“Well then, I’ll entrust Bridget’s health to you.” Darius smiled. He then headed straight downstairs without giving Shelvin a chance to reply. “Now, I’ve got many other things to sort out.”Shelvin stood at the stairway and waited until Darius left his sight before returning to Bridget’s room.…When Darius arrived at the second floor, he had placed his hands in his pockets and had a little pep in his step. It was not long before he heard the sound of someone breathing in the hallway. Raising his head, he curiously quirked a brow at Alicia, who stood before him. “I’d like to know why you’re appearing before me again.”Sensing no anger in Darius’ tone or face, Alicia relaxed her jaw before saying, “I’m sorry, sir. I forgot to tell you something—”She was too afraid to meet his eyes, so her head hung low with shame.Darius kept his hands in his pocket in a relaxed manner as he already knew Alicia’s motive. Three things were running through his mind as he thought, “Firstly, Alicia must’

Darius knew those footsteps belonged to Alicia. He turned toward the door, and as expected, a knock came before two minutes passed. He calmly stated, “Come in. The door’s not locked.”Alicia had come to say the same thing Erin did earlier. She opened the door and exclaimed, “Sir, have you seen the situation online?”“I saw it,” Darius replied with a smile. He leaned against the balcony railing and said, “But you don’t have to worry. The person behind this was so rushed that he’d never wait for us to make our move. He’ll probably arrive soon.”That was when one of the hotel’s security guards came to speak with Alicia. His face creased with anxiety as he said, “Miss Alicia, someone sent an invitation to Mr. Reid. They told me to deliver it to him ASAP. Otherwise, I’d regret not doing it and have to pay a hefty price.”The guard kept his gaze on the ground, not daring to say anything more as he could tell Alicia was glaring daggers at him. However, two people had given him a thick wad of

“Those two families were decent, but they shared the fruits of their labors with their relatives. Unfortunately, none of those relatives are good people,” Darius thought while sighing and leaning against his chair. He had just shut his eyes when some footsteps drew close. Edward brought a man in a tuxedo and a top hat into the room.The man stopped before Darius’ desk, taking off his hat to pay respects to Darius before the latter could speak. “Mr. Reid, my employer, Kate, instructed me to deliver this invite. She would like you to meet her. The matter regarding the head of the Anderson family will also be discussed during the meeting.”While saying that, he straightened his body and met Darius’ gaze with a conflicted expression.Although Darius kept his eyes closed, he could sense the former’s clashing emotions. He did not bother opening his eyes when he replied, “No one can eavesdrop or spread information to the outside world from this hotel without my approval. So, feel free to sp

“For some reason, Mr. Reid seems so terrifying! It’s as though he’s the keeper of hell who’s come to earth to claim a lost soul!” Edward thought.Darius opened his eyes, his attention snapping toward the door at once. “Come in.”Only then did Edward try to take a step forward and peek out from behind the door with a smile. “S-Sir, I just wanted to know your decision since both invites state the events take place tomorrow night.”“Right, I’ve decided to go to neither.” Darius nodded while speaking as if he could not care less. He then tossed the invites onto the desk ahead. Leaning comfortably against his chair, he crossed one leg over the other and appeared relaxed.Standing before the desk was Edward, whose mouth had opened so widely that he could catch flies with it. He could not understand a single thing that Darius had in mind, so he kept parting his lips, but no words came.Darius’ patience ran out after the former did that several times. Irritated by the delayed response, he de

That’s not good. I need to resolve this at once. As someone poor, who later inherited boundless wealth, I know the dreadful outcome of those who develop resentful and raging auras,” Darius thought. Thus, he sighed deeply and went to sit on his bed, his legs crossed. He tried to communicate with the book tattoo on his arm, but he never imagined the book would materialize in front of him. Cocking a brow, Darius raised his palm, which caused the book to lower into his hand. His eyes narrowed as he felt slightly shocked by the book’s unusual behavior and appearance. While he was still in a daze, the book abruptly opened itself.That ignited Darius’ practical side, so he quickly got into focus mode and examined what the book was about to show him. As expected, the pages were also black. Seeing that made Darius’ eyes curve in amusement, but he did not say anything as he had already expected this to happen when the book drained his life force earlier.“It seems this book has a will of its

