Chapter 112: The Jingling Ticking Bomb

Chapter 112: Chapter 112: The Jingling Ticking Bomb

Faced with the unmistakable killing intent in Xavier’s eyes, the monk abandoned any remaining thoughts of bargaining.

He quickly began recounting the entire operation, from the instructions he had received from the Lindsay family to the roles he and Ruthless Blade had been assigned.

He also revealed what he knew about Steven Holloway, the former owner of Renewal Martial Academy.

Under orders from the Lindsay family, the Bloodthirsty Monk had personally tortured and interrogated Steven, learning details about the mysterious expert who had rescued Helena from the Bloodshadow Cult and the Heavenly Eye Cult.

He disclosed every detail he could remember, desperate to prove that he was willing to cooperate.

Five minutes later, Xavier had heard enough. A cold smile appeared on his face as the pieces fell into place.

"So, it was the Lindsay family all along," he murmured.

They had investigated Graham Cole, discovered his connection to Helena, and decided to use Marcus as bait to draw him out.

Their plan had been to capture Xavier’s childhood friend, force Xavier to come alone, and then use him to lure Mira into their hands.

They had expected an easy victory. Instead, they had delivered themselves straight into Xavier’s grasp.

Xavier looked down at the trembling Bloodthirsty Monk, his expression turning colder.

"The Lindsay family certainly put a lot of thought into this plan," he said.

"Unfortunately for them, they never imagined that the person they wanted to lure out was Graham Cole himself."

"I’m still too softhearted." Xavier let out a quiet sigh as he considered how the situation had developed.

When he rescued his mother in law, Helena, from the Bloodshadow Cult and the Heavenly Eye Cult, he had deliberately spared Steven Holloway, the former owner of Renewal Martial Academy.

Xavier had intended to cultivate Steven into a useful informant who could help him gather intelligence on both organizations.

Unfortunately, that decision had nearly cost him dearly.

The Lindsay family had stumbled upon Steven and used the information he possessed to uncover clues about Graham Cole.

Their investigation had eventually led them to Marcus Reed, putting his friend’s life in danger.

Xavier shook his head at his own miscalculation.

Fortunately, the Lindsay family had never discovered that Graham Cole and Xavier Kane were the same person.

Had they uncovered his true identity, their scheme might have succeeded.

He turned his attention to the wounded Bloodthirsty Monk.

"Call Damien Lindsay," he said. "Tell him you’ve captured Mira and ask him to come here."

According to the monk’s earlier confession, he and Ruthless Blade had been assigned to carry out the initial stage of the operation.

Damien and Harold Lindsay were supposed to arrive later and deal with Graham Cole once he appeared.

Xavier had no intention of letting the matter end with the deaths of two hired fighters.

Since the Lindsay family had chosen to target the people around him, he would respond decisively enough to make them think twice before attempting anything similar again.

The Bloodthirsty Monk glanced toward his severed arm, which lay several feet away.

"Sir Xavier, my phone is inside the spatial ring on that hand," he said.

Xavier walked over and kicked the severed limb toward him.

The monk dragged himself across the floor and picked up the spatial ring with his teeth.

Using his mental energy, he retrieved a mobile phone and a small bell decorated in seven colors.

A vicious glint flashed across his eyes. Die, you bastard!

Without warning, the Bloodthirsty Monk shook his head and rang the bell. A piercing sound spread through the factory.

At that instant, an intense pain struck Xavier’s mind, as though something were trying to tear his consciousness apart.

Yet before the attack could do any real damage, chaotic energy surged around him and formed an invisible barrier that shielded his mind.

Xavier remained unharmed. However, when he glanced behind him, he saw Marcus clutching his head in agony.

There was no time to investigate the strange weapon.

Xavier crossed the distance in a single movement and delivered a powerful kick to the Bloodthirsty Monk.

The monk’s body crumpled beneath the blow, his eyes bulging with disbelief as the colorful bell slipped from his grasp.

"How... how is that possible?" he gasped, struggling to raise his head, unable to understand what had gone wrong.

"That’s a 6th-Grade Soul-Disrupting Bell! Even a Star Sea Realm martial artist can lose their mind under its influence. How could you possibly resist it?"

He never received an answer. Xavier’s kick had been merciless, and the damage to the monk’s body was too severe.

