Lurina also lowered her head slightly.

The old man gave a small nod before looking at Aksai and Raaden again. Prince Arven turned toward them with a smile.

"My new friends," he said, "meet my 5th royal uncle, Arkaal Kaan. He will be the one to place a Poison Beast Curse on both of you. Don't worry though," Prince Arven added with a light tone. "This is only a safety measure. It will not harm you, nor will it interfere with your cultivation or your tasks."

His smile did not change. But his voice did as he said his next words.

"Well… not unless you decide to betray us."

The prince put a deliberate pause before speaking further.

"You didn't think we would simply trust your words when you offered your loyalty, did you?" he said.

Raaden swallowed hard, clearly shaken. Aksai, on the other hand, stayed calm.

Aksai looked at the old man for a moment before offering a light bow. His movements were calm and respectful, just enough to match the role he was playing. After that, he turned his gaze toward Prince Arven, his expression steady.

"Prince," he said in an even tone, "you didn't tell us about these curse-type restrictions before we decided to join you. Don't you think that is a bit misleading?"

His words were polite, but there was a faint firmness in them.

At the same time, Aksai quietly spread his senses.

His Qi Sense moved first, flowing through the hall like an unseen layer. It brushed past Arven and Lurina before settling on Arkaal. The moment it touched the old man, Aksai's thoughts paused for a brief second.

'This…'

He kept his face unchanged, but inside, he was surprised.

Arkaal was old. That much was clear from his appearance. But what shocked Aksai was the depth of life essence inside him. Even though the man had already lived for more than six hundred years, he still had a vast amount of life force left.

It meant that the royal faction already had Lords within it. They had simply never revealed themselves to the public because they did not yet have a strong enough lineup to take on the sects head-on.

Also, Arkaal had already been a Lord before he accepted the demon beast bloodline. It was just that turning into a vessel bloodline practitioner had enhanced his potential and power by a lot.

'Damn. He has at least five hundred years left to live. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that he was also blessed by a druidic origin. It seems like fusion with a demon beast bloodline also increases a cultivator's life expectancy,' Aksai thought to himself as he silently used his Qi Sense on Arkaal.

Not to mention, Arkaal's Spirit Sense itself seemed to carry poisonous properties. It meant that he had refined his bloodline to a certain profound level. That was not something an ordinary Core Formation Lord could achieve in a mere decade or two.

The royal faction may have started their plans to abolish the sect system a few decades ago. But they were preparing for something like this centuries before.

'He isn't someone I can beat easily without breaking a sweat. This man is far stronger than a normal Lord,' he concluded quietly.

Aksai did not stop there. While keeping his focus on the conversation, he extended his Soul Sense as well. Unlike Spirit Sense, it was more subtle and almost impossible to notice. It spread across the hall and reached into the deeper parts of the palace.

What he found made him even more cautious. There were formations everywhere. It seemed they were invisible to normal senses, so much so that even a true Lord like him wouldn't be able to detect them unless they were activated.

Hidden arrays were layered into the walls, the floor, and even the air itself. Some were defensive, some were meant to trap, and a few felt like they were designed purely to kill. Aksai's mind quickly ran through the possibilities.

'Fuc*k. I should have left earlier. If I try to force my way out now…'

He already knew the answer.

'It won't be easy. Not even at my full strength.'

The palace was not just a place of luxury. It was a fortress. And he was standing right at its center.

Aksai pulled his senses back slowly, careful not to reveal anything. His expression remained calm, as if he was simply waiting for a reply.

Inside, however, he had already made a decision.

'I need time,' he thought. 'Rushing this will only make things worse.'

He did not know enough about the royal faction yet. What he had learned so far was only a small part of something much bigger. There could be more experts like Arkaal hidden in the shadows. There could even be someone stronger.

Aksai did not intend to find out the hard way.

'Let's act like someone who is pretending to be calm but getting desperate from inside. It should work because that's exactly what I am trying to do anyway. Even if they know I am trying to buy time, they won't be able to resist the temptation of bullying two trapped rats. They'll take their time pressuring us into submission,' he decided.

For now, talking was better than acting.

His eyes stayed on Prince Arven, waiting for his response, while his mind quietly searched for a safe way out of the situation without exposing his real identity.

Prince Arven listened to Aksai without any sign of anger. Instead, he let out a soft chuckle, as if he had expected such a question.

"Well…" he said slowly, "we also didn't tell you that you would receive any rewards for joining our faction. But you didn't complain back then. You simply accepted them as if they already belonged to you."

His eyes stayed on Aksai, calm but sharp.

"So what gives you the right to question us now, Expert Aksai?"