Bram silently mocked Ethan with a cold, unreadable expression, choosing words more through gesture than speech.
His disdain hung heavy in the air, a palpable weight pressing down on the hall. Then, with an arrogant smile curving his lips, his gaze locked onto Lyralei's—the Empress who bore the weight of the Azure Origin Dao Sect upon her slender shoulders.
Seraphina's eyes flickered with urgent worry as she sent a message to Lyralei, her voice barely a whisper audible only to the Empress.
"Master, although Ethan shows some promise, do not entrust the fates of Senior Sister Althea and me solely to his hands!" Her concern was rooted deeply in reason, weighed by the cold reality of the stakes.
Though all the Peak Masters acknowledged Ethan's power—he was no weaker than the revered Saint herself—Bram was a different order of threat altogether.
