Thea got off the stage. Delilah continued, “Second place goes to Christine Fallon from Herbal Biotech. She’s the granddaughter of the legendary Dr. Fallon. For the past twenty years, Dr. Fallon has been able to emerge victorious at the Solean medical conference every year. His granddaughter has now surpassed him.” Kevin said, “Please, Ms. Fallon.” Christine got onto the stage. Wearing a white dress, she was as graceful as a swan. She took the mic. Delilah asked with a smile, “Ms. Fallon, even though this is your first time participating in the medical conference, you still managed to get second place. How are you feeling right now?” Christine said humbly, “It has long been my dream to acquaint myself with my fellow seniors in the medical realm. Win or lose, I believe I have much to gain from this.” “Thank you, Ms. Fallon.” Kevin continued, “Third place goes to Jonathan Harris from Universal Hospital.” “Fourth place goes to Lucas Hamilton from Universal Hospital.” “F
James said, “They’re calling for you. Go.” “But, I…” James lightly waved. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” “Alright.” Thea put on the earphones and swiftly made her way back to the venue. Under the crowd’s watchful gaze, she got on stage. The top hundred were gathered on stage. The competition rules had been established. Delilah and Kevin announced them. The rules of the medical competition were simple. It was a one vs. one knockout. Fifty winners would enter the winners’ team. Meanwhile, the remaining fifty who lost would be randomly matchmade and enter another one vs. one knockout round. The winners, again, would progress to the winners’ team. Then, they would again be randomly matchmade with a person from the winners’ team and continue the one vs. one knockout round. After announcing the rules, an LCD TV appeared. A hundred names were listed on it. Then, they were randomized and matchmade with one another. Soon, the results were out. “Let’s welcome
James had only planned to help Thea out in secret. He did not expect each doctor participating in the competition to have an assistant of their own. Francois Cortez, a doctor at Abundant Hospital, had been in this field for forty years. As such, he was experienced. It should not be too difficult for him to identify a hundred herbs using his sense of smell. With time, he could even identify all of them. Even if the time limit was ten minutes, he could at least identify thirty to forty of them. His assistant was an experienced doctor who had been in the field for many years too. She should be able to identify a dozen or so herbs in ten minutes. Meanwhile, Thea was someone who spent a fortune to get to the top of the rankings. The assistant of such a woman should not be capable either. Francois looked at the spotlessly clean James, who looked like an amateur and shot him a scornful look. From his perspective, he was surely an admirer of Thea. On the stage… Delilah an
James glanced at Francois and said coldly, “Mr. Cortez, are you calling into question the Solean medical conference’s impartiality? With so many reporters and cameras here… With an audience that numbers a hundred thousand and the millions of viewers who are watching live right now, are you trying to say that I cheated?” “You must’ve cheated. How can a youngster like you correctly identify so many herbs using your sense of smell in such a short amount of time? Even if you had your eyes opened, there’s no way you could’ve done it so quickly!” Francois could not believe it. He could not believe that a youngster like James would have such proficiency in medicine. Delilah said, “Since the opponent has raised questions about the fairness of the competition, I’d like to invite the jury to investigate if there’s anything wrong with his blindfold.” James gave his blindfold to the jury. After inspecting it, they found nothing wrong with it. “In that case, I officially declare Thea
Lucas and Jonathan had heard of the rumors. The assistant by Thea’s side was the chairman of Majestic Corporation. Meanwhile, there were rumors that the chairman of Majestic Corporation was the Black Dragon. However, they knew the truth. The real Black Dragon was James, the son-in-law of the Callahans. They just happened to share the same name. Besides, the Black Dragon was currently trapped in his detention cell. Lucas had called the police station, and he was told that James was still confined and had not left the place. “We’ll go according to plan.” Lucas looked at Jonathan. Jonathan nodded, and his face darkened. “From today onward, there will be no more Solean Doctor’s Association in Sol. Meanwhile, the National Doctor’s Association of Goryeo will establish itself in this nation. In just a few years, we’ll have full control of its medical market. That way, we can control the citizens of Sol using medicine. If we conquer Sol, we can conquer the world.” Lucas smiled.
