Chapter 64: Lee Family Watchroom
Terrence becoming a beast tamer was news to the Lee Family that hit them like a sharp thorn in their neck.
They had just kicked him out a single day earlier, and now, the very next day, he was already an official tamer?
How unlucky could Terrence be, and yet somehow so insanely lucky at the exact same time?
Lucas carried out the news about their upcoming duel and invited various members of the family to watch, especially demanding the presence of the patriarch.
He had long curried favor with the patriarch as one of the rising geniuses of the family.
With his direct request for an audience, the patriarch urged everyone from the main and branch families to attend and watch the duel unfold.
Noli wasn’t spared from that order either.
Sitting in his quarters, he could only question why it even mattered to watch a former family member get beaten down and suffer under Lucas’s ruthless attacks.
"Does it really matter if I watch?" Noli asked the butler who carried the direct order from the patriarch.
The butler, an old man dressed in a immaculate tuxedo, nodded in silent restraint before answering with a gentle tone that was heavily laced with stern authority.
"Young master, it is strictly important as ordered by the patriarch. No one is allowed to question the orders of the patriarch."
Deeply annoyed, Noli stopped his meditation and stood up abruptly.
He glared at the old butler, who didn’t even try to side with his clear line of thought.
"I find it completely unreasonable. Do you really want to see a fellow family member humiliated publicly? Or are you just annoyed that we kicked out a member you secretly thought was useless?"
The butler’s expression didn’t shift.
"Do you want me to deliver those exact words to the patriarch, young master?"
Noli hissed under his breath as he strode over to his closet, picking out formal wear that would adequately please the patriarch.
Although he thoroughly disliked the patriarch’s rigid orders, he couldn’t simply do whatever he wanted to actively annoy him.
The patriarch was still supreme, even if Noli himself knew just how much of a genius and how important he was to the family’s future as well.
After a few tense minutes, Noli was fully prepared.
They traveled together to the wide arena facility—a massive venue housing a central battlefield that could dynamically imitate various dungeon biomes.
There were different kinds of spectator rooms built into the high walls: one for the paid general public, one for VIPs, and a private floor strictly reserved for double VIPs.
Noli was guided straight to the double VIP section.
He entered a seemingly lavish villa watch room, which appeared much like a high-end preparation lounge, only far wider and capable of comfortably storing a hundred important family figures.
He immediately saw different faces around the room, both familiar and unfamiliar ones.
All of their sole purposes here today was to watch Terrence get brutally humiliated on a massive screen.
As his eyes slowly glazed up toward the holographic HD display positioned at the far end of the room, his eyes widened in sudden surprise.
He had heard the name of the ’useless’ family member before, though he hadn’t seen him even once since he started his own strict isolation training.
Still, he knew Terrence’s name very well.
Hearing that name mentioned again intrigued him, mainly because he knew a certain person who had recently become his reliable companion.
He just hadn’t connected the dots or entertained the thought that his exiled cousin was actually the same guy he viewed as a reliable companion back during his Rank Verification.
Laughing inwardly at the hilarious possibility he had missed, he could only shake his head quietly as he walked over to one of the soft leather couches.
He surrendered his body to the couch, watching Terrence’s face on the high-definition display with deep focus as it showed his every subtle movement alongside his newly summoned creature.
"So that is his summon, huh," Noli muttered under his breath, not caring who might hear him. "Although I haven’t seen him summon it in person yet, with the Skill Share’s passive effects, I can only assume that it’s actually a remarkably strong one."
"What do you mean by that, Noli?"
Noli raised his head slightly without moving the rest of his body.
Standing right behind his couch was his cousin, Nerissa—another famous A-Rank genius hailing from one of the prominent branch families.
"Even if he managed to snag a tame for himself, he doesn’t have the natural affinity required to command a strong beast," Nerissa said, her sharp, mocking tone cutting right through the quiet watch room and making several family members nod in agreement.
She gestured dismissively toward the screen.
"Look at how tiny his contracted beast is. That’s literally just a common dog."
Noli possessed information that the others clearly didn’t, and he could only smirk at her arrogance.
"You are making a huge mistake, Nerissa. He isn’t like any of us. Sure, he isn’t inherently talented—you could definitely say that much—but his beast completely covers for that flaw."
Indeed, Terrence didn’t possess raw, natural talent.
While the true geniuses of the Lee Family possessed high-rank affinities, they also had the natural capability of integrating with their powerful beasts without breaking a sweat or spending tens of years training just to become proficient.
The other family members could already utilize Skill Share, an advanced technique that wasn’t normally something anyone could tap into without mastering a superior bond method.
Others could effortlessly replicate their beasts’ innate talents, acting as if they had inherited those passive skills directly into their own bodies.
There were multiple reasons for them to still be considered elite geniuses even if anyone completely stripped away their Beast Taming Talent.
Terrence obviously didn’t have any of those advantages.
From the official family records that were shared before, he didn’t possess any swordsmanship talent, nor any notable combat capabilities that anyone could list down.
He wasn’t even that smart or capable of understanding and learning complex types of strategic knowledge.
By stark contrast, Terrence sat at the absolute bottom of his generation.
"You shouldn’t underestimate someone who has completely slipped out from under your watch, Nerissa," Noli added smoothly.
Nerissa clicked her tongue loudly, turning her back on him with her arms tightly crossed over her chest.
"You are far too naive, Noli. He is still nothing more than trash. That was a direct decision the patriarch himself made, and it can’t possibly be a mistake," Nerissa announced loudly to the room before marching back toward her own couch.
The other surrounding members of the Lee Family didn’t make a single sound, choosing instead to sit in silence.
They kept their eyes glued to the massive screen, eagerly waiting for the exact moment Terrence’s public humiliation would finally begin.