.

Now, the appearance of the title "Commoner" signifies that his identity has completely changed.

"Simon, has Baron Carl freed you from serfdom?"

Liu Zhao asked with a smile.

Simon, standing to the side, was filled with excitement and bowed respectfully to Liu Zhao.

"Yes, Your Highness, from this moment on, I am no longer a lowly serf."

And the messenger told me that not only me, but Baron Karl had also elevated my father and sister to commoner status and granted them a fertile piece of land. From now on, we could live with dignity!

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and then clenched his fist and pounded it hard on his chest.

"And all of this is a gift from Your Highness!"

"Your Highness, your kindness shines as brightly as the sun. Simon swears with his life that he will serve you with all his might, and he will never regret it, even if he sheds his last drop of blood."

"loyalty!"

Seeing the young man's incredibly excited expression, Liu Zhao smiled slightly, patted him on the shoulder to encourage him, and then walked aside to open Baron Karl's letter.

[Your Highness Liu Zhao, it has been many days since we last met, and we have missed you dearly. Through the letter sent by the Knight of York, Love and I learned of your many achievements and honors at the Magic Academy. We, as your husband and wife, are truly proud and deeply respectful of your excellence...]

The letter was written in very delicate and graceful handwriting, clearly the work of Mrs. Love.

The message they had in mind was simple: in addition to congratulating Liu Zhao on his achievements during this period, the baron and his wife also highlighted the recent situation of old Thor and his daughter. The baron and his wife said that since Liu Zhao regarded the old Thor family as his benefactors, they were naturally their benefactors as well, and they would take good care of them for Liu Zhao so that he would not have to worry about them.

At the same time, Lady Love also mentioned her younger sister Christine, claiming that her sister had been spoiled since childhood and had a somewhat difficult personality to get along with, and hoped that Liu Zhao would be more understanding.

The letter, from beginning to end, reveals the closeness and goodwill between the Baron and his wife.

In addition, they sent a considerable sum of money as support.

Liu Zhao naturally accepted all of this with a smile.

In his heart, his trust in the Baron and Duchess and the Lance family, his allies, deepened even further.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Zhao wrote a reply and gave it to Simon to mail.

After finishing these matters, Liu Zhao, who was about to go to Shitang for a meal, opened the door and saw a guard in light armor standing outside.

"Your Highness Liu Zhao, the Second Prince requests your presence."

Second Prince Ian?

Liu Zhao was slightly taken aback, and then followed the guard to a pool in the academy where he saw the figure of the second prince, Ian.

"I apologize for disturbing you, junior."

The second prince, as always, wore a smiling and polite expression.

Liu Zhao nodded.

"No, I don't know if Ian wanted to see me about something. I remember we didn't have much formality. Just tell me what you need."

Facing Ian, one of the next crown princes of the Kingdom of Os, Liu Zhao, who did not want to get involved for the time being, simply went straight to the point.

Faced with Liu Zhao's blunt words and hearing him address him as "senior" instead of "Your Highness," Ian's eyes flashed with displeasure, but he laughed it off.

"As expected of a magic genius who can overpower all freshmen of the same period and win the top spot with overwhelming force, junior's personality is also very straightforward."

He looked at Liu Zhao.

"Since you've put it that way, Junior Liu Zhao, then I won't beat around the bush. Actually, I didn't come to you for anything special; I just wanted to make friends."

"A small gift, nothing more."

He waved his hand, and the guard beside him immediately handed Liu Zhao a scroll with both hands.

Liu Zhao was puzzled.

"What is this?"

Ian smiled.

"I recently heard that you seem to be interested in the red fruit industry in Black Rock Mountain, and you even bought a piece of land to build a workshop."

After hearing about it, I casually bought all the red fruit forest land in the other three villages on Blackstone Mountain. This is the transfer contract for that land. As a gift between us, I hope to use this to make friends with you, junior. What do you say?

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhao was taken aback at first, then glanced at the transfer contract in the guard's hand and shook his head directly.

"Thank you for your kindness, senior, but I cannot accept such a gift without having done so much. This is too valuable; I do not wish for it."

After Liu Zhao refused, he didn't give Ian a chance to continue speaking, and instead laughed to himself.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll head to the cafeteria for lunch now. See you later, senior!"

Liu Zhao waved and ran quickly toward the cafeteria without looking back.

As Liu Zhao's figure disappeared, the guards beside Ian frowned.

"Your Highness, it's really ungrateful of him to directly refuse your kindness, considering he's just a stranger from a remote little country."

Ian shook his head at this.

"He's just a minor character with a bit of magical talent. Who knows how far he'll go in the future? It would be best if we could recruit him, but it doesn't matter if we can't, as long as he doesn't side with the eldest prince."

"Moreover, he has completely offended the Riley family. Given his personality, he will definitely be targeted when he gets promoted. At that time, he will come to us for help."