"What's wrong?" Felix asked with a frown. Laura's reaction seemed overly dramatic, as he had only asked about the Maximus family, nothing more.Realizing her mistake, Laura quickly composed herself and apologized, "I'm sorry. I didn't expect you to ask about the Maximus family."In Martial City, they're a very special group with eyes and ears everywhere, both inside and outside the city. Whatever you do, don't mention them to anyone else. It's too easy to end up on their radar."Her explanation left Felix feeling fortunate to be guided by her. With matters like Harmony Clinic, he could figure things out by spending a bit of emerald. However, it would not be as easy to find sensitive information about the Maximus family because there would not be a second chance to learn that, and no one else would have warned him."The Maximus family is the top family in Bedford, located in the southern region of Martial City. They're extremely powerful and notoriously domineering. On top of that
When Felix entered the room, he noticed a pale-faced young man slumped over a table, fast asleep. Nearby, a middle-aged man was engrossed in a book, seemingly unaware of Felix's presence."Hello," Felix greeted, drawing the man's attention. The middle-aged man looked up, smiled, and stood. "Are you here to learn pill cultivation?"Felix nodded. "Yes, I am.""Prepare your silver needles," the man instructed. Felix was not entirely sure why but complied without hesitation.The man then woke the young man, who groggily grabbed a glass of water, took a sip, and lay on a bed in the corner. "You have ten minutes to cure him. If you succeed, you'll pass the preliminary assessment. Otherwise, you'll have to leave."Felix approached the young man and immediately realized the issue. Though the man appeared healthy, his internal organs were rapidly deteriorating—a clear effect of whatever was in the water he had just consumed. The symptoms were so severe that even a master healer would
Thankfully, the old woman's next words assured Felix that his concerns were unwarranted. She placed a piece of paper on the table and said, "This is the formula for one of the most basic pills in pill cultivation. "Once you've learned the basics, this pill can be crafted within a month with a 100% success rate. This pill will serve as your final test. The time it takes you to successfully craft it will determine your pill cultivation talent."She explained, her gaze locking onto Felix."Harmony Clinic categorizes pill cultivation talent into five grades: Heaven, Supreme, High, Intermediate, and Low. We don't accept anyone in the Low grade. "If you can craft the pill within a day, your minimum grade will be Supreme. You're considered Heaven grade if you complete it within half a day. High and Intermediate grades take between two and five days, respectively."Her gaze locked onto Felix as she continued, "Many people come here and purposely conceal their abilities. They could finish
From the conversation, it was clear that the old woman, Delilah Goddard, held a significant position within Harmony Clinic. She even called Dickson by his first name without hesitation."Has the kid started?" Dickson asked."Interesting. It's the first time I've seen you take an interest in pill cultivation. It's not really your style," Delilah replied.Dickson leaned back, propping his feet on the table. He was about to pick his nose again but stopped when Delilah shot him a sharp glare, forcing him to laugh awkwardly."Ordinary cases don't interest me, not even those with Supreme-grade talent. But this kid is different," Dickson said casually."Oh?" Delilah's curiosity was piqued. "What's so special about him? Hearing you, of all people, give an opinion on an alchemist is unheard of."Dickson glanced at the closed door of the room where Felix was working and did not answer directly. Instead, he posed a question of his own, "Delilah, among the alchemists you know or have heard o
Time was running out—less than an hour remained before the 12-hour mark, and Felix was still grappling with his decision. He muttered, "Alas, this is such a headache."He knew that if he did not complete the task within the next hour, his talent would forever be categorized as Supreme grade, and Heaven grade would be out of reach. Talent was a fixed trait, unchangeable by time or experience, so once determined, there would be no second chances."The gap between Heaven grade and Supreme grade is massive. Then again, becoming Heaven grade also means drawing a lot more attention," Felix thought.For ten hours, he had agonized over this, torn between the external threat of the Maximus family and the Grand Elder and the internal challenge of Harmony Clinic's resource restrictions. It was no wonder the choice felt impossible."Damn it! Sacrifices must be made," he murmured through gritted teeth, finally making up his mind. The resources provided to a Heaven-grade alchemist were simply
"Ma'am, I'm truly honored by your offer, and I'll never forget your kindness, but I've already sworn allegiance to a mentor. I'm afraid I must decline," Felix said with an apologetic bow.Delilah had expected as much. Felix's young age and his remarkable attainment of Physical Refinement Realm clearly indicated that he was not self-taught."It's fine," she replied with a smile. "Your mentor can't possibly be an expert in every field. The path of learning never ends, and truly talented individuals often have more than one mentor. I would only be guiding you in pill cultivation and nothing more."Before coming to Martial City, Gerald had mentioned that Felix could consider taking on a mentor for pill cultivation, as Gerald himself was not an expert in the field. However, Felix had too many unknowns to deal with right now and did not dare rush into such a commitment."I appreciate your understanding, ma'am," Felix said politely, bowing again.Delilah felt a pang of regret but decided
