Chapter 200: Myrielle’s Shock
Chapter 200: Chapter 200: Myrielle’s Shock
Chapter 200: Myrielle’s Shock
Within a few hours, the news exploded across the Inner Palace like a dropped meteor.
"Braxton was destroyed! The fifth-ranked Gold Badge genius was beaten to a pulp in his own courtyard!"
"The new Gold Badge disciple did it! The one Preceptor Fabian personally appointed!"
"Is he insane?! Attacking a top-five Gold Badge in their private residence is one of the most severe violations possible! Is he not afraid of the punishment?"
The reactions of the three hundred Inner Palace disciples ranged from sheer terror to morbid fascination to outright disbelief.
Braxton wasn’t just some random disciple; he was ranked 5th among the Gold Badges! He was a genuine elite, a Level 5 Spirit Manifestation expert whose combat prowess was widely feared.
Yet, he had been effortlessly crushed in his own home, entirely unable to put up even a semblance of a fight.
Disciples who had once looked down on Rhain as an undeserving fraud were now utterly silent.
But alongside the shock came intense speculation.
He actually crippled Senior Braxton in his own residence... Unsanctioned violence against a Gold Badge disciple is a felony!"
"Will the Disciplinary Hall step in? They have to, right?"
"What if the Dean punishes him to uphold the Academy’s face? Has he thrown away his entire future just like that?"
The rumors flew wildly, debating whether Rhain would be stripped of his status or expelled entirely for acting so recklessly.
_______________
While the Inner Palace was completely turned upside down, Rhain was leisurely walking back into Liana’s courtyard in the Outer Palace.
The moment he returned, every pair of eyes snapped toward him.
"Husband!" Seris smiled brightly, walking up to him.
Liana quickly stood up, her eyes filled with worry. "Rhain, where did you go?"
"I just went to have a brief chat with Braxton," Rhain replied, "You don’t have to worry about him anymore. The Astral Alliance is dissolved."
The words were spoken with such matter-of-fact certainty that for a moment, no one knew how to respond.
"You... you went to see Braxton?" Sylvan stammered, looking at Rhain with alarm.
"Rhain..." Liana’s face also turned pale, "Don’t tell me... did you fight him? In the Inner Palace?"
The Outer Palace disciples exchanged horrified glances.
"Academy’s rules explicitly forbid violence between Gold Badge disciples!" one of them whispered urgently. "It can have severe consequences—"
"This is all my fault," Liana whispered, her voice choking as tears welled in her eyes. "You shouldn’t have done that for me. If the Academy punishes you because of this, I will never forgive myself. This is all my fault — if I hadn’t been targeted by Braxton in the first place, none of this would have—"
"Sister Liana."
Before Rhain could say anything, Seris’s gentle voice sounded.
Seeing Liana so distraught, Seris stepped forward and gently wrapped her hands around Liana’s trembling fingers.
"Sister Liana, don’t cry," Seris said, her voice soft but filled with an unshakable confidence. "You don’t need to worry about the Disciplinary Hall."
Liana looked up through her blurred vision. "But the Academy’s rules—"
"I will go talk to my Master," Seris smiled warmly, "I promise you, nothing will happen to my husband."
Hearing that, Liana, Sylvan, and the rest of the Outer Palace disciples froze.
They had almost forgotten.
Seris was a Core Palace disciple.
More than that, she was the sole personal disciple of the Vice Dean!
In the strict hierarchy of the Stormveil Academy, her status towered even above the Core Palace.
If the Vice Dean’s most cherished disciple demanded leniency, would the Disciplinary Hall actually dare to punish Rhain?
Thinking of that, everyone felt the tension in their chests loosen.
Standing to the side, Rhain felt a warm feeling because of their concern, but it was entirely meaningless.
In truth, he had calculated every variable before he had ever set foot outside this courtyard.
He knew perfectly well that assaulting a Gold Badge disciple within the Academy was a severe infraction. Under normal circumstances, the Disciplinary Hall would have been well within its rights to strip his badge and expel him.
But Rhain’s circumstances were anything but normal.
Seris was the single most valuable asset the Stormveil Academy had produced in its entire thousand-year history.
Punishing her husband over a brawl with a corrupt bully?
Academy wasn’t foolish enough to do that.
And beyond Seris’s status, the facts themselves were on his side.
Braxton was the one corruptly abusing his power through Zobek.
Even without Seris’s backing, the moral ground belonged entirely to him.
"Still,’ Rhain thought, a faint smirk brushing past his lips as he looked at his fiercely protective wife. ’Having a talented wife who shields you is definitely a magnificent perk."
