Before he left the base, Chase noticed that there were not many people around. He asked Trek about this curiously.Finn and the rest were not around, and Chase found out that they were cultivating in isolation to achieve a breakthrough while others were out on duty. The entire base was left with whoever he had just seen.That was when Chase realized that they needed more members, and this got him curious."Doesn't Basalt have a department that specializes in recruiting? Why are we so shorthanded?"Even though Trek had only joined Basalt for a short time, nothing about Basalt was hidden from him. After all, Chase had personally appointed Trek to join Basalt, and he was aware of their situation."Basalt's Collins, it was because you ordered us to hide out in Rochester which is why recruitment ceased."Realization dawned upon Chase.Before he left, he gave Trek an order. It was to start recruitment in Capital City and hire reserve members for Basalt. Even if they were only hiring r
Many major and minor influential families gathered at the venue very early in the morning.Chase was initially not required to show up, but this was Capital City, after all. Chase decided to observe the situation quietly.When he arrived, he realized that the crowd was even bigger than when he was challenging the arenas.Even though most were ordinary people and there were not many martial artists, Chase understood one thing from this situation. Most of these people thought that being part of Basalt was a good position to be in. Otherwise, there would not be so many people fighting to be part of it.Chase squeezed himself into the crowd and headed for the middle.That was when it happened.An unfriendly voice rang out in the air."What are you pushing us for? Are you in a hurry?"Chase looked up and saw a man in his early 30s.He was not bothered much and replied calmly, "I'm sorry. I have something urgent to attend to."However, the man refused to relent."Who doesn't have
"Should I be aware?"Chase asked with uncertainty as he looked at Joe's expression.This question made Chase sound quite ignorant."Didn't you see the television ads? Even if you didn't, you heard the broadcast on the radio, right? Capital City's broadcast channels have been playing news of this from last night until today."Joe spoke while taking his phone out. He played the recording."Hello, citizens of Capital City. I'm from Basalt, and due to a need to fill up vacancies, I'm representing Basalt's chief instructor, Chase Collins, to sincerely invite everyone to come for an interview with Basalt's reserve team…"Chase almost laughed out loud when he heard the broadcast. Trek had chosen the simplest yet most straightforward way to advertise this. Even though Chase did not expect this, it seemed the logical move as there was no cultivation requirement to be a Basalt reserve team member. All they needed was a person of good character. Basalt needed people, and as for cultivatio
Chase listened as everyone discussed this, and he turned to look at Liev from the crowd. It was not hard to guess that Liev would not have dared to be here if this were his sole decision. Since he was here, it meant someone was backing him.There were not many suspects. Chase had two in mind. It was either White Tiger or Red Phoenix.Chase thought about it.While he was thinking, three people walked out. It was Trek with Finn and Iris and each side of him."How dare you, Liev Charter?! How dare you make a false statement about Basalt's reserve team interview being an illegal gathering? What are you up to?"Finn knew Liev, and he said this out loud to Liev from afar.Liev was holding up the loudspeaker when he saw Finn, Iris, and Trek appear. The look on his face changed. He was the police chief of Capital City, and he clearly knew Finn.Liev did not expect Finn to be present at a recruitment for reserve team members. What made it worse was that Iris and Trek were present too. He
Even though Trek was not present the last time Red Phoenix tried to stop Basalt from entering Capital City, he had developed camaraderie with the rest of the Basalt and was now on their side.Red Phoenix did not learn their lesson and came looking for trouble once more. This time, Trek was prepared to get some payback from Red Phoenix.Julie narrowed her eyes when Trek mentioned this. There was a cold glint in her eyes.Red Phoenix had suffered a loss the last time, and they had nowhere to vent. They had sent so many men out, but only half returned. They did not even manage to get justice for themselves after that and could only tolerate their anger.Trek just had to mention it.Julie stared at Trek murderously. However, she did not burst out in anger. It was probably due to her being in public or there could be some other reason. All she did was speak coldly."Where's Chase Collins? Get him out here!""How dare you?! You're just a small fry from Red Phoenix. How dare you call o
Trek stopped wasting time talking to Julie at this point. He flipped his palm, and a gold object appeared in his hand."Now that you see this, do you have anything else to say?""This… This… Chase Collins actually gave this to you!"Julie's jaw dropped when she saw the object, and the look on her face changed."I thought you would pretend not to recognize this. Now that you know what this is, get lost if you know what's good for you and stop trying to disrupt Basalt from recruiting reserve team members," Trek said to her coldly.Julie did not expect this object to be in Trek's hands. This object represented unlimited power, and Chase had easily let someone he had just defeated have it. She had wanted to force Chase out and humiliate him, but her plan was dashed.Julie wanted to pretend not to recognize the object, but as an envoy of Red Phoenix, this would be too ridiculous. She had no idea what to do now."What's that?"Liev got curious when he saw the troubled look on Julie's
