Chapter 125: Confrontation?

With Irad’s voice exploding through the hall, everything changed. The flow of conversation shifted immediately as to why Irad Lee had personally appeared in the public bleachers.

Seeing the old man standing there, a renowned beast skull collector across the region, the surrounding crowd had a faint glimpse of an idea as to what could possibly be the reason for the grand entrance.

The old man quickly fixed his posture after seeing Irad approach.

’He must be here for me. Goodness, fortunately!’ the skull collector thought to himself, adjusting his silk necktie with trembling fingers to look presentable.

Irad stepped down from the high VIP platform and strode between the narrow path the crowd had hastily created for him. Soon, he reached the upper bleacher level where Terrence and the old man were situated.

"Thank you for coming here personally for me, Sir Irad," the skull collector said eagerly, presenting his right hand for a formal handshake.

Irad simply stopped right before him, his cold eyes staring directly forward, entirely void of emotion.

’Shit. He still has that terrifying aura despite his age! I can’t even tell we are in the same age bracket!’ the skull collector thought to himself as he looked down at the right hand Irad didn’t accept.

He awkwardly pulled his hand back, trying to save himself from total public embarrassment, and then pointed an accusing finger at Terrence.

"This trash of the Lee Family dared to disrespect me and call your auction items trash! I just wanted to educate him, but he dared to injure me by throwing my hand aside after I tried to teach him a lesson."

Irad nodded slowly, making the old man smirk with sudden triumph.

’Look at that! As I expected, that Terrence kid is still just trash! Although I only arrived here last week from my long trip, I am still as influential as I should be!’

Before the old man could boast to himself any further, Irad didn’t break his sharp stare.

"Move!"

With just that single, firm word, the old man felt a slow, tense sensation race down his spine, like icy needles delivered straight to his nerves.

He immediately scrambled out of the way as Irad continued to step forward, completely ignoring him.

’Just why...?’ he wondered, but his eyes couldn’t open any wider as he witnessed Irad’s actual target.

"So, Terrence, welcome," Irad said, his voice carrying a carefully brewed, practiced tone meant to please someone of high stature. "Why didn’t you contact me beforehand that you would be here? If I had known, I would have personally greeted you and given you whatever item you wanted."

The old skull collector was completely at a loss.

’What? Why is he treating him like that?’

Panicking, he looked around and approached a nearby bidder who appeared equally wealthy. "Hey, why is Sir Irad talking to Terrence like that? Isn’t he just trash who was kicked out of the main house a month ago?"

The wealthy bidder shook his head in pity. "He is not trash. If there’s a single word to describe him, he was a wasted genius that the Lee Family foolishly threw away. You might not know this, as I assume you just recently arrived in Suran, but Terrence is a top-rank tamer above even A-Rank standards."

"What? That’s impossible! He didn’t awaken Beast Taming Talent, so why on earth is he considered a genius?!"

"You should just believe me. I don’t even know why you tried to pick a fight with him, but it seems you are still completely lost regarding recent news. Terrence is far more powerful than you."

It felt as if the old man’s world was slowly crumbling around him. As the new information sank in, Terrence’s relaxed, unbothered posture suddenly made terrifying sense. It wasn’t arrogance—it was raw confidence backed by power the old collector couldn’t dream of matching.

The old man’s knees felt weak as he turned back toward Terrence and Irad. Terrence hadn’t even spoken a word; he simply stood there while Irad, an almost elder figure of the supreme Lee Family, desperately tried to appease him.

With just a quick observation, it was obvious Terrence’s true worth was immeasurable if someone as ruthless as Irad Lee was going out of his way to bow his head to a young man.

’What the hell have I done?!’

His feet slowly dragged his shaking body back toward the two of them. He tried to speak, but no sound came out of his dry throat at first. After a few agonizing seconds, he finally managed to break through his frozen voice.

"I-I would like to apologize for what I did, Terrence. I-I didn’t know that you..."

Irad glared viciously at the old collector, his bloodshot eyes silently telling him to get lost or die on the spot.

Terrence smirked, finally showing a reaction that Irad had been struggling to get out of him.

"Hm... No problem about it," Terrence said, his tone casual before turning his sharp gaze back to his uncle. "But my real problem is why Irad is managing the auction house. Isn’t this establishment the sole business of the Steel Family? Why is that? Has the Steel Family lost its edge so badly that they had to accept the Lee Family’s accord and put my former uncle here?"

Irad didn’t reply immediately, but his right hand clenched tightly into a trembling fist at his side. He was straining every muscle in his body to contain the raw, explosive emotion he had been keeping bottled up.

"Terrence, there is no need to make a public scandal here," Irad said through gritted teeth, struggling to keep his tone refined. "Please, follow me to the private lounge."

Irad turned around, fully expecting Terrence to follow right behind him. But as he took his first few steps down the aisle, Terrence remained rooted in his exact position.

Irad couldn’t help but peek over his shoulder, noticing that Terrence hadn’t moved an inch, nor did he look like he even entertained the thought of following him.

"Why aren’t you following me?" Irad demanded, his composure cracking.

Terrence tilted his head, looking down at his uncle with pure disdain.

"Who are you to ask that? Is this your personal business? As far as I remember, you shouldn’t even be allowed to manage an establishment that handles weapons or an armory, considering your record clearly shows you are entirely incapable of management. Right... you even had people’s lives wasted just because of your manic, twisted obsession with beasts and mana."

Irad clenched his fists even tighter, his knuckles turning stark pale as his body shuddered under the sheer weight of Terrence’s public insult.

From his high vantage point in the distance, Klein felt himself grow agitated. The unexpected encounter between the uncle and nephew had gone completely stale, but the volatile words being exchanged were clearly pushing Irad straight past his breaking point.

’I can feel it,’ Klein thought, his piercing blue eyes tracking Irad’s twitching hands. ’He is about to attack Terrence right here.’