Chapter 542: Mysterious Nine Dragons Painting

Lucia raised her head slowly, meeting his eyes without the earlier hostility. Her tone was measured and refined, her fury buried beneath a veil of poise. “I’ve grasped the basics of the three Supreme Hall inheritances,” she answered with precision. “That’s all I need for now. I’ll finish the rest later when the time is right.”

Max gave a small nod, expression unreadable. He could imagine the immense resources someone like her had access to back in the Divine Realm—private trials, origin totems, bloodline-enhancing pools, and more. It made sense. She didn’t need to master anything in this mortal realm.

For someone like Lucia Grimes, this place was a stepping stone at best, a playground for training before the true inheritance refinement began under the careful guidance of her clan.

‘Now I don’t think my Chaos Tree is a cheat anymore,’ Max thought to himself, his lips curving into a faint smile. After all, it wasn’t just the ability to copy inheritances that defined power—it was how one grew from them, how one wielded them in the heat of battle.

The Chaos Tree didn’t give him strength for free; it merely helped him grow in directions others could not. A seed still had to be nurtured. He had earned every leaf with effort, pain, and time.

Just then, a calm yet piercing voice interrupted his thoughts.

“I will defeat you in the Nine Dragons Painting,” Lucia said suddenly. Her words were sharp, confident, her eyes brimming with a cold clarity that wasn’t there before.

Max turned to look at her, blinking once before smiling lightly. “You should know only the inheritances of the Black Dragon Palace are allowed in the painting. And I’ve already mastered one to perfection. What gives you the confidence to think you can beat me there?”

Lucia didn’t flinch. She merely smiled back, a quiet storm swirling behind her gaze. “My confidence doesn’t come from mastering one inheritance,” she said slowly, her voice as smooth as flowing fire. “It comes from mastering many. I’ve already learned most of the core inheritances available in the Divine Realm. My path wasn’t limited to just what this city could offer—I was raised to comprehend more, to grasp deeper. That’s why I know… even here, even against you, I can stand above.”

‘She’ll be a monster inside the Nine Dragons Painting,’ he thought to himself. ‘And I… I’ll have to go even further if I want to keep up.’

Max nodded slowly, her words still echoing in his mind. They did make sense—painfully so. Unlike him, who had only just begun to understand the deeper powers of the Black Dragon Palace, Lucia had clearly been raised in an environment where such inheritances were readily available, nurtured, and refined.

She hadn’t just comprehended more inheritances; she had mastered stronger, more ancient legacies—some perhaps known only to the highest echelons of the Divine Realm. Her confidence wasn’t the result of arrogance, but of absolute preparedness.

The Nine Dragons Painting was a place where one’s comprehension, control, and creativity over their inheritances would be tested to the limit. With her experience and depth, it was only natural her performance would be near the very peak.

“What’s the highest floor you’ve reached in the Nine Dragons Painting?” Max asked out of genuine curiosity. “I believe this test is common even in the Divine Realm, right?”

Lucia nodded calmly, a proud glint passing through her usually composed gaze. “It is indeed conducted even in the Divine Realm,” she said, her voice soft but steady. “And I have reached the Seventh Floor.”

Max’s eyes narrowed slightly at that. The Seventh Floor. That was the benchmark, the domain where even geniuses from the Divine Realm began to fall short. He had heard the Lady Virelia say that reaching the fourth floor meant passing, the fifth earned recognition, the sixth was the realm of geniuses, and the seventh… the seventh was a place where true prodigies, unmatched in their generation, made their mark.

And Lucia Grimes had already reached it.

‘This is the level I’ll be competing against…’ Max thought silently, a flicker of excitement blooming beneath his skin. ‘Good.’

“Has there anyone who have reached 8th and 9th floor?” Max asked curiously.

“There have been a few in history who reached the eighth floor,” Lucia said after a brief pause, her tone distant, as though recalling legends whispered behind closed doors. “But the ninth floor… that remains untouched. Since the creation of the Nine Dragons Painting, no one—Divine Realm or otherwise—has ever stepped into it.”

Max’s brows lifted slightly, genuine surprise flickering across his face. He had heard Lady Virelia speak of the ninth floor like a myth, a legend that danced on the edges of reality, but to hear it again from Lucia—someone born and raised within the highest echelons of the Divine Realm—only deepened the weight of it.

“Hmm,” he murmured, digesting the information. His gaze turned thoughtful, contemplative. The Nine Dragons Painting wasn’t just a trial—it was a legacy. A divine construct so profound that even the greatest geniuses of the Divine Realm, those who stood atop heaven’s peak, couldn’t conquer its final floor.

‘It seems the Nine Dragons Painting is far more special than I thought,’ Max reflected silently, his gaze fixed on the sky above as if trying to peer into that elusive ninth floor. He didn’t underestimate the Divine Realm—he respected its depth and its monstrous talents.

The fact that none of them had ever entered the ninth floor didn’t diminish their ability. Instead, it elevated the trial itself. The true mystery, he now realized, wasn’t the power of the competitors, but the unfathomable threshold of the Painting’s final floor. And that made Max more intrigued than ever.

“Let’s go and see who defeats who,” Max said with a calm smile, his eyes gleaming with anticipation as he stepped out of the Comprehension Hall.

Jason chuckled behind him, casually falling into step with the same carefree grin he always wore. Lucia followed, her pace measured and quiet, but her eyes, sharp and unwavering, were locked on Max’s back.

Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!