"Who else could it be if not me?" Lars Jameson made no attempt to hide his identity."Celestial Master, were you attacked? Was it this ghostly creature that harmed you? Tell me, and I'll immediately seek help from outside!" Aaron trembled as he pointed at the skeleton behind him."You mean this?" Lars raised his withered hand, and instantly, the skeletal figure before them disintegrated, collapsing into a pile of bones scattered on the ground.The sight chilled Aaron to the core. The skeleton had been under Lars' control all along, part of a performance orchestrated by Lars himself."Celestial Master, since no one is threatening you, I'll take my leave. I wouldn't want to disturb your peace," Aaron stammered, desperate to escape. He completely abandoned the idea of searching for treasures on Holy Mountain.It was obvious that Lars had undergone a horrifying transformation—he was no longer the man he once was."Heh. Since you're here, don't be in such a rush to leave. Stay a while
As Lars finished speaking, a shroud of ghost energy enveloped him.Suddenly, Chase's ears were filled with a hiss that sounded like a mix between a snake and a dragon.The ghost energy behind Lars coalesced, forming a three-meter-tall figure with the head of a dragon, the body of a turtle, and the tail of a serpent—an unmistakable image of the Black Turtle.Chase immediately recognized the form before him. To his surprise, it was real. The Basalt Armor was indeed in Eastern Ocean.Seeing the monstrous figure, Aaron was paralyzed with fear, unable to move a muscle."Alright. It's time for both of you to meet your end!" Lars commanded, and with a thought, the Black Turtle leaped forward from behind him. Its dragon head and serpent tail opened wide, lunging at the two men."How dare you?!" Chase stepped forward, releasing the powerful aura of a martial lord.Although Lars had boasted about his greatly increased power, Chase had already seen through it.Lars was nothing more than a
Chase looked at the vibrant spirit of the Black Turtle before him and felt a strong sense of affection. He let the Black Turtle spirit continue licking his finger.Lars was now completely reduced to nothing, but the Basalt Armor was nowhere to be seen. Chase grew curious. Why was only the spirit of the Black Turtle present, but not the armor itself?Chase extended his consciousness to interact with the spirit. Instantly, the Black Turtle spirit coiled around Chase's fingertip and then transformed into a streak of light, rushing into Chase's body.This sudden change startled Chase. Just moments ago, the Black Turtle seemed friendly, but now, it had seemingly taken control and entered his body.The light spread throughout Chase's body as if searching for something. After a while, the light reappeared in front of Chase after having found nothing. It then reverted to its Black Turtle form."Boy, why do I sense a familiar aura from you yet can't find the source? Who exactly are you?" A
Chase no longer cared about anything else when he saw this."Sir, please don't resist this later."He opened up the Dragon Vein Secret Realm while saying this.A space with strong suction appeared out of thin air. It might be because of what Chase said that the old man stopped resisting. He did not make any move.He was taken into the Dragon Vein Secret Realm by Chase.The old man was the Black Turtle in human form. He was initially calm upon entering the secret realm, but that quickly changed.He burst out exclaiming something, "This aura… It's… It's Big Brother! Quick, tell me where is he?" Black Turtle grabbed Chase, who had appeared next to him, anxiously.Chase was taken aback.Why would the divine Black Turtle suddenly act so out of character and claim he had a big brother?Chase pointed into the air above him.The divine Black Turtle looked up at where Chase was pointing while still in the form of an old man.He suddenly looked agitated."Big Brother! Big Brother i
The divine Black Turtle heard Chase's question.He paused for a moment as he reminisced about this. It took a while before he slowly said, "Chase, you know about the Four Arms of Bactria, but do you know of their origin story?""Do you mean…"Chase made a guess."You're right. It's because of the Four Divine Beasts that the Four Arms was established. However, not many people know that the four of us are the Four Arms' ultimate weapons." "Do you mean to say that the true dragon is the legendary Divine Green Dragon?"Chase quickly asked about this."No. Green Dragon is Green Dragon. The Four Divine Beasts are Green Dragon, Red Phoenix, White Tiger and, me. The four of us would never admit we're inferior to each other. That is, until True Dragon appeared. We stopped fighting each other, and True Dragon became our big brother." The divine Black Turtle explained.Chase had a better understanding of their story now."Why are you here in Eastern Ocean, Mr. Black Turtle? Did the Ea
