“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
Everyone heard the crash, so their attention was on the man. It made the man turn to look at Darius, his chest rising and falling rapidly. There was no change in Darius’ expression, however. He tucked his hands into his pockets, saying, “I never planned to get even with you for your betrayal, but I’m curious—major, elite families have always monopolized all the resources and knowledge on cultivation. Considering that and how you were nothing more than a mere bodyguard before I arrived in Almiron City, why have you become so keen on achieving the enlightened stage as a martial artist?”While it sounded like Darius was genuinely curious, that could not be further from the truth; in fact, he flashed a cold smirk at the man, taunting the latter. Not a word came from Darius, yet the man could not stop trembling. He feared he would die at any moment just from Darius’ glares. Eventually, he gulped and willed himself to speak in a small voice. “I-I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”
Darius cast a side-eyed stare at a man in the crowd. He soon clenched his jaw upon realizing how young the latter seemed; Darius could tell the man was roughly 30, younger than Liam Chamberlain, who looked at least 45. Keeping that thought to himself, Darius entered the living room and made himself comfortable on the couch. “We should discuss the Chamberlain family’s attitude and how I expect you guys to treat me from now onward.”He leaned into the couch, crossed his legs, and placed his hands on the armrest. Pride and arrogance exuded from Darius, making all the Chamberlain family members frown. Even so, Darius did not seem fazed and continued to stare calmly at Liam, adding, “I don’t know whether you still have any say over the Chamberlain family.”Liam shrugged, not appearing bothered by the comment. Darius could tell Liam was pleased from how he sat next to Darius and poured himself a cup of tea. After taking a sip, Liam parted his lips to speak. Darius remained patient this e
Darius turned to look at the door where Bridget stood and beckoned her over with a wave. She appeared beside him so swiftly that no one even saw her move. Darius smiled and looked at the elderly man, saying, “This gentleman tells me he’s kind and has never done anything to harm anyone; I’m surprised by him lying through his teeth.”Bridget smiled and looked at the elderly man as well, making him bristle. An ugly look crept onto his face, but he knew he couldn’t say anything in retort. Who knew whether Darius and Bridget would take his life? To the elderly man, the worst part about this was how he felt like Darius could see right through him whenever he laid his eyes on him—it made him feel utterly useless.He bit his lip while giving Darius a bitter look. He sensed the younger, 30-year-old man’s gaze on him, silently urging him to say something, but he also knew there was a high chance of him offending Darius if he were to utter a word. To make matters worse, he knew very well he co
Darius’ gaze turned laser-sharp at his words, and his face turned frosty as he got to his feet. He walked toward the 30-year-old man, who paled and trembled as Darius approached. He slapped his substitute on the shoulder, saying, “Why are you still standing there? As my substitute, you…” Before he could finish his sentence, Darius wrapped a hand around his neck, and he could no longer make a sound.All he could do was glare at Darius while kicking his legs in mid-air, trying to break free of Darius’ grip. He parted his lips and said with difficulty, “Do you know what you’re doing? I haven’t done anything wrong! What right do you have to treat me like this?”Darius frowned, looking impatient. “I thought I’d made myself clear—who are you, and where did you learn that insult from?”The 30-year-old man looked fearful at his words; he now knew what Darius’ issue was. He gulped and said, “If you let me go, I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”Darius curled his lip and looked at the
The man looked at Darius. Though he knew it was impossible, he still prayed Darius would let him off the hook. To his surprise, his prayers were answered! Darius put his hands behind his back and looked at the man calmly. “I had no intention of taking your life, just as you had no intention of taking mine. Something about you surprises me—you have plenty of misdeeds, but none of them have resulted in deaths. Because of that, I will let you leave this place alive. As for your broken rib…take it as me teaching you a lesson.”Darius turned to reveal the door behind him. Then, he kicked the man and said, “The door’s over there—make yourself scarce now. From now on, you have nothing to do with the Chamberlain family.”The man’s eyes widened in shock. Though he had nothing to do with the Chamberlain family in the first place, he was still surprised that Darius was willing to let him go. He staggered to his feet, making sure not to aggravate his injury.Darius had indeed broken his rib, but
Darius looked at Liam, suddenly curious to know how he would handle this. To his surprise, Liam’s face turned frosty at the elderly man’s words. “My father’s treated you equally well—no, better than you’ve treated me—since you were a child, yet you had no qualms about harming him when you found you had something to gain from doing so. How do you have the nerve to demand I repay your kindness?”Darius raised a brow and exhaled. “Alright, I’m not interested in getting involved in your internal strife, and I want answers. If you can’t tell me where that man learned those words, at least let me know how he found you guys or anything you know about him.” He put his hands into his pockets and walked to the window. At the same time, his gaze swept around as he took in the Chamberlain family’s villa.For some reason, the elderly man couldn’t help feeling uneasy. Still, he gritted his teeth and said, “Darius, you have many questions. I must admit they make sense, but you’re wasting your time
"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