Jared merely nodded in acknowledgment. After all, now that he knew what Roderick was like, he had no desire to interact with the latter.
Jared’s attitude did not enrage Roderick, who then shifted his gaze to Viola. He blatantly raked his eyes over her, his gaze gleaming with lust..
Viola grimaced upon feeling the intensity of Roderick’s gaze and moved two steps behind Jared. The latter also noticed the lust in Roderick’s gaze on Viola, so he shot Roderick a cold glare before turning to Pearl. “Do we no longer need to wait in line, Ms. Pearl?”
“That’s right. My master sent me to pick you up, so there’s no need to wait in line if I’m with you. Follow me.” With that, Pearl walked ahead with Roderick, and they even chatted merrily while holding hands.
Jared could not help but shake his head when he saw that. Pearl is clearly abusing her authority for personal interest. Mr. Stark sent her to pick me up, but she’s using this opportunity to bring Roderick in too. Since there’s no way Mr.. Stark would send Pearl to pick Roderick up, it must be her idea.
“Let’s go,” Jared said, leading Viola and the others to follow behind Pearl. “Jared, who is that girl?” asked Viola. “Mr. Stark’s disciple and a member of Solaris Sect,” Jared replied.
“That guy beside her is her boyfriend, right? But he doesn’t look like a good person. The lustful gaze he gave me just now made me so uncomfortable!” Viola remarked.
Jared proceeded to tell them about Roderick’s character. Once Viola heard it, she said incredulously, “That girl is so stupid to even like this kind of man. She’ll undoubtedly be deceived and bawl her eyes out one day.”
While they were talking, Pearl had already led them to the side door at the Alchemist Fair, which was also guarded but with no one queueing up. Pearl then flashed her Solaris Sect token and walked straight in.
Seeing that, Jared could not help but muse about how the Ethereal Realm was no different from the mundane world. Indeed. It’s a lot easier getting in via connections! Pearl let go of Roderick’s hand as they entered the Alchemist Fair compound, most likely for fear of Gregory seeing it.
“Go to the hall by yourself, Roderick. I’m sure you’ll be able to take first place this time!” Pearl said before kissing Roderick on the cheek in front of everyone. “Okay!” Roderick nodded and left..
After waiting for Roderick to leave, Pearl also led Jared and the others toward the hall. When Jared entered the hall, he noticed that there were already a large number of alchemists present.
As for the members of Solaris Sect, they were sitting on the seats in the middle. “Master, Mr. Chance is here!” Pearl went forward and said to Gregory. “Mr. Chance! Come over quickly, all of you, and sit beside us.”
Gregory waved at Jared, gesturing for the latter to sit beside him. Jared led Viola and the others over before sitting down. Meanwhile, Ghaylen was greeting the many alchemists of various sects who had come to compete.
Jared chatted casually with Gregory, whereas Pearl took the opportunity to shoot flirtatious glances at Roderick.
However, while conversing with Gregory, Jared noticed that the elder seemed a little disoriented, so he inquired, “Are you unwell, Mr. Stark?”
“No. It’s just that my head is a little foggy. It’s probably because I was controlled by a demonic cultivator at the time, which caused certain damage to my body from which I haven’t fully recovered,” Gregory replied.
“How about I look you over, Mr. Stark?” Jared observed that Gregory seemed rather pale. “No need for that. I’ll be fine. After all, I’m an alchemist. Do you think I’ll be oblivious to my own health?” Gregory said with a dismissive wave.
He was worried that allowing someone younger to examine him in front of so many people would be too humiliating.
