"What's this Sacred Martial Order thing?" Felix asked.Theodore's expression turned strange. Was Felix really that extraordinary? How could he not know about the Sacred Martial Order? "Felix, the Sacred Martial Order comes from Martial Alliance! Only families or sects who are part of the Martial Alliance Council can possess one." Felix frowned. He had only heard of Martial Alliance once, and it was during Jaden's phone call. "What exactly is Martial Alliance?" "Martial Alliance is an organization recognized by the state. It's jointly established by top martial arts sects and ancient martial families to govern all practitioners in Dragonia. Going against Martial Alliance would mean opposing every martial artist in Dragonia," Vivian explained.That was quite the authority. To say such an organization was filled with martial arts masters would be no exaggeration. Felix had more questions but knew this was not the time. He turned to Theodore instead. "Call Andrei. I have one ques
Yvonne was getting married? Felix was stunned to hear this news. This was completely unexpected and seemed impossible. "Are you sure?" Clearly, George was just as confused. "You had no idea? If that's the case, I think I know what's happening now, Felix! You and Yvonne got together without Lady Nala's permission, right?" Felix's expression darkened. For a moment, he did not know what to say. "Forget I mentioned it." From what George knew about Nala, he knew who controlled Yvonne's fate. Being married off was nothing; it would not even be surprising if she lost her life. "When is she getting married? To whom?" Felix asked.After hesitating, George replied, "She'll be married in about 20 days to a young heir of the Walsh family from Aleshire. They control most of Dragonia's shipping business. Whatever Lady Nala's planning, it must involve significant interests or she wouldn't marry off Yvonne. "Everyone knows Yvonne's practically her personal assistant and is almost like her
Andrei always aimed for the safest approach in everything he did. When it came to dealing with Felix, Pierce was just one piece of the puzzle, and there was a backup plan that even Theodore was unaware of. "Dad! My… my legs are ruined! You have to kill Felix. You have to kill him!" Pierce cried.Andrei crouched down and gently stroked his cheek. "Don't worry. I'll definitely avenge you. For now, rest and focus on your recovery," Andrei said.Andrei's assurances comforted Pierce. After all, he believed Felix could not be a match for his father.Theodore asked, "Mr. Hawkins Senior, do you still plan to continue?" Andrei furrowed his brow before responding, "The Dragon Alliance's involvement was unexpected. Stopping now would indeed be a good choice, but I promised Perry that I wouldn't back down unless the odds were massively against us." Theodore remained silent. After all, everything was Andrei's call, and his own role was simply to advise.Andrei asked, "Can we find out what
Felix's expression turned strange as he contemplated the situation. Earlier, George had turned from enemy to friend because of Moonshadow Alliance, and any sensible person would know George would need Felix's help eventually. However, Ryan was different. He definitely did not know about Felix's connection to Moonshadow Alliance. Even if he did, given his much higher status than George, he would not actively try to curry favor. As he thought about it, Felix could not help but feel amused.Ryan laughed, seemingly aware of Felix's doubts. "What? Don't believe me? Treating kids should be routine as a doctor, but you're different. You sacrificed all your reputation without hesitation."Honestly, while I might seem carefree, I know when to respect people and their actions. You saved over a dozen orphans last time and put yourself on the line—that's worthy of this!" As he spoke, he gave a thumbs up. Felix was speechless as he looked at Ryan's genuine expression. There was not a
Setting aside everything else, everyone knew Gerald's apprentice would need to have exceptional medical skills. At his young age, Felix had never met anyone else who could claim the title of master healer, which made it too easy to spot an imposter. However, someone of Ryan's status did not seem like they would be easily fooled. So, Felix asked, "Do you know Dr. Hoffman's apprentice?" Ryan shook his head again. "No, but I can take you to meet him. It'll be up to you to make an impression because they won't do it as a favor to me. "All I can do is tell them how you risked everything to save those kids. With a healer's compassionate heart and seeing how many master healers support you, I believe Dr. Hoffman's apprentice might be moved too."Felix finally understood that Ryan had also been deceived. For the sake of Gerald's reputation, Felix knew he had to meet this impostor."Alright, I'll go with you," Felix agreed.Ryan stood up and waved dismissively. "I'll let you know when.
