Path to Transcendence

Chapter 746: Calculated Risk

Julius stared down at his hand, clenching and unclenching it. Truth to be told, he was very happy with the skill. While he’d already tested it against Marcus and Lily, he wasn’t quite used to it at the time. It was still new, and he was figuring stuff out.

However, against someone like Soren, it became very clear that the skill was extremely powerful. He would even dare to say it was overpowered. The skill itself, without having any mana, aura, or kinetic energy running through it, performed at a level similar to what he was at before he got the skill.

It was hard to explain how insane that was. His previous skill, [Pyrokinetic Embodiment of Ruin], was already an extremely powerful skill for epic rank. Yet, this skill blew it out of the water. It was like the difference between the body of a Tier 3 compared to a Tier 4.

Even more impressive about the skill was its ability to negate his opponent’s skills and techniques. He didn’t know how it worked, but somehow his body was enough to disrupt mana, aura, and perhaps many other energies that it came across. Not even opposing Authorities were safe from it. The skill reacted to whatever attacked it and passively ripped apart anything in its path.

It was quite merciless in how it did it too. He could feel there was some sort of backlash effect to his opponents. Almost like it was shoving whatever remnants of their mana back into their bodies.

Julius suspected it was some kind of development based on his ruinous aura and his Force Concept. But it was too soon to say; he would need to test it out even more rigorously. It wasn’t that powerful. At least yet. But he wasn’t about to complain about it. He would take whatever he could. Plus, it was only level one, so he had plenty of time to improve it.

He had a problem, though.

How was he going to find appropriate vict— volunteers to help him push the skill? He doubted that many Tier 4s would be able to help him.

Speaking of vict— volunteers, he glanced at the unmoving body of Soren with a slightly disappointed look. He’d been expecting something a little bit… more, especially from someone who was from the Nine Peaks Sect.

Though to be fair, if he had used his sword from the get-go, it might have been more competitive. That last sword strike at the end was quite dangerous, even for himself. There was a good chance that the blade would have penetrated his defenses and cut off his arm if he tried to block it with it. If Julius had known this beforehand, he would have insisted the guy use the blade from the get-go.

The people who had gathered around to watch were silently muttering amongst each other.

He heard things like, “Did he cheat?” and “Maybe he used an item,” from the guards.

He wasn’t about to correct them. If that’s what they wanted to believe, then he would allow them to do so. However, he noticed one person who didn’t seem to think Julius had cheated or used an item. It was the girl who was with the Nine Peaks Sect disciple. The same girl was looking at him with intense fascination.

He looked away when he saw Lily walk up to him with a small grin. “See? No worries,” she said with a wink.

“Is this what you wanted?”

She shook her head. “No, but that is,” she said with a tilt of her head in the direction where a small group of people was heading over to them.

He frowned and followed her gaze. Then he scoffed when he saw City Lord Zheng walking into the training yard, a scowl firmly placed on his face.

“What is going on here?” the city lord announced loudly.

It was like someone dropped a stink bomb in the middle of the training yard, and he saw most of the guards run off in every direction.

Captain Aldon stepped up with a bow, quickly explaining the situation. But Julius couldn't help but feel like the explanation was stiff, as if it was rehearsed.

City Lord Zheng listened to the explanation silently, saying nothing but occasionally nodding. Only when Captain Aldon finished did he turn and walk over to Julius and Lily. He stopped a few feet away from them and bowed quite deeply.

“My sincere apologies for this mess, Lady Lily and Mr. Julius. I will make sure to handle the situation properly. Being forced into this mess is a blight on Goldmere’s name,” he said, this last part with a dark look at Captain Aldon and the other guards.

“It’s okay, City Lord Zheng, I’m sure it was all a misunderstanding,” Lily said with a graceful bow. “But what about the Nine Peaks Sect? Will there be any fallout or issues from this?”

“I doubt it, but if there is, I will handle it. It was their own who caused and forced the issue,” the city lord assured her.

“I appreciate it,” Lily said with a grateful smile, though Julius knew that she had expected this. It was probably exactly what she was hoping for. She might even get some nice concessions from this in future negotiations. That said, he would charge her a fee for his assistance. He’d have to think about what he was going to ask her for.

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Then City Lord Zheng turned to look at Julius. “But it’s still quite surprising that you were able to beat an inner disciple from the Nine Peaks Sect. As arrogant as some might be, they don't allow weak disciples into their sect. It is no wonder House Violet entrusted their young lady to someone like you.”

The man might have said this, but Julius could have sworn he saw a glint of something in the man’s eyes.

Does he know who I am? Or am I just overthinking it?

When he decided to reveal himself, he knew it was only a matter of time before people started putting the pieces together. Even if they didn’t recognize his face, his name was the same. And there were not many people named Julius who were affiliated with Lily.

***

Tyrian Zheng POV

His eyes never left the form of the young teen who had taken down Soren Dawnfield. Truth be told, he had investigated the young man the second he saw Lily Violet acting so familiar with him.

