Both parties refused to move which resulted in a long silence. Arthur saw the visitor was still within the range of his map. As for the blind man, he didn't dare to get close to Arthur's room.

Moreover, his job was to find the murderer and not to kill him so risking his life just to chat isn't worth it. An enigma like Arthur is someone to befriend rather provoke which is why he's here instead of somewhere else, telling Athard the truth.

If possible, he even wanted to rope Arthur to Black Rose. His means are ruthless and fatal, to bring such a dangerous person to the organization would benefit him greatly.

The Black Rose organization didn't need loyal people but to strong ones. If they want to join, they're forced to swallow some kind of mechanical bug that will kill the person if breaks one of the rules. It's dangerous but the rewards are plentiful and generous, unfortunately, they lack capable personnel so they're always seeking candidates such as Arthur.

The old man wasn't confident in convincing Arthur especially after seeing his cautious attitude. After an hour or so passed, the elder decided to back off. He still is unsure about Arthur's strength and wanted to test him so he went to Athard.

…

"Are you sure?"

Athard's eyes flashed with a murderous glint. He didn't even try to hide his expression as he clenched his fists in rage. As for the blind old man, he soon excused himself without adding a single word.

He successfully completed his job and all that's left is to watch from the sidelines.

The Patriarch didn't waste any second as he went to meet the Grand Elder. Unlike him, Shu Ru's grandfather was rather calm and composed even when he saw Athard unsightly expression.

"I found the bastard!"

Seeing the seriousness of Athard, the Grand Elder glanced at him and answered

"And who is it?"

"It's the man your granddaughter brought."

The Grand Elder didn't seem particularly surprised as he nodded his head but said nothing. Athard became momentarily confused before glaring at the Grand Elder, clearly demanding an explanation.

"I'm still investigating his background. It's better to remain still for now."

"Why wait?! He cannot escape as long as he's here."

The old man frowned and retorted

"Are you sure about that? This time, Ru'er brought a tiger to our den… and not a docile one, at that."

Athard wasn't pleased with what he heard, he snorted and angrily left the room, clearly not agreeing to what the Grand Elder said.

Unfortunately, just as the Patriarch left, another figure appeared near the old man. He was wearing a dark cloak that covered his whole body, including his face.

He sat next to the old man and removed his hood then said

"I didn't expect you to remember me, hahahaha"

As if he was still a child, the old man cheerfully took out exquisite golden leaves and began preparing tea from himself and the guest.

"Hehehe how can I not? Though you looked a bit different when we first met, I would never forget your Dark Magic."

The man sitting beside the Grand Elder was the spitting image of Arthur. The only difference is his short grey hair and his healed eye. One more eye-catching thing is the two long black sheaths hanging on his waist.

"Enough with such a boring topic. How are things lately?"

The old man poured some of this calming tea to Arthur while chuckling

"I'm already one foot into the grave. I'm just spending the rest of my days in relaxation."

After sipping some of the hot tea and enjoying its flavor, Arthur stared at the Grand Elder and said:

"You're as energetic as ever, how can you have one foot in the grave. Back when we first met, you were a crybaby yet here you are trying to be wise hahaha"

The old man coughed a few times in embarrassment and quickly changed the topic. The two talked for a long time before Arthur suddenly looked to the roof and furrowed his brows.

Noticing this, the old man was about to say something when he suddenly felt chills ran down his spines. The colorful room they were in transformed into a mix of black and white as three malevolent things appeared from nothingness.

With transparent bodies and decaying flesh, their appearance was creepy and grotesque as their upper body resembled a rotten corpse and the lower part was similar to a ghost.

"Tsk!"

Arthur clicked his tongue and vanished almost instantaneously. He was left with no choice but to hastily leave this place. The Grand Elder and didn't know what's going on, only when his heart calmed down did he notice that his friend left.

…

A few days later, on the base of a sky-high mountain, precisely inside a beautiful courtyard that was usually empty, Losha was scolding Lucy, who was silently meditating.

Five lotuses span around her and every time she tried to form the sixth one, she would fail and receive the berating of her temporary master.

She had advanced in her Nine Star Yin technique in such a short time and her control over her Physique significantly rose but Losha wasn't pleased and continued to train her day and night.

At the top of this mountain which was actually floating above the clouds, there stood a dark-cloaked man who stared at the two women in silence.

He was motionless and shrouded in darkness, unable to be seen.

"Continue to circulate your Mana, first the fingers, hands, arms. Be precise!"

Losha turned around and left the courtyard, leaving Lucy, who never protested and meticulously trained.

A few moments later, Losha appeared a distance away from the figure at the peak of the mountain. She looked around her, searching for something.

"I don't know who you are but if you don't scram then I-"

Before she could finish, something occurred a few meters away from her. Ominous darkness appeared out of nowhere and from within it appeared a cloaked man.

Since he had his hood down, Losha recognized him the moment she laid eyes on him.

"You are… Arthur?"

She intensely stared him and although the appearance was similar, the aura was totally different. In fact, she felt threatened by his presence, unlike their last meeting.

"Indeed, you're really strong."

Commented Arthur as he inspected Losha.

Losha wanted to ask him what's he doing here but her expression drastically changed as she seemed to sense something.

She looked at the grey sky and spoke with a grave tone

"This feeling… it's Time Wraiths! You time traveled?"

"Hahaha you can never fool a reincarnator."

Arthur smiled and then resumed talked after a momentary pause

"You're doomed."

Losha said those words as if they were an absolute fact. Her expression became a bit strange as she stared back at him.

"I need you to go somewhere and protect it until I come back."

Before she could talk, Arthur added:

"No need to argue or refuse, farewell."

He threw a letter and a scroll at her, the woman unconsciously caught them and only after he disappeared, leaving a bloodied arm on the grand did she snap out of her daze.

He wasn't attacked but intentionally left it as a second later, Time Wraiths appeared and leapt at the bloody arm, sucking everything out of it until it turned into black ash that dispersed soon after.

The thing that dumbfounded her was the scroll which was actually a Fate Contract. Moreover, she signed it herself which means she agreed to follow the conditions.

After thoroughly checking the contract she read the contents of the letter and became more flabbergasted.

…

Arthur remained inside his room for a few more days before finally leaving it. He transformed the Dark Cloud into a clone identical to him and possessed a rotten corpse of a rat before drilling into the groom and leaving the capital. His destination was the Mountain Ba sword sect.

He needs to meet with Jian Si and inquire about the missing prince and princess. They had to be kidnapped by someone and with her status, finding them shouldn't be that difficult, especially after giving her enough time to do so.

Arthur went unnoticed as he left the Mirage Era Hall Sect and kept traveling underground until he arrived at the mountain range belonging to Cold Sword's sect.

His Stealth skills are unparalleled to the point that even a God Monarch would have difficulties finding him. With the Space Bender title and his maxed Stealth skills, it'll be pretty much impossible to attract attention unless done purposely.