James nodded.Sovereign Antique Shop’s owner must have known some of the enemy’s secrets. The enemy knew that James would have come to see him. Thus, they killed off the man in advance.James took out his phone and called the police. Then, he began to investigate the crime scene.The door and windows were in good condition, but the windows were left open. James concluded that the murderer had jumped out of the window.Soon, the police arrived at the scene and began a forensic investigation. Knowing that he would not be gaining any clues from the place, James did not linger anymore and chose to leave.He remained silent throughout their journey.‘Could it be that Grandpa is really alive and was the mastermind behind everything?’ James was immersed in his thoughts while driving. He was confused and felt helpless.It had been many years since he last felt so powerless.Maxine understood James’ current mood.She tried to comfort him, saying, “Don’t worry, James. I’m sure Tiara,

James also sent the meditation and cultivation method to the Elite Eight, who were far away in another country. He asked them to train according to the method he gave them, strive to cultivate their True Energy and become first-rank grandmasters as soon as possible.Meanwhile, the Capital was in complete disarray because the painting protected by the Sullivans had been stolen.The Sullivans’ surveillance cameras clearly captured the culprit that stole the painting—the current patriarch of the Cadens, Tobias.This sparked a full-fledged war between the Sullivans and the Cadens, resulting in severe casualties.Ultimately, other forces in the Capital had to step in and mediate.Unfortunately, the relationship between the Ancient Four was already beyond repair.Even the Johnstons believed their family painting was stolen by the Cadens and demanded an explanation. However, the Cadens firmly denied all accusations.Eventually, someone brought up that the martial world was in chaos bec

The accident in the Capital had progressed beyond James’ expectations.In his initial speculation, he estimated that it would take much longer before the Capital reached its breaking point. However, it happened much sooner than he expected. Maxine said that the situation was dire. She explained that countless martial artists remained hidden in society as civilians. Some were everyday office workers, some were factory workers, and some could even be street sweepers.A thousand years ago, Sol had countless sects and martial art families. After a thousand years, the number of martial artists gradually decreased, but martial arts had been passed down to only one successor in each generation.James knew that these martial artists were known as ancient martial artists.According to Maxine’s speculations, there were currently about one million martial artists in Sol, and at least 50 thousand were first-rank grandmasters who cultivated True Energy.Although the numbers were not signific

James had already devised a plan to channel the Cold Energy within Cynthia into his body.However, he was slightly troubled by the channeling method.“Cynthia, I have a way of channeling the Cold Energy from your body into mine. However, you’ll have to be undressed during the process.”“What?”Cynthia was taken aback for a moment. She recollected herself and asked, “Do you mean I have to be naked?”“Yeah.” James nodded. “I’ll need to insert a few acupuncture needles into some of your acupoints to concentrate the Cold Energy in your body to channel it. During this period, there can’t be any mistakes because Cold Energy becomes a potent force when gathered together. Any mistakes and this Cold Energy will cause severe damage to your body.”“What?” Cynthia hesitated.Although James had already seen her naked when he used acupuncture needles to discharge the Cold Energy in her body last time, it was only because that was their last resort back then.It was slightly embarrassing to g

Soon, Luther bought the acupuncture needles and returned to the villa.Inside a room on the villa’s second floor…Cynthia showered and approached with a bath towel wrapped around her body.James sat on the bed in a lotus position.Maxine looked at Cynthia, who just came out of the bathroom, and asked, “Are you ready, Cynthia?”Cynthia’s pretty face flushed red. It was hard to tell whether it was because she took a shower or because she was embarrassed. She nodded with her red cheeks.Then, she walked to the bed, sat in front of James, and removed the towel. Cynthia’s upper body was bare, but she was wearing underwear. Although young, her body was incredibly voluptuous, especially in her chest.James was still meditating in a lotus position to calm himself down completely.Maxine sterilized the acupuncture needles and set them aside.After getting ready, James started to give instructions.According to James’ instructions, Maxine inserted the acupuncture needles into Cynthia

