Chapter 123: Living In A Lie


    ''To think I even considered Dalton Palmer as the greatest foe I could face,'' ude snickered in his mind. Of course, Dalton had the potential to grow even stronger if given enough time and guidance, but right now, Javier was much stronger than any student ude has ever faced.


    Javier was, as some would like to call, aplete cultivator. He made sure that he was consistent in utilizing and mastering all of his skills and techniques, whether it came to speed, power or even reflexes, and only after he made sure that everything was bnced did he move forward. He wasn''t the strongest, nor was he the fastest, but he made sure that he didn''t fall behind by improving each and every aspect of himself and not bing someone who was dependent on one thing.


    ''I thought that this contest would only be amusing at best,'' ude had a wide grin on his face as he stared at the scroll with anticipation in his eyes. ''But now, I feel as though I can''t wait for it to begin...''


    BAM!


    ude ced the scroll on the wooden table next to him and pped his hands to express his excitement. He then got up from the chair and walked towards the door and opened it, where his servant Randall was waiting for him.


    "Master!" As soon as he saw his master, Randall immediately lowered his head and bowed down to show respect. ude nodded his head and said to Randall, "Randall, how fast do you think you can set up a closed seclusion chamber for me?"


    "I-I''m sorry?" As soon as he finished speaking, Randall looked at ude with a bbergasted expression on his face. ude responded with an annoyed expression and Randall immediately realized his mistake and bowed his head once again. "Ah! I apologise, young master. I didn''t mean to be rude. I was just wondering why master would ask me to set up a closed seclusion cha-"


    Right before hepleted his words, his eyes widened as if he had figured out what was going on, and looked at ude with amazement in his eyes. "Don''t tell me- Young master, are you perhaps nning on entering the closed seclusion chamber to further your cultivation?"


    "You do understand that it''s extremely rude to question your master about his cultivation and training regimen, right?" ude stared at Randall and raised one of his eyebrows, showing his frustration, and Randall immediately backed up a few steps and apologized, "Ah! No, no I wasn''t questioning you, young master. That was not my intention at all! I was simply worried for your safety. As you most probably know, the closed seclusion chamber is infamous for its harsh effects on cultivators; both physically and mentally. And that''s especially true for younger cultivators, most of whom have gone crazy after spending time inside the closed seclusion chambers. That was why I was asking young master about it; to figure out whether you were nning on entering it or not. I was simply worried for your safety."


    "Well, you don''t need to worry for my sake. You are merely a servant sent by the academy to serve me. That is your duty. Telling me what to do and what not to do is not part of your duty. Do you understand me, Randall?" ude said as he stared at Randall, who simply lowered his head in shame and nodded in response. "Your servant understands, young master. I apologise for my shameful behavior."


    "Good," ude said after a few seconds of silence and then walked towards the living room, passing by Randall, who got up from the kneeling position that he was in, turned around and followed ude close behind. "And yes, I am nning on entering the closed seclusion chamber if you really must know."


    Randall, who heard ude''s words, opened his mouth as if to say something, but soon closed it after seeing the re in ude''s eyes, which warned him to not do so.


    "I hope the young master understands the risks going into a closed seclusion chamber involves and have taken those into ount," Randall spoke in a normal manner in order to not make ude angry, and ude looked at him with a short smile on his face before he nodded his head in response to Randall''s question. "Of course I have, Randall. How could I not? And after realizing that the gains outweigh the risks while also having enough confidence in my own skills to endure the terror that the closed seclusion chambers include, I have decided that I will be entering it."


    "Very well, young master," Randall, albeit reluctant about the young master''s decision, decided not to speak about it any more and nodded his head, epting his master''s wish. "If that is what the young master wishes for, then I wish you the very best inpleting your closed cultivation training. I will arrange the closed seclusion chamber as fast as I can."


    He then paused for a brief second, nced at ude and then continued, "Forgive me if I''m being rude, but may I ask how long will the young master be staying inside the chamber?"


    "Why, of course it''s only for one whole week!" ude replied with a wide smirk stered across his face, and one could feel the excitement oozing from him and spreading into the atmosphere as he spoke. "After all, I have a contest to take part in. Now I can''t miss that, can I?"


    "Ah, yes. Of course you cannot miss the contest. How could I not find an answer to such an easy question? Forgive me, young master," Randall bowed his head once again and ude snorted in response and waved his hands dismissively. Randall then straightened himself and turned around to head towards the exit, before shifting his gaze to look at his master and saying, "Now, if you''ll excuse me, I will try to find a closed seclusion chamber for the young master to use. I will be back as soon as I can. Goodbye, young master."


    ude simply nodded his head, and Randall turned around and walked out of the living room and exited the residence, leaving ude standing alone.


    **********************


    Back in the Grand Astral Faction section of the Inner Disciple Division.


    "That b*tch, ude Rayforth.. I''ll make sure that I get him back for the embarrassment that I suffered at his hand!" An angry Ian Jefferson gritted his teeth as he yelled out his frustrations.


    He was sitting in the faction discussion room of their section, surrounded by hisckeys, who seemed to have awkward expressions on their faces as they didn''t know what to do to make him calm down.


    "Calm down Ian. You only lost to him because of a fluke. You underestimated him because he was younger than you, and he took advantage of that. I''m sure you''re going to beat him in the sparring contest." One of theckeys let out a sigh as he tried to console Ian.


    "Yeah, Ian. I mean, that''s the truth, right? You thought that he was just another junior, and you let your guard down. The kid, who figured out that you weren''t taking him seriously, wanted to show off in front of everyone, and he took advantage of that. That''s it. It worked a single time, but it won''t work again." Another one chimed in, and soon, so did the rest of the squad, trying to please their group leader with sweet words and praises.


    "Yeah, yeah! Of course, that makes sense," And Ian, who was waiting for someone to praise him, nodded his head, agreeing to their words. In his mind, he really did think that he was special, and he desperately wanted to make himself believe that the only reason ude Rayforth, someone who was a junior to him, could beat him was because he was caught off guard. "I mean it is obvious as to who would really win if we fought in the contest. Yeah, I''ll show him.."


    "No, you won''t!" All of a sudden, a voice interrupted their group meeting and everyone turned towards the direction where the voice came from and flinched at once.


    It was their senior, Russell Davies, who was standing at the entrance of the discussion room, staring at the group with a hint of disdain in his eyes.


    "W-what do you mean by your words, Senior Russell?" Completely ignoring the disdain that was evident in Senior Russell''s eyes, Ian turned towards him and asked with a smiling face, although one could see the smile slowly faltering if they looked closer.


    "Oh, you know exactly what I mean, Ian!" Russell stared at Ian and spoke with a smile on his face, which forced Ian to wipe the fake smile off his face. He continued, "Don''t live in a lie, Ian. Sooner orter, it''ll eat you up."


    He then paused for a second, before devilishly grinning at Ian and continuing, "Oh, and the kid is my opponent, alright? I felt as though I should make that clear to you. Don''t worry, I''ll take care of him for you." He then turned around and started walking away, leaving a distraught Ian and hisckeys alone.


    One of theckeys tried tofort Ian. "I-Ian, senior is probably just messing with y-"


    "SILENCE!" However, his words were interrupted by a loud shout from Ian, who looked at the silhouette of Senior Russell leaving with hatred in his eyes.