Chapter 32.1

 Jason and Katherine reached out and shook hands. As soon as their hands touched, a spark of electricity traveled through both of them and the two looked at each other with mild surprise as they recognized the strength they were concealing respectively.

A Practitioner?! Jason thought as he almost raised an eyebrow in surprise. He looked at Katherine's face with the lingering smile he previously gave her, but deep down he was shocked. He could feel that Katherine was doing the same as him: compressing and suppressing her cultivation level to that of a human. Yet Jason could sense the strong vitality and burning spiritual power that could almost rival his own. No it was stronger than his own.

Katherine Rogue, the Paris Hilton wannabe, the billionaire bachelorette, the Wastreless of the Rogues, is a Practitioner? Jason asked himself inwardly. Not only that but these flames … they're oddly familiar.

His eyes traveled down to her neck and he noticed her carrying a pendant similar to his. While his pendant was of a dragon and a black jewel, hers was of a flaming bird perched atop a ruby with its wings spread out. His eyes narrowed for a moment as he realized that the pendant carried the same archaic aura his own had before he looked back up at her brightly burning hazel eyes.

Katherine also looked at Jason but, unlike him, she wasn't able to cover her surprise. She knew the Jason from her past life cultivated, he was the successor to the Dragons after all. Just like how she inherited the Phoenixs' will, Jason inherited the Draconic Cultivation as a Descender but what she was feeling right now was much more oppressive and chaotic than even those boundless mythical beings.

An unfathomable depth, darker and deeper than the abyss itself and not unlike that of a black hole, Kathrine thought as she felt his power; it was the only way she could describe the feeling of his strength. What kind of Formulae could possibly be so … esoteric? It's almost as though it's a law of the universe ...

The two held hands and stared at each other quietly for some time, and the people around them, especially the girls, noticed their behavior. The tense smile, looks of surprise, and the awkward atmosphere prevailing around the two had everyone scratching their heads.

"Quite a grip you've got there," Jason said as he composed himself while allowing his eyes to move to her hand which was still gripping his.

"Right back at you, Jay," Katherine replied unconsciously. She was used to his glib tongue and would reply just as quickly due to habit.

"My friends call me that," Jason said with a biting smile while the corner of his eyes narrowed. His meaning was evident to Katherine who realized her slip of tongue.

"Right," Kathrine said as she pulled her hand away. "But seeing as how you're my cousin and all, I think we're familiar enough to be called friends. Besides, I have this terrible habit of calling people by nicknames, it's - it's something I picked up from an old friend."

And by old friend, I mean you, Katherine thought. Jason had this terrible habit of shortening people's name into nicknames. A habit he still had, judging from the amused stares everyone was sending him.

As she looked at him fondly, Jason's smile faded as he felt an uneasiness settle in him. He saw the tender look of familial love in her eyes and he couldn't understand why she would be like this with him. What also bothered him was the fact that she called him the nickname all the kids, including John, would call him when he was younger back when he was still a sweeper for the mercenaries.

"Please stop staring, I won't get anymore dashing," he joked but a visible shudder ran through him because of her stare.

"Oh, gross!" Kathrine said with disgust as she pulled away from him in horror. "I know you're narcissistic but please, not every woman will swoon to you."

"I'm not - you -" Jason was speechless when he heard her rebuttal and the less than impressed gaze she bestowed upon him.

The others, especially Alina, watched on in surprise; this was the first time that Jason was pressured by a woman other than Alina, who was only capable of doing so because of how she viewed him.

"Right right, you're not narcissistic," Kathrine corrected herself. "You're dashing."

"Pfft," a laugh almost escaped Alina's closed lips and she looked away while covering her mouth with the back of her hand. Katherine turned to her and stared at Alina with the same fondness she had for Jason.

"It's good to see you, Alle," Katherine said softly. "I'm glad to see that you're alright."

"Ookaay," Alina muttered. "This ... feels weird."

"Tell me about it," Jason muttered back and Katherine smiled wryly before turning to the others.

"Sorry about that," she told them. "I was too caught up that I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Katherine Rogue. It's nice meeting you."

She shook hands and introduced herself to everyone starting from Silvia and the newly arrived Junco. The former, Silvia, was extremely quiet this time. Like Jason, she felt a certain suppression emitting from Katherine, an aura that was wild and oppressive much like Jason's. She wasn't sure what that meant, but she suspected Katherine of having a similar strength to Jason. Regardless, she couldn't do anything about it since behind Katherine was the world's leading company in … well, almost everything.

After listening to everyone's introduction, Katherine turned to Alice and looked taken aback. She then turned to Jason and sighed with a knowing look.

"Really now," Katherine said with a shake of her head. "Shouldn't you be introducing your daughter? After all, she's a cute kid."

And my niece. Technically, Katherine thought in her head. Still, this is … strange. Did he have a kid in the previous world?

Jason didn't answer and instead frowned. How was she able to tell that Alice was his daughter? Selena also snapped her head and looked at Alice. The tumultuous feeling brewing inside her reached a new level when she heard what Katherine said and her breathing faded for a moment as her heart cried with a hollow pain.

"I'm Alice, it's nice to meet you!" Alice took a step forward and introduced herself cutely. Regardless of his flaws, Jason was still her father and even though Katherine said it as a joke, Alice took her jibe seriously. "Dad, do we have an aunt? Is she a punk? Does that make her a punk aunt?"

Jason smirked while Alina tried wiping her smile with her sleeves. Katherine looked surprised before asking Alice curiously. "What makes me look like a punk?"

"Your hair," Alice said simultaneously. "I was told punks dye their hair in weird colors."

"Well, can't argue with that," Selena muttered under her breath as Alina stifled another laughter and Katherine glared at Selena reproachfully.