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“They can monitor the entire city?” The smug expression Lilith’s face faded away, replaced by a serious look. She carefully scanned the surroundings, as if she was anticipating an imminent threat. “If that were the case, wouldn’t we have been discovered a long time ago? Why haven’t they taken any action yet? It almost feels like they’re toying with us.”

“It’s not as crazy as you think.” Skarst shook his head and chuckled. “Even if they’re peak saint-level experts, they can’t just activate their domain whenever they want, especially when all five of them need to coordinate. And even if they could, expanding it to cover the entire city would require a significant amount of mental power. It’s unlikely that a few petty thieves attempting a jailbreak would be enough to make those five experts intervene. After all, their primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of the city.”

“Glad to hear that.” Lilith let out a sigh of relief.

“However, I think those people are probably not stingy when it comes to giving small support,” Skarst added. “In fact, they are probably the ones blocking the resonance frequency of the spectrum stones in the city, allowing only the ones with a specific frequency to communicate.”

“I see.” Lilith’s spectrum stone had been unusable since just now. Otherwise, they would not have put Kieran in the dangerous position of making the trip.

“This situation is only temporary, right? Once the day breaks, it’ll be time for registration at the Great Celestial Rite. As the grandest event in the Holy Dragon Empire commences, Jeorgetown City will become livelier than ever. People from all over the world will flock to the city, and if they continue to block the use of the spectrum stones, it will cause a lot of trouble.”

“I expected nothing less from you, little sister. You’re really smart,” Skarst praised.

“Of course. And I must say, big brother, you’re not too shabby yourself either,” Lilith responded with a grin.

Not only did he speak fearlessly about the saint-level experts in Jeorgetown City, but he also seemed to be highly knowledgeable with the city’s formation array. Both of these things proved that he was anything but ordinary.

It made Lilith wonder if her sworn brother was truly just a fallen nobleman from the borderlands… Or if he had once been… some sort of bigwig in the empire before he fell from grace.

Creak…

Lilith was just about to ask a question when the closed door suddenly opened, revealing a head poking out from behind it.

A smile immediately spread across Lilith’s face as she greeted the person. “Long time no see, my dear martial niece.”

Diana glanced at her two visitors before fixing her gaze on Lilith, her expression filled with mixed emotions.

“I don’t think it has been that long.”
“Nonsense. I’ve missed my martial niece a great deal. You know what they say, a day without seeing you feels like three autumns. How many days has it been since we last saw each other? It feels like it’s been years.”
“The feeling is not mutual.”
“Come on, don’t be so harsh, my dear martial niece. Have you forgotten the bond between us?”
“I’m not that old man.”
“I didn’t say you were.”

Diana pursed her lips and let out a sigh before speaking in a low voice, “Come in.”

She slowly pushed the door open and stepped aside, making way for the others. “Keep your voices down, we don’t want to disturb the owner of this residence. After all, I’m just a guest here.”

“Got it.” Lilith shot Skarst a look before leading him into the residence.

As soon as they entered through the front door, Lilith’s nose was assaulted by the strong smell of medicine.

The smell came from the depths of the residence, easily overlooked by an average person if they were not paying attention. The fragrant flowers in the courtyard and the breeze helped mask it, but to Lilith, it was as overpowering as the stench of a decaying rat in a drawer.

It was pungent and heart-wrenching.

Lilith turned her gaze toward the room in the deepest part of the courtyard and frowned. “His condition worsened?”

“No, the herbs are used to promote blood circulation. Otherwise, lying in bed for too long can easily lead to other problems,” Diana calmly replied, but her eyes were dull and lifeless under the light of the lamp.

Lilith let out a sigh and said, “Let’s go.”

They turned right at the end of the courtyard and saw a row of ancient houses. The door frames and window sills were adorned with golden dragon patterns. Although the dragon was the totem of the Holy Dragon Empire, not just anyone could have it carved on their door frames. It appeared that the owner of this manor was not an ordinary noble.

However, Lilith was not in the mood to find out. Even if the owner of this manor was the current emperor, it had nothing to do with her.

Nothing was more important than the situation at hand.

As soon as the door to the room was slowly pushed open, a sudden strong pungent smell caught them off guard. Lilith quickly noticed the emaciated figure lying on the bed.

It was her senior martial brother, Elder White.

His eyes were tightly shut, as if he had been sleeping this whole time. The abundant life force continuously drained from his body. If it weren’t for the life source within him constantly replenishing the old man’s rapid loss of vitality, he would have been dead long ago.

This old man’s vitality was also the reason behind the flourishing flowers and plants in the courtyard.

Skarst, standing behind Lilith, remarked with interest, “Oh? How intriguing.” He walked up to Elder White and touched the old man’s forehead with his dirty fingers.

“You!”

Startled by the stranger’s sudden action toward Elder White, Diana’s instincts kicked in. She immediately went into alert mode, reacting like an animal whose tail had just been stepped on.

“Wait.” Lilith stopped Diana and whispered, “Let him take a look.”

“But…” Diana hesitated, finding it difficult to trust this homeless-looking person. If he had not been with Lilith, he would have even been allowed in the door.

“Trust me.”

“…Fine.” Diana suppressed her murderous intent. Although this so-called martial aunt of hers had always been unreliable, she believed that a dragon princess like her would not bring herself to harm him in any way.

Skarst withdrew his fingers and exclaimed, “Interesting, very interesting indeed.”

“Did you figure something out, big brother?” Lilith had always been deeply troubled by Elder White’s mysterious illness. Though not life-threatening, it caused him immense suffering that seemed unbearable.

Even the highly skilled individuals at St. Caroline Academy were unable to find a solution. So, seeing her sworn brother having some leads brought her a sense of relief and joy.

“This is a curse. There’s no doubt about it,” Skarst stroked his chin and said confidently.

“A curse?”

“That’s right, one that is able to so bizarrely drain a person’s vitality. He may look fine on the outside, but his body is as fragile as a vase with cracks running through it. Aside from unconventional methods that originate from some shady sects, only a curse can achieve such an effect.”

“Are curses this powerful? Why have I never seen anyone using them?”

“That’s because curses come with many limitations. A single mistake can result in disastrous consequences, making one’s life more unbearable than death itself. That’s why not many people dare to dabble in it. Besides, it is also quite troublesome to use, which explains why they possess a myriad of diverse effects, each more terrifying than the last.”

Skarst put his hands together, causing a ball of barely visible vitality to slowly gather in the centre of his palms. He gently closed his hands and the ball of vitality dissipated.

“If it wasn’t for the remarkable amount of vitality in this old man’s body, he would have perished ages ago. How has he managed to endure for so long? How astonishing. In all my years, I have never witnessed such a potent life force. If it were not lost due to the curse, it was more than enough to rejuvenate this old man by two centuries,” Skarst exclaimed.

Lilith rolled her eyes. How could Elder White’s life force not be terrifying? The drop of blood in his body belonged to a real deity.

It was something she received in return for cradling Cornelia all night and humming a lullaby!

“Is there a way to cure it?” a voice suddenly interrupted.

“Of course, but he who tied the bell on the tiger must untie it. You need to find out the person who cast the curse in order to undo it.”

“The person who cast the curse? How do I identify them?”

“A medium. Every curse is cast through a medium. If you can find the medium and trace it back to the person who did it, undoing it will be a simple task.”