Delilah said, "Your words have brought back memories. That old man is cunning and sly. While I don't consider him a real threat, removing him won't be a simple task. "He comes from the royal lineage and holds a high position as the general of the city's defense forces. His demise would not go unnoticed by the royal family." Felix was smart, but Delilah's tone hinted that there was more to the story. It seemed like she still had some limitations in Martial City, and there were certain individuals she couldn't risk angering."But don't worry," Delilah reassured. "I can easily transfer him out of North City to ensure your safety while you’re here." With that taken care of, Delilah got down to business. "I've already submitted your application for the Intermediate Alchemy Assessment. It will take place in five days at Harmony Clinic's headquarters. Unfortunately, I won't be able to accompany you. I made a promise to an old friend to refine some pills for him. Your presence has cau
"Mr. Marlow, do you not like to drive or sit in cars?" Felix asked with curiosity while he and Dickson ran."I don't like that stuff. It's too high-profile. I prefer traveling by foot, unless I'm traveling in a group. And you should call me Dicky or Dickson instead. 'Mr. Marlow' sounds a little odd."Felix replied, "Sure. How about just 'Marlow' then?"Dickson gave Felix a funny look. "Interesting. Usually, those who are close to me call me Dicky or Dickson. But you're going for Marlow. Anyway, it doesn't matter to me."In reality, Felix felt rather awkward calling someone Dicky, due to its association with the modern slang."By the way, Marlow, where's the headquarters of Harmony Clinic?""It's at the top of Sumera Mountain—rich in herbs. We've gotten the green light from the royalty to build our clinic on that mountain. In fact, we have the right to the entire mountain!"Felix was surprised to learn that Harmony Clinic's headquarters was not set in Martial City. Still, if Harm
Dickson nodded and started to pick his nose. "Oh, this feels great. Well, an alchemist can help, but we have a problem. There are ten alchemists who can cultivate pills for the early-stage and middle-stage Transcendent Realm martial artists. It'll get harder from middle-stage to late-stage—only five alchemists are qualified. "For now, only Bern and Delilah have the ability to cultivate pills needed for mastering the Transcendent Realm. Even then, their success rates are dismally low—out of ten attempts, they're lucky if they manage to produce two pills."Huh? That sounded really incredulous."As an alchemist, you need to understand that the rarer the pills, the more precious the herbs required. Gathering the ingredients for one attempt at cultivation takes a lot of time, effort, and emeralds. Factor in the slim success rate, and you might walk away empty-handed. That's why so many have failed in their quest to conquer the Transcendent Realm."Felix sank deep into his thoughts. T
"As the deputy chief of Harmony Clinic, I, Dickson Marlow, will not walk back on my promise," Dickson swore.The Maximus family members chortled at his reply.They knew for a fact that Atlas was an early-stage Transcendent Realm martial artist. On the other hand, Felix was just a martial artist in the Physical Refinement Realm. The outcome was already obvious.The Maximus family would prefer to bring Felix with them without laying a finger on him. After all, it wasn't their intention to offend those from Harmony Clinic, as that would mean insulting most alchemists in the industry. That might impede the growth of the Maximus family members in martial arts.Dickson's prior analysis was on point—even if he got into a fight with the Maximus family, they wouldn't kill him. The most they would do was to paralyze him so they could take Felix.If they killed Dickson, they would get into huge trouble with Harmony Clinic."Do you agree with that, Felix?" Dickson seemed exasperated after
Inside the black smog was a perilous situation. The black mist seemed alive, stretching out countless tentacles that charged at Felix."Dancing Dragon!" Felix let out another command.The battle raged inside the smog. But outside, Atlas stood with his arms crossed and a faint smile on his lips."Mr. Marlow, don't worry. I have it under control. I won't kill him."Although he didn't receive a response from Dickson, it didn't dampen Atlas' confidence in winning the battle.This was his most powerful technique. When Obsidian Sky was unleashed, even an early-stage Transcendent Realm practitioner of the same level would suffer defeat on the spot. Middle-stage Transcendent practitioners would struggle to defend against it. As for Felix, so what if he had trained in the Dragon Destroyer technique? The Maximus family was a formidable force among martial artists.Suddenly, they heard a soft sound as a gap appeared in the black smog. Something surged out from inside.Atlas' expression c
The battle was raging on the other side, but Felix was not having it easy either.Five elders from the Maximus family had arrived after him. Two of them, at the late-stage of the Transcendent Realm, teamed up to fight Dickson, while the other three, at the middle-stage of the Transcendent Realm, launched an attack on Felix."You guys really have no shame. You're two realms above me, and still, you gang up on me three-to-one!" Felix had launched his Lone Paragon technique and was struggling to keep up."Just shut up. Your fate is sealed," one of them sneered.They didn't even acknowledge Felix's victory from the earlier fight, so why would they care about the ethics of ganging up on him?A few minutes later, Dickson was injured from the fight, while Felix was still desperately holding on. The fact that Felix was still in the fight alarmed the three middle-stage Transcendent Realm elders from the Maximus family.They thought, "Damn it, what's going on with this kid? Even if he laun
