Darius squeezed his eyes shut, hiding how miserable he felt inside. He could afford to pay the black gas that slipped past him more mind. Instead, the one thing Darius could do was guard the barrier better and prevent any more black gas from escaping. Thoughts burst out from every corner of his mind as he brainstormed a way to be more officiant.That was when Teivel’s voice rang out. “Darius, I need your help like before. If you don’t want us to go back to square one where we kept having to hunt down that old man in black robes, and if you don’t want to get hunted down by the old man, please pull yourself together and clear your mind at once!”It was Darius’ first time hearing such urgency in Teivel’s tone. He frowned and realized he had never experienced such flickering emotions and inner turmoil before; Darius had always been a stern and focused man, regardless of whether he was rich or poor. Similarly, he had never spent more than ten minutes deciding anything. Yet, Darius was no

“I’m not dealing with whatever happens next,” Darius finished.With a nod, Teivel waved dismissively and replied, “Okay. You may return to the Anderson family and sort out their affairs now.”Darius raised a brow but eventually nodded and turned to leave from where he had entered. That also happened to lead to the Anderson family’s villa. When Darius arrived, he was shocked to see Kate and William waiting for him in front of their home, despite it being in ruins. Lips curving upward, he said, “I didn’t think I’d see you two here. I thought you’d have left by now.”William turned to meet Darius’ eyes. The latter’s candid words made William uncomfortable, but he still behaved respectfully; he willed every muscle on his face to form a polite smile, which was near impossible, so he ultimately failed. William’s eyes reddened with a tinge of reluctance. “Mr. Reid, I merely wanted to see the place I used to live in and perhaps collect whatever’s still intact. I grew up here, so these thing

That was enough to stop Calypso’s breathing permanently. Kate stood beneath the rubble and saw everything happen. She parted her lips but soon clamped them shut again. Kate closed her eyes tightly, unable to stand the gruesome scene but not voicing her discomfort as she had no right to speak up. Placing both hands behind her back, she eventually opened her eyes to look at the ground. Her breathing grew deeper and quieter as the seconds passed.…On the other hand, Darius had finally returned to the hotel. Although it felt like many things had happened, the events only took a little of his time. Still, an immense wave of exhaustion hit him, and he could not bring himself to cultivate his skills after returning to the hotel. All he wanted to do was lie in bed, so he did that. At that moment, he could not care less about dealing with the company’s affairs. Shutting his eyes, Darius took deeper and steadier breaths, allowing himself to relish in the peace. Alas, he only lay down brief

“The Chamberlains parked their car before us and begged for help. We figured we’d try to since they were Pearl’s family members. That’s why we took longer to return.”Upon hearing Bridget’s explanation, Darius’ previously tense muscles relaxed. He straightened his back and stretched his body while coldly instructing, “Erin, bring them up to date with the events that occurred in their absence and inform them why I’m heading out now.”“Mr. Reid is heading to the Chamberlains now.” A look of sympathy came from Erin as she faced the two bodyguards. Then, she stepped closer and informed them of everything she had learned earlier.Edward and Bridget’s heads immediately shot upward when they heard how the Chamberlain family had tracked down Ansel just because of Darius’ rejection. Eyes widening in shock, the two gawked for several seconds before lowering their gazes and turning to face Darius. Guilt filled their voices as they said, “We’re so sorry, sir. We had no idea. Our carelessness has

“All right, now. Let’s end this and get back to what we should do.” With that, Darius turned to head toward the Chamberlain family’s villa. Halfway to the estate, he heard a familiar voice cackling—it was one of the Chamberlain family members. His eyes narrowed to slits just then; Darius had expected this, but the fact that it happened caught his interest. He rushed ahead at once.That was when he heard Bridget chasing after him. Even so, he did not stop entirely for her; he only slowed down slightly.When Bridget caught up to him, her breathing became labored as she was worn out. She found it challenging to keep up with Darius’ speed walking now that his skills had grown. Although Bridget knew Darius had slowed down, Bridget still struggled to catch up.Right after she arrived behind Darius, the latter turned on his heel to examine her up close. That made her stiffen up at once. Hesitance and doubt swirled in her eyes as she met Darius’ gaze.“Your speedwalking isn’t up to par becau

