Wu Xinmo looked uncertain, but that didn't stop him from pretending he knew exactly what was going on. He straightened up and spoke with forced confidence. "Of course! My father is definitely not the kind of man who gives up halfway," he said firmly, though the faint hesitation in his eyes betrayed him. "I'm telling you, you need to be extra careful these next few days."
He leaned closer as if sharing confidential intelligence. "I suspect he has some kind of backup plan. That's why I've been following you around lately. If he tries anything, I'll make sure he doesn't get his hands on that contract." After a brief pause, he added in a more casual tone, "And about the protection fee… just reduce it by five demons."
Ethan Voss rubbed his chin thoughtfully while listening to the suggestion. To be honest, he didn't think much of Wu Xinmo's combat ability. The guy's fighting strength was mediocre at best. However, Wu Xinmo's understanding of his father today had been surprisingly insightful, which gave Ethan a slightly better impression of him.
In the end, Ethan simply shrugged the matter off in his mind. Spending a little extra for peace of mind wasn't a bad deal. Compared to the potential trouble Mephistopheles could cause, five demons were a trivial price.
His current plan was straightforward. He intended to return to Typhon Manor, which served as the headquarters of the Justice League. The estate housed a powerful concentration of allies, and its defenses were formidable. If Mephistopheles truly dared to appear there, they could surround him immediately and deal with him on the spot.
Throughout the journey back, Wu Xinmo kept talking nonstop. He walked beside Ethan while muttering various arguments, trying to persuade him to hand over the contract.
"If you just say the contract isn't with you," Wu Xinmo insisted, "Mephistopheles will stop bothering you. There's no reason for you to carry that risk." His tone gradually grew more enthusiastic as his imagination ran wild. "And once I get the vengeful spirit of San Venganza, my strength will increase dramatically. At that point, I'll go after those old Mexicans personally. Once I deal with them, they definitely won't have time to worry about you anymore."
Hearing this rambling speech the entire way back made Ethan roll his eyes internally. He didn't interrupt, but his thoughts drifted in a completely different direction.
You foolish kid. Do you realize that according to my plan, the exact moment the vengeful spirit enters your body will also be the moment your mind gets completely rewritten?
You still think you'll be able to cause trouble for those devils afterward?
Watching Wu Xinmo's innocent and naïve enthusiasm actually made Ethan hesitate slightly. The boy's simple and straightforward personality made him oddly likable despite his wicked background.
People this simple were rare. Finding someone both foolish and genuinely malicious at the same time was even rarer.
Brainwashing him might technically work, but it suddenly felt like a waste.
Wouldn't it be far more entertaining to leave him as he was?
After arriving back at Typhon Manor, Ethan immediately stepped through the fixed portal and entered the Divine Kingdom. The moment he arrived, the first thing he did was study the strange insect he had previously imprisoned.
The analysis system of the Divine Kingdom had already activated automatically. As soon as the results appeared, Ethan finally understood the true nature of the creature.
The insect originated from a special dimension known as subspace, a strange layer of existence connected to real space but hidden beneath it.
That also explained how it had suddenly appeared inside his ear earlier without any warning.
Once the Divine Kingdom finished evaluating its value, Ethan was genuinely surprised by the results.
The primordial power this tiny insect could generate was equivalent to three Blood God powers—or roughly thirty Wolverines.
No wonder the creature was so formidable. It essentially condensed the essence of thirty Wolverine-level powers into a single mosquito-sized body.
Morpheus was truly impressive.
Even more astonishing was the fact that the insect possessed a basic level of intelligence. It could perfectly execute the commands of its master without hesitation.
Something this valuable obviously couldn't be casually converted into primordial energy.
Using the power of the Divine Kingdom, Ethan easily seized control of the creature and established a mental link with it. Afterward, he retrieved a ruby-and-gold ring and began modifying it using his powerful telekinesis.
Layer by layer, he reshaped the gemstone until only a thin shell of ruby remained. Inside the gem, he carved out a small hollow chamber where the insect could hide comfortably.
The final result looked completely ordinary.
Now, whenever Ethan lightly brushed the ruby surface, the creature—now renamed the Bewitching Demon—would instantly launch an attack according to his will.
Although it lacked the wide-area mental reach of Professor Charles's abilities, the creature possessed a terrifying advantage.
It could almost completely ignore conventional defenses.
However, such power naturally came at a price.
Traveling through subspace and charming targets consumed enormous amounts of energy from the Bewitching Demon itself. Under normal circumstances, it could replenish that energy automatically within Hell's dimension.
