Chapter 85: First Threat Averted, There Is More

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: First Threat Averted, There Is More

Caleb had been wondering about the same thing ever since the mysterious expert appeared.

He had held back his questions while dealing with the immediate danger, but now his curiosity could no longer be contained.

Johnny was equally interested. If Mr. X really was in his early twenties and already possessed strength capable of overwhelming two 7th-Star Spirit Platform martial artists, he was an extraordinary talent.

Arcadia Academy would certainly benefit from someone like him, and Johnny had no intention of overlooking such an opportunity.

Mira hesitated before answering.

"Mr. X belongs to the Extraordinary Division," she said. "Minister Bush personally invited him to join. Evelyn Hart knew him before I did, so she might know a little more about him."

She deliberately kept her explanation brief.

Mr. X was clearly a private person, and she did not want to reveal information about him without his permission.

Besides, her mind was still in turmoil. Only a few days ago, she had been worried about her own cultivation and uncertain how she would survive the threats hanging over her.

Now, a man who had seemed to possess only Foundation Establishment level strength not long ago had effortlessly crippled two 7th-Star Spirit Platform martial artists.

How had he improved so dramatically in such a short time?

The more she thought about it, the less she understood.

Yet one thing remained certain: Mr. X had saved her again. Whatever the true extent of his strength or the secrets surrounding his identity, she was deeply grateful to him.

At Johnny’s request, everyone’s attention shifted toward Evelyn, who was traveling with the same group.

Evelyn shook her head immediately.

"I don’t know much about Mr. X myself," she said. "Until he gives me permission, I won’t share anything about him."

Her response was not an excuse. She was still trying to process what she had witnessed.

The power Mr. X had displayed was far beyond what she had expected, and she had no desire to interfere in matters she did not understand.

Johnny recognized that pressing them would accomplish nothing.

"I’ll speak with Minister Bush later," he said, putting the matter aside for the time being.

Then his expression turned serious again as he faced Mira.

"There’s something else I need to understand," he said. "Why would the Sinclair family go to such lengths to take you back? Whatever their reasons, we can’t protect you properly unless we know what we’re dealing with."

Mira fell silent. She had spent so long trying to put the Sinclair family behind her that recounting everything felt like reopening an old wound.

However, she also knew that the academy’s protection would be much more effective if its leadership understood the full situation.

She took a breath and began explaining what had happened.

She told them about her parents’ disappearance, the removal of her Celestial Core, and the way the Sinclair family had transferred it to another family member.

She explained how her relatives had used a fabricated accusation about her trying to seduce her cousin to justify expelling her from the family.

After stripping her of her cultivation advantage and reputation, they had left her with nowhere to turn.

She had also learned that her mother, Helena, might still be alive, despite the family having allowed her to believe otherwise.

Now, the Sinclair family was trying to force her into Collins Lindsay’s hands to strengthen its relationship with the Lindsay family.

By the time Mira finished, the surrounding students were staring at her in disbelief. For a moment, nobody spoke. Then their shock gave way to anger.

"How could the Sinclair family do something like that to their own daughter?" one student demanded.

"I have a friend who knows someone in the family," another said. "He told me that one of the younger Sinclair members has improved tremendously lately. So they really took Mira’s Celestial Core and gave it to him? That’s disgusting!"

"I heard that same guy is entering the Barley Cup," a third added. "If I draw him as my opponent, I’ll make sure he regrets what his family did!"

"Mira, you’re better off without them," someone else said. "If you’d stayed, who knows what else they would have taken from you?"

"And the Lindsay family isn’t any better! They know the Sinclair family is forcing her into this, and they’re still willing to go along with it?"

The students had known that Mira’s relationship with her relatives was strained, but none of them had imagined the truth was so ugly.

The more they learned, the more disgusted they became with the Sinclair family.

Their anger intensified when Gerald and Paul finally began to regain consciousness.

Several students immediately turned toward the two elders with contempt.

One of them spat on the ground beside them, while another openly cursed them.

A few were so furious that they wanted to step forward and teach the pair a lesson themselves.

The Vice principal stopped them before anyone could act.

"That’s enough," he said. "Don’t make this worse."

His gaze settled on the two elders, and his expression became icy.

"Arcadia Academy and the Extraordinary Division will investigate this matter and demand an explanation from the Sinclair family," he said.

"Until then, neither of you is going anywhere. You will answer for what you’ve done."

Gerald and Paul barely reacted to his threats. They were too preoccupied with the horrifying realization that their spiritual spaces had been destroyed.

They tried to circulate their energy, hoping they had somehow misunderstood the damage.

Instead, they encountered only a chaotic void where their spiritual foundations should have been.

Years of cultivation had brought them to the 7th Star of the Spirit Platform Realm.

They had endured countless hardships to reach that level, only to have everything destroyed in a matter of seconds.

The prospect of losing their strength was almost unbearable.

They had come intending to drag Mira back to the Sinclair family, convinced that no one would dare interfere.

Now, not only had their mission failed, but they had also lost the very power that had made them influential.

For the first time, both elders understood what it meant to be completely helpless.

While the academy dealt with the aftermath of the confrontation, Mr. X had already left the area and made his way toward Constance District. He had other matters to attend to, and time was running out.

* * *

Inside the office of Renewal Martial Academy, Steven Holloway sat stiffly behind his desk, his expression tense as he faced the man known as Graham Cole.

Over the past two days, Steven had done everything he could to find information about the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction.

He had mobilized his subordinates, chased down every lead he could uncover, and put himself at considerable risk to gather information that might save his life. ℯℯ𝑙.

Now his deadline had arrived.

Mr. X studied him with a faint, unreadable smile.

"Well?" he said. "Your two days are up. Have you found anything useful?"

Steven’s throat tightened. He could still feel the chaotic energy lodged inside his chest. It remained dormant for now, but he had no doubt that Mr. X could make good on his threat to detonate it.

The destruction of his right arm had already shown him what happened when his employer lost patience. He had no intention of discovering what the same energy could do to his heart.

"My lord, I’ve spent the past two days mobilizing everyone under my command," Steven said quickly.

"We’ve managed to locate and capture an outer member of the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction. He’s one of the people involved in Helena’s abduction."

Mr. X’s expression sharpened at the name.

"Go on," he said.

"According to the man, Helena is still alive," Steven continued.

"However, he doesn’t know where the faction is keeping her. He was only involved in the operation itself and wasn’t told where she would be taken afterward." He paused briefly before continuing.

"I’ve also received a new assignment from the Bloodshadow Cult. They want me to gather information for another operation. I used the opportunity to contact my superior, the person known by the codename Tea House."

That finally caught Mr. X’s full attention.

Steven had previously described Tea House as the person who recruited him into the Bloodshadow Cult’s information gathering network.

Although Steven was only a peripheral member, his connection to the organization gave him access to information that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.

"What did Tea House tell you?" Mr. X asked.

"She agreed to meet me in person and hand over the details of my next assignment," Steven said.

"The meeting is scheduled for ten this morning, near the old bridge over the Dolly River."

Steven watched Mr. X carefully, hoping the information would be enough to keep him alive.

He had spent two days working almost without rest, knowing that his survival depended on whether he produced results or not.

Finding a captured member of the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction and arranging a meeting with Tea House had been difficult enough.

Now all he could do was wait and see whether Mr. X considered his efforts worthwhile.