Chapter 40
Lucas rested quietly for almost an entire week.
During this time, Blake stayed to help Natalie resolve her serious family troubles.
The person who had sold her out was her own brother.
Their father, a powerful Count, wanted Natalie to become the future head of their family.
His plan was for her to marry a strong Cultivator who had connections to the Hidden City.
This marriage would bring the family more power and influence.
However, when her brother discovered that Natalie had been used and hurt by the organization, he suddenly refused the marriage.
This decision caused their father to remove Natalie from her position as the future heir.
With Blake's support, Natalie was able to confront her brother.
In the end, she killed him and made him suffer, but her father could not punish her for it.
Even though Natalie's father is a Count, one of the highest nobles, the rules are different when the Hidden City is involved.
The Cultivators from the Hidden City have the authority to ignore a noble's orders or even remove them from power if it relates to an official mission.
After hearing what Lucas and Blake had done on their mission, the Cultivators' support meant Natalie's father lost all his power over the situation.
He was not strong enough to challenge Lucas or Blake, especially after learning about their abilities.
Throughout the week, Lucas remained deep in a healing sleep.
While he rested, Blake completely destroyed the main base of the organization they had been fighting.
After nine days had passed, Lucas finally woke up.
His sleep was caused by a slight cracking in his Mana Core, though he could not see the damage himself.
He still needed a great deal of rest to recover fully.
The only reason he healed so quickly was because of his special Mana Eyes.
Without them, his injuries would have left him in a coma for at least a full month.
Once he was awake, Lucas spoke briefly with Natalie.
After their short conversation, he and Blake said their goodbyes and began their journey back to the Hidden City to report that their mission was complete.
They traveled fast, and in just one day, the two of them arrived back at the grand gates of the Hidden City.
As soon as he entered the city, Lucas's thoughts turned to his next goals.
His main focus now was on intense training.
He aimed to do two difficult things: break through to the Third Pathway of cultivation and strengthen his Mana Core to the Silver Stage.
Somewhere else in the great floating Hidden City of Sky, within the lands belonging to the Clover Clan, Blake had returned home.
He reported to his father, the Patriarch, about successfully finishing his promotion mission.
Blake told his father he planned to break through to the Iron Stage in the coming weeks and to improve his combat skills.
His father was very pleased and instructed him to train with, Austin.
Blake also wanted to see and talk with Austin.
He walked through the busy clan grounds.
All the older clan members showed him respect as he passed, nodding politely as he made his way to Austin's house.
When he reached the door, it swung open quickly.
Austin stood there, his face breaking into a warm smile. "Blake, you're back!"
"You sensed me already?" Blake asked with a soft laugh.
"Of course I did. I was getting worried after not seeing you for so long, but your Father said you went on a mission with Lucas. So, did you finish it? Tell me about your promotion mission," Austin said, his voice full of excitement. He stepped aside to let Blake enter his home.
Austin's house was built in the elegant, simple style of old Japanese homes.
Blake slid the side door open and stepped inside.
Austin was already sitting and drinking tea.
Blake walked over and sat down on the floor across from him.
Austin leaned forward and said, "Tell me everything. I want to know all about it."
"Why are you so excited?" Blake asked, curious if news of their mission had already reached the clan.
"I am! I was told your mission was upgraded to an A-rank mission. That happened after you discovered a defected Cultivator who turned out to be someone missing since the last great war. From what your father told me about your report, the enemy was a 7-star warrior," Austin explained, sharing what he had heard.
Before reporting to his father, Blake and Lucas had first gone to the Mission Centre.
There, they told a story that mixed some truth with some lies, so the officials would not ask too many difficult questions.
Their story was that they fought the 7-star enemy together and won.
This plan had been created by Lucas beforehand.
The truth was different—Lucas had defeated the man named Peter alone, while Blake's role was to support him by evacuating the other people.
"Truth be told, big brother Austin, I wasn't even part of the main battle with the 7-star warrior. Lucas was the one who faced him directly, and Lucas was the one who won," Blake admitted honestly.
"Wait, really?" Austin questioned, surprised.
Blake then told him the whole story of what had happened.
He had not seen the entire fight with Peter, but from the massive destruction left behind, Blake could clearly understand how incredibly strong Lucas was.
"Damn," Austin said softly.
He looked up at the ceiling for a moment, then asked a serious question. "Who is stronger, me or Lucas?"
Blake stayed quiet for several seconds, thinking carefully.
Finally, he said, "I would have to say big brother Lucas is stronger. If you are not using your special Four Leaves Clover eyes, then based on what I have seen, your chance of winning against him is only about 10%."
"Are you sure? Is Lucas really that powerful?" Austin asked, wanting to be certain.
Deep down, even though he acted humble, Austin knew he was the strongest of his generation.
This was a point of great pride for him.
Hearing that Lucas might be stronger was not easy to accept.
"Hmm, let me think," Blake said, considering it more deeply.
"Physically, he is stronger than you. In terms of spells and combat skills, he is also slightly better in the way he uses them. His battle instinct might not be as sharp as yours, but it is still very good."
Blake paused before adding the most important point. "However, if you use your eye techniques, your chances change. If you fight using the Four Leaves Clover eyes, your chance of winning becomes about 70%."
Austin frowned, not fully satisfied. "Why only 70%?"
"Because even when Lucas was fighting all-out, I had a feeling he was hiding his true power. I am not completely sure, but if I am right, then 70% is a fair guess. But if you used your full avatar in battle… I cannot predict that outcome. You might win then," Blake explained, his voice thoughtful.
"I might win? For you to speak so carefully… Lucas is truly that strong, then. But I understand what you mean. In the end, it doesn't matter right now. The only thing I must do is train even harder as I move forward. I will not lose to him," Austin said, and a wide, determined smile spread across his face.
"What about you?" Austin asked, changing the subject. "How close are you to breaking through to the next stage?"
"Oh, I just need a few more weeks. I should be able to break through then. After that, I will start my physical training with you," Blake said, and their conversation slowly moved on to other, lighter topics.
In truth, Lucas views both Austin and Blake as monsters because of the incredible strength he knows they have from the novel he remembers.
Yet, his own growth has been extremely fast.
He is already on the verge of two major breakthroughs: reaching the Silver Stage of his Mana Core and entering the Third Pathway.
Achieving these will boost his strength to match a 7-star, maybe even an 8 or 9-star.
Furthermore, reaching the Golden Stage after that will not take him very long.
Blake and Austin have trained since they were children to reach the power they now have.
What took them many years has taken Lucas only about a single year.
And his speed is not slowing down.
After awakening his Mana Eyes, his talent became limitless.
Now, his growth depends only on his own effort and will.