Jacob did not have the same strength he had had in his past life. It was evident since he had reincarnated. However, he wished he could have brought even just a crumb of power to face all the emerging problems.

I wish I could just sit down for a couple of hours and eat some carbonara or something.

He inhaled deeply and got up.

“Joe, stay here. I need to check something out.”

Jacob quickly scanned the guy and pointed the sofa to him.

“Why don’t you lay down? I’ve heard that people are discovering they can do magic and stuff. You should try and meditate yourself. I bet you would be able to do something cool…”

He didn’t waste one second more for further questions or worries about the traumatized child. He needed to see whatever was happening in his own garden. If the killer had just run here by some chance, they were fuc**d. Jacob was not strong enough nor healed, and he could definitely not abuse another Forbidden Technique without permanent damage to his body; that was the whole reason he had asked his aunt to start cultivating as fast as she could. In a matter of hours, she should reach the 2nd level of the Cockroach realm.

Let’s just hope we have a couple of hours, I guess.

He took a knife from the kitchen while hidden from Joe, then ventured outside.

I swear to God, could I have had less luck? Why? I need some fuc**ng time to sit down, rest, and cultivate. Why is sh*t going down so hard and all at the same time?

He had been spoiled by the Plate, which had let him cultivate and study for an indefinite amount of time in a unique a-temporal space.

In any case, he was ready for anything. He would not let his aunt be harmed, nor that little kid he had just talked to.

Joseph only saw Jacob’s back while the latter took up a knife and went for the back door. Then, however, Joseph felt that he was not facing a human anymore, but a mighty tiger, wounded but ready to pounce.

Jacob twisted the handle without hesitating and got out, closing and locking the door behind himself.

If I need to, I might be able to kill someone with this knife—I hope.

He looked at the bread knife he had in his hand. If the killer were already at the 3rd level of the Cockroach realm, his skin would not break against the dull edge of the knife he was wielding.

He started advancing toward the woods right ahead and chanted under his breath. He accelerated the healing process, absorbing the Three-Colored Stalk less efficiently but faster, much faster.

Jacob felt the presence of someone, but he could see nothing.

If the rapist is that piece of shit of Frederick, I’ll gladly give a pound of flesh to stomp his skull inward.

However, not even after ten meters, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

This Qi is incredibly pure.

Jacob could not believe the purity of the Qi he was perceiving. Even though it was still at the Inferior stage of the Cockroach realm, there was a might he had only rarely seen in his past life.

“This is a Hidden Constitution,” he murmured even before actually seeing the person.

However, for all the Qi was highly pure, the air was turbulent.

Jacob now stepped forward. Not even Frederick had a Hidden Constitution; that piece of crap only had a huge talent. But, no, this was someone else, and something told him that this person was not the murderer.

Jacob’s eyes landed on a person lying on the ground, with a red face and sweat all over their body.

This…

Now that he could feel the talent up close, he recognized a crystalline aura. The person in front of him was at the 3rd level of the Cockroach realm, and their aura was already as solid as a rock.

After the change, some people shot through the first realms like a breeze thanks to their immense talent or some lucky encounter. However, even for the biggest talents, their foundation remained shaky. Most people would find out about cultivation techniques only later on; this meant that they cultivated up until then only through forced Qi and Mana absorption. As a result, they did not know how to refine the impurities out of their Meridians. Only later, after some genius researchers discovered all Jacob knew – to be fair, most of it was derived from ancient scriptures found in a mysterious ruin – did people realize the mistakes they had made.

It took decades for some to refine the impurities out of their cultivation base. At first, they wouldn’t notice. However, later on, they discovered that cultivating Qi and Mana would get increasingly difficult.

In this case, however, the person in front of him already had extremely pure Qi. He could also feel some Mana, equally refined but less noticeable.

Not all Hidden Constitutions are easy to use nor a blessing. Some can very well be a curse to the user.

Jacob kneeled by that person’s side and finally recognized their face.

“Juliet?”

Juliet was one of his classmates. She was pretty shy, but her beauty was something so incredible that chipped at Helena’s fame. Not just that, she was an incredibly fast sprinter and climber. However, she just cared not about competition and spent her time enjoying nature, running around, and free climbing, to the despair of her PE teacher. Far from the principal’s ears, some even said that her talent was greater than Frederick’s.

She slowly opened her green eyes. Jacob swore that her gaze had just ripped a hole in his heart.

Come on, old geezer, she’s fifteen. Behave like the adult you are.

“Jacob?” she said feebly.

“Give me a second, Juliet. I think I can help”, he did not ask permission and just put his hand right below her navel.

He chanted for a couple of seconds before recoiling.

This is the Sacred Queen Phoenix Constitution!

However, Juliet bent to the side and started puking blood profusely. Her skin was ashen, and it was clear that her body was failing her. If this continued, she would die extremely soon. No one knew how to manage this constitution in the present. It was the same as a death sentence.

Well, not exactly no one…