The lower shopping Skyscraper complex simply remained silent. Nobody dared to interfere. Yes, they had all known Asher and the rest were foreigners the moment they had first seen them. At the beginning, they had expected Asher and the others to suffer a loss, but they hadn’t expected Asher to handle all three guards as though they were absolutely nothing. Most of them hadn’t even seen the attacks clearly. They had only sensed movements and heard bodies crashing violently into various objects and structures.

Although the shopping Skyscraper possessed security guards, they had tactically chosen not to intervene as this matter concerned one of the great families.

Nobody complained about their shops and goods being destroyed during the fight either. This wasn’t anyone’s first rodeo. What exactly could they possibly do? Hold Maximus’ family accountable? That was no different from an ant demanding that a Dragon pay a fine.

Tell Asher and his friends to pay up instead? They had just witnessed him beat up Maximus’ guards with overwhelming ease. If anything, that alone told them he was talented and most likely a Noble from whichever Empire he originated from. It was far better to stay away and silently swallow the losses than to become the second Maximus.

So they simply watched Asher, William, and the others walk away as though they hadn’t done anything at all.

Normally, a battle between Swiftstar Life Rankers should have been far more destructive, but the guards had underestimated Asher far too much, and Asher had also incapacitated every single guard with no more than one or two attacks each, giving them absolutely no time to unleash their true strength or abilities.

Asher, William, Vaelric, Finch, and Ryaen walked in silence, none of them speaking as though talking at this moment was some sort of ominous black omen.

Although everyone who had witnessed the scene unfold was shocked, nobody was more shocked than Asher’s friends, especially William and Ryaen. Every single one of them had known Asher since the Star Academy entrance examination. They knew about the way he carried himself with calm composure at all times and hardly ever flaunted his Wargrave Ducal authority or displayed any arrogance for that matter.

So they had been completely stunned to see and hear Asher speak in such a manner. Yes, they had all seen their fair share of arrogant people before, but when it came to Asher, it was simply too difficult to believe.

Within minutes, they arrived at the van where the driver was already waiting patiently. They entered the vehicle and, in a blur, it shot forward as they left the shopping Skyscraper complex without encountering any further interruptions.

Asher stared at his friends’ faces with a faint smile before speaking, "No need to be so shocked. You all already know that isn’t how I normally act or behave," his tone amused. "I simply wanted to act like an arrogant Young Master to see and understand what they actually enjoy whenever they behave that way," his smile still present.

Hearing Asher’s words, Ryaen sighed as she shook her head slowly. "I guess that’s understandable. Seeing you react in such a way left me so surprised and shocked that I started questioning what I even knew about you," her words completely truthful.

After all, witnessing such a scene would make anyone question which side of Asher was the real one. Perhaps, in a strange way, both sides were equally real.

After hearing Asher’s explanation, their expressions eased considerably as they decided not to think about it any further. They had all chosen to believe Asher’s explanation since the boy had no reason to lie to them.

"But I have to say, I loved what you said last," William stated as a smile appeared across his lips. "When the boy reports this matter to his family and they investigate in order to carry out their revenge, I wonder what they will do once they discover that their target is a Wargrave," a laugh threatening to escape his lips.

His words immediately made everyone laugh.

Asher himself had been tempted to throw out the Wargrave name while speaking earlier. But he had quickly come to understand that the boy might not even know the Wargraves or any Zarethorne Empire Noble Households for that matter. After all, even he and his friends didn’t know any of the Thalvorn Empire Noble Households.

"Well, at least you didn’t kill him or his guards," Vaelric stated with a sigh. To him, Asher’s restraint had been perfect. Rendering them unconscious was undoubtedly the best option.

Asher didn’t respond immediately. He wasn’t the type of person who forgave others whenever they targeted his life. Whenever someone made a move against him, he always retaliated without hesitation. But FatelessPen had instructed them not to cause unnecessary trouble while also refusing to tolerate nonsense from anybody. So this method was simply the perfect one that satisfied both conditions.

But of course, if anyone stepped too far out of line... well, such matters were best left unspoken until they actually happened.

"Sigh... we ended up not meeting any talents from another Empire," Ryaen spoke as she gazed at the blurring world beyond the van’s window.

"Well, the Zero Rings is extremely large. Expecting to meet a talent from another Empire in the very first shopping complex we entered is kind of cliché. Although, I guess when we head to other places, we might at least encounter one eventually," William stated calmly, his tone factual and reasonable.

"Or maybe they have us scattered across different zones and places within the Zero Rings so we won’t meet each other too early and to prevent situations like the one between me and the arrogant Young Master from earlier," Asher added, his words merely a guess.

Although he was eager to see what the other Empires possessed in terms of talents, it didn’t really matter whether he met them today or tomorrow. He was going to see them at the competition regardless.

As for Maximus, everyone had already forgotten about him. To them, the boy was likely from some low-level Noble Household or something similar. After all, his family had only assigned him guards at the Swiftstar Life Rank. Even if he belonged to a Marquis Noble Household or a Ducal one, such a level of guards merely proved they didn’t truly cherish the boy’s life. After all, families of that caliber usually assigned Soulstar Life Rankers at the very minimum to protect their heirs.

"What should we do next?" Finch asked, his adventurous spirit reignited with excitement.

"I wonder if they have any racing tracks here," Asher murmured to himself. Although he was certain they would at the very least possess one, such activities might not really be popular within the Zero Rings and would probably only be truly trendy within the Outer Rings.

But if they wanted to head towards the Outer Rings, they would need security and Military clearance, which Asher wasn’t entirely sure they would even be granted.

’Besides, getting there takes hours,’ Asher thought before ultimately dropping the matter regarding the Outer Rings altogether.

Instead, he simply asked the driver to take them towards the best racing track within the Zero Rings. He was eager to drive again. It had been two years after all, and besides, with his current perception and supernatural abilities, he could definitely achieve even greater speeds than Earth ever knew.

Although Finch and the others didn’t know how to drive, he would simply teach them. Asher was confident they would grasp the basics within an hour at most. After that, they would merely require practical experience before becoming real drivers.

___

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Three bonus Chapters will be coming during my normal release time, since I’m currently at work and managed to sneak around and type these two Chapters.

Also, the next Chapter won’t be about the race track, so no need to panic. That would be an off-script thing that happened between Asher and his friends.