Shion Lan and Pearl Jewel felt a threatening gaze fall upon them. They raised their eyes to see who dared to look at them like that.
It turned out to be Prince Jaiden Joul, and behind him stood a tall young man with a courageous aura. He was the one who sent the threatening gaze.
' Fifth Level ', Shion estimated silently.
He ignored another person nearby who seemed about to explode with anger.
Pearl spoke first.
"Sir Shine, what do you want?"
The one releasing the killing aura was Elai Shine, heir of the Shine Family. Like Glass Sano, he had inherited his family's legacy.
Elai ignored Pearl and stared at Shion angrily.
"Let her go."
' Is he talking about Pearl? This will be funny. '
Shion smiled slightly.
"What exactly should I let go of? I'm still new here."
Elai placed his hand on Shion's shoulder.
"If you pretend to be ignorant again, I'll break your bones."
His aura pressed heavily on Shion.
' In terms of quality, it's weaker than Shi Yun Lan's ', Shion thought calmly. ' But it's still strong enough to put pressure on my body. '
Redo Grant watched nervously, worried the situation might escalate.
But another voice interrupted.
"Elai! Let him go unless you want me to burn you."
Elai looked toward the speaker.
It was Rona Flair, dressed in stunning attire that made her appear breathtakingly enchanting.
Elai stepped back slightly.
Another person beside Jaiden spoke mockingly.
"What kind of man hides behind a woman?"
The one who said this was Shun Ranos.
The three of them laughed mockingly.
Inside his mind, Shion shouted,
"Shi Yun Lan!"
The response was icy.
"No one who mocked me was left without becoming an example."
Shion spoke calmly.
"Elai, you should apologize."
The three stared at him as if he were an idiot.
He repeated,
"Are you deaf? Come and apologize now."
The surrounding spectators stopped talking.
Pearl and Redo moved closer, trying to pull Shion away. But Pearl noticed Shion's energy was draining rapidly.
Elai released his overwhelming aura.
"You're quite bold. Kneel now."
Shion placed his hand on Elai's shoulder.
"Why don't you teach me how?"
Rona tried to intervene.
"Shion! He's at the—"
She wanted to warn him about Elai's level thinking that he didn't know about it.
But everyone was stunned from what happened.
Elai, who was arrogant, suddenly collapsed to his knees, a lifeless expression on his face.
Inside the Veins Domain, Shi Yun Lan had activated the third vein.
"(Art of Annihilation: Body of the Dead)"
Though it was only a light attack, Elai's body reacted violently. His heartbeat weakened.
A cold voice echoed in his ears.
"Kneeling is excessive. Don't do it again, or people might think I'm bullying you."
Shion removed his hand and stepped back with Pearl and Redo who were stunned.
But suddenly a crushing pressure filled the area.
It came from Elai's body.
The manifestation of the guardian spirit of the Shine inheritance appeared.
The spirit looked around furiously.
"Who tried to kill my descendant?! Which bastard dared to do this?!"
Without hesitation, Shun pointed at Shion.
"He did it!"
Everyone looked at Shun with disgust.
The spirit turned toward Shion. Seeing that Shion had only two stars and two circles, he assumed Shion was merely Second Level.
He looked back at Shun angrily.
"Are you trying to fool me?!"
Shun bowed hurriedly.
"I wouldn't dare, sir! But he really did it!"
The spirit looked around and saw that the crowd seemed to confirm it.
He turned back to Shion.
"Did you do this?"
Rona tried to save Shion from the situation, but Shion spoke first.
"Do you believe I'm capable of killing him?"
The spirit hesitated.
Shion continued calmly.
"He asked me to kneel. I only asked him to teach me."
Silence fell over the crowd.
Suddenly the spirit exploded in anger.
"Then kneel!"
His aura flooded the area.
Jaiden and Shun were both pressured by it.
Jaiden was used to such pressure from his father. Shun, however, collapsed to the ground embarrassingly.
Yet the true target—Shion—did not move even slightly.
Shion spoke coldly.
"We're at the annual celebration in the royal palace. Do you dare behave like this here?"
The spirit glared at him.
"You started this, and now you hide behind the royal palace?"
Shion's eyes hardened.
"Are you blind? If you watched your children properly, they wouldn't have ended up in such an embarrassing situation. And now you blame me?"
The crowd was shocked.
Someone had just scolded a legendary figure.
Before the spirit could react, a cold aura spread through the hall.
Everyone turned.
Glass Sano walked forward with his sister Beliza Sano.
His guardian spirit appeared as well—Yossi Sano.
"Luster Shine," Yossi said calmly, "I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?"
Luster glared at him.
"Yossi! You damned ###! If you dare interfere—"
"We're guardian spirits now," Yossi interrupted seriously. "We're no longer alive. If you're not careful, you'll disappear without realizing it. Spirits are different from humans."
Luster glared again at Shion and tried to move against him secretly.
But Shion spoke again.
