A Man Like None Other

Thiago piped up, "What do you know, you newbie? There's no one else capable of pulling this off except Carla!"

Thiago was quick to pin the blame on Carla so he wouldn't have to bear any responsibility himself.

Jared retorted, "Why would you think that only Carla could do this?"

"It's simple! She's the only one powerful enough to cause the fire source at the test site to surge and cause an explosion. No one else has that kind of skill," Thiago replied with a cold snort.

Jared glared coolly at Thiago and returned, "Even without her capabilities, it's not impossible to trigger an explosion from a fire aura. For example, if someone were to bring in an artifact imbued with a fire source and then release it into the air, couldn't that also cause an aura surge that would lead to an explosion?"

Upon hearing this, Thiago instantly furrowed his brows. A hint of alarm flitted through his gaze.

Meanwhile, a wide-eyed Adan stared at Jared in utter disbelief.

No one saw me when I was acting. But how on earth does Jared know about this?

Rohan nodded and muttered, "Indeed, that could be a possibility."

"Mr. Cunningham, don't listen to these newbies' nonsense. They're all outer circle disciples; how could they possibly possess a magical time imbued with a fire source?" Thiago hurried to dissuade Rohan.

Jared pointed at Adan and suggested, "A quick search will reveal the truth. I suspect that Adan is carrying the magical item imbued with a fire source."

"I d-d-don't have it."

A sputtering Adan hastily shook his head, his expression becoming incredibly flustered.

"You don't have it? Really?" Jared asked with a mocking glint in his eyes. He stared at Adan and continued, "If you insist there's nothing, why not let us search you to be sure-"

Thiago interjected to reprimand Jared, "You good-for-nothing! Just who do you think you are? Adan is the most senior outer circle disciple! How do you have the right to order a frisk on him?"

If they search Adan and find that bronze mirror, we'll be in hot soup!

Noticing Jared's insistence on frisking Adan, Judd asked, "Axel, do you happen to know something?"

Jared lowered his voice to a whisper and replied, "Judd, Adan's carrying something. I saw him use it during the assessment. It seemed to contain a fire source. He probably wanted to boost his fire source aura, pushing us to our limits until we had no choice but to withdraw. His operation then failed, which caused the fire source to explode!"

Judd was immediately livid when he heard this. I can't believe these guys actually cheated!

"Thiago, the unexpected explosion of the fire source must be investigated. The request for a search by Axel is reasonable. Are you preventing the search because you're feeling guilty?" Judd asked Thiago.

"What do I have to be guilty about? Go ahead and search us then, but it's only fair if everyone gets searched," Thiago answered, forcing a calm facade.

Judd nodded in agreement. "Of course. Everyone who was evaluated must be searched."

"Oww!"

At that moment, Adan suddenly clutched his stomach, his face contorted in pain. "My stomach hurts," he groaned, "I need to use the restroom. You guys go ahead and search the others first!"

After that, Adan made a move to leave. It seemed as though he intended to get rid of the bronze mirror.

Judd leaped up and blocked Adan's path. He grabbed the latter's collar and warned, "Quit playing innocent. You're trying to get rid of something, aren't you?" Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

"I didn't. I just had a stomachache!" Adan insisted stubbornly.

"A stomachache? You really think anyone would buy such an excuse?" Judd scoffed coldly.

Thiago was so frustrated that he glared at Adan, unable to believe the latter would come up with such a childish excuse.

You're a cultivator at Tribulator level!

Who the h*ll would believe you're suddenly incapacitated by a om stomachache and need to dash to the restroom? You're not even an ordinary person! Adan must've panicked so much that his brain's not working!

"Thiago, he-"

Adan turned to Thiago for help, but the latter merely glared at him and snapped,

"Shut up. Just shut up!"

Thiago was genuinely afraid that Adan would betray him too.