"...Idiot..." Iliantara muttered under her breath as she folded her hands, her eyes narrowing as she observed Lucas, who smiled in her direction, indicating that he was waiting for her to complete the mess he had created by half-breaking the stone.
She was interested in knowing how the mechanism and working principle of that particular pillar or stone framework worked to detect someone's bloodline, physique, bone age, etc., just by their body touching it.
"It appears to be working on runes." Ryuk calmly stood beside Iliantara, adopting the same posture as her with his hands folded, while looking towards Lucas. He observed that he currently had two flag bearers in his presence. However, instead of directly engaging in battle, he prioritized the matters at hand.
According to that sequence, searching for information about the family to which Jenny belonged came first.
However, after observing all the candidates in the upper town, he deduced that the chances of her presence here were unlikely, making it clear that she was either in the upper hierarchy or inside the main palace of the Phoenix Order.
"Yes, I also guessed that," Iliantara said, nodding with closed eyes before opening them again as she continued looking in the direction of Lucas, who had just made his way out of the outer pavilion and entered the second portal in a nonchalant manner, with his hands resting in his pockets.
"You are not surprised," Ryuk inquired, keeping his gaze ahead. Unlike the typical reaction he had been getting from several individuals who were unable to detect his presence and acted surprised the moment their eyes fell upon him, she appeared calm as if she sensed him.
Naturally, due to his ability to nullify everything, making his body invisible to other gazes, he had kept everyone around him from paying attention to him.
Given that if he hadn't done this, then most likely, due to his attire, mask, and visible physique, at least a few of the women would have definitely looked in his direction.
However, there were only those who had noticed Yao Lian or Esme looking in his direction.
"I am surprised, but I can hear when air brushes against your clothes or flutters your hair," Iliantara admitted. Although she was unable to sense this unknown man standing beside her, it felt as if there was no one beside her. However, due to her hearing, she was able to pinpoint his exact location.
She respected the man's strength; it was clearly evident from the fact that when she arrived in the Outer Pavilion, she had already noticed everyone's presence but never found someone like him until he himself arrived near her, proving that he was remarkably strong.
Respecting someone stronger than you is a proof of your upbringing—this was something her grandfather had always told her.
"I see..." Ryuk nodded with his eyes closed, feeling the way she answered, even revealing that she was a half-breed, not a complete nine-tailed fox.
He grasped the meaning behind her words, which were particularly insightful about how the greater the number of tails a fox has, the stronger it is. Her having nine tails indicated that her mother possessed nine tails as well and that she had inherently been given those nine tails—not as proof of her strength, but as proof of her potential to become as strong as her mother.
He appreciated this before turning his attention back to the broken slab.
"Wh-what to do now, Elder?!" One of the individuals finally broke out of his thoughts, as all of them were in a trance, staring at Lucas, the man who had just broken the slab, which was meant for them to punch, as he made his way out of the outer pavilion.
"Uh-huh? Th-that's," the Elder exclaimed, himself in shock after witnessing how the stone, present for all those years inside the first trial of the Celestial Phoenix Order, had just formed several cracks due to that man's punch. He felt himself falling into a dilemma upon witnessing the emergence of a monster who possessed such strength.
Naturally, even he had not sensed any presence of Qi from that individual. He hardly thought that someone at that age could be stronger than him to the extent of suppressing his Qi. Thus, the Elder thought that the young man was some ancient monster who would be disqualified once he touched the slab since it would be able to detect his bone age.
But now, it was proven that this young man really possessed unfathomable strength.
"Ahem, cough," the Elder suddenly said, noticing the gazes of his disciples from the corridors standing near the wooden houses and other candidates.
He felt he should not lose his composure and show a bad image of himself in front of them, so he coughed and adjusted his throat before announcing,"Everyone, there's no need to act surprised or focus on passing the first trial, since everyone is unique in some way. Please come forward and continue the trial."