Rain was still falling heavily outside the window. It was not often to see such heavy rain, but it was still somewhat expected.Chase's ears moved slightly. He seemed to have caught the sound of children laughing and playing in the alley outside the courtyard.Not long after Chase finished a glass of wine, he heard the soft voice of a woman sobbing.He was unperturbed by it. After that, there was a series of coughing from an old man that slowly got further away.The courtyard Chase was staying at was situated on the very far end of the east side. It was at the end of the alley and was a dead end.Chase put his wine glass down and poured more wine into it. He walked out of the room with the glass in his hand. He opened the door, and for a quick instant, it looked like the sky was raining blood.It happened in a blink of an eye before everything returned to normal. There was nothing unusual besides the moist air billowing around the courtyard.Chase moved a chair to the door and s
Rolfene exaggerated even more as she went on. Chase raised his wine glass and pointed outside the door to indicate it was time for Rolfene to go out there to make some friends.That was when she stopped her chattering.Chase finally returned to his room and shut the door to have some sleep. As for Rolfene, who knew if she required any sleep?He slept until the next morning.Scanlon shouted from outside the courtyard door early in the morning for Chase to have breakfast with Harold as Harold had extended an invitation. Harold was having a family banquet, and as Chase was staying at the manor, he was invited as well.Chase had no choice but to accept the invitation as he was staying at Harold's home.He cleaned up his room and followed Scanlon to the main building of the manor.Chase asked while they were on their way, "Did anything strange happen last night?"Scanlon hesitated at the question but did not say anything.Chase had a good guess about the situation.He followed Sca
Harold did not display any prideful attitude throughout. He was quite humble and polite. Chase almost thought he might give Chase a nickname.However, Chase was wrong about the situation.When the banquet came close to an end, Harold made no mention of needing any help.All he did was apologize to Chase for not taking better care of him as a guest of Eagle City.Harold bade his goodbye after breakfast by claiming he had work to do. He instructed Scanlon to take Chase around the city.Chase and Harold went their separate ways after that.Scanlon brought Chase to visit the busiest part of the city. Even though Chase kept insisting that he did not want to bother Scanlon as he could visit the city on his own, Scanlon stubbornly maintained that he had to bring Chase around because it was Harold's instruction.Chase could only let him be while trying to think up an excuse to sneak off.Fortunately, Scanlon knew that it might not be appropriate for an old man like him to stick by Chas
It was clear that Chase could not figure out a better way to deal with this. If he took action, he could kill the supernatural being, but Rania would have to die with it."That would be a little difficult, but there might be a way if I can get in contact with that living person. Although, I might still need to pay some price for it," Rolfene replied after some thought."Can you share the solution with me? I'd like to learn something new." Chase was clearly interested in supernatural beings."To put it plainly, that supernatural being is still possessing that person because it's not done eating away that person's vital essence. Her vital essence must still be inside the supernatural being. All I need to do is to possess her too and devour that supernatural being. After that, I'll return the vital essence to that woman and she will be saved!" Rolfene told Chase honestly."If you're devouring the supernatural being and returning the vital essence to that woman, which belonged to her i
Chase turned to look, and from what he could see, the adult and child in plain white clothes had appeared once more at the end of the alley. The child continued staring at Chase with bright red eyes. Blood was seeping out of them, flowing down his pale, snowy cheeks.The adult holding the child's hand had no features on his face. It was like a piece of thick, white cloth. No one could see if he had eyes, a nose, or even a mouth.Both of them slowly approached Chase.They walked slowly toward the door of Chase's courtyard, but Chase was unperturbed. He took a step closer to them and stood at the edge of the stairs as if waiting for them to attack him at any time.The child, whose face was covered with blood, kept staring at Chase. When he saw that Chase was not afraid, he said, "Your flesh smells really good. Can I have a few bites? It'll really just be a few bites. Can I?"He spoke very slowly, but he did not stop walking forward. He walked past Chase, and his back was now facing
Harold saw Chase walk in.He was at his wit's end and blabbered to Chase about what happened. He held some hope and asked Chase, "Is there anything you can do about this, Chase?""There is a way, but I have a request after this is resolved." Chase had previously discussed this with Rolfene and knew what to do in this situation."Nothing is more important than this, Chase. Please help save my daughter. I promise to do anything for you." It was apparent how important Rania was to Harold."Alright. While I can get this done, I hope you, Mrs. Scanlon, and everyone else will give me some privacy. Please don't try to find out my ways as this involves confidentiality on my part." Chase solemnly made this request before he did anything to help Rania.Who knew what Harold might do if he found out about Rolfene's existence? After all, his daughter was possessed by something just like Rolfene."Who is he, Lord Scanlon? Don't make the wrong decision out of your anxiousness. None of us can do
