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
Chase expressed his preference to handle this on his own. After some polite chit-chat, Harold expressed once more that he would give full support to Chase if he needed it, but Chase rejected this offer again.This matter involved the secret of the divine crystal, after all. It was best that he did not get Harold involved.After he left the city lord's manor, Chase put on a disguise. He made sure that no one could recognize him before making the decision to investigate the hidden location on his own.He headed straight to the location. It was a dirty and messy store. At least, it looked that way from the outside.A middle-aged man walked into the store. That man was Chase in disguise. He had originally wanted to disguise himself as an old man, but on second thought, he felt that he could not pull off the demeanor of a man in his twilight years. He decided it was safer to pretend to be a middle-aged man.That was how this wrinkled middle-aged man appeared inside the store.Chase wa
"Is there an issue, sir?"The store assistant thought there might be something difficult to convey that Chase might be concerned about by the look on Chase's face. However, he did not leave Chase alone like a short-sighted salesman. Instead, he gave a sneaky look left and right before whispering in Chase's ear."Do you have something difficult to convey? If so, I have a proposition that you might be interested in.""Oh? Let's have a listen." Chase pretended to look extremely interested.The store assistant got more confident in his own judgment when Chase said that. This customer indeed had something too troubling to voice out. He felt quite sure of what he should do next."I believe you might not know this, but our store provides mercenary services. You look like someone with a high cultivation. Would you be interested in accepting mercenary work?" The store assistant paused at this point."Continue." Chase pretended to look drawn in.He was glad to be in the right place."The
"For someone like you, the job can be divided into two parts. Find the man in the picture and your mission is considered complete. You'll receive a hundred gold coins as a reward. If you manage to kill this man and bring his corpse back, then I'll have to congratulate you as the reward will be 10,000 gold coins," Toledo explained the reward in one go.To be honest, Chase would have been interested if the target was not him. He had killed three men a few days ago at the city gates and only got a few dozen gold coins for it.Chase pretended to look excited to make his act more convincing.He said, "Is that true? All I need to do is find this man and I'll earn a hundred gold coins? If this is true, I'll have to thank you properly, Toledo.""Don't be too happy yet. Now that you've accepted this job, I'll need to give you more information. There is one other person other than you who has taken on this mission. He's also an early-stage marquis of martial arts. His name is Hal Chadman, an
"Is that so? Hal, your information is always so reliable. I'm really benefiting from it," Chase said."Not at all, but I do hope you'll share any news about the person in the portrait with me as well," Hal replied. Although his words sounded casual, his expression clearly conveyed that he expected some valuable information in return for what he had provided.Hearing that, Chase responded, "Of course, of course."Their conversation was pleasant overall, and when Chase took his leave, Hal even walked him downstairs.After leaving Hal's inn, Chase went to the tavern he frequented. He looked for a secluded spot, removed his disguise, and reverted to his true self before heading back home.On his way back to the small house, Chase continued to ponder how he could fake his own death to infiltrate Shadow Pavilion. Upon seeing Chase's dilemma, Lucas offered a suggestion, "Find a corpse and destroy the face. That should do the trick.""But will the fake really pass as me?" Chase was int
"Yes, sir. Please go ahead and absorb it," Chase said. He then sat down cross-legged, patiently waiting for Lucas to provide feedback.Within half an hour, Chase suddenly felt a surge of heat within his body. He remained calm, knowing that this was the result of Lucas digesting the divine crystal.He guided the heat flow to circulate through his body once. As he began the second circulation, the heat flow diminished until it completely disappeared. It was now fully absorbed by Chase.However, when Chase checked internally, he found that his cultivation level hadn't increased at all. He released his aura entirely in disbelief, confirming that there was indeed no change. Puzzled by this, he retracted his aura again.In that brief moment, many people in the city sensed his aura. Several individuals rushed out of their rooms, but as the aura quickly vanished, they could only look around in confusion and give up.Among those who noticed were Hal from the inn, Toledo from the shop, an
After breakfast, Harold and his wife felt that Chase seemed more genuine. Previously, he had been so calm and composed, almost unnaturally so for someone his age.Once Wanda led Rania away from the table, Chase returned to his usual demeanor. It was not that Chase had feelings for Rania or anything, but he naturally had a soft spot for gentle and fragile women."Chase, my young friend, why don't you settle down in Eagle City instead of wandering around? We have everything you could need here," Harold suggested with a hint of meaning in his tone."A man's ambition should know no bounds, Lord Scanlon. Please don't make light of such things," Chase understood immediately and changed the subject.Reluctantly, Chase asked, "Lord Scanlon, do you have any prisoners on death row?""What do you mean by 'death row'?" Harold was puzzled.Oops, they did not understand what 'death row' meant here."I mean people who have committed serious crimes and are awaiting execution," Chase explained.
