Hestia entered the chamber without altering her posture in the slightest. Adrian followed half a step behind her.
"Sect Leader Nightshade," she said and gestured once toward Adrian. "This is my sect's Elder Adrian."
"Elder?" Nightshade repeated, the faintest trace of amusement surfacing in his tone. "Interesting."
Then he extended a hand lightly toward the table. "Sit."
Hestia and Adrian took their seats across the long conference table. Marivelle remained standing behind Adrian without comment. Kaevryn likewise did not sit, instead positioning himself behind Nightshade in silent attendance.
For several breaths, silence lingered in the chamber.
Above them, the holographic projection of the surrounding star system rotated slowly, casting a faint, cool light across the surface of the table.
Nightshade folded his hands loosely.
"I agreed to this meeting," he began calmly, "to inform you that the Thousand Veils Sect cannot enter into business with the Crimson Vital Sect at this time."
"May I ask the reason?" Hestia asked.
"You are aware of it." Nightshade's gaze drifted briefly to the rotating projection, then returned. "Your enemy, the Everlasting Pill Sect, still exists. Their leader is wounded, but not dead. My sect requires stability in its supply chains, since we operate across multiple conflict zones. We cannot afford interruptions in high-grade alchemical production because two sects decide to resume war."
"Why should I establish a long-term contract with a sect whose political situation remains uncertain, when other stable alchemy sects exist within Andromeda? You recovered recently, and I do not doubt your strength. You have already demonstrated yourself in battle against the Everlasting Pill Sect Leader, and your market index rose accordingly." He paused. "But recovery and long-term stability are not synonymous. So I had no intention of entering business with you in the short term."
His eyes shifted toward Adrian. "However, I now see that your sect is different from what it portrayed to the universe."
"You concealed him well, Sect Leader Hestia. That was wise." Nightshade spoke as he understood the value of information control. "However, there is an issue."
He turned his attention back to Hestia.
"You are the progenitor of Crimson Vital Dominion and only recently reached complete mastery of your divine concept. It has not been long since your ascension to Peak Rule Stage. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that Elder Adrian's ascension is also recent."
Neither Hestia nor Adrian responded. There was nothing to contradict, at least nothing they could say openly.
"I believe I do not need to explain this." Nightshade's voice remained even. "Mastery of a divine concept does not equate to mastery of combat. A cultivator may isolate themselves, comprehend divine spells, and reach full mastery. But battlefield survival is determined by far more than that."
Both Hestia and Adrian silently acknowledged the truth of his words. Combat was layered. It involved resource management, divine spell application, authority techniques, timing, adaptability, and strategy. Even after reaching the Peak Rule Stage, cultivators required extensive real combat experience to wield their power effectively. Hestia had proven herself by fighting the everlasting pill sect leader, who was an experienced peak rule stage being. But Adrian, from Nightshade's perspective, was someone who just ascended and hadn't proved his combat strength.
"You proved yourself in open conflict," Nightshade continued, addressing Hestia. "You fought an experienced Peak Rule Stage cultivator and demonstrated combat capability."
He then looked directly at Adrian, "But Elder Adrian has not."
Adrian held Nightshade's gaze without shifting. The man was not being provocative. His tone carried none of the condescension Marivelle had shown in the relic, none of Kaevryn's poorly concealed surprise. Nightshade was simply stating what he believed to be true.
"So even with this new variable," Nightshade concluded, "I cannot offer you long-term business without further assessment."
Hestia's expression remained composed. She had already anticipated this reaction.
"What do you propose?" Hestia asked.
"I will offer something simple and non-aggressive," Nightshade replied. "For ten seconds, Elder Adrian must evade my touch. If I touch him within that time, he fails."
"If he avoids me for ten seconds, it will demonstrate that he is sufficiently competent as a Peak Rule Stage cultivator. In that case, I will consider the Crimson Vital Sect stable enough to enter long-term supply negotiations."
Hestia's lips curved faintly. "That is all? That seems rather simple."
"Of course, he can't use any defensive authority techniques," Nightshade replied.
This increased the difficulty. But from Hestia's perspective, Adrian's strength was equal to, if not greater than, her own. Even though this is tricky, if she tried her best, she could evade Nightshade for ten seconds. So she had no doubt Adrian could do the same.
Adrian, however, was analyzing the situation differently. It was not as simple as it appeared.
He needed to prove himself using Crimson Vital Dominion. Even if he used his Source Domain, externally, he could only display seventy percent authority, the exact same level Nightshade possessed. That meant no surplus authority advantage he'd had against Marivelle.
Then there was the mana disparity. He had already asked Hestia about her reserves and learned she possessed approximately seven hundred thousand mana units. Marivelle said she possessed five hundred thousand. But Adrian, even after recent cultivation, had barely reached eighty thousand mana units.
So what did Nightshade possess? One million? Two?
He had no reliable estimate. On top of that, Nightshade would have spent millions of years refining authority techniques tailored specifically to Obsidian Veil Dominion, techniques Adrian had never seen. Without surplus authority, without comparable reserves, without defensive authority techniques, and without any knowledge of his opponent's methods, he would have to navigate every second of the combat.
Without a defensive authority technique, he would have to depend on negating. And even negating a single technique could cost him far too much mana.
He exhaled slowly. This was reality. No enemy in the universe would reveal their techniques in advance. No one would lay out their resources before engaging. He would have to adapt in real time to whatever was thrown at him. Moreover, this was not even a duel; he only needed to evade. In that sense, it could serve as training for Adrian.
After weighing everything, Adrian did not object and remained silent.
His silence was acceptance, and everyone in the room understood it.
"Good." Nightshade tapped the conference table once. Instantly, the table, chairs, and surrounding furnishings dissolved into pale light and vanished. The chamber expanded outward, the walls pulling back until the space resembled an open arena, large enough to move freely, but bounded. There was space to move, but not an infinite void to retreat into.
Hestia, Marivelle, and Kaevryn moved toward the edge of the chamber without a word.
Hestia folded her hands and watched.
Adrian and Nightshade positioned themselves at the center of the chamber, facing one another with several meters between them.
A holographic display materialized along the side wall, projecting a visual feed of the confrontation from above. Beside it, a timer sat motionless, waiting.
Kaevryn's voice was even, "Are you both ready?"
Neither Adrian nor Nightshade turned to look at him. Both kept their eyes locked on one another and nodded once.
"Then," Kaevryn said, "begin."
The moment his words fell, the timer started, and the test began.
The instant the timer began, both Adrian and Nightshade expanded their divine domains simultaneously. The overlapping fields surged outward, covering nearly the entire chamber, leaving only the sidelines where Hestia and the others stood untouched.
From where Hestia and the others watched, the interior of the overlapping domains became pure darkness. There was not a single trace of light within it. Absolute blackness swallowed the center of the chamber.
This was the innate property of Obsidian Veil Dominion. Once enveloped within that domain, opponents often failed to realize they had already been struck until damage had occurred.
"The display," Kaevryn said quietly.
The three of them turned to the holographic projection along the side wall. The feed was embedded with Obsidian Veil logic, built specifically to pierce the innate concealment and render the interior visible. On its surface, two figures appeared in pale outline.
They saw Nightshade had already closed the distance and was reaching toward Adrian.