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\'Oh sh*t,\' Judani suddenly thought with a paled face.

Peng!

Just when Judani turned around to run, Bakram also lifted his leg and gave him a kick on the butt. The force sent Judani flying a few meters before his face sprawled on the ground.

Meanwhile, the rest of the warriors in the group finally let the truth sink in before they became shocked. Then, they immediately did a double-take on Vaan before becoming even more shocked again.

Such a truly young man really did best Sir Bakram in a duel?!

Even if the truth was before them, the group of talented warriors still couldn\'t believe it. And yet, Sir Bakram had already vouched for Vaan\'s strength.

Everyone wracked their brains to make sense of the reality with their own logic.

Surprisingly, they all came to the same conclusion – Vaan was not actually as young as he looked. He was most likely in his late thirties and not some kid in his early twenties. He must have taken a youth potion to retain his young look.

Yes… That must be it.

A youth potion.

Once everyone thought that far, they became more accepting of the situation.

After all, comparing a forty-year-old High-level Rank 4 Body Refiner and a twenty-year-old High-level Rank 4 Body Refiner was like comparing heaven and earth; the latter was too heaven-defying.

If the young-looking man were truly as young as he seemed, no genius in the empire would dare claim to be a genius in front of him. His talent was simply unmatched and absolutely terrifying.

Nevertheless, regardless of Vaan\'s true age, everyone gave up the thought of causing him trouble. Sir Bakram had already testified his strength.

So what if they were unsatisfied with Vaan taking away some of their precious training time? What else could they do? Ask for a beating?

They couldn\'t defeat someone who could beat Sir Bakram.

…

A few minutes after everyone settled down and accepted Vaan\'s special position, Duke Zaahir was notified of their ride\'s arrival. It was a magic airboat pulled by two adult wyverns, each possessing Low-

level Rank 4 battle power.

Only a person of Duke Zaahir\'s status could own such a fancy ride in the empire.

When the two adult wyverns descended in the main courtyard with the magic airboat in tow, Duke Zaahir also came out to see the group off.

"Make use of your time in the capital to improve your strength as much as possible before the competition. We will see each other again in a few days."

"Yes, my Lord!"

Duke Zaahir exchanged parting words with his men as he watched them board his magic airboat. Then came Vaan\'s turn.

"Young Master Vanderlin, I will be counting on you. The future of the Dukedom of Dragonmoor and the western region is in your hands. Please don\'t disappoint me."

"Rest assured, Duke Zaahir. Since I have agreed, I will naturally honor my end of the deal."

Vaan calmly boarded the magic airboat last before he thought of something and glanced back at Duke Zaahir.

"Duke Zaahir, if you are lacking intellectual talents to help you manage your domain, you should consider looking for a little seven-year-old boy named Theo in the western lower-class districts. He might be young, but he has the gift of memory. So, if you are willing to invest, he will undoubtedly become an irreplaceable asset to the Dukedom of Dragonmoor in the future."

Vaan thought it would be a pity if Theo couldn\'t nurture his talent due to his environment and background. Thus, he decided to give him the opportunity he was lacking.

"Oh?" Duke Zaahir was astonished for a moment before decisively agreeing with a nod, "Since Young Master Vanderlin said so, I definitely have to go and look for this boy."

Vaan\'s words had caught his interest.

"Go, take them to the capital. I will also be counting on you two to take them there safely," Duke Zaahir said to the two adult wyverns as he caressed their heads intimately.

The two wyverns had been his lifelong companions since the time they hatched from their eggs.

Shortly after, the two wyverns took off, dragging the magic airboat along. They soared into the air and soon became a tiny dot in the distant eastern sky.

Afterward, Duke Zaahir glanced at Bakram, who had remained behind in the courtyard alongside him.

"Go, find this boy named Theo for me, Bakram."

"Yes, my Lord!"

…

In the sky above the clouds, the magic airboat continued to be pulled along by Duke Zaahir\'s two lifelong wyvern companions.

Due to the limited space on the deck of the magic airboat and the pressure of the grand competition in the coming days, the group of ten warriors meditated in solemn silence. No one had the mood to talk and only focused on conditioning their mind and bodies.

On the other hand, Vaan stood against the edge and calmly took in the view below.

He had already studied the nature of the magic airboat. Thus, he found it quite impractical for the magic airboat to be driven by two wyverns when it had its own flight functions. After all, given there were enough mana stones as fuel, the magic airboat could quite possibly even achieve greater speed than the two wyverns\' top speed.

However, Vaan could also understand why the wyverns were still used to drive the magic airboat.

Given the tension and rivalry between the western and eastern regions, Duke Zaahir\'s coffers must have been strained quite a fair deal. As such, the wyverns were used to lessen the consumption of mana stones required for long flight trips.

Nevertheless, what would have been a month-long trip by foot for most people heading to the imperial capital from Dragonmoor City was reduced to a one-day flight.

Of course, if Vaan wanted to, he could reach the imperial capital in mere seconds.

That said, Vaan didn\'t intend to waste any time by taking the slower path. He had plenty of precious resources to help him cultivate anywhere. Furthermore, the dragon elites were secretly keeping him updated on the situation in multiple countries.

\'Anything interesting happening back in the Black Rose Kingdom lately, Verun?\' Vaan inquired.