"Those people out there belong to East Capital's most powerful family, the Trevors. The man at the door is the next-in-line to inherit the Trevors, Hatch Trevor!"This was how powerful the successor to the most powerful family in East Capital was?He was not really considered much.Chase could sense from his consciousness that Hatch was just a stage-eight marquis of martial arts.What could have given him the confidence to say something like that?"Come on, let's go out!" Chase said calmly.Aaron was shocked."Basalt's Collins, this is the most powerful family in East Capital. We shouldn't face them head-on. Let's escape from the back door.""That won't be necessary. We'll take the front door. You can walk in front of me."Chase was adamant about this.Aaron had no choice but to walk in front while Chase watched him closely.At the door, Hatch watched as the door opened slowly."You're finally willing to show yourself, Master Payne. I thought you would choose to continue hi
Even though the emperor had bestowed the title of Heavenly Master to Aaron, there was still nothing he could do when facing a Celestial Master."How dare you try to lie your way out of this? Who could it be but you? There are so many people watching here. You were the only one who entered this house. Who else could it be? The lackey behind you?"Hatch spoke up again when the independent cultivators did not believe his words. Aaron was silenced the moment Hatch mentioned that no one else had entered the Jameson residence."You should look at this from a logical point of view, Mr. Trevor. It really wasn't me. I'm not powerful enough to do this. I came here because I heard Celestial Master Jameson had gotten his hands on a treasure from Holy Mountain. I wanted to ask his permission to head there with him one day to try my luck as well." Aaron tried his best to explain his reason for being there, but Hatch did not care. If Aaron continued talking, there was no telling how this would t
"Yeah! Didn't he go into the Jameson residence with Master Payne? How dare a lackey like him make such a brag? Isn't he afraid of becoming a laughingstock?"Everyone started to make sarcastic remarks after being momentarily stunned.Even Hatch wanted to make a sarcastic comment but was worried about the hidden powerful presence, so he held back his anger."Get out of here, you rascal. I'm only here to face Master Payne. This has nothing to do with anyone else. Get lost if you know what's good for you. Otherwise, Eastern Ocean will have no place for you if you offend the Trevors!"Hatch spoke out coldly as he tried to convince Chase to leave quietly.Chase was speechless. No one believed his honesty these days.He had no choice but to emphasize once more, "It really was me."Chase had no inhibition in Eastern Ocean. The Eastern Oceanians were not people to him. If things escalated, all he needed to do was kill them all.He emphasized this once more, and Hatch finally lost his te
After all, Chase had to bring Yara along if they were really going to the Holy Path.Chase would not be able to hide it from them then. It was better to be honest with them from the start."What? He needed something from you? Will he come over to see you tonight?" Willow's question had Lisa and Walter exchanging a glance.Chase had no idea how to respond. "What are you thinking, Willow? Sweep those dirty thoughts out of your mind."He berated Willow.Willow realized what she had just said and quickly apologized. "Oh, that's not what I meant. I just wanted to ask what you meant by him needing your help."Chase sighed. "To put it in a nutshell, Yara has phoenix bloodline and requires the Light Divine Pearl's help to receive the Rising powers of the Phoenix Deity. He knows that I have hope of getting the Light Divine Pearl, which is why he came to me."Willow and Walter were stunned."The Phoenix Deity? Isn't that one of the Five Major Demon Saints who holds the same standing as th
"An old acquaintance?" There was murder in Carla's eyes."It's someone from long ago. I thought she was dead. I didn't expect her to still be alive, or rather, this could be her descendant." Fallon's mind moved quickly as he tried to squeeze any excuse he could from his mind."Why haven't I heard you talk about this old acquaintance before?" Carla was suspicious. However, Fallon had never lied to her before. At least, she had never caught him lying before. She was not entirely sure if he was telling lies right now."You know how the Nefarious Deity Sect would sometimes discover unique and powerful monsters whenever we visualize Nefarious Spirits or tame dark beasts. Yara Fries looks very much like a human-form monster I discovered with phoenix bloodline."She refused to bow down to me. Since I could not have her, I killed her. I was not as powerful then, and I had a hard time trying to kill her. I was relegated to using despicable methods in the fight. That's why I… lost my calm whe
However, the rules did not state that fighters were not allowed to admit defeat, which was why the referee ruled that Chase had won.Most elites in the spectators did not know the Fries family well, but they still came forward to ask about the fight. Some of them went off to watch other fights with a sorry look or a look of disdain on their face.Carla, who was seated at the very top, said, "Interesting.""Why would you say that?"Fallon, who had been looking forward to watching a descendant of the Phoenix Deity in action, was feeling upset about the outcome. He asked the question when he heard Carla's comment."They were putting up an act," Carla said with a smile."Huh? Wouldn't that be rigging a fight? What are you smiling about?" Fallon felt angrier after hearing her explanation. He was the one in charge of the tournament, and they were rigging a fight right under his nose. That was disrespectful to the city lord."Didn't he organize this tournament to find out more about thi
