Chapter 135

Chapter 135

Beck let out a sigh of relief. Taking more time was fine, as long as it got done.

He lifted his chin and said sincerely, “You can open it now.”

Manuel glanced at Beck, and after confirming there was no objection, he flipped the booklet open without hesitation.

The next second, his pupils shrank.

Beck and James immediately noticed the shift in his expression and leaned in to look. The moment they saw the contents, their faces turned strange too.

Beck was quiet for a long while before he found his voice. “So that’s how it is…”

James never expected he’d accidentally stumbled on the key to breaking through.

Manuel shot James a look, cleared his throat, and pulled them out of their thoughts. “Since we know what’s inside, how should we change the fake copy?”

He left the decision to James and Beck. Thinking was their job; he was only here to do the work.

James reined in his emotions and looked at the other manuals on the shelf. “Just pick any manual, swap out the name, and that’s it. We’re only fooling people anyway. Whether it’s real or fake, they’ll only know after they try it.”

Beck agreed right away and laughed. “Sounds good. Let’s do that. Mr. Barnett, we’ll have to trouble you next.”

Manuel scanned the vault, his eyes shifting slightly, then asked, “Can I use whatever materials are in here?”

Beck waved his hand generously. “Of course. Use whatever you want. Or you can just stay here and make it.”

Manuel’s eyes lit up and he agreed at once. That was exactly what he’d been waiting to hear. He’d need a lot of materials, and fetching them one by one would be a hassle.

James glanced at Manuel, then walked out of the vault with Beck.

James returned to his room, sent a message, and soon the whole Nightmare team gathered. They looked confused about why he’d called them over so suddenly.

James told them about the plan to fake Umbral Infusion and warned them that if they read the contents, they had to keep it to themselves. Roy was curious about what was inside.

James said the way to break through Cultivation Level was to fuse natural energy with Dark Energy. But before trying that, they absolutely couldn’t fight any Dark Cultivators.

Even now, James still wasn’t sure if his Cultivation Level had vanished because of himself or because of the Dark Energy.

Everyone agreed without complaint. They’d wanted to fight Dark Cultivators to get used to them, but since there was something more important now, there was no rush.

Outside the palace, Quincy sensed several strong auras inside and frowned deeply.

He felt more and more uneasy. He slammed his palm on the table. “Who the hell are these people? Uruguay barely deals with outsiders, so why are there suddenly so many strong helpers?”

These sudden reinforcements were all powerful and had pushed them from having the upper hand straight into a disadvantage.

A burly man at the lower right seat spoke carefully. “No one knows who they are, but boss, I heard Nightmare might’ve entered Uruguay. Could it be them?”

Quincy held a high position in Paraguay and didn’t know much about the Hidden World. He said coldly, “Tell me what we should do now.”

They’d sent so many experts to catch Noe, only for this group to wipe them all out. Dragging things out any longer was pointless.

They’d decided to work together to get Umbral Infusion, though each had their own agenda. In comparison, the people inside the palace were united and were simply waiting for Manuel to finish copying it.

Meanwhile, Noe had gone to Beck to ask how to deal with Dark Cultivators. Beck told him not to panic and to learn from James and the others.

Beck thought Noe had never been interested in ruling since he was young. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but he was getting older, and Uruguay would need someone to take over eventually.

Beck even felt that James and his group showing up might be a good thing. With people their age around to compare with, Noe might actually learn something.

Every word of their conversation reached Kirk’s ears.

He scratched his ear and said helplessly, “I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop on a father-son talk, but I can’t help feeling Beck really worries himself sick over that son of his.”

James smiled. “Alright, let’s get to business. I’m going into seclusion to study the Dark Energy and Energy inside me. You guys handle things as they come. No need to call me when Manuel finishes.”

James had a bad feeling about those Dark Cultivators—not because of them, but because of whoever was behind them. If that person really was Donny, they’d all be in trouble. He wasn’t about to leave his life in someone else’s hands.

Kirk and the others knew how serious it was. They answered and left the room.

While everyone was either in seclusion or recovering from injuries, Manuel actually finished copying Umbral Infusion and put it in a wooden box.

He found Beck and handed the box over. “It’s a one-to-one copy. See if you can spot any differences.”

Beck took the box, opened it, and pulled out the fake. He’d studied the real Umbral Infusion carefully before, and now that he looked at this one, it seemed identical—even the feeling it gave off was the same.

He opened the booklet. The handwriting size, the layout—everything was exactly the same. The only difference was the content.

Beck couldn’t help but exclaim, “Each generation really is stronger than the last. Mr. Barnett’s skill in formations and artifact crafting can’t be summed up with just ‘genius.’ This level of ability is rare even in a hundred years. Truly young and accomplished.”

Manuel waved his hand. “You’re too kind, Your Majesty. It’s just some clever tricks.”

After speaking, Manuel looked around and noticed James was missing. He already had an idea why and a trace of worry flashed in his eyes. “Did he say anything before going into seclusion?”

Kirk shook the copy of Umbral Infusion and said bluntly, “Give them the thing and let them leave, but bring more people when we meet them, just in case they try to grab someone as a hostage.”

Manuel nodded. “As long as you’re confident, go ahead.”

Unexpected things happen. James had rushed into seclusion because he was worried something might go wrong.

Beck also glanced at the Lower Five Realms peak experts gathered behind him and said in a low voice, “Stay safe, but don’t attack without thinking.”

After that, Kirk took Umbral Infusion and walked out of the palace with a line of people following.

Elmer didn’t join the group. He stayed behind, a little worried. “Will this really work? They might not believe us.”

Manuel crossed his arms and looked toward the palace gate. “Whether they believe us is one thing. What we need to do is figure out their strength. Besides, this really is Umbral Infusion.”

He didn’t believe these people had come to steal Umbral Infusion without knowing anything about it. They had to know at least part of its secret. What he’d made was a perfect copy—everything matched except the parts they didn’t know. Anyone who saw it would be tempted.

Plus, after dragging this out so long, they should’ve figured out Nightmare’s identity and realized Nightmare wouldn’t stay forever. That meant there was still room to negotiate.

Hearing this, everyone felt a little more at ease.