Although there was the possibility she would send a proxy and he would not get to meet Tanya personally, but all the same, all thoughts regarding that would have to wait until after he left the Dane Family territory.

He could already feel animosity from a particular someone but was determined to ignore it for the time being.

"Do you yield?" He asked Hugh with his sword pointed at his chest.

Hugh frowned lightly before nodding, after which Hal dispersed of his Armament and walked away from him before turning to the spectators, who had only one thing to say and that too with a frown and snide tone,

"Put some clothes on!"

...

Minutes later,

They were back in the dining room but this time not to dine but different matters altogether and Hal had now put on a coat.

Matters about Melinda's suitors who they claimed they could not turn back and would be forced to at the very least entertain.

"Why not just say it as it is? You don't want to" Melinda said and for the first time, she was frowning at her grandmother who was quite calm as she replied,

"Exactly. I don't want to turn them back. I will gladly pick any of them above this... child any day."

"Child?" Melinda repeated with an incredulous tone.

Isabella nodded,

"Yes, child. By his very own admittance, he is merely Eighteen and hence, a child. I do not deny that there is some talent but as I already told him in our meeting, he has no support, and his growth is destined to stagnate.

The Cosmic Phenomenon realm is when cultivation truly begins.

Surely you are already noticing the large gap of energy and the sheer amount of resources that it would take for you to advance." She said and Hal frowned lightly.

He could try to deny it as much as he wished but Isabella was right on point on the wide gap and difficulty in advancing. She was right that he needed resources and the more she spoke, the more he realized how foolish he had been.

While he could very easily continue to dual cultivate and still advance at the pace any noble scion would, that was a speed that did not satisfy him one bit.

His cultivation needed to be faster and frankly, his speed needed to look monstrous even to those considered monsters in cultivation speed.

He needed to accomplish feats that could potentially take centuries within a few years and he could do It in two ways;

One, find powerful ladies at least at the Cosmic Aurora realm and dual cultivate with them or have a lot of ladies within his realm of cultivation, numbering as Grimoire had once suggested in the thousands.

In other words, he needed to dual cultivate like his life depended on it.

Two, he finds and gobble up expensive and violent cultivation resources that others would not dare consume all at once but he could because he was a Devil and also cultivated the Primordial Cosmic Art which did not require weeks between breakthroughs.

He could potentially, absorb until he reached the apex.

Both of these methods were simply advanced Dual cultivation and conventional cultivation which were very expensive but Hal thanked his lucky stars that he did not need to simply pick one and stick to it.

He could afford to be versatile and make use of the two methods interchangeably. He could simply use whichever method he was privey to.

All the same, he needed support and unless he was ready to go to the Doxon Duchy and ask for Svetlana's assistance (which he was not) then there was only one other means open to him and said means just contacted him.

He still wished to be independent but even independent men require assistance once in a while and becoming an island in this sea of monsters who looked ready to devour him was at best, unwise and at worse, suicidal.

It was not only him who saw the wisdom in Isabella's words but it was far from enough to change Melinda's conviction and the Patroness had no intention of forcing her because more than anyone, she felt the family did not have the right to dictate.

That said, she was quite certain Melinda would come to her senses when better candidates begin to show up in a month which was what she told Melinda before adding,

"Also, he's a Runemaster and a high ranked one for that matter which must mean he plans to pursue that path and advance his Astral sense"

"So what?" Melinda asked.

"So, he can't do both simultaneously. He either advances one or the other and when he focuses on one, the other suffers.

Why do you think warrior Runemasters are fewer than Warrior Alchemists. It's because Alchemists can afford to advance both their cultivation and Spiritual sense as long as they manage their time well. Runemasters on the other hand..."

"... Have to dedicate their complete time and attention to the advancement of their Astral sense. They can't half-ass it" Devon completed while looking at Hal who was stroking his jaw slowly in contemplation.

It almost looked as though Hal was not listening to what they were discussing.

It almost looked as though he unfound it of no importance.

And for the most part, that was how Hal felt.

But it was not because he was trying to be disrespectful or nonchalant but because everything that was being said was what he already knew and he highly doubted they would be offering a solution.

He did not need them to because he found his solution long before and it was sitting in his Harem space in the form of a Time warping Array where he could spend time advancing his astral sense and then Cultivation.

Granted, he could not do the two simultaneously, but he could do the next best thing and give himself even more time to do both.

Not to mention that his Astral sense refining technique was not something to be scoffed at when it came to improving efficiency and advancement speed.

He had done what he came here for which was to escort Melinda to her home.

He had even participated in a mostly unexpected Duel and felt it was time to leave.

He had a meeting after all.

He stood from his seat and bowed to all those seated,

"This has been a wonderful... experience but I feel we are in danger of overstaying our welcome so we'll leave now."

Marla and Rita stood as well and bowed.

Hal winked at Melinda who smiled before he walked out of the Dining hall to be escorted to the nearest teleportation circle that would get him out of the Dane territory.

Much as Melinda disliked the vast majority of her family, she planned to stay, and even more so now that they dropped the bombshell of suitors on her.

The Dane brothers watched Hal leave and frowned lightly but whatever they were feeling, it was nothing compared to Isabella who was even more convinced now that there was something peculiar about that young man and she was well aware that peculiar did not always mean good.

...

Hal, Rita, and Marla stepped off the Teleportation circle where their carriage which was being steered by Karmen was awaiting them.

Hal felt it was far better to make use of their own carriage as opposed to spending gold on commercial carriages.

Once inside, Rita exhaled deeply.

"So, how was it?" Hal asked with a light smile.

Rita groaned and her eyes flashed violet as she searched for words that best described how she had felt.

Eventually, she settled for,

"...Uncomfortable"