Chapter 57: I Am Wherever My Wife Is

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: I Am Wherever My Wife Is

Only then did the four people behind him finally recover from what they had just witnessed. Their eyes were fixed on the enormous corpse lying before them.

The creature had been terrifying enough to make even Grant Mercer, a peak Foundation Establishment martial artist, hesitate. Its strength was clearly approaching the 3rd Tier, putting it close to the level of a Spirit Platform Realm martial artist.

Yet this mysterious newcomer had killed it with only two attacks.

Evelyn was practically speechless.

"It’s... actually dead?" she breathed, staring at the giant lion as though expecting it to get back up.

Grant’s expression was equally stunned.

"I’m at the peak of Foundation Establishment, and I wasn’t confident I could defeat that thing," he said, slowly lowering his weapon.

"Yet he killed it almost instantly." His brows furrowed.

"Didn’t we confirm that only Foundation Establishment martial artists could enter this secret realm?"

Timothy remained silent, his eyes following Xavier’s retreating figure, clearly trying to figure out exactly what he had just witnessed.

Mira, meanwhile, stood completely still. She had survived.

The relief came first, then came shock, and finally an inexplicable sense of gratitude toward the stranger who had appeared at exactly the right moment.

But there was something else bothering her. He felt familiar. Extremely familiar. Mira stared at his back, searching through every memory she possessed.

But there was Nothing.

She could not figure out where she had encountered him before.

Grant was the first to regain his composure. He stepped forward cautiously.

"May I ask who you are?" he asked.

Xavier smiled.

"I was simply passing through," he said. He had already prepared that answer before revealing himself.

Unfortunately, he did not get the opportunity to say anything more. Evelyn suddenly stared at him, her eyes widening.

"Mr. X?" she gasped.

Xavier paused. Of all the people present, Evelyn was the one person who could recognize this disguise, since she had seen him at the Skywater Pavilion auction.

Xavier quickly adapted.

"That’s right," he said, smiling calmly. "You can think of me as an alchemy master who happened to possess a little strength as well."

With that, he tossed the demon core toward Mira. She caught it instinctively.

"This is yours," he said.

Mira looked down at the white core in her hands. Before she could respond, Xavier had already turned around.

"I have somewhere I need to be," he said. "I’ll leave you to it."

He walked away without giving them an opportunity to stop him. He had to leave.

Mira’s eyes were becoming increasingly suspicious, and as her husband, Xavier knew her far too well, just as she knew him just as well.

If he stayed around her for much longer, she might notice some tiny mannerism, expression, or habit that would expose him, and that would completely defeat the purpose of hiding his identity.

And there was another problem. Lydia.

Before entering the secret realm, Xavier had deliberately withheld his chaotic energy from her, so she was still awake.

If she sensed the familiar aura coming from his body while he stood this close to Mira, she might blurt out "Husband!" without warning.

That would be disastrous. There were far too many people around. Xavier absolutely could not allow his real identity to be exposed here.

After putting several hundred meters between himself and the group, Xavier finally relaxed.

Mira definitely suspects something.

He glanced back.

Fortunately, Evelyn thinks I’m Mr. X. That should be enough to throw her off.

And it was. The moment Xavier disappeared from sight, Grant turned toward Evelyn.

"Evelyn, you know that man?" he asked.

Timothy also looked at her.

"He’s an alchemy master?" he asked.

Evelyn nodded.

"Yes. That’s Mr. X," she said.

Grant’s expression changed. His encounter with Mr. X had already left him deeply shaken.

The man’s combat ability alone was extraordinary, but his identity as an alchemy master was even more significant.

An alchemy master was not merely someone capable of refining pills. Such people possessed extraordinary connections.

Powerful families wanted their friendship, martial organizations treated them as honored guests, and whenever an alchemy master needed assistance, countless powerful figures were willing to lend a hand.

So why would someone like Mr. X enter such a dangerous secret realm personally?

Grant could not understand it.

Evelyn, however, had already formed her own conclusion.

"Yes. Mr. X is an alchemy master," she said, looking toward the direction Xavier had disappeared. There was a faint trace of regret in her eyes.

