With the arrival of the capital's geniuses, the city was left without powerful figures. There were now dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of Core Experts. Furthermore, the number of Sages in the city was no longer limited to five. Geniuses who had become Sages and were leading them had arrived from numerous clans and factions. An Origin Heart Expert had even arrived to protect the young men. The treasure they sought was valuable even to geniuses who had reached the Sage realm at a young age.
"How much longer must we wait? I've become a tree here!" a trembling voice demanded. Kasuur's arrival at puberty didn't seem to have benefited his voice. A short distance from the city gates, they watched Maria welcome the capital's geniuses. While these geniuses didn't look up to Maria, she did to them in her father's stead.
Evra, who was standing next to Kasuur, waited with an excited smile. Although Kasuur's face turned sour when he heard this, he knew that this young genius had abilities that would astonish even the capital's geniuses. Moreover, he could not defeat him. He couldn't just hit him over the head whenever he pleased. So he just grunted.
Not even Kasuur could ruin this day. His brother had returned to the city.
"Be patient. We'll be leaving soon... I think."
At this point, Mais wasn't sure anymore. The city's sudden rise in level had been unexpected. He couldn't say he wasn't bothered by the presence of so many Sages. After all, there were so many worthy of attention now.
"Who are you waiting for?"
"Just a former genius of the city—" Kasuur's speech was interrupted by Mais's surprised voice.
"What the hell is this?!"
Evra suddenly turned and looked at the man standing next to Kasuur, who was facing north with them. At 1.90 meters tall, he was taller than all of them. He had brown hair and hazel eyes. Unlike Mais's surprised, monster-like exclamation, his charismatic appearance was quite human-like. Just like Evra. Their features undoubtedly revealed their bond.
"Brother?"
"Hmm?"
At that moment, Malehit turned his head and stared at the young man who was staring at him in astonishment. He was surprised to see that not much remained of the snotty boy he'd been when he left the city. His younger brother had changed so much in just a few years that Malehit couldn't even recognize him.
"Evra?"
The two brothers hugged and reconnected under Kasuur's astonished gaze. Mais, unlike the two of them, had silently frowned as he pressed his Bo to the ground, caught by Malehit's sudden appearance.
'Damn, he's too fast!'
It had been very difficult for Mais to notice him. Of course, he hadn't cried out because he'd seen the man. He simply reacted to the rapid change in his surroundings. Of course, if Malehit had attacked with threatening intent, Mais's reaction time might have been different. Mais, who believed that Malehit accelerated his speed by using a technique, also found his understanding of techniques surprising for his age.
The depth of one's grasp of techniques depended largely on age. Talent wasn't the most important factor.
Occasionally, monsters like Mais would appear, but even Mais couldn't challenge the long-lived monsters' grasp of a technique. Mais's primary advantage over them was his ability to easily acquire high-level techniques.
"Won't you introduce me to these young men?" Malehit asked. Malehit asked. At this, Mais wiped the troubled look from his face and smiled warmly. Kasuur, however, was quite nervous. He always got nervous when he met people who were stronger than him. He always thought they'd tear his head off if he made a false statement, just like in the cultivator stories Mais had told him.
So he spoke quickly, without giving Evra a chance.
"My name is Kasuur. I'm... a cultivator living here. Ahhh... I'm 12 years old and 1.60 meters tall. Sir—"
Despite Kasuur's unnecessary respect and all the unnecessary information he offered, Mais randomly struck his voice with his cane, cutting him off. Kasuur couldn't do anything about the painful jab to the back of his neck. However, the layer of fat on his neck somewhat protected him from the powerful blow.
Mais stepped forward and settled next to Kasuur. With confidence not inferior to the confident genius before him, he extended his hand and introduced himself.
"Hello, I'm Mais. Nice to meet you."
Malehit looked at him with an intriguing expression. It was surprising that this tiny child could respond with such confidence compared to the young genius beside him. And his eyes...
Malehit grasped Mais's hand and returned the greeting.
"I'm Malehit. Nice to meet you. By the way, your eyes—"
They're blind. I'm as blind as a mole. I hope that doesn't bother you," Mais said. Malehit's legs trembled at his words, and he almost took a step back. He tensed momentarily. He felt misunderstood.
