Chapter 802: A Challenge
Princess Lyra’s eyes turned sharp and cold as she fixed Kael Drakemantle with a piercing stare and demanded, "Are you questioning my choice?"
At once, Kael’s face grew slightly pale, and he raised his hands in a hasty gesture of denial. "I wouldn’t dare," he said quickly, but before he could say anything else, Lyra cut him off with icy authority, snapping, "Then you should shut up."
Kael hesitated for a moment, then let out a frustrated sigh, clearly unwilling to drop the matter as he insisted, "I would keep silent, but someone has to say this, right? He simply isn’t qualified to enter the secret domain. His strength isn’t enough, and I believe everyone here thinks the same as I do. Besides, the number of members each force can send into the secret domain is strictly limited, and I believe we should use those precious spots wisely. Sending someone who’s only at the Master Rank is nothing but a foolish decision."
As he spoke, Kael’s eyes swept around the grand hall, seeking support from the other gathered geniuses who stood watching the tense exchange with varying degrees of interest and discomfort.
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Seeing Kael continue to argue even after she had told him to be quiet, Princess Lyra’s face darkened, her brows drawing together as anger flickered dangerously in her eyes, while Emperor Hermes merely watched the scene unfold with a faint, amused smile on his lips, clearly curious about how his daughter and Max would handle such an open challenge.
Meanwhile, Max stood silently, reading the room and noticing how several people seemed uncertain or even discontented that he had been granted a spot in the secret domain, and as he sensed Princess Lyra’s fury ready to explode at any second, he took a steadying breath and swiftly began thinking of a way to resolve the situation before it turned even uglier.
"I wonder what this senior’s name is?" Max asked, voice casual, as though speaking of weather, and the question cut through the charged silence like a subtle jab.
"You...you don’t know me?" Kael blinked, taken aback, his expression shifting between surprise and indignation, as though Max had just casually forgotten the sun existed.
"Should I know the name of every member of the empire?" Max said with a slight shrug, his tone light but carrying an undercurrent of challenge, a spark that made a few of the other geniuses raise their eyebrows in interest.
Kael’s face turned a shade darker, scales on his forearms flickering iridescently as his aura surged, and he crossed his arms with a sneer. "I am Kael Drakemantle."
"I see." Max nodded, flashing a brief, polite smile that seemed to only deepen the scowl on Kael’s face. "Senior Brother Kael, according to you, I’m not qualified to enter the secret domain... Is that it?"
Kael nodded sharply, the corners of his lips twisting upward into a contemptuous grin. "Right. You’re too weak for that."