Journey to Become the Zenith

A Beautiful Date and an Ugly Encounter

Victor looked amused.

”Jealous?”

Diana smiled sweetly.

”Perhaps.”

Victor glanced at her.

”Then hold my hand tighter.”

Diana froze for half a second.

Then she intertwined her fingers with his.

”Like this?”

”Exactly.”

She smiled.

”Good.”

They found a private table and ordered several dishes.

Soon, the table was filled with steaming food.

Roasted meat covered in fragrant spices.

Fresh vegetables.

Golden rice.

A bowl of thick soup.

Several sweet pastries.

Diana tasted one of the dishes and her eyes brightened.

Victor noticed.

”Good?”

She nodded.

”Very.”

”Then eat.”

”I was planning to.”

Victor watched her happily continue eating.

For some reason, seeing Diana enjoy herself made him feel strangely satisfied.

The meal passed peacefully.

There was no bloodshed.

No enemies.

No schemes.

No cultivation breakthrough that needed to be chased.

Just food, conversation, and the simple pleasure of spending time together.

Afterward, they continued touring the city.

Victor even bought Diana another small gift from a street vendor—a dark red ribbon decorated with a tiny silver charm.

Diana held it carefully.

”You’ve bought me quite a few things today.”

”You’ve liked everything so far.”

She looked at him.

”You’re enjoying this.”

”Maybe.”

”Maybe?”

Victor smiled.

”Fine. I am.”

Diana laughed softly.

They walked deeper into the city.

The afternoon slowly faded toward evening.

The sunlight became softer, painting the buildings in warm gold.

Then, while they were touring the city, they noticed a bunch of people gathering in one spot.

Victor’s steps slowed.

Diana looked toward the crowd.

”What happened?”

”Not sure.”

There were too many people packed together to see clearly.

Victor was a bit curious.

He released a small amount of mana and used his mana sensing to examine the crowd.

The countless presences became clearer within his perception.

Most of them were ordinary.

But three stood out.

Three people possessed a noticeably higher degree of mana than everyone else gathered there.

Victor’s golden eyes narrowed slightly.

”Oh?”

Diana immediately noticed the change in his expression.

”You found something?”

”Three people who are stronger than the others.”

”Trouble?”

Victor smiled.

”Maybe.”

The two approached the crowd.

As they moved closer, people instinctively stepped aside.

Some recognized Diana.

Others recognized Victor.

But neither cared about the attention.

...

When Victor got closer, he finally saw what the crowd was looking at.

An overly dressed teen was harassing a rather pretty maiden.

The young man’s clothes were decorated with expensive embroidery and gemstones. Several rings covered his fingers, and the arrogance written across his face made it obvious that he was accustomed to getting whatever he wanted.

The woman looked frightened.

She kept trying to pull away.

But the young man wouldn’t let her.

Victor glanced around.

Nobody was helping.

Some people looked away.

Others whispered among themselves.

That was enough for Victor to understand.

The young man wasn’t merely some spoiled rich kid.

He was someone important.

Victor listened to the crowd.

A few murmured words were enough to reveal his identity.

The overly dressed teen was the young master of the Valier family.

The Valier family was directly opposed to the Elmhart family.

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’Hmm, if Videl was here she would have quickly saved the girl... What the heck, I’m feeling really great today, I guess I can save her.’

His gaze shifted toward the three people surrounding the young master.

’The three guys protecting that man seems to be fairly strong as well, maybe I can test how much my mana increased.’

A spark appeared in Victor’s golden eyes.

’Oh, I could also test some new techniques I created.’

The thought of facing opponents strong enough to make things interesting caused the corners of his mouth to rise.

He wasn’t angry.

Not yet.

He was simply excited.

After all, he had come to the city intending to relax.

But if someone wanted to provide him with a little entertainment...

Why would he refuse?

Diana saw that smile.

Her expression became complicated.

She knew that smile.

Whenever Victor smiled like that, someone was about to have a very bad day.

She sighed softly.

”You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

Victor didn’t look at her.

”A little.”

”I knew it.”

...

”Please, my lord, spare me.”

The frightened woman’s voice trembled.

The young master of the Valier family looked down at her with a pleased expression.

”Why are you acting like this? I already told you I would give you as much gold coin as you want. All you need to do is show me a good time.”

He licked his lips as he wrapped his arms around the woman’s belly.

She stiffened.

The young master was about to touch a more intimate place when a voice suddenly interrupted him.

”Hey, why don’t you let that woman go?”

The young master stopped.

His expression twisted with irritation.

Slowly, he looked toward the source of the voice.

His gaze landed on Victor.

For a moment, he looked ready to angrily yell.

Then he noticed Diana standing beside Victor.

His expression changed completely.

The girl he was harassing was indeed pretty.

But compared to the woman beside Victor...

She was nothing more than a toad.

Diana’s long black hair framed her beautiful face, while her blood-red eyes gave her an almost otherworldly charm.

The young master stared.

His mouth slowly opened.

He had seen countless beautiful women in his life.

But he had never seen anyone like her.

She looked less like a mortal woman and more like a Goddess who had accidentally stepped into the human world.

The young master licked his lips.

His eyes became filled with greed.

Victor’s expression gradually cooled.

”Hey, did you hear me? Let that woman go already.”

The young master, still entranced by Diana’s beauty, heard Victor’s voice again.

His irritation returned.

Instead of answering Victor, he decided to ignore him completely.

He looked directly at Diana.

”Woman, ditch that man and come to me.”

Victor and Diana both stared at him.

For a moment, neither spoke.

It was such an absurd statement that they genuinely didn’t know how to respond.

Then Victor’s eyebrows twitched.

”Huh? The fuck are you talking about?”

The young master ignored Victor’s growing irritation.

He simply looked at Diana as though Victor didn’t even exist.

That attitude finally pushed Victor’s patience toward its limit.

The young master called one of his bodyguards.

”Günter.”

The large man immediately stepped forward and bowed.

”Yes, young master.”

The young master casually pointed toward Victor.

”Cripple that guy and take the girl.”

His voice carried the arrogance of someone who believed the entire city belonged to his family.

Günter didn’t hesitate.

”As you wish, young master.”