"I feel so miserable—"The same sound echoed again. Another elder from the Maximus family fell victim—his heart ripped out on the spot with no resistance from him whatsoever.This time, due to the different angle, Felix and Dickson both saw the terrifying figure. It was a woman dressed in a filthy, tattered white dress. Her hair was a wild mess, and her face barely visible."Let's go!"The remaining four members of the Maximus family hesitated for a moment but immediately chose to flee. This was simply too bizarre. The mysterious woman appeared all of a sudden and had already killed two of their elders with no visible techniques or essence. Their morale was utterly crushed."I feel so miserable—"The four words were like a death sentence. As the Maximus family members fled in fear, even Felix and Dickson quickly turned around, readying their defenses.But behind them was no trace of the strange woman. Instead, a scream echoed from a distance—another Maximus elder had his hea
One of the old men spoke up. Everyone, including Delilah, turned to look. Only then did they realize he was the oldest among them."When I was young, I once followed our family's founder to witness Yusri Maximus in action."Yusri Maximus? The founder of the Maximus family, the only one to have reached the Grandmaster Realm?"You all should know that Grandmaster Realm warriors are considered the pinnacle of martial artists because, upon reaching that realm, they can cultivate a power known as a domain."Delilah nodded. "That's common knowledge, but the problem is, no one really knows what a domain looks like because no one has ever seen one."The old man gestured at the bodies of the three Maximus elders."What you just witnessed might have been a domain, though not exactly so. It's similar to what Yusri had exhibited. "In a domain, a Grandmaster Realm martial artist is absolutely invincible. No matter your realm, once trapped inside a domain, you're no different from an ordinar
About 20 minutes later, Marley sent another message. "At the supermarket now."Almost simultaneously, Felix finally detected a martial artist within his domain. He mumbled, "Early-stage Blood Realm?"That was not much in Martial City, but it was considered a high-level martial artist in the capital. Either it was just a coincidence, or there was a strong chance this person was the one who had dropped off the solution.Felix picked up his groceries and casually moved toward the checkout counter near the storage lockers, all while keeping his domain locked onto the early-stage Blood Realm martial artist. The man was about 30 feet away, pretending to inspect apples. He was careful, moving naturally and avoiding anything suspicious. However, that was pointless under Felix's domain. Sure enough, he was watching the locker.The man finally relaxed only after the disguised Khalil arrived and retrieved the package. He grabbed two bags of fruit and headed for checkout.Felix exited the s
Phil acted like he had not heard Angie and continued walking. However, he suddenly stopped just as he took a few more steps. When he turned around, his expression had completely changed.He asked, "What did you say his name was?"Upon sensing a shift in the situation, Angie quickly answered, "Felix Zeller.""He's the one who wants to see me?""Yes!"Phil was visibly unsettled now. After a brief pause, he finally said, "Alright. Let's go."Carlos was stunned, wondering what the hell was going on. Did Felix really have connections in Newtown?When they arrived at the private dining room, Phil visibly flinched the moment he laid eyes on Felix. He quickly greeted, "Sir!"That single word sent shivers down Angie's and Carlos' spines. The difference in status was so glaringly obvious that it was downright terrifying. Felix did not recognize the young man, but anyone with ties to Newtown would undoubtedly know him.Felix immediately ordered, "Arrange for the Sinclairs to open their r
"Alright, alright, I'll do it—just stop shaking my arm, you're gonna rip it off," Felix replied.He had always preferred friends who did not allow their status to create distance. Jack was the same way—if he needed something, he wouldn't play games; he would just call and ask directly.Lindsay lit up with excitement. "I knew you'd come through! Angie, what do you think? Maybe you should marry him as a thank-you!"Angie was completely stunned, wondering if Felix was serious and could even pull strings in Newtown.Just then, Felix said, "You just need to bring that guy to see me."Angel immediately went to the private room. Lindsay had fought to get her this chance, and she would be the biggest fool alive if she let it slip away.Just as she reached the private dining room, a middle-aged man stepped out. She greeted, "Dad."The man was none other than Angie's father, Carlos Sinclair. He asked, "Angie, where are you going?"Without hesitation, Angie laid everything out.Carlos f
