This was the culmination of the man in black's years of training, his most powerful trump card. He knew that if he did not stake everything now, his fate would be sealed with death.A wave of murderous intent surged through the forest like a tidal wave.The man's body swelled. His once gaunt frame transformed into a hulking, muscular figure. His bulging tendons radiated a terrifying pressure.The man charged forward like a raging bull, exuding ferocity, brutality, and unrestrained destruction."Die!" he roared as his fist barreled toward Chase like a falling meteor."The one dying today is you." Chase's lips curled into a cold smirk.In the blink of an eye, he leaped forward, meeting the attack head-on with a single punch.The deafening impact shattered the ground beneath them. Both figures were blasted backward, and blood spattered into the air.The man spewed blood from his mouth and nose, his chest caving inward. His ribcage was shattered, leaving his torso a grotesque, sunk
Chase extended his hand, catching the item that fell from the man in black's robes. He smashed the man's skull with a single palm strike without hesitation.This was the second time he had encountered someone from the Coopers."The Coopers?" Chase sneered coldly.He would not tolerate anyone provoking him. The Coopers wanted him dead, but he also had every intention of wiping them out.…Cooper Manor was located in the eastern district of Capital City. Kolson Cooper, head of the Coopers, sat in the main hall. To his right was an elderly man with a gaunt face and gray, wiry hair.At that moment, the elderly man was resting with his eyes closed. Suddenly, his eyes shot open."Mr. Kolson, there's been trouble," the butler announced as he hurried into the hall.Kolson asked with furrowed brows, "What happened? Don't tell me that item has been stolen?" His tone remained calm. The Coopers had amassed immense wealth after years of operating in Capital City. As a martial arts overlor
In Chase's navel region, his true energy churned and coalesced into a swirling vortex of liquid energy, circulating powerfully within.He clenched his fists tightly, and his skin glinted with a metallic sheen.Every part of his body—his skin, bones, internal organs, and even his Sea of True Energy—was infused and refined by the true energy surging through him. His strength surged, increasing severalfold."Although my power has improved, it's still lacking a critical edge," Chase muttered with a faint smile."The martial monarch realm…" With a casual wave of his hand, a streak of true energy shot forth, smashing a distant wall.A thunderous explosion erupted, reducing the wall to dust and rubble."The destructive power still isn't enough," Chase noted, narrowing his eyes as a sharp glint flashed across them. "My true energy is still too weak.""It seems I'll need to pay the Coopers a visit," he murmured to himself.For Chase, the martial monarch realm—the next stage after martia
Blood sprayed across the ground, staining it crimson.Chase stood where he was. His clothing was immaculate, and his expression was calm. Even his heartbeat was steady as if nothing had happened."Hmm?" Inside Cooper Manor, Wyman Cooper abruptly woke from his slumber.He draped on a robe, opened the window, and gazed toward the street's end before letting out a cold snort. "As expected of the remnants of the Collins family. You dare storm into the Coopers' domain, ignoring my authority?"A shadow streaked across the air.Wyman leaped from his room, gracefully stepping along rooftops. He crossed over 30 feet in an instant, landing just steps from Chase."Chase, long time no see," Wyman said with hands clasped behind his back. His gaze was fixed on Chase. "Last time we met, you weren't even qualified to face me. And now, you dare come looking for trouble?""You want to kill me?" Chase asked indifferently."Kill you? Of course!" Wyman sneered. His expression was venomous. "I spare
"You little bastard, just die!" Wyman's eyes were cold and filled with murderous intent.This strike carried all his true energy. If it landed, it would undoubtedly be fatal.Chase frowned slightly as he turned to glance at him. Then, with a flick of his finger, sparks flew, and the dagger snapped instantly.The assailant's eyes widened in disbelief. His face was full of terror. "Impossible!""Get lost!" Chase growled, delivering a powerful kick. The man's ribs cracked as he was sent flying several yards. He crashed through the wall of the front yard and landed deep inside Cooper Manor."What's going on?!" A furious shout echoed from within Cooper Manor. "Protect Mr. Wyman!"Immediately, several guards appeared.However, these men were no match against a martial arts overlord like Chase.With a single wave of his hand, golden glowing talismans shot forward, suppressing the guards in an instant.Explosions erupted in succession, and with a burst of blood mist, the guards were b
Not long after, Chase raised his hand to swing down his sword.Wyman could only watch as the sharp blade came down at him. His chest tightened. He could feel the threat of death.Just then, something happened to change this.A grayish-white figure suddenly lunged forward from a dark corner with a saber that clashed with the sword swinging down.Both weapons collided, and sparks flew with a loud clang.The old man in gray grunted as his arms tremored from the impact. His hand tore open, and blood splattered.Chase reacted while the old man was distracted. He moved his wrists and swung the sword around. It moved in a curved trajectory, slitting Wyman across the throat. Hot liquid gushed out from it.Wyman's eyes widened with disbelief. Everything happened too fast. He had been defeated in a blink of an eye. Wyman had been absolutely defeated.How did that happen?Chase was only a martial arts overlord. How did he burst out with such terrifying power?"You…" Wyman grabbed his ne
"A martial monarch can create huge waves with just a flip of a hand. They can do anything and are indestructible."Chase mumbled, "But… What does that have anything to do with me?" His voice was extremely cold. It was chilling.Chase had once looked forward to becoming an unbeatable powerhouse who took the world by storm, but reality was cold and cruel."Haha! Scared now, aren't you?" The masked man in the black robe began laughing tauntingly at him. "Get lost if you're scared or you'll end up losing your life.""You're wrong." Chase shook his head. "You're nothing but garbage to me. You're no better than an ant.""Still acting stubborn when you're about to die, huh?" The man was enraged.He vanished the next instant. His abilities were strange and unpredictable. Chase was unable to grasp his next move.It happened all of a sudden.The man attacked Chase from the back. He clawed at Chase from behind, his nails digging deep into Chase's skin. Blood gushed out from the wounds."
