Perry was dead. He lay on the ground in front of Ted's grave, with blood pooling around him.Xena was overwhelmed with grief. With her parents gone, she had only Curtis to rely on, and she cherished every one of her relatives. Now, seeing Perry dead before her and with what looked like a suicide, the pain was unbearable for her.Yet, Jaden's expression remained calm, as if he had anticipated this scene. There was even a flicker of schadenfreude in his gaze."Xena, now's not the time to feel sad. Think about why your uncle would choose to take his own all of a sudden," Jaden said.Still crying, Xena looked at Jaden, feeling confused, "What do you mean?""When I arrived, he was still alive! He only told me that he was sure that Felix was responsible for his son's death, though he had no proof. Maybe, as a father, he found it unbearable to go on without avenging his son's murder."Xena felt guilty. She looked down at Perry's lifeless body."Uncle Perry, why did you have to take suc

"Mr. Hawkins, we've confirmed it. Perry's death was indeed a suicide. Xena went to the site personally," a subordinate reported.Andrei nodded, setting aside Perry's final letter. He raised his hand, and a tablet was handed to him immediately."This is all the information we could gather on Felix. Please take a look."Time slipped by as Andrei meticulously studied the details for over two hours. He had always been detail-oriented, after all."Felix is far from ordinary, as expected. Most of the people in his circle are not ones we can afford to provoke," Andrei remarked.While they couldn't yet ascertain Felix's full capabilities—aside from Perry's mention of him being a martial artist—the connections within his circle told a different story."Yes, Mr. Hawkins. That was my conclusion as well. Are we still going to proceed against Felix?"Andrei nodded again. "Of course. A promise is a promise. I'll keep at it until I reach my limits. If there's truly no way forward, only then wi

The note read, "I challenge you on behalf of the Elders' Council. On the night of the full moon, atop Eastern Mountain. I will await you!"Beneath that, the note was signed with the name "Solomon Gill".Looking at those words on the note, Felix felt somewhat baffled."Felix, I'm so sorry… I've let you down." Vivian apologized repeatedly, disregarding her own injuries. It was her first major task since becoming Dragon Lord, and it had ended in failure. She felt terrible for this setback."Don't take it to heart. This Solomon is at least at the level of a Martial Saint. It makes sense you couldn't match him," Felix said dismissively.The enemy had managed to injure Vivian and all the Dragon Alliance guards without even being seen. That said enough about his capability. Felix had reacted quickly, but by the time he came out, the person was gone."Have you ever heard of the Elders' Council?" he asked.Vivian shook her head. "No, and as far as I know, there's no such organization in

After the call ended, Felix feasted on the food. He was hungry after a long day."Why aren't you eating?" he asked, noticing that Xena was watching him with a hint of unease."I'm not hungry. I only ordered the food to go along with the act. I didn't think you'd actually eat it," Xena replied."Of course. Why waste it?" Felix said, unfazed.He wiped his mouth as if he was about to leave, but then Xena spoke up again. "My uncle, Perry, is dead. He committed suicide."Felix's expression remained calm. "And?"Her grief and anger erupted in that moment. "Are you even human? You know why he killed himself, don't you? Don't pretend you don't! Are you really going to say Ted's death had nothing to do with you?"It was clear her sadness was genuine, welling up from deep inside."First, I had nothing to do with Ted's death. Second, Perry's suicide has nothing to do with me, either. Finally, have you spent even a moment considering what Ted might have done to provoke me? "Are you truly

This was the first time Felix had ever heard Yvonne sound so distressed. His emotions were stirred by her sobbing."What happened? Tell me!" he shouted."There's an outbreak of some unknown illness at an orphanage in Canraville. Can you go there? Those poor kids are suffering terribly," Yvonne explained.An orphanage? Felix didn't need to ask why or how this was connected to Yvonne. He only knew that these children, who had already had an unfortunate life, were now enduring physical torment as well. It was too heartbreaking."I'm on my way now.""Thank you, Felix. Lady Nala and I just arrived in Yartford, but we're taking a flight right back to Canraville. Besides you, Lady Nala has used her connections to gather every available doctor in the area."Nala was involved in this? Felix didn't ask further questions. He hailed a taxi and went to the address Yvonne had given him.Shortly after getting off, Felix received a call from Larry's younger brother, Luis. Felix briefly explaine

