Leon Xeton raised a brow as he didn't quite expect Damien to come forward and propose to hold a truce meeting with two of the top five families.
He also felt it a bit strange that Damien wasn't completely on Valentina's side. He thought Damien cared very much about Valentina as he even let her decide whether she wanted to join the Xeton Ethereal Foundation or not.
He felt quite baffled now, thinking whether he assessed Damien wrongly. But when he mused on Damien's words, he felt that Damien probably wanted Valentina to lead a peaceful life in the institute without making enemies with two of the top five families.
To be precise, he felt that Damien wanted to build some friendly relations with the top five families as it would be beneficial for him to gain more fame, wealth, and other benefits.
Leon Xeton nodded, "Why not? It's good if everyone can sort out their misunderstandings. But I wonder what would happen regarding the challenge between Dennisa Rivers and your disciple. "
Leon Xeton wondered if Damien wanted to visit these families because he wanted to cancel the challenge as the results of the match were quite obvious. He couldn't see how Valentina, despite her brilliant talent, would be able to defeat Dennisa Rivers in direct combat.
Damien said calmly, "A challenge is no big deal. It's better to let them have a friendly spar and exchange pointers. I am sure my disciple can learn something from someone stronger than her in cultivation. And about the bets, we will just see at that time. If Dennisa Rivers is a mature lady, I am sure she will know what to do, especially after I sort out the misunderstandings between my disciple and her. And Valentina would follow the same suit as her."
Leon Xeton felt that something seemed a bit off, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Logically, whatever Damien said seemed sound.
"Then what about Valentina's friend, Damien? He also has an upcoming spar with Roy Clive, and the bets are not in his favor. If Damien loses, it could be very detrimental to him. Since he is Valentina's friend, I am sure you can try to convince Roy Clive to ignore the challenge. With his current cultivation, he wouldn't have any chances of defeating Roy Clive. It would be better for him to wait for at least a year or two to challenge him. At least that way, he has a chance of winning." Leon Xeton said with knitted brows.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})He then looked at Valentina and said, "Valentina, you can advise your friend, right? No need to worry about Luke's family. I will compensate them. I don't want anything happening to the brightest students of our new batch."
Valentina said in a confident tone, "Senior Leon has nothing to worry about. Damien will win. He never loses."
Leon Xeton was a bit taken aback by Valentina's confidence. He couldn't understand how she could be this confident of Damien.
Damien sighed, "Senior Leon, my disciple, doesn't want me to interfere in her friend's matters since she said that I would be making her friend look bad and hurt his pride. So, I will just leave it to Damien to look after his own matters. I am sure as a promising young man; he knows how to take care of himself. Even if things seem to get out of hand, I will make sure nothing happens to him. Meanwhile, I will just settle things with the Clive and Rivers families."
Damien continued, "If Senior Leon is too busy, I will approach them myself. But I thought things would be faster if you were to involve yourself as they wouldn't dare to not give you face. Even though people know about me, I haven't made many appearances myself because of how busy I was. It would be good if you could send your personal disciple as a proxy to oversee our meeting."
Falko, who was standing in the side, perked his ears as he thought that he could probably help out Valentina whatever the misunderstanding she had with the top families.
Leon Xeton looked at Falko and chuckled, "Well, I think that's a good idea. My silly disciple has been spending too much of his time on alchemy that he barely ever leaves his room. I think it will do good to let him get some fresh air. Falko, I trust you can make sure everything proceeds smoothly, right?"
Flako deeply bowed with an exultant smile, "Of course, Master. You can trust me, and I will make sure there are no hiccups."
"Ah, yes, I forgot to ask. When would you want to meet with them?" Leon asked.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Damien said straight away, "This noon?"
Leon Xeton raised his brows, "Today itself? I never thought you wanted to meet them so soon. Well, I will send someone to let them know. I will send Falko to your villa if they are ready to see you. I am sure since it's you, there's little to no chance that they will refuse you."
Damien nodded, "That's good. Thank you, Senior Leon."
Leon Xeton waved his hand, "No need for that. I didn't do much. I will now let Falko escort you to the examination hall."
Falko came forward and bowed before Damien, "Senior Azrael, allow me to escort you."
Damien wasn't worried that he would fail the exam. After his recent soul breakthrough to the Early Soul Transformation Stage, he was sure that his soul was virtually comparable, at least to the Peak Soul Transformation Stage.
But most of all, he knew that the prowess of his Fallen Flames at maximum potential was powerful enough to let him concoct Rank 5 Pill though he would be in a very drained state after concocting a single one.
Before entering the examination hall, he also told Valentina to take the Rank 4 examination.
Sure enough, within a few minutes, both of them came out of the examination hall with their backs straight.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Damien was now officially a Rank 5 Alchemist, and Valentina was now a Rank 4 Alchemist.
Although the difference between their ranks was just one, the difference in reputation and skill was very big since usually only one who is at least at the Sky Ethereal Realm with a soul cultivation at the Sublime Soul Stage could concoct a Rank 5 Pill.
Damien and Valentina went back to their villa as it was still morning, and they had time till noon for the meeting. Damien was sure that the Clive and the Rivers Family wouldn't refuse him. After all, why would they not give face to the only alchemist who could concoct Supreme Tier Pills?
Just as they got inside the villa, Damien said in an assuring tone, "Valentina, I know you might be surprised by what I said to Leon. But just believe in me, and no matter what I say during the meeting, don't think that I meant it. We will teach those two families never to mess with us soon enough. Here's what you have to do..."
After instructing her some things, Damien said, "Now, I will leave outside again after some time, but you can stay here, okay? I just have a quick errand to run, and before noon I will be back. Alright?"
Valentina asked curiously, "But where are you going, Big Brother?"
Damien said with a devilish grin, "To visit Luke's family. It's all part of my plan, and it's better that I go alone as they may not be receptive to you. If it's me alone, it would be easier to deal with them. Don't worry. You will know what I am trying to do soon enough. I just don't want to spoil you the fun."
Valentina's eyes sparkled as she nodded, "Okay, I can wait here." She was looking forward to what Damien was planning.
Damien first went inside the alchemy room in his villa and spent an hour inside. He had been working on some medical formulas for the past few days and decided to concoct two of them for now.
After that, he summoned Misty out of his soul space and climbed atop it.
"Go! Luke, too bad you had to come after me. Now I will free you from your misery." Damien muttered in a disquieting tone as Misty took to the air.
