In truth, Nero didn't really care if these people believed him or not. To him, they were worth nothing more than sand. The only reason why he proposed this battle was because they continuously slandered him, and him having to watch sand talk badly about him left him pissed. To him, he was already bullying them by proposing this fight, but this was the best he could do. If he proposed a match with those Grand cultivation Realm experts then that would attract a lot of attention to himself.
As Nero looked at everyone, the killing intent within his eyes couldn't be contained. His green eyes seemed like they could pierce through their hearts and capture their souls. As Nero scanned through the guests present, he found out that apart from Aito and Makenna, no one else here was at the Grand cultivation Realm!
To break through to the Grand cultivation Realm from the Divine Sea Realm requires more than ones natural strength to breakthrough. To step into the Grand cultivation Realm, one had to start the process of opening up the major meridians that connect directly to their dantian. Meanwhile, to open up the major meridians, one had to expend resources and the process itself can be considered none shearing. If one didn't have a solid foundation, then dying in the process was a given. Here, the only people who had experienced this process were those old Patriarchs and State Masters. Apart from the disparity in their cultivation, Makenna's foundation was far inferior to Aito's, and rumors say that the State Master might even be stronger than Aito! This is why the Gandor kingdom is said to be the strongest of all five ruling powers.
As Aito heard Nero's proposition, he quickly nodded in agreement. This was a more subtle approach to his initial approach of killing everyone. One had to know that although Aito had a calm demeanor, he was also hot-blooded to the core. As it concerned the Gandor kingdom in this case, he wouldn't just sit back and watch outsiders ridicule what he stood for.
"Very good!" Aito thundered in agreement. "If any other person has doubts about our esteemed guests then feel free to compete in the battle. As he said, words are useless in actual combat. The truth can only be decided by who is stronger. Thirty days from now and we will know just who is stronger!"
As Aito spoke, his aura unconsciously shot up in excitement. They might be the five ruling powers of the Western Earth Kingdom but that didn't mean that they were on good terms with each other. If given the perfect opportunity, they would ruthlessly annex the weaker ones. The Gandor kingdom was undoubtedly the strongest but still, they would occasionally get offended by the other ruling powers.
With time, their influence grew weaker and weaker to the point where they were being openly confronted at their gatherings. If this wasn't considered disrespectful then nothing else would.
Aito quickly agreed to the battle. "Thirty days from now, the State Master would come out from seclusion. It's the best time to display your abilities!"
Although Aito just met Nero for the first time today, he still had a good impression of his strength. These so-called young promising martial artist's cultivation might be higher than Nero's, but Aito could feel that Nero's strength far surpassed theirs. Even his blood vitality far surpassed that of those old martial artists! Aito didn't think that Nero would blindly propose this battle so he decided to follow through with it. Besides, this battle would be a battle that would also help strengthen their influence on the other ruling powers.
Out of all the other ruling powers, only the Siel family was present because they were closer to each other. The rest would take a few days to get here, and thirty days from now, the battle of attrition would take place. Nero only proposed this battle to show his strength and not to help the Gandor kingdom, but as things turned out this way he couldn't do anything else.
After his proposal, Nero calmly sat back down. Not even the tiniest trace of fear crossed his face, it was like he didn't put everyone here in his eyes! With a fearless expression, his green eyes stared down at Makenna like he was nothing more than sand to him. Makenna could feel Nero's disdainful gaze on him and felt a bit pressured. He unconsciously started to reevaluate this battle, thinking it was a bad idea. But at this point, as things had escalated to this level there was nothing he could do. He might be the proud Grand Patriarch of the Siel family but in front of someone like Aito, he was nothing more than an ant.
The boundary between Makenna and Aito might seem small but the difference was that Aito had opened more major meridians than Makenna. And opening more major meridians meant containing more power, and containing more power meant being more powerful.
With time, the atmosphere of the feast returned to how it was before. But those young martial artists would occasionally throw hateful glares at Nero, of which he didn't mind. A lion had no business exchanging words with a rabbit. They could only decide who was stronger thirty days from now.
As things unfolded, Amaya remained silent; only she knew the depths of Nero's ability, and to that, she still remained uncertain. She didn't need to worry as to whether Nero would win or not. To her, these people had bitten more than they could chew. A confident smile spread across her face she looked at those young promising martial artists in disdain; these people truly weren't worth sand compared to Nero. For as long as anyone could remember there has always been one rule that stood steadfast in the world, the strong shall rule the world! How far one could go in the path of cultivation depended on how strong they were. Looking at Nero's calm expression, Amaya did not need to worry about this battle; the victor had already been decided.