Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100 Chapter 1382 Trouble

"Hello, Lucia," Max greeted her with a broad grin the instant he laid eyes on Lucia Grimes standing right there in person after so long. Their previous encounter had occurred in Obsidian Dragon City, and numerous years had slipped by unnoticed since then. Her presence in the Divine Realm awakened a subtle nostalgia within him, like a fragment from his history had suddenly reemerged.

"Max Morgan..." Lucia let out a soft sigh, gently massaging her temple while gazing at him. "Whenever I run into you, chaos seems to follow you from all sides."

"What can I do?" Max replied with a helpless shrug. "It's hardly my doing that the blade I wanted turned out to be the Sword Sovereign's."

Lucia fixed him with a prolonged stare before drawing in a deep breath. "Do you have any idea of the mess you've stirred up?"

"Tell me," Max answered steadily. He was aware that plenty of folks desired his sword, yet he figured that wasn't cause for real concern. After all, he wouldn't just surrender it because someone else wanted it.

Folding her arms across her chest, Lucia's face grew stern. "Over the last three months, just one name has resounded across the Divine Realm," she stated deliberately. "Max Morgan, the man who claimed the Sword Sovereign's blade."

She halted for a moment before going on. "What you've done has pulled our whole Verdant Sky Realm into the spotlight of various second-rate and even first-rate star realms. Luckily, the Verdant Sky Realm, though a third-rate star realm, holds enough power to hold its ground. If not, hordes of lesser third-rate star realms would have swarmed us already, all eager to snatch that sword from your grasp."

At these words, a real wave of surprise washed over Max. He had expected taking the sword to create some buzz, but never dreamed it would attract notice from the entire Divine Realm, much less from superior star realms.

This exceeded anything he had braced for, and for the first time since acquiring Dragonheart, Max fully comprehended the burden now in his possession.

"This is quite the headache," Max admitted with a heavy sigh as Lucia's revelation sank in.

"Quite the headache?" Lucia's eyes narrowed at him, then she shook her head in astonishment. "You really lack any sense of proportion," she remarked while pivoting away. "Come with me."

Without waiting for his reply, Lucia started guiding Max from the cluster of disciples. The throng, which had been humming with eagerness and bitterness just before, naturally cleared a path for her.

Max didn't inquire about their destination. Right then, his sole focus was creating some space between himself and the agitated crowd that appeared intent on shadowing his every move.

Soon enough, they reached a gigantic teleportation portal. This one dwarfed any Max had encountered previously, etched with intricate runes that glowed softly with energy. The atmosphere nearby felt dense and warped, as if reality was being bent and squeezed for the journey ahead.

As they drew near, Carl interjected in a composed tone. "Max, this is our teleportation portal. Disciples rely on it to journey to any spot inside the Verdant Sky Realm. Certain forbidden areas remain off-limits to regular disciples, but beyond those, it links to nearly every key zone in the realm."

"Oh," Max responded, a spark of true curiosity lighting his features. The immense ease of this setup highlighted just how immense and organized the Divine Realm really was. Simultaneously, a sense of wonder stirred in him about precisely where Lucia planned to lead him.

"Where to?" Max inquired, shifting his attention to her.

"To see Aunt Virelia," Lucia replied, her stare locked on him. "The issue you've sparked this time can't be ignored so easily. You'll need to face the consequences."

Max's brow furrowed a bit at her statement, though he held back from probing more. No matter what lay beyond the portal, he realized evasion was no longer possible.

"You should have been called the second you seized that sword," Lucia noted as they passed through the portal, her voice even but laced with gravity. "But you went into seclusion right after, and nobody risked interrupting you. Now that you're out, there's no postponing it. You have to face the Seven Main Families head-on."

"The Seven Main Families?" Max's forehead creased again as the phrase lingered in his thoughts. He held a rough notion of its implications, but hearing it stated so directly added an undeniable gravity. He stayed quiet, opting to watch and wait instead of guessing, certain that the truth would reveal itself shortly.

The glow from the teleportation portal dimmed behind them, and Max's view expanded to a scene that left him breathless. A enormous palace loomed ahead, immense past belief, extending to the edges of sight like a ruler in its own right.

Boundless walls of dark stone climbed toward the heavens, each face inscribed with age-old draconic runes that throbbed with a dim red glow. Huge columns resembling twisting black dragons upheld grand arches, their gazes almost watchful as they overlooked arrivals.

Dark flames flickered persistently along the palace's outlines, not devouring the material but strengthening it, infusing the whole expanse with an air of unending supremacy.

The palace's grounds spread out in tiers and vastness, featuring myriad levels, raised walkways, and hovering platforms held aloft by mysterious means. Over it all rose a primary tower so lofty that its summit disappeared into murky clouds teeming with draconic essence.

Amid those clouds, vague outlines of massive dragons drifted lazily, their distant bellows rumbling like thunder sweeping the skies. The very air grew thicker here, laden with an intense force that conveyed command, might, and total mastery.

"This," Lucia explained gradually, observing Max's response, "is the Black Dragon Palace. The actual stronghold under the direct rule of the Seven Main Families."

Max remained still, his gaze roaming over every aspect of the grand edifice. In that instant, he realized that all his prior experiences had merely scratched the surface of the Divine Realm's real power.

This palace wasn't just a home or base. It embodied rule, a nexus where the intentions of the mightiest clans united, and now, due to a single sword, he found himself at its core.