Chapter 242: Thunderwood Family Estate
Chapter 242: Thunderwood Family Estate
Evening descended over Stormveil City.
Rhain stepped out of the Core Palace wearing elegant, pristine white robes trimmed with subtle golden threads.
The luxurious fabric draped perfectly over his tall frame, making him look less like the fierce, invincible warrior who had recently crushed the city’s hierarchy, and more like a handsome, noble young master from an exalted lineage.
Beside him, Seris wore a beautiful gown of lavender.
It clung elegantly to her slender waist before flowing downward like a cascading waterfall.
Trailing slightly behind them was Liana. She was dressed in a stunning emerald-green dress that perfectly highlighted her graceful figure.
Together, the trio left the Academy and made their way toward the commercial center of the city.
Thunderwood Ancestral Estate was a sprawling, majestic compound situated at the very center of the Eastern Premium District.
Tonight, it was lit up like a luminous pearl in the evening darkness.
Glowing arrays were sparking with a warm, golden radiance over the towering gates.
Those who were stepping through the grand entrance were all dressed in the most luxurious robes, carrying themselves with a natural, aristocratic elegance.
As Rhain, Seris, and Liana approached the estate, they could easily hear the excited murmurs drifting from the crowds of arriving dignitaries.
Do you think he will actually come? Will Grandmaster Korryn really arrive at this banquet?"
"Patriarch Thorian certainly hinted at it! If the man who is single-handedly overturning the city’s alchemical market shows his face tonight, I do not know how many people must envy the Thunderwood Family right now. Countless experts will undoubtedly seek to curry favor with him tonight."
"I brought ten million Aetherium Crystals just in case I get a chance to bribe one of his attendants for an audience!"
Rhain listened to it all with an entirely placid expression, though inwardly he found the situation genuinely amusing.
Several hundred of the most powerful people in the Inner Province had gathered here tonight, hoping desperately to catch a glimpse of a man who was currently walking among them with a completely different face.
The moment Rhain, Seris, and Liana crossed the threshold and entered the grand banquet hall of the Thunderwood estate, the bustling atmosphere noticeably stuttered.
Dozens of eyes secretly turned to look at them.
Rhain and Seris needed absolutely no introduction.
After the earth-shattering events of the Inner Palace Contest and the Heavenly Physique ceremony, practically the whole of Stormveil City had seen their faces and knew their names.
"It’s Rhain Voss... and the Heavenly Fairy..."
"Look at her! She looks even more beautiful in person than those projections."
The admiring, awe-struck gazes sized them up from every direction.
For Rhain and Seris, this level of attention meant absolutely nothing.
But for Liana, the sheer concentration of powerful nobles was overwhelming.
She had grown up as the pearl of the Silvercrest Clan.
But here, surrounded by aristocrats whose families had ruled provinces for a thousand years, whose casual jewelry cost more than her entire clan’s treasury, made her feel incredibly small.
She nervously gripped the fabric of her dress, feeling anxious by the opulent, intimidating atmosphere.
"Sister Liana."
Seris’s soft voice pulled her back.
She had slowed her pace to walk directly beside Liana.
"Don’t look at your feet," Seris murmured, her pale purple eyes warm. "Look straight ahead. You are our friend, and you belong here exactly as much as any of them do."
Looking at Seris’s encouraging face, Liana took a deep, steadying breath.
She forced her racing heart to calm down, straightening her spine and doing her best to behave like the elegant lady of the Silvercrest Clan she had once been raised to be.
As they navigated the lavishly decorated hall, it was inevitable that the breathtaking beauty of the two girls would attract the attention of the younger generation.
Dozens of young nobles, aristocratic heirs, and wealthy rogue cultivators stared at Seris with infatuation.
Her unearthly charm was a magnet that naturally commanded worship.
But despite their burning desire, not a single one of them dared to take even a half-step toward her.
They weren’t fools. She was a Core Palace disciple, the sole student of the Vice Dean, and more importantly... her husband was standing right beside her.
The memory of the undisputed queen Lyra Emberford being forced to her knees, was still fresh in their minds.
