In the cultivation world, most cultivators mostly picked one path to study.There was the combatant path, the healer path, the alchemist path, and other more niche paths. It was hard to find cultivators that focused on two paths and even harder to find one that focused on three.So, Alistair, who studied all cultivation paths, was a bona fide anomaly. “My family is known for healing but I don't have any desire to continue in the family trade. Isaac is there to do that. I chose to become an alchemist instead.” Joan explained. Alistair nodded in understanding. “I see. So that's how it is.”“And you?”Alistair sighed. “Well let's just say I'm a jack of all trades.”Just then, someone spoke up. “A jack of all trades?” Both Alistair and Joan glanced at him only for Joan's expression to darken as she recognized the young man who had approached. “This is a competition that requires those who have studied alchemy to the highest level yet here you are, with your half-baked knowledge, tryi

“What the hell are you guys talking about? We all saw him refine the pill, so how can you say he cheated?” Joan quickly said.“Joan, stop defending that nobody! Do you really think this will score you favors with anyone here?” Randall scolded her but Joan wasn't about to back down. “I don't care about scoring favors with anyone here. All I care about is ensuring that an innocent man is not bullied for being exceptional. He did not cheat in any way so stop trying to blame your mediocrities on him!”Her words left everyone speechless, unsure of how to respond. The silence in the manor was so absolute that the soft hum of the rotating Heaven-Transcending Pearl sounded like a roar.Adam Smith didn't wait for his butler.He vaulted over the marble railing of the balcony, landing on the ground floor with a heavy thud that finally broke the trance of the onlookers. He ignored the scorched cauldrons of the failing alchemists and marched straight toward Alistair, his eyes fixed on the glowi

Alistair reached out and pinched the glowing ember of the incense stick, extinguishing it instantly. "Then Master Malachi is either a fool or an accomplice. This isn't Spirit-Anchoring Incense. It’s Ghost-Calling Resin mixed with a drop of Corpse-Aconite. It doesn't anchor the soul; it numbs the body so the soul can be extracted without resistance.""What?!" Adam roared, his face turning a thunderous shade of purple.Alistair ignored him, moving to the first bed where Leah lay.He placed two fingers on her carotid artery, not to check for a pulse, but to sense the flow of her Qi. Then, he moved to the two daughters, performing the same check."Your 'powerful spiritual healer' diagnosed them with the Void-Severing Needle?" Alistair asked, a cold, mocking smile playing on his lips."Yes," Adam said, his breath hitching. "He said their meridians were severed at the source.""He lied," Alistair said, stepping back. "If it were the Void-Severing Needle, their bodies would be cold. They're

Alistair moved through the guards like a ghost through a graveyard.He didn't use flashy kicks or powerful punches; he used their own momentum against them, striking pressure points with the butt of the baton and his free hand.In less than ten seconds, all six guards were on the floor.None were dead, but all were paralyzed, clutching limbs that refused to obey them or gasping for air as their diaphragms temporarily seized.Alistair stood in the center of the carnage, his breathing perfectly even, not a single hair out of place.He tossed the stolen baton onto the pile of documents Adam was holding."Your security is as mediocre as your incense, Jonah," Alistair remarked.The room was paralyzed with shock.Adam looked at his brother, then at the fallen guards, and finally at Alistair with a newfound sense of awe—and a hint of terror.Jonah backed away until he hit the wall, his face pale. "W-Who... what are you?"Alistair walked toward him, each step echoing like a funeral knell. "Yo

“As I said, your wife and children weren't pierced by a void-severing needle,” Alistair remarked, addressing Adam. “Instead, they were subject to a parasitic hex. If you had gone ahead with your original plan, your wife and children would have died horrible deaths and their ghosts would have haunted you to death.”“This… no, this doesn't make any sense,” Adam muttered. “Master Malachi claimed that the needles had pierced my wife and kids. Are you saying he lied?”“You would have to find that out yourself.” Alistair casually remarked before then shifting his attention to Jonah who was still staring blankly at the jar in Alistair's hands, the same one that contained the parasitic hex that had been in Adam's wife and children.“Mister Jonah, I believe it is time to honor our agreement, don't you think?” Alistair said, jolting Jonah from his thoughts.“This… no, no way!” Jonah loudly remarked in utter disbelief. “I refuse to accept that anything that you just did is real. What? You think