He stepped forward and moved his hands toward Alice’s waist, causing her to arch an eyebrow before shifting her eyes toward him. Her long hair brushed against his arm as she looked at him with a questioning expression, while Neolan finally allowed a small smile to appear on his face.
Seeing her alive and standing beside him still felt somewhat unreal, but he forced himself to push those thoughts aside for the moment. He had already spent enough time standing around and behaving strangely, and he didn’t want Alice to become even more suspicious.
For now, he simply wanted to experience this ordinary moment that he had once thought he would never get to experience again, even if he knew that his peaceful reunion with her would eventually have to end, "I guess it was my fault then. How about we go together to the Awakening ceremony? I will handle my father later if he says anything—"
Before he could finish his sentence, every instinct inside his body suddenly went off at once. His expression changed instantly as his eyes shifted toward a figure moving through the crowd, and his heightened senses immediately caught the glint of a dagger being raised behind Alice.
A man wearing a mask was already in motion, and the blade was moving directly toward Alice’s neck with no hesitation. Neolan’s pupils narrowed as his entire attention locked onto the assassin, and for a brief moment, the familiar sensation of danger reminded him of the countless battles he had experienced in his previous life.
He didn’t even need to think about the reason behind the attack as his body had already reacted before his mind could form a single complete thought.
Neolan’s pupils widened as everything around him seemed to slow down for an instant. He did not have time to think about why an assassin was targeting Alice, who had ordered him, or what consequences his actions might create later.
His body moved purely through instinct, the countless battles of his previous life allowing him to react before his mind could even finish processing the danger. His right hand clenched into a fist as he stepped forward and punched toward the masked man’s face with all the force his body could naturally produce.
The fist connected before the assassin could even change the direction of his attack, and the next instant, a violent sound erupted throughout the mall.
CRACK! BOOM!
The bones inside the man’s face shattered instantly under the impact, and his entire body was launched backward like a projectile. He crashed into the wall behind Alice, embedding himself into it as cracks spread outward from the point of impact. The impact was so sudden that the surrounding people didn’t even understand what had happened at first, with several of them still frozen in place while staring at the damaged wall.
Neolan himself remained motionless for a brief moment, his fist still raised as he stared at the assassin. He hadn’t expected the attack to possess that much force, especially considering that he had only used the natural strength of his current body without circulating Spiritual Energy. The realization immediately confirmed what he had already suspected after returning to Earth.
The people nearby finally reacted after the brief silence, turning toward the source of the noise, and what they saw left them stunned. A man dressed in a completely black suit and wearing an assassin’s mask was embedded in the cracked wall, his body motionless after being sent flying by a single punch.
Neolan didn’t spare the assassin another glance as his attention had already returned to Alice. He quickly checked her from head to toe to make sure she hadn’t been injured, and only after confirming that she was completely unharmed did he finally relax slightly.
He immediately took Alice’s hand and pulled her away from the crowd, moving quickly as he wore an expressionless face. Alice stumbled for half a step before quickly matching his pace, clearly confused by the sudden change in his behavior.
His Ultimate Comprehension continued functioning in the background, allowing him to calmly observe the situation even while his mind was rapidly reorganizing everything he knew. ’An Assassin suddenly attacking her... this hadn’t happened in the past. Who could have ordered this?’ He thought internally as he and Alice walked toward the exit slightly ahead of the crowd.
He remembered this day vividly from his previous life, and there had been no assassination incident at that time. That meant only one thing. ’It is either a butterfly effect, or the entire timeline is different.’ He couldn’t determine which possibility was more likely yet, but there was no reason to dwell on it now. He would need to figure out a lot of things later before deciding which explanation was correct.
He also had another thought going through his mind as he looked at his right hand. ’I retained my strength from the cultivation world, no doubt about it...’ He immediately opened his Status Window to see if it was as he was thinking.
[Paradox Sign-In System]
[Status]
[Host: Qing Lan / Neolan Ashburn]
[Cultivation Stage: Foundation Establishment Stage]
[Spiritual Roots: Nine Sovereign Spiritual Roots] {New!}
[Available Sign-In: One]
[Current Location: Earth]
[Talent: Ultimate Comprehension]
[Techniques: Void Steps (Perfection)]
[Soul Essence: 20]
He glanced at it once before dismissing the window. He wanted to examine his current condition in greater detail later, especially now that he had confirmed that his cultivation had remained intact after the transfer. For now, however, he needed to get out of the mall quickly.
The reason he wanted to leave the crowd so quickly was simple. Even though he could have remained there and allowed the blame to fall entirely upon the assassin, he already knew what would happen if too many people saw him protecting Alice.
’Rumours about the son of the Ashburn family and the princess of the Marsona Empire being a couple would spread all over the world. That would be one problem, but... the more important problem will be...Alice’s father.’ He had no intention of creating that kind of trouble for Alice before the Awakening ceremony had even begun.
Just as he finished that thought, both of them exited the mall and arrived outside, where a supercar completely colored in purple and black was waiting for them.
The vehicle looked familiar to Neolan, and he recognized it as one of the cars belonging to the Ashburn family. Before either of them could say anything, one of the doors opened and a figure stepped out.
The man was dressed like a traditional butler, his movements calm and composed as he stepped forward and bowed slightly toward Neolan. His voice was deep and respectful as he spoke, "Young Master Neolan, the Patriarch has ordered me to send you to him immediately."
Neolan frowned at the words of the butler as he remembered who this man was quite well. He had expected to deal with his father eventually, but he hadn’t expected his father to summon him before the Awakening ceremony even began. More importantly, this was another event that had never happened in his previous life.
"Father does know that today is the Awakening ceremony, right?" He asked as he wondered why his father would suddenly call for him on this day. ’This also did not happen in my past life... what is going on here?’
"The Patriarch does know that, Young Master. In fact, I assume it is exactly about that, as he himself will be attending the ceremony this year."
The moment the butler spoke those words, Neolan arched an eyebrow. Alice also showed an expression of surprise before she leaned closer and quietly whispered into his ear, "Neo, I suppose we should part ways now. Let’s meet at the Association after you meet with your father..."
Neolan turned toward her and looked at her smiling face for a long moment before finally nodding. He didn’t want her to wait around for him, especially when he had no idea how long his conversation with his father would take.
"Alright, we will meet at the Association. For now, take the car and command the AI to drive you there. It will help you get there in seconds."
Alice turned toward the car before shifting her gaze back toward Neolan.
"Okay, I will do that then, but how would you go?" She asked, knowing that Neolan was trying to help her as much as possible by even going as far as giving her an Ashburn family car. At the same time, she couldn’t help wondering how he intended to reach the Association if she took the vehicle.
"Do not worry about me. I have my ways, right, Butler Nathan?" He asked with a cold smile on his face, as if he already knew exactly who this man was and what he was capable of.
Nathan, one of the strongest in the whole world, almost equal to my father. He must have quite a few ’toys’ with him, heh...
Nathan lifted his head slightly before speaking, "Yes, Young Master. We can lend the car to Miss Alice for now. There is no need to worry, as I have already come prepared. Now, shall we go, Young Master?"
Neolan turned toward Alice and looked at her for another moment before suddenly hugging her without saying anything. Alice seemed slightly surprised by the sudden hug, but she didn’t resist and simply allowed him to hold her for a brief moment before he pulled away.
Neolan then turned toward Nathan and followed him toward the road ahead, leaving Alice standing beside the waiting car.