The call returned less than five minutes later.

Dorian listened quietly as the man on the other end explained the results of the investigation. Or rather, the lack of results.

"The license plate doesn’t exist in any public database. We tried every channel available. Ownership information is completely restricted. There are no accessible records."

The caller hesitated before adding, "Someone much higher than us locked that information away."

The line fell silent.

Dorian lowered the phone slowly. His expression remained unchanged. As always.

Yet inside, his thoughts had already begun racing.

For a long moment, he sat motionless inside the car. Then his eyes drifted back toward the villa.

The luxurious estate stood quietly beneath the afternoon sunlight. Nothing seemed unusual. Yet now everything felt wrong. Very wrong.

The vehicles entering the property weren’t ordinary. The security around the villa wasn’t ordinary. Even the people he had observed entering earlier carried themselves differently.

They walked too steadily. Their eyes were too sharp.

Dorian had spent years around martial artists. He knew what he was looking at.

Several of those people were undoubtedly fighters. And not weak ones.

A young man supposedly from an ordinary background shouldn’t have access to people like this.

The information Sebastian provided was becoming more suspicious by the minute.

Dorian exhaled slowly. Then started the engine.

He had seen enough. This matter was already beyond his authority. He needed to report everything to the clan immediately.

As the car disappeared from Willow Residence, only one thought remained in his mind.

Meanwhile, inside the villa, Bianca sat comfortably on the living room sofa. One leg crossed over the other.

Her posture was relaxed. Yet somehow she still carried the pressure of a drawn sword.

Lucas found it irritating. Ever since arriving, Bianca had been acting like she owned the place. Giving instructions. Making decisions. She seemed completely unimpressed by him.

"You’re smiling," Bianca suddenly spoke.

Lucas looked up. "What?"

"You smile every time you’re about to do something stupid."

Lucas almost choked. "Excuse me?"

Bianca raised an eyebrow. "Look at your recent achievements. You fought Blake. You injured Jade. You provoked the Vayne Clan. You made Xavier personally step in."

She counted each point casually on her fingers. Then concluded, "You’re basically a professional troublemaker at this point."

Lucas stared at her for several seconds. Then laughed.

"You make it sound like I planned any of that."

Bianca’s expression didn’t change. "You didn’t?"

Lucas suddenly found himself unable to argue.

Seeing his silence, Bianca shook her head. "That’s exactly the problem."

"What problem?"

"You still haven’t realized the situation you’re in."

Her voice became slightly more serious. "The people you’ve offended aren’t street thugs. They aren’t rich second-generation kids. They’re members of one of the strongest martial clans in the region."

Her eyes locked onto his. "And you’re acting like everything will solve itself."

Lucas leaned back on the sofa. His expression remained calm. "I’m prepared."

Bianca immediately laughed. Actually laughed. Unfortunately, it sounded more mocking than amused.

"No. You’re not."

Lucas frowned. That response annoyed him.

Lately everyone seemed convinced he was helpless. The Vayne Clan feared him. Blake and Jade lost to him. Even Xavier admitted he had potential. Yet Bianca continued treating him like a reckless child. It was getting worse everytime.

"What exactly do I need to do before you’ll stop talking down to me?" Lucas asked.

Bianca looked at him for a moment. Then a faint smile appeared. A dangerous smile. The kind that immediately made Lucas suspicious.

"Simple."

She then said:

"Fight me. If you can win, I’ll admit you’re capable of protecting yourself."

She folded her arms. "And maybe I’ll stop treating you like a walking disaster."

Lucas stared at her. Then laughed. At first he genuinely thought she was joking. But Bianca wasn’t smiling anymore. She was serious.

Lucas slowly stood up. His eyes narrowed.

To be honest, he had wanted an excuse to put Bianca in her place for a while now. Ever since she arrived, she had been bossing him around nonstop.

Ordering him. Lecturing him. Acting as if she was his superior.

The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad opportunity after all.

"If I win?" Lucas asked.