Even the normal sword techniques Chase used were equivalent to a second or third-stage martial monarch's attack. There was no way a mere martial monarch could stop his attack.It did not matter if he was a martial monarch. This was considered an opportunity now that Chase was facing the situation.The look in his eyes burned with determination.A purplish-red flash glinted in his eye. He channeled the blood and energy in his body and tuned his true energy to peak performance. He moved both his palms and shot out hundreds of shadow fragments from them. The explosion was deafening to the ear.Every palm attack contained incredible power as they exploded in the air, causing the space to collapse. It swallowed the masked man in black.Thunderous explosions were heard everywhere.Chase's attack had the man cornered. Millions of incoming punches rendered him helpless to fight back, and nothing he did helped him.After a while, the punches stopped and vanished.Chase stood tall where
Walter's entire body instantly shriveled up. Willow only noticed something was wrong when she swept her spiritual consciousness across the area.She was shocked. She could only deduce that it was damage caused by a fire-type spell.A curse? Fire-based?"Lisa, help him—quick!"That was the first thing that came to her mind since Lisa was a Water Dragon. Her water-based spells would definitely be stronger than Willow's own.She quickly called her over for help, and Lisa rushed over immediately.When she saw that Walter had almost turned into a dried corpse, she, too, was stunned."Hurry up and cast something!" Willow shouted, panic-stricken."Oh!" Lisa fumbled as she moved.This was the first time she had ever seen something so gruesome. A giant serpent dozens of feet long had shriveled into a dried-up husk only a few feet across. Could something like that still be alive? Was this even the same Walter she knew?Her thoughts raced uncontrollably.With trembling hands, she cast
It actually suited the Light Divine Pearl's temperament quite well.That was Chase's assessment. It was because of that that he trusted the figure's identity a little more.More importantly, his spiritual consciousness still had not detected any hostility from the figure.He also understood that if a real fight broke out inside the world created by the Light Divine Pearl, his chances of winning were close to zero."Since that's the case, let me see your strength first."The moment the words were spoken, the surrounding scenery changed completely. Chase suddenly found himself engulfed in a sea of flames.He turned around, and there was no island anymore. This was a different dimension, a realm of fire.Flames filled the sky, and black smoke rolled across the horizon. The temperature was scorching. It was unbearable even for a physical cultivator like him.Not to mention, he began to question whether his earlier conclusion about the lack of hostility was incorrect for the first t
Willow and the others still had no idea what was going on. They thought this was only the sixth level."This place is way too different from the previous ones. There's not a single person here."Walter looked around and realized that aside from plants and rocks, he had not seen any living creatures on this island."This is the ninth level, where the Light Divine Pearl resides.""What? THe Light Divine Pearl?"After all, it was Willow who had told Chase about the Light Divine Pearl. Walter and Lisa still did not understand what was going on."The ninth level?"Lisa's confusion was understandable. As a native of the fifth level, she only knew about the fifth and sixth layers as the transitional realms between the lower and upper worlds. She knew nothing beyond that."Willow, explain things to those two. I'll go check the surroundings," Chase instructed, then turned to explore the area.Willow began explaining the Dark and Light Dark and Light Mineral Ore and the existence of the
Only the Lightning Dragon King and his woman stayed behind, embracing each other and soaking in the cheers from the crowd.However, strangely enough, neither Carla nor Sierra detected any sign of ascension from Chase and his group.Carla dismissed the equally puzzled Sierra, then activated her messaging talisman and began chatting with Fallon."Fallon, did you see that? That Chase guy...""Yeah. He's strong, no doubt. The kind of ruthless man who could kill six elders with a single blow.""No, not that. Didn't they ascend? Did you notice any ascension phenomenon?""I was cultivating at the time, so I didn't pay attention. Why?"Carla felt a twinge of doubt in her heart.This world was inherently flawed. It was easy to find loopholes in the laws of heaven. They just lacked the power to exploit them. However, detecting them was still possible.Spiritual consciousness could easily cover most areas. A phenomenon as massive as ascension should have triggered some kind of reaction—e
