“You’re wasting your energy on unnecessary thoughts right now.” Teivel squeezed Darius’ shoulder, adding, “I should’ve died long ago. Yet, by some miracle, my consciousness remained in this book. Thus, our meeting is abnormal and should never have happened.”Teivel no longer spoke. He lowered his hand, watched as the black gas vaporized, then looked ahead to where the old man in black robes ran. With a level stare at Darius, he stated, “We have to hunt him down and kill him at once—because he’s always had a hand in all the suffering the past years had brought. One could even say he planned the first seed of these many tragedies. If he escapes, he can disguise himself as anyone and continue to do terrible things. We won’t be around to stop him. Although you and I are enlightened martial artists and have slightly longer lifespans than most people, we’ll still die at some point. Our deaths will come much sooner than his, especially considering how he’s been devising ways to extend his l
Teivel spoke with a hoarse but content voice. “That old man has never been able to unleash his full strength. He’s never been able to and still can’t beat me, even though I’ve grown frail and can no longer wield my powers as well as I used to. Besides, his powers are now weaker than mine.”Darius raised a brow in amusement. He turned again to look at Teivel and asked, “Well, since he’s already turned himself into this black fog thing, what do we do now?”Face darkening grimly, Teivel replied, “Haven’t you been itching to ask me about the enchantment? I can tell you about it now. When you and Yarlyn Weiss chatted in his confinement chambers behind the gold brick wall, that energy you released—the one that resembled a layer of water—was an enchanted barrier.”Darius nodded, his focused gaze pinned on Teivel without moving away once.“I was impressed that you mastered it,” Teivel remarked with a smile. “However, I didn’t realize you did so without knowing. Nevertheless, you did all those
Darius squeezed his eyes shut, hiding how miserable he felt inside. He could afford to pay the black gas that slipped past him more mind. Instead, the one thing Darius could do was guard the barrier better and prevent any more black gas from escaping. Thoughts burst out from every corner of his mind as he brainstormed a way to be more officiant.That was when Teivel’s voice rang out. “Darius, I need your help like before. If you don’t want us to go back to square one where we kept having to hunt down that old man in black robes, and if you don’t want to get hunted down by the old man, please pull yourself together and clear your mind at once!”It was Darius’ first time hearing such urgency in Teivel’s tone. He frowned and realized he had never experienced such flickering emotions and inner turmoil before; Darius had always been a stern and focused man, regardless of whether he was rich or poor. Similarly, he had never spent more than ten minutes deciding anything. Yet, Darius was no
“I’m not dealing with whatever happens next,” Darius finished.With a nod, Teivel waved dismissively and replied, “Okay. You may return to the Anderson family and sort out their affairs now.”Darius raised a brow but eventually nodded and turned to leave from where he had entered. That also happened to lead to the Anderson family’s villa. When Darius arrived, he was shocked to see Kate and William waiting for him in front of their home, despite it being in ruins. Lips curving upward, he said, “I didn’t think I’d see you two here. I thought you’d have left by now.”William turned to meet Darius’ eyes. The latter’s candid words made William uncomfortable, but he still behaved respectfully; he willed every muscle on his face to form a polite smile, which was near impossible, so he ultimately failed. William’s eyes reddened with a tinge of reluctance. “Mr. Reid, I merely wanted to see the place I used to live in and perhaps collect whatever’s still intact. I grew up here, so these thing
That was enough to stop Calypso’s breathing permanently. Kate stood beneath the rubble and saw everything happen. She parted her lips but soon clamped them shut again. Kate closed her eyes tightly, unable to stand the gruesome scene but not voicing her discomfort as she had no right to speak up. Placing both hands behind her back, she eventually opened her eyes to look at the ground. Her breathing grew deeper and quieter as the seconds passed.…On the other hand, Darius had finally returned to the hotel. Although it felt like many things had happened, the events only took a little of his time. Still, an immense wave of exhaustion hit him, and he could not bring himself to cultivate his skills after returning to the hotel. All he wanted to do was lie in bed, so he did that. At that moment, he could not care less about dealing with the company’s affairs. Shutting his eyes, Darius took deeper and steadier breaths, allowing himself to relish in the peace. Alas, he only lay down brief
“The Chamberlains parked their car before us and begged for help. We figured we’d try to since they were Pearl’s family members. That’s why we took longer to return.”Upon hearing Bridget’s explanation, Darius’ previously tense muscles relaxed. He straightened his back and stretched his body while coldly instructing, “Erin, bring them up to date with the events that occurred in their absence and inform them why I’m heading out now.”“Mr. Reid is heading to the Chamberlains now.” A look of sympathy came from Erin as she faced the two bodyguards. Then, she stepped closer and informed them of everything she had learned earlier.Edward and Bridget’s heads immediately shot upward when they heard how the Chamberlain family had tracked down Ansel just because of Darius’ rejection. Eyes widening in shock, the two gawked for several seconds before lowering their gazes and turning to face Darius. Guilt filled their voices as they said, “We’re so sorry, sir. We had no idea. Our carelessness has
