Thane jumped down from the bunk and walked to Ragnar, his brows furrowed.“Are you alright?”His words sounded distant and suffocating to Ragnar's ears. He could barely hear him over the thoughts hammering through his mind.Fifty billion Vaelons.He had staked a lot on this project. More than just money. It was the dividing line between where he currently was and the place he was aiming to be.Thane touched his arm lightly, concern visible in his eyes. “What happened?”Ragnar inhaled deeply and forced a smile.“It's nothing. Just some unexpected news.”He didn't want anyone close to him to know he was connected to Moonstone Fishing. He certainly had no plans of telling Thane about it.“I've got this.” He muttered, tightening his grip on the chair he had been holding.Thane stared at him for a while, doubt written plainly across his face. Ragnar had reacted far too strongly a while ago. Even now, his face remained pale, and there was a tension around his eyes that left a nagging suspic

Ragnar sighed heavily and lowered the phone onto the desk before him, letting it ring. He left it there for a moment before navigating to the investigation reports.Of the six families involved in that night's conspiracy, two were very familiar.One was the Soul Ascension Court.He had personally experienced their power the day he followed the general to the Bi-centennial Auction held by them. He had seen enough to know that what he had encountered that day was nowhere close to the full extent of their power.Their connection ran deep. Their resources were vast, and their ties to the government were anything but simple. It was also said that the Soul Ascension Court in Eadom was merely a branch.The main clan they had branched out from hundreds of years ago was said to be in the Central Plains, one of the oldest commercial and martial hubs in Vaelon.Ragnar's gaze moved to the second most powerful family involved in that night's conspiracy.The Wilcox Clan.The Wilcox Clan sat at numb

Ragnar sneered.“Orders have become particularly displeasing to my ears recently,” he muttered under his breath.“What did you just say?” Kenneth's tone was deathly calm, his pitch lower and more dangerous than Ragnar had heard it in a long time.However, it wasn't time yet to tear off the façade. Especially not with the looming threat over his sister's head. One less desperate enemy meant more time bought, and Ragnar wasn't about to throw away that advantage simply because Kenneth's hypocrisy was getting on his nerves.“I unfortunately cannot extricate myself from my current engagements.” Ragnar deliberately made his voice sound as meek as possible. “If the problem is indeed that urgent, I can call my sister to help.”Mathilda hissed from the other end, clearly annoyed and impatient. The snake venom was practically rolling off her in waves.“Even if I come, there isn't much that I can do.” His words were accompanied by a long, deep sigh, one filled with what sounded like genuine remo

Ragnar almost laughed. Why did everything seem to require his life before it could work out?“You want my life? Vireille, have you gone crazy, or am I the one hard of hearing?”“Listen to me,” Vireille said, her tone calm and measured. “Nothing good comes easy. If you're not willing to risk your life, how will you get to the apex? Don't you have ambitions?”Ragnar sneered.He did have ambitions, and he had taken numerous life-threatening risks since his rebirth. Every climb to his current position had come with close brushes with death, moments where one wrong decision or one second of hesitation could have sent him straight back to the grave.That was how he had gotten here.“Vireille, if you want me to stake my life, you need to tell me exactly what's going on. You don't say such words lightly and expect me to simply hop on.”Vireille chuckled. “Worried I might rope you into a conspiracy? Or set you up?”Ragnar remained silent.“Don't worry, I'm only trying to wash the stink off you

Ragnar's nose flared slightly, and he gritted his teeth.“One day, I will tie her up and spank her butt beet red.” He uttered the bitter vow under his breath, low enough that only he could hear it.However, even as he said it, the words sounded ridiculous to his own ears.Who was Vireille?She was a sixteen-year-old Rank Five (5) Colonel of a special forces team.Even though she hadn't ranked within the top three of the genius rankings years ago, everyone agreed that she had deliberately reserved part of her strength, choosing to reveal her true abilities only during Tasking missions.In the entire Vaelon, if you mentioned the top ten most accomplished youths under the age of twenty-one, you had to mention her.Her last known rank was Saint Realm.Have you ever seen a sixteen-year-old Saint Realm cultivator?Reaching the Saint Realm in his late twenties had been enough to bring out so much arrogance in Kelvin in Ragnar's past life.Yet a sixteen-year-old girl had casually achieved it.