CHAPTER 57: IGNIS VS LILITH

"Do you really take me for a fool?" James sneered, eyes narrowing. "Does it make sense for geniuses like you to slack off and not aim to become stronger? What the hell have you two been doing all this time then?"

"Of course we’ve been enjoying ourselves this whole ti—"

James instantly cut her off. "Cut the crap. What’s your real reason for coming here?"

He instantly continued as he looked at Ignis with a faint smile. "I heard there’s a secret realm that will open in a few months. Not only that, it’s said that this secret realm is a special one that, up until now, has never been fully explored. And apparently, it will also serve as a selection trial for top geniuses in this isolated area to have an opportunity to go to the Drakensreich Empire."

Then, he tapped his foot on the ground in rhythm. "Naturally, someone like you two won’t be interested in such a trivial thing like that event. So tell me, what kind of treasure inside that place is worth suppressing your rank and staying at Peak Legendary all this time?"

The event James had mentioned was the same event that made every kingdom and faction in this isolated area become restless. There were actually two particular reasons for it.

The first was because they used the opening of this secret realm as the test for selecting geniuses.

The second was obviously because there were many special precious treasures inside the secret realm that many people coveted.

When Lilith heard it, she knitted her eyebrows and remained silent for a while.

Yvonne, who had remained silent this whole time, finally spoke with a gentle voice. "Why don’t you also tell us why someone from the Dragon Race is here—when this place is the complete opposite of their territory?"

James didn’t respond to the question and nodded with a faint smile instead. "So, my guess isn’t wrong."

Yvonne flinched for a little bit, then shifted her gaze to Ignis. "Don’t you have anything to say?"

Ignis shrugged with a bothered expression. "Why are you asking me?"

"Aren’t you the strongest? Why are you letting him in charge?" Yvonne raised an eyebrow.

"And why does it matter to you if I’m the strongest or the one in charge? Just answer the goddamn question and we’ll answer yours. Isn’t that simple?" Ignis sneered.

Before Yvonne could respond, Lilith already replied with a frown. "Aren’t you being too arrogant?"

"Strength is king. Why? You’re not convinced?" Ignis smiled smugly.

"What if I am?" Lilith gritted her teeth as her eyes twitched, clearly feeling irritated from her response.

However, unlike what Lilith had expected, Ignis only shook her head and chuckled. "You’re strong—an extremely strong one at that. But I can feel that you’re still no match for me."

"You!" Lilith glared at Ignis in anger.

She was deemed the strongest genius within the Heavenly Demon Fox Race and could be said to be the future strongest individual from the Heavenly Demon Fox race who would become one of the strongest beings in this world. And yet, she was being looked down on as if she were nothing.

Naturally, she understood that Ignis was extremely strong, and she even felt a danger throb in her heart, but her pride just couldn’t handle it when someone looked down at her like this.

"Brother James, why is she looking at Sister Ignis like that?" Elara tugged James’ coat and whispered softly.

’Perfect timing.’ James thought to himself and smiled, patting Elara’s head.

"Because some people get offended when someone speaks a truth they don’t want to hear."

Elara blinked her eyes and looked at James innocently. "Why did she feel offended just because Sister Ignis said that? She’s just weaker than Sister Ignis, what’s wrong with that?"

Even though Elara spoke softly, everyone present naturally heard it.

"That’s right. As I told you, there’s no shame in being weaker... because above the sky, there’s another sky." James patted her head softly with a gentle smile.

"Mhhmmm—Mhhmmm! Elara understands." Elara nodded her head and looked at Lilith with a cute smile.

"Sister Lilith, it’s fine to be weaker than my big sis Ignis. Don’t feel embarrassed." Elara gave a reassuring smile as she continued. "My big brother used to be trash that everyone always mocked wherever he went, but he—"

James was stunned for a second and instantly cut her off by pinching her cheek and glaring at her with a cold stare.

The tense atmosphere suddenly vanished with the siblings’ conversation.

"How about this? Since I can see that you’re still unconvinced with it. We’ll spar and place a bet." Ignis looked at Lilith calmly.

"What are we betting—"

Yvonne cut her off. "Lilith..."

"Do you not trust me?" Lilith glanced at her with a disappointed expression.

"Of course I do, but—"

"Then trust me now." Lilith cut her off and looked at Ignis with an indifferent expression. "What are we betting on?"

"It’s simple..." Ignis replied with a faint smile, "Information. The loser will have to answer a question thoroughly."

"And food! The loser must give the winner lots of delicious food!" Elara chimed in excitedly when she thought about the delicious skewers that Lilith had given her before.

Everyone looked at her amusingly, even Guardian Lu opened his eyes slightly and took a look at the little girl for a second before shaking his head with a faint smile.

"Alright, it’s a deal then." Lilith nodded.

Guardian Lu sighed inwardly. ’Well, at least it’s going to be a good lesson for her.’

The patriarch had already reminded her that even though she was someone who could be said to be the future, one of the strongest individuals in the whole world, it was still something that would happen in the future. He reminded her multiple times to not provoke the other geniuses from the other races until she grew up.

The reason for that was simply because those from the Heavenly Demon Fox Race would become stronger the more tails they awakened, and that required a lot of time.

"Good. Let’s get started before the sun sets." James chuckled and started to walk away.

...

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