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
This was the start of the Martial Arts Challenge of Capital City, Bactria.There were only two days left before the challenge started, and Chase finally left his secret realm. He appeared in Herb Hall.Compared to before, Herb Hall was now much livelier.This was especially after Bactria Express released a statement with the nine top sects. Besides Chase, there would be three other defenders in Herb Hall. Many people had arrived in the hopes of becoming a defender of Herb Hall.A few days had passed, and the three other defenders had been chosen.Chase saw three people at Skylar's quarters."These are the three young, talented people who emerged at the top from the matches. This is Chase Collins. The four of you will represent Herb Hall, and I hope that you'll be able to emerge at the top. It's going to be harder on you, Chase, because you need to lead them. Come on, you should get to know each other," Skylar said casually.There were two men and one woman. Chase did not know wh
"Can we attack another arena?""That wasn't specified, but I think we can. The other defenders might consider us weak and easily bullied, and they might make a targeted attack on us, which is not impossible.""Who did you three initially decide to be the first to defend our arena?" Chase asked the three of them."We had initially decided for Stan to take the first shift. He had requested it as well. You might not know this, Chase, but Stan got to where he is today through his own hard work at cultivating. He achieved his cultivation level by facing various challenges. He doesn't fear being challenged by another fighter, but if you want to be the first to be in the arena, that's fine with us as well."Summer had a good impression of Stan."That's fine. I'm good with your decision."Chase did not mind the arrangement. He knew from the moment he met them that all three of them were not his match. If that was so, there was no reason to win a fight over people whom the three of them c
Chase approached Nikolai alone to prove his thoughts.It was a strange feeling. Chase could clearly sense that he was just an ordinary man. There were no fluctuations in his body, and he was just the same as any other ordinary person out there, but Chase had to find out for sure."Nikolai?" Chase called out cautiously.The man who looked like Nikolai ignored him.Chase decided not to bother the man further when he was ignored.However, the man called out to him the moment Chase turned around."Why would you doubt yourself when you've already recognized me?""It is you, Nikolai. Why did you leave the Salvatores' secret realm and come here?"Chase was surprised but bewildered at the same time."Leave? I never left. I've been waiting for you to do business.""Oh? What business is this?"Chase got interested at the mention of a business opportunity."I'm preparing to put up bets for this challenge. I'm placing a bet on you as the upcoming champion. Try to refrain from revealing
When Chase returned to Basalt's base, he found out more information about the other arenas' defenders from Trek.The Basalt's army was also keeping close tabs on this challenge.Chase did not expect his unintentional action at Herb Hall to have resulted in such a large-scale martial arts challenge.However, Chase was quite happy to see this happening.The Webers' arena already had four defenders picked. Chase found out that one of them was Herbert, whom he had met once before, and another was Link Scovel, who was also a White Tiger Guard. As for the other two defenders, Chase had no idea who they were.As for the Sosa Clan's arena, rumor had it that a woman was one of their defenders.It was said that anyone who saw the woman would be stunned by how beautiful she was. Since the arenas were set up, no one had ever heard the woman speak. Everyone who had challenged her was defeated, and she had yet to lose.If it were not for the rule of picking out four defenders per arena, the w
"You probably don't know this. Their first defender is Stan Mallard. I heard that he defeated several competitors during the preliminary rounds at Herb Hall before he managed to become one of the four defenders." Someone would immediately reveal what they knew the moment a question was asked."Wow, you have lots of insider news. Do you know who's the first defender for the Webers?"When someone was able to answer, another person quickly asked a question he was interested in. No one cared if the news was true or false. Everyone was just there to entertain themselves."That man's name is Link Scovel. It took him several difficult fights to become a defender, just like that defender from Herb Hall. They're both powerhouses who came out of nowhere," the man who answered seemed to have a good source of information."What about that guy from the Sosa Clan?" another man asked."He's Earl Laker. I heard he became a defender after only being in one fight. He's not one to underestimate."
"Castiel can only rely on his own luck now. Ivana, we should leave," Turk, the white-robed man, sighed."I suppose there's no other choice," Ivana replied, casting one last glance in the direction Chase had flown. There was a hint of reluctance in her expression.In the end, she activated her movement technique and soared away.Turk had been paying close attention to Ivana. When he noticed the lingering look in her eyes as she gazed after Chase, his expression darkened, though his thoughts remained unreadable.Once Ivana had taken flight, Turk flicked his fingers, sending a small black sphere rolling into the cave before he turned and departed.Not long after, Chase reappeared."Interesting," he mused, watching the direction Ivana and Turk had gone. A smirk played on his lips.With his heightened spiritual awareness, his perception far surpassed others of his level. The two stage-three martial god weaklings were nothing to him.After confirming that they had truly left, he step
Four black tentacles shot out from the cave, heading straight for the four of them.The boorish man, still reeling from his earlier clash with Chase, had no time to react before the tentacles wrapped around him. He let out a series of agonized screams as he was dragged into the depths of the cave.The white-robed man and the woman in purple stood farther away and managed to dodge the attack, their figures flashing as they leaped to safety.Chase, however, remained in place, completely entangled by the tentacles.The white-robed man halted, initially showing concern for the boorish man being captured. But upon seeing Chase ensnared as well, his expression shifted to delight. He assumed the beast would eliminate this troublesome opponent for him.Yet despite the tentacles stretching taut, Chase remained utterly unmoved. It was as if he had taken root in the ground.Feeling the strength of the tentacles, he realized they were far more powerful than those that had restrained the boor
