Chapter 142

Chapter 142

Manuel hid the deeper look in his eyes and nodded firmly. "Of course. King, just have him come up."

Right after he spoke, a man strode in from outside the hall and bowed respectfully. James and the others exchanged glances and stepped aside without a word. Manuel kept a blank face as he handed over the pill. The man took it seriously, swallowed it in one gulp, then sat cross-legged to feel the Spiritual Energy surging inside him.

Everyone could clearly sense the Spiritual Energy around them rushing wildly toward him. Suddenly, a strong wave rippled through the air. James quickly pulled Evelyn behind him and raised a Spiritual Energy barrier. In the next second, the Spiritual Energy around the man exploded upward. Though his eyes stayed shut, his excitement showed plainly on his face.

Harry felt it too—he had broken through. The hall went quiet for a moment, shock and excitement written on every face. For cultivators, each step in Cultivation Level was like crossing a huge gap. An aid this powerful was something no one had ever heard of.

The man opened his eyes, stood up, and reported excitedly, "King, I've broken through!" He had been stuck at Lv.5 Cultivation Level for over three years. Every try had fallen just short, but now he had finally made it.

Harry smiled, nodded, and waved him off. Then he looked at James and the others. "From now on, Novaria is Nightmare's ally. Terrence and Mr. Ghost Wolf will handle everything with the Hidden World."

James cupped his hands. "Thanks, King."

After leaving the hall, Terrence glanced at the group, his eyes landing on Manuel. Manuel saw the doubt and told him the truth. None of them had tested the perfect version of the Breakthrough Pill. Luckily, the test subject Harry found broke through successfully. Manuel also said he couldn't hand over twenty pills right away, so he gave Harry a taste to keep him hooked and would figure out the rest later.

Terrence knew this group rarely told the full truth and would say anything to get what they wanted. If he didn't already know the inside story, he might have been fooled too.

Just then Chris asked, "So what's next?"

After all the back-and-forth, things were finally settled. James looked up. "Terrence, book us some tickets. Evelyn heads back to Novaria, Elmer to Suriname, and Leo back to New York."

Leo wanted to stay and help James, but James turned him down, saying Leo's teammates in New York still needed him to handle things there. Terrence nodded. "I'll arrange it as soon as possible. The earliest flights are this afternoon. Once you're ready, we can talk about the next steps."

James nodded. "Good."

Back in the hall, everyone was still buzzing with excitement. They were all caught up in the shock of a Lv.5 Cultivation Level expert breaking through with just one pill. If they really got twenty, Novaria's strength would jump to a whole new level.

Walter said happily, "King, this deal is nothing but good for us. If we can deal with the Hidden World, it'll be a huge win."

Harry smiled and nodded. What he really cared about wasn't just the Breakthrough Pills—it was the alchemist behind them. If the guy could make these, maybe he could make other rare pills too. Keeping ties with Nightmare, plus Terrence's connection, would bring Novaria plenty of long-term benefits. Whether now or later, working with Nightmare was the right move.

James and his group didn't know any of Harry's plans. At the airport they said goodbye to their teammates one by one. James and Evelyn had already agreed on the schedule, but parting still felt hard. Evelyn looked at him for a long moment, shook the ticket in her hand, and said softly, "I'm off. Call me if anything comes up."

James smiled and pulled her into his arms just as she turned. Evelyn fell against him, catching the faint pine scent on his clothes. She didn't push away. Instead she stayed in the warm hug, feeling that James was just as reluctant to let go.

They held on until the airport speaker announced her flight. James slowly let go and reminded her, "Be careful once you're back in Coldwater City."

Dwayne looked impatient but still followed Evelyn as planned. In the past he would have argued with James, but after everything that happened, he saw that even someone as strong as James wasn't untouchable. Ever since James got hurt, Dwayne kept picturing him covered in blood—that was why he'd been so quiet lately. This mess was partly his fault, so he decided to follow orders and avoid more trouble.

Evelyn said goodbye to the others, then walked through security with Dwayne right behind her. James watched until they disappeared around the corner before looking away.

After everyone else left, only the Nightmare team and Manuel and Jagger remained. They took a car back to the hotel. Manuel and Jagger went to their rooms while the Nightmare team headed straight to James's room—Roy said he had something important to say.

James looked at their serious faces and raised an eyebrow. "So what's this important thing?"

Roy snapped his fingers, a wisp of Dark Energy appearing at his fingertip. He looked uneasy. "It's weird, Commander. The Dark Energy you gave me sometimes works, but the success rate is really low—maybe one in ten tries."

He looked frustrated, and the two silent guys beside him looked even more troubled. Kirk sighed. "That strand of Dark Energy the Dark Cultivator left in me seemed wild at first, but it was actually weak. It faded away before it could do anything."

Chris nodded. "I already refined the Dark Energy in me too."

James looked at the three of them. The only difference was that Roy's Dark Energy came from him. He still didn't fully understand what kind of power he had, but the real problem clearly lay with the Dark Energy itself.

James reached out and sent a strand of Dark Energy into Kirk and Chris, watching their reactions closely. He hadn't figured out his own situation yet, so this was the best he could do for now.

Just then, noise came from outside—someone seemed to be moving into their floor. James frowned, feeling annoyed. "That's enough for now. Head back. Body types are like a wall I can't get over yet. I can't fix it. You'll have to figure out the details yourselves. Besides giving you Dark Energy, there's not much else I can do."

Kirk and the others left without another word. Because of that, they missed the moment James felt his Dark Energy get suppressed.