At that moment, Chandler could not believe it. With his 16th punch, he had once again gathered all his true energy, yet he still could not defeat Chase in a single blow.Chandler quickly realized that he had been caught in Chase's trap. He was already entangled in Chase's momentum and could not break free no matter how hard he tried.By the 17th punch, Chase only stepped back slightly. With the 18th punch, he did not move at all.On the 19th punch, they were evenly matched. With the 20th punch, Chandler was pushed back just a little.Although it was only a tiny step, it sent waves of shock through Chandler's mind.How was this possible? Not only had Chase neutralized his full-power punch, but he also managed to push him back. Chase was like a madman, relentlessly difficult to deal with. Any ordinary person who suffered such injuries would have lost most of their strength by now, but Chase still seemed full of energy, as if the blood on his chest did not even belong to him.Chan
As expected, Chandler flew like a cannonball with one punch. He was sent to the edge of the arena. He landed at the boundary, only stopped by the restrictive mechanism set up by Skylar.Chandler's body slid down against the mechanism. He was still breathing but appeared lifeless in the eyes. He mumbled repeatedly, "Impossible… It's impossible… He's only a stage-seven martial lord… It's impossible…"Even on the verge of losing consciousness, he kept muttering. It was not just Chandler who could not believe his defeat; the entire audience sat in stunned silence, the only sound being Chandler's murmurs echoing throughout."Impossible… Impossible!"The crowd exchanged bewildered looks until Chandler's head slumped to the side. He had been completely knocked out. Then, someone finally muttered, "It's rigged."This ignited an uproar."It's rigged! Give us our money back!""Refund! Refund!"The crowd roared in unison, with the loudest voices coming from those who had bet on Chandler t
From another section of the audience, another person stood up and declared, "I forfeit too!"It was clear that this was yet another challenger who, after seeing Chandler's defeat, decisively chose to forfeit.Skylar paused in surprise. "I just told you guys to tell me in advance, but now, you people are changing your minds again. Fine, I might as well ask outright," he muttered.Skylar then turned his gaze toward Herbert in the audience. "Herbert, are you going to forfeit too?"As soon as Skylar said this, everyone's eyes focused on Herbert."Herber Webert! It's really him! I didn't expect him to challenge Chase. But surely, he won't back down, right?""Herbert is one of the White Tiger Guards! He's supposedly one of the top-ranking members of the unit. No one but White Tiger himself can command him. Who would've thought that even someone from the White Tiger Guards would challenge Chase?""Yeah, White Tiger and Basalt are both part of Bactria's national defense forces. They're
In the end, Herbert gave up and chose to forfeit. This decision drew a chorus of boos from the audience."What a letdown! They promised three matches, but we only got one! This ticket wasn't worth it at all.""Well, you can't really blame Chase. Who could've predicted that the remaining two challengers would back out after seeing Chase fight? Who could've known they'd be too scared to even step onto the arena?""Exactly. I thought Herbert, one of the White Tiger Guards, would at least take his chance. But even he ended up too frightened to fight Chase!"The crowd's comments were filled with mockery, but Herbert paid no attention. He kept his head down as he walked out of Herb Hall, with Douglas trailing behind him. On the way out, Douglas could not stop complaining."Herbert, why did you forfeit? If you had stepped up and shown your true skills, you might not have lost!""And you have the nerve to talk!" Herbert retorted. "You told me Chase wasn't that strong, so I came here to p
The old man's voice carried the weight of countless years, like an ancient relic awakening."I'm indeed a descendant of the Collins family. Who might you be, sir?" Chase quickly paused, eager to engage now that the elder had finally spoken."Me... Just call me Murdoch," the elder started to introduce himself but suddenly changed his mind.Chase did not press further, instead responding in line with Murdoch's cue. "Murdoch, may I ask why you stopped me?"Chase had sensed that this elder had been awake for some time but had chosen to ignore him until now. The fact that Murdoch called out just as Chase was about to leave suggested he had something important to convey."Did you just have a fight?" Murdoch did not answer and instead posed a question of his own.Chase nodded without hesitation. "Yes.""And what level was your opponent?" Murdoch's gaze was fixed on the bloodstains still evident on Chase's clothing."He was a stage-nine martial lord," Chase replied with some pride."I
"I'll restrict my strength to that of an early-stage martial lord, but let me warn you, just because you're now a late-stage martial lord, don't think you can be complacent," Murdoch said with a sharp tone."I'll show you that the difference between stages and levels can be completely disregarded, especially since I sense an unusual life force within you. My strikes will be lethal, so from now on, you'd better remain vigilant at all times because I might attack suddenly."Now, let's see your strength," Murdoch continued. "Hit me with everything you've got. If you manage to make me take even half a step back, I'll count today as your win!"Chase hesitated at Murdoch's dismissive attitude. He could not quite grasp the situation. First, Murdoch claimed to know his father and offered to teach him some advanced techniques. Now, he wanted Chase to hit him?Chase could not help but wonder if this old man was a masochist.Murdoch's impatience flared. "You've got such a dull spirit! I told
Chase lay flat on the smooth, water-like surface, resting for a good one to two hours before he managed to muster enough strength to get up.With a thought, he exited the Dragon Vein Secret Realm and reappeared in Herb Hall, only to see Trek and a few other Basalt comrades staring at him in disbelief."Trek, go call Miracle Doctor Skylar," Chase ordered weakly, not wanting to move."No need, I'm already here. What on earth happened to you? Why do you look like this?" Skylar asked, his face filled with shock. As a skilled healer, he could easily tell that Chase had taken quite a beating.Chase did not bother explaining and simply asked Skylar if he had any medicinal herbs to help nourish his body."I do have them, but why do you need them? Did the battle with Chandler really injure you that badly?" Skylar asked curiously."Yes, a bit, but mostly, I need them for my closed-door cultivation," Chase replied evasively.This simple response caused Quinn, who had been standing nearby,
Stretching lazily, Chase sat in front of Trek and Quinn, taking sip after sip from the bottle of wine. Seeing their worried, long faces, he chuckled. "I'm fine, really. My strength is advancing by leaps and bounds."Hearing this, Trek and Quinn exchanged glances. It seemed Chase had somehow managed to gain insights even while getting beaten up.Once he felt a bit better, Chase sent Trek off first. Trek was only helping out at Herb Hall during the day and still needed to return to the base at night. Fortunately, his cultivation level made the distance easy to cover.The next day, Skylar told Chase that no one had signed up to challenge him. Without hesitation, Chase went straight into the Dragon Vein Secret Realm to continue his training.Before starting, he casually asked if he should practice some blade or sword techniques.Murdoch flew into a rage, scolding him about not even having learned how to walk properly yet and already wanting to run. After that, Murdoch used the pretens