Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100 Chapter 1479 A Condition

"I accept your bet," Joe declared, following a pause that implied his thoughtful weighing had been sincere. He examined the offer from all possible perspectives, each time reaching the identical judgment, which held that Max, regardless of the attributes that had so completely swayed the Black Dragon Clan's family heads, would not manage to surpass the eightieth floor with a cultivation base fixed at the third level of the Rebirth Realm.

That certainty in his evaluation hadn't wavered in the slightest since Mathew initially floated the figure, and he saw no reason to act as if it had. "But I also have a condition," he continued, his tone holding the calculated firmness of a man who had already settled on his precise demand before uttering a word.

Mathew maintained an approachable look and an easy stance. "What condition?" he inquired, his grin holding firm without any fade. No matter what Joe was set to propose, he stood ready to listen, since his calm foundation stemmed not from courtesy but from unshakeable assurance.

He possessed the sort of profound, steady insight that left no space for unease or worry, understanding fully that defeat in this wager was impossible. Max would indeed conquer the eightieth floor, rendering any stipulation Joe now linked to his agreement one that would remain forever unfulfilled.

Joe met his gaze directly. "If I win this bet, I want Max to join the Violet Star Palace." He allowed the words to linger briefly before pressing on, his explanation trailing right after the requirement. "I believe that among the numerous third-rate powers in the Divine Realm, only our organization possesses the assets and framework to nurture him correctly and mold him into the genius the Sword Sovereign's sword obviously means for him to be. If you accept this term, I'll take your bet. If not, drop the whole thing."

Mathew's smile lingered, yet an undercurrent altered beneath it. He had entered this discussion braced for stipulations, but not this particular one. His eyes tightened just a touch as the implications of Joe's request weighed down upon him, and deep under his steady facade, a sharp notion surged with potent impact.

'This greedy bastard.' The curse echoed in his mind internally.

Max wasn't merely the top disciple the Black Dragon Clan had nurtured in ages. Right now, he stood as the most celebrated young prodigy throughout the vast Divine Realm, a cultivator whose reputation had extended well past the clan's borders that had fostered him, his grasp of the Sword Sovereign's sword turning him into a target of intense, covetous scrutiny from powers everywhere in the realm.

The Black Dragon Clan had lucked into discovering him, spotting his true potential before the broader world fully grasped it, and now Joe demanded they surrender that luck straight to the Violet Star Palace.

Mathew pivoted to share looks with the fellow family heads, and in the short quiet that ensued among them, a consensus took form without a single voice breaking the hush. Their mutual understanding ran deep enough for silence to suffice.

"Alright," Mathew stated, facing Joe once more. "This is a deal."

Yet that "alright" held more the assured poise of someone binding to clauses he knew beyond doubt he'd evade, rather than any yield. From the instant Mathew introduced the wager up to every word exchanged since, none of the family heads had harbored even fleeting uncertainty about Max's triumph over the eightieth floor.

In their shared view, the clause Joe had tacked onto his acceptance amounted to mere ink on a page, devoid of real threat.

They weren't wagering against Max. They were staking their faith in him, and the stake they picked— a penalty they fully intended to dodge— stemmed from never once seriously considering its demand might arise.

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Up on the displays hovering over the assembled throng, Max had already pushed past the twentieth floor ages ago. The twenty-first level welcomed him with a group of dark silhouettes, their cultivations solidly at the second level of the Rebirth Realm, exuding far more unified auras and displaying markedly keener motions compared to the constructs from prior levels.

Rather than charging recklessly, they advanced with a restraint hinting the tower was now weaving in tactical cunning to its creations, fanning out through the room to block off the paths he could use to counter any of them.

Max spared the setup one brief glance, gauged its layout, and surged ahead instead of letting them dictate the approach, his blade sweeping up and down in three precise cuts that shattered the setup before it exerted any true force.

The twenty-second level shrank the area sharply, confining him to a tighter space where the dark figures could stream at him from one route, stripping away his freedom to shift positions and compelling him to handle the onslaught of several foes piling in rapid sequence instead of scattered over wide terrain.

"Time to try one of the inheritance techniques," Max murmured under his breath, his words holding the subdued, precise edge of a person opting to test a method rather than steeling for battle.

With the choice set, he carried it out smoothly without fanfare. He tapped into the fifth level of his ice concept, drawing it up from the core of his cultivation base and letting it spread through his frame, and as soon as it met the room's air, the chill plummeted around him in an abrupt, utter drop, like the combat tower's level had shifted to some distant, frozen void untouched by heat.

The shift came not in stages but all at once and completely, and the nearest shadowy figures flinched on some innate impulse they shouldn't hold, their shapes wavering along the borders as the frost bore down on the essence making up their being.

Then the floor stirred.