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
"That's right. The most powerful person must be an elite from the sects and clans. At the very least, it would be a successor from an influential family, not people like us. That's the last fight. There's no need to be impatient. We should focus on what's happening now and decide on who to bet on and earn some extra money." "Yeah. I heard that Bactria Express wants to turn this into the match of the century. They're working with the Two Sects, Three Schools, and Four Clans, as well as the Eight Influential Families to organize this. They even prepared extravagant prizes for the top three fighters. I heard that the strongest among them will receive a spiritual treasure!""A spiritual treasure?! I can't believe a treasure like that would exist in this world!"…The streets and alleys of Capital City were filled with such rumors, and everyone was talking about them. Even ordinary people who were not martial artists knew about them.Despite this, ordinary people did not think much of
Chase's cultivation this time was a rare opportunity for him as Murdoch was quite brutal and strict with his training. Even so, Chase had never once thought about giving up. He was not only training his divine abilities, he was also training to be resilient.When it came to passing down knowledge and answering questions, a knowing teacher was better than a renowned teacher. Murdoch was a knowing teacher who knew exactly how to teach despite never explaining or preaching much to Chase.His teachings somehow influenced Chase subtly and unknowingly.That was the reason why Chase was willing to let Murdoch train him however deemed fit.There was another reason for that. After the first time Chase was beaten up, the divine Black Turtle suddenly contacted Chase. He specifically informed Chase to learn from Murdoch without worry. He even advised Chase not to be in a hurry to meld his realms. Chase could sense that the divine Black Turtle was being very serious about this and took the ad