Felix panicked, wondering what the hell was happening. Before he faced any life-threatening dangers in Martial City, he was actually at risk of losing his dignity first.What made it worse was that the seductive middle-aged woman holding him in an iron grip was a Physical Refinement Realm martial artist, just like him. He would have to go all out if he wanted to resist, but could he risk that here?"Ma'am, what are you doing?" he protested. No matter how much he struggled, it was useless. Her hold on him was unshakable, leaving him completely immobilized."My, my!" Nellie Belmont chuckled, clearly amused. "You're an interesting one. Most men would kill for the chance to be with me, and here you are, acting scared. It's adorable, really—it's making me enjoy this even more.""Who is this crazy woman?" Felix thought, his frustration mounting. No matter how alluring she might be, there was no way he would allow himself to be caught up in this mess just because of his hormones."Ma'am,
Felix cursed internally, furious at the absurd situation he had landed in. No matter how carefully he had planned, he had never accounted for the irrational jealousy and arrogance of someone like this wealthy heir."Who doesn't have friends of the opposite gender?" Felix thought bitterly. He and Laura had maintained a noticeable distance while walking into the city, and their time together had been brief before splitting up at Harmony Clinic. Yet somehow, someone had decided to make it into a scandal."You've got it all wrong. Laura and I—" Felix began.Before he could finish, the young man cut him off sharply, "Save it! I have no time for your excuses! I, Jared Windson, have made it clear to everyone in North City that no man is allowed to even get close to Laura! And you dare break my rule? Take him away!"Two men grabbed Felix's arms, forcing him to remain still. Confused, Felix frowned. Weren't there rules about no fighting in the city?"Jared, right? I'm a member of Harmony
No matter how much a Malevolent Phantom knew, the only thing that was ultimately recovered from them was the extent of humanity's mastery over the soul—nothing else.According to Donna, when a Malevolent Phantom was killed, only a tiny fragment of their remaining soul was retrieved. It was not enough to record everything they had learned—only the most critical information was preserved.So, in the end, whatever intelligence a Malevolent Phantom gathered during its time on Earth did not matter.Felix narrowed his eyes and said, "You're pretty smart. No, actually, a lot of you Malevolent Phantoms seem to have figured this out. Is that why so many of you beg for your lives?"A flicker of hope flashed in the Malevolent Phantom's eyes, and he replied in a serious tone, "I know martial artists like you are bound by your oaths. If you swear on the heavens that you won't kill me, I'll give you some valuable information."Felix did not hesitate. Raising his hand, he declared, "I swear on t
Felix was a Grandmaster. From this close, he could tell immediately whether Malevolent Phantom had used a technique to heal his broken arm or if it had simply regenerated on its own. That was why he made that remark.The Malevolent Phantom frowned. He replied, "What are you talking about? I don't understand."Then, as if deciding it was not worth the trouble, he muttered, "Whatever. You're strong. I'll give you that. But this isn't that big of a deal, so I'll let you walk away unharmed."Felix's mouth twitched. This was the second Malevolent Phantom he had encountered—after Karina's incident—that actually knew when to back down.It seemed that just like humans, Malevolent Phantoms changed depending on their environment and way of life. The weaker ones, in particular, were more likely to adapt, which was probably why they only killed when they absolutely needed to feed."I'm just a martial artist," Felix said, smirking. "Are you really that afraid of dying?"The Malevolent Phantom
If Felix had not come, no one would have noticed the distinct scent on the victims' bodies. Without that clue, the culprits could have continued their crimes without restraint.He muttered, "Was this all planned by the A-tier Malevolent Phantom? I have a really bad feeling about this."The more he thought about it, the more unsettling it became. Could something this organized and meticulously executed really be the work of just one Malevolent Phantom? If humans were involved, that would be far more terrifying.When it came to outside threats, no matter how horrifying, the people of Dragonia had always been willing to fight to the bitter end. However, history had a way of repeating itself—if traitors had existed in the past, who was to say they did not exist now?Eventually, Felix said, "Chloe, here's the plan. Tomorrow, you'll go to this dental clinic. You won't see me, but I'll be watching from the shadows. I promise you won't be in any danger."Then, he pulled out a check. He ha
