Chapter 163: Disdain

Lukas’s expression fell. After arriving at this place, at Lukas’s and Natasha’s request, Rosy was admitted into a sacred chamber with strong healing properties. Lukas had hoped that by staying in such an environment, Rosy’s condition would improve, but it seemed he had been thinking too much.

When his thoughts reached this point, another thought could not help but pop into his head.

Can they even help me....?

He could not help but cast his doubts on the White Knight Guild itself. The only reason he was here was on the promise that they could help Rosy, but if they could not, then what was the point of staying here in the first place? He was better off seeking help somewhere else.

Just as he was thinking, a loud commotion broke out. Shocked exclamations echoed from around him.

"Over a hundred vision specks...! Oh, in the name of heaven, am I seeing things, or is this for real?!"

One after another, shocked cries echoed. Out of nowhere, no matter what they had been doing before, at this moment the eyes of everyone present were on the girl from the Green Serpent Clan. The giant pillar seemed to flicker, emitting minute motes of light surrounding the girl. The spectacle gave her a divine air, making her look like a fairy that had descended from the heavens.

Of course, Lukas’s and Natasha’s reactions were no different. Especially Natasha — her eyes filled with a strange look. At first, she thought Lukas had been staring at her with nervous attention, but now it seemed there had been more to it than she had earlier thought.

The Vice Head’s eyes could not help but flicker with emotion. He raised his head and looked toward the pillar. Under his attentive gaze, the pillar started lighting up.

Slowly, in just the blink of an eye, the pillar was halfway lit. After that, the speed came to a crawl, barely moving an inch.

Looking at this scene, the expressions of many fell. Just as they were thinking she might not be able to make it, suddenly the living flicker before them flared again. Before anyone could blink, the pillar was half fully lit.

"..."

Silence descended.

Then loud cheers erupted outward.

"Oh my heavens, someone tell me I am not imagining things!"

"Someone after years managed to reach the threshold! Did we finally have the one we were looking for?"

"Finally... we have a true genius among us...!"

Every single member of the White Knight Guild felt overjoyed. This was especially true of the Vice Guild Master. Looking at the half-lit pillar, he let out a sigh of relief. Finally, after years of searching, they had found someone who could cross the threshold.

Although they had finally found someone they were looking for, the test had not come to an end. With nervousness visible, Vice Head looked at the remaining candidates, anticipation burning in his heart.

Today might be the day.

With those thoughts in mind, he called Jasmine to come stand right beside him.

Under the eyes of everyone, Jasmine moved with an indifferent smile on her face and joined the Vice Head, standing proudly. At this time, she radiated an aura that made it difficult for even some of the sequence-three bloodline awakened experts to directly look her in the eye. It was not because she was strong, but because at this moment the aura she carried was simply too overwhelming.

Finally, after a brief pause, the test resumed once more.

One by one, contestants came to the pillar. However, unlike Jasmine, none were able to light up even one-tenth of the pillar. The highest amount any of them reached was a hundred specks of light.

Just as everyone expected absolute disappointment, at this moment a gently looking youth with a calm and slightly suffocating aura stood in front of the pillar.

By now, most branch guild leaders and Vice Head had lost interest. However, even then, there was something about the young man that made it difficult for them to ignore him.

Vice Head scanned the young man up and down with a slightly narrowed look in his eyes.

Interesting... Such sharp sword aura. Is he from that power...?

As Vice Head stared, he found his aura — not just his aura, but his vision and even perception — seemed to be getting cut apart by some strange force, making it difficult for him to sense the young man in detail.

After another look, Vice Head confirmed something and muttered in a low tone,

"He is indeed from Sword Ocean... but how did he survive? Weren’t they completely wiped away in the Great War...?"

Before the Union, led by top guilds like the White Knight Guild, existed, there had been no central power leading humanity’s efforts. Instead, there had been several powers fighting their own independent battles against the star monsters. One such power was Sword Ocean. It was this power that first led to the propagation of the sword path, but in the Great War, this power was utterly suppressed and perished.

Remembering just how grand and noble a power like Sword Ocean had been, Vice Head felt anticipation building in his heart.

Just at this time, the young man connected with the giant pillar, and immediately a bright white light erupted in the room, almost blinding. Many were forced to close their eyes, but Vice Head stood unmoved, as if the light was not capable of harming him at all.

Instead, his eyes were fixed on the pillar.

Vice Head did not even blink, but even then he still did not realize when the pillar lit up more than sixty percent.

Looking at this scene, Vice Head sucked in a breath of cold air and muttered,

"Monster...!"

His heartbeat automatically accelerated.

It was only when the light faded that everyone looked at the result, and all hell broke loose.

"Seventy percent...! Someone tell me this is not a dream...!"

"It must be a joke! Tell me this is some sort of prank!"

The reactions were wide and varied. While some directly refused to believe the scene in front of them, others looked at the pillar with suspicion, thinking the pillar might have malfunctioned. But after Vice Head himself came to the front and explained that the pillar could not malfunction, nobody questioned why and simply believed his words.

After acceptance came even greater shock.

They had failed to find a single worthy candidate in years, and now they had managed to find two out of nowhere.

Once the young man joined Jasmine and the others, the test resumed once more.

One after another, all forty candidates continued the assessment, leaving only one behind.

Lukas.

However, Lukas did not seem to have any intention of going.

Many saw his sitting there as plain disrespect toward the guild, or simply an attempt to grab attention.

"Who is this ignorant guy? Why is he wasting our precious time?"

"Who even recommended him?"

When the chatter was almost getting out of control, Natasha turned to Lukas and said in a low voice,

"Don’t make that face. Now that you are here, you might as well give it a try. It’s not like you are qualified enough to pass the test."

Natasha’s words were purposeful. She had realized once he told her about Rosy’s current state, Lukas seemed to have lost the will to participate, so she had to try some other tactics.

Lukas hesitated for a moment. Then, ignoring everyone’s remarks, he strode toward the pillar.

It was indeed the truth — if it were not for Vice Head’s intervention, he might have already lost Rosy. Although she really was not his sister, he was not sure how the original obsession would react. In the end, help was help. He would be straight-up dishonest if he did not even bother participating in this trial.

Most had already lost their interest and were starting to make their way out of the hall. However, some wanted to stay and see whether Lukas would embarrass himself. One such individual was none other than the Green Serpent girl, Jasmine.

Her senses were sharp. Lukas’s earlier act of staring at her had not gone unnoticed. At first, she thought he might be another genius, but after realizing he was just another no-name guy, contempt appeared in Jasmine’s eyes.

How could a nameless trash dare to look up at her?

In her mind, a plan to deal with Lukas had already started to form.

Of course, from the start to the finish, she did not even consider Lukas succeeding. After all, if someone noble like her had barely passed the test, how could someone like him do any better?

Vice Head followed Lukas’s figure, the look in his eyes unreadable, but still a trace of building anticipation could be seen. Lukas’s performance back in the city had impressed him greatly.

Maybe...

Just as a possibility appeared in his mind, he shook his head. Although Lukas’s fighting ability was good, in the end it was just fighting. In the end, battle power did not equal true understanding of the world.