After forcing out those final words, his heart stopped beating.

The Bloodthirsty Monk was dead.

Xavier immediately turned toward his friend.

"Marcus, wake up!" he called.

After a short while, Marcus’s expression gradually returned to normal. He rubbed his forehead in confusion and looked at Xavier.

"I’m fine now," he said. "What happened just now?"

"I let my guard down and fell for that bald bastard’s trick," Xavier replied.

"Fortunately, you’re all right. I’ll finish cleaning up here, and then we’ll leave together."

Marcus nodded obediently.

Only after confirming that his friend had recovered did Xavier allow himself to relax.

He had genuinely underestimated the Bloodthirsty Monk.

Despite being a peak Spirit Platform Realm martial artist, the man had possessed a weapon capable of threatening even experts at the Star Sea Realm.

If not for the chaotic energy that had automatically protected Xavier, the sudden mental attack might have left him vulnerable.

His rapid rise in strength had brought another problem with it: complacency.

After defeating opponents far stronger than himself and killing Selene while still at the 3rd-Level of the Spirit Platform Realm, Xavier had begun to assume that ordinary fighters at the peak of the same realm posed little danger.

That assumption could have cost him dearly. Fortunately, the chaotic energy had protected him, and the lesson had come without serious consequences.

I won’t make the same mistake twice.

Xavier shook his head and retrieved the Bloodthirsty Monk’s spatial ring along with the seven colored bell.

He was becoming increasingly familiar with collecting the belongings of defeated enemies, though he had no intention of becoming careless about the risks involved.

Next, he searched the remains of Ruthless Blade for his spatial ring.

He checked the area twice but found nothing. It reminded him of his encounter with Shadow, the Bloodshadow Cult assassin he had killed in the Hunting Ground Secret Realm.

Shadow had not possessed a spatial ring either.

Xavier waved off the feeling of disappointment. One ring is better than none.

He then examined the Bloodthirsty Monk’s belongings.

A moment later, his expression grew sour.

Compared with Pat Marty, whom he had killed only a few days earlier, the monk was practically destitute.

His spatial ring contained little beyond ordinary personal items, fewer than ten 4th-Grade elixirs, and a single 5th-Grade Spirit-Activating Elixir.

There were no martial arts manuals and no substantial cultivation resources.

Xavier found it difficult to believe that a peak Spirit Platform Realm martial artist could possess so little.

Still, he had gained something far more interesting than the monk’s meager collection.

His attention settled on the seven colored bell. He had never encountered such an artifact before.

If the monk’s dying words were accurate, it was a 6th-Grade magical weapon known as the Soul-Disrupting Bell, capable of affecting even Star Sea Realm experts.

Its value was undoubtedly considerable.

Xavier turned the small artifact over in his hand, examining its unusual surface. I’ll have to find a record of this thing and learn how it works.

He put the bell away for later study, then returned to the immediate problem.

"It’s getting late," he said. "We need to finish up and leave."

Using the Bloodthirsty Monk’s spatial ring, Xavier stored the bodies of both the monk and Ruthless Blade.

When he had killed Collins Lindsay and Pat Marty, there had been too many witnesses nearby for him to dispose of their bodies discreetly.

This situation was different. These two men were merely hired enforcers. If their deaths were discovered too soon, Damien and Harold Lindsay might become suspicious before Xavier could learn anything more about the family’s plans.

He intended to delay that discovery for as long as possible, just as he had done when dealing with Ethan Carter’s parents.

The Lindsay family would eventually realize that something had gone wrong, but every extra hour of uncertainty would work in Xavier’s favor.

Once the bodies were secured, he looked at Marcus.

"Go outside and keep your distance from the factory," he said.

Marcus was puzzled by the instruction, but he did as he was told.

The moment he stepped beyond the entrance, however, he witnessed something that left him rooted to the spot.

Xavier stood inside the factory with both hands extended.

Orange and blue flames appeared around him without warning, spreading rapidly until they covered the entire interior.

The fire swept across the floor, consuming the bloodstains, weeds, dust, and other traces of the fight.

Within moments, the abandoned factory had been thoroughly cleansed of the evidence left behind by the battle.

This was the power of Xavier’s Fire Rune Stone.