Approaching Seris to strike up a conversation was universally accepted as a direct ticket to an early grave.
Frustrated and terrified, the roaming gazes of several arrogant, high-ranking young nobles naturally shifted—and landed squarely on Liana.
They quickly realized that the silver-eyed girl in the emerald dress was also a peerless beauty in her own right.
And unlike Seris, she wasn’t radiating a terrifying Core Palace aura.
At that moment, a delegation of senior Thunderwood family members converged on Rhain and Seris.
An elderly man with a thick beard and the aura of a peak Core Formation expert introduced himself as an outer-branch elder, followed swiftly by two middle-aged cousins who each seemed determined to extract some promise of future goodwill.
"Young master Rhain, your performance at the Contest has become the sole topic of discussion in our household—"
"Lady Seris, if you would permit me to introduce my nephew, he shares your ice affinity and would benefit immeasurably from even a word of guidance—"
"Our family maintains three private cultivation grottoes in the northern range. Should either of you ever require solitude, they are entirely at your disposal—"
As Rhain and Seris were momentarily distracted by the polite exchanges with the Thunderwood hosts, Liana took a small step back to give them space.
It was exactly the opening the hovering nobles had been waiting for.
Three wealthy clan heirs, dressed in extravagant silk robes and wearing arrogant, self-satisfied smirks, immediately swooped in and encircled Liana.
The one at the front was perhaps twenty-two, dressed in robes of gold-embroidered purple, with a handsome face ruined by the smirk permanently fixed on it.
The two flanking him were younger, but wore the same expression.
They positioned themselves deliberately, cutting off her line of sight to Rhain and Seris, and invading her personal space with an overly familiar expressions.
"Well, well. Such a beautiful flower shouldn’t be standing all by herself in a corner," the lead youth said, stopping directly in front of Liana, close enough that she had to take a half-step back to maintain any space between them. "I know every noble daughter in this city. But I haven’t seen your lovely face in the elite circles before. So either you’re newly arrived, or someone has been keeping you deliberately hidden."
"She must be new to the Inner Province," the second guy on Liana’s left spoke. "Why don’t you come join our private table, little lady? Standing around these stuffy elders is so boring. We can show you how to properly enjoy a high-class banquet."
Liana felt her anxiety instantly spike. She forced a polite, strained smile.
"Thank you for the offer, but I am here with my friends. I shouldn’t leave them."
"Friends." The third youth leaned in slightly. "The Core Palace pair? Please. Do you honestly believe people like that consider someone like you a friend? They brought you along as decoration. A pretty accessory to make their entrance more impressive."
The words struck somewhere deep and her tender heart ached slightly.
"You..you don’t know anything about them," Liana stammered, "Or about me. I’ve declined politely twice. Please don’t make me do it a third time."
"Oh, come now," the leading youth pressed, his smirk widening as he casually stepped forward, closing the distance she had just created. "Your friends are busy discussing boring politics with the Thunderwood heir. They won’t even notice you’re gone. Just a single drink with us. It would be incredibly rude to refuse."
Liana felt completely cornered.
Her back bumped against a marble pillar.
The three men were actively boxing her in, their disgusting smiles made her stomach churn.
"I said no, thank you. Please excuse me," Liana stated, her tone turning slightly firmer as she tried to sidestep them.
The leading guy’s eyes flashed with a hint of irritation.
He was a high-ranking noble heir, and not many ladies dare to say him no.
"Don’t be so difficult," He sneered, his patience evaporating.
He boldly reached his hand out, fully intending to grab Liana’s delicate wrist and pull her away.
But before his fingers could even brush against her skin...
Swoosh!
A pristine white-robed arm casually inserted itself between them.
The movement was so impossibly smooth and fast that none of the three heirs even registered how it happened.
Rhain stepped directly in front of Liana, shielding her completely behind his tall frame.
The leading guy’s hand froze mid-air, suddenly finding his wrist blocked by an invisible wall of essence.
Rhain didn’t raise his voice.
He had no desire to create a scene and ruin the Thunderwood Family’s banquet.
"Get lost."
The voice was chillingly calm, but the three nobles almost felt their souls leave their body.