"Come on. We didn't come here to ruin the celebration. Why are you so stubborn? Also, I've studied spirit magic. You should return—otherwise you're the one who'll suffer."
Shion had Shi Yun Lan's power. He was nearly unstoppable.
Suddenly Luster felt weakened, as if Shion's words had pierced through his rage.
Though hatred remained in his eyes, he could do nothing.
He retreated back into Elai's body.
The tension finally eased.
Jaiden immediately supported Elai and had a guard carry Shun away.
Yossi disappeared as well.
Glass approached Shion.
"I haven't seen you in a while."
"Yes. The exams were long."
"Now you come here making trouble, you are strange."
"It's not my fault, they began—"
Beliza pointed toward the ground.
"What about them?"
Shion looked down and realized Pearl Jewel and Redo Grant had fainted.
"Oh. I forgot about them."
He helped Pearl up but left Redo to stand on his own.
' You could at least pretend! ' Redo complained inwardly.
Shion introduced them.
"I don't think I need to introduce the daughter of the Jewel family—Pearl Jewel."
Pearl looked around confidently and greeted everyone.
Beliza suddenly asked,
"By the way, Shion, who designed that outfit?"
Everyone finally noticed how elegant Shion looked.
"The design came from my teacher," Shion replied. "A designer made it."
"It's wonderful."
Some people gathered around them. A pleasant fragrance drifted from Shion.
Rona asked,
"Did your teacher give you that perfume too?"
Shion smiled.
"No. It's from my friend, Redo Grant."
He gestured toward him.
"He makes excellent perfumes. I thought it would be good to introduce him to you."
The celebration was just beginning, and the guests mingled freely.
Suddenly Shion felt a hand on his shoulder.
He turned and saw Sol Hart.
Her eyes were fixed on Pearl.
"Shion, why did you bring that girl with you?"
"A deal," Shion answered simply.
He looked at Sol more carefully, as she was wearing a noble-like clothes. He felt something wrong,
"You seem to have taken better care of yourself than usual."
"What do you mean?"
"These clothes don't suit you. You'd look better in a simpler design—and with less makeup."
In Shion's eyes, Sol looked like a porcelain doll.
She blushed slightly before asking,
"Shion… between Solan Neumann and Pearl Jewel, who would you choose?"
Shion didn't expect that question.
' what is in her mind? Could that be...? '
But he responded,
"Pearl Jewel."
Sol's face turned pale.
' Just as I thought… Solan must be influencing her ', Shion thought when he saw her reaction.
He added calmly,
"Only because Pearl is alive. As for beauty, it's impossible to decide clearly—everyone has their own tastes."
Then he smiled softly.
"But Solan—the pure spirit—has a pure beauty that makes it hard for anyone not to admire or love her."
Sol seemed relieved.
"If Solan were alive… would you love her?"
The question struck Shion deeply.
Instead of answering directly, he asked,
"Is there any method other than body possession?"
Sol shook her head.
"There are many ways for a spirit to possess a body. But there's no other method for a spirit to exist among the living."
Shion replied firmly,
"Then I wouldn't love a spirit who stole someone's life—even if it were the pure spirit herself."
Instead of shock, Sol simply nodded.
Before Shion could react, someone called his name.
"Shion Lan!"
It was Kin Light, accompanied by Nell Stroman.
Shion greeted Ken warmly and moved to talk with him.
Nell looked at Soul, who seemed lost in thought.
"Are you thinking about that bastard, commoner?"
Sol looked at her.
Nell continued,
"Shion might have changed, but some things will never change—like his behavior."
Before she could continue, a spirit invaded her body and silenced her.
Sol stepped closer.
"The person you're talking about is Shion Ranus, not Shion Lan. And as you said, some things never change."
She pointed at Nell.
"You're the only one who hasn't changed. Everyone else treats him with kindness or caution. But you're still trapped in your illusions."
In her eyes, Nell was pitch black soul with no way to get back to her normal.
' I think I shouldn't help her. '
Nell was released from the spiritual restraint, glaring angrily as Soul walked away.
' That bitch… I'll kill her!! '
...
Elsewhere, Baro Ferrer and Fiore Tai were walking with Princess Jina Joul, along with Cole Leon, Rose Gard, and Violet Night.
Soon they spotted Shion Lan, Kin Light, and Glass Sano talking together—surrounded by many admiring women.
The Second Princess smiled.
"Let's go greet them."
Their group approached, interrupting the trio's conversation.
When they saw the princess, the three bowed.
"Your Highness."
Jina looked first at Glass.
' There were conflicts between him and my brother. Perhaps I can bring him to my side. '
Then she looked at Ken.
' He always impresses me with his actions. He became friends with Glass so quickly. '
Finally her gaze landed on Shion Lan.
' He looked magnificent in his attire, radiating a calm and noble presence. '
Her eyes lingered on him.
' Shion…'
She couldn't find the right word to describe him.
Clearing her throat, she said:
"Second-year miracles… welcome to the royal palace. I can tell you about this year's celebration schedule."