In a separate space.

Grey and the Elders from the Pyrmond Faction were standing in the sky.

"Why did you do it?" The Elder who brought Grey into the Faction asked with a straight face.

"What?" Grey asked, trying to feign not knowing what they were talking about.

"You know what I'm talking about. You damaged your core, why did you do it? There was no use taking it to that extent." The Elder said.

"Oh, that Well" Grey was about to speak when an Elder tried to grab his hand.

He knew what the Elder wanted to do and instinctively let out all his defensive measures, the gravitational field included.

He used the space element to retreat before saying, "I'm fine."

The Elder who tried to grab his hand froze, for less than a second before looking at Grey in shock. He didn't expect such timely response from Grey, he only wanted to see the extent of Grey's injury.

What he found shocking was not only Grey's quick reaction, but the fact that it managed to stop him for that split second when he retreated. He was above an Elemental Venerable, and already an Elemental Sovereign, yet, Grey who was still an Overlord Plane Elementalist was able to stop him. Even if it was for a split second, it was still something that was deemed impossible.

"I mean no harm, I only want to check the extent of your injury." The Elder explained.

"Honestly, I'm fine. The only reason I pretended to be injured is to make them think that I'm not a threat." Grey didn't hide his intentions from the Elders and told them the truth.

Since he was part of the Faction, he had to show them his loyalty. Besides, he had been gaining a few things from the Faction lately, things he didn't want to stop now.

"So, you're saying you pretended to be injured?" The Elder who brought him to the Faction asked.

Grey nodded and used a hint of the Fusion State once again, this was the only way he could show them that he was fine. He didn't dare to let them touch him to inspect his condition. That would be deadly to him if they were to sense the orb in his body. Not just the orb, but his eight other elements as well.

The Elders froze when they saw Grey using signs of his special technique to increase his strength again. They calmed down when they realized Grey was fine, but then it hit them.

There was no technique for increasing strength that didn't have any repercussions. If Grey was fine after using his special technique, then it meant it must be top tier, even higher than the one they had in the Faction.

That was not the only thought in their heads, normally, after using a special technique to boost one's strength, it was suicidal to use it again within a short time. Grey used it to prove that he was fine, even if he didn't use it to the peak, he still used an ounce of it.

'Just what type of technique does he have?'

This was the thought going through the heads of most of the Elders.

"Nice move, you're smarter than most people your age." A voice interrupted the other Elders who were thinking about Grey's special technique.

It was none other than the voice of the man who brought Grey to the Faction. The other Elders realized they were thinking too much. Grey's technique was very tempting, but not as tempting as having Grey in their ranks.

Now they started to think of what Grey said. He tricked their enemies into thinking he was injured, this showed that he was very experienced and cool headed when making decisions.

"Haha, good kid, you tricked them into thinking you were wasted. Even though they will find out later in the future, it's still amazing. It would be nice to see their expressions when they do." The Elder who rarely spoke laughed out loud.

He was happy that Grey was not injured, the rest things didn't matter to him. If any of the Elders tried to even question Grey about his technique, he was one of the few who would attack them.

"You can go back." The Space Elementalist among the Elders sent Grey back.

With Grey gone, only the Elders were left in the separate space.

"What do you all think about the kid?" An Elder asked.

"I like him, he's smart." The Elder who rarely spoke said with a smile.

"We know nothing about him, do you think we can trust him?" The Elder who tried to touch Grey said.

"He told us his motive behind feigning his injury, this showed he placed a little trust in us." The Elder who brought Grey to the Faction said.

"Did you see how he retreated when I tried to touch him?" The Elder asked.

"We all have secrets Micah, don't worry too much about his." The Space Elementalist among the Elders said.

The others nodded, they all had secrets as well, so it was natural for a genius like Grey to have secrets, multiple secrets even. Even Alec has secrets as well, so it was not an issue to them. As long as Grey didn't show any signs of betraying them, then they were fine with him, whoever he was.

They left the separate space after speaking for a few more minutes. Grey and the others were speaking, he wasn't really saying much, just listening to them tell him thank you.

They stayed there for a few more minutes and the Elders gave each of them a healing tonic, and after taking it, they were taken back to the Faction. Two Elders were left behind to keep guard over the portal to the secret realm.

Grey and the others would be heading back to take their rewards for winning the competition.

To be honest, Grey was looking forward to the points he would be receiving from the Faction. He still had a lot of books to read on arrays.