This group of people arrived haughtily but left in humiliation.Julie had finally left.That was when Trek sighed with relief and put away the object in his hand.He did not expect the King Defeating Golden Mace to be so useful. When Chase handed it to Trek and told him that it was useful when conducting business in Capital City, especially when facing other government agencies of Bactria, he did not expect it to be so powerful. Even Red Phoenix had to back off at the sight of this mace."Alright, everyone. Please continue staying in line to register yourselves. We'll conduct the assessments one step at a time. I hope that you'll become a part of Basalt's reserve team," Trek said to the crowd in a friendly manner before leading Finn and Iris back inside.They then disappeared from everyone's sight.It was only after that a huge discussion erupted among the crowd."I thought that they were about to fight each other. I can't believe one object in hand was powerful enough to sett
There was a glow on Joe's face when he was talking about this.Chase had no idea how to react to such praise.It was difficult to imagine the look on Joe's face when he saw Chase after becoming an official Basalt member one day.Chase could not bear to destroy his dream and wondered if he should do something to make Joe a lifelong Basalt reserve team member. While he was thinking about this, it was their turn to register.Chase saw that the Basalt member in front of him was Sterling from the Wallaces of Camland. He did not expect Sterling to be in Capital City too.When he saw Sterling, Chase could not help remembering everything that happened at Camland."Are you two together?" Sterling asked without looking up.Many of those present had come in groups. Some were in twos while others came in three or even five or six. Anyone who came together was considered as one group.Before Chase said anything, Joe spoke up, "Yes."Chase stayed silent."I'm asking you a question. Are the
Jade gritted her teeth as she gathered all her vital energy, preparing to unleash her ultimate move. It was the very origin of her title—Thousand Eyes and Flowers.Behind her, a vital energy screen spread open like a peacock fanning its tail.The surface was covered with intricate patterns, resembling the eye-like spots on a peacock's feathers.These patterns were not mere decorations. Each one was an ancient rune, capable of releasing a devastating vital energy attack.When Jade unleashed this move, everyone below gasped in shock."No way, this is just a friendly tournament match. Does Jade really need to go this far?""Should we reinforce the arena's defensive array? I'm afraid someone might get caught in the crossfire.""Tsk, tsk, it's been so long since we last saw Jade lose her temper. She's even more stunning when she is angry!""You're such a pervert. If you get hit by that move, there will not even be a corpse left of you!""You don't understand. There are worse ways t
Inside Universal Holy Land, Clive and his master were facing off against the woman suspected to be the Dark Divine Pearl. Meanwhile, at Light Divine City, Chase's fourth round at the tournament's semifinals had already begun.His opponent was Jade, the Saintess of Modest Lady Holy Land, also known as Thousand Eyes and Flowers.It was already extremely rare for two contestants with such a rare same surname to appear in the same tournament. They belonged to different factions yet both were advancing to the final few rounds. Not to mention, if Yara had revealed his phoenix bloodline and inheritance, he might have very well made it to the finals too.The people with the surname Fries were terrifying beyond words!These were the thoughts running through Chase's head for no particular reason. On the other hand, after Jade saluted, she launched her attack without hesitation.Chase, still a bit distracted, was startled by the ferocity of her strike. Such a name and demeanor, paired with
Skyler spoke proudly.Clive kept having the feeling that something did not seem right when he heard Skyler's words."The Holy Path will only open after winning the tournament championship. Only those selected by the champion can enter. I was already eliminated in the second round…" Clive stammered."Won't you become the champion after killing the current champion? Isn't killing Chase Collins what you want to do?" Skyler was frustrated with Clive.Clive finally realized what felt wrong about all of this."You're not Skyler," he said coldly.The Universal Element Priest had also locked down on Skyler with his vital energy at this point. "Reveal yourself. Who are you? What did you do to Skyler?""Oh? How did you know?" Skyler was taken aback but quickly calmed down and asked the question. "What's wrong with my charisma and appearance?"He looked at his body and clothes while asking the questions with curiosity and calmness. This person had admitted to pretending to be Skyler."Fir