Silence ensued until the man chuckled. “There’s no need to be so panicked. My book and I have lingered in your body for some time. I’m only revealing myself now because my wounds have finally recovered. Darius Reid, I believe you should address me respectfully as your mentor.”Darius was still frozen in shock upon getting stared at by the man. It almost felt like his father was gazing at him just then, so he needed time to snap to his senses. After hesitantly nodding, he was about to do as told when the man’s calm voice spoke once more.“Call me ‘sir,’ like you’d address a father figure,” the man said.Darius’ lips fell wide open again. Yet, the man did not seem upset by Darius’ delayed greeting. Instead, he smiled even more and added, “I’m an Easterner. The martial arts skills you’re currently learning also originated from the East. That’s why I’d like you to call me your mentor.”The man did not waste his breath on unnecessary pleasantries or beat around the bush.Thus, Darius imme

Only then did Darius realize Teivel had been lying to him; the book was nowhere near satisfied with Darius’ supply of energy. However, things had already gotten this far. Therefore, Darius had no reason to give up. He gritted his teeth and continued forcing out every last drop of life force in him. It was not long before sweat drenched him from head to toe. When he ran out of strength and wanted to give in, he felt a powerful life force gushing out from his sides—it was his life force.It burst out of him, pouring into the book that then trembled fervently. Then, everything died down.A frown marred Darius’ face as he finally understood what was happening. Gratitude swarmed his chest at that moment while he thought, “If not for Teivel, I wouldn’t have realized that I have such great potential.”Teivel stood aside with a proud grin, his voice sounding lighter than before. “Good. That’s the end of our introductory lesson. As for the other eight life forces, you can obtain them from oth

Darius stared emotionlessly at his phone. No one could have known what he was thinking, not even Alicia, who had eavesdropped on the call from the beginning.Moments of silence went by before Alicia gathered the courage to approach his side. She kept two steps away from him while speaking. “Sir, shouldn’t we go and save Kate? She hasn’t done anything wrong all this while, after all.”Although Darius turned to meet her gaze, it took a while before he sighed and responded, “Indeed, she’s innocent. However, the best person to deal with this isn’t us.”Darius spoke emotionlessly, just like how he looked at Alicia. It lacked warmth to the point where Alicia’s body instinctively quivered. She no longer dared meet his eyes at that moment.Sighing, Darius asked, “Are you aware what you’re doing now is the same as what Erin did before?”Alicia paled at once, her head shooting upward with determination at Darius. “Then, I’ll go to Kate alone.”Eyes sharpening like blades, Darius scrutinized Al

Alicia nodded grimly, which was a method she picked up from Darius; it seemed everyone would fear her when she displayed this expression. She then turned to leave without so much as another word. Erin froze on the spot for a long time. At some point, she snorted, feeling a mix of amused speechlessness and anger at the former’s actions. Regardless, Erin turned and strolled away immediately, her every step growing heavy. When she arrived at the second floor’s stairway and walked past Bridget’s room, she heard a voice say, “Erin? Is that you?”Screeching to a halt, Erin thinned her lips in guilt. She had forgotten one crucial thing; like Bridget, Darius was an enlightened martial artist. Hence, he could hear everything inside the hotel. “Yes, it’s me. Is something the matter?” Erin took lighter steps and spoke gentler than before while walking into Bridget’s room. “No.” Bridget shook her head. “I just heard your footsteps and the conversation between you and Alicia downstairs. I figu

Despite how impossible that was, Erin did it.Darius’ gaze hardened at Erin. He knew his carelessness had put Erin in her current injured state, and he blamed himself for it. Eyes narrowing with determination, he shot a bolt of life force forward. At that moment, Erin’s grey gaseous life force was already halfway out of her body but struggled with all its might to stay inside her.Darius had never seen such a situation before, so he looked down at his arm and called out, “S—.”Like clockwork, Teivel appeared before Darius could finish saying “sir.” He glanced at the gas with a smile. His figure then projected behind Darius to say, “It’s merely a plume of regular life force. The only reason it’s resisting your attacks is that its owner fused her blood into it.”Simultaneously, he waved his arm at the desk ahead, causing Darius’ cup on the desk to float into mid-air. The glass cup seemed to come alive as it emptied its contents onto the gas. Almost instantly, the grey gas no longer res