In the arena of training, Ray was currently waiting on one side of the stage, while his opponent, Prince Lucas, stood on the other. Lucas had challenged him on the spot where they met. Now, both had wooden swords in hand, ready to spar. They were just waiting for the referee to start the match.
Lucas said, "I will make you remember your mother when I defeat you."
Ray replied, "And I hope you do not go take revenge if you lose or cry to your mother for help. That will be troublesome for me."
Lucas became angry and shouted to the referee, "Start the match!"
Hearing that, the referee called out, "Let the match begin!"
Lucas dashed toward Ray, intending to finish the match in one blow, but was easily blocked. Lucas was much better than Reggie—more calculative and more precise in his attacks—but none of it was enough to give Ray any challenge.
Lucas also noticed that every single time he attacked, Ray could easily block him. So, he activated his sword force and tried to land a powerful strike. Ray sneered at the sight and activated his own sword force, effortlessly blocking Lucas's blow once again.
Outside the arena, Alicia and the others who were watching the fight were already surprised that Ray could keep up with the prince. But when they saw that Ray could also use sword force and still keep up with Lucas, they were even more shocked.
Elizabeth, watching from the side, was getting irritated seeing her son unable to defeat Ray. She had been confident that if Lucas activated his sword force, he would win. She always believed Lucas was the youngest swordsman to ever activate sword force. But clearly, Ray was younger than Lucas—and now, the youngest sword force user stood right in front of her.
Ray, having given enough face to the prince, activated his mid-Qi stage sword force and easily pushed Lucas's sword out of his hand. Then, with one swift motion, he placed his sword at Lucas's neck. Lucas had lost the match.
Alicia and the others started to applaud Ray's victory, while Elizabeth's face darkened, her expression unreadable. No one could tell what was going on in her head.
Lucas backed away after his loss, wearing an ugly expression. He had never imagined losing to someone his own age. He had always believed he was a genius for activating sword force at the age of seven—the strongest prodigy. Now, he was having a hard time accepting the fact that he had just lost.
He descended from the arena and saw his mother giving him a disappointed look, which only added to his frustration. Without a word, they both left with his sister and the maids.
Ray also came down. Alice came running toward him with a bubbly, cheery face and said, "Good job; I didn't know you were that strong."
Ray could only chuckle, hearing all the praise from the ladies. Especially Alicia—she had been getting one shock after another from Ray. She couldn't even count how many times he had surprised them in just one day. If Ray hadn't spoken about not wanting to force Alice into marriage, Alicia would have already engaged them by now. That idea, however, would have to wait.
Little did Alicia know, if she were to propose the engagement, Diana would be the first person to agree. Robert would follow with no problem. The only person who needed convincing was King Daymond himself. But with Alicia's influence, she could easily have swayed him. That was precisely why Ray quickly made sure he didn't fall into this kind of trap too early.
Ray had no idea, but after this battle, his identity was about to be recognized by many. Soon, everyone would be talking about how the prince lost to Ray Walker, the son of Duke Walker.
Later, Alicia invited everyone to her courtyard and held a small feast to celebrate Ray's victory. She then told Ray that his rewards from the vault would be given to him tomorrow. Ray nodded, and after enjoying dinner, he planned to go to sleep.
Alicia, on the other hand, left to report to the king about Ricky Martin's invention.
Ray had just laid down on his bed when he got a call. It was odd—who would call him at this hour? It turned out to be Angelina. Ray picked up the call and told her he was at the king's palace and would be back in three days. Angelina said she missed him and asked him to return soon. Ray told her to let her mother know where he was, then ended the call.
Just as he was thinking about doing some cultivation before sleeping, he got another call—this time from the bubbly princess. She told him to come over immediately, or they would break his formation and enter his house.
Ray got the message and quickly made his way to the princess's courtyard to make sure she fell asleep to one of his stories. Upon entering, they played a few small games, and then Ray continued with the Pinocchio story he had left off the previous night. When they heard the happy ending, they smiled and fell asleep, clearly enjoying the tale.
Ray tucked them in, just like he did the day before, yawned, and returned to the guest courtyard where he had been staying. He applied the formation that his mother had given him—but something felt off. There seemed to be two insects inside, with the strength of Iron Stage cultivators.
How did he know? He had noticed marks on the door, signs that someone had entered. Using his soul cultivation technique to scan the inside of the house, he discovered two intruders lying in wait—either to assassinate or cripple him. Either way, the outcome wouldn't have been good. Ray could only guess these assassins were sent on the orders of Queen Elizabeth.
Instead of entering the house, he went back to the princess's courtyard, leaving the formation active at the guest house. He then called caretaker Rena for help. Upon hearing there were assassins in the guest house, Rena became furious, quickly rushed over, and took care of the intruders. She managed to capture them and went to report the matter directly to the king.
Ray, on the other hand, finally went to sleep—waiting for the drama that would unfold the next day.