"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
After leaving the city lord's manor, Chase waved to the Scanlons and swiftly departed.Shadeless had been in a foul mood recently. The great opportunity that had been within his grasp disappeared because of his hesitation to take action personally.He toyed with the crystal in his hand. He had obtained this one by ambushing someone on the brink of breaking through to the martial lord realm.Upon returning to the Eagle City base, Shadeless planned to refine this crystal, which was not a true divine crystal. However, he sensed another divine crystal through it, leading to the subsequent events.Detecting that the divine crystal was in the hands of a young marquis at the early stage of the realm, Shadeless wanted to avoid alarming Harold. He assigned the Shadow Pavilion operatives to handle it, thinking four individuals of the same level would easily capture the young martial artist.Shadeless was already imagining himself refining the divine crystal and ascending to the martial mona
Could it be that after Shadeless's test, he still had doubts about Chase and Hal? Did that cause Shadow Pavilion to delay their approval of the two of them?During this period, Hal had come by to drink with Chase twice. However, it was always on Chase's tab as he had told both Hal and Shadow Pavilion that he was staying here.Their interactions were not exactly joyous, but they were amicable. They both expressed their frustration about the slow process of joining Shadow Pavilion. At least, that was the impression Chase gave Hal.Just when Chase thought today would be like any other, that there would be no response, Hal hurriedly walked over in quick steps."Chase, we've got a response. They're asking us to go over," Hal shouted from a distance, addressing Chase by the window.Upon hearing this, Chase perked up.Afterward, he left the tavern and followed Hal to the base of Shadow Pavilion, where they met Toledo. Toledo led them to the shop's backyard to report to Shadeless. This
Chase walked slowly back to an inn next to the tavern. The inn was actually owned by the same person who owned the tavern, so staying there allowed Chase to enjoy a significant discount on drinks.Once in his room, he scanned the surroundings. He found nothing unusual, so he opened the envelope given by Shadeless.Seeing the contents of the envelope, Chase was momentarily stunned. The words on the letter read: [Assassinate Hal and bring back his body.]What was Shadow Pavilion's intention? Were they planning to use and discard them?For a moment, Chase was truly perplexed. However, seeing the contents, he guessed that Hal's letter likely contained instructions to assassinate him and bring back his body as well."What's so hard to understand? Have you ever seen an assassin who cares about feelings?" Lucas said in Chase's mind.Right, Lucas' words jolted him awake. It turned out Shadow Pavilion was wary of how close he and Hal had become, so they came up with this task.It seemed
It was not until early in the morning that Chase felt a faint killing intent. His heightened senses allowed him to detect any directed hostility from a considerable distance."Have you made up your mind?" Chase asked without even opening the door. He was addressing the presence outside the inn.There was no response, but the already faint killing intent seemed to weaken further."If you've already decided in your heart, don't let external factors sway you. Don't you agree?" Chase continued.There was still no reply, but after a moment, the killing intent suddenly intensified. Chase stopped talking and simply moved from his bed to the door, showing no signs of defense.He knew exactly who was outside—Hal.Hal's timing was impeccable. Moonless and windy nights were perfect for killing. The pre-dawn hours were when vigilance was at its lowest, making it the most vulnerable time for anyone."Why go through this trouble? Are you resigned to your fate?"In Hal's eyes, Chase seemed to