Chapter 789

"This is Dominik Pearson, Southbank's top poison expert. His mastery of toxins is unparalleled. Dr. Lewis, I'll ask you one last time—can you spare Ryan's life?" Charley asked, his gaze fixed on Steven. He didn't want to push Steven too far. Steven's current status made him untouchable, but his increasing number of enemies was a ticking time bomb. Charley couldn't afford to remain under Steven's control or let Ryan be manipulated by him forever. "Why bother being so polite to him, Mr. Mckay? If I step in, he'll have no choice but to comply," Dominik interjected, his displeasure evident. As the Southbank's top poison expert, Dominik had his pride. He held a natural disdain for so-called divine doctors like Steven. Seeing Charley treat Steven with respect despite Dominik's presence only added to his annoyance. Turning to Steven, Dominik spoke coldly, "Brat, I know you're a divine doctor, but my Five-Colored Venomous Spiders are designed to counteract your medical tricks. Kneel and apologize now, and I might spare you the agony of their poison." The ground was crawling with venomous spiders, wriggling in anticipation. If not for Dominik's restraint, they would have swarmed Steven already. "Five-Colored Venomous Spiders…" Steven gave them a glance and chuckled, shaking his head. "In my eyes, they're worthless—just like you. Nothing but trash." To a true expert of medicine, healing and poisoning were two sides of the same coin. Dominik's understanding of poisons was flawed from the start. By treating medicine and poison as separate disciplines, he had taken a path that led nowhere. Despite dedicating his life to the poison art, his achievements were mediocre at best. Across the world, only Blood Demon and Venom Demon could make Steven wary when it came to poisons. They were two adversaries of Joseph. "How arrogant! You think you're invincible with those limited medical skills?" Dominik sneered, stroking the massive spider perched on his hand. At his signal, the Five-Colored Venomous Spiders swarmed toward Steven. The sight was spine-chilling, a writhing mass of colors that blanketed the ground. Even a profound grandmaster at full strength would struggle to kill them all. Just one bite from them could lead to deadly poisoning. Charley was visibly uneasy. Dominik's reputation as a poison expert was well-known in Southbank, but his erratic temperament made Charley wary. He didn't want Dominik to actually kill Steven—he only wanted to save Ryan. Suddenly, Charley's expression changed. He shouted in panic, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" He thought Steven would back away. But Steven stepped forward, heading straight into the swarm of venomous spiders. Charley was frantic. He was already worried Steven might die, yet Steven was walking straight into danger as if courting death! But he was stunned in the next moment. Wherever Steven stepped, the venomous spiders on the ground scattered like they had encountered their natural predator, retreating in waves and clearing a path for him! Even Dominik was taken aback. His gaze locked onto Steven, noticing the peculiar rhythm and cadence in his footsteps—it was clear this was the key to controlling the spiders. Dominik's eyes narrowed slowly. "What an extraordinary technique for controlling venomous creatures…" Charley had been dumbfounded moments ago. But upon hearing this, realization dawned on him. Controlling venomous creatures required a specific technique. Without a doubt, Steven's technique far surpassed Dominik's. In just a few moments, Steven had wrested control of the colorful spiders away from him. "Don't throw around words like 'remarkable.' You only think this is impressive because you're hopelessly incompetent." Steven scoffed, his tone dripping with disdain. In the Master Sage of Medicine's legacy, the ultimate technique for controlling venomous creatures required achieving a complete harmony of mind and intent with the creatures. With that, one could command them as effortlessly as moving one's own limbs. However, such techniques could only be cultivated by those who had reached the Vajra Realm.