Chapter 101: Examining My Spoils While The Rant

Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Examining My Spoils While The Rant

Before Samuel could investigate further, one of the people accompanying him suddenly stopped beside a corpse.

"Minister Bush, I recognize this man!" Wesley Mason said, staring at the dead man in disbelief.

"This is Pat Marty, a martial artist at the 8th-Level of the Spirit Platform Realm. He’s a trusted guardian of the Lindsay family. He’s visited my Sword Forging Manor several times, so I’m certain of his identity."

Samuel’s heart sank.

Before he could respond, another official leaned closer to the second corpse. Wade Young, the vice principal of Vermilion Bird Academy, looked as though he could not believe what he was seeing.

"Wait a moment. Isn’t that Collins Lindsay?" he asked, examining the man’s face again, hoping he had made a mistake.

But there was no denying it.

"The eldest young master of the Lindsay family is dead!" he said.

Samuel’s expression changed dramatically.

Collins had certainly been arrogant, and Samuel had little sympathy for his behavior.

Nevertheless, the young man belonged to one of the most influential families in the region.

His position afforded him a degree of protection that ordinary people could never hope to enjoy.

Even Samuel, despite his authority, had generally avoided direct confrontations with Collins unless absolutely necessary.

Now, someone had killed both Collins and his powerful guardian. Whoever had carried out the attack was either extraordinarily powerful or had possessed the means to overcome two formidable opponents.

Perhaps both.

Samuel’s thoughts immediately turned to Mr X.

The timing was simply too suspicious to ignore.

Collins had left Stormvale Martial Academy shortly before the battle, and Mr X had departed around the same time.

Given the hostility between Collins and Mr. X, it was not difficult to imagine what might have happened.

But could Mr X really have killed both men? Samuel had witnessed enough of the alchemist’s strength to know that he was no ordinary cultivator.

Even so, Pat had reached the 8th-Level of the Spirit Platform Realm.

Defeating someone of that caliber would require considerable power.

And if Mr X had not personally carried out the attack, he might have enlisted the help of that mysterious man known as Graham Cole.

Samuel still remembered the reports about Graham’s overwhelming strength, particularly the account of how he had killed Selene, the Bloodshadow Cult’s deputy leader, and rescued Helena.

Selene had been a peak Spirit Platform Realm cultivator, yet she had reportedly been killed before she could put up a meaningful resistance.

Compared with that feat, Pat’s death was hardly impossible to explain.

Before Samuel could organize his thoughts, his phone rang.

He answered, and a man’s cold voice immediately came through the receiver.

"Minister Bush, this is Damien Lindsay. Henry Lowe just informed me that my cousin, Collins, has been murdered in the street. Secure the scene and make sure nobody disturbs the evidence. I’m on my way."

The call ended before Samuel could respond.

He slowly lowered his phone and turned toward Henry Lowe, the principal of White Tiger Academy, who stood behind him.

Samuel’s face was red with anger. The Lindsay family had received the news remarkably quickly.

Someone had clearly contacted them as soon as Collins was killed.

Henry noticed Samuel’s gaze and offered an awkward explanation.

"Minister Bush, I hope you won’t misunderstand," he said.

"Collins had only just left White Tiger Academy when this happened. Given his identity, I thought it was necessary to notify his family immediately. I wasn’t trying to interfere with your investigation."

"I understand," Samuel replied through clenched teeth.

He did understand, but the timing had put him in a difficult position.

Before he could assess the situation and decide how best to proceed, the Lindsay family had already been alerted.

And with Damien Lindsay personally coming to the scene, the investigation would become much more complicated.

Damien was Collins’s cousin and also headed the Action Section of the Extraordinary Division in Valemont.

He possessed both the authority of a senior law enforcement officer and the backing of the Lindsay family.

Samuel could not simply disregard his involvement.

"Secure the area," he ordered his subordinates.

"Speak to everyone who witnessed the fight. Find out exactly what happened, how the attacker looked, and which direction he took after leaving."

The officials immediately began carrying out his instructions.

Outwardly, Samuel appeared to be doing everything expected of him.

Internally, however, his thoughts were moving in another direction.

