The Rise of a Master: It Starts With Rejection

"Come on out. Why keep hiding like a coward?" Felix called out, his voice steady but cold.

His senses told him someone was lurking behind a massive boulder. Yet, instead of relief, he felt nothing but unease.

Sure, the presence did not seem particularly strong. However, there was no way that someone would go through all this trouble if they were weak.

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure emerged. Felix's eyes narrowed in surprise as he realized it was Kendrick.

"Judging by your face, you didn't expect to see me, did you, Felix?" Kendrick grinned broadly, looking far more smug than their last encounter, as though Felix had walked right into his trap.noveldrama

"Cut the crap! Get whoever's hiding to come out. There's no way someone as worthless as you could pull off a plan this elaborate. Am I wrong?"

Though a flash of anger crossed Kendrick's eyes, he quickly masked it with another grin. He replied, "Sharp as always. It wasn't easy luring you out of the city.

"But you're right-neither I nor the Maximus family could orchestrate something this grand. That's why you should meet an old friend."

Two more figures emerged. One stood in front of Kendrick, while the other positioned himself about 30 feet away at an angle.

Kendrick introduced, "This here is Dean, one of the Maximus family's leaders. He's at the major mastery level of Transcendent Realm. As for the other one... I believe you might recognize him."

Felix's brow furrowed. He did not recognize the second man, an older figure with an unremarkable, generic face.

"You may call me the Grand Elder," the man said in a deep, authoritative voice.

Felix's heart sank. Of all the enemies he feared in Martial City, two stood out: Kevin, Aiden's master, and the Grand Elder of the Elders' Council. Now, it seemed he had walked straight into the latter's trap.

"You sure went to a lot of trouble for me," Felix said, his voice low and tense. "I'm here now. You're a respected Grand Elder. There's no need to involve an innocent woman. Let Melissa go."

The Grand Elder chuckled coldly. "I don't stoop to such vile tactics. I wouldn't kidnap some girl. Besides, I'd rather not provoke your senior apprentices. Even here in Martial City, that hasn't changed."

Felix's eyes narrowed further. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The Grand Elder growled, "My grudge is with Gerald. The pain he caused me is something I'll never forgive.

"Killing you is the greatest revenge I can take on him. When I learned you were coming to Martial City, I

prepared two plans. You alreadmet

know the first one failed, which is why we're now executing the second."

His lips twisted into a sinister smile. "While my people intercepted you, I had them steal Melissa's phone. Since your

own phone was

confiscated upon entry, there

was

swn!.

no way for you to learn about it.

"Besides, it wasn't significant enough for her to mention to you. Do you get it now?"

In other words, Melissa was not here at all. The Grand Elder had used her phone

to bait Felix, fully confident he would take the trap and he had.

"I'm going to take your head back to the capital," the Grand Elder said, his voice filled with cruel satisfaction.

"Gerald will cry over your corpse for days, drowning in guilt for the rest of his life. Only then will I find peace."

Kendrick sneered. "Oh, and by the way, Madam Goddard going after Solaris Root? Yeah, that was us. The info we gave her was real.

"If it had been fake, she would've figured out we were behind it. But with it being real, there's no suspicion. Two Solaris Roots... Quite the prize, don't you think?"

Kendrick's grin widened as he suddenly roared, "Felix, you've got two major mastery-level Transcendent Realm warriors coming for you! If you survive this, I'll bash my own skull against these rocks!"