Chapter 542: Mysterious Nine Dragons Painting
Lucia raised her head slowly, meeting his eyes without the earlier hostility. Her tone was measured and refined, her fury buried beneath a veil of poise. "I’ve grasped the basics of the three Supreme Hall inheritances," she answered with precision. "That’s all I need for now. I’ll finish the rest later when the time is right."
Max gave a small nod, expression unreadable. He could imagine the immense resources someone like her had access to back in the Divine Realm—private trials, origin totems, bloodline-enhancing pools, and more. It made sense. She didn’t need to master anything in this mortal realm.
For someone like Lucia Grimes, this place was a stepping stone at best, a playground for training before the true inheritance refinement began under the careful guidance of her clan.
’Now I don’t think my Chaos Tree is a cheat anymore,’ Max thought to himself, his lips curving into a faint smile. After all, it wasn’t just the ability to copy inheritances that defined power—it was how one grew from them, how one wielded them in the heat of battle.
The Chaos Tree didn’t give him strength for free; it merely helped him grow in directions others could not. A seed still had to be nurtured. He had earned every leaf with effort, pain, and time.
Just then, a calm yet piercing voice interrupted his thoughts.
"I will defeat you in the Nine Dragons Painting," Lucia said suddenly. Her words were sharp, confident, her eyes brimming with a cold clarity that wasn’t there before.
Max turned to look at her, blinking once before smiling lightly. "You should know only the inheritances of the Black Dragon Palace are allowed in the painting. And I’ve already mastered one to perfection. What gives you the confidence to think you can beat me there?"
Lucia didn’t flinch. She merely smiled back, a quiet storm swirling behind her gaze. "My confidence doesn’t come from mastering one inheritance," she said slowly, her voice as smooth as flowing fire. "It comes from mastering many. I’ve already learned most of the core inheritances available in the Divine Realm. My path wasn’t limited to just what this city could offer—I was raised to comprehend more, to grasp deeper. That’s why I know... even here, even against you, I can stand above."
’She’ll be a monster inside the Nine Dragons Painting,’ he thought to himself. ’And I... I’ll have to go even further if I want to keep up.’
Max nodded slowly, her words still echoing in his mind. They did make sense—painfully so. Unlike him, who had only just begun to understand the deeper powers of the Black Dragon Palace, Lucia had clearly been raised in an environment where such inheritances were readily available, nurtured, and refined.
She hadn’t just comprehended more inheritances; she had mastered stronger, more ancient legacies—some perhaps known only to the highest echelons of the Divine Realm. Her confidence wasn’t the result of arrogance, but of absolute preparedness.