Indeed, the legends were true. By taking control of the formation map, Chase gained control over the entire secret realm.With this newfound power, he felt omnipotent within the realm. It felt strikingly similar to his experience in the Dragon Vein Secret Realm. The more Chase thought about it, the more unbelievable it seemed.With a single thought, Chase appeared in the Dragon Vein Secret Realm. Sure enough, the place where previously he could only see two spaces, a third one had appeared—this new secret realm.Wait a minute! If the secret realm he had gotten appeared in the Dragon Vein Secret Realm, what about the martial lord's domain?Chase clearly sensed a significant leap in his strength, yet he had no clue about the domain. He appeared beside Lucas."Do you think I've had a breakthrough, sir?" Chase asked uncertainly."Judging by your aura, it’s clear you’ve reached the martial lord realm. And it doesn't feel like you just entered it. Can't you sense it yourself?" Lucas lo
Mitchell quickly spoke up, "Scott, come help us! This martial lord has gone mad and is trying to kill us all. Everyone outside has already died at the hands of this man. If you don't help now, we'll all be dead soon!"The four of them had left earlier and were unaware of what had transpired. At this moment, corpses lay everywhere in front of Shadow Pavilion. Some belonged to the people from Bactria who entered the secret realm, and some were from Shadow Pavilion.Upon seeing Chase, Shadeless was taken aback for a moment but then shouted, "Chase Salvatore, attack them! Help me capture them, and I'll recommend you to the pavilion master for a reward!""My name is Chase Collins! Remember it!" Chase's cold voice made Shadeless pause. Shadeless questioned, "Are you saying you're one of the locals who invaded our world?""To us, you're the invaders," Chase replied calmly."What audacity! You're a mere marquis! How dare you reveal your true identity in front of me? You must have a deat
As a prodigy of the Flaming Sun Clan, one of the Four Sects, Apollo was no stranger to the secret realm.Even though Chase had obtained the formation map, his power should not be this terrifying. As he was unable to sense Chase's aura, Apollo looked at him directly, filled with fear."You... made a breakthrough? That shouldn't be possible. Are you saying... No... It's impossible. You're just a mortal! No one can do this!" Apollo had his suspicions.As he looked at Chase, Skyless was equally shocked. As a stage-three martial lord, he found it unbelievable that he could not see through this young man before him. Could it be?Skyless quickly checked the consciousness he had left on the formation map. To his astonishment, the consciousness had vanished.How could this be? Even though he had crafted the Eight Trigrams Formation Map over many years, he had only managed to leave a little bit of his consciousness on it. These people had been underground for barely an hour, and not only ha
"When... did you take it?" Apollo stammered, still in shock.Chase did not answer. He merely focused on the Chamilia Bead in his hand. This little iron ball held a terrifying amount of energy. Even Lucas could not help but comment, "This thing is equivalent to my full-strength strike in my prime!"Lucas' assessment was quite exaggerated, considering he was a martial monarch expert."Chase, please spare us. I promise not to reveal anything that happened here. I can take an oath!" Now devoid of any leverage, Apollo softened his stance and began to beg for mercy. It was clear he feared that Chase would kill everyone to prevent what happened here from being exposed.If word got back to Bactria, Chase would undoubtedly face relentless persecution from Capital City's influential families, especially from those whose prodigies he had slain.Realizing the gravity of the situation, Slant also pleaded, "Chase, the Flaming Sun Clan has no grudge against you. If you spare us, we can swear
A group of people stood faintly visible in the swirling dust. The night still lingered in the sky, with dawn yet to break.Despite the dust flying everywhere, Chase and his group stood quietly, waiting. This was the very place where they had all entered the secret realm together."Why haven't we seen the exit yet?" Slant asked impatiently.Although Chase could leave and return to Bactria at any moment, he remained standing there. He could see the outskirts of Bactria's Capital City through a thin veil.At the entrance to the secret realm, representatives from the major families had already gathered. There were the Hawkinses, the Coopers, the Salvatores, the Brennans, the Kaydens, and the Welches. They were eagerly waiting.Chase even spotted Gareth, who had brought an entire armed troop to prevent any trouble from these families. Not far from Gareth, Chase also saw a banner of the Flaming Sun Clan.The four elders who had opened the secret realm suddenly appeared, and the entranc
After speaking, Thelonius waved his hand and took his three disciples away, disappearing into the sky. Meanwhile, the remaining family heads of Capital City exchanged looks.What? Even a powerful clan like the Flaming Sun Clan had only three out of over ten people return?The family heads immediately focused on the entrance, each hoping the next person to come out would be their family's prodigy.Inside the secret realm, Mitchell was about to step into the exit when he suddenly found himself stopped by something.He realized instantly that Chase was behind it."Chase, what do you mean by this?" Mitchell asked, his voice laced with frustration.Chase smiled faintly. "Mitchell, swear a blood oath and I'll let you out."Though Chase wore a smile, Mitchell had no doubt that if he refused, Chase would kill him.There was no escaping this, after all. Mitchell's face twisted with indecision. The exit was right in front of him, but if he did not agree, it might as well be miles away.
