148 Chapter 148

Inside one of the rooms in the mansion, a man maybe in his fifties or sixties can be seen

Such an old man should be frail and weak by now but he wasn’t. His body still gave off a robust aura

While even reaching the 6th rank wouldn’t increase a mage’s lifespan, there were still treasures that could do that. It’s just that they were too rare that even most 6th fusion rank mages can’t get them

But since this old man is the current head of the Preston Family, he still can get a hold of such precious treasures

While he would be far from being immortal, it would still be easy for him to live for more than a hundred years

The Patriarch of the Preston Family; Alton Preston stood in front of his office’s window

He was wearing a traditional long robe that gave him a scholarly vibe yet underneath such clothes was a might that could shatter an entire mountain

His hands were crossed behind him as he stared outside where a young man just walked out of the car

As if the young man could sense his gaze, he raised his head and the eyes of the two met each other

Their relationship clearly is of a father and son but the way they look at each other feels like they were merely looking at some tools

That’s right, tools. While Claude planned on using his father as a tool to become the family head, it wasn’t as if his father also didn’t plan on using him

A mountain cannot hold two tigers. Not to mention, the eastern country has more than two tigers

While Alton has few people that could defeat him, they still exist. And if those people join hands, there is no chance of winning

As such, the Preston Family or even the other peak forces find it hard to expand. If they wish to further expand their already god-like powers and influence, they would meet the resistance of the other peak forces

Even an unparalleled mage such as Alton is helpless in this regard

However… Claude… he holds the key to the family’s expansion. Just because a person is already ridiculously powerful doesn’t mean they don’t want to further increase their power. Alton is such a person. His family’s influence is already massive but he still wants it to become even more influential

He can’t do it on his own but with the talent that Claude shows, he has the potential to do what Alton cannot do

Claude wants to use the Preston Family for charity while Alton wants to use Claude to further elevate the status of the Preston Family

The two have a tacit agreement and they are aware of what they want from each other even without talking about it directly

There is simply no fatherly love between them but just the desire to use the other as their tools

After a few moments, Alton retracted his gaze and waited for Claude

In just a matter of minutes, Claude entered his office and the two are now face to face with each other

Without even greeting the other, Alton waved his hand and threw a piece of card that appeared on it

Claude calmly caught the card which was actually a printed photograph

“Eula of the Spence Family. She is your target. Your foolish older brother lusted for her but she is the genius of the Spence Family, a family that is only second to the peak families of the Eastern Country”

“In anger, Eula challenged him in a duel and as you could expect, he lost against her which is unacceptable. You have to regain the face of the Preston Family”

Claude is the youngest child of his father and his older brother was already born before Alton could even become the Patriarch

Claude memorized the woman’s face before storing her photograph

“You seem to think too highly of me. I just reached the 6th rank yet you already want me to defeat an elite mage, extremely close to becoming an unparalleled” Claude said while chuckling in a mocking way

After all, who would actually ask a newly advanced mage to fight against a genius such as Eula Spence?

“I gave you immense support and don’t touch the leeches that you sponsored. A 24 years old newly advanced 6th rank mage defeated a genius 6th fusion rank mage in her forties and also close to the unparalleled realm at that. My investment should at least be worth this much, right?”

Hearing the word ‘leeches’, Claude’s gaze instantly turned unfriendly. “They are people, not leeches” he said coldly

Claude has helped many people whether that be having the Preston Family nurture them, give them jobs, or giving them monetary assistance

While Rezen was the only one to receive the Token of Gratitude as a result of him saving Claude, there were still many others that received Claude’s assistance

With their numbers, even the Preston Family has to fork out a large sum for them

Alton let Claude do that but everything has a price. Claude now has to pay all the investments that Alton poured and gave him

“Whatever you say. And this, treat it as me trying to have some assurance. After all, I couldn’t let my descendants shame the Preston Family twice”

After saying that, Alton threw another thing to Claude who caught it with trembling hands

“Y-you… did you specifically prepare this for me?!” Claude questioned, his voice raising

Even his mystic gems were summoned by him as if he would attack the other person any time from now

In return, Alton summoned his own mystic gems and a suffocating aura that far surpassed Claude’s appeared.

Despite the fact that Claude easily killed the Clay Doll Master, that mage is rather on the weaker side of 6th fusion rank mages

Alton himself can achieve the same feat and while Claude was stronger than a newly advanced mage, in front of his father, he was still far too weak

The two oppressive and suffocating auras clashed, almost sending sparks flying in the air. However, it was clear to see that Claude was on the weaker side considering that his face was slowly turning pale

“Watch your mouth. I can tolerate your actions but I definitely wouldn’t become a Patriarch that was attacked by his own son. I would never ever shame the Preston Family” Alton said with a bone-chilling coldness

Claude tightened his hold on the item in his hand which was a ruby ??gemstone

However, this ruby ??is no normal ruby ??that could be mined

It was called Spirit Ruby, a treasure that could only be created with the sacrifice of at least ten thousand souls

As much as it was a wicked item, it was also something that mages would covet. It has the ability to improve the souls of 6th rank mages!

One of the things that Claude lose out against others at the same rank as him was his soul since he just advanced

While his soul’s quality was better than average, against those elites or unparalleled, he is still on a losing end

If they decide to use spells directed to the soul then he would be in big trouble. The Spirit Ruby is an item that could ‘fix’ this problem of his but it was an item created by the sacrifice of many

“You attacked the Twighlight Beast all for the sake of rescuing a few people, including one of ours. Capturing Shadow Dog is no different than provoking the Preston Family and I used their souls to create the Spirit Ruby” Alton claimed using a matter-of-fact tone

It was as if what he did was something as normal as drinking water

“You better make sure of the Spirit Ruby’s origin or else!”

While Claude is on the weaker side, he still gave out a threat. He wouldn’t mind if the souls that were used are really from the Twighlight Beast but if not, he would make sure that even if it was his father, he would pay

“Hmph, do you think I still don’t know your personality?” Alton rebuked

With Claude’s personality, even if the Spirit Ruby is created using the souls of the innocent, he would still accept and use it

However, in the future, when he had enough power, he also definitely would take revenge on Alton and possibly the whole Preston Family

Alton wouldn’t want that to happen considering that Claude is the key to achieving his dream

“Very well” Claude unceremoniously accepted the Spirit Ruby and directly walked out of the office

Excluding the process and materials needed to forge the Spirit Ruby, it was totally a precious item

With its help, Claude can improve his soul and that in return would also boost his own power

The stronger the power he wields, the more things he could do!