“It’s the first event you’re going to attend as my employee.”The cameraman’s eyes widened. He didn’t expect to be given such an opportunity, which was a wonderful surprise. He gulped and said, “Mr. Reid, are you being serious? Shouldn’t I undergo some training before attending this event?”Darius smiled. “Yes, you heard me right. Tonight’s banquet is meant to introduce one of the jewelry brands under my company to everyone. Of course, I don’t expect them to buy anything. My goal is for these guests to learn to admire the jewelry as they would artistic masterpieces, even if they can’t afford to buy them. I’ll consider the banquet a success if we can achieve this.”The cameraman’s jaw dropped, and he looked at Darius in shock. He’d never thought that jewelry could be used to do this, and his shock turned to admiration. Then, he was overcome with anxiety again—he’d just realized that he was in the passenger seat; Darius was driving him! He gulped and subconsciously lifted an arm to grab

There were no words in this world to describe his gratitude. His eyes were red as he nodded and said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Reid. I’ll definitely take everything you said to heart and ensure my safety while…” Before he could finish, his phone started ringing.Mitchell frowned. He’d been a loner while at the TV station, so he didn’t have any friends there, and his parents knew better than to call him on his work phone. He quickly thought about all the people he knew and realized that none of them matched up. He’d hesitated for too long that it made Darius turn to look at him. “Go ahead and answer it. Whatever happens, just remember that it’s all in the past. You’re my employee now.”After saying this, he pulled over. Only then did Mitchell realize Darius had been trying to pull over for a while now but hadn’t managed to because there were too many cars. Darius unbuckled his seatbelt and smiled. “I know you need to answer the phone, so I’ll give you some space.”Mitchell’s lips parted as h

“We’ll see a lot of each other in the future, so even if you make any mistakes now, we’ll have plenty of time to help you.”Edward’s words made sense, so Mitchell relaxed and exhaled. He smiled and nodded, lowering his head shyly. At this moment, his phone rang again. He frowned when he saw who was calling, then answered it and put it on speaker. “It’s been a while, Clinton. Are you calling because something happened?”Clinton felt like his head was going to explode. “I just saw all the videos of you at the jewelry shop’s entrance, and I was calling about your new employer. I didn’t expect you to reject my call; it just made things worse. Now, your ex-colleague—the one that bullied you—has released a statement on the internet saying that things aren’t like what everyone saw. She said that the whole incident started even before the cameras were out, so only the people present at the time would know what happened.”Mitchell frowned. He had a bad feeling about this. “What has that damne

Edward turned to look sternly at Mitchell as he spoke.After a few seconds, Clinton said, “It’s right of you to be concerned, but there’s no need for that. I’ve already made things clear earlier—he was the one who hung up on me. You can check his call history, too. He hasn’t called me at all today. I only learned about this because of an ugly woman spreading the word everywhere. In fact, I’m not the only one to know about this—many others do, too.”Edward immediately knew who he was referring to. He said, “I understand. Thanks for your reminder. We’ll deal with the rumors as soon as possible, so thank you once again.” He hung up and passed the phone back to Mitchell, his expression becoming relaxed again. “Don’t take my anger to heart. If you don’t make any major mistakes, I won’t treat you with that sort of attitude. Anyway, my stern attitude will help you recognize your mistakes. Once this is over, I’ll still treat you nicely.” Mitchell looked lost. He didn’t know what Edward meant,

Since someone had to stay behind to keep an eye on Shelvin, only one of them could be here and appear before him. This meant that there was an 80 percent chance the man from before was probably the second-most superior apprentice out of the five black-robed men and a 20 percent chance that it was the most superior apprentice.Darius’ expression darkened, and he took in a deep breath. It was apparent from the current situation that something had gone horribly wrong, but at least it could show that Shelvin was safe. This was of some comfort to Darius.When Edward arrived, he saw Darius standing at the door, looking grim. He was surrounded by people who were watching him curiously. Edward frowned and reached out to push the people away so he could get to Darius but to no avail. The spectators couldn’t wait to see what was happening, so they refused to make way. Edward had no choice—he gathered some energy in his palms before pushing them away. He wasn’t the most powerful enlightened mar

