Several hours ago, in Sector One, in a coffee shop close to the Inner District, sat Lia.

Directly opposite her was a blonde man with deep blue eyes, a handsome yet arrogant face, and a well-built body. This was Cedric Duskwood, the direct descendant of the Patriarch of the Duskwood Family.

The Duskwood Family and the Nova Family had a great relationship. Before the current City Lord, Liebert Nova, became the City Lord, the two families lived in harmony, often marrying into each other’s families.

A few hours ago, while Lia was practicing the Zenith Sword Art by herself as instructed by Grey, she was suddenly called to the main chamber within the City Lord’s mansion. Her father had come out of seclusion and had invited her to meet him.

Inside the main chamber sat a middle-aged man with an above-average face. He sat cross-legged on a platform surrounded by a pool of energy. The energy was blue in color and formed a vortex around the platform where the middle-aged man sat.

As soon as Lia entered, the middle-aged man opened his eyes and stared at Lia with a calm gaze.

"You are here," City Lord Liebert greeted Lia.

"Congratulations on coming out of seclusion, Father."

Hearing this, City Lord Liebert shook his head. "This seclusion was unsuccessful. I didn’t manage to reach the threshold and advance to the 9th Level."

A hint of disappointment flickered in his eyes, yet it was soon replaced by calmness as he gently floated into the air and landed in front of Lia.

"In just a few months, you’ve grown even more, my daughter," City Lord Liebert said with a smile. "If only your mother were here to see you grow."

He sighed. In Lia’s life, her mother hadn’t been present since she was young. During a High Order attack several years ago, she had perished trying to save Liebert’s life. From that day on, he vowed to take revenge on the High Order.

Then, Liebert spoke again. "Lia, before I went into seclusion, do you remember what I told you to do?"

Lia flinched slightly, an awkward expression crossing her face. "Yes... I do."

"Did you meet up with Young Master Cedric?" City Lord Liebert asked, his voice stern and unyielding.

From the way Lia hesitated, he already had his answer.

"No," she admitted, not daring to meet his gaze. "I was too busy cultivating."

City Lord Liebert shook his head, disappointment etched across his features. "Cedric is a good young man. He is remarkably talented—reaching Level 7 of the 1st Rank before the age of twenty. He is bound to become even stronger in the future."

"He’s older than me, and I’m at Level 7 too," Lia muttered, rolling her eyes.

City Lord Liebert’s gaze hardened, piercing through her words. "Lia, enough excuses. Cedric is from the Duskwood Family—one of the most powerful and influential families in the Nova City. Our families have maintained a strong bond for generations. You must remember—without the Duskwoods’ guidance and support, the Nova Family would never have reached its current status."

"Meeting him is not a suggestion. It is your responsibility as someone from the Nova Family. The alliance between our families may one day depend on your ability to understand and interact with him. You will go. Today." He said with a strict look on his face.

With no chance of refusal, she had no choice but to meet up with Cedric Duskwood.

"Miss Lia, you look extraordinarily beautiful today," Cedric said with a smile on his face. "Because of the abrupt call from your father telling me that you wanted to meet me, I couldn’t prepare in advance and bring you some flowers. Please forgive me, Miss Lia."

"Yeah, whatever," Lia muttered, not bothering to hide her disinterest.

Cedric’s eyes curved with a smile. "Still as blunt as ever. I suppose that’s what separates the strong from the weak–confidence and honesty in one’s abilities."

"And I suppose you’re here to lecture me on mine?" Lia inquired with an indifferent expression.

"No, no. Please forgive me if that’s how you thought," Cedric said with a worried smile.

Changing the subject, he spoke again. "I wanted to meet you before the beginning of the Tri-City Tournament. You are someone I deeply care about, Miss Lia, and as someone who participated in last year’s tournament, I wanted to give you some guidance and wish you luck."

"We’ve only met once or twice before," Lia said with a frown. "We aren’t close enough for you to be that familiar with me."

If it were anyone else, she might have taken their words more seriously. But not Cedric. She knew his words were insincere and filled with ulterior motives.

He went to the same school as her—Nova-1 High—and while everyone outside thought he was a goody-two-shoes young master of a prestigious clan, he was anything but that. There were many scandalous rumors about him within the school, and some had even been proven true before.

However, they never spread far, as he would utilize his power to quickly suppress anything that came out.

There was even a rumor that this fine-looking young man had once traumatized a girl so much that she left the school forever, never to be seen again.

This was something nobody knew except people from Nova-1 High, and the only thing holding Lia back from exposing Cedric’s false persona was the lack of evidence.

Lia then shook her head and stood up.Yeah, this is not going to work out.

She turned to face Cedric, who had a confused expression on his face, and spoke. "I appreciate you coming, Young Master Cedric, but I urgently have somewhere to be. Now please excuse me."

"But Miss Lia, the drinks we ordered will be here in a bit. How about drinking first and then going?" Cedric asked in a worried tone.

"No thanks," Lia said as she directly left the café.

Seeing Lia leave the café, Cedric stared blankly at her silhouette and immediately crushed the glass of water on the table with his hand.

"Lia," Cedric spoke in a dark tone. "We’ll be meeting much sooner than you think."

A dark smile formed on his face as his eyes eerily flashed red for a second.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com