Max regarded her calmly, though he sensed the shift in her intent.
"If you can surpass in this trial," she continued, her gaze unwavering, "then I shall beco your maid for ten years. If you fail and I surpass you, then you will beco my servant for ten years. How about it?"
For a brief mont, silence fell between them.
Carl's eyes widened in disbelief. Laura inhaled sharply, her composure slipping for the first ti since entering the path. They had known Isabella Lumin as the Saintess in training, a figure revered and distant. To hear her propose such extre terms was beyond their expectations.
Even Max was montarily stunned.
He had not anticipated this escalation. A wager of resources between halls was one matter. A personal bet involving servitude between disciples, especially one involving the Saintess in training, was sothing entirely different.
Yet the shock within him quickly dissolved.
In its place, a faint and subtle smile curved along his lips.
He had been contemplating how to approach the mystery of her Imperial Bloodline without resorting to violence or coercion. The hunger within his own bloodline had not vanished, only settled into patient silence. He needed proximity, opportunity, and ti to understand the resonance between them.
And now, she had offered ten years of closeness with her own lips.
If she lost.
A maid for ten years.
The irony amused him.
"This bet carries rather severe conditions," Max said slowly, as though considering it carefully. Then he smiled more openly. "But I accept."
Carl and Laura both stared at him in disbelief.
"What I am lacking right now," Max added lightly, "is indeed a maid. If I can have such a beautiful lady serving for ten years, I would consider myself fortunate. Under such circumstances, I see no reason to refuse."
His words were playful on the surface, yet there was sothing sharp hidden beneath them.
Carl felt his mind spin. Laura looked at Max as though seeing a different person. To them, Max had always seed indifferent to such matters, singularly focused on cultivation and advancent.
11:07
Accepting a bet that hinged on pride and personal dominance seed unlike him.
Carl felt his mind spin. Laura looked at Max as though seeing a different person. To them, Max had always seed indifferent to such matters, singularly focused on cultivation and advancent.
Accepting a bet that hinged on pride and personal dominance seed unlike him.
Isabella, however, did not interpret it as levity.
A bright laugh escaped her lips.
"Good," she said confidently. "Then let us race."
Without another word, she turned.
Boom.
The flas beneath her feet erupted outward as she accelerated. Her body beca a streak of shimring light as she surged past the boundary of the first pillar and entered the second.
One thousand one hundred miles.
One thousand two hundred miles.
One thousand four hundred miles.
One thousand six hundred miles.
Her figure advanced with astonishing speed through the second layer. The flas there burned deeper and more violently than the first, yet they did not hinder her significantly. The dormant authority of the Imperial Bloodline flickered faintly within her veins, suppressing portions of the surrounding pressure.
One thousand seven hundred miles.
One thousand eight hundred miles.
One thousand nine hundred miles.
With a final burst of speed, she crossed into the third pillar.
The floating screens above captured her progress, drawing murmurs from observers across the do.
She did not slow imdiately upon entering the third layer. The flas there carried heavier destructive intent, laced with deeper conceptual pressure. Yet she pushed forward regardless, her aura stabilizing the surge.
Only after reaching the midpoint of the third pillar did her pace finally decrease.
Two thousand five hundred miles.
At that distance, the flas around her condensed into thicker streams, and fla beasts began manifesting in greater numbers. Her advance beca asured rather than explosive.
Even so, her performance was extraordinary.
At that mont, Zain Heron had already stepped into the fourth pillar, continuing his relentless ascent.
Behind them, the gap widened.
And Max stood still at the boundary of the second pillar, watching calmly as the Saintess in training raced forward with burning determination.
"Max, you should hurry up," Carl said anxiously, his eyes flickering between Max and the floating screens above. Isabella's figure was already a distant streak within the third pillar, and with each passing mont the gap appeared to widen. "At her pace, she will leave you behind completely."
Laura nodded from the side, her expression tense. She did not understand why Max had agreed to such a wager, especially one that involved sothing as extre as ten years of servitude.
However, whatever doubts she had, she kept them to herself. Max was one of their own. He belonged to the Thirty Third Hall, and more importantly, he was a direct disciple of Elder Virelila. That alone was enough for her to stand behind him without hesitation.
Both of them could feel the pressure intensifying at the boundary of the second pillar, yet their attention remained fixed on Max's stillness.
He, on the other hand, appeared completely at ease.
"There is no need to hurry," Max said with a faint smile, his gaze still directed toward the distant projection of Isabella's advance. "This is not truly a race."
Carl frowned. "What do you an it is not a race? She has already reached the third layer and is pushing forward."
Max finally shifted his attention toward them.
"There is no ti limit in this trial," he explained calmly. "The Path to Eternal Flas does not reward speed alone. It rewards depth. Whether she reaches her limit quickly or slowly does not matter. What matters is how far that limit ultimately is."
His voice remained steady, free of urgency.
"If she exhausts her strength within the third or fourth pillar after rushing recklessly, and I reach deeper by maintaining control, then I win. This wager is not about who steps faster. It is about who stands farther in the end."
Carl's anxious expression softened slightly as he processed those words.
Laura exhaled quietly. "So you are planning to conserve your strength and advance steadily."
Max nodded faintly.
"The deeper layers will only beco harsher," he continued. "If the first pillar already contains fla concepts ranging up to the fifth level, then the fifth pillar and beyond will not be simple endurance tests. They will challenge comprehension and foundation. Rushing without understanding the structure of the flas would be foolish."
He glanced upward once more.
Isabella's rapid ascent was impressive, but Max didn't care.
"I only need to surpass her," Max concluded quietly. "Whether she runs ahead now or not does not change that."
Carl and Laura exchanged a glance and sighed.
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