Unfortunately, Ethan's Divine Kingdom wasn't Hell.
That meant he had to replenish its energy manually using the Divine Kingdom's essence.
According to the system's analysis, each attack would consume energy equivalent to one Wolverine-level unit.
This clearly wasn't a weapon that could be used carelessly. At the very least, the value of the target needed to exceed that of a Wolverine.
Fortunately, Ethan could barely afford such expenses even if he used the creature frequently.
That was because Jean Grey's Phoenix Force was far stronger than he had originally imagined.
Several days earlier, Jean had approached Ethan and asked for his help extracting the Phoenix Force from her body.
After conducting a detailed examination, Ethan discovered that even the smallest fragment of the Phoenix Force contained an absurd amount of energy.
If he attempted to extract the entire force at once, Jean's body would never survive the process.
The only viable solution was to divide the extraction into multiple stages.
Two days earlier, Ethan completed the first extraction.
The divine essence generated from that single process was equivalent to hundreds of Wolverine units.
The Divine Oasis surrounding Noah Town had already expanded outward for several hundred kilometers as a result.
However, one discovery from the past few days had been rather disappointing.
It involved the fragment of the Power Medal hidden inside Johnny.
Johnny had entered the Divine Kingdom on the very first day he arrived at Typhon Manor.
While examining him, Ethan discovered a fragment of the Power Medal within his body.
To Ethan's surprise, it wasn't a physical object.
Instead, it existed as an inactive essence of power concealed within Johnny's body.
Only after extraction did the medal fragment transform into a piece of metal.
Unfortunately, the energy contained inside it was barely equivalent to five or six Wolverine units.
For something with such a grand name, the result felt extremely underwhelming.
Ethan temporarily stored the fragment away, planning to examine it again after collecting the remaining pieces to see if anything changed.
After finishing his tests with the Bewitching Demon, Ethan went to visit Dr. Bruce Banner, who had been living in the Divine Kingdom recently.
Banner seemed to be doing quite well these days.
His wife had returned, his personal problems were steadily improving, and he had resumed his scientific research.
On top of that, the environment of the Divine Kingdom offered endless clear skies and gentle winds.
Life couldn't be much more peaceful.
As soon as Ethan saw him, he asked, "Dr. Banner, how have your conversations with the Hulk been going lately?"
Banner rubbed the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. There wasn't much frustration in his voice, only mild embarrassment.
"I think I might need to sign up for some kind of parenting class," he admitted. "I never imagined raising a child would be this difficult. Honestly, it's harder than earning a doctorate."
After arriving in the Divine Kingdom, Ethan had granted Banner and the Hulk the ability to communicate directly with one another.
After several discussions, Banner finally realized something important.
The Hulk wasn't the monstrous evil he had once believed it to be.
Instead, it was more like a separate soul with its own thoughts and emotions—capable of both kindness and anger.
Banner eventually realized that his previous understanding had been completely one-sided.
Now he hoped to build a healthier relationship with what he jokingly referred to as his younger brother—or sometimes his son.
At Banner's request, Ethan had even made further adjustments.
Now, even when Banner wasn't transformed, the Hulk could still observe the world through his perspective instead of falling into a deep unconscious state like before.
The two of them were getting along reasonably well for now.
Still, the problem hadn't been fully resolved.
Ethan shrugged slightly. "I already told you that I can separate the two of you. But the decision is entirely yours."
With the power of the Divine Kingdom, cultivating a new body for the Hulk would be extremely expensive.
However, cloning a new body for Bruce Banner would be comparatively easy.
Banner nodded slowly. "I'm still thinking about that."
"Alright, I understand."
After a brief pause, Ethan added, "Then regarding your current combat readiness…"
"No problem at all," Banner replied immediately with a confident smile. "If you need help, I can assist you at any time."
"That's great," Ethan said. "As the strongest member of the Justice League, you're extremely important."
Banner smiled shyly at the compliment.
"I'm only checking as a precaution," Ethan continued. "You can make whatever preparations you think are necessary, but you probably won't need to do anything."
"Understood," Banner replied.
After finishing the conversation, Ethan left the Divine Kingdom and returned to Typhon Estate.
The entire estate was already on high alert.
Everyone knew that Ethan could become the target of an attack at any moment.
Ethan himself felt a faint sense of anticipation.
He was genuinely curious to see what methods Mephistopheles would use to try to take the contract from him.
We eagerly await your arrival, my lord!
.....
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