The eerie transformation played out in front of everyone, yet not a single person looked surprised. In mere moments, the man had completely taken on Stewart's appearance—it was almost impossible to tell them apart.Felix said approvingly, "Not bad. Unless someone gets close enough to inspect, they'll never notice the difference."After confirming earlier that the solution had successfully eliminated Chloe's body odor, Felix immediately contacted Xena and requested reinforcements from headquarters. Instead of fighters, he asked for skilled operatives who could impersonate Stewart and two other dentists connected to the case.The mastermind behind this would not be switching locations after every move—it was a cycle. Eventually, they would use one of these three dentists again, and whoever got the next call would lead them to the source.Felix had prepared this plan in advance. The actual execution depended on the details Stewart provided, and now that they had those, it was time to
Felix would never call himself an expert when it came to soul manipulation. Meanwhile, Stewart sat stiffly, his face devoid of emotion. A moment later, Marley emerged from the side room with two others."Who told you to use that solution during the dental cleaning for body odor patients?" Felix got straight to the point.Stewart remained expressionless as he answered, "I don't know. I just got a random call telling me to pick up a package from a locker at a supermarket. "They said when a patient with body odor came in, I should use the solution during their cleaning. Along with the solution, there were 50 thousand dollars—I couldn't resist, so I did as I was told."Marley frowned after hearing that. "Just as you suspected, sir, they're being extremely cautious."If Stewart had received his instructions this way, the dentists at the clinics visited by the two deceased victims would likely have followed the same pattern. They pressed Stewart with more questions, but none of his ans
Chloe stepped into the treatment room and found herself face-to-face with a middle-aged doctor, Stewart. He looked like he was in his 40s and was wearing a surgical mask.He said, "Hello! Lie down.""Alright," Chloe mumbled. She followed the instructions given by the person on the street—pay the fee, stay silent, and go through with a routine cleaning. Coincidentally, she had actually gotten her teeth cleaned before, so the entire procedure felt exactly the same. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. However, she could not help but wonder if this could actually cure her body odor. Just then, Stewart said, "You're all set. You can leave now."Chloe wanted to ask more questions but held herself back. She stepped out of the dental clinic and walked a block in the agreed-upon direction before Felix appeared."Open your mouth," Felix said. Then, he swirled a cotton swab inside her mouth and examined it closely in the light.Just like that, he already knew what was going on.Chloe as
Donna explained, "I call them hybrids because they aren't real Malevolent Phantoms. They just inherit certain traits, which aren't always the same! "For example, some might have regenerative abilities purely on a physical level—this doesn't require soul energy. Their bodies just heal on their own. Others might inherit aspects related to soul energy, but overall, there's no fixed rule."However, one thing is certain. At least from what I know, Malevolent Phantoms cannot truly reproduce by merging with other species. No matter what, they won't give birth to a real Malevolent Phantom."Felix latched onto that last sentence, his grip tightening as he quickly asked, "Then, if they aren't real Malevolent Phantoms, does that mean whoever's controlling you guys can't reclaim them?"Donna replied, "Exactly! A hybrid is just that—a hybrid. Think of it like ligers, the lion-tiger hybrids humans breed. They're entirely new species. How could the ones controlling us possibly reclaim them?"Fe
Felix nearly choked on his own spit. He quickly cleared his throat and blurted out, "You sure you called the right person?"For a second, he panicked. If anyone else had overheard that, they would have thought Xena was announcing his child's birth.Xena replied, "No mistake. I was just too shocked. This is huge."Felix frowned and asked, "Alright… Then, why are you telling me about this?"Xena's tone turned serious. "Felix, we've been monitoring a Malevolent Phantom for a while. We finally took it down. But here's the thing—its wife was already pregnant, and just now… she gave birth."Felix's expression darkened as he thought, "Its wife? No—more accurately, the wife of the human the Malevolent Phantom has replaced."He mumbled aloud, "Are you saying…""You guessed it," Xena confirmed grimly. "To be sure, we called in Dr. Morris. He made a small incision on the newborn's arm, and the wound healed instantly."Felix gasped, wondering what the hell was going on. The idea of a Malev
Felix remarked, "You sure know a lot."He sighed. At this point, he had given up on being surprised—Billy seemed to know everything.Billy replied, "I was just thinking out loud, really. But Mr. Hoffman didn't tell you, and he didn't warn you not to listen to me, either… which probably means he's already given his silent approval!"He added, "When you reach peak Grandmaster, the nine Dragonspine fragments will completely dissolve. Normally, they would merge into your body, unleashing an indescribable energy that continuously strengthens your physique. "Now imagine that—combined with Dragon Punches—how powerful you'd be."Dragon Punches was a technique that had only appeared after Felix had gathered the final Dragonspine fragment and ascended to Grandmaster. Yet, somehow, Billy knew about it, too.All the techniques recorded in Dragons Destroyer had vanished, leaving behind only Dragon Punches—a purely physical combat technique. He had never used it before because he had not enco