Bianca nodded. "If you win."

Lucas cracked his knuckles. A grin slowly spread across his face.

"Then don’t complain afterward."

Bianca simply turned around and started walking toward the training room. "Let’s see if you’re still smiling in ten minutes."

Watching her leave, Lucas followed behind. In his mind, he had already decided. Today he was going to shut her up once and for all.

Unfortunately for him, Bianca was thinking exactly the same thing.

The moment they entered the underground garage, the atmosphere changed. The space was enormous.

Rows of empty parking spaces stretched into the distance beneath bright white lights.

Lucas rolled his shoulders. Bianca stood several meters away, her expression calm. Almost indifferent.

The moment Bianca said "Start," she disappeared.

Lucas barely had time to react.

BANG!

A fist slammed into his stomach. The impact folded his body slightly. Air rushed from his lungs.

Before he could recover, Bianca appeared beside him.

A palm strike landed against his shoulder. Another hit struck his ribs. Then a kick smashed into his thigh.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Lucas stumbled backward. His face darkened. This woman wasn’t teaching him anything. She was beating him up.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Bianca ignored him completely. She stepped forward again. Fast. Terrifyingly fast.

Lucas threw a punch. Bianca tilted her head. The fist missed her face by less than an inch. Before Lucas could pull back, two fingers tapped his wrist. A strange numbness spread through his arm. His entire punch lost power.

Then a knee slammed into his abdomen.

BOOM!

Lucas was forced backward several steps.

His expression finally changed. Something wasn’t right. Blake had been strong. Jade had been fast. But Bianca was on a completely different level.

She moved with almost no wasted motion. Every attack was precise. Every dodge happened at the last possible moment. It was like fighting someone who already knew what he was going to do.

Lucas gritted his teeth and charged. This time he abandoned technique entirely. Pure speed. Pure power. The concrete floor cracked beneath his feet. His fist roared toward Bianca.

Bianca’s eyes narrowed slightly. Not because the attack was dangerous. Because it was fast. Much faster than before.

Unfortunately, it still wasn’t fast enough.

She spun sideways. Lucas felt a hand touch his shoulder. Then the world flipped upside down.

Boom!

His back hit the ground. The entire garage shook.

Lucas stared at the ceiling for a second.

"What the hell was that?"

Bianca looked down at him.

"A throw."

"No shit."

Bianca ignored the complaint.

"Again."

Lucas cursed under his breath and jumped back to his feet.

The fight continued. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. The garage echoed with impacts.

Most of the time Lucas couldn’t even touch her. Whenever he thought he had finally cornered Bianca, she would slip away at the last second. Sometimes she used a palm strike. Sometimes a kick. Sometimes she simply redirected his own force and sent him crashing into the floor.

The most frustrating part was that she wasn’t even breathing hard.

Meanwhile Lucas had bruises forming across his arms, shoulders, and ribs. Yet every time he got knocked down, he stood back up. Again. And again. And again.

Eventually Bianca began noticing something strange.

Lucas wasn’t slowing down. His attacks were becoming sharper. Cleaner. More efficient. The mistakes he made at the beginning of the fight gradually disappeared.

His body was adapting. Learning. Evolving.

The realization surprised her. Most people became weaker during a prolonged fight. Lucas seemed to become stronger.

After nearly thirty minutes, Bianca finally stepped back. Not because she was tired. Because she wanted to think.

Lucas remained standing. Covered in sweat. Covered in bruises. Yet his eyes were still bright. Still eager. As if he wanted another round.

Bianca looked at him for several seconds. Then spoke honestly.

"You have terrible technique."

Lucas frowned.

"Thanks."

"You fight like a street thug."

"You’re really good at compliments."

"But..." Bianca paused. "I’ve never seen someone improve this quickly during a fight."

Lucas grinned.

"Does that mean I win?"

Bianca immediately kicked him in the leg.

Bang!

Lucas nearly fell over.

"No."

"You lost."

"Badly."