Arrival of a Guest

The next morning, Dan and Natalie were summoned by Mathias, according to the latter, the Phantom Mistress has once again commenced her attack. At first, Mathias ignored this issue but when a high-ranking member of the Empire has died, he had no other choice but to summon his workforce and thoroughly investigate the matter.

According to the clues found in the crime scene, the official died from a swift strike at his jugular. Which means, this could only be the work of a Night Ranger Assassin and shouldn't be the work of the Phantom Mistress who electrocutes her enemy to death.

After giving them a warning that they should be careful, Mathias dismissed the two and they returned back to their residence. Cooking up some lunch, the family resumed their routine and finishing their meal, Dan returned back to his room to cultivate, he was eager to break through the next realm, the Organ Tempering Realm.

Every cultivator in this world has a dantian that has a natural affinity to a certain element. Because of Dan's bloodline, he had an affinity to the Lightning Element. His dantian shone in an azure light and inside it, crackled numerous lightning sparks.

Calling upon the power of those sparks, Dan circulated them inside his body according to the method taught to him by his father, it reached the five major organs and cleansed them of all impurities before hammering it with pure lightning. Dan gritted his teeth, though the power of lightning purified his body, it also gave him an intense sharp pain that intermittently pulsated.

Beaded sweats formed on his forehead and several hours later, the power of lightning finally dissipated, leaving him powerless as he crumbled on the ground. His expression completely pale and looked like it didn't have any blood in it but his eyes shone in a light of joyfulness and mirth.

"I finally broke through the Organ Tempering Realm!" He mumbled and after waiting for the pain to recede, he sat upright and started gathering Qi within his dantian.

His azure dantian greedily swallowed the Spiritual Qi that floated in the air, and under ten minutes, his dantian that had the same size as a water bucket became full. The rate of consumption made him suspicious, but he disregarded it, thinking that it should be one of the benefits of cultivating a Divine Art.

Natalie, having a higher cultivation than him, sensed the fluctuations in the air and embraced him, greeting him for his success. Dan rubbed his head and smiled, "This calls for a celebration!" He mumbled and prepared to cook his and Juliet's favorite dishes.

Throughout the entire afternoon, the family happily cooked together and enjoyed each other's company. The adorable Juliet even joined in the cooking, beating eggs after eggs as Dan chuckled at her stained countenance.

Finishing their preparations, the dining table became filled with numerous colorful dishes as Dan sighed to himself, "Goddamned it, I just realized it but it seems like I'm running out of money..." His expression looked tragic as he glanced at his empty cloth bag.

Natalie noticed his expression and clung on his arm, "Don't worry, I can ask Senior Mathias for money, surely he wouldn't be so stingy..." Dan's gaze swept over her before saying, "Nah, that's not necessary, I can just take some work, staying in here all the time suffocates me,"

Natalie chuckled, "Yeah, right," Lifting her head, she said, "But what job are you taking?"

Hearing her words, Dan fell into deep contemplation, the knowledge that he had from the previous owner of this body, indicated that the most lucrative job within an Empire was Alchemy. "Wait, I have the Crafting System! Fuck!" He mumbled and cursed himself, how could he forget about the fact that second to Alchemists, Forgers earn quite a good amount of money!

He facepalmed and Natalie threw him a confused look, "Papa, come here, let's eat!" Juliet suddenly interjected and when the couple turned, they realized that Juliet was already eating, with her lips covered in curries.

Dan chuckled, ruffled her head and said, "Look at you, what a glutton!" Juliet chortled, painstakingly raising her spoon, she pressed it at Dan's mouth and the latter opened wide, swallowing the contents of the spoon in one gulp.

Natalie revealed a sweet smile upon witnessing the interactions between the two. Her heart became filled with complicated emotions. She wished that this kind of scene would last forever. But she also knew, deep within her heart that her wish was just a pipe dream that would never come true.

After she started walking on the path of demonic cultivation, there was no coming back.

She lifted her head and stared at her husband, at least, she had a companion on this lonely path of cultivation.

The family continued their dinner and when they were in the middle of it, someone suddenly knocked on the door and when Natalie opened it, someone who should not be here, greeted her, which made her dumbfounded as she stood there like a statue.

Juliet turned around while Dan focused on his meal. When the former saw the figure near the entrance of the door, she shouted, "Grandpa!" The little girl jumped out of her seat and ran towards her grandpa as Zaramias said, "Oh, little girl, you're this big, already!"

He ruffled the hair of the young girl and Dan lifted his head, "Father? Why did you come here?" He asked, his eyebrows knitted,

"Don't be so cold, Dan, can't I just visit my son whom I've been missing for several weeks?" Zaramias chuckled and sat on an empty chair, glancing at Natalie, his expression softened and said, "Young girl, it seems like you've grown stronger these past weeks, I do hope that you can accompany my son..."

His words made Natalie embarrassed, but she still squeezed out a sweet smile and said, "Of course, that's one of my duties, father."

"How diligent," The former commented before turning to Dan, "My son, you also became stronger, to think that in the past weeks you were just a young man indulged in debauchery and the pleasures of life..." Hearing his words, Dan's expression became awkward as he glanced at Natalie.

After finding out that she didn't look angry, he sighed in relief and said, "There's this saying that says, thirty years ago, the river flows from east to west, and thirty years later, the river flows from west to east..."

"Indeed, changes really do come fast..."Zaramias sighed, complicated emotions flashed on his face which didn't escape Dan's perception.

The family continued their dinner and with Zaramias here, Juliet became more active and played with her grandpa, even spoonfeeding him which delighted the former. Natalie also joined the fun, but her target was Dan whom in each time she spoonfed him, would reluctantly suppress his embarrassment and open his mouth.

The dining room became filled with laughter as the family completed their meals and proceeded to their own rooms. Dan gave Zaramias a guest room while Natalie brought her daughter with her into their own room.

The little girl Juliet became elated by the fact that she could once again sleep with her parents while Dan's expression looked bitter. Because she was here, the chances of him being intimate with Natalie was close to none.

Throwing a fierce glare at Natalie, the latter chuckled before ignoring him and directly going to sleep. The veil of the intensified as midnight approached. Virtually everyone was asleep, with the exception of Dan who sneaked away from the bed and walked outside of the room.

Taking out a dagger, he activated Stealth and entered the Guest Room by comboing Flicker's invincibility attributes which resulted in him, entering without being detected nor opening the door. Reemerging from Stealth, Dan clicked his tongue, he couldn't use his Modern Weapons since the walls of the Guest Room didn't contain any Sound Isolating Formation.

And such a loud explosion inside a silent environment would definitely awaken, not only Natalie and Juliet but also their neighbors.

Approaching the man sleeping under the sheets, Dan raised his daggers before ruthlessly stabbing down. He felt some feedback, but his expression changed before turning around and staring at the ghastly figure of Zaramias who stared at him with an amused smile, "My son, just why are you trying to kill your father?" His tone was tragic and full of disappointment.