“All right, now. Let’s end this and get back to what we should do.” With that, Darius turned to head toward the Chamberlain family’s villa. Halfway to the estate, he heard a familiar voice cackling—it was one of the Chamberlain family members. His eyes narrowed to slits just then; Darius had expected this, but the fact that it happened caught his interest. He rushed ahead at once.That was when he heard Bridget chasing after him. Even so, he did not stop entirely for her; he only slowed down slightly.When Bridget caught up to him, her breathing became labored as she was worn out. She found it challenging to keep up with Darius’ speed walking now that his skills had grown. Although Bridget knew Darius had slowed down, Bridget still struggled to catch up.Right after she arrived behind Darius, the latter turned on his heel to examine her up close. That made her stiffen up at once. Hesitance and doubt swirled in her eyes as she met Darius’ gaze.“Your speedwalking isn’t up to par becau
Bridget’s eyes shot wide open in disbelief at what was happening now. She even caught a whiff of a pleasant cologne on Darius’ chest. The scent was woody but also fresh enough that it did not give her a headache. Instead, it made Bridget’s heart pound beneath her chest. Gulping, she decided to take a chance and rest her head on Darius’ shoulder.“I knew it,” Darius thought while cocking a brow. Then, he stated coldly, “I’m only doing this so we can get to the villa faster. You’ll still need to train your body and cultivation methods. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to leave you behind should this happen again.It pained Darius to say such harsh words to Bridget, but he found it necessary as he could not accept his bodyguard harboring inappropriate feelings toward him. After all, she was his subordinate and would work for him for the foreseeable future; there was no telling whether their work relationship would strengthen or weaken if she developed romantic feelings for him.Not a word ca
"If you hadn't picked on me, I wouldn't have ended up like this. No matter how wealthy I've become, I'll never be able to take these black robes off!" The mysterious man's voice was shaky. He was extremely agitated.James frowned at that. He said curiously, "You keep saying I've done you wrong, but everything I did to you was what you did to others. I only gave you a taste of your own medicine."The mysterious man's breathing sped up when he heard that. He barked out a laugh and sneered, "I'll be honest with you. I never thought I'd have the chance to meet someone as dumb as you again."He shook his head. "I find it hard to imagine what your grandson will do when he sees you like this." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the door was kicked open with a loud bang. The man was caught off guard. He looked at Darius as his body trembled violently.Darius frowned when he saw this. It was completely different from what he'd imagined. He narrowed his eyes at the mysterious man, his
Gabriel smiled and nodded. "Alright, then. I'll return to my workstation and prepare a proposal on what to do with Noah."Darius nodded and smiled. "Good. That's all I ever wanted." He turned to leave. "You need to get to work, and I need to return to my hotel to get some rest."Gabriel stopped. Darius' words made him hesitate. "I'm sorry to be asking this because I don't think it's my place, but it's probably better for me to ask anyway. I don't remember there being any hotels nearby."You should head home if you wanna get some rest. I don't understand why you're heading to a hotel to rest."Darius raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. He turned with his hands behind his back to look at Gabriel helplessly. "I don't know how to feel about what you've just said. You're making me think you're a little silly. Wouldn't I know how to search for a hotel?"It won't take you long to prepare a proposal, but it'll take me ages to get home from here." Darius turned and left.Gabriel's lips twitc
"Because you realized the risk was far greater than what you were comfortable with," Darius said calmly.But Noah started trembling. He looked at Darius in terror. He didn't expect Darius to see right through him after some simple back-and-forth. His eyes widened in fear.Everything that was happening now made him feel like he was dreaming. Noah had only been a step away from success, yet Darius had ruined everything.Tears filled his eyes as he gazed at Darius. "I've said everything there is to say. I'm the lowest rung on this ladder, and I only have one purpose for being here. It's to make you come under the authorities' control. Once you're here, my mission's accomplished."Someone else from the authorities will be here to deal with you, but that has nothing to do with me. They wouldn't have told me about it, anyway."Darius put his hands behind his back without saying anything. He turned to leave. Noah's eyes widened as he stared in fear at Darius' back.Darius didn't see this, bu
