At that very moment, a dark light invisible to ordinary people suddenly flashed and shot straight through.

Eric Bennett remained motionless. The dark light flickered and then vanished. Eric Bennett took a sip of tea, opened his hand, and a fine needle appeared in his palm, still writhing as if it possessed a spirit of its own.

This thing, though considered a mere petty trick by cultivators, was no ordinary hidden weapon—it was a magical artifact imbued with spiritual energy.

Unexpectedly, before any effort was spent investigating, a clue had come straight to him.

Eric Bennett pressed down with his hand, then stood up. He casually tossed a piece of broken silver and walked out.

“Hey, sir, you haven’t gotten your change yet!” The woman was startled and hurried after him, but in that instant, the youth in green had already disappeared.

Walking into an alley, Eric Bennett sneered and pressed the fine needle in his hand again. A miserable scream rang out, and a youth dressed in fine but servant’s clothing stumbled and fell at Eric Bennett’s feet.

Because the fine needle was connected to the caster’s mind, Eric Bennett could easily use it to control the caster in reverse, forcing him to follow Eric Bennett into this secluded alley.

The youth looked only sixteen or seventeen. At a glance, Eric Bennett could tell he had no cultivation to reverse his age—this was undoubtedly his true age.

Yet the aura on him clearly indicated he had practiced some kind of magic.

The youth struggled and shouted, “Let me go! Do you know who I am?”

“Who are you?” Eric Bennett said coldly.

“I serve the young master, son of the county magistrate! Offend me, and you offend the young master, and thus the magistrate himself!” The youth kept struggling, seemingly fearless. Though restrained, he showed no panic.

“Is that so?”

With a flick of Eric Bennett’s hand, the youth felt as if a knife had stabbed through his heart. He let out a heart-wrenching scream. Never had he suffered such agony—tears and snot streamed down his face. Yet, despite the pain, his mind remained clear.

“Speak. Who taught you magic? Who is your master? What sect are you from?”

“I won’t tell you! You’ll come to no good end. My young master will have you torn limb from limb… Ah…!” As Eric Bennett tightened his grip, the youth rolled on the ground in pain, but he was clearly stubborn—he endured the soul-piercing torment without giving in.

“Not bad. Such strong willpower, and good bones too! No wonder someone took a liking to you!” As the pain faded, the youth gasped desperately for breath, but still heard the voice above him.

“Do you think I’m so easily bullied? Bah!” Catching his breath, the youth raised his head and spat fiercely. Though the spit didn’t go far due to his pain, it clearly showed his defiance.

“But I’m not one to cherish talent!” Eric Bennett suddenly sneered. With a wave of his hand, a ball of purple fire flared up.

“Ah…!” This time, the youth let out only a brief scream before his body was engulfed in purple flames. In an instant, his flesh was reduced to ashes, and a tiny human-shaped shadow writhed in agony within the fire.

“Stop!” Almost simultaneously, a sword light shot toward them.

Eric Bennett calmly pointed his finger, and a muffled thunderclap sounded. With a crisp snap, the sword light shattered instantly. As it collapsed, someone grunted and fell from the wall.

“With such meager cultivation, you still dare to compete with the sun and moon?”

“Where righteousness calls, even with low cultivation, I must act.” The man landed on the ground, a trace of blood at his lips—clearly injured.

“Where righteousness calls? Are you saying he was righteous?” Eric Bennett sneered.

“You’re here to investigate the Liu family massacre, aren’t you? Though this youth was an accomplice, he did not deserve death, let alone annihilation of both body and soul! Your methods are too ruthless!”

“Haha! Too ruthless? Then let me show you ruthless!” Eric Bennett tightened his grip again. With a brief scream, the tiny shadow struggling in the flames was instantly scattered to smoke and dust—body and soul utterly destroyed.

“You!” The man, seeing this, flew into a rage. Ignoring his injuries, he opened his lips and spat out a stream of pale golden energy.

Eric Bennett didn’t even bother to dodge. As the golden energy neared him, a purple light immediately blocked it. The two energies collided, scattering sparks. In a flash, the golden energy was extinguished.

It was as if the man had been struck by a giant hammer—his face turned as white as paper, and he collapsed backward.

Eric Bennett stood unmoving as the purple light faded. He looked down at the man, now bleeding from all seven orifices, and shook his head. “Overestimating yourself. You even spat out your unformed elixir energy.”

“Though you may not be among those who killed my disciple, you surely know something. Speak honestly! Otherwise, I’ll have to use the Taiyin Soul Refinement to extract your thoughts. When that happens, body and soul will be destroyed—don’t blame me then!” Eric Bennett stepped up to him, shaking his head as he spoke.