He had already formed a strong suspicion about the identity of the killer.Collins had been attacked almost immediately after leaving the academy.

The timing suggested that someone had followed him, waited for an opportunity, and struck once he was away from the crowd.

Mr X had left the academy at nearly the same time.

Furthermore, Collins had repeatedly targeted Mira, and Mr X had consistently shown an unusual degree of concern for her safety. Their hostility had been obvious throughout the competition.

The pieces seemed to fit together. Samuel could not be certain that Mr. X was responsible, but the possibility was too strong to dismiss.

Even if Mr X had not killed Collins himself, Graham Cole might have done it on his behalf.

The problem was that the Lindsay family would never accept a vague explanation.

Once its members began investigating, they would use every resource at their disposal to identify the murderer.

If they discovered that Mr X was involved, Samuel was not confident he could protect him from their retaliation.

That man has just made a serious mistake, Samuel thought grimly. The Lindsay family won’t let this go.

He took out his phone again, intending to warn Mr X to keep a low profile until the situation settled down.

Regardless of how he felt about Collins, Samuel understood the danger of provoking the entire Lindsay family.

The young heir might have been an unpleasant man, but his death had created a problem that could easily grow beyond anyone’s control.

* * *

Several kilometers away, along a secluded stretch of riverbank, Xavier was examining the spoils from the battle.

He had chosen the location carefully. With few people around, he could inspect his gains without worrying about attracting unwanted attention.

After emptying Pat Marty’s spatial ring, he could not help smiling at the sheer quantity of resources inside.

"120 2nd-Grade elixirs, 37 3rd-Grade elixirs, 11 4th-Grade elixirs, and six 5th-Grade elixirs," he murmured, continuing to count, growing more pleased with each discovery.

There were also more than twenty pieces of high quality equipment, three martial arts manuals, and ten million crowns in funds.

Xavier let out a satisfied laugh.

"Pat, you certainly knew how to accumulate wealth," he said.

The harvest was considerably better than he had anticipated.

He had expected a few useful treasures, but Pat’s collection was enough to provide him with a substantial supply of cultivation resources.

More importantly, the gains would allow him to make another investment in Mira. That alone made the entire operation worthwhile.

However, the martial arts manuals soon attracted more of his attention than the elixirs or equipment.

He picked up the first one. It was a 5th-Grade technique called Void Walking, the same movement and concealment art Pat had used to hide his presence and ambush him.

The second manual contained a 4th-Grade technique known as Silent Assassination Art.

The final one was a 3rd-Grade martial art called Blood Explosion Technique.

Xavier examined the first two manuals with interest. Void Walking was an excellent technique for concealing one’s presence and approaching an enemy without being detected.

When combined with Silent Assassination Art, it could turn a skilled practitioner into a formidable killer who specialized in eliminating targets before they could react.

Together, the techniques would be exceptionally useful to someone who preferred to operate in the shadows.

Nevertheless, Xavier soon lost interest.

Neither technique suited Mira’s usual fighting style. Her strength lay in her powerful bloodline, overwhelming attacks, and ability to dominate opponents directly.

Training her to become an assassin would be an unnecessary detour. As for learning the techniques himself, Xavier could not be bothered to devote the time.

He already had powerful abilities at his disposal, and his priority was to continue growing stronger through the system rather than spend months mastering skills he might rarely use.

He set the two manuals aside and turned his attention to Blood Explosion Technique.

Unlike the others, this one made him pause.

According to the manual, a practitioner who mastered the technique could temporarily unleash power comparable to that gained from consuming a Mana-Boosting Elixir.

At the highest level of mastery, the boost could multiply the user’s strength by as much as ten times for a short period.

Such an increase was astonishing for a 3rd-Grade martial art.

However, the technique came with a terrible price. Once the effect wore off, the user’s body would suffer catastrophic damage.

Even if the practitioner survived, the injuries could leave them permanently crippled. Ordinary medicines and conventional treatment were unlikely to reverse the damage.

The greater the power released, the more devastating the consequences could be.

It was a technique designed for situations in which survival mattered more than what happened afterward.

Now Xavier finally understood how Pat had managed to break free from the suppression of his Heaven Piercing Sixfold Finger.

So he used Blood Explosion Technique.