"Yvonne, it's me, Felix—" Felix barely got the words out before the call disconnected. His expression turned tensed as he realized Yvonne had no intention of keeping contact."What happened? Did she hang up?" Jack asked.When Felix nodded, Jack quickly tried calling back, only to hear that the number was no longer in service. Jack's face instantly turned pale, and he grumbled, "Damn it! If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have let you use my phone. Now Ms. Cooper's blocked me too!"Felix looked embarrassed. "My bad, but it won't affect your work." Jack took an angry bite of his breakfast, clearly annoyed. While he knew it would not impact his work, he had to find other ways to contact Yvonne.… Two days passed quickly, with Felix maintaining his strict four-hour daily refining of the ancient dragon's spine. That morning, he opened his eyes and nearly jumped out of his skin. "Averill! This isn't funny!" Felix exclaimed, finding Averill lying beside him as she stared a
Averill turned off the TV with a bored expression. "I'm bored, Felix. Let's play."At those words, Felix quickly waved his hands in protest. "No! Averill, don't try anything funny!" In his current state, without any martial arts abilities, he would be completely defenseless if Averill tried to force herself on him.Averill pouted and revealed a deck of playing cards from behind her back. "What's going on in that dirty mind of yours? I meant these cards, though if you want to play something else, I wouldn't mind," she teased.For once, Felix could not help but blush—he really did let his imagination run wild. He replied, "Fine. I can handle this game."Just then, his phone rang. It was Ryan, who had given him his contact info two days ago. "Felix, I'm driving over to pick you up now. Whatever important things you have planned, cancel them. The opportunity I mentioned is happening tonight."Felix frowned at the timing but agreed anyway. "Alright, come pick me up."After explainin
Solomon took a sip of his drink and laughed. "How could I possibly guess what the higher-ups are thinking? I just do what I'm told. Besides, isn't Dr. Hoffman's apprentice human too?" Ryan felt a chill at Solomon's words, considering Gerald's reputation was enough to make anyone think twice before making a move. He had known Solomon for a long time; Solomon's family was powerful, but the man was simply obsessed with martial arts.Solomon showed no interest in money or women. Instead, he would follow anyone who could make him stronger. While Ryan had never heard of the Elders' Council before, he knew they were definitely not a simple bunch of people. "Mr. Gill, do you think Dr. Hoffman's apprentice will agree?" Ryan asked uncertainly.Solomon shook his head. "How would I know what he's thinking when I've never met him? But since you've spoken so highly of him, I'll allow you to make an introduction. I must say, I admire anyone who would risk themselves to save those poor orphans.
The existence of crossbreeds was classified as top secret by headquarters. If word got out, even if the general public remained unaware, just the knowledge reaching certain members within headquarters would cause mass panic.Would you dare to question whether your partner might be a Malevolent Phantom? Would you risk wondering if your child inherited some of its traits and became a crossbreed? No one wanted to shoulder that responsibility.Take Johann and his team, for example. They had absolutely no knowledge of crossbreeds, and their resistance right now stemmed entirely from their own moral convictions."Sir!"Johann didn't dare stop Felix outright, but he raised his voice to make his stance clear. The others followed suit, not to mention Lina, who was still sobbing uncontrollably, and Steve, whose eyes were red with fury as he glared at Felix without a hint of fear."Mr. Zeller! If you're really going to take my grandson, you'll have to step over my dead body first!"Tears st
"So what?" Lina asked. "Even if I lied, what does that person's death have to do with my son?"Felix suddenly roared, "Are you telling me that when you opened the door, your son never left your sight for even a second?""I—"Lina opened her mouth but suddenly found herself at a loss for words. That instinctive hesitation was the most telling of all."Get the car ready. Take her with us. We're going to Lina's house.""Yes, sir!"The convoy arrived at a luxurious mansion in Zuera. The moment Felix and his team rushed inside, they saw Steve sitting in the living room, holding a three-year-old boy in his arms."Mr. Zeller, why are all of you here?"Lina, restrained by Felix's men, screamed in a frenzy, "Dad! Save Leonardo! They're trying to take him away!"Then, she turned to Felix, shouting in fury, "You monsters! He's just three years old, and you suspect him of murder? I'll expose you! I'll take you to court!"By the time she finished, she was sobbing uncontrollably."Mr. Zel
Even though Lina knew Felix held an unimaginably high status—so high that even Steve feared him—his continued questioning and the direction of his suspicions pushed her to the edge. The mere idea that her son might be involved sent her into a silent rage.She was a mother, and when it came to her child, she did not care who the hell the other person was."I'm just asking questions," Felix said flatly. "Just answer them. Don't make me start quoting laws and rights to get you to cooperate."His voice was so calm. For a moment, Lina wondered if she had overreacted, so she took a breath and continued.She explained, "He wasn't in the stall. It's way too small in there. I left the door cracked open so he could see me, and since I had the tether on, plus the nanny and driver waiting outside, I wasn't worried about him wandering off."Felix did not say anything right away. He stood there, clearly deep in thought.Silvercrest Restaurant might have been an upscale dining place, but it was
