After a brief conversation, Donohue left.

Fleming closed the door and then eagerly picked up the book he got from the logistics office, carefully flipping through it.

"Star Ring Meditation Method"!

This was the only book that new students could receive for free.

If they wanted more books, they had to borrow them from the library or exchange them for Gold Coins and Contribution Points.

Taking a deep breath, Fleming calmed his mind and focused on reading the book in his hands.

He had just inquired with Senior Sister Winnie about the senior students who were currently advancing to Level 2 Wizard Apprentices. The fastest one to master the Star Ring Meditation Method was Senior Brother Sherman, who took only twenty-five days. The slowest didn’t take more than a month and a half.

He didn’t expect to break the twenty-five-day record, but he at least aimed to master the Star Ring Meditation Method within a month and a half.

Only then could he stand out among the new students.

Even though he had only been here for less than a day, Fleming could already clearly feel the intense competitive atmosphere in the academy.

Everyone was diligently studying and training, racing against time to improve their abilities.

This gave him a faint sense of urgency, unwilling to waste even a little time.

"One day, I will enter the Dragon Remains Tower too!"

...

Flash City, Royal Palace.

In the council hall, Kei frowned deeply, lost in thought.

Next to him, Brad, Jordon, and Stali were all silent, eyes cast downward.

Not long ago, in the aptitude test, both Prince Wes Yanest and Princess Adela Yanest failed to pass, losing the chance to enter Starlight Academy.

After hearing this news, His Majesty often sighed in front of them.

Brad and the others were not surprised by this; His Majesty was just a Legendary Knight, not an Official Wizard. The probability of his descendants having Wizard aptitude was no different from ordinary people.

After a moment, the impatient Jordon finally could not stand the silence and signaled Brad with his eyes.

Brad rolled his eyes secretly but still cleared his throat, breaking the silence:

"Your Majesty, it’s not really Prince Wes and Princess Adela’s fault. Having Wizard aptitude is one in a thousand, and the two of them can’t decide their aptitude."

Kei sighed, "I know, I don’t blame them, but the royal family hasn’t had a Wizard Apprentice in a long time. Over time, it may negatively impact the royal family’s prestige."

Brad and Stali exchanged glances at these words.

This is indeed a problem!

Jordon, without thinking as much as the other two, brazenly said, "Your Majesty is overthinking. Even if Prince Wes and Princess Adela didn’t pass the aptitude test, there are still many other princes in the royal family. Surely one of them must have Wizard aptitude?"

Embracing the idea of expanding the family, Kei had more children over the years.

Hearing Jordon’s words, he was first taken aback, then showed a thoughtful expression.

Yes!

If you have enough children, one is bound to have Wizard aptitude!

He could still live for another hundred years or more, and as long as he continued expanding the family, he could eventually cultivate a Wizard Apprentice for the royal family.

With the current foundation of the empire, as long as the royal family produces a Wizard Apprentice, no matter the aptitude, with the full support of the empire, they could be nurtured into a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice using resources!

The more Kei thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. His thoughts expanded, and he quickly came up with another solution.

"What do you think about having the royal family form marriage alliances with Wizard Apprentices from Starlight Academy?"

Brad and the others were initially stunned but quickly realized His Majesty’s intention.

This was to improve the royal family’s genes through marriage alliances with Wizard Apprentices.

After a moment of silence, Brad hesitantly said, "Your Majesty, many nobles in the empire have the same idea. They’ve already reached out to the academy’s Wizard Apprentices, but very few agreed to marriage alliances."

Kei frowned upon hearing this but soon relaxed.

Starlight Academy’s Wizard Apprentices are currently on the rise, and naturally, they have neither the mind nor the energy to focus on marriage, especially with Sunan as a role model. Anyone with ambition would not agree to marry a noble.

But that was before.

As Starlight Academy grows, the competition among students is becoming even fiercer.

Many students from common or lesser nobility backgrounds don’t have wealthy families to support them, struggling to afford the academy’s heavy expenditures.

To obtain resources, they must spend considerable time and effort taking on tasks.

However, if they marry a noble and gain financial support, they could save more time for training and studying, quickly passing through the early stage of development.

For students and nobles, this is a win-win situation.

It’s conceivable that more Wizard Apprentices will marry nobles in the future.

In this regard, the royal family has a significant advantage.

The resources the royal family can offer far exceed those of lesser nobles.

That said, Kei knows that such matters cannot be rushed and require long-term planning.

Firstly, no member of the royal family is of marriageable age; the oldest, Abbott, is not yet eighteen.

Secondly, the selection of marriage targets is crucial.

Kei most favors targets like Sherman, Cole, Attila, and Ethan, who are the most promising candidates to advance to Level 3 Wizard Apprentices.

But he also knows that these individuals don’t need the support of the empire, and the likelihood of them agreeing to marriage is very low.

Perhaps, on a distant day in the future, when they see no hope of further breakthrough, they might consider leaving descendants.

But that would undoubtedly be in the very distant future.

Eliminating these individuals, Kei is not interested in other average Wizard Apprentices.

He prefers to select potential candidates from the new students and form alliances while they’re still weak, supporting their rapid growth. Such an approach would undoubtedly foster a more stable relationship between both parties.

Choosing promising new students is not something that can be done in a short time. It requires long-term observation to decide.

After a moment of contemplation, Kei had a plan and shifted the topic to another matter.

"How is the mobilization of materials going?"

At the mention of official matters, Brad and the other two instinctively sat up straight.

"All the materials have been mobilized to the border city, enough to support a large-scale war!"

Kei nodded in satisfaction and asked, "Have there been any unusual activities in the surrounding countries?"

"Other than stationing additional troops in towns bordering the empire, there haven’t been any other unusual activities," Brad replied.

Kei nodded understandingly.

It was not surprising for the surrounding countries to make these moves.

They were guarding against the Starlight Empire’s initiation of a war to unify the southeastern region.

Currently, the Starlight Empire, in terms of territory, is not inferior to the original Cangjin Empire, and in terms of overall strength, it is even more powerful, not to mention having the continent’s only wizard overseeing it.

It can be said that the current Starlight Empire has more potential and strength to unify the southeastern region than the Cangjin Empire ever did.

Even if the Starlight Empire expressed no intention of unifying the southeastern region, no country would believe it.

And in fact, Kei does have plans for unifying the southeastern region.

The southeastern region is only the first step, and his ultimate goal is the entire Starlight Continent.

On this point, Sunan and he had an in-depth discussion once, and the two brothers reached an agreement on this matter.

With Sunan’s support, Kei was even more confident.

Thinking about the empire’s future prospects, even though his temperament had become much steadier, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

At this moment, an internal affairs officer suddenly appeared at the entrance of the hall, bowing in greeting.

Kei glanced at him and said flatly, "What’s the matter?"

"Your Majesty, an envoy from the Thorn Flower Duchy seeks an audience."

At these words, all four in the hall were simultaneously taken aback.

Jordon frowned and said, "Sending an envoy at this time... do they suspect our plans?"

Stali, who hadn’t spoken, suddenly spoke up, "It shouldn’t be. Although the Thorn Flower Duchy stationed additional troops in the border city, that was before the empire mobilized materials. They shouldn’t know the empire’s plans yet."

Kei thought for a moment and then said, "Let him wait in the reception hall; I’ll meet him there."

"Yes, Your Majesty."