Chapter 171: The Plan Regarding The Shelbys

Chapter 171: Chapter 171: The Plan Regarding The Shelbys

After taking a moment to settle his energy, Xavier left the back mountain of Arcadia Academy.

His next destination was the Extraordinary Department.

The moment Liam Shelby laid eyes on Maya Knox, he froze.

He stared at the young woman standing behind Victoria Quill, his expression shifting between disbelief and excitement. Her appearance was remarkably familiar. In fact, she looked almost exactly like someone he had known many years ago.

It was as if he had traveled back in time and was looking at his eldest sister when she was still a teenager.

"She’s so much like her! Almost exactly the same!"

Liam couldn’t contain his emotions. He had never imagined that he would one day meet a niece he had known nothing about, and now that she was standing right in front of him, he found it difficult to control his excitement.

"You’re Maya Knox, aren’t you?"

He took a couple of steps toward her, his face lighting up with affection.

"Good girl! I’m your uncle!"

However, Maya didn’t share his enthusiasm. The moment he approached, she instinctively moved closer to Victoria and took two small steps backward.

She looked at Liam, then turned toward Victoria as if seeking confirmation.

She had never heard that she had an uncle. Now, a stranger was suddenly claiming to be her mother’s younger brother and treating her with such warmth. She didn’t know how to respond.

Victoria noticed her discomfort and gently patted her shoulder.

"He’s telling the truth. Liam is your maternal uncle."

She then turned to Liam and gave him a helpless look.

"Calm down a little. You’re overwhelming her."

Liam scratched his head awkwardly.

"I know. I just got too excited. This is the first time I’ve met my niece!"

He tried to soften his expression and spoke to Maya again.

"Don’t be nervous, child. You must have had a difficult life all these years. I only learned about your existence yesterday. If I’d known sooner, I would have come looking for you a long time ago."

Maya hesitated before correcting him.

"It’s General Quill."

Liam blinked.

"What?"

"Please call her General Quill."

Maya spoke seriously, as though this was an important matter that needed to be settled immediately.

Victoria was one of the few people who had treated her kindly. Her master, Graham Cole, and her martial uncle, Mr. X, also treated her well. All three had earned her respect and affection.

Even they addressed Victoria as General Quill. She couldn’t understand why Liam was calling her by her first name.

Liam was momentarily speechless. He had only wanted to be friendly, yet his niece was already correcting him.

Maya continued before he could respond.

"I’ll wait until my master or martial uncle arrives before deciding whether to acknowledge you."

Having said that, she closed her mouth and moved slightly behind Victoria again.

Although Victoria had made a good impression on her, they had only known each other for a short time. She trusted her master and martial uncle far more than she trusted this newly discovered relative.

Liam’s excitement slowly turned into confusion.

"Wait a minute. Who exactly are your master and martial uncle?"

He turned toward Victoria with a frown.

"Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier? If they’re the ones deciding whether my niece will acknowledge me, then I want to challenge them to a proper one-on-one fight!"

He was genuinely irritated.

He had finally found out that he had a niece, only to discover that two strangers seemed to hold more influence over her than he did.

Liam was never one to overthink things. His first instinct was to prove his strength through a fight. If he defeated those two people, perhaps Maya would understand how formidable her uncle was.

After all, now that he had appeared, he would make sure no one bullied her again. She wouldn’t have to depend on other people for protection.

Unfortunately, his words had the opposite effect.

Before Victoria could answer, Maya suddenly stepped forward. Her usually timid expression turned serious as she glared at him.

"I won’t let you hurt my master or my martial uncle!"

Liam immediately clutched his chest.

That hurt.

His niece had barely met him, yet she was already prepared to fight him to protect two other men.

For a moment, jealousy surged through him. But as he looked at Maya’s determined expression, another feeling quickly took over.

He couldn’t help imagining how wonderful it would be if she defended him with the same determination in the future.

If someone tried to bully him and Maya stood up for her uncle like that...

A wide smile gradually spread across his face.

He had made up his mind. Whatever it took, he would eventually become the most important person in his niece’s life. Those two men might have earned her trust first, but he wasn’t going to accept being pushed aside forever.

Victoria watched his changing expressions with amusement. She had known Liam for quite some time and was familiar with his usual behavior. However, she had never seen him act this foolishly.

She finally explained the situation.

"Maya’s master is Graham Cole, and her martial uncle is Mr. X."

"Graham Cole..."

Liam repeated the name, trying to remember where he had heard it before.

Then he suddenly focused on the other name.

"Wait. Mr. X? Are you referring to Major?"

He looked at Victoria in surprise.

"Isn’t he an alchemy master? Since when did he become a grandmaster?"

The difference between an alchemy master and a grandmaster might only be one word, but their abilities were worlds apart.

An alchemy grandmaster had to be capable of refining at least seventh-grade pills. Such individuals were extremely rare, even across the entire Dragon Kingdom.

Liam had never imagined that Major, who possessed enough strength to defeat him, was also an alchemy grandmaster.

The man looked barely twenty years old. Had he started practicing martial arts and alchemy before he was even born?

How was that possible?

It simply didn’t make sense!

Then another thought occurred to him.

No wonder Major had been so confident in Destiny Space the previous day. The pills he had traded so freely were probably refined by his own hands!

Victoria stared at him.

"You didn’t know?"

She paused, then remembered something else.

"By the way, I never got the chance to ask you about this during our phone call. How did you meet Mr. X in the first place?"

