I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means

Old Jack had gotten up very early today, not to clean the shop, for since taking in Ashley as his apprentice, the shop had never needed his hands, for Ashley had taken over every chore.

However, with her strength, she couldn\'t move the larger items; she could only sweep the floors and wipe the tables, so Old Jack just let her be.

As Old Jack was going over the accounts of the past few days and considering whether to take Little Ashley out for some real-world experience, someone pushed open the door of the shop from the outside.

The person who walked in was a tall and lean man with a somewhat pale complexion, who took a keen interest in looking around Old Jack\'s shop as soon as he entered.

"What do you want?"

Old Jack frowned at the man, asking impatiently.

"This is a shop, isn\'t it? I shouldn\'t have a problem coming in to buy something!"

The man said with a smile, clearly unperturbed by Old Jack\'s somewhat surly attitude.

If Lis had been there, he would have recognized the pale-faced man as the vampire Marion he had encountered on Gedo Street.

"Hmph!"

Old Jack was a bit annoyed but didn\'t say much more; he wasn\'t about to drive a customer away.

Marion chuckled lightly and began to wander around Old Jack\'s shop.

The shop wasn\'t very large, with all the weapons and materials haphazardly sorted into several piles, quite a mess.

But Marion was patient, examining each item carefully, one by one.

A broken sword, a gemstone, he would pick each up to observe closely for a moment before shaking his head and putting it down.

Judging by his earnestness, one might think he was appraising antiques, but this place was neither an antique auction house nor the collection room of a Great Noble.

It was merely Old Jack\'s small, dark, and cramped shop.

Old Jack was lounging in his chair, toying with Gold Coins, while watching Marion closely.

At first, he hadn\'t noticed anything particular, although the customer did not exude any special aura, but Old Jack couldn\'t help feeling on edge.

To all appearances, the customer seemed polite and harmless, but Old Jack\'s Spiritual Sense warned him that the person admiring the goods wasn\'t a normal human but a monster in human skin.

Without the sense of urgency he had at the beginning, Old Jack quietly waited for Marion to continue his slow examination.

After a long while, Marion finished inspecting the minerals and Magical Beast Materials that Old Jack had placed near the entrance and, with a slight furrow of his brow, began searching through the assorted, somewhat damaged and dirty weapons and armor.

Where could it be?

Marion hadn\'t come to Old Jack\'s little store simply to pass the time; he was actually searching for Divine Son around Langai Street and incidentally looking for those traitors, when he faintly sensed something special here.

It was not the wretchedness of the rabble but a pure Blood Energy fluctuation, similar to that of the Blood Clan. Stay updated through empire

He had thought he finally found the trace of Divine Son, but upon arriving, he found it was just an ordinary shop.

Inside the shop was only the shopkeeper, a Gold-level Assassin, and that was all; there was no connection with Lord Burns\'s orders concerning Divine Son.

Standing in the shop, Marion had already confirmed that what he felt was not Divine Son but rather emanating from an item inside the store.

However, the energy was so faint that Marion couldn\'t directly identify which item it was.

But Marion was in no hurry; he had plenty of time to check each item slowly.

And as for Old Jack, although he was anxious, there was nothing he could do.

He had already ascertained that the man before him was not someone he could afford to provoke.

After a moment, Old Jack\'s shop door was knocked on again.

Marion turned his head to glance at it, chuckled lightly, and continued to peruse the various weapons without concern.

Old Jack made no move, as he already knew who was outside the door but did not react.

At the door was Ashley, carrying some food and a cloth in her hands.

Hearing no sign of activity inside, Ashley hesitated for a moment, recalled the words Old Jack had entrusted to her after taking her as his apprentice, bit her lip, and knocked gently on the door again.

After waiting a while and finding the inside still quiet, Ashley hesitated no more and ran back to her own house.

She closed the door behind her and peeped through a slit in the curtains with her little eyes, keeping an eye on Old Jack\'s shop activities.

Realizing that Ashley had obediently refrained from barging in, Old Jack secretly sighed in relief.

Fortunately, he had instructed her beforehand not to enter without hearing his response.

After all, Old Jack had always been active in the gray areas of Bright City, never knowing when trouble would knock on his door.

He wasn\'t afraid for himself, but Ashley was another matter; she was still too young, even though she had already mastered some Extraordinary Power.

Old Jack also settled down, biding his time and waiting patiently for Marion.

He didn\'t want to take action until the last possible moment.

Lost in his myriad thoughts, Marion picked up a dagger from the pile of weapons.

This dagger was black and rather small, looking quite ordinary.

Unlike typical daggers, this one didn\'t have the usual blood groove design, and its tip faintly revealed a trace of blood color.

Marion gripped the dagger tightly in his right hand, waving it in the air a few times, with incredible speed and yet utterly silent, without the sound of a weapon cutting through the air.