"Damn it! I shouldn't have been defeated so quickly even if I hadn't healed from my injury!"The man in black clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes slightly. He wanted to kill Chase badly and turn him into dust.He thought that if he exerted some power, the bumpkin in front of him would kneel and beg for mercy, but things turned out differently. That bumpkin had actually faced three moves from him without losing and even made him cough up blood."Roar!"The man suddenly shouted, and the air around began to contort. A terrifying wind galed and took Chase with it.After that, the man leaped like an eagle hunting a rabbit and went for the kill. An eerie light black as ink wisped around his right fist as he dealt out a vicious punch. His punch was like a venomous snake leaping out of the hole. It was precise and vicious, and quick as lightning.Chase's eyes widened as he moved half a foot to the side. It was a close call as the lethal blow almost landed on him. He kicked at the ma
This was a huge palace that stood as tall as the mountains. It was glittering and brilliant with various paintings and images hung on the walls. Some were of deities visiting the moon and playing musical instruments, some were of phoenixes flying through the clouds. There were others of dragons roaring and griffins clawing in a dance. They were lifelike and looked real."Where is this?" Chase looked around in a daze.Meanwhile, deep inside the palace, a man in a purple shirt approached Chase.He had a good-looking face and nice features. The man was tall and exuded a strong aura. He was like a deity."W-Who are you?"Chase was flabbergasted. This man intimidated him. Chase felt a heavy pressure above him, which almost suffocated him."Who are you? Why did you barge into the forbidden land of my ancient country?" The man sounded calm. He had a hand behind his back and looked down on Chase when he spoke."Ancient country?" Chase was taken aback at the man's words. Was this the leg
There was a muffled sound, and the leaf turned into dust. The man's palm was unscathed. All he had was some dust on his sleeve."You…" Chase's eyes widened with great fear. He was aware that all that man had to do was blow some air and Chase would be dead for sure."This can't continue. There'll be hope as long as I'm still alive. I have to leave this godforsaken place right now!" Chase made a quick decision. He stood up right away and made a mad dash for the coastline."Die, you lowly ant!"A roar echoed in the air, and Chase's movement slowed. He felt a chill.A massive power came crashing down like the skyline was collapsing. It suppressed everything in all corners and was suffocating.Chase's knees gave out, his bones cracking. He fell kneeling to the ground. His shoulders were trembling, and he was in great pain."I need to run as far as I can!" Chase was filled with great fear. He gave everything he could to channel true energy and ran crazily to the front."Hmph! Trying
The martial artists who survived in the land where light and dark convened were naturally tainted by evil energy. Their physique would gradually transform, slowly making them a better fit in the nether realm.While within the nether realm, martial artists would experience various hallucinations.They would hear spirits crying and wolves howling. Resentment was everywhere, and evil spirits would constantly appear. That place was covered in dark fog, and spirits roamed. Every corner of it was dangerous and had high death rates. Ordinary people would never dare step into this place.Chase had lived on Earth for 20 years. He trained in martial arts and medical skills from a young age and had seen a lot of this world.However, even he felt a chill down his spine after he was one reading the record on the nether realm."No wonder I keep having the feeling of a mysterious movement at the northeast corner of the martial realm. Could the dark energy from the nether realm have seeped throug