Bridget’s eyes shot wide open in disbelief at what was happening now. She even caught a whiff of a pleasant cologne on Darius’ chest. The scent was woody but also fresh enough that it did not give her a headache. Instead, it made Bridget’s heart pound beneath her chest. Gulping, she decided to take a chance and rest her head on Darius’ shoulder.“I knew it,” Darius thought while cocking a brow. Then, he stated coldly, “I’m only doing this so we can get to the villa faster. You’ll still need to train your body and cultivation methods. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to leave you behind should this happen again.It pained Darius to say such harsh words to Bridget, but he found it necessary as he could not accept his bodyguard harboring inappropriate feelings toward him. After all, she was his subordinate and would work for him for the foreseeable future; there was no telling whether their work relationship would strengthen or weaken if she developed romantic feelings for him.Not a word ca

Everyone heard the crash, so their attention was on the man. It made the man turn to look at Darius, his chest rising and falling rapidly. There was no change in Darius’ expression, however. He tucked his hands into his pockets, saying, “I never planned to get even with you for your betrayal, but I’m curious—major, elite families have always monopolized all the resources and knowledge on cultivation. Considering that and how you were nothing more than a mere bodyguard before I arrived in Almiron City, why have you become so keen on achieving the enlightened stage as a martial artist?”While it sounded like Darius was genuinely curious, that could not be further from the truth; in fact, he flashed a cold smirk at the man, taunting the latter. Not a word came from Darius, yet the man could not stop trembling. He feared he would die at any moment just from Darius’ glares. Eventually, he gulped and willed himself to speak in a small voice. “I-I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

Darius cast a side-eyed stare at a man in the crowd. He soon clenched his jaw upon realizing how young the latter seemed; Darius could tell the man was roughly 30, younger than Liam Chamberlain, who looked at least 45. Keeping that thought to himself, Darius entered the living room and made himself comfortable on the couch. “We should discuss the Chamberlain family’s attitude and how I expect you guys to treat me from now onward.”He leaned into the couch, crossed his legs, and placed his hands on the armrest. Pride and arrogance exuded from Darius, making all the Chamberlain family members frown. Even so, Darius did not seem fazed and continued to stare calmly at Liam, adding, “I don’t know whether you still have any say over the Chamberlain family.”Liam shrugged, not appearing bothered by the comment. Darius could tell Liam was pleased from how he sat next to Darius and poured himself a cup of tea. After taking a sip, Liam parted his lips to speak. Darius remained patient this e

Darius turned to look at the door where Bridget stood and beckoned her over with a wave. She appeared beside him so swiftly that no one even saw her move. Darius smiled and looked at the elderly man, saying, “This gentleman tells me he’s kind and has never done anything to harm anyone; I’m surprised by him lying through his teeth.”Bridget smiled and looked at the elderly man as well, making him bristle. An ugly look crept onto his face, but he knew he couldn’t say anything in retort. Who knew whether Darius and Bridget would take his life? To the elderly man, the worst part about this was how he felt like Darius could see right through him whenever he laid his eyes on him—it made him feel utterly useless.He bit his lip while giving Darius a bitter look. He sensed the younger, 30-year-old man’s gaze on him, silently urging him to say something, but he also knew there was a high chance of him offending Darius if he were to utter a word. To make matters worse, he knew very well he co

Darius’ gaze turned laser-sharp at his words, and his face turned frosty as he got to his feet. He walked toward the 30-year-old man, who paled and trembled as Darius approached. He slapped his substitute on the shoulder, saying, “Why are you still standing there? As my substitute, you…” Before he could finish his sentence, Darius wrapped a hand around his neck, and he could no longer make a sound.All he could do was glare at Darius while kicking his legs in mid-air, trying to break free of Darius’ grip. He parted his lips and said with difficulty, “Do you know what you’re doing? I haven’t done anything wrong! What right do you have to treat me like this?”Darius frowned, looking impatient. “I thought I’d made myself clear—who are you, and where did you learn that insult from?”The 30-year-old man looked fearful at his words; he now knew what Darius’ issue was. He gulped and said, “If you let me go, I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”Darius curled his lip and looked at the