"His will is a blur." Clive sounded helpless when he added, "But it's a will that is extremely frightening and evil."He had the right to this opinion as someone who had faced Klondike directly.When Klondike's will was directed at him, Clive could feel unlimited fear and helplessness. Any second more of facing Klondike might make him lose his mind.He could barely take the energy pumped into him. He only managed to get through it because of his guilt for Rania and his desire to live.The thought of begging Klondike was equivalent to seeing death.There was one reason why he was brave enough to talk about Klondike with the Universal Element Priest and Skyler. It was because Klondike was in a stage of being half awake and half asleep. Clive only dared to discuss Klondike when he was asleep.However, speaking of anything that crossed the line would attract his attention, and Clive was not willing to see that happen.The Universal Element Priest and Skyler glanced at each other. The
Both of those disciples thought they could see Skyler lose his temper, but he reacted calmly. The attempts to fan the situation seemed to have failed. Had they lost credibility with Skyler for their misguided actions?They broke into a cold sweat from fear.Those disciples had offended the previous and current Saints. It looked like they had just made life tougher for themselves.They glanced at each other and gave a long sigh.…Inside Universal Element Palace, Clive had placed Rania down on a training mat while he knelt in front of his master, the Universal Element Priest. "Master, please save Rania North. I'm willing to pay any price without regrets!"He spoke with great determination, and there was a grim look on his face."Silly boy." The Universal Element Priest glanced at Clive and sighed."Rania North seems to have been poisoned by a vicious curse and an extraterritorial poison. I can temporarily save her life, but her face…" He shook his head."I'm grateful enough that
The man had just commented to his junior when a sharp sword aura came swishing toward him. It sliced off half of his fringe, and his knees buckled from fear. If the sword had moved an inch further, his skull would have been sliced off."Shut your trap!" Clive's cold voice was heard. It was filled with murder. He had ignored all the criticisms directed at him. However, he pulled his sword out when the man insulted Rania."This is my woman. Insult her again, and I promise you will not see the sun rise tomorrow." Clive turned and continued walking forward without looking back.When he finally vanished from sight, a tall, dashing man came forward with a sword behind his back."Is Clive around?"He asked the two Universal Holy Land disciples who had just seen Clive."Clive just went inside to see the master, Skyler," one of them replied respectfully."Oh. What a coincidence. Um… What happened to your hair?" Skyler suddenly noticed the fringe of the disciple answering him had been slic
"If everything goes as planned, I'll be heading to the Holy Path with Chase Collins." Yara put the small, white bottle into his storage pouch as he spoke in a low voice."There's no hurry for this. I need to make proper arrangements at the Evil Shadow Sect first. Carla secretly set up the Severance Formation at the locations where Norm Weber and I were cultivating in isolation. She wanted to trap us inside and see us dead! I must have my revenge for that."The Holy Path won't happen immediately. You'll make it there eventually. Don't worry too much about it."Tack's eyes turned sharp at the mention of Carla. He and Norm had taken pains to nurture and groom Carla to become the sect master of the Evil Shadow Sect.Yet she showed ingratitude to their efforts by trying to kill them just to be with that rascal, Fallon Locke.Carla was a heartless woman who had no loyalty or filial piety. Such a vicious woman should find it lucky if all they did for revenge was to kill her.Tack saved N
Yara returned to his room at the inn after exiting the tournament venue. He checked the room carefully for any signs of intruders entering his room. He then took out a talisman from his storage pouch and blew gently on it.The talisman started to burn, and gentle smoke slowly billowed in the air. A formation formed instantly, and the entire room was cut off from the outside world.After that, Yara took out a messaging talisman. He touched the image of an old man on it. The next moment, the old man's image projected in front of him. He looked to be about 50 or 60. The old man had a head of white hair and a white beard. He was also wearing a big, red robe as he held a chowrie in his hand."Chase Collins took the bait, master," Yara said respectfully to the old man."Good job. You'll be rewarded well once this is done." The old man whisked his chowrie and laughed. He added, "Get his primordial essence, understand?"He lowered his voice when giving the instruction. When he bent his hea
After all, Chase had to bring Yara along if they were really going to the Holy Path.Chase would not be able to hide it from them then. It was better to be honest with them from the start."What? He needed something from you? Will he come over to see you tonight?" Willow's question had Lisa and Walter exchanging a glance.Chase had no idea how to respond. "What are you thinking, Willow? Sweep those dirty thoughts out of your mind."He berated Willow.Willow realized what she had just said and quickly apologized. "Oh, that's not what I meant. I just wanted to ask what you meant by him needing your help."Chase sighed. "To put it in a nutshell, Yara has phoenix bloodline and requires the Light Divine Pearl's help to receive the Rising powers of the Phoenix Deity. He knows that I have hope of getting the Light Divine Pearl, which is why he came to me."Willow and Walter were stunned."The Phoenix Deity? Isn't that one of the Five Major Demon Saints who holds the same standing as th