Felix had not expected Gerald to bring up the Ancient Sage and the Eight Guardians on his own.Gerald replied, "Quit worrying about me and my brother. Karina already told me everything, and since you've already clashed with the Eight Guardians, you might as well see it through to the end."With that, the call ended. Felix felt a rush of excitement. At least now, he had something solid to report to Eloise.Of course, he was not arrogant enough to think this would be easy. If Gerald had set this as his goal, it meant the Eight Guardians were not just some random pushovers.Now that he had already crossed paths with Ashton, he did not need to look for trouble—the rest of them would definitely come after him sooner or later. There was no way they would just sit back and do nothing if one of their own was taken out.But so far, Felix had only encountered two of them—Ashton and Bonnie. The other six remained a mystery, and that was the real problem.By the time the sun was setting, his
Ian finally understood why Angie respected Felix so much. After all, he could even take time off whenever he wanted. Angie's gaze was filled with mixed emotions as she stared at Felix, saying, "Felix, to be honest, I don't even know how to talk to you anymore. "Even Wendy, the head of Kinsley Corporation, listens to you without question, yet you're seriously working here as a front desk manager?"She had already been shocked to learn that Felix's cousin was Dreamscape, but what she had just witnessed was on a whole other level—it was like a bolt of lightning striking her. In fact, she was starting to question if that whole "cousin" thing was even real.Her words were spoken casually, but they hit like a sledgehammer. Bob, who was already sweating bullets, felt his legs go weak and collapsed to his knees.He quickly shouted, "I was wrong! I never should've set you up—please, just think of me as nothing and let me go!"He never expected Wendy to be the very person everyone in Kas
Bob did not say much. He kept wondering if Felix and Wendy were just being polite. He was absolutely certain he would not be exposed. The waiter would never admit to intentionally causing trouble, and no investigation could possibly reveal anything. He might as well keep things as messy as possible. Less than ten minutes passed before Angie arrived. She did not even greet Felix, immediately rushing to the Azure VIP Room with Ian. Felix remained in the main hall. It was past the lunch rush, so the restaurant was almost empty and quiet. Suddenly, Bob heard Felix's voice say, "I won't be here for more than a few days, so you really didn't need to use these tactics." "Mr. Zeller, were you speaking to me?" "You know exactly what I mean. Don't do this again." Felix was not naive. He could tell from how Bob had been helpful in the main hall but went silent in the private room. Something was definitely fishy. But Felix was totally focused on the Malevolent Phantoms now, and he
Just as Felix turned, the bathroom door opened, and a woman walked out. Seeing how the hem of her dress was wet, it was clearly from washing off spilled wine. "Mr. Zeller?" With just a glance, Felix was instantly wordless. Of all people, it was actually Wendy. "Oh, Wendy. What a coincidence!" Seeing Felix in his professional attire, Wendy was stunned. "What are you doing?" "I'm working as a front desk manager at this restaurant." Hearing this, Wendy remembered Felix was currently running important tasks nationwide. So, this made perfect sense. "Since we know each other, let's just drop this. The waiter didn't mean to cause trouble. There's no need to make such a big deal." Franz had already walked over at that moment. But he was shocked to see Wendy knew the front desk manager and was even addressing him so respectfully. "Got it, Mr. Zeller. Sorry for the trouble." Felix nodded and left. Bob followed, but a bad feeling crept into his mind. How did Felix know Franz's
Sally heard the intercom call, too, and her admiration for Bob reached new heights. Everyone in the restaurant knew that for VIP rooms like the Azure Room, customer complaints could not be handled by a front desk manager. Only the general manager—like Ian—could deal with it—and if he couldn't, Angie herself would have to step in.This was clearly Bob's setup. If not, Felix would not have had to go over. Bob had taken advantage of Felix being new and clueless about the rules.But his guts were something else. He was actually sacrificing one or two waiters just to go up against the boss' daughter. Was this really just about a front desk manager position anymore? In the Azure VIP Room, there were only two people by the massive table. A waiter knelt on the floor, body shaking uncontrollably. Just this scene told Felix the guests were definitely high-profile. "Who are you?"The young man with a powerful presence immediately frowned when he saw Felix."Hello, sir. I'm the front des
In the morning, Felix visited the dental clinic where the two women had their teeth cleaned. He found nobody suspicious there. He had already reviewed the relevant videos. They only had a routine teeth cleaning with barely any interaction. Any hope of finding a lead this way was completely crushed. After leaving, he received a call from Angie and rushed to an incredibly luxurious restaurant. "Felix, how about working as a front desk manager here?" she asked.What should have been a simple job offer now felt like she was tentatively seeking his permission. "Sure. But Ms. Sinclair, I have one condition."Angie smiled and said, "Go ahead.""I have some personal matters to deal with here. So, when I need to leave to handle something, I hope I can get time off normally." Angie thought that was nothing. She glanced at the middle-aged man beside her. "No problem. This is the restaurant's general manager, Ian Goodwin. Just give him a call when you want to leave." Ian immediately