Upon entering, Felix found himself in a children's bedroom. The spacious room contained over a dozen beds with children, though only three people were present to tend to them. One was an elderly man who had to be Brandon, alongside Zara, whom Felix already knew. The third was a young man who must have been Brandon's disciple. If not, he would not have been permitted to be here. "Felix!" Zara's eyes brightened upon seeing his arrival, but her excitement was restrained. After all, Brandon was present. While Felix's medical skills were impressive, they could not compare to Brandon, Dragonia's third-best master healer. "How are things?" Felix asked.Zara's eyes reddened as she watched a child thrashing against their restraints, clearly in agony. "Not good. I can't identify the illness. It's up to Dr. Quinn now." At another bedside, Brandon frowned as he removed a silver needle. While assisting him, Gale immediately turned to scold them, "Quiet! Get out if you can't keep silent. Ca

With Brandon's words hanging in the air, Gale, who already could not stand Felix, immediately pointed at him. "Did you hear that? Get out if you're not going to help! You should know your place in traditional medicine. You can't just rise to the top on empty praise." Though he had initially just been ensuring Brandon could work in peace, Zara's praise of Felix had sparked his jealousy, regardless of its truth. Ignoring Gale's provocations, Felix watched Brandon, who had returned to examining his silver needle. He asked seriously, "Dr. Quinn, have you heard of the Bloom Seeds?" What? Brandon shot up and trembled. "That's it! I knew it reminded me of something but couldn't place it. Yes, it must be the Bloom Seeds!" Zara quickly asked, "What are the Bloom Seeds?" Someone else answered her, "The Bloom Seeds are the signature technique of Sonny Balcom, who's ranked 12th among the Thirteen Aces and Dragonia's Super S-rank wanted criminals. "As the Circle of Hearts, he could inje

Gale thought, "Hmph! Keep boasting, kid. Everyone wants to show off! When you fail, I'll make sure you'll regret being alive!" Gale remained convinced that someone just a few years older than him couldn't possibly achieve such a miracle. Xena was also shaken up and feeling equally skeptical. "Felix, you need to understand that this—" Before she could finish, Felix cut her off with a cold stare. "Instead of questioning me, bring some men over and guard outside! Who's the doctor here—you or me?" Xena trembled with anger. Given her status and the fact that she would soon be promoted to Warlady, even Brandon had shown her deference upon seeing her again. Yet, Felix dared to speak to her so rudely in front of everyone. "Saving lives takes priority. Your name is Felix, correct?" Regardless of others' opinions, Brandon only cared about freeing these children from the Bloom Seeds as a master healer. "Yes. I assume you know the Pierce of Trinity technique?" Felix replied."I do. I'

Brandon felt conflicted. Silas' medical skills far surpassed his own. Though they were only one rank apart, he knew the true gap between them. Compared to Felix, Silas would certainly be the safer choice. Brandon had only agreed to help Felix due to the urgent situation. But things could be different now with a better option available. Xena shared this thinking, which gave her the courage to speak out. "Felix, I know you wouldn't joke about something like this, but Dr. Grayson's skills are legendary, and you know it. For these children's safety, don't let pride cloud your judgment." Gale seized the opportunity to say, "Exactly! Even Dr. Quinn acknowledges Dr. Grayson's superior skills. It's best to wait for him to arrive." He thought, "Hmph! You got lucky, kid. If Dr. Quinn wasn't involved, I wouldn't even bother speaking up." He worried that if anything happened to these children, his mentor would be the one to bear the brunt of criticism, while Felix would face minimal cons

Gale watched with a strange expression. In traditional medicine, needles had no effect outside of acupoints. Every practitioner knew this basic fact. And yet, Brandon's jaw dropped. "The Five Points of Ascension?" Brandon asked in astonishment.Both Zara and Gale were astounded. Of course, they knew of the Five Points of Ascension. Certain acupuncture techniques stood supreme in Dragonia's 5000 years of medical history. While the Pierce of Trinity would intimidate most practitioners, the Five Points of Ascension were even more formidable. Even Brandon had not mastered it, yet here Felix was, performing them. The shock was beyond words. Splat!Within five seconds, the little girl turned her head and spat out a blood clot the size of a fingernail. Brandon's three silver needles then flew out, followed by gushing blood. "Zara!" Felix's shout snapped Zara to attention, and she rushed to stop the bleeding. As they moved on to the next child, Brandon's perception of Felix had c