Gradually, the frost on James’ body began to disappear. Half an hour later…James opened his eyes and said excitedly, “I did it! I’ve converted all the Cold Energy into True Energy!”Maxine said, “Hurry up. The Cold Energy accumulated in Cynthia’s body is already too powerful. I won’t be able to control it any much longer.”James said, “Quick, channel it into my body.”Maxine quickly transfused her True Energy into Cynthia’s body and channeled the Cold Energy into James’ palms.James' palms began to freeze and slowly spread through his arms instantly.He quickly absorbed the Cold Energy and refined it into True Energy. The process for him to fully absorb and convert the energy took three hours.Three hours later, his True Energy had proliferated. As soon as he exerted it, True Energy flowed like a gush of water.“That’s enough,” Maxine said. “You’ve almost completely absorbed all the Cold Energy that built up in Cynthia’s body for the past few days.James withdrew his palm

James immediately understood after hearing Maxine’s explanation.One person could not practice the cultivation method on the Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside's Edge alone. Forcefully doing so would lead to problems.This cultivation method had to be practiced by two people together. It needed them to cooperate and practice.“But…” Maxine said solemnly, “Yin and Yang complement each other, and it’s necessary to have both energies. The energy in Cynthia’s body is indeed the purest form of True Yin Energy, and if she could learn to absorb the Cold Energy in her body, she could indeed practice the cultivation method. However, we lack someone with True Yang Energy.”She turned to James and asked, “What kind of True Energy do you have, James?”“I-I don't know.”James was not sure of what kind of True Energy he had.“Let me check,” said Maxine.James asked, “How are you going to check?”Maxine explained, “Just stretch out your hand and exert a bit of your True Energy.”James did as he w

Two figures appeared—one old and one young. The old figure and a man with neat white hair dressed in baggy white clothes.Meanwhile, the young figure was a woman with long black hair in her twenties, dressed in a black skirt.“Sir Caden, why did you bring me here?” the woman asked.The old man looked at the mountain ahead. It was a bare mountain with smoke billowing at the top.He pointed to the mountain ahead and said, “This is a volcanic crater that often spews lava. I came here to find a special fruit.”The two people were Tobias and Thea.Thea already knew that the location was a volcanic crater because she could feel the heat as soon as they approached it. Even though it was winter and the weather was relatively cold, the surrounding area was scorching, causing sweat beads to appear on her pretty face.She asked perplexedly, “Why are you looking for a fruit?”Thomas explained, “The fruit I'm looking for is the Sacred Fire Fig, and it only grows near volcanoes. The fruit

James had successfully cultivated his True Energy again. Moreover, he had constantly absorbed the Cold Energy from Cynthia’s body, allowing his True Energy to increase rapidly. In just half a day, he had reached the peak of the first rank and was only one step away from the second rank.Although Cynthia’s physique was extraordinary, the Cold Energy within her body was limited and had to be regenerated every day. During the past few days, Maxine had also discharged a portion from her body.Therefore, James would have to wait a few days before he could absorb more.After James headed downstairs, Cynthia dressed and went downstairs with Maxine.In the living room…Maxine said, “Next, I’ll personally teach Cynthia martial arts. She was a unique physique, and as long as her comprehension is decent, her cultivation rate wouldn’t be inferior to yours.”“Indeed.” James nodded. Then, he said, “Her body is like a perpetual motion machine that will continuously generate Cold Energy. As long

The Blithe King smiled and said, “Why’re you telling me this? You can’t even decide for yourself, so how would I know? You think too highly of me.”“Then tell me, should I stand on the country’s side, the King or the Cadens?” asked James.The Blithe King shook his head again. These were questions that he could not answer.“Why’re you thinking about it soo much? You’ll just have to take one step at a time. Let’s have a couple of drinks! I’ll ask Daniel to join us.”The Blithe King understood that James was in a dilemma. Although he was unaware of the grievances and conflict between the Ancient Four in the Capital, he had heard about the Four Ancient Paintings before. Thirty years ago, there was an internal conflict in the Cadens. Additionally, the Cadens’ villa was burned in flames ten years ago. These were things he had recently learned about James.However, he was unable to give James any advice as an outsider.He got up, looked at the dazed James, and shouted, “What’re you