Reborn as a Transcendent-Chapter 653: Vera With A Massive Revelation
While Yaeger continued her meticulous cosmetic alterations on Vera 1, 2, and 3…
In Jinxi Province, within the grand hall of Dragonbane Mountain's headquarters, an elderly man clad in ornate purple-gold robes rhythmically tapped the blackwood armrest of his chair. His sharp gaze swept over his subordinates with grim intensity.
“Do any of you know who’s backing that so-called Princess?” the old man—Dominus Wei—asked abruptly.
“Patriarch,” a tall, slender young man with a nondescript appearance bowed slightly and answered with respectful caution. “The woman’s origins are extremely obscure. We haven’t been able to trace her to any known major faction… yet.”
Dominus’ expression darkened the moment he heard this, his brow creasing into a deep frown.
The young man pressed on. “However, according to intelligence from the capital, we believe she is far from ordinary.”
“Oh? Go on,” Dominus said, his expression easing slightly, though a storm still churned beneath the surface. A violent urge to unleash destruction simmered in his chest. Naturally, the source of his fury was none other than Yaeger—and Ronald.
Just yesterday morning, a private jet arranged by Scarry successfully returned Hank and Doug to Dragonbane Mountain in Jinxi Province. When Dominus saw the condition of his disciples—beaten within an inch of their lives—rage surged through him, violent enough to make him want to kill on the spot.
Thanks to the intervention of a renowned physician, their lives were no longer in immediate danger. However, upon regaining consciousness, both were found to be mentally impaired—reduced to babbling nonsense like, “Milk! Me want milk!”
To make matters worse, they occasionally made crude and inappropriate gestures. Everything about their behavior was abnormal—it was as if they had suddenly regressed into toddlers.
Seeing his disciples reduced to such a pitiful state, Dominus was so furious he felt as though his lungs might burst from sheer rage.
‘Wretched woman! How dare you let Ronald brutalize my disciples like this—and swindle a hundred million from me?! I’ll never forgive you!'
Yet, for all his hatred, Dominus wasn’t a fool—he wouldn’t act rashly just because he lost his temper. The young man before him had been personally assigned to investigate Yaeger.
“I heard that just a few days ago, several prodigies from the capital traveled to Roc City to trouble the Princess. Every single one of them was gravely injured and sent back to Yanjing that very night.”
At that, Dominus’ eyelids twitched. It felt eerily familiar. A moment later, it clicked—wasn’t that exactly what had happened to his own disciples?
“And after that?” he asked, voice low.
“Strangely, none of those powerful families retaliated,” the young man added, still finding it hard to believe himself.
After all, those prodigies came from some of the most powerful clans. How could they let such humiliation slide? Shouldn’t they defend their honor? Had they simply abandoned their dignity as elites?
“Do you even believe what you’re saying?” Dominus asked darkly. He was barely restraining the urge to erupt in fury and send the young man flying.
‘What kind of nonsense is this? It’s worse than idle street gossip!'
“No, I don’t believe it,” the young man replied, shaking his head as his body trembled slightly. A mix of fear and frustration churned inside him.
‘I only reported these rumors because I’ve found nothing concrete. If you’re so capable, why don’t you investigate her yourself?’ he thought bitterly—but dared not say aloud.
“Go investigate again. Don’t speak to me until you have real answers!” Dominus snapped, slamming his hand down on the armrest.
“Yes!” the young man replied, exhaling in quiet relief. He saluted swiftly and departed without another word.
Dominus raised his hand and gave a casual wave. “You’re all dismissed.”
His subordinates silently filed out of the main hall without protest. Within moments, an unsettling stillness settled over the grand hall.
Leaning back against his chair, Dominus stared ahead, murmuring to himself. “I’ll let that woman go for now… but Ronald Tian—this old dog must die!” He struck the armrest sharply as he rose to his feet.
In the next instant, the entire chair splintered beneath him, sending wooden fragments flying in all directions.
Meanwhile, across the sea, another person seethed with equal hatred for Ronald. “When I’ve finished tying up loose ends, you’ll be the first to die.” Vera sat on the edge of her bed, glaring at the enormous screen on the wall with venom in her eyes.
Two photos were displayed on the screen—one of Ronald, the other of Yaeger.
Her gaze was locked onto Ronald’s image. That half-crippled Grandmaster had done nothing but stir chaos—and now he had even stolen her Doppelgängers.
‘Four… he’s taken four of them already! I’ll never forgive you… Wait—didn’t Number One say she’d found Ronald’s whereabouts before she left? When One, Two, and Three were taken, Ronald should’ve still been locked in combat with the two S-ranked Transcendents. No… Pete and David might not have been fighting Ronald at all, but someone else—a different Grandmaster.’
‘Ronald may have left the apartment before the battle even began… and gone straight for my Doppelgängers. Which means—the real question is—how was our plan leaked?'
As the realization struck her, Vera’s eyes turned ice-cold. One word burned in her mind: Traitor!
There had to be a traitor among the ten Transcendents—someone secretly working for Cathay!
“That’s it… I was too careless!” Vera bit her lip in frustration, regret rising like a tide. “I can’t believe spies have infiltrated our organization…” she muttered, clutching her forehead as her eyes drifted to Yaeger’s image.
“This is all your fault. If not for you, I wouldn’t have lost five Doppelgängers. If not for you, I wouldn’t have deployed our combat forces to Cathay. The entire operation is a disaster! No—I need to shift the blame completely. Otherwise, I’ll be the one in trouble!”
Vera slammed her fist into a pillow, her expression grim and resolute.
This mission had cost their organization dearly—two S-ranked and ten AA-ranked operatives were lost. For any organization, that level of loss was catastrophic. Even though the plan had been officially approved, the responsibility still fell squarely on Vera’s shoulders.
Which meant she had no choice—she had to find someone else to take the fall. As long as she wasn’t the one taking the blame, everything else could be managed.
‘Thankfully, our brand still holds weight. With enough money, I can recruit more Transcendents. The only problem now is… what excuse can I give for this disaster?'
Vera’s eyes lingered on Yaeger’s photo, cold and calculating. Suddenly, a spark of inspiration lit up in her mind.
“Why not just pin it all on Cathay and Princess?” she muttered, eyes gleaming. “Yes… From now on, Princess, you’re a Grandmaster—Cathay’s hidden trump card. Just like the so-called [Storm Emperor]. This mission failed only because Cathay anticipated everything and set a trap. Brilliant! I’m absolutely brilliant!”
Vera whispered to herself as her fingers—or rather, her silken threads—typed furiously across the interface. In no time, the report was complete.
It was a masterfully written report, laced with exaggeration and clever misdirection. Yet, a closer inspection would reveal it was airtight—every detail carefully woven to form a convincing and coherent narrative.
According to the report, Princess had always been a Grandmaster, merely feigning weakness to lure out threats to Cathay and eliminate them from the shadows. The report drew heavily from the intelligence Vera had collected—mostly factual, but subtly interwoven with strategic falsehoods.
And though those lies existed, they were built on half-truths—just enough to blur the line between fact and fiction. After all, Yaeger truly did possess strength on par with a Grandmaster.
After submitting the full report, Vera selectively deleted sections and uploaded the altered version to the [Assassin’s Alliance] network. The moment the intel hit the network, the entire underworld exploded into chaos.