What?!Chase felt incredulous.He dodged the attack and retreated about three feet away."What is this?!" Chase asked."Did you release monsters into this cave?" the woman in purple yelled angrily with her sword raised in the air."Monsters?" Chase glanced at the cave entrance in bewilderment. He saw a long, black tentacle appear from the cave as it reached out for the woman."Look out!" The two men behind the woman shouted as they defended her at the same time.Sword stances filled the air as the man in white helped the woman stop the tentacle. The boorish man picked up his blade and leaped into the air. He slashed down the back of the tentacle.Black-colored blood splattered onto a rock. Hissing sounds were heard coming from the plants as holes appeared in them due to the corrosion. There was lethal venom in the monster's blood.Chase was shocked to see this. The wailing he heard must have come from the monster. It looked quite powerful. He felt lucky about not entering the
Chase opened his eyes. His clothes had been wet but were now dry.He channeled his skills, and strength circulated him. He got rid of all impurities and felt invigorated.After that, he stopped using his skills and punched into the air using pure physical strength. He could vaguely hear the sound of a sonic boom.The effects of the Mirage Dragon Tiger Pill on body refinement were not bad at all. He estimated that he could achieve an upper level if he could take another three to five more pills.It seemed like a visit to the Nefarious Deity Sect was now inevitable.Chase turned to leave.Right after leaving, dark smoke began to billow from the middle-aged man's corpse, forming into a man. "Damn it. I can't believe I can only escape using Nefarious Deity Form. But I've managed to obtain your mind and soul's aura. The next time we meet, I'll make sure you'll suffer a fate worse than death. I won't let you die so easily."The man, who was in Nefarious Deity Form, began to glow green
The man was only at stage three, where each punch possessed a weight of 30,000 pounds.Besides that, as the Nefarious Deity Sect's signature fist technique, it possessed the Nefarious Deity Energy. It could invade the opponent's spirit and soul upon contact.It was also the perfect complement to the Nine Mirage Ecstasy.However, Chase seemed completely unaffected. He seemed to have managed to defend himself against that punch.The middle-aged man knew that he had lost all opportunity at survival when he failed to hurt Chase with the punch. He quickly maneuvered to defensive mode. Black smoke billowed from his body and formed into a protective armor around him."Nothing but a party trick!"Chase checked himself for any injuries caused by the man.Thirty thousand pounds worth of strength was nothing but a drizzle to him.As for the Nefarious Deity Energy and harm that came with it, Chase was now able to withstand the evil power after using the Thunderfruit Core to strengthen his
The middle-aged man was scared speechless after witnessing Chase brutally kill the muscled man. He kneeled right away to beg for his life."Please let me off! I still have Mirage Dragon Tiger Pill that's perfect for martial nirvanas to refine their physiques. It's what you need right now."Mirage Dragon Tiger Pill?Chase frowned. He was aware that normal monsters and medical herbs did not have much effect on martial nirvanas who were also body refining cultivators.He knew that a Steel Dragon Tiger Pill was a unique profound-grade pill that was refined with an exclusive method that combined the Steel Technique with ingredients such as a dragon or tiger monster's inner core, dragon and tiger bones, and other rare supplements. It was refined using a special flame and required 49 days to complete. It could enhance one's physique tremendously.However, what was a Mirage Dragon Tiger Pill?"What's the difference between your Mirage Dragon Tiger Pill and the Steel Dragon Tiger Pill?" C
There might only be a difference of one word between martial gods and martial nirvanas, but both were totally different concepts."Cut the crap! I'll show you the holy technique of the Nefarious Deity Sect!"The muscled man suddenly put his hands together, and a ghostly wail was heard echoing in the air. A savage spirit appeared. It was holding a rusty, iron sword in its hand. It was filled with a murderous rage as it lunged at Chase."Possession Technique?" Chase's eyes narrowed. He was not a stranger to such unorthodox techniques. He had even fought numerous people using such techniques."Die!" the man roared as he controlled the spirit. A black sword flash tore through the air as a chilling glint came slashing at Chase."That's nothing." Chase shook his head and flung out a silver needle.The silver needle shot through the air and went between the eyes of the spirit. Blood splattered instantly as the spirit's massive body evaporated. It formed into a wisp of green smoke and va
Chase had not gone far when he heard a furious roar. A dark figure lunged right at him for the kill.It was a ferocious black wolf that had fur as dark as ink and extremely sharp teeth."How dare a mere stage-four martial nirvana monster ambush me?" Chase grunted coldly and moved his arm. A bronze saber appeared in the air, and a slash was heard. Just like that, the wolf was sliced into two.The wolf was left with half a body. Its soul appeared from the other side of its body, and it vanished instantly."Huh? It still managed to escape?!" Chase frowned. The look on his face suddenly changed as he ran toward the valley.A loud explosion was suddenly heard. It was as deafening as an avalanche.He saw a mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke appear in the air as stone and dust flew about. Numerous trees collapsed while bushes were flattened."Haha! I've finally caught you, you rat!" A sinister laugh was heard. A muscled man in armor walked out as he stared at Chase coldly. He had a huge bu
The blade contained powerful sword intent, and it sliced open a horrible wound on the Black Iron Demon Crocodile's belly. Blood gushed out from it.The crocodile roared furiously as it struggled. However, it could not escape as the blade had cut its veins, which immobilized it.Chase exhaled. He went forward and kicked the crocodile's head.A series of crisp cracks were heard before the crocodile ended up in a pool of blood. It was a horrifying sight.It was a martial nirvana beast, and even though it had been seriously hurt, it could still move. Chase did not dare waste any time. He took out some rope he had prepared earlier and wrung it around the crocodile's neck. He dragged it out of the underground palace."This Black Iron Demon Crocodile's body is massive. It must've consumed the blood essence of many human martial artists. I wonder what other surprises it has for me."Chase chuckled as he prepared to leave.However, that was when Chase paused in his footsteps and suddenly