When Darius straightened up, his face became devoid of emotion. He said calmly, "I've wasted too much time on you. Now, I only want frank answers. Otherwise, I'll punish you for every lie that you tell me. I don't see any hope in your eyes, but let's see whether you prove me wrong."Darius paused, then continued, "I've already said something similar once. That was a chance I gave you. From this moment onward, I want you to know that I won't repeat myself because I believe you've had enough time to prepare yourself."Gabriel stood beside him and put his hands behind his back as his lips twitched. He'd thought about the various reasons for Darius repeating himself. But the one thing that hadn't occurred to him was that Darius had done it to give Noah time to prepare.Gabriel felt like applauding Darius, but the rational side of him stopped him from doing so. His rationality told him he'd be in for trouble if he were to do that, so he only looked at Darius with a smile.Darius sensed Ga
Darius raised an eyebrow and smiled. Then, he said, "You're too nervous, Gabriel. It makes it seem like you don't trust me. In truth, there's nothing for you to worry about."He stretched his neck and continued, "I know very well how bad the consequences of destroying this building will be. Aside from those silly regulations, I'll also need to pay for it. I might be wealthy, but that doesn't mean I'll enjoy forking out a huge sum of money as compensation."Darius spread his hands and shrugged. At the same time, he pointed at the window and turned to look at Gabriel. Then, he said, "Look. The windows are perfectly fine. They're not even scratched. That shows my life force is non-destructive."That's why you have nothing to worry about. You can put your heart back into your chest."Gabriel straightened up and sighed in relief. Then, he gave Darius an embarrassed smile.Darius grinned but didn't say anything in response. He put his hands behind his back and turned to look at Noah. He sai
"We're classmates from the same major, too! We were interns at Dream Investment Group, remember? And we got kicked out on our first day. You broke my legs because of a tiny argument we had outside the building! The surveillance cameras captured all of this!" Noah cried.Darius tucked his hands into his pockets and rolled his eyes. Then, he said mockingly, "You're the biggest fool I've ever met. Do you think you're the only one who can tamper with the surveillance footage? Any footage that can be tampered with can also be restored."Noah's eyes widened in shock. He gulped and tried to think of a way to explain away the injuries Darius had inflicted on him. Still, he couldn't think of anything. Before he had the chance to think any further, Darius spoke.He said, "There's one thing you got right, though. Gabriel is on my side, so he'll stand up for me no matter what you say."Gabriel's lips twitched at that. He subconsciously opened his mouth to say something in return, but Darius bea
"And I don't think it's my job to make you see sense," Gabriel continued. He put his hands behind his back. He gave Noah a look that was an odd mixture of gentle iciness. "I've given you more than enough time and chances."Gabriel sighed. "It's obvious that you don't care for that, though. And so I think it's time for me to treat you as an officer should." He sat down on the other side of the desk again.Noah's face was white with fear. Gabriel acted like he didn't see this, though. He smiled. "As I mentioned, I gave you plenty of time and chances, but you didn't appreciate them."His gaze turned frosty. "If that's the case, I'm sure you won't object to me doing this per our guidelines."Noah cried, "No, wait! I don't know what Darius has promised you to make you side with him unconditionally, but there's no way I'll let you two get away with this. You have to make sure you do everything by the book. It's a reasonable request, and you have no right to turn me down!"He trembled viole
Gabriel put his hands behind his back as he looked at Noah with a smile. "Now, you've piqued my interest."Noah looked up at Gabriel. His voice was deep and hoarse as he said, "If you help me, I'll give you half of the Reid Consortium's assets once I get my hands on them. You should know that without me, there's no way you'll get a dime from the Reid Consortium."Gabriel snorted with laughter when he heard that. He straightened up and slowly circled Noah. He sounded mocking as he said, "You've lost me there. I tried to puzzle it out, but it doesn't make sense at all."Why would I want to get my hands on the Reid Consortium's fortune? Even without it, I'm perfectly independent. I don't need it to survive."Gabriel crossed his arms and looked at Noah mockingly. "Or maybe you're different from the rest of us. Maybe you'll die without the Reid Consortium's wealth." He smirked and gave Noah a sharp gaze.Noah raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You're the one making me laugh now. I don't know
Gabriel sounded gentle, but everyone knew that was far from the truth. This was especially true for Noah, who sat across from him. He felt incredibly nervous. He shut his eyes and breathed rapidly.Noah never would've expected to still be in danger after being taken in by the authorities. He frowned and looked up at Gabriel. "So, are you determined to help Darius now?" His voice was shaky, and his eyes were wide because of his nerves.His emotions were clear as he looked at Gabriel. Gabriel bit his lip, feeling like he was about to laugh. To stop Noah from noticing, he quickly exhaled and sat down with one leg over the other. At the same time, he leaned forward to place his hands on the desk.He tapped his fingers on the desk quickly but rhythmically. Gabriel's eyes were devoid of emotion as he looked at Noah. "Tell me, Noah. What happened between you and Darius? Earlier, you said he was the one who injured you. Do you have any proof?"Because we checked the surveillance footage, a