"Of course not! I just wanted to express my condolences for your loss. I apologize if I misunderstood."
Mais just laughed and shook his head. He indicated that it wasn't a serious matter.
Kasuur watched in amazement as Mais commanded a Sage with his words.
"You're not going to tell me you didn't bring me a gift, are you?" Evra interjected at that moment. When he arrived, his brother had absorbed his alluring aura and charisma. Now, Malehit's charisma was even more pronounced in Evra's presence.
Malehit patted Evra on the head and reached into his back pocket with his other hand. He checked the small pill in his pocket, and his smile widened.
"Now it's clear why you were waiting for me at the city gate."
He left the pill where it was and placed a hand on Evra's embarrassed shoulder. All of the boys, including Evra, looked quite short next to Malehit. His age and maturity were clearly visible among them.
"I wonder where little Maria is," Malehit said. Evra looked around and saw a group of young people coming toward them from across the road.
"Ah, there they are. Uncle Wuma is with them. And a group of young people..."
Evra looked at the strangers curiously. Malehit, on the other hand, was completely at ease and knew who they were instinctively. Meanwhile, Kasuur glanced at them from the side and leaned in to Mais' ear, who was standing next to him.
"By the way, I was meditating before I came here, and..."
While Kasuur was whispering something into Mais' ear, Maria and her group had already reached them. Malehit's astonished gaze lingered on Maria's slender figure.
"Little... Maria! You've grown so big! I'm surprised to hear you rival me. I thought I'd carved my name in gold letters into the city's history. I thought, 'How could little Maria possibly compete with me?' Wow! But really, you've become a lady now."
Although Maria's cheeks slightly blushed at his words, she remained unfazed and showed no sign of embarrassment. In fact, she smiled softly and assumed a modest demeanor.
"I'm still not as good as you. People like to exaggerate."
A faint gleam appeared in Malehit's eyes at these words. The same gleam appeared in Evra's eyes, perhaps even stronger, but neither of them noticed it in the other. It was Delia, Maria's peer standing behind her, who noticed it, not them. Her terrified expression revealed how much it bothered her.
Maria then turned to Mais and Kasuur, who were talking among themselves. The other geniuses turned to them as well. They all fell silent.
"What are you whispering about?" Maria asked. Mais answered before Kasuur.
"It's nothing. Won't you introduce us to our guests?"
Mais dropped the subject and turned to the Gama Clan members. Pity was most apparent on their faces, but disdain was most visible on the bald Gomez's face.
'He is blind.'
Fortunately, Mais was oblivious to all these feelings. He wasn't prejudiced. He couldn't have known that his guests had such thoughts when they first met.
Maria regained her composure and introduced them quickly with a smile.
"This is Mais, the number one alchemical genius of Yellow City. Next to him is Kasuur, the city's new number one genius, whom you've probably heard of before."
"Huh?"
Startled gazes locked on the two men. Even Malehit fixed his gaze on Kasuur and Mais. He scanned them from head to toe once more. The shock on his face was clear.
'Is this fat guy the number one genius mentioned? Is he the one who dethroned me?'
They were surprised not only by Kasuur, but also by Mais.
'It seems like the average level of alchemy in the Yellow City has dropped quite a bit.'
'At such a young age, and blind to boot. What are the chances Maria is lying about this?'
'No way! Xiao Linlin is an alchemy artisan. Could this kid have become an alchemy apprentice at this age?'
They introduced themselves honestly, though they each had surprised looks on their faces. Then Mais walked away, mentioning that he and Kasuur had an important appointment. Even though Mais didn't see these people's superior gazes directly, no one could deny the condescension in their words. It wasn't easy for Mais to bear. He and Kasuur walked away, leaving their new guests behind.
"Since I've seen a trace of the Tao, will you teach me a sage technique?" Kasuur asked excitedly. Mais frowned and then rubbed his ring with his finger. The workings of the techniques came to life in his mind once more. Should he teach Kasuur a Sage technique?
"I'll think about it."