Delilah continued, “We just received news that someone’s dissatisfied with the competition rules. That man is Jonathan Harris of Universal Hospital. We’ll now invite Mr. Harris on stage.” Hearing this, Jonathan got on stage. Faced with the audience and countless cameras, he remained composed. Kevin asked, “Mr. Harris, please tell us which aspect of the competition rules you’re dissatisfied with.” Jonathan took the mic from the staff and said, “I’m extremely dissatisfied with the competition rules of this year’s medical competition. How long are we going to take if we go one by one? I suggest that we all compete at once.” Delilah smiled. “The competition rules have been set by a group of hospitals. We can’t change them just because you disagree.” “Is that so?” Jonathan smiled and pointed to Jay, who was seated at the very front of the audience seat, and said, “The strong decide the rules. How about this? I’ll challenge Dr. Fallon to a one-on-one. If I win, I call the shots
Faced with Jonathan’s challenge, Jay was not afraid. He chose to accept the challenge. Seeing this, a mischievous grin crept onto Jonathan’s face as if his evil machinations had come to a crescendo. “I’ll briefly explain the rules,” Jonathan said. “A thousand medicinal herbs will be prepared. Based on our understanding of the herbs, we’ll freely mix and match them to create a poison. After the other party has consumed the poison, we’ll have to mix and match from among the thousand herbs once more to create an antidote. Of course, we’re allowed to use acupuncture and acupoint pressure therapeutic means to release the toxins.” “Mhm.” Jay nodded. Jonathan continued, “To ensure the impartiality of the competition, I’ll leave the preparation of the herbs to Herbal Biotech.” Jay immediately made the arrangements. Soon, a few shelves were pushed on stage. There were many drawers on each shelf, and the names of each herb were labeled on each drawer. According to the rules, bo
The other was a rather unknown doctor. Who would emerge victorious? The crowd watched in anticipation. Looking at Jay and Jonathan on stage, Thea asked, “Mr. Caden, those medicinal herbs look ordinary. Can they really be made into a poison?” “Yes.” James nodded. “Though the herbs themselves are not poisonous, they could be after being mixed together. Jay and Jonathan are both skillful doctors. The poison they concoct would be deadly. We’ll have to see whose antidote is better.” Thea glanced at James and asked, “Mr. Caden, do you think you can win against them in a competition?” The corner of his mouth turned up slightly with a smile. Seeing this, Thea understood. Time passed. Under the watchful gaze of the audience, Jay and Jonathan earnestly concocted a poison based on their understanding of each herb. Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. “Time’s up. Please stop what you’re doing.” Jay and Jonathan stopped. Kevin looked at them and said, “For safety’
The sky was a brilliant blue, accented by white clouds. Vast plains stretched out with rolling peaks, rivers, and seas crisscrossing the expansive land, while an aura of Spiritual Energy permeated everything. This was a new world, brimming with life and vitality, existing independently from the myriad realms.Countless cultivation resources awaited discovery here. Unending adventures beckoned the brave, and limitless opportunities awaited those with exceptional talent.This was the new world James had created, based on the Forty-Nine Daoisms and merged with his own Daoism, to resolve the Leere Tribulation and save countless beings across the myriad realms.In this world, there was no powerful Heavenly Path, no hierarchy of races, no strict rules or oppressions, and no fate governing everything. Instead, actions were judged by karma. Fortune and misfortune, as well as success and failure, were determined by karma.Though it adhered to the principle of survival of the fittest and res
“No wonder,” Lord Goyo finally understood after an extended contemplation.He distinctly remembered that back at the Yin’s Void, Jacopo, the incarnation of Waitara Path’s Soremsia, had abruptly ordered him to move all foundations out of the Dark World. In hindsight, everything now made sense. It was likely that Jacopo had foreseen all of this.Realizing this, Lord Goyo felt a chill run down his spine as cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Despite doubting Jacopo’s identity as an incarnation of Waitara Path’s Soremsia, he had followed his advice. Otherwise, the consequences would have been disastrous.Snapping back to reality, Lord Goyo looked down at the Yang governor and Gladwin from his elevated position.“You fool, do you realize your mistake?”The Yang governor and Gladwin looked up simultaneously, their faces full of fear.“Lord Goyo, I truly didn't notice this. I had no idea when the Dark World was separated.”“Lord Goyo, there is something fishy about this. If James has
At the peak of Mount One in the myriad realms, the Yang Governor, disguised as James, descended with Gladwin. Both looked deathly pale, as if they had just escaped a life-threatening disaster. They were filled with panic.They stopped simultaneously upon arriving beneath a massive platform in a grand dojo.“We need to sort this out first,” the Yang Governor glared fiercely at Gladwin. “Who's going to explain this later, you or me?”Gladwin swallowed nervously. “Of course, it should be you.”“Why should it be me?” the Yang Governor scoffed. “Haven't you always claimed to be Lord Goyo's top confidant and meddled in our alliance's affairs? Now you're chickening out when there's a major issue?”Gladwin's face twitched. “This has nothing to do with cowardice. It's your duty as the leader of the Path Guardian Alliance.”The Yang Governor laughed in exasperation. “You've always been the one gathering intelligence across the myriad realms, boasting that you're better than Yegor from Skyn