Rania stopped her quiet gasping and suddenly sat up to stare at Rolfene.Chase sat at the door as he quietly closed his eyes to rest. He looked like he had handed the situation completely over to Rolfene. He stood guard at the door to prevent the supernatural being inside of Rania from escaping. It was better to be careful."Stop putting on an act. Come out here to chat," Rolfene said once more."I didn't expect to meet someone like me in a small place like Eagle City," Rania finally spoke, but the voice did not belong to her. It sounded like someone much older and experienced. "Well, I guess you're just too inexperienced," Rolfene replied haughtily."I'm curious. We're both supernatural beings who chose the unorthodox path and fought against every rule and restriction of society. How did you end up with a human?"Rania asked Rolfene while glancing at Chase, who was guarding the door."You shouldn't ask that question. It's none of your business. Let's talk about this. Let go of
After all, this happened because Chase had acted obstinately.What happened next was much easier to deal with.Chase put up an act by first getting Harold and the others into the room and informing them that he had resolved the root of the problem.Even though Harold asked many questions about the process after entering the room, Chase managed to provide answers to him that seemed to be solid. It sounded as if Chase was the one who did all of it.Harold was filled with gratitude and insisted on keeping Chase at the manor to talk about it.Chase finally could not take it and gave the excuse that he had wounded himself internally while treating Rania so that he could leave. He returned to his private courtyard.Next, it was time to get his reward.They had agreed that Harold would help him fulfill one request after Chase cured Rania.Chase had wanted Harold to help him find out more information about the divine crystal but changed his mind.If he mentioned the divine crystal, Ha
As Clive had gained quite a lot, he decided to let it be. He allowed himself to let go of things. However, that being's consciousness began to open up to Clive, and that was when Clive realized how powerful the being was.It was one against the 12 Primal Treasures, and the universe was its target. It had existed for millions of years. The result of allowing it to take over was Clive losing complete control of his body. It was a projected image that vanished after Chase defeated it.However, Clive's body had been modified by it, and Clive's mind and soul were unable to control his own body. This was what had caused Clive to look like he was in a daze right after the match.Rania then used a mystical technique to transmit her cultivation and combine the powers of both parties. It triggered a lost talent within Clive that merged all of the swordsmanship he cultivated to form an unknown sword form that had never been seen before.Clive felt like he had been revived.He looked at the Ni
Inside the halved corpse, faint outlines of Rania and the coachman's bodies could be seen. They were twisted and contorted.Foul-smelling digestive fluid bubbled and hissed, corroding their bodies.Rania appeared to retain a shred of consciousness. "Cli... Clive... Clive... Help me... Save..."Her voice was faint, tremulous, and laced with sorrow. It stirred pity in the heart.In truth, even before she had spoken, Clive had already detected her presence through his spiritual consciousness. He raised his sword. His face was tormented as if he wanted to put a swift end to things. Yet in the end, he let out a long sigh and released a surge of true essence, pulling both the coachman and Rania from River's corpse.The coachman's cultivation was far too low, and his clothes were made of ordinary fabric. They offered no resistance to the corrosive and toxic digestive acid inside River's body.Half of his body was already unrecognizable, with the bones and internal organs exposed. His b
"Pathetic."The Nine-Sea Giant Squid that River had transformed into spoke with a human voice, then opened its gaping maw and swallowed her whole.The coachman, who had leaped off the horse the moment River transformed, scrambled and sprinted away. He was already dozens of feet out.Just then, a dark blur flashed past, and one of River's tentacles shot forward at incredible speed, snatching him back and devouring him in a single gulp as well."Disgusting. That woman tasted better," he muttered while slithering toward the carriage on his tentacles.Suddenly, an explosion echoed from within his belly, and faint glimmers of light shone through the surface of his body."That woman's protective artifact is so weak. Looks like she wasn't treated well in the Norths, after all."River examined himself carefully and found that it was indeed Rania's protective talisman that had just detonated. Yet his body remained largely unharmed. With some minor healing over ten days to half a month, he