“I don’t think you made the right choice by showing up here with your current status and identity.”Erin paled. She didn’t expect Darius to say such harsh things to her, and she couldn’t bring herself to accept it. However, she soon regained her composure at the thought of the things she’d done before. A determined look flashed in her eyes, and she said, “Mr. Reid, I know I made a major mistake before this, but you have no idea how worried I was about you when I saw those rumors on the internet. I think they’re extremely averse to your image, and there’s a chance that the people around you haven’t been doing their level best to handle the matter. Otherwise, things wouldn’t have snowballed so quickly. In fact, these rumors shouldn’t even have appeared!”To her surprise, Darius didn’t even blink. He looked at her and said, “I already know about the rumors you’ve mentioned, but I only want to say that I don’t want to see a repeat of your current behavior. Otherwise, I might not be able

Darius enjoyed some much-needed peace and quiet in these two hours. Edward knocked on the door just as the clock rang, and Darius opened his eyes. He knew it was time. Perhaps they’d all get answers tonight… and perhaps not.Darius got to his feet, feeling expectant. He opened the door to see Edward standing there. Edward was already suited up and looked like a perfect gentleman. “Mr. Reid, the banquet’s starting soon. I’ll stick to you like glue tonight to protect you.”Darius nodded. “Okay. Deal with it as you see fit.”Edward smiled. “Some of the guests are already starting to arrive, and they’ve gathered at the hotel’s courtyard. Should we start giving out the party favors?” His voice was a little shaky toward the end of his sentence, and Darius knew it was because he was excited. He smiled as well and nodded. “Yeah, go ahead. In fact, you can give them out personally if you want to—you’ll get to see their reactions up close.”Edward’s eyes lit up at his suggestion. Soon, however

They probably all thought since he was standing here, he was probably the host of the banquet rather than just a lackey. Edward heard them whispering among themselves about this. Still, he didn’t bother explaining because he felt it was an excellent way to protect Darius by having the guests misunderstand his true identity. He couldn’t tell Darius about this, though, because he knew Darius wouldn’t agree to it. He revealed his true identity after keeping the guests guessing for long enough. After all, he wouldn’t be able to keep it under wraps for long. Once Darius was to make his entrance, the cat would be out of the bag, and there was a chance the guests would feel that Darius had arranged for Edward to fool them into thinking he was the host. Edward didn’t want them to use this as a way to tarnish Darius’ reputation further, so he had to let everyone know who he was, even if he didn’t think it was for the best.His calm gaze swept over everyone present, and he took in the looks

“As I mentioned, the things she said were unreasonable and nonsensical. You sound very much like her, though.” Edward’s eyes slowly turned icy. He leaned back a little and tapped lightly on the party favors. “And you sound very sure of yourself… it’s as if you already know what’s going to happen.” He kept scrutinizing the old woman.“There’s no need to wonder, Edward. They’re one and the same.” Darius’ voice suddenly rang out from the entrance, and Edward quickly turned to look at him. “Mr. Reid!” Suddenly, everyone turned to look at Darius, standing there with both his hands behind his back. He nodded, his face devoid of emotion as he said, “Good evening, everyone. Welcome to my banquet. Rest assured that you’re safe here, and I guarantee that anything you guys take away from here—with my permission, of course—will not harm you in the slightest.”Everyone calmed down at his words, but the old woman scowled. She didn’t expect these people to be so stupid. She’d been badmouthing Dariu

Darius said, “You may be right about some things, but I don’t think things will turn out the way you expect them to.” He sounded so unruffled that it made the old woman feel a little anxious. So, she stretched out her arms, and miniature tornadoes formed on her palms, which she sent in his direction.Darius’ eyes widened, and he quickly channeled his energy toward her. It was too weak compared to hers and wasn’t even visible. He could only vaguely sense it in his palms, but the old woman narrowed her eyes at him. She looked wary, and there was a hint of murderous intent as she said, “You know, you’ve caught me by surprise. It’s too bad that we’re on opposing sides. Otherwise, I’d love to have you as my fellow apprentice. When we first heard about you, you were just a regular martial artist who had yet to awaken. Yet, you became enlightened when we appeared before you, and you even learned how to control your energy! There’s no way we can allow you to continue like this.”As she spok