Chapter 20
To the right, seated in an ornate golden chair, was an older man in a deep crimson robe.
His hair was streaked with gray, his posture straight despite his age.
His sharp eyes, filled with calculation and weariness, locked onto Tyler the moment he entered.
Without being told, Tyler could tell, he was an elder to the king’s.
A man who had seen wars, betrayals, and endless power struggles, a man not easily fooled.
Tyler offered the briefest respectful nod but did not pause.
His gaze moved to the left–and for a moment, even he couldn’t help but feel a slight jolt of surprise.
Sitting a little distance away was a young woman so breathtakingly beautiful that even the somberness of the room could not dim her glow.
Her skin was pale and flawless, like porcelain.
Her eyes, sharp and intelligent, sparkled like cold gems.
Her royal blue gown, embroidered with golden threads, flowed elegantly around her like
waves of the ocean.
The air around her seemed to shimmer slightly, as if even the light was too shy to touch her without permission.
Without needing anyone to tell him, Tyler immediately understood.
That should be the king first daughter, the crown jewel of the kingdom.
And beside her, sitting more modestly in a chair adorned with silver rather than gold, was another young woman.
Not as striking in a regal way, but beautiful in her own softer, kinder way.
Her eyes held warmth, her smile faint but genuine, and her posture was relaxed yet full of quiet dignity.
She didn’t radiate the overwhelming, icy nobility of her older sister but rather a gentler, softer light.
Again Tyler knew at once, that should be the second daughter.
Unlike her sister, who wore power like a cloak, the second daughter seemed more human, more reachable.
Chapter 20
+25 BONUS
But before Tyler could take another step forward, a sudden movement caught his attention.
The first daughter wrinkled her delicate nose in disgust the moment her gaze landed fully on
him.
She didn’t even try to hide it, her lips curled slightly, and she immediately pulled out an exquisite, silk handkerchief from her sleeve.
With a graceful yet exaggerated motion, she lifted it to her nose, shielding herself from the ” filth” that had dared to walk into her presence.
It was clear as day to her, Tyler was nothing but a piece of dirt that had somehow stained the palace floor.
A homeless, tattered stranger who didn’t deserve to breathe the same air she did.
The first daughter, sitting high and proud like a queen already crowned, lowered her handkerchief just enough to speak.
Her voice rang sharply through the heavy silence of the chamber, cold and dripping with disdain.
“What concerns a beggar…” she said, her tone high and mocking, “…what concerns a commoner… should never concern the king.”
Immediately the elder shifted slightly but said nothing, merely watching the scene unfold with sharp eyes.
The first daughter turned her gaze fully on Tyler now, her lips curling into a faint sneer.
“How,” she demanded, her voice rising, “how did he even pass the first stage of screening?”
She scoffed loudly, not bothering to hide her disgust.
“What is going on here?” she continued, waving a delicate, jeweled hand as if Tyler was some piece of trash the wind had blown in.
“Did he come here to beg or something?” she added with a cruel little deadly gaze.
Tyler stood there silently, unmoved, his face calm and unreadable, he neither bowed his head nor showed any sign of embarrassment.
He simply stood, like an immovable rock against the tide of insults washing over him.
But someone else in the room was watching differently.
The elder the sharp–eyed man who had remained silent until now leaned slightly forward in his golden chair.
He narrowed his eyes, studying Tyler carefully, Unlike the princess and the guards outside, he was trained to see what others could not.
Chapter 20
And what he saw now… shocked him, He could sense it.
A faint, almost hidden aura was slowly radiating from Tyler’s body.
It wasn’t obvious it wasn’t violent or flashy but it was there.
And it was terrifyingly real, without being told, the elder immediately knew.
This was no ordinary man, his heart skipped a beat.
+25 BONU
He had studied healing arts for decades not as a master healer, no but enough to recognize powerful medical energy when it appeared.
And Tyler… Tyler’s body was leaking it quietly, effortlessly, without even trying, but that wasn’t all.
The elder’s senses, trained through long years of “Sightseeing” the rare ability to perceive hidden energies picked up something else too.
Deep within Tyler’s calm presence, he saw medical energy strong, pure, untamed.
But layered beneath that was something even more surprising.
He could faintly see martial arts energy as well, and not just a little.
A dense, heavy, frightening martial aura that coiled beneath Tyler’s calm surface like a sleeping dragon.
The elder’s throat tightened slightly, what shocked him even more was that despite his ability being in Stage Five a level where he could normally measure the strength of energies easily
he couldn’t gauge Tyler’s depths.
He couldn’t see how strong Tyler’s medical energy truly was.
He couldn’t measure how terrifying Tyler’s martial power had grown, his own able wasn’t that strong enough to get the accurate amount.
At that moment the elder leaned slightly forward.
This boy… no this man… is different.
He had seen dozens, maybe hundreds, of young healers walk through the palace doors today, their auras flickering weakly, their hearts trembling the moment they caught sight of the dying king.
None of them carried even a tenth of the power he was sensing now.
Without thinking, the elder spoke up, his deep voice slicing cleanly through the heavy silence
of the room.
“My princess, If he was able to enter,” the elder said slowly, “then it means he has what it takes.”
Chapter 20
His words, though calm, carried a weight that couldn’t be ignored.
The first daughter stiffened visibly.
+25 BONUS
Her handkerchief, still pressed tightly to her nose, trembled slightly, but her face remained cold, and composed.
She didn’t lower the cloth shielding her from Tyler’s supposed “filth,” but her sharp eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
It was a small crack in her perfect façade, but a crack nonetheless, she couldn’t openly argue with the elder.
Not here, Not now, So she simply stayed silent, keeping her icy posture intact, covering her nose delicately as if the mere act of breathing the same air as Tyler was going to kill her.
Chapter 21
