As Renee and Melanie exited the restaurant, an elderly man with a white beard and decked out in a black cap shot the men a meaningful glance. He got up and exited the premises hastily.
This man was none other than Malphas, who had received the order to find humans with unique constituents in the mundane world. Melanie guided Renee through the winding. alleyways as if she was scared that somebody would catch sight of them.
“That was reckless of you. If Mr. Deragon finds. out, he will definitely give you an earful! Those men were just ordinary people, but you gave them a harsh punishment,” she chided Renee.
“I’m sorry, Melanie. I was already feeling incredibly frustrated before those men showed up and tried to hit us up,” Renee explained, feeling aggrieved.
Melanie sighed softly, unable to bring herself to continue blaming Renée. She lamented, “Jared is locked in the secret realm, and we don’t know if he’s still alive. Let’s not add to his trouble! I’ve never been interested in cultivating or killing people, but I can’t help but wish I was as capable as you are now.” Melanie was the only one among the girls who didn’t have any special skills. She was at completely average individual.
“Melanie, you’ve always reprimanded and yelled at Jared whenever you saw him. I thought you don’t like him at all! It turns out you’re also willing to put your life on the line for his sake!” Renee remarked with a grin.
Melanie attempted to force a smile, though it came out more as a grimace. “Many girls have a crush on Jared, and I’m not as pretty nor capable as them. Besides, Lyanna never bothers hiding her feelings for him. W-What can I do?”
Renee chuckled. “Jared is a lucky guy, considering you both have a crush on him!” Melanie took her hand and urged, “All right. We should head back now.”
When the two of them spun around to leave, they were surprised to find an elderly man wearing a black cap standing there, piercing them with an intense gaze. It was unclear how long he had been there, watching them silently.
Malphas let out an evil cackle. “I can’t believe Jared is that popular among the opposite sex.” Seeing him, Renee quickly stood before Melanie in a defensive manner. She demanded, “Who are you?”
She could sense Malphas’ aura and was sure that he wasn’t an ordinary human. “I’m Jared’s enemy,” came Malphas’ answer. Hearing that, Melanie and Renee shared a look. “Melanie, you should leave without me. I’ll take care of this old b*stard!” Renee declared.
Since the elderly man claimed to be Jared’s enemy, Renee thought she could vent her frustrations on him. Malphas roared out in laughter. “Oh, how audacious of you. Just because you’ve become a Martial Arts Marquis, do you think you can harm me? Even with a unique constituent, you won’t be able to harm me at all!”
Renee didn’t say anything. Her body trembled, and an icy burst of martial energy formed on her palms. She rapidly generated frost on her hands.
“Ice Palm!” Renee barked as she directed the frost to Malphas. The force was so potent that it created a cold gust of wind, causing the temperature in the surrounding area to drop.
Malphas’ lips twisted into an icy smirk as he observed Renee’s attack. A look of disdain flickered in his gaze as if her efforts were futile. As Renee closed in on Malphas, he swiftly grabbed her by the neck.
Renee’s attack landed on Malphas’ body, but he remained unscathed. Not even a flicker of frost appeared on his body. Renee blanched in horror as she belatedly realized the difference in their strengths.
Despite possessing a frosty constituent, Renee found herself helpless against Malphas due to the significant disparity in their strength. “B*stard! Let me go! Let me go now!”
Renee struggled with all her might but to no avail. It felt like her body was being held by a pair of pincers. Malphas snorted icily. “Stop struggling. It’s useless anyway!” He seized Renee’s neck and was ready to depart, ignoring Melanie completely.