Outside Light Divine City, Rania sat inside a carriage with Clive."Clive, say something, will you? You staying silent like this is really worrying me," she said while wiping the sweat from Clive's forehead and letting out a sigh.As a collateral descendant of the Norths, Rania's life had never been particularly easy. She had thought she had finally snagged a golden opportunity with Clive, only for him to fall into a daze after just one match.What was she supposed to do now?Everyone had witnessed their behavior during the tournament. Though some might look down on them, they would undoubtedly see the two of them as a pair by now.If she abandoned Clive at this point, she would surely be labeled a heartless woman.Just then, the carriage came to a halt. They had only left the city less than an hour ago and were still far from Universal Holy Land. Was someone blocking the road? Rania frowned and lifted the curtain.Sure enough, there was someone standing in the way.She looked c
Even though the match had ended, Lisa still could not fully escape the lingering terror.The slimy, wriggling tentacles covered in suction cups and jagged teeth, stretching out toward her… Such images were seared into her mind. The impact had been too great.Though she was a direct descendant of the dragon clan—an authentic ancient lineage and one of the top races in the entire world—she had been completely overpowered then.Normally, her bloodline would exert natural suppression over most others. However, at the time, she was almost crushed by another.She could not even begin to imagine what kind of race could do that."It tried to eat you?" Walter exclaimed in shock.As a great beast himself, he understood just how powerful the dragon clan's pure bloodline was.Even though the incident with the Lightning Dragon kneeling to Chase had dulled some of the mystique around dragons, it remained undeniable that they were a superior bloodline."For a creature to make a dragon feel lik
"Pfft, what Saints or Saintesses? They're just titles. They don't have any real skills to speak of!""Exactly. These so-called Saints who suddenly emerged probably got their status through shady means. The moment they enter a duel, their real strength shows."Amid the chorus of cheers and congratulations, a few jarring voices remained, and one of them was Rania's. Although she was a social climber herself, hearing the crowd ridicule Clive after his defeat made her deeply uncomfortable."That's not true. Clive is not like that," she repeated again and again. Those were the only words she could manage.Several in the crowd recognized her as the one who accepted a gift from Clive earlier and began to mock her."She's the perfect example of a shallow woman. The moment she accepts a gift, she loses her sense of judgment. It's pathetic.""Right? The truth is right in front of her—Clive is just a big show-off with no real skills. And yet she keeps lying to herself.""Hmph. They really a
Later, a certain senior of the sect discovered a secret technique of the Nefarious Spirits.It was to meditate on the image of a divine beast or an overwhelmingly powerful immortal being the embodiment of one's soul. As the level of visualization deepened, one's spiritual soul strength would grow accordingly.This method of cultivating Nefarious Spirits was a hybrid of corpse refining and body cultivation.However, while corpse and body cultivation focused on physical bodies, Nefarious Spirits cultivation trained the intangible—the spiritual consciousness and the mind and soul.After this discovery, they even improved the methods of refining corpses and bodies using it.When refining the body, practitioners would visualize fierce beasts like bears or wolves or celestial warriors, generals, and even gods. The subjects of their visualizations would match with their nature and temperament, making them their own Nefarious Spirits.Fallon's Nefarious Spirit was an ancient giant ape. It
As for Fallon and Carla on the high platform, they clearly sensed that the ominous gaze from above had lessened significantly.Clive, who was facing Chase directly, also felt that his seemingly unstoppable sword strike had suddenly stalled in front of Chase. It could not push forward any further. This shocked him greatly.After all, even when sparring with his own master, he had never encountered this sensation. His master had even praised him for his good fortune after obtaining a peerless sword and for mastering a sword technique unparalleled in this generation. If not for the looming limit of his life span and the need to break through to gain more years, his master would have wanted to cultivate that technique himself.This sword strike, which Clive considered to be the culmination of all his understanding of the sword path, was the most perfect attack he had ever executed since beginning his cultivation journey.Even so, this nameless opponent had forced it back with a single
Tania once attended celebratory events held by other sects, only to encounter top-tier demonic beasts on the road. A brutal battle left her covered in wounds, and she missed the celebration entirely, offending the host.At that time, her master's resentment had already reached its peak.That thousand-year-old wolf demon became the last straw that broke the camel's back.Her master unleashed Emerald Lake Holy Land's most powerful technique—Radiance of Emerald, Eternal Slumber.Heaven and earth changed color the moment it was unleashed. The thousand-year wolf demon gathered all of its cultivation but still could not withstand the strike. It was reduced to ashes in an instant.Tania once thought that the gap between her and her master was not too wide and that she would rightfully inherit the mantle of leadership over Emerald Lake Holy Land within a century.Yet after witnessing that attack, she realized how wrong she had been. From then on, she started training harder and more dilig