"As if you could do something like that! Even if you have some degree of influence over this branch, it doesn't mean that you could do anything if even a single elder from the main family would come to this city!"

While the city mayor's question managed to take both me and Eve by surprise, she quickly pointed out the flaw of his proposal. With her father being at the Immortal level, it was rather obvious that even if the next strongest elders from her clan were far weaker than him, they definitely wielded power far greater than a mayor of a relatively small city could account for!

"Even if it's true that I can't do anything if they send for someone from the main branch, but don't you value yourself a bit too much? For the sake of argument, let's assume that your worries are actually backed by some secrets that we are not privy to. Not even in that case, projecting power in this way would be possible! Don't take the position of City Mayor too lightly!"

Taken aback by Eve's point, it took a long moment for Jelier to respond. I guess there is some point to what he said. Every time I read those cultivation novels back on earth, I couldn't help but wonder, why did bad people always stay in the places where the law enforcers were on a similar level of strength? Why didn't they just migrate to areas with a weaker level of population? While there was an economical aspect that made certain areas more beneficial for cultivation in the first place, it couldn't be the only reason!

Thinking calmly about it, I could come up only with two reasons. Either some super-powerful hidden experts were lurking all around the world and controlling the stability of the situation, or some kind of great agreement enforced the rule that if someone advanced beyond certain level, they would be barred entry to areas they came from!

"You don't need to worry about us calling for help from the higher branch. If we confirm that you are really someone they should know about, we will obviously send a word to them, but as you might know, invading this place for a single soul would only bring us loss. On the other hand, I can't help but wonder what made you hate your own clan so much, for you to stay on the side of someone who didn't even hesitate to place you as a bet for the duel!"

Urgh. That's a valid point! I knew that this act of recklessness would come back to bite me right in my ass! But there is nothing I can do about it except for lowering my head and taking this hit!

"I don't see any reason to explain my actions to you. If you are going to bring up this matter, why don't you tell others who did my dear fiancee bet with and why?"

Before the Katenari Elder could secure his higher moral ground in the discussion to sway the judgment in his side, Eve passed the ball to him. I have to admit, this was quite an ingenious move! Not only did she imply that something was going underneath the table, she even forced him to either feign ignorance and rise the other's vigilance on this matter, or just plainly admit my dear cousin deeds!

"Ekhem, I don't think this is the topic of the discussion. I brought it up out of sheer curiosity!"

Cornered, the elder of the clan decided to back down instead of pursuing the matter. Thinking about it, this was far better choice for him. This old fart even lowered his head and cast some kind of spell on himself to bring a slight blush on his cheeks! What a great actor! Without saying anything, he managed to imply that Veriel's actions were in fact just a small but shameful act! And let's be honest, who amongst those elders didn't have anything they would like to prevent others from learning?

"Since that's the case, I don't know why did you bring it up in the first place. To be honest, with my beloved advancing to the core development phase, taking revenge for his father murder in the settled duel will be just a formality! Unless you want to imply that you would support someone who would kill his own uncle?"

Seeing how Eve stuck to the topic of my duel, I couldn't help but feel a warmth spreading through my body. While she could use this trial to cut her ties with the Katenari's clan, she actually preferred to make sure that no one would interfere with our fight? I can't let her act in this way! Even if Veriel receives some kind of help, it's impossible for him to overcome the might of my system!

"We have strayed from the main topic. Dear, you don't need to bother with this shameful matter. I will cleanse the honour of my family myself. Let's just put an end to this farce!"

Grabbing her hand, I pulled Eve to make her face me. After forcing her to look me in the eyes for long enough to make sure that she managed to calm down, I smiled slightly and corrected the path that this trial was taking.

"He is right. You asked if I want to cut the ties with my family. I most definitely do!"

Finding courage in my eyes, Eve turned around to face the tribunes and stated coldly. There was no point sticking with people that would treat her as nothing else than a breeding cow. While they might not know who she was yet, there was no way they would remain ignorant about this topic if they got their hands on her! Considering the position of women in the strictly patriarchal clans like Katenaris, even if she outclasses everyone in the local branch by a great margin, they would still be able to find some pretence to deprive her of her rightful standing and use their overwhelming strength to force her to their bidding!

"It is settled then! As for now, Eve Katenari denounces her ties to the local branch of Katenari's clan. To make sure that the tournament won't be interrupted anymore, the city hall extends formal protection over her wellbeing for the remaining duration of the event. As for your duels, respected Katenari Elder stated that you already reached Expanding Senses realm, is that true?"

Standing up, Jelier made this announcement before turning to look at Eve with curiosity in his eyes. Looking at his expression, I couldn't help but notice a hint of annoyance in his stare as well!

"Yes, thanks to the accumulated energy that I absorbed while trying to save my dearest, I was able to push for the consecutive breakthroughs with the help of the full Katenari's cultivation technique!"

Informing them about the existence of the system or my unnatural capabilities was a big, fat no, forcing Eve to come up with some kind of believable lie.

"That's quite troubling… I guess I have no choice other than changing your fight again… While there are no other competitors on this level, we recently caught some potent demonic beast of the same level. Are you okay with fighting it instead?"