It was reported that the Violet Scion was very cautious about who she made friends with, and the friends she did have were all well known in the Empire. Duke Zenith’s sole heir was one of them. As well as the Crystal Tyrant's daughter.

So of course Tyrian reached out to his contact within the Empire to see if they knew who this boy was. He found a lot of information. Most of it was heavily conflicting, and a large portion was, no doubt, exaggerated or outright lies.

However, reading between the lines, it was apparent that Lily Violet was friends with someone by the name of Julius Snow, a young man who had gotten second place at the Goldencrest Academy’s Tournament and who had ultimately won the Luminous Interschool Tournament.

He was supposedly one of the most talented geniuses the Empire had seen in years. However, there were many reports that stated the boy was dead. Assassinated by a Tier 5 during the terrorist attack on the Empire’s Capital. There were many eyewitnesses to this, and by all accounts, it seemed true.

It was reported that the boy was a few years younger than House Violet's prized jewel. Whereas Julius, residing in Goldmere, looked around the same age as her.

However, that was the reason why he had instructed Captain Aldon to test the boy. He didn’t intentionally set the Dawnfield descendant on him. But the situation provided a unique opportunity to investigate a little more closely. If the Julius who was staying within his city was indeed the same Julius who had technically won the Luminous Tournament, then he wanted to be sure.

There weren’t many people who could beat an inner disciple of the Nine Peaks Sect. So if he did, then it would be even more proof that this was indeed Julius Snow. Or at the very least, demonstrated the boy's talent.

It was a risk, though. The boy’s “last name” concerned Tyrian a lot. Steelborn was a name that was honestly quite common in Corvus. However, only one person truly embodied the name Steelborn.

Cain Steelborn, The Lord of the Shattered Throne.

A man who many presumed to be one of the strongest Tier 6s in direct combat on the entire continent. Tyrian had never had the pleasure or misfortune of meeting the man. But he had heard several disturbing stories about the man. The most famous one was that the Lord of the Shattered Throne had singlehandedly destroyed the Five-Headed Snake Sect.

While it wasn’t a top-ten sect, it was one that held three Tier 6s of its own. All of whom were specialized in combat and ruthless to boot.

Or rather, it had three Tier 6s. All of them were now dead. Ripped apart and scattered to the winds. It was found out that the sect had been dealing with sacrifices and dark rituals. Even making the mistake of kidnapping and killing one of the students who was attending the Shattered Winter School.

The sect had been destroyed within a month. Not a single building or tent remained.

And this was supposedly the man who had taken Julius Snow under his wing and adopted him as his apprentice. It was one of the more dubious rumors, yet it was still a terrifying thing to anyone who knew better.

Captain Aldon let out a soft hum from beside him. “He’s quite a unique one. Do you think he’s the one you suspected?”

Aldon might only seem like a simple city guard captain, but that was anything but the truth. Tyrian had hired the man directly. It was only because the man wanted to settle down with his family that he decided to accept. He was quite a dangerous man himself.

“Perhaps, but I need to investigate a little further. Though the evidence points to the fact that he is indeed the person I suspect.”

“What about Lady Lily? Do you think she’ll be upset about what you did?”

Tyrian let out a soft chuckle. “Upset? On the contrary, she is probably happy that this happened. She will use it to her advantage for future discussions. It will be the price of my curiosity, something she knew well beforehand. I believe that is why she leaked the boy’s name to me in the first place.”

“She really thought that far ahead?” Aldon asked skeptically.

Tyrian nodded. “Of course, do you think that House Violet has become this influential without insight and wisdom?”

Aldon nodded, though there was still a bit of doubt in his eyes. He probably looked at the young woman and saw someone who wasn’t much older than his own daughter.

“And Clan Dawnfield?” Aldon asked with a furrowed brow.

“I trust you can handle them if they try to make unnecessary noise?”

“Depends on who they send.”

“If it goes too far, send them to me. I will straighten things out.”

“Understood. And what about the boy? Should we assume he’s the one who you think he is?” Aldon asked with a glance at the direction Julius had walked off to.

Tyrian laughed loudly and shook his head. “Yeah, that will be prudent. Let’s just make sure we don’t piss him off. The last thing we need is for his master to come and destroy Goldmere?”

“His master?”

“Do you know the boy’s supposed last name?”

“No.”

“It’s Steelborn.”

Aldon’s face was confused for a few moments as he rapped his brain for information. However, it quickly morphed into one of unease and anxiety. A rare expression for a veteran such as Aldon.

“Steelborn?” he repeated softly, as if saying the name would summon the man.

“Yeah.”

“As in the Lord of the Shattered Throne, Steelborn?”

“Perhaps.”

Aldon swallowed and gave another glance at the direction Julius had walked off to, no doubt recalling that he had essentially helped pressure the boy into competing in an honor duel. “You could have told me sooner,” he said accusingly.

“Apologies.”