Then she glanced at Mira. The answer seemed obvious to her.

He must have come because of Xavier.

Evelyn remembered how deeply Xavier cared about his wife, and she imagined that he had somehow convinced the mysterious alchemy master to personally enter the secret realm and secretly watch over Mira.

She had no idea how he had managed it, but that was the only explanation that made sense to her.

What kind of connections does Xavier have?

Evelyn could not help feeling envious. Then her gaze dropped to the demon core in Mira’s hands, and the envy became even stronger.

A powerful monster that even Grant feared had been killed, and its demon core had simply been handed to Mira as a gift.

Evelyn sighed inwardly. If I had a husband like that, I’d probably treasure him just as much.

She stepped closer to Mira.

"Since Mr. X gave it to you, just keep it," she said.

Mira was still staring at the direction Xavier had gone. Evelyn continued gently.

"And don’t worry, I won’t reveal anything about him without his permission," she said, pausing before adding, "You can trust him completely."

Mira’s expression remained puzzled. Evelyn thinks Mira knew of Mr X’s existence.

But after hearing Evelyn’s reassurance, Mira did not ask any further questions. Grant and Timothy likewise decided not to pry.

Their attention soon shifted to the object in Mira’s hands. The demon core was exceptionally pure, and even Grant could not hide the envy in his eyes.

Timothy stared at it as well. Neither of them needed an explanation to understand how valuable something like this could be.

Once Xavier was certain the group could no longer see him, he broke into a light run, letting Phantom Step carry him across the grassland with barely a sound.

He put kilometer after kilometer between himself and the others, weaving around low hills and patches of thorned brush until the shapes of Timothy, Grant, Evelyn, and Mira had long since vanished behind him.

Only when he judged the distance safe enough did he finally slow to a stop, standing alone in the middle of the vast, empty grassland. He allowed himself a breath, glancing back the way he had come.

That should be far enough.

It was only then, with the world quiet around him, that the system notifications finally sounded in his mind.

[Congratulations, Host. Your investment in a Tier 2 Top-Grade Demon Core has succeeded. A 100x return has been triggered. You have received a Tier 4 Top-Grade Demon Core!]

[The reward has been transferred to your system storage and can be retrieved at any time.]

Xavier’s eyes lit up.

So that white sphere really was a demon core. And the system actually rewarded me with a hundredfold return!

He could barely contain his excitement as he immediately examined the information attached to his reward.

[Demon Core: Tier 4, Top Grade]

[Effect: A rare core condensed within peak Tier 4 demonic beasts that possess the potential to become Demon Kings. The core can be absorbed directly. Martial artists below the Star Sea Realm can use it to increase their cultivation, with a small possibility of improving their martial arts talent. However, the core contains fragments of the original beast’s consciousness, which may trigger inner demons.]

Xavier’s expression turned thoughtful. Demon cores were not something every demonic beast possessed.

They were extremely rare cultivation treasures, and their value was far beyond that of ordinary monster materials.

In a way, they combined some of the effects of the Creation Pill and Sacred Water, since they could strengthen one’s cultivation while high grade cores could even improve martial arts talent.

Demon cores followed the same ranking system as demonic beasts themselves, from Tier 1 through Tier 7, and each tier was further divided into low, middle, high, and top grades.

As for whether anything existed beyond Tier 7, Xavier had no way of knowing. The same uncertainty applied to martial artists. After reaching the Martial Saint Realm, was there another realm beyond it? No one could say for certain.

But the reward in his hand was already extraordinary enough. A Tier 4 Top-Grade Demon Core represented the condensed essence of a peak Tier 4 demonic beast, and for Xavier, currently at the 7th star of the Foundation Establishment Realm, its value was enormous.

As for the possibility of developing inner demons, Xavier was not worried. He still possessed a Saint Essence Pill, a Grade 5 treasure capable of strengthening one’s foundation, stabilizing cultivation, and suppressing inner demons.

With that in mind, he no longer hesitated.

"Let’s see how far this thing can push me," he murmured.

He retrieved the demon core and brought it directly to his mouth, then inhaled.