“How is the Hill Group also holding their launch tomorrow at nine?”“What are we supposed to do now? I already promised the Sanders I’d attend theirs!”“I need to rethink this. The Hill Group’s momentum is just too strong.”“I’m definitely going with the Hill Group. You can cross anyone, but you don’t cross money.”“I should weigh it carefully. The Sanders are partnering with Aurelion City’s pharmaceutical firm this time—what if they really outpace the Hill Group?”“…”In an instant, all of Skyline City felt aflame.No one could sleep. No one could think straight. The tension had their heads pounding.By morning, the Tai’an Grand Hotel was decked out in full regalia.The Sanders Company’s logo blazed across the banners—an impressive show of force.Yet the cavernous hall held barely twenty people, scattered here and there.They were, for the most part, old allies of the Sanders. Truth be told, few had wanted to come, but it was hard to refuse for the sake of appearances and ties.Since

Over at the Sanders venue, the laptop feeding the big screen crashed. The staffer, drenched in sweat, jabbed at keys to kill the feed—no use.Marcus Sanders’s face had gone a dangerous shade. His mood was plain for all to see.Almost everyone was sneaking glances at the massive display. When the famed physicians of Skyline City appeared on screen, expressions shifted.Then came shots of prominent officials. Restlessness rippled through the hall.With the Hill Group’s affair playing out in crisp detail, the contrast was impossible to ignore.Plenty of those present hadn’t truly wanted to be here to begin with—and now, watching the Hill Group’s roaring turnout with their own eyes, the itch to leave grew unbearable.One man stood.“Mr. Sanders, my wife’s gone into labor. I have to get to the hospital—now.”Marcus knew better. The man’s wife had given birth last month. A second emergency? Not a chance.Where there’s a first, a second follows.“Mr. Sanders, I’m so sorry—my father-in-law wa

For the first time, he was truly wounded, and Adrian had no choice but to move with greater caution.What stunned Kadana most was that this young martial artist from the Novaland Republic could actually fight him to a standstill.“I’ve heard you practice both martial and arcane arts?”A muscle beneath Kadana’s eye twitched, and the malice in him surged. A faint black miasma began to seep from his body.He was all but certain that even if Adrian was a prodigy in combat, his sorcery would be lacking.Talent alone means little in the arcane. Without years of discipline, reaching true mastery is nigh impossible.All the more so with black witchcraft—where rules are few and lines are meant to be crossed.Adrian’s gaze tightened. He knew Kadana intended to kill him with a spell.Sure enough, as if to confirm his suspicion, Kadana pressed his palms together and began to chant.Adrian couldn’t understand a word, but he could see the world around them shift.As the black vapor coalesced, Kadan

Daisy dabbed ointment on Adrian’s wounds, her gaze sweeping his face with grave intensity.Under the scrutiny, Adrian finally let out a sheepish chuckle. “I’m really fine...”But Daisy wasn’t interested in placations. “What happened? Who were you fighting?”He was about to toss out some harmless excuse when Daisy cut him off. “Not this time. No deflecting. I want the truth, from start to finish.”Adrian pressed his lips together. It wasn’t that he couldn’t tell them—he was weighing whether to share everything with the three of them.But Daisy’s eyes were unwavering. He sighed. Clearly, he wouldn’t be talking his way out of it tonight.“Give me a moment to put things in order. I’m not even sure where to begin.”Daisy and Freya nodded, patient and unpressing.They were telling him, in no uncertain terms, to take his time—and to tell the whole story.Especially Daisy, whose gaze felt like a ruler held to every word.Adrian began slowly, starting with how he had saved Commander Hamilton.

Stuart Thompson rubbed his hands together, as delighted as Daisy to see Hill Group’s products tearing up the market. “Hill Group’s the undisputed leader in Skyline City now. Have you thought about where we go from here, Miss Daisy?”When it came to connections, no one in the room rivaled Bianca Irving.As president of the Skyline Chamber of Commerce, her network had only grown broader—and since becoming a distributor for Hill Group’s new releases, business friends from other provinces had been reaching out nonstop.Adrian had once saved her daughter’s life; Bianca kept that debt close to her heart. If there was a way to help Hill Group soar, she would back it a thousandfold.Even if Stuart hadn’t asked, Bianca would have. “Have you considered expanding beyond the province, Miss Daisy?”“Exactly,” Sullivan Parker chimed in after signing. “Our products are flying off the shelves. If we open up out-of-province markets, the upside will be enormous.”Watching the three of them more eager t