That was the first thing he asked after surviving a monumental battle. James patted his shoulder. "The twenty thousand men…" "As long as it's broken," Wyot interjected, staring into the emptiness. "It's a pity the Dark World is gone forever."James wanted to respond, but the other survivors gathered around them. After the battle and the aid of the path source, they had ascended to Path Emperors, becoming top powerhouses in the myriad realms.James nodded, then waved his hand, summoning a path pearl that gleamed with holy light. The light and aura it radiated were enough to make any living being kneel before it.Just as James was about to act, Wyot knelt on one knee, followed by his warriors.James frowned. "Wyot, brothers, you have the right to stand…""We will not be Deified until the Leere Tribulation is broken!" Wyot declared loudly, clasping his fists. His warriors did the same."We will not be Deified until the Leere Tribulation is broken!"Their voices were unified, echo
Then, the Formation of Perception shook violently. When he snapped out of it, he realized that the twenty thousand Doom Race warriors led by Xezal had almost all perished.Among the remaining ones, three were losing their bodies. Hastily, James tossed three path sources into the formation, but it did not stop their bodies from crumbling."Move them out, quickly," urged Zella. "They're under immense pressure inside."James waved his hand and broke the Formation of Perception.Xezal and his remaining warriors—just three of them—appeared in the void. They were tattered and covered in blood. Their hair was unkempt, and they were barely recognizable. These were heroes who had experienced hell.Though wobbling, they stood in battle stances. Their valiance and undying will moved James. He turned his hand and covered them with four path sources, then told them to sit and heal."That's the Doom Race for you. The fact that they survived this titanic battle says a lot about their talent," Z
"Fourth, I have left some treasures for the Yaneiri Clan. They should be enough to establish yourselves in the new world. Fifth, do not be Deified. Never, ever do that. You must keep the Yaneiri Clan safe."Wynton's body contorted, plunging him into further pain. Cracks spread across his skin. "You owe me, James! You owe my clan!" he roared for the last time in his life before crumbling into dust.The light strips that imprisoned him shattered as well, and purple flames lunged at James' light wall, the shockwaves splintering it into fragments before rampaging toward the inconsolable Zella.James flew to Zella, scooped her up, and they took off. The shockwaves from Wynton's self-destruction rapidly spread, obliterating the surrounding formations.But that wasn't the end. Once freed, the shockwave rippled across the Dark World, annihilating everything in its path. Countless universes met their demise.Meanwhile, James protected the remaining Doom Race warriors within the formation,
Wynton was hysterical, but James merely shrugged. “Wynton, they say the last act people do before they die is to be kind. I see none of that in you, and you lost to me.”“And so what?” Wynton roared. “You’re just luckier than me, James! You have a Yin governor as your wife, and she has your back all the time! You would never have come this far otherwise!”James smiled. “Keep going.”“I know you don’t want to owe me any favors.” Wynton glared at him angrily. “You gave me three free attacks to repay me for sparing you in the River of Time.“Now, I’ve given you your children’s past selves back, and you owe me once more. You’re waiting for my terms, aren’t you?”James looked resigned.“Wrong,” Wynton sneered. “I won’t ask for any promises, nor will I give you any chance to repay this debt. Now, you shall owe me a favor you can never repay!”James sensed something was wrong and was shocked. “Wynton!”Wynton, imprisoned, began to burn, flames flickering and licking his body. He roare
"That’s…" The sight of that token filled Wynton with shock. "Y-You’re working with the Shadowborns?""Will you give it to me?" James shot him a threatening look.Wynton shivered, taking a deep breath. Then, a flash of purple light burst forth, and a brilliantly shining mirror flew out from the top of his head.James released Wynton and grabbed the mirror. It resonated with the token, and both items shone blindingly, responding to each other.'It’s true,' James thought. 'The Shadowborn token the master gave me before he left can sense the Nothingness Path Mirror. But why?' Questions swirled in his mind."That mirror will do nothing for you," Wynton said. "I can’t control it, so you can’t either. The only one who can is the Yin governor."He looked at James. "And she’s cleaved in two. Unless you can merge them together, the mirror will not work. However, with just your wife’s half-self, finding Wuia’s current and future selves will be a nigh impossible task."James tucked the mirr
James remained silent. He couldn't muster a response. Now, he finally understood why the Leere Tribulation had been orchestrated and the role his wife played in it.He had initially thought that by destroying the past version of Wuia concealed within the River of Time, he could hurt Wuia. Even if he couldn't stop the Leere Tribulation, he could at least delay it.With more time, he planned to gather additional clues and eradicate all three versions of Wuia, permanently solving the problem. However, his conversation with Wynton had changed his plans.Wynton observed James standing in silence and smirked. "Of course, there's a way to do this."James furrowed his brow.Wynton, brimming with glee, continued, "Kill your wife and the Light Heavenly Path. If they vanish entirely, Wuia will never obtain the Void Spiral. Even if the Leere Tribulation materializes and he returns, his strength will be no greater than before his reincarnation. You'll have enough power to fight him."That was