"A high school student?"
The shock on their faces was real. Wang Thornbeak's small eyes fixed on Nova as he stepped out of the gravity chamber, and something shifted in them — not fear yet, but the beginning of recalculation.
That Martial Will pressure... could it have come from him?
No. Impossible.
Mental-attribute talent. That has to be it.
Nova walked over to Tory, his voice calm. "Who are they?"
Tory explained quickly — the fabricated debt, the demand for her family's Heaven-Splitting Spear technique, the harassment, the propositions. Nova listened without interrupting.
When she finished he turned toward Wang. "You want to challenge this martial hall?"
He kept his voice even. "My name is Nova Stern. I'm a member of Crimson Rose Guild, operating out of this hall. I'm authorized to fight on its behalf."
Tory looked at him with surprise and something that was clearly gratitude.