What just happened?Willow and the others were completely confused."Let's go. It's all taken care of," Chase called out. With a wave of his hand, a portal appeared beside him.The Lightning Dragon King stood nearby with a forced smile, even making a welcoming gesture."Master, what's going on?" Walter, as the contracted beast, decided it was best for him to ask."I've negotiated terms with the Lightning Dragon King. We can go straight to see Lord Light Divine Pearl," Chase replied with a grin."What?!""Stop that. Move it. If you don't go in now, I'm closing the portal.""Alright, alright! We're going!"They then entered the portal one after another.Just before going in, Lisa curiously glanced at the Lightning Dragon King. This so-called world master, once so high and mighty, now stood like a doorman, ushering them into the gate.For the first time, Lisa realized what it meant when people said that the world was a fickle place. It was almost absurd.Once Chase and his gro
It was just a bit strange. Why would someone like the Light Divine Pearl himself stay tucked away in a corner of the nether realm, never stepping out? There had to be more to the story. Maybe there was some hidden reason?Chase knew he did not have enough information to figure it out right now, so he decided to let it go for the moment. It was better to deal with what was in front of him first."If you kneel before me, won't that grandfather of yours punish you?" Chase asked. His tone was a mix of curiosity, sarcasm, and something else even he could not quite place."He forbade me from addressing him with any honorifics. He just said if I lose, I should hand this thing over to the victor," the Lightning Dragon King replied. He looked genuinely sheepish for once.Chase took in a sharp breath.Forbade?That word carried a lot of weight. It sounded like these descendants of the Light Divine Pearl might not have the most glorious origins, after all. Maybe there was some dark, shamefu
Now, the Lightning Dragon King openly called the Light Divine Pearl by name. It seemed clear that the artifact's existence was known within a specific inner circle judging by how casually he spoke about it."Of course. In fact, I reincarnated from the upper realm. Starting from the seventh level, any creature with intelligence basically knows about the Light Divine Pearl," the Lightning Dragon King explained to Chase."Then why are you so sure that this pearl is useful for me?" Chase asked."Your strength is far beyond mine. That alone is something no native of this realm can possibly achieve. And from how indifferent you've been toward the Dark and Light Emeralds yet so determined to push upward, it's not hard to guess that you must be an outsider."Actually, there were already several groups who came before you," the Lightning Dragon King said with a sigh."Several groups?" Chase raised his eyebrows in surprise.Yet almost immediately, the realization hit him. In the nether rea
The viewing stands of the arena fell into complete silence.Not only the dragons but also the other spectators from different races—many of whom had already moved far away and were ready to bolt at any moment—froze mid-motion.The dragons had ruled this world for thousands of years. Yet now, the world master, ruler of both the realm and the dragon race itself, was kneeling before a human boy barely past his novice years.Was this something anyone expected to see in their lifetime? Not even in their wildest dreams had they imagined such a scene.The shock this brought was no less than taking a full-force hit from the Lightning Dragon King himself.In the main grandstand, the female Poison Dragon stood with her mouth agape. When she finally tried to close it, she realized her jaw had become dislocated. It took her quite a bit of effort, even requiring her vital energy, just to snap it back into place.Holding her cheek, she still could not speak. Was this really the Lightning Drago
The female Poison Dragon stood on the main viewing platform, utterly stunned.Although she had already felt a bad premonition the moment Chase seized the momentum from the Lightning Dragon King, she still could not accept it when that premonition became reality.The Lightning Dragon King—once the embodiment of invincibility in her mind—could not even land a single hit on this unknown human. It shattered everything she thought she knew about the strongest combatants.Could this nobody actually be a visitor from the upper realm? However, did they not say he was from Earth, a place completely barren of spiritual energy?Her heart was filled with doubt and unease. What if this guy actually ended up taking the world master's title?If that happened, it would be a catastrophe for the dragons.She knew, deep down, just how much wrong they had done over the years. Calling it 'corruption' and 'tyranny' would have been putting it mildly.If a reckoning truly came, most of them would not b