The voice of the patriarch of the Coopers, Lennox, rang out from behind them."What's the matter? Are you blocking my way?" Gareth immediately questioned."You represent Bactria, so naturally, I wouldn't dare obstruct you. However, I need to ask Scott and Basalt's Collins about the Coopers' prodigy,'' Lennox began, apologizing to Gareth before turning to Chase.Seeing Chase and the others emerge with no one else following from the secret realm, the family heads felt a growing sense of unease.Hence, Lennox directly voiced his concerns."I don't know," Scott replied nonchalantly, his expression unchanging.Chase remained silent."We're leaving," Gareth declared once more."Gareth, you're free to go, but Scott and Basalt's Collins, you can't leave until you explain what happened in the secret realm," Carson, the patriarch of the Hawkins family, said. He also stepped forward to block Chase and Scott."How dare you?!" Though without any cultivation himself, Gareth felt a surge of
"Even the entire cultivation world has never heard of such a heaven-defying existence," everyone exclaimed in awe.The two mysterious martial lords in the sky turned their gazes toward Chase as well."As you're a stage-three martial lord, was it you who claimed ownership of this secret realm?" one of them coldly asked, staring at Chase."So what if it's me?" Chase replied calmly.The two previously enigmatic elders now seemed less intimidating to Chase, perhaps because they were near the secret realm's exit. He could vaguely sense their auras, revealing them to be at most mid-stage martial lords, no higher than level six."It really is you! Such audacity, young man. You've just broken through and already you're so arrogant, showing no respect for your elders. Do you think becoming a martial lord allows you to challenge us?" the elder retorted angrily."It's your condescending attitude that's provoking me. I had no intention of being disrespectful. What now? After knowing that I c
Although there was no physical damage, the soul damage was very real. It was exactly that soul damage that allowed Chase to subdue Walter."Master, has the soul damage on your Greedy Wolf increased again?" Walter asked.Soul damage? How could a blade cause soul damage?Willow and Cyril were both stunned.With their current strength, neither of them had experienced it directly and had no idea that Greedy Wolf had already awakened a spirit—specifically, a star spirit aligned with slaughter.Hearing Walter's question, Chase suddenly recalled that the spirit within Greedy Wolf—Silly Husky—possessed astonishingly strong soul power.When they first met, it had disguised itself as a deadly blade spirit, radiating a terrifying killing intent that had completely fooled Chase.Fortunately, his own soul was resilient enough not to be tricked. He had eventually seen through Silly Husky's bluffing and recognized it as more bark than bite.Now, Chase wondered if Dominic could have been affec
Being the only one who had previously faced Chase's Greedy Wolf, Stone stood frozen in disbelief.He had always believed that as a stage-nine martial god, the gap between himself and Dominic, a peak martial god and an elder of the Nefarious Deity Sect, was merely half a step. Yet now, he had witnessed something that shattered his assumptions.His most powerful dark beast, the Crimson-Scaled Nether Serpent, was electrocuted to death in an instant. Then, even when he gave it everything he had and struck with Greedy Wolf, he still ended up at a disadvantage.Meanwhile, Dominic had taken on Chase's full three-pronged assault—including a direct strike from Greedy Wolf—with nothing but his bare skull and stood his ground.It was at that moment that Stone finally understood. The gap between him and Dominic was far larger than he had ever imagined.There was simply no comparison.He and Cherry had once considered challenging for the Supreme Elder title at the sect's year-end assembly, ho
This should be easy enough!"You brat! Dying at my hands is your greatest honor. Save your breath!" Dominic shouted as he launched the Nine Nefarious Holy Fist.His body swelled in size, his shirt bursting open to reveal muscles that were as hard as stone. They gleamed under the morning sun. The sight left Willow and Walter utterly stunned.An opponent who exploded out of his shirt right at the start? That was rare enough. However, to see a Supreme Elder doing it against a junior… Was this not a bit overkill?Facing him directly, Chase wore a serious expression. His consciousness detected an overwhelming vitality radiating from Dominic, so dense it even suppressed the aura of killing intent.After easily defeating Stone earlier, Chase's impression of the Nefarious Deity Sect had dropped a notch. He had thought that after so many rounds of body refinement and reinforcement by the Dark and Light Emerald Lotus, his physical strength should be at the top tier.Yet this Dominic, the s