"Huh. I didn't expect you to know so much." Yara was surprised."Of course, I know stuff." Chase felt a little proud about it but quickly said, "You should hurry up. There are a lot of people waiting out there.""Alright. I'll make it quick."The Holy Path is a relic of the calamity years ago. As for the ninth level, it was created by the Light Divine Pearl to protect himself by fusing pieces of the world collected from every corner of the universe."Currently, the Holy Path on the sixth level leads directly to the sealed location where the Light Divine Pearl's true form is. The Light Divine Pearl's image projection on the ninth level is where he is able to use most of his powers."Something happened while he was fusing the ninth level. The maximum cultivations on each level are different, and the Light Divine Pearl's image projection is unable to merge with his true form."That's why he used the body refinement of the Divine Order's Flame to leave a mark on you to help you pass t
"What has this got anything to do with me?"Chase could not understand the woman in front of him. Why would she say all these in the arena?"Before that, allow me to share a secret with you. The male and female phoenixes were supposed to be one."Chase was about to say something when Yara interrupted him, "The Rising of the Phoenix is not only about enhancing power after rebirth; it's a process of a male turning into a female and vice versa."But since the Dragon and Phoenix Calamity, the Phoenix Deity is the only Phoenix Demon Saint left, and he lost his power from the Rising to switch genders. He's unable to recover to his original power as well."However, he predicted that someone would be able to break him out of his suffering while wading in the river of fate."Yara looked into Chase's eyes with a smile."Is that person… me?"Anyone could tell the answer at this point.Chase was aware of what Yara was trying to tell him, but he still found it unbelievable when he asked the
Chase was the only person qualified to judge if there was murderous intent as he was the opponent in the arena.When Yara played the flute, it sounded like a beautiful melody from above the Ninth Heaven at first. If one listened closely, one could identify the vague signs of murderous intent.Chase scoffed at this. He thought it to be childish for one to hide murderous intent that way.He did not know music at all, but even he could tell what Yara was doing. Yara was looking down on him by doing this.When Chase was about to make his move, he was suddenly pulled into an illusion by the opponent. Chase was on a floating cloud above the Ninth Heaven in the illusion. It was just as Carla had said.He was initially flustered. How was he going to defend himself against the next killing move with such a powerful technique?While he was gathering all the vital energy within him, a sweet, melodious voice was heard. "Please don't retaliate, Mr. Collins. I bear no ill will."A tall, slen
"History scrolls don't really help with my cultivation. They make me drowsy every time, so I don't read them," Ford continued explaining without holding back. It did not seem wrong to him.However, his words made an impression on those listening.Ford was able to pick up the dragon clan's mystical techniques after reading them once. He even claimed it was not necessary to read them a second time. Was he even human? Oh, wait. He was a dragon. Tiana stared at him, not knowing what to say next.The Saintess of Emerald Lake Holy Land had not only fought with her talents yesterday but also with her hard work.When Tiana first entered Emerald Lake Holy Land, her master told her that her talents were upper-middle at best. She was considered extremely lucky to be accepted to the sect.Emerald Lake Holy Land was one of the top five sects in this world. It was second only to Sky Dragon Holy Land among the Four Holy Lands. Every disciple was the cream of the crop.Tiana grabbed attention t
Yara placed his flute to his lips and warned Chase, "I'll be making my move, Mr. Collins.""Please go ahead." Chase waved his hand casually and indicated for Yara to go ahead.It was the third round, and everyone at this stage was not to be underestimated. A powerhouse with a musical instrument for a weapon was rare. Chase looked forward to exchanging hands with him.The melodious sound of the flute was soon heard. All of the spectators could feel the atmosphere become more relaxed."Why is this Musical Technique non-lethal?""This can't be right. How did Yara Fries get into the third round? There's nothing formidable about this piece of music.""Is there anyone here who can explain?""He used his flute as a weapon in the previous rounds and knocked out his opponents with a couple of moves. He didn't play any music then.""Is he giving leeway to the opponent?""Could he be hinting at the opponent with his music that they're soulmates? They might end up being taken with each oth
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