Knox did not realize how far he had crossed the line.
To him, shouting Alex's full name felt justified. He believed himself to be the protagonist of destiny, someone who would one day surpass all those standing before him. Respect for hierarchy meant little in his mind.
But doing so in front of outsiders was a different matter entirely.
Alex was the Saint Lord of the Hale family, a saintly lineage that stood at the peak of the Azure Origin Continent.
Knox was merely an ordinary disciple of the Divine Blade Sect.
Calling Alex by his full name in such a setting was not only disrespectful, it was dangerous. It could be interpreted as an insult from one major power to another.
If taken seriously, it might even escalate into hostility between two great powers.
The hall grew colder.
Alex's expression did not change.
"No manners," he said indifferently.
He did not even spare Knox a glance.
"Slap him."
Swish.
A woman dressed in black appeared silently within the hall.
Her arrival was so sudden that most people did not even realize when she had stepped into the room. Only Alex and Iris noticed her presence immediately.
The woman wore a dark veil that concealed half her face. Her aura was faint, almost nonexistent, yet her existence carried an indescribable pressure.
Knox's heart skipped.
The fact that she could appear without him sensing anything meant one thing.
Her strength far surpassed his own.
But what ignited his anger even more was Alex's order.
A slap?
He was a peerless genius with boundless future potential. How could he allow himself to be humiliated like this?
"You dare…" Knox began, fury rising.
Before he could finish speaking, he met the gaze of the woman in black.
Her eyes were crimson.
Beautiful yet cold.
Utterly devoid of human emotion.
The moment their eyes met, Knox felt as if he had fallen into an endless ice cave. His body froze. Spiritual energy within him became sluggish. Cold sweat streamed down his back.
He realized something instinctively.
If he resisted her, he would die.
There would be no escape.
"Smack!"
The sound rang sharply through the hall.
The woman's hand moved with terrifying speed.
Knox's head snapped to the side as the slap landed squarely across his face. Half of his cheek swelled instantly, red and swollen like a pig's head.
Humiliation burned through his veins.
His eyes filled with disbelief and anger as he looked toward Iris.
Why had his master not stopped this?
With Iris's cultivation, she could have easily intervened.
But she did not move.
Iris sighed quietly.
She could indeed have stopped the woman in black. Yet she deliberately chose not to.
This world was cruel.
Knox's talent was extraordinary, but his arrogance had grown unchecked. She wanted him to understand that not everyone would tolerate his behavior.
Today, with her present, Knox would suffer only humiliation.
If she were absent, and he had provoked someone like Alex, death would have been inevitable.
But Knox could not understand her intentions.
To him, the slap was betrayal.
A flash of resentment appeared in his eyes.
"As a master, if you do not protect your disciple, what right do you have to be a master?" he thought bitterly.
For the first time, dissatisfaction toward Iris surfaced in his heart.
Iris noticed the change instantly.
As a Mahayana Realm expert, she could easily sense the fluctuation of his emotions.
Her brows furrowed slightly, but she said nothing.
Alex, who had been watching quietly, revealed a faint sneer.
A notification sounded within his mind.
[Ding. The host has successfully sown discord between the Chosen One and his master. The Chosen One's luck has decreased by 50. The host has gained 100 Providence Points.]
Alex's eyes flashed.
So even a small crack in their relationship could reduce Knox's luck.
Interesting.
Iris stepped forward calmly.
"My disciple is young and impetuous. He has offended Your Majesty today," she said respectfully, inclining her head slightly.
"The Saint Lord's slap was likely meant to vent his anger. I will take him away now. When we return to the Divine Blade Sect, I will discipline him properly."
Her tone was composed, neither submissive nor arrogant.
"Master, wait!" Knox said anxiously.
"Isolde, she…"
"Do you want to die?" Iris's voice sounded directly in his mind through mental transmission.
Her gaze turned cold.
"Relying on a spoiled woman to provoke the Hale family openly, do you truly believe you can humiliate the Saint Lord without consequence?"
Knox's expression stiffened.
"Master, this is not my fault," he replied bitterly through mental transmission.
"I thought Isolde was deeply favored. With her, I believed I could maneuver freely."
"Who could have expected Alex to change so much? To become so heartless toward her?"
"If I had known things would end like this, I would rather have died than come here."
Iris looked toward Isolde.
The woman knelt silently, her face pale and empty.
A trace of sympathy appeared in Iris's eyes.
"This woman has already incurred public anger," she thought.
"She holds the Hale family's sacred artifact and possesses a rare and brilliant mind. Naturally, she has become the target of everyone's resentment."
But sympathy did not change reality.
Iris turned her attention back to Knox and spoke through mental transmission once more.
"But do not worry."
Her voice was calm.
"I will do everything in my power to ensure your safe departure."