In fact, there was no consideration or expectation of him achieving more than that. The best he and his father thought he was capable of was getting the force diagram. But his father is considering that Arthur will enter a sect.
In fact, his father is doing more than considering it. His father is hoping for it. That way, they won't have any problem with Arthur ever again.
Skylar just couldn't swallow that disparity in their situation. But he needed to swallow something because his chest felt stuffy and his tongue felt dry. So he picked up the cup of tea and drank everything in it all at once.
When he was done quenching his anger with tea, he asked his master, "How strong is "Master Red" now?"
He made air quotes when he mentioned the title of the owner of the Red Dojo. In his opinion, Arthur is just a child and shouldn't be called a master.
Master Owl Claw's face fell when he heard that question. The old man sat up in his seat and asked with unprecedented seriousness, "What do you want to do? Do you want to kill him?"
Then Master Owl Claw shook his head and said, "If you want to kill him, you should forget about it. Many dojo masters have tried to kill him before. They banded together to attack him in the night for both his money and his dojo. They told me to join them, but I didn't. Many of them were at the ninth transformation, but they all disappeared after that."
Skylar frowned when he heard that. He was indeed thinking about killing Arthur. But now he is not sure that it is a good idea.
But he still wasn't willing to give up just yet. He asked with that frown on his face, "Is he at the tenth transformation? Why will they fail?"
Master Owl Claw shook his head and said, "He should still be at the ninth transformation. I heard that he just got the force diagram from the beast hunting center. He has been working on that for two years or so."
Skylar couldn't believe it. He asked, "Wasn't he at the ninth transformation when we fought three years ago? How come he is still at the ninth transformation?"
Master Owl Claw sighed and said, "He is a bastard, so he doesn't have the support of his family. I hear that his mother is also crazy and doesn't want to help him."
Skylar smiled when he heard that. It was a genuine smile, not like the fake ones he made last during the banquet.
He said, "It seems he is not favored by the Dyson family. There is a chance here."
"A chance to do what?" asked Master Owl Claw with a look of confusion on his face.
He replied smugly, "A chance to regain our dojo by humiliating him publicly."
Master Owl Claw became enlightened. But he wasn't happy with what he had figured out. He had a look of fear on his face when he understood what Skylaw meant.
"You want to challenge him again? But you were defeated last time."
Skylar said confidently, "That was last time. I have changed. I won't lose this time."
Master Owl Claw stood up and began roaming about. He was thinking about the feasibility of Skylar's plan.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was a bad idea. He can still remember the previous battle. Skylar was floored.
That was three years ago. Even if Arthur hasn't become stronger, he should have become more skilled. A fight between him and the fresh ninth transformation Skylar is likely to end with the defeat of Skylar.
But he didn't want to state that outright for fear of damaging Skylar's prestige. Instead he asked him, "Have you thought of the consequences if you lose?"
Skylar paused to think about it. Then he answered with determination, "I won't lose."
Master Owl Claw asked another question. "What if he refuses to accept your challenge based on the fact that he has defeated you before? What are you willing to give up to entice him to fight? What are you willing to bet with him for him to fight? What if you lose and you lose your bet?*
Skylar replied, "I won't lose. I saw many geniuses during the sect examination. Their power was unfathomable to me. But Arthur is not like that. I can understand his power. I was weaker than him in the previous fight. That was why he could defeat me. I am not weak anymore. I have more years of experience in training and fighting than him. So I won't lose."
Master Owl Claw slumped in his chair and exhaled loudly. He said, "You can fight him. But you can't use this dojo to bet with him."
Skylar frowned, but he eventually said, "You're right to be cautious. That's a good idea."
His master still didn't give up yet. He said, "Think about what you want to do again. Then think about not doing that and instead focus on reaching the second mortal coil and laying low until he leaves."
What his master said was a good idea, but he didn't like hearing that Skylar would join a sect. He has seen the kind of people who were qualified to enter a sect. They were powerful and unreachable to him.
He was humiliated by those geniuses many times. They practically ignored him when he passed them by. He was nothing to them.
He doesn't want to believe that Arthur is the same as those people. He couldn't do anything to those geniuses when he was humiliated and disregarded by them. But he wants to make up for it by defeating Arthur.
Deep down, he can admit that Arthur is a genius. After all, he is currently 25 at the ninth transformation, while Arthur is a 14-year-old boy at the ninth transformation.
He can admit that Arthur will rise to greater heights than him. But that's still in the future.