“Nolan,” came a curious voice. “Who do you think’s going to win?”

Melissa had wormed her way through the crowd to discreetly appear at his side, her expression the epitome of relief as she looked around to keep an eye out for the chamberlain’s son. From the way she was subtly stooping her shoulders and ducking her head, it seemed as if she were a convict recently sprung from prison.

“There she is,” he said with a wry smirk. “Hmm, they’re all about the same skill level, but the old guy’s got like thirty years on the next contestant. If I were a betting man, I’d be looking at that guy for the win.”

“Ah, that’s a shame.”

“Why? Do you not like that guy or something?”

“He’s one of the chamberlain’s most trusted servants. From the way Kendal made it sound, he was basically raised by that man.”

“So Kendal’s betting on that guy, then?”

Melissa nodded, putting on a pouty expression. “If he raised Kendal to be like that then I can only imagine what sort of creep the old man is.”

There were dozens of people in the area directly around them, so Melissa’s criticisms didn’t go unnoticed by several shifted stares.

“I should’ve entered then.” Sensing a servant walking by the large crowd at its fringes, Nolan expelled some spiritual energy and used it to ferry an icing-covered piece of sweetbread over the crowd and into his cup-free hand. Grasping the dessert in a natural, fluid manner, he took a bite and then a moment later said, “I probably could’ve swindled him with a side bet.”

Katerina raised a slim, dark eyebrow. “Are you not on good terms with the chamberlain’s son?”

Speaking of the devil, Nolan sensed Kendal pushing his way over to where he was standing. “He keeps begging me to break his legs, it’s crazy.”

She was clearly taken aback by the unexpected response, simply nodding in acknowledgement and then returning her attention to the competition.

“I’m sorry about earlier, Nolan,” said Melissa, long brown strands dangling as she hung her head, downcast. “And for now, too. I just wanted to talk to you about arrayments and watch the competition with you, but he just won’t leave me alone…”

“It’s no worries. Hey, you said your dad was a logistics manager in Kendal’s dad’s faction, right?”

“That…yes, why?”

“Any chance you can convince your dad to switch over to the king’s faction? I bet Welson will welcome him with open arms.”

“I don’t think that’s possible. Lord Consul is…”

“Are you not aware of Welson’s status in Markham’s camp?”

Looking at Katerina, he shrugged. “Whatever it is, I guarantee you it’s about to be a lot higher.”

Brokering such a monumental deal for the heavenly dew had opened up Nolan’s mind to the possibilities that a partnership with higher ups in the CMA could offer him. Not only did he have far more heavenly dew than he’d let on, he had access to an infinite amount of Divine Spirit Fountain water and was also capable of creating all sorts of medicinal pellets. As far as alchemy went, he had a fairly high chance these days of refining high-quality pellets, a testament to this being the countless pellets with three dots of discoloration that sat within one of his many spatial bags. What was more, the meditation circle arrayments that Uncle Grey had taught him and his friends how to make were unheard of in modern Venara as far as he was aware, meaning that just one of these circles—even a basic one—would be enough cause to spark a major conflict between powerful parties. If he offered to install a set number of these for the merchant king’s forces to use, it was hard to estimate how much profit he could earn.

Seeing how Nolan spoke with the utmost confidence, Katerina and Melissa seemed unsure of how to respond.

Kendal arrived at that moment, pushing his way through the crowd only to grab hold of Melissa’s wrist and attempt to drag her back to where the other girls were standing near the front of the crowd. Seeing this, Katerina took a few discreet steps backward.

“Let go of me,” snapped Melissa, evidently reaching the limit of her patience. “Why must you be so incorrigible? We’ve only known each other for two weeks!”

“Incorrigible? We might not know each other that well, but our parents have made it so that we’re supposed to keep one another company tonight. Even so, you keep running off without saving me the slightest bit of face.”

“I just wanted to talk to Nolan about spiritual arrayments. He’s really good at them, so I wanted his opinion on the participants.” Stomping her foot a bit impatiently, she added, “I was going to come right back!”

“What makes you praise him like that? The simple barrier he made before?”

The crowd erupted into cheers as silence settled between the three of them, signifying the end of the competition. As Nolan had predicted, the old man in blue robes had emerged as the victor. Interestingly enough, Kendal gave a dismissive smirk and then hurried back to celebrate with the old servant. At least, that’s what Nolan had thought, but keeping in tune with the young master archetype, the long-haired, avaricious-eyed young man snatched the prize money from the host and then addressed the crowd at large while holding up the spatial bag that contained the old man’s winnings.

“Respected guests, an idea just came to me that might liven things up here a bit. You see, it seems that we have quite the talented young arrayment practitioner in attendance tonight. He didn’t arrive on time to sign up for the competition so unfortunately we didn’t get to see his skills in action.”

Hearing Kendal’s words, the crowd became curious. Dozens of people began to look around in an attempt to discern who the young practitioner in question was, while many others entered into muttered conversations with those around them.

Adjusting the golden collar of his electric blue robes, Kendal directly pointed Nolan out from the mass of onlookers. “There he stands, friends. If he’s amendable to the idea, I suggest that we host a bonus round of the competition to see who can fare better between our young guest and our champion here.”

Katerina looked a bit uncomfortable as her eyes darted between Nolan and Kendal, clearly wary of implicating herself by association. Still, she didn’t back away as she had before but remained a couple of steps away from Nolan.

Melissa’s expression was a mixture of guilt and bubbling anticipation. “Do you think you can beat him?”

Nolan nodded, putting on a light, leisurely smile before taking a patient sip of his drink. Whoa, I’ve gotta slow down. I just drank Divine Spirit Fountain water like half an hour ago and I’m already right back in the pocket.

Casting a playful glance at Katerina, who was clearly uncomfortable, Nolan leaned in close to Melissa and whispered, “How badly do you want me to embarrass him?”

“I don’t…well…”

“Haha, you’re about to be loving life.” With hundreds of pairs of eyes now on him, he looked over at Kendal and called, “Looking at how you’re dangling that bag around, I take it that if I win I’ll get to keep the prize money?”

“Of course.”

Pretending to cringe, he said, “I don’t know. You’re basically robbing your own servant of his hard-earned money in front of all these people. I’m not sure that I could accept such a prize in good conscience.”

A subtle glance from the hesitant servant revealed to all that he also saw the situation through the same lens. Smothering an immediate look of irritation, Kendal assured everyone present that regardless of the outcome he would give the old man an equal amount to the reward that they were betting.

A few muffled laughs from a distant part of the crowd told Nolan that some of his friends had arrived at the site of the contest.

“Well, if that’s the case then I guess I might as well give it a go.”

Folding his hands behind his back, Nolan calmly stepped forward onto a rectangular platform of spiritual energy that appeared beneath his descending foot at the exact moment before he made to take his next step. Like this, he walked over the crowd as if relying on an invisible staircase that only he could see. He did the same for his downward descent, and was soon standing in the midst of the other competitors along with Kendal and the other girls that had been accompanying him earlier.

Seeing Nolan’s effortless display of immaculate control over his spiritual energy, the chamberlain’s son was visibly shocked. He wasn’t the only one, for many other voices arose in a whirlwind of praise and speculation. At the peak phase of the Integration stage’s sixth level, Nolan’s surface cultivation was finally high enough to draw attention in most places, including a party attended by some of the CMA’s wealthier and more influential members.

“Man, look how worried you look now after my staircase entrance.” Nolan spoke loudly so that everyone’s attention fell upon Kendal. “Don’t worry, though. I’ll throw you a bone.”