_____________
High above the Academy grounds, on the secluded floating island that housed the Dean’s private pavilion.
Carmilla sat cross-legged on a plush cushion, her vivid red robes pooled around her like spilled wine.
She was holding a fresh spirit fruit, and was biting into it with the cheerful abandon of a child at a festival.
Myrielle stood across from her with a deeply troubled expression.
"Sister," Myrielle spoke urgently, dropping her formal title in private. "I came to discuss the situation with Rhain. I understand he assaulted Braxton within the Academy grounds. Regardless of the circumstances, the Disciplinary Hall may attempt to use this as grounds to—"
"Myri," Carmilla interrupted, waving the half-eaten fruit lazily, "relax. You’re going to give yourself wrinkles."
Myrielle’s brow twitched. "I am being serious, Sister."
"So am I," Carmilla grinned, taking another enormous bite and speaking through a full mouth with utter disregard for etiquette. "You came all the way up here to beg me not to punish your precious little disciple’s husband, yes?"
Myrielle’s nodded with a frown. "My disciple is incredibly stubborn. If her husband is unjustly punished, she will raise a storm that neither of us wants to deal with. I am simply requesting that you exercise—"
"Even if you hadn’t come," Carmilla said as she looked at her younger sister with a playful smirk, "I wouldn’t have punished that little thief."
Myrielle was thoroughly confused.
"Little thief?" Myrielle asked. "Sister, are you talking about Rhain?"
Carmilla’s playful grin widened as she set the fruit down, crossed her legs beneath her, and leaned forward slightly.
"Yes, I am calling him little thief, because he is one," Carmilla said, "When I was in my closed-door seclusion, I suddenly sensed that the spiritual essence from the subterranean veins was depleting at a highly unnatural rate. It wasn’t a normal fluctuation. Someone was aggressively siphoning it."
Myrielle was surprised.
Siphoning the Academy’s foundational spiritual veins?
That was practically treason!
"When I investigated the source," Carmilla continued, her eyes gleaming, "I traced the drain directly to Residence Number 32 in the Inner Palace. That boy had secretly buried a Mystic-Grade Spirit Banner deep underground, bypassing all our detection arrays, just to fuel his own cultivation."
Myrielle was completely shocked.
She had never expected that the seemingly indifferent youth had hidden such an audacious trick right under their noses!
"But," Carmilla raised a delicate finger, silencing her sister’s shock, "that wasn’t the most interesting thing I found."
Myrielle stared at her sister. "What could be more interesting than a Mystic-Grade artifact?"
Carmilla’s playful demeanor turned slightly solemn as she spoke.
"A Heavenly Flame."
The words fell like a thunderclap in the quiet room.
"A... a Heavenly Flame?" Myrielle almost lost her composure upon hearing those words, "Sister, how could that be possible? The number of people who possess a Heavenly Flame in the entire Solathane Dynasty can be counted on one hand! He is just a boy from the Outer Frontier! Are you absolutely certain?"
Carmilla’s expression was unwavering.
"Myri, you know me. I was born with an exceptional affinity for fire." Carmilla stated factually, "I have studied flames since I was ten years old. I have personally examined beast fires, earth fires, and spirit fires from across the entire dynasty. Do you truly think I could mistake a Heavenly Flame for anything else?"
Myrielle sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.
If Carmilla said it was a Heavenly Flame, it was an undeniable fact.
She knew her sister’s fire affinity was the very reason she reigned supreme as the Dean.
And yet Carmilla’s own flame, the peak Domain Master Realm beast fire she had obtained decades ago after a dangerous fight was fundamentally far, far, inferior to a Heavenly Flame.
They could not even be compared.
Suddenly, Myrielle’s hands began to tremble.
Her sapphire eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"Sister... if he truly has a Heavenly Flame... does that mean... does that mean you can finally—"
"Hush," Carmilla raised a hand, stopping her sister mid-sentence.
"We will talk about that matter later. It is clear that Rhain is deliberately hiding his true depth. If he doesn’t want to reveal himself yet, I will not force his hand or expose him."
Myrielle forced her surging emotions down, and gave a heavy nod to Carmilla.
"I never expected this," Myrielle whispered in sheer awe. "A Heavenly Flame... His intrinsic value is absolutely not less than Seris’s True Heavenly Physique. I find it entirely unbelievable that two monsters of this caliber emerged from the remote Outer Frontier at the exact same time."
"Indeed," Carmilla smiled, her eyes returning to their playful sparkle. "Destiny works in mysterious ways. For now, let us proceed with the plan. We will announce Seris to the world, and we will hold the Inner Palace Contest on the exact same day."
Myrielle nodded firmly. "Within the week. I will finalize the preparations."