"Apparently, he was having so much fun inside the Training Grounds Rift that he decided to stay overnight without telling anyone!"
Kaleem's brow furrowed slightly. "I'm fine, aren't I? And I'm not a kid anymore. I don't need to tell anyone where I go or what I do."
"We might be hunting together and doing missions as a group but I don't take orders or report to anyone."
"Hmm… sure… now if only you had the courage to be so vocal in front of Boros, I might be willing to believe you."
Kaleem's expression darkened. He had always believed that Boros' strength was simply a result of being a year older.
But when Kaleem himself reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm, he came to understand the harsh truth: breaking through to Qi Condensation was no easy feat. Kaleem found himself trapped in what cultivators commonly referred to as a bottleneck.
The reminder of his inferiority to Boros made him upset.
Adding to his frustration was Emberine's expression as she looked at Caelum. To Kaleem, her gaze appeared 'dreamy'—this perception only stoked his irritation.
Noticing Kaleem's worsening expression, Caelum chose to defuse the tension.
"Well, that doesn't matter for now, does it? What's important is that you found him. Nice to meet you, Kaleem."
Kaleem finally turned his gaze to Caelum, his expression openly hostile. He made no effort to hide his displeasure.
"Nice to meet you too, Caelum. Your reputation precedes you," he said, his lips curling into a sarcastic smile. The venom in his words gave him a twisted sense of satisfaction. He needed someone to bear the brunt of his anger.
"You mean the reputation of my good looks? Oh stop it~ You're making me embarrassed," Caelum replied, feigning innocence as if he did not actually understand what Kaleem was trying to say.
Kaleem's expression contorted further.
"No. I was referring to the reputation of your stupidity. Losing a hundred grade-1 spirit stones right after you woke up… it must be nice to have the Patriarch for a father."
Caelum sighed internally, already feeling tired of the whole bet situation.
Even on his way here, he had noticed several people snickering and whispering behind his back.
'People are blowing this up way more than it needs to be,' he thought.
Under normal circumstances, Caelum would have ignored Kaleem's provocation. He wasn't one to make enemies over petty insults.
But today, something was different.
The specks of gold in his eyes was where the difference lay. His Madness clawed at his mind, whispering temptations to devour Kaleem and end the confrontation in one fell swoop. Aggressive thoughts filled dominated his mind.
'Initiating violence right now is definitely a no go. I might not even win,' Caelum forced himself to calm down. However, the calm he achieved was the dangerous kind.
'I want to do something bad to him… If I can't beat him up, then what else would work?'
As Caelum was thinking, Emberine spoke, "Kaleem! What's wrong with you? There's no need to be rude!"
Something was wrong with Kaleem as of late. It had started ever since he had supposedly received 'advice' from the librarian.
"And why do you care how I speak to him?" Seeing the girl he liked defend Caelum like that, Kaleem's rage boiled over.
Caelum's mind worked at a rapid pace. Various images flashed in his mind:
The way Kaleem looked at Emberine.
How he positioned himself close to her.
The hurt in the words he just spoke.
Emberine's dazed expression from yesterday.
And finally, Kaleem's current mood.
'There is something between these two. Love. One-sided, most probably. So… rejection?' With frightening speed, Caelum arrived at an accurate conclusion from the limited clues he had.
And then, he found the perfect words to say.
"You're hurting her with those words, you know. You might not realize it, but she looked extremely worried about you yesterday. I saw it with my own eyes," Caelum said.
Both Emberine and Kaleem revealed shocked expressions at Caelum's revelation, though for different reasons.
"Really? Ember, you were worried about me?"
"No! You don't know what you're talking about…" Emberine glared at Caelum.
"Ember, there is no need to push—"
Unfortunately for Kaleem, Emberine's mood wasn't great either. She erupted.
"Ugh! Ember this, Ember that! Shut up! It's Emberine to you from now on."
"As for liking you or being in love with you? Just cease your delusions."
Emberine then addressed Caelum.
"I rejected his confession of love before he ran off into the training grounds all by himself. The only reason I seemed distracted yesterday was because I did not want him to die due to my rejection. It had nothing to do with liking him."
Finally, she turned back to Kaleem again. "Do you get it now? Please stop pestering me from now on."
Kaleem's eyes widened, and his mouth hung open. He seemed genuinely shocked by such a decisive rejection.
For a brief moment, he looked at Caelum. And just for that briefest of moments, an evil smirk rested on Caelum's face. Neither Lyssandra nor Emberine saw it because their heads were turned toward Kaleem.
'This bastard was enjoying his misery!'
Before Lyssandra or Emberine could react, Kaleem stepped forward and punched Caelum square in the chest.
However, despite all his rage, he refrained from imbuing the attack with Qi. Elara's grief over Caelum's condition over the last four years was well-known throughout the Estate.
If Kaleem seriously injured her son so soon after he awoke from his coma, death wouldn't be something for him to worry about—it would be something he would find himself begging for.
He had intended only to teach Caelum a lesson, humiliate him a little.
Unfortunately, things did not go as he planned.
Caelum's body, now enhanced through the usage of [Devour], didn't so much as flinch under the impact of Kaleem's punch. He didn't even feel pain.
Kaleem staggered back, dazed by the outcome.
'I'm at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Even without Qi, how can someone who barely started cultivating take that punch so easily?'
Unfortunately for Kaleem, he didn't get the chance to try again.
"Kaleem! Have you lost your mind?!" Lyssandra's voice rang out.
Her Qi surged as she pushed him away from Caelum, throwing him to the ground. Already in the Qi Condensation Realm, Lyssandra was far stronger than Kaleem.
With a frosty expression, she said, "I think you should go back home and cool off. Immediately." Her tone brooked no argument.
Humiliated, Kaleem didn't respond, though he muttered as he turned to leave, "If that had been a serious punch, you'd be dead."
Nobody bothered responding to Kaleem's parting words. Lyssandra turned her attention to Caelum. "Are you okay?" she asked, moving closer and gently placing her hands on his chest.
"I'm perfectly fine, thanks for stepping in before things got out of hand."
"Mmm… you're welcome," she responded in a slightly sultry tone.
Then, stepping closer, she leaned toward his ear and whispered, "I saw what you did there. I liked it. Also, you're strong. I like that too. Looks like Boros might be in for a tougher fight than he expected."
Emberine couldn't hear the words she said but was shocked by her friend's boldness. Still, she chose to remain silent.
Lyssandra stepped back, her expression playful. Caelum didn't reply, offering only a faint smile.
"I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities to get to know each other better in the future. I'll look forward to it," Lyssandra added with a wink. "For now, I'll head back to the residential area with Ember."
Turning to Emberine, she held her hand and said, "You should just relax for a while."
Emberine nodded, still a little dazed. She had finally said what she needed to say to Kaleem. It was unlikely he would continue bothering her, at least not in the same way. Her heart felt lighter.
After bidding farewell to Lyssandra and Emberine, Caelum made his way back to the Duke's mansion.
'I need to deal with all the idiots who have too much free time and are talking about my bet like it's the end of the world,' he thought.
As he considered his options, a faint smirk tugged at his lips.
'Lyra has been complaining that I haven't spent any time with her since I woke up. I see an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.'
'This weekend, in two days, I'll act.'
With that plan forming in his mind, Caelum made his way to Lyra's room. She should've already returned from her pre-cultivation school by now.