It was clear that Lucas was more invested in this matter than he had been in any other before, likely due to the divine crystal.Hearing Lucas' reassurance, Chase no longer hesitated. With a single thought, a foreign consciousness appeared in his mind. Chase sensed it and confirmed that he could indeed expel this consciousness at any time and force Lucas back into the Dragon Vein Secret Realm.As Lucas took control of his body, Chase retreated into his mind. He felt a strange sensation. He was able to perceive and see what his body was doing without actually controlling it. It was a peculiar feeling.Though Lucas' control over Chase's body wasn't as fluid as Chase's own, it was adequate."Who are you? What do you want?" the prisoner asked nervously after seeing Eddard bring a stranger over and then leave. While controlling Chase's body, Lucas instantly moved into the cell without a word. He struck the prisoner unconscious with a single palm strike.Chase then witnessed something
Chase found it amusing to see the prisoner so wary. He was just a late-stage true master of martial arts. Chase had killed several marquises of martial arts, so this guy was nothing to him."So, what does my benefactor want from me? As long as it's something I can do, I'll do it," the prisoner said quickly, assuming Chase had freed him to do some task. He was eager to save his own life."I don't need you to do anything. You're safe now, so you can leave," Chase replied, not wanting to waste more time talking to a doomed man."Can I really go?" The prisoner still could not believe it. After all, he was a notorious criminal and had long since stopped believing in others' goodwill.Chase did not say anything more. He just pointed to the door, indicating that the prisoner was free to leave.Hence, the prisoner did not hesitate and walked out the door, soon disappearing into the night. Was Chase really going to let him go? Of course not. Chase had already placed a trace of his consciou
"Definitely. Of course." Seeing Chase agree to his proposal, Hal readily made an empty promise.Who knew what would happen in the future? Besides, after completing this task, he would have the upper hand once he joined Shadow Pavilion."What are you waiting for? Let's hurry," Hal urged, his previous dissatisfaction vanishing."Alright, Hal. I'll lead the way." Chase then led Hal through various turns until they reached the inn.Hal then saw fake Chase sitting on the second floor, drinking. To make the scene more convincing and to ensure more witnesses, Chase pretended to act impulsively, but Hal held him back."Hey now, there are too many people here. It's not good to attack in public. Besides, that person seems to be an early-stage marquis of martial arts. We should wait for a better opportunity," Hal advised."You're right, Hal. I was too hasty," Chase replied, though he was inwardly irritated.What was going on? Hal had been in such a hurry before, and now, he was hesitant af
"Maybe it's because he was drunk?" Chase quickly came up with a plausible excuse."Maybe," Hal said as he took out the portrait to compare. It was indeed the same person.The people in the inn were shocked to see a regular customer killed just outside the door. They stood there, feeling stunned."Someone's been killed!" After a moment, the inn's patrons realized what had happened and shouted, waking up many in the dead of night."Hal, let's take the body back to claim our reward. This isn't the place to stand around," Chase reminded Hal while lifting the corpse though he actually wanted more people to witness the scene. Hal agreed."Right," Hal responded, shaking off his confusion. This was not the place to hesitate, so he followed Chase to Toledo's shop.The sound of their knocking echoed at the door of the closed shop."Who's there?" A lazy voice answered from inside. It was Toledo."Toledo, it's me and Hal!" Chase replied eagerly."Who are you?" Toledo still did not recogni
"This is Master Shadeless. Why haven't you greeted him?" Toledo scolded Chase and Hal as he brought the old man over."Greetings, Master Shadeless!" Chase and Hal both said in unison, lowering their heads respectfully. Hal was sincere in his hopes of joining Shadow Pavilion. As for Chase, he also showed sincerity as he wanted to play his part convincingly."These are the two guys I mentioned earlier. They brought back our target. The one on the left is Chase, and the one on the right is Hal," Toledo introduced Chase and Hal to the old man."Mm," the old man replied indifferently, turning his attention to the corpse on the floor. After examining it briefly, he pulled out a dim crystal from his pocket and began to sense it.After a moment, he said, "Yes, it's him. But the item we're looking for is no longer on the body." He then glanced at Chase and Hal.Toledo quickly asked, "Did either of you take anything from the body, something that looks like this crystal?""No, Toledo. After
Watching Chase and Hal leave, Toledo turned to the backyard where Shadeless was still examining the corpse."Master Shadeless, since we didn't retrieve the item from the target, why did we still reward those two?" Toledo asked."Even though we didn't find the item, this is definitely the right person. You don't need to worry about this anymore. Just focus on your own tasks. After reporting these two, they'll fill the vacancies left by those who were lost earlier," Shadeless said, dismissing Toledo.Shadeless then took the body and left the shop from the back, pulling out a crystal to sense for any traces. Sure enough, the body had a faint hint of the divine crystal's presence, but it was on the verge of dissipating.Either the divine crystal was handed to someone else by the deceased, or it was taken after he was killed.The only ones with the opportunity to take it were those who had fought him. Shadeless' eyes darkened as he thought about this.Even outside the shop, he could n
Chase only had time to shout a warning before a powerful force struck him from behind, sending him flying dozens of meters and tumbling several times before coming to a halt.He was badly injured and struggling to get up when he heard another thud and saw Hal lying on the ground in the same position. It seemed Chase's warning had not been effective.Chase finally stood up, spitting out several mouthfuls of clotted blood. He looked back. As expected, it was Shadeless from Shadow Pavilion. After attacking them both, Shadeless did not make another move."Master Shadeless, what's the meaning of this?" Chase asked.Shadeless just stared at Chase and Hal, not intending to answer. These two did not have the power to fuse or absorb the divine crystal. They probably did not even know what it was.Seeing that Shadeless was not going to speak but also was not attacking again, Chase helped Hal up from the ground.Hal was clearly more seriously injured and was barely able to stand with Chase'
"Chase, have you encountered any difficulties? Is that why you're leaving in such a hurry?" Harold asked in the hall of the city lord's manor."No, no. It's nothing serious. I've already troubled you for a long time, and I have some important matters to attend to," Chase replied smoothly.He thought it best not to mention his infiltration into Shadow Pavilion to Harold. Although they had gotten along well in the past few days, their relationship was not deep enough to share such secrets."Does this have to do with the fleeting battle in the city last night? Don't worry, as long as you're within Eagle City, no one would dare cause trouble," Harold said, his confidence and imposing presence making Chase believe Harold could indeed stand up to Shadeless."Lord Scanlon, you're overthinking it. There's nothing wrong. I simply want to travel and gain more experience."For a moment, Chase considered staying in the city lord's manor and dealing with Shadow Pavilion from there.However, h