The answer soon revealed itself.A sizzling noise rang out as the Crimson-Scaled Nether Serpent lunged at Chase with its jaws wide open, clearly intending to end his life in one bite.It thought to itself smugly, 'This fool is too slow. He's dead for sure.'However, to everyone's surprise, the serpent suddenly spasmed mid-air. Electric arcs danced across its scales as smoke began to rise from its body. Twitching uncontrollably, it looked like it had been struck by lightning. It fell straight to the ground like a thick rope within seconds, utterly limp.Stone stood there, dumbfounded.He had not expected his Crimson-Scaled Nether Serpent to be defeated so quickly. Sensing that the serpent was now truly and completely dead, his eyes flared with rage.Chase actually dared to kill his dark beast?!His expression turned grim. Black energy spirit surged from his body, and the demon-headed broadsword on his back gleamed with a menacing red light, eager to be unleashed. Even those nearb
Over the years, after being backstabbed by Ricky more times than he could count, Dominic had come to understand that when facing an unknown enemy, it was best to bide one's time and act cautiously."Stone, go test his strength," he ordered."Yes, sir," Stone replied.Dressed in a black robe, Stone rarely spoke, but his towering frame—nearly six foot five inches tall—and the massive demon-headed broadsword strapped to his back made it clear to anyone that he was not someone to mess with.Of course, there was no record of this person in Cyril's sect's registry either. The moment Cyril laid eyes on him, he knew this newcomer was a powerful force.He even considered warning Chase and the others to flee. However, seeing Chase step forward without the slightest hint of fear, he immediately understood that these people who were not listed must have come from a higher realm. He then silently shifted closer to Willow and Walter."Go ahead," Chase said calmly.Though his voice was not l
"I was originally at the martial god level, but after arriving in this world, my strength was suppressed down to martial monarch," Chase explained calmly."So... you came from a world where there's a higher realm?" Cyril was utterly shocked. The events of today had truly broadened his horizons.First, he was betrayed by a fellow outer disciple, then rescued by a stranger, who turned out to be a martial god!"You could say that," Chase replied, not willing to elaborate. After all, this world was only the third level of the Dark and Light Mineral Ore.Whether it was an illusion or a real world created by the Light Divine Pearl, no one could be sure. Everything would have to wait until they reached the ninth level of the defensive formation.Just then, a roaring sound came from the sky. They looked up to see three armed helicopters circling overhead."This is the ground unit. You're surrounded. Raise your hands and surrender immediately, or else—"Before the voice could finish, Cha
After carefully studying the appearances of the three, Cyril sifted through his memory.Before descending the mountain, his nine mentors had compiled a list of the strongest individuals in the current world. It included rankings in combat ability, strategy, physical strength, medical skill, and other crucial categories—listing the top 300 names.Yet he could not find any entry that matched these three people standing before him.That puzzled him greatly. Based on the data his mentors gave him, they had basically covered every top-tier power in the world. For these three to be so powerful and yet completely unrecorded… was hard to believe.After a moment of hesitation, he spoke solemnly. "I'm Cyril Stent, a disciple of the Miracle Doctor Sect. I came down the mountain on my mentors' orders."I didn't expect to run into this mess and drag you all into danger. I truly apologize. As the saying goes, each kind deed should be repaid. If you ever run into any trouble in the future, just
"Alright, go ahead," Chase said, noticing Willow's eagerness.After all, throughout their journey, she had spent most of her time being a burden. She probably felt bad about it.Now that she finally had a chance to contribute, of course, she wanted to prove herself—not just to them but to herself. What she did not know was that Chase was also highly skilled in medicine.Willow activated her cultivation technique, her eyes glowing violet. This was the Purple Shadow Divine Eyes, a secret technique from the Evil Shadow Sect's Great Impermanence Mystical Shadow Technique.It allowed her to perceive the flow of various extraordinary energies—vital energy, spiritual energy, sick energy, vitality, ghost energy, and more.At this moment, within her field of vision, Cyril's meridians appeared as clearly as if under an X-ray.She suddenly cried out, shutting her eyes tightly as if they were being scorched."What's wrong?" Walter and Chase asked at the same time.Chase quickly focused h
This thing… Was it not the Nine-Sea Giant Squid?Had it reincarnated?What mattered more was that Chase was currently only at the martial monarch level. Now that they were inside a plane, if things escalated even a little, the aircraft would definitely explode. Yet on the other hand, their flying abilities were restricted at the moment, so they were essentially just waiting to die.Chase immediately found himself in a dilemma.While he hesitated, Klondike—also known as the Nine-Sea Giant Squid—extended three or four more tentacles, wrapping them tightly around Cyril. It looked like it was about to stuff him into its mouth. There was no choice. Chase had to go all in.Chase activated the Passive Concentration Technique. On one hand, it hid his spiritual presence from detection, and on the other, it launched a direct soul attack against Mia's group and the Nine-Sea Giant Squid.Then, Greedy Wolf struck.Now that he had reached the martial monarch realm, Chase could control it wi