"Unfortunately, we chose to stay behind back then. There's no other way. If we aren't able to stop the balance from being destroyed, the martial realm will meet with catastrophe."All three elders looked at each other and sighed.That was when a skinny middle-aged man suddenly pushed the door open and entered. He gave them a fist and palm salute. "Masters, I have something urgent to report."An emerald slip appeared in the man's hand."Oh? Is there news of the influential families of the martial realm?""I can't believe there's news so soon."All three elders were surprised.It had only been 15 minutes since it happened, and there was already news. That was not easy to obtain.All three elders were top powerhouses with strong capabilities. However, they were hopeful that the news was true and reliable. They took the emerald slip and used the divine sense technique to check the news in it."What?!" "The martial realm's Secret Sect has been destroyed?!"All three of them rais
"I understand it now. This is a spiritual stone tablet with a record of a mysterious Soul Refining Technique!"Chase looked delighted.The Soul Refining Technique was used to refine a person's soul and purify the Origin of the Soul."That's really powerful!"Chase opened his eyes and took a sharp breath. "The things left behind by powerhouses of the nether realm are really incredible. Such treasure is highly valuable. Even a small piece of this would be enough for powerhouses to fight over it!"A notion crossed his mind, and a massive soul energy surged. The spiritual tablet was instantly crushed by the soul energy.The spiritual tablet was crushed to dust and recondensed into an emerald slip that floated in the air. It gradually flew toward Chase."Huh? That isn't right."There was a cold look in Chase's eyes. He discovered a thread of a soul energy's fragment inside the emerald slip.A contorted savage phantom shadow shot out of the emerald slip. It came clawing at Chase wit
"My gosh! How is this happening?!" The skeletal old man panicked. His soul energy sensed that heaven and earth's vitality seemed to be attracted by something when it was around Chase, and it flowed directly into Chase.Meanwhile, the brilliant glow of the sun appeared in the air behind Chase. It burned brightly and blinded those who saw it.A massive Divine Red Phoenix appeared and opened up its wings as it flew in the air. It was ferocious and had an air of danger about it."The Divine Red Phoenix?!"The sight of it put fear in the skeletal old man as his eyes widened. "Who exactly are you?!"Chase ignored him. He had formed into a golden-red phoenix and was emanating a terrifying aura in the air."Burning Sky Technique!"The temperature in the cave suddenly hiked up several hundred degrees due to the burning golden sun. Even the cave walls and ground were melted into lava that started to flow like a river.The skeletal old man screamed in pain as his body turned red instantly
Chase moved extremely fast. He appeared in front of the skeletal old man, who was about ten yards away, in an instant.They were fighting in close combat. Their hands and legs hit and kicked each other as protective energy flew about.Several muffled explosions were heard. It was difficult to determine the victor in this fight."You're at the end of your tethers, little bastard! You're about to die! I'm going to refine you and feed your soul to the Phantom Coffin. You'll be vanquished completely and turned into a part of my body."The skeletal old man held back his head and laughed wildly. His wounds were healing at an incredible speed.Chase's performance in this fight had angered him. He no longer cared about hiding his identity."You want to refine me? You're nothing but a ghost. Are you dreaming?" Chase sneered and suddenly lunged forward."Die!" Chase was quick as lightning as he instantly got close to the skeletal old man. He pressed his palm down on the old man's shoulder
A strange air of authority could be felt coming from him."How did this happen?"The skeletal old man's eyes widened, and his heart beat violently. He was trembling.Chase looked just like a demon king.He took a step forward. The earth and sky tremored as cracks appeared on the ground.Chase's physique suddenly expanded exponentially. His skin was bright red, and his bones seemed to be clanging. A strong dark blood energy flooded out from him.Chase waved his arms about crazily. Explosions went off in the air. Every punch he swung was followed by the terrifying sound of an explosion.The surface of the graveyard collapsed from Chase's savage strength.Chase crushed half the skeletal old man's face with one punch, and the old man's body flew off several yards away.Meanwhile, Chase was suffering from backlash because the true energy reserves within his body had erupted. Bloody arrows began shooting out of him."Only a little of my true energy is left!" Chase said sadly.Even