"Oh?" Grey tilted his head with mild interest. "And what makes you think I'm not a martial artist? Even the Eterna System confirmed I possess True Energy and have become one."
"I don't believe it." Lia's eyes narrowed, suspicion flickering within them. "You showed no signs of Second Awakening last week."
Her tone grew firm as she explained, "Normally, someone on the verge of a Second Awakening would show symptoms at least a month prior. Unusual interactions with cosmic energy, bouts of extreme fatigue, strange physical anomalies—yet you had none of these. I'm certain of it."
She fixed her gaze on Grey, her intuition unwavering. "And my instincts tell me you don't wield True Energy at all. What you possess feels… different. Stronger. Your energy is even purple. Yes, I know rare mutations exist, whether from bloodlines or early comprehension of Laws, but I can dismiss both. If you carried a special bloodline, you'd already be known as a young master of some prestigious clan. As for comprehending Laws? Impossible. Only geniuses from the floating cities have the qualifications to touch upon Laws at the First Rank."
Hearing this, Grey merely laughed. Even if she spun the most outrageous theory, the records would only show his energy as pure, refined Life energy—what martial artists called True Energy. At best, her suspicions would remain just that, an unprovable theory.
"If I'm not cultivating the martial path, then what path could I possibly be on? Clearly it's martial. What other evolutionary path makes use of Life energy?" Grey asked with a playful grin.
"Hmph." Lia turned her head aside, her tone sharp. "Who knows? Maybe you've forged an evolutionary path of your own. You were already unnatural, almost reaching the power of a First Level Evolver while still a mortal. I know for certain you don't have special abilities like Alissa—since you two aren't related by blood. Yet you somehow attained cellular vitality and life force at the Ex Rank with nothing but martial arts. That shouldn't even be possible."
Grey couldn't help but laugh harder. Her intuition was frighteningly sharp, almost too sharp. But no matter how close she got, she would never uncover the truth.
At least, not until he chose to reveal it himself.
"You could be right, or you could be wrong." Grey spread his hands with a casual smile. "Either way, I'll be going now."
"Wait. You said you were going to golden chamber right?" Lia rushed upto Grey and asked.
"I'll go with you!" Lia suddenly exclaimed.
"Hm?" Grey tilted his head. "Why? I'm just going to look through some techniques and such, it will be boring also weren't you dying to go home after training."
"Yeah, but that was because I didn't feel like training then." Lia rolled her eyes. "I have nothing better to do at home either way and besides you can't just simply walk into Golden Chamber and buy techniques or evolutionary path. There are some requirements to be met."
"Is that so?" Grey tilted his head with a hint of surprise.
…
Sector 1, Golden Chamber branch.
Sophia was a student of Nova-5 High, she was an outstanding evolver and top beauties of Nova-5 high, who follows the Merdian Flame Evolutionary Path, it's a unique path right below the top 3 paths, it utilized cosmic energy to ignite the meridians with cosmic fire to supplement the body and become stronger.
They could also utilize unique immortal spells due to the special nature of their path.
She had recently got a job at the Golden Chamber Branch, with the University Exam in 2 months everyone has been preparing for it day and night, coming from a middle class background she had found herself a job at the Golden Chamber Branch that too in sector 1 where others in her class could only wish to visit ocassionaally. Now She had a stable job at the Golden Chamber which is the top commerce establishment in the entirety of Blue Star, she was definitely going to soar from here.
Today, she had welcoming duties, for a newbie it was the easiest job one could get and because of her good relationship with the manager, she had no work pressure at all!
Then, she spotted a pair walking ahead—a man and a woman. Both looked exceptionally beautiful. The man wore a darkened expression, while the woman's face bloomed with joy.
"Which is it? Did you create an evolutionary path or not?!" Lia demanded for what felt like the hundredth time since they'd begun traveling toward Sector 1.
To anyone else, it might have sounded absurd—creating an evolutionary path wasn't something that could be brought up so casually. But with Grey's capabilities, she truly believed it was possible.
She had been shocked by him too many times. What should have been impossible was now simply… ordinary when it came to Grey.
Lia was convinced he had created one, yet without evidence, she couldn't prove it. The lack of certainty gnawed at her.
And so, she chose the next best option—annoying him relentlessly, hounding him with the same question over and over again.
'I really shouldn't have come here with this woman,' Grey cursed inwardly. She hadn't given him a single moment of peace since the journey began. Her persistence was so maddening that, at one point, he almost blurted out the truth himself.
The only reason he was even here with her was because Lia had claimed that Sector 1's Golden Chamber contained everything he was searching for. Sector 6 might not have what he needed, and she had sworn that she had a way to obtain the things he was looking for. That alone had convinced him to come along.
"Annoy me again, and I'll make sure you go through training far harsher than today." Grey's expression darkened, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
"Hmph, this young miss isn't afraid of training." Lia lifted her chin with a smug smile.
For some reason, teasing Grey gave her a strange sense of satisfaction—an immeasurable delight that bubbled in her chest.
At that moment, Sophia, who had been waiting ahead, noticed the two approaching. She hurriedly stepped forward to greet them, her lips parting to speak—only for her expression to abruptly shift when she clearly heard Grey's voice.
"C-Classmate Grey…?" Sophia's voice trembled in shock.
"Hm?" Grey paused mid-conversation with Lia, his eyes narrowing slightly.