Her curiosity was genuine.

She had been occupied with work and other responsibilities. She hadn’t entered Destiny Space the previous day, nor had she paid attention to the discussions spreading among Star Sea Realm martial artists.

As a result, she knew nothing about Major’s sudden rise to fame.

Since there was no reason to hide what had happened, Liam began recounting his encounter with Major. He explained how they had met, how they had fought, and how he had discovered the other man’s astonishing abilities.

By the time he finished, both Victoria and Maya were staring at him in disbelief.

"What?!"

Victoria’s eyes widened.

"You’re saying Mr. X is actually an Eighth Star Star Sea Realm expert? And he has mastered the Phantom God-Slaying Sword Technique? You even suspect that he might be a disciple of the Highland Sword Emperor?"

She found it difficult to process everything Liam had just told her.

"Am I hearing this correctly?"

There was another detail that made the situation even more unbelievable.

Victoria had personally watched Mr. X compile the manual for the Six Directions Heaven-Piercing Finger and give it to his disciple, Mira Sinclair.

How could someone who possessed such a profound understanding of finger techniques also be proficient in the Phantom God-Slaying Sword Technique?

And on top of that, he was an alchemy grandmaster who was barely in his twenties!

Was there anything this man couldn’t do?

While Victoria was still trying to make sense of the information, Maya had a much simpler reaction.

Her eyes sparkled with admiration.

"My martial uncle is amazing!"

She murmured the words softly, but the pride in her voice was unmistakable.

Liam glanced at her and felt another wave of jealousy. Even now, she was more impressed by her martial uncle than by him.

Just then, the space nearby suddenly distorted.

A figure appeared out of thin air, interrupting their conversation. He had used the teleportation ability of his Space Rune Armor to arrive directly at the Extraordinary Department.

It was Xavier, wearing his familiar Mr. X appearance.

He looked at the three people and smiled.

"Well, I just arrived, and you’re already talking about me. What a coincidence!"

The three of them reacted almost simultaneously.

"Martial Uncle!"

"Brother Major!"

"Mr. X!"

Xavier greeted them before looking curiously at Liam.

"Liam, I didn’t expect you to arrive so soon. What have you been discussing?"

Victoria was still struggling to hide her astonishment. Even after hearing Liam’s account, she found it difficult to believe that the young man before her was already so powerful.

"Mr. X, are you really only at the Third Star of the Star Sea Realm?"

Xavier glanced at Liam, then shook his head as though the question was rather amusing.

"Did he tell you that? Well, I’m not actually a Third Star Star Sea Realm cultivator. I’m already at the Eighth Star."

He paused briefly before explaining.

"I simply have a special method that allows me to conceal my true cultivation. That’s why the Destiny Space displayed a lower realm when I fought."

Xavier had advanced from the Third Star to the Eighth Star in less than a day. Revealing such a shocking breakthrough would only invite endless questions.

Rather than explain the circumstances behind his rapid progress, he decided to use this opportunity to correct the misunderstanding.

That way, people would stop questioning why his strength didn’t match the cultivation realm they had seen.

Victoria looked at him with renewed disbelief.

"There’s actually a technique capable of fooling even the Destiny Space?"

However, she quickly set that matter aside. There was something else she wanted to confirm.

"But that’s not what I’m most curious about. Mr. X, are you really the successor of the Highland Sword Emperor?"

Xavier shook his head.

"Don’t ask me that question again."

He deliberately avoided giving her a direct answer. Confirming or denying the connection would only create unnecessary trouble.

Victoria and Liam still seemed eager to ask more questions, but Xavier had no intention of entertaining their curiosity any longer.

He quickly changed the subject and turned toward Liam.

"Now that you’ve reunited with Maya, what are your plans for her?"

"Not yet!"

Liam Shelby let out a helpless sigh and glanced at Maya, who was still standing beside Victoria.

"My niece says she won’t decide whether to acknowledge me until you and her master, Graham Cole, arrive."

The nearly six-foot-three man had a rugged appearance and a powerful build. Yet, at that moment, his expression was so pitiful that he almost looked like a child who had been unfairly treated.

Xavier struggled to suppress a laugh.

He had seen Liam’s fierce side during their battles in Destiny Space. The man was a sword fanatic who never hesitated to challenge someone stronger than himself. Seeing him act so helpless in front of his niece was quite amusing.

Xavier cleared his throat and turned toward Maya.

"Maya, your uncle may not be the sharpest person around, but there’s no doubt about his relationship with you. The moment I reminded him about your existence yesterday, he immediately rushed over. His only intention was to find you and make sure no one could hurt you again."

He gestured toward Liam as he spoke.

Maya understood what he was trying to do.

She looked at the tall man for a moment before finally relaxing her shoulders.

"Uncle."

"Yes!"

Liam’s face immediately brightened. He answered so loudly that everyone could hear the relief in his voice.

At last, he had received the acknowledgment he wanted.

Of course, he wasn’t completely satisfied. Maya had only agreed to call him uncle after Mr. X spoke on his behalf. Still, he had achieved his first goal. He had finally reunited with his niece.

Xavier smiled before returning to the matter at hand.

"Now that you’ve met Maya, what do you intend to do about her?"

Liam’s expression became serious. He hesitated for a moment before giving his answer.

"I want her to stay here. I’ll remain with her and protect her."

Xavier raised an eyebrow.

"That’s all?"