Many still noticed Lucas, but he was practically left aside while everyone talked about Kayden. The worst thing was that Lucas came from a high-ranking family, practically at the top of the empire, just below the emperor.
"Kayden!" Keiren was elated; this was the proudest moment in all the generations of his family. "You were amazing, son." No family member could relate to the patriarch with this loving version.
It was practically as if they were two different people: while he was loving with Kayden, he was a demon with all the other members of the family; not even his wife escaped the patriarch’s mistreatment, which made his displays of affection something strange and out of tune for everyone.
"Thank you, Father." Kayden didn’t say anything else and waited. Sometime later, the next phase would finally begin a straightforward battle against one of the academy’s instructors. It was a doll that perfectly suited the opponent’s strength, made entirely of metal, one of the largest magic training dolls ever created in this world. It had no apparent strength, but when energized, it could reach the peak of the fifth realm in terms of power. It was one of the best training methods, as the doll always cloned its opponent’s abilities and surpassed them in strength.
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The robot also suited the peak of the opponent’s realm and was capable of wielding thousands of techniques from different elements, making it a virtually unbeatable opponent for ordinary people.
"The test consists of resisting for 10 minutes against the test dummy." The one who proclaimed the rules was an old man with a beer belly and a nose as red as a bell pepper. The order of call was made according to the strength of the noble families. Logically, most of the candidates were not noble, but the strongest portion was, which meant that Kayden had to wait a long time to be able to participate.
There were about a hundred of these robots, allowing multiple battles to occur at the same time. Kayden just closed his eyes and waited for his turn. He no longer had any reason to watch the fights, as it was unlikely that the emperor himself would be able to teach him anything at this point.
"Kayden, it’s your turn," Keiren called out, trembling slightly. The patriarch and everyone around were silent, not knowing what to do. Lucas had eliminated one of the robots with a single move, using his blue flame, something unbelievable that had never happened before, at least not in such a short time.
The truth was that any mage with seven-ray potential was taken off this planet most of the time; those with eight barely lasted a day after their strength was revealed to the public. It was simply something no one had ever seen before.
Kayden walked slowly, without rushing, but his steps seemed magical, placing him in front of the robot in just a few seconds. It was funny because no one could understand exactly what he had done. At that moment, all eyes were on Kayden. He held the highest record ever seen in the maze of this test, so the expectations for him were ridiculously high, as high as those Lucas had achieved.
"He was just lucky, my Luquinhas," Lucas’ mother tried to comfort the spoiled child with sweet words that fell on ears ready to believe this nonsense.
"I’m ready," Kayden’s voice came out before the judge could even ask, and it sent the dummy hurtling forward toward him at high speed.
It was curious that Kayden’s appearance didn’t reveal his fighting style or strength. He was a complete mystery to the robot and everyone watching. The boy’s mana fluctuation was zero; he looked like an ordinary person who had never cultivated. This piqued some people’s curiosity, but everyone soon assumed that it was part of a secret family technique. There was no way a ten-year-old boy could have such great control over his strength.
The robot launched a high-speed kick... at least for that realm. There didn’t seem to be any flaws in this defense; at least that’s what most mages saw. Kayden, however, could count at least two dozen flaws.
*SWISH!*
katana lit up with a thin thread of high-density pure mana, capable of cutting anything into pieces like butter. With a simple feint—which was anything but simple—Kayden split the doll into two halves. The movement was so perfect that even those in the fifth realm had trouble following it with their eyes. It seemed as if a black shadow accompanied Kayden’s movements, a frightening aura that sent shivers down the spines of almost everyone present.
Those with some talent in the sword were practically rubbing their eyes. Most of them couldn’t believe the perfection of Kayden’s movement. These were beings who had lived for centuries, some even millennia, and yet they still couldn’t understand it.
A round of applause was started by the greatest swordsman in the empire, known only as Juno. Throughout the empire, it was forbidden to give this name to anyone else, such was the reverence of the citizens for him. A true magician of the seventh kingdom, Juno was second only to the emperor in strength, and according to some sources, he was even more powerful. But his goal was only the path of the swordsman, without regard for political power.
In a rare moment of arrogance, Kayden bowed before the crowd. This bow was not for the common mages, who did not even understand what had happened; in fact, it was a presentation. Kayden bowed before all the true powers of the empire. In each region, he could sense one or two mages capable of something far beyond the strength they displayed, true monsters in sheep’s clothing. These were the numbered ones on the planet, all of them in the top 1000 of the strongest. A ridiculously low number, considering all the people in this place; each of them represented an icon of strength in some area.