"Can you cooperate now?" Felix asked calmly.Lina snapped back to her senses, her face burning with embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I'll fully cooperate from now on."Sure enough, seeing the richest man's daughter completely fold made the rest of the group abandon any rebellious thoughts. Whatever frustration they had been feeling vanished instantly.Once they were settled, Felix began examining them closely. This was not just a casual observation. He activated his Spirit Eye, a skill from the Phaeron Codex that allowed him to see into a person's soul.After reaching Higher Spirit Realm, Felix had gained access to this ability, but he had never actually used it to inspect a Malevolent Phantom before. Still, he was sure of one thing—their souls would look nothing like normal humans'.So, checking with Spirit Sight was a far more reliable method than looking at whether someone's wounds were healing.When Felix finished scanning all nine people, he froze, completely s
A few minutes later, Felix stepped into the restroom that had been sealed off. It was a fully enclosed space, with no windows—just a single ventilation fan. That meant there was only one entrance and exit.He examined the body sitting upright on the toilet in one of the stalls. The man's head was resting gently against the tiled wall. His pants were already pulled back up and fastened, clearly indicating he had finished using the restroom. More importantly, it was obvious no one had touched or tampered with the body.Felix commented, "No need to call in forensics. There are no external wounds, and his internal organs are completely intact. We can also rule out heart failure or brain hemorrhages. This wasn't caused by any natural condition."With his medical background, it only took Felix a glance to determine the truth.Johann replied, "Yes, sir. But then… what now? Should we interrogate those nine people?"The closer they got to confirming Malevolent Phantoms were involved, the
Felix said, "Go ahead, Delilah. Zara's in your hands now—take care of her on the road.""Don't worry," Delilah replied.Once Zara was gone, Felix stood there for a moment, feeling a weight settle over his chest. She had already been through so much just surviving the ordeal of Twinshade Body, and he had promised himself—without saying a word—that he would make sure she never suffered like that again.However, no one could have predicted the sudden arrival of the Malevolent Phantoms. That was a nightmare nobody could escape, and only by ending it would they have the right to even dream of a peaceful life.…That evening, as the sun dipped low on the horizon, Felix was having dinner with Luna at a quiet restaurant, and Paul had joined them, too."Thank you, Mr. Zeller. Holden is awake and doing surprisingly well," Paul said, raising his glass.He was genuinely grateful. Even the doctors had called it a miracle. Holden had a severed artery and was transported across a long distance
"Mr. Hoffman?" Felix muttered. No wonder Delilah had shown up in person."Why didn't Mr. Hoffman just call me?" he asked.Delilah shrugged, raising both hands. "Because it's not convenient. If you make one choice, I can report back and be done with it, saving everyone the time."Felix nodded, finally curious about this big choice. Then, Delilah asked, "Zara, the one with Twinshade Body, came to see you, didn't she?"That caught Felix off guard. "How do you know about that?"Delilah rolled her eyes with a little smirk. If one of her fans saw her like this, they would probably faint from the shock.She explained, "It's not like I'm psychic. Mr. Hoffman told me. Ever since you left Martial City and came back, he's had Ophelia keeping an eye on Zara the whole time, so of course he knows."Ophelia? That explained why he had not seen her around since coming back. "So, what's the choice Mr. Hoffman wants me to make? Is it really about Zara?"Delilah nodded firmly. "Exactly. Mr. Hoff
Donna said, "Felix, Specter's the kind of guy who'll stop at nothing. I'll hold back and observe for now, but if you really prove you've got what it takes, I'll act like I never even saw that woman."…Later, Zara was resting her chin in both palms with a sweet, innocent smile on her face. She hummed, "Mhm!"Felix let out a groan and rubbed his face. "Don't just say 'mhm'! Did you even understand what I just told you?"After piecing together everything Donna had said, Felix laid it all out for Zara. Since Specter could strike at any time and Zara still did not know what Malevolent Phantoms even were, he figured she needed to hear it all."Of course I understood. Relax, honey. I'm not stupid," Zara replied casually. Since she got it, Felix finally let himself relax, too. A weight lifted off his chest, and for the first time in a while, he really looked at Zara's flawless face. He thought, "Yeah—there's no way I can hold back anymore."He said, "Let's take care of something… imp
Felix finally snapped out of it. Just moments ago, Donna had looked so grim, claiming something big was about to happen. Yet now, after her whole speech, it was all about the benefits of Zara being a Hollow Soul.Donna said, "Hollow Soul has a unique trait. If consumed, it can greatly boost your chances of success.""Consumed?" That one word made Felix's face darken instantly. "Success in what exactly?"Donna had tried to be vague, but there was no way Felix did not get the implication. To put it bluntly, she was talking about eating Zara's soul."Whether you're stuck at a plateau in your cultivation, your soul is mutating, or you're trying to master powerful soul-based techniques—offensive or defensive—if it's soul-related, Hollow Soul can drastically increase your chances of success."Felix's expression shifted as something came rushing back to him. Billy had once told him that when the Mystical Explosive Orb absorbed enough soul essence to reach capacity, it could be used to re