After the brutal chaos of the battlefield, Karl had chosen to tail Max in secret, driven by a burning curiosity to uncover the truth about the white-haired youth who had not only fought alongside him, but who had also revealed shocking power and an intimate knowledge of the Black Lotus Guild’s secrets.
Following Max was second nature to Karl; after all, covert observation and silent pursuit were the very soul of what it ant to be a Black Lotus operative.
"You have been following for so long," Max said, his voice quiet but edged with an icy sharpness.
Karl’s face tightened, his jaw clenched, shadows playing over his sharp features as he stood there, cloak half-drawn around him like a shroud.
He’d never thought Max would be able to detect him, not when he’d used every stealth technique at his disposal, every trick honed through years in the Black Lotus Guild.
But how could he have known that Max possessed senses so honed, abilities so rare, that he could perceive every flicker of presence around him—especially those belonging to mbers of the Black Lotus guild?
"I wanted to know if you’re truly a mber of the Black Lotus Guild," Karl finally confessed, his voice low and cautious, each word spoken with the care of a man standing on a knife’s edge.
"Oh?" Max’s lips curled into a faint, enigmatic smile as he slowly lifted his right hand. Black flas erupted from his palm in a silent, crackling blaze, swirling and coiling like living serpents, burning dark and deep as an abyss.
"Black flas!" Karl gasped, his eyes going wide, every trace of his guarded composure shattering in an instant. mories of the battlefield surged in his mind—how, in the middle of chaos and slaughter, he’d felt another wave of black flas surge across the second circle, flas so much more violent, savage, and potent than his own.
He’d suspected it was Max’s doing, but he hadn’t been certain. Now, staring at the dark fire dancing in Max’s hand, there was no doubt left in him at all.
"You truly have the Black Dragon Chaotic Bloodline," Karl whispered, almost reverently, the weight of his words hanging heavy in the narrow alley. His pupils constricted as realization dawned on him.
Max didn’t say anything for a long mont. The black flas slowly withdrew, vanishing into his skin like ink dissolving in water, leaving behind nothing but an eerie silence. He rely tilted his head, his gaze locked onto Karl, cool and unreadable.
"That I have already told you. It was you who didn’t believe ," Max said with a casual shrug, as though revealing a source-grade bloodline was nothing more than admitting a favorite al.
Then, leaning forward slightly, Max’s tone shifted into sothing cooler, sharper, layered with quiet command. "I have a few things I want to know. If you answer , I might consider going with you to the Black Lotus Guild."
Karl stood frozen for a brief mont, weighing Max’s words with furrowed brows, his dark eyes flickering with conflicting thoughts.
He desperately wanted Max to co to the Black Lotus Guild—not only because he suspected Max was an outsider with the guild’s most sacred bloodline, but also because of the shocking possibility swirling in his mind.
Karl still rembered how Max had utterly suppressed his own black flas with terrifying ease on the battlefield. In the secret records of the Black Lotus Guild, there were cryptic ntions that only those with a Progenitor-level bloodline—or sothing even higher like source grade bloodline could wield such overwhelming suppression against a fellow guild mber.
The idea that Max might possess a bloodline beyond even their own sacred lineage sent a chill down his spine, mixing fear and awe in equal asure.
"What do you want to know?" Karl finally asked, his voice cautious, but betraying his burning curiosity.
Max’s expression grew thoughtful, then serious. "I want to know if there’s been any news about the star stone."
Karl blinked, caught off guard. Of all the things he expected Max to ask, the star stone was nowhere on that list. "Star stone...?" he echoed slowly, his brows knitting together in surprise.
But Karl was nothing if not professional. He turned away, lips tightening in concentration, and tapped rapidly on the interface of his holo-watch. A series of holographic screens blinked into existence, their glow reflecting off Karl’s sharp features.
Data and encrypted reports cascaded across the air like a waterfall of light. His fingers danced over the projections, dismissing irrelevant reports and opening others, his eyes narrowing as he skimd through streams of intelligence, hidden channels, and classified guild transmissions.
Then, a flicker of light flashed across one of the holograms, and Karl froze mid-motion. His eyes sharpened, locked onto the shimring text. After a few rapid taps, he finally turned back toward Max, a thin, knowing smile curling his lips.
"You’re lucky," Karl said, his voice carrying an undercurrent of excitent. "There is indeed a rumor about the star stone spreading in the Middle Domain."
"There is?" Max’s eyes widened with sharp light, his entire aura tightening like a coiled spring, every hint of his earlier casual deanor replaced by fierce intensity.
His voice cut through the silence with urgency. "Where?" he demanded quickly, stepping closer, as if he might drag the answer from Karl’s lips if he didn’t spit it out fast enough.
Karl t Max’s blazing gaze and didn’t flinch, though his own pulse quickened beneath his calm exterior. "It’s in the Celestial Wind Region of the Hundred Battle Regions," Karl said, voice low but steady. "Although the rumor hasn’t been officially confird yet, word is already spreading like wildfire. People from every corner of the Middle Domain are starting to move toward that region, hoping to see if it’s true."
He paused, fingers flicking over his holo-watch again as if to check his facts one last ti, before continuing, his voice dropping into a conspiratorial tone. "According to the rumors, a secret cave belonging to a powerful expert was discovered in the Celestial Wind Region. It’s said that this expert lived around ten thousand years ago. And—this is the most important part—he supposedly collected star stones as a hobby. His na was famous throughout the Middle Domain back then. He was known as Lots Ko."
Max went silent at that, his brows drawing together as his mind whirred with rapid calculation. A thousand possibilities flashed through his thoughts. The notion of a secret cave left behind by an ancient powerhouse wasn’t far-fetched at all in the Middle Domain, where remnants of past eras were hidden under mountains, sealed in lakes, or buried deep underground.
And for soone to have collected star stones as a re hobby—that possibility made Max’s heart race faster than any battle could.
"I see..." Max murmured at last, his voice low and thoughtful, though sparks of excitent glimred in his eyes. His mind was already picturing the glinting stones, the potential power lying dormant within them.
He knew the chances of finding star stones in such a cave weren’t rely empty rumors. For an expert of Lots Ko’s caliber, hoarding star stones as a pasti was entirely plausible—and if the cave truly existed, it might hold not only star stones but also treasures, techniques, and secrets lost to the ages.
And for soone like Max, who walked a path of constant growth and ascension, that was an opportunity he couldn’t afford to ignore.
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