“Early this morning, the Holden family estate experienced an earthquake that destroyed their manor and killed both the family head and his son.” Patrick read out loud for everyone to hear. “Wait, so this means David Holden is dead?” Jocelyn muttered.“Not just that, the second headline states that the Holden family estate has been seized until further notice,” Patrick remarked. “Holy hell, Isabella Heart is a really scary woman. How in God's name did that useless bastard Alistair Reid get close to her?” "It doesn't matter how he got close to her!" Jocelyn hissed, though her voice lacked its usual venomous bite, replaced instead by a frantic, high-pitched desperation.She snatched the phone out of Patrick’s hand, her eyes scanning the glowing screen. "What matters is that the Holdens are out of the picture! We no longer have to worry about David Holden hunting us down or bankrupting us. In fact... this might be the best thing that could have happened!""What are you talking about, Mo

"You're fast, Reid! But defense won't save you!" Bullseye yelled.Dropping the heavy rifle, Bullseye reached behind his back and drew a pair of dual, curved wind-blades.The steel hummed, enveloped in a high-speed, vibrating green aura that could slice through reinforced steel like butter.He closed the distance in a fraction of a second, appearing directly in Alistair's blind spot.Swoosh!A flurry of lethal, crescent-shaped wind slashes rained down on Alistair.Alistair wove through the tempest, his movements calm and fluid, but the sheer speed of Bullseye’s assault was relentless. One of the wind blades grazed Alistair's sleeve, tearing the expensive fabric of his suit jacket and leaving a shallow, glowing green line of spiritual pressure on his forearm.The emerald necklace around Alistair's neck pulsed warmly, instantly neutralizing the lingering wind poison attempting to seep into his skin."Still got your head? Let's fix that!" Bullseye spun, his leg sweeping outward, releasin

With a casual, backhanded flick of his wrist, Alistair released a crescent blade of golden qi.The attack was incredibly fast, cutting through the air with a sharp, metallic hum.The woman’s eyes widened in horror.She tried to conjure a defensive barrier of dark mist, but Alistair’s celestial energy sliced through her defenses as if they were made of paper.Splat.The golden blade passed cleanly through her torso.She didn't even have time to scream before her upper body slid off her legs, her dark, corrupt spiritual energy dissipating into the air as she crashed to the floor, dead.One strike. One death.The remaining three demonic cultivators froze.The smug, superior grins vanished from their faces in an instant, replaced by a cold, paralyzing dread."Junior Sister!" the scholar-robed man gasped, his eyes darting from her lifeless body to Alistair, who was calmly adjusting his watch."I believe we were discussing the Beggars' Sect," Alistair said, his golden-tinted eyes locking on

Alistair watched as the crimson-robed leader used a martial technique to forcibly wrench their souls out of the bodies of those he called his brothers. The air in the foyer turned a sickening, bruised purple as the crimson-robed leader’s hands twisted into grotesque, clawed shapes.With a brutal yank of his arms, two translucent, screaming wisps of dark energy were violently ripped from the chests of the crippled scholar on the floor and the broken brute in the dining room.Their bodies immediately went limp, their eyes dulling into the glassy stare of empty vessels.The leader threw his head back, his jaw unhinging slightly as he inhaled both souls."Ahhhh!" he roared, his muscles tearing and expanding beneath his robes as his veins turned a deep, obsidian black.The raw, stolen spiritual force ran rampant through his meridians, artificially forcing his cultivation realm to swell.A localized shockwave of corrupted wind and poison burst outward, shattering the remaining glass panels

"A double-edged sword," Alistair murmured, tapping a finger against his arm.By closing their doors, the Beggars' Sect had effectively quarantined itself, preventing the demonic influence from spreading further outward.But they had also locked themselves in a dark room with a viper.If the mastermind behind the infiltration was already inside—and likely high up in the hierarchy—they now had the perfect, uninterrupted environment to purge the freed elders or complete whatever insidious plan they had. Master Xie bowed his head lower, his weathered face filled with shame. "I should have anticipated their reaction, Master Reid. My haste in cleansing them gave the hidden actor a warning. Because they closed the mountain gates and activated their defensive arrays, my spiritual sense can no longer penetrate the estate. I have failed your trust.""Do not blame yourself, Xie," Alistair said, his voice carrying a calm, soothing weight that instantly eased the old cultivator’s rising anxiety.