With the appearance of the Imperial Decree, Rudolph's death was sealed. Staring at the mess of flesh that looked like a pancake, Natalie dragged Dan and both of them hurriedly absorbed Rudolph's cultivation base remnant.
The wounds that Dan suffered and his Spiritual Qi Reserve filled up once again. At the back, Grace stared at the scene of destruction with complicated emotions on her face. Darting her gaze at Natalie, she didn't know about how she should face her.
When she first arrived at the Paradyne Academy and was given shelter by Natalie. The attitudes that Natalie displayed to her were kindness, tenderness, and thoughtfulness. She didn't expect that such a young woman whom she thought of as an Elder Sister figure actually possessed such a terrifying side.
After absorbing a part of Rudolph's cultivation base, Dan's dantian felt full and gave off a sensation that it was about to burst. Staring at what remained of Rudolph and the scene of annihilation before him. Dan heaved a sigh of relief.
If he didn't discover that secret function of the System and didn't use his strongest trump card and risk his life. Dan was certain that he would be the one that was now on his way to the yellow springs. Natalie glanced at Dan, the moisture in her eyelids indicated her worries for his well-being.
However, she knew that Dan's ruthlessness towards himself and his enemy was a vital trait that he should nurture if he wanted to survive in this world. Sighing in her heart, she said no more and darted her gaze at Grace.
Grace who felt Natalie's gaze trembled for a moment. Her pale expression expressed that she was in shock about Natalie's drastic change in attitude in the battlefield. Revealing a wry smile, Natalie approached her and said.
"Sister Grace, after seeing what I did earlier, do you hate me?"
Grace's figure trembled, the truth was, she didn't hate Natalie, but after witnessing so much violence throughout her entire life. She felt subconsciously afraid of Natalie because of her display. Shaking her head, she calmed her mind and resolved herself.
"No, I won't hate Elder Sister just because of that, I'm sorry but I still can't believe that someone as lovely as Elder Sis could become so terrifying when angered..." Grace spoke her heart out and Natalie's lips lifted into a smile.
"The only reason why I became like that was to protect the people that I love, and that includes you, Grace..." Natalie moved closer to Grace and held both of her hands.
Feeling the warmth from Natalie's hands, Grace felt a surreal sensation rising through her chest. It was as if she finally found the missing piece of her heart and solved the puzzle. Before she knew it, tears streamed down her cheek and she buried herself into Natalie's chest.
Though Grace suffused a brave and unyielding front, the truth was she was still a young maiden whose heart wasn't as sturdy as those ancient cultivators that lived for several thousands of years. Unlike them, Grace was someone whose heart wasn't completely stained by the world's filth.
Dan removed his gaze from the two before taking his Authority Token out and infusing it with his Spiritual Qi.
Inside a luxurious room above the peak of a towering mountain. Mathias' could be seen covered with a quilt, his expression looked relaxed and his deep snoring and the occasional smile that flashed on his face expressed that he was in the middle of a good dream.
Suddenly.
Mathias' eyes snapped open and his expression turned solemn. A stream of information struck his mind and forcefully awakened him. However, that wasn't the reason why his face looked so cold. It was because of the contents of the information that he received from Dan.
"It seems like these several decades of me letting them run wild in their own territories made those bastards from the Medicine Pavilion complacent that I won't interfere with their operations." Mathias flicked his wrist and his clothes changed into a fitting and domineering one.
From the previous pajamas made from silk, he was now clad in a fiery purple robe. His knitted, sharp eyebrows made him look imposing and the terrifying air of anger that surrounded his body increased the temperature of the room itself.
"I was planning on purging these organizations inside the Academy but it looks like there's a need to purge them as soon as possible or else rebels may spawn within them..." Mathias' figure blurred before reappearing above the skies.
Staring at the direction of the Inner Disciples Region. A deafening roar rang out and within a blink of an eye, Mathias disappeared above the mountain peak.
Pavilion Chief Maxwell of the Medicine Pavilion calmly sat before a jade table. Above the jade table was a cup of the finest tea available in the entire Empire. With a tranquil expression on his face, he took a sip and savored the exotic flavor that wrapped his tongue.
Bang!
A hole suddenly appeared on his roof, bringing with it a fierce wave of Spiritual Qi which sent him tumbling backward as a mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth.
Before he could even digest what the hell just happened, another wave of Spiritual Qi battered his body and he was forced to circulate his own cultivation base to fight back against the domineering pressure that continuously pressed him down.
But as soon as he lifted his head and stared at the person that dared to attack the Pavilion Chief of the Medicine Pavilion. His expression underwent a huge change. From the previous expression of complete rage and anger. His visage transformed into fear and despair when he saw the figure of the man that attacked him.
It was the one and only headmaster of the Paradyne Academy. Mathias Paradyne.
"Headmaster? Why are you doing this to me? Did I do something to offend you or perhaps did my subordinate do something uncouth towards your presence?" Maxwell suffused a fawning expression despite the injuries that he suffered under Mathias' hands.
Mathias merely stared at his figure and didn't reply. Rotating his entire cultivation base. The skies itself changed colors and the earth faintly trembled under Mathias' display of his might.
Maxwell's expression turned ugly and no matter how much he racked his brain out, he couldn't understand why the Headmaster suddenly went and troubled him. Unfortunately, the Headmaster never enlightened him as the former gripped his head and forcefully uprooted it from his shoulders.
With widened eyes in regret and unwillingness, Maxwell died and became an indignant ghost that would forever wander the yellow springs in confusion.
Mathias threw the head towards the ground and stomped on it, destroying Maxwell's corpse and burning the remnants into dust.
Mathias' ruthlessness in dealing against his subordinates was one of the reasons why he managed to survive and rise through the ranks amidst the bloody competition for fame and wealth. Taking a fiery parchment from his Spatial Ring, he wrote several sentences before flying towards the direction of the Longinus Pharmaceutical Company.
Upon his arrival, Mathias expressed his apologies towards what happened and said that he already solved the root of the problem. Handing over a fiery parchment to Dan, he retreated and roamed the entire Academy. Cleansing the corrupt members of the organization that took root in his Academy.
Throughout the entire dawn, blood formed rivers and skulls formed mountains. Under Mathias' fury, those who had the thought of creating an upheaval for their own benefit hurriedly tucked their tails inside their asses, while the enemies of the Paradyne Academy that had designs in infiltrating the Academy temporarily retreated. Afraid that they may be caught under Mathias' wrath.
But before the day even started, Mathias made another earth-shattering announcement.
He declared Dan Gabriel Longinus as an Honorary Disciple while handing over everything of the Medicine Pavilion toward the Longinus Pharmaceutical Company. In short, the influence known as the Medicine Pavilion has officially disappeared, replaced by the Longinus Pharmaceutical Company which completely dominated the market because of their two inventions that greatly suited mortals and low cultivation cultivators alike.
Everything happened in under an hour and the entire population of the Paradyne Academy once again witnessed how domineering and forceful their Headmaster could be. Under his orders and laws, no one dared to cause trouble and Dan's name quickly gathered fame, with this, one of Dan's goal was completed and now, it was time for him to celebrate Juliet's birthday along with his family and friends.