As soon as she finished speaking, Nia ran off to find Astrachior.
She had been in a great mood because of Shadowcaster and did not even feel like arguing with Zayne anymore. Yet he just had to keep showing up in front of her.
If that was the case, then she would not hold back from exposing him.
"Dad, which room is Shadowcaster staying in?"
"Hm?" Astrachior paused, glanced at Zayne standing in the courtyard, and said calmly. "Shadowcaster is not staying here. He already left. He will only co back the day after tomorrow when we depart."
"What?"
Nia felt utterly wronged. Did that an all her careful preparation had been for nothing?
When she saw Zayne still standing in the courtyard, her anger flared instantly.
Shadowcaster must have left because he found this guy annoying.
"Why are you still here? What are you standing around for?"
"..."
Zayne rolled his eyes.
If this woman did not have such a powerful father, he would have thrown a Forbidden Spell at her already.
He even started to wonder whether Nia was really Astrachior’s biological daughter or soone Astrachior had picked up from a dumpster.
Astrachior could infer his immortality from just a few clues, sharp and terrifyingly precise.
Nia, on the other hand, was completely blind. She strutted around with misplaced confidence, unable to see the truth even when it was shoved right in front of her. She stubbornly insisted that Shadowcaster and Zayne were two different people.
The gap between father and daughter was honestly absurd.
Zayne walked out the gate, hailed a cab, and left.
The taxi stopped in front of a private estate.
Dozens of guards stood around the periter. Their presence was restrained, yet oppressive. They were clearly powerful class users.
After the previous attack by Dano, Blake had clearly spared no expense when it ca to security.
As Zayne approached the bronze and gold gates, a guard stepped forward and barked coldly.
"Stop. Private property. No trespassing."
Smack.
Before he could finish, another guard slapped the back of his head and cursed.
"Are you blind? This gentleman is this year’s national champion from the college entrance trial. He is our young master’s boss."
"Sir, please co this way," the guard said hurriedly, his attitude flipping instantly.
Escorted inside, Zayne had just sat down in the reception room when Francis rushed in.
"Zayne. I missed you so much. Why did you not tell in advance you were coming? I would have sent a car to pick you up."
After the college entrance trial, Francis had been completely convinced by Zayne.
"Your injuries healed?" Zayne asked with a smile.
"All healed. My dad brought in the best healers in Old Shipyard Port. He will be thrilled to see you. I will go get him."
Francis quickly called Blake over. The three of them caught up for a long while before Zayne lowered his voice.
"Can you have everyone else leave for now? I ca this ti for sothing serious."
Blake and Francis exchanged a glance.
Blake nodded and said firmly, "Everyone out."
The butler and maids bowed and quietly withdrew.
"Go ahead, Zayne. Did you run into trouble?" Blake asked seriously. "As long as it is within my ans, I will help."
"Yeah. Just say the word," Francis added.
"Well..." Zayne sighed. "After the college entrance trial, I went to the Champion Secret Realm. I ran into real demons there. For over a month, I have been fighting monsters nonstop..."
Before he could finish, Blake shot up from the couch, concern filling his eyes.
"You are injured? How bad is it? Do not worry. I will call every healer above level forty in Old Shipyard Port right now."
Blake grabbed his phone, ready to dial. Zayne hurriedly stopped him.
"No, that is not what I an. What I an is... I have been fighting my whole life. I want to enjoy myself for a bit."
"Enjoy yourself?" Blake froze.
"You know. Keep the music playing. Keep the party going."
"..."
Not long after, news spread that the Ward family was hosting a celebration banquet for national champion Zayne.
The Ward family spared no expense. Almost every notable figure in Old Shipyard Port attended, gathering to congratulate the birth of a national champion.
Many also extended olive branches to Zayne, trying to recruit him. So even wanted to introduce their daughters.
After all, to the smaller forces in Old Shipyard Port, Zayne’s three identities were dazzling enough. National champion. Level 25 Forbidden Spellcaster. Astrachior’s disciple.
Yet Zayne ignored all of them.
At the banquet, he did only three things.
Smoke. Drink. Play around.
He embodied decadence to the extre.
Seeing Zayne with two won in his arms and three cigarettes in his mouth, many of the forces who had planned to recruit him exchanged awkward looks.
"What is going on? He is a national champion. How did he fall this far?"
"He is a Forbidden Spellcaster. Short lived by nature. He probably burned his lifespan to win the title. With only a few years left, drowning in pleasure makes sense."
"True. Sigh. If he were not a Forbidden Spellcaster, Old Shipyard Port would really be on the rise. It has been so long since a national champion ca from here."
Whispers spread through the crowd. The looks directed at Zayne were filled with regret and pity.
Such a good seed, yet cursed with the Forbidden Spellcaster path.
Zayne did not care in the slightest. He turned his head, teasing the girl beside him until she giggled, her gaze growing increasingly heated.
After the banquet, whenever people ntioned Zayne, they all shared the sa conclusion.
It was over. He was done.
And it did not stop there.
Over the next two days, people frequently saw Zayne roaring through the streets of Old Shipyard Port in expensive sports cars, each ti with a different hot girl in the passenger seat.
After midnight, the entrance of various bars would randomly spawn a national champion passed out on the ground.
So saw him leaving hotels with three or four different won in a single day, each one stunning.
Everyone started to believe that Zayne was really dying, which was why he had completely given up.
Gradually, no one paid attention to him anymore.
People were busy. In the adult world, value mattered. A champion lost to indulgence was no longer worth anyone’s ti.
On the third morning, just as dawn broke, Zayne woke up.
He activated the Forbidden Spell "Hellfire Armageddon" and burned every drop of blood in his body to ash.
Then he took out "Starfall Skytrace" and lightly sliced downward, opening a massive wound from his chest to his abdon.
Zayne cut out his lungs and liver and tossed them aside. A flicker of fla reduced them to ashes.
With a thought, his cells began to divide and regenerate rapidly. New lungs and a new liver grew back in place.
Smoking damaged the lungs. Drinking damaged the liver.
To properly play the role of soone fallen into decadence, he had smoked and drunk far too much these past few days. If he did not replace them, it would affect his physical condition.
Just the cigars alone had noticeably reduced his lung capacity.
After finishing everything, Zayne put on the Phantom Visage and slipped out of the Ward family estate without a sound.
With these past two days as cover, even if he disappeared for a while, Blake and Francis would only assu he had crawled off sowhere to indulge himself again.
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