Suddenly Madeleine giggled lightly. “But, something tells me I won’t have to do something like that. I’m sure you remember the warning Dyon gave you when he entrusted me to you.”
Ester’s jaw clenched remembering Dyon’s words of warning…
Suddenly, Madeleine’s threatening aura completely changed as she turned back, taking her master’s arm in one arm and Delia’s in the other.
“There’s no need to be so serious, master. Let’s go, I have no interest in seeing the prince.”
Ester Sapientia was stunned once again by Madeleine. ‘What’s she playing at here?’
“You’re so disrespectful to your master, yet you want to treat me as your friend now? Since when were things so simple?”
Madeleine giggled. “Don’t be like that master, I just showed you the anger you wanted to see, didn’t I?”
Ester’s eyebrows furrowed.
“I wouldn’t draw a line of division between us so easily… you may have no idea, but I’m clear on the man my fiancé is. The God Clans? A Prince? Our rival universe? He sees them as nothing but stepping stones. If you were to get in his way, he would simply see you as another one…
“So, what’s the use in me getting angry about a result I already have a full grasp of? Since I know Dyon will win in the end, why should I lose my relationship with you in anger?”
Delia and Ester blinked with a sudden realization… Madeleine had been toying with them this whole time. To her, the conclusion was already set in stone. Why would she get angry with her master for wanting to stop her from seeing Dyon, if she knew Dyon would put a stop to that as soon as he found out?
Why would she get mad about her master saying Dyon wasn’t anything compared to those geniuses when to her Dyon would prove otherwise soon enough? Why would she get mad because her master didn’t understand that her fiancé would never lose in the end?
Madeleine’s master didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at Madeleine’s antics.
‘How am I supposed to keep being serious in the face of something so ridiculous?… he’ll definitely win? How blind could love be?…’
Madeleine looked at her master as they slowly walked along the hallway, “I know what you’re thinking master… but in as little as 20 maybe 30 more years, Dyon will be as strong as you are now.”
Ester Sapientia raised her eyebrow, “you think he’ll enter so far into the saint realm in such a small amount of time? Do you have any idea how much cultivation slows down at the peak levels of meridian formation? Even crossing over the essence gathering is near impossible. And couple that with how difficult it is to sense an intent and comprehend saint energy?
Stop saying such ridiculous things.”
Madeleine smiled knowingly. What her master didn’t know was that Madeleine had already reached the 10th stage of meridian formation and she had only been cultivating for a year… and that was all thanks to her understanding of Celestial will. Even Madeleine’s master couldn’t read her cultivation because her meridian paths were so pure that any normal measurements didn’t match up. She almost looked like someone with no cultivation at all.
In this universe, geniuses would reach the 8th stage of meridian formation… Those who separated themselves might reach the 9th stage before breaking through to essence gathering… but, those who reached the 10th level were only those with faith seeds, something Madeleine knew she didn’t have. Yes, because of celestial will, she had easily stepped into such a level.
Right where they stood, Madeleine could already compete with an essence gathering expert who had only cleared to the 7th stage of meridian formation. The use of Celestial will was ridiculous… but the important part was that Dyon had access to it…
With Dyon’s intelligence, would it really be difficult to understand an intent upon reaching essence gathering? After that, he’d simply make use of celestial intent to clear his meridians for essence energy during Essence Gathering. Then repeat the same process of clearing for saint energy during the Saint stage.
To Madeleine’s master, a genius reaching sainthood in 20-30 years was possible… but reaching the middle of sainthood, the point where she was at, was ridiculous within that time frame. Ester had spent centuries stuck at single saint stages, yet Dyon was going to clear 4 or 5 saint stages in a few years? This was ridiculous. How could Ester know that to Dyon, the middle of the saint stage was the 6th and 7th level corresponding to one who had opened all 108 meridians?
But, in her ignorance, she couldn’t see a hint of doubt on Madeleine’s face.
‘What is Madeleine hiding?…’
Ester sighed, “you’ll know soon how wrong you are about everything. He isn’t a match for those geniuses. He won’t catch up to me so quickly, and I doubt he will ever catch up. And lastly, I know you’ll soon forget about him.”
Madeleine only giggled as though she hadn’t heard her master.
Although Madeleine’s master was beginning to get annoyed, how could she allow a child to rile her up?
“I’ll be sending you to another Sapientia Branch soon between now and the world tournament. They have different philosophies, techniques, and maybe being they will help you forget this nonsense. I’ll come to get you to bring you back before the world tournament.”
Madeleine nodded cheerfully, releasing her master to type away on the device Dyon had left to her.
With that, Madeleine’s master disappeared. And with that disappearance… Madeleine’s demeanor completely changed as a pained expression appeared on her face.
Delia immediately noticed this change. “It’s okay, big sister. I believe in Dyon.”
Madeleine bit her lip, nodding. “Mm, I believe in him too.”
No matter how Madeleine acted, there was a nagging doubt in her heart. At first, her anger was not an act, that was how she really felt. But then, she suddenly realized that her anger benefited no one… it would accomplish nothing. If anything, it would only drive her from her master.
The worst part was she wanted nothing more than to hear Dyon’s reassuring voice, to feel the warmth of his touch… to see his unyielding back stand in front of her with no fear… but he was far away… too far away…