“My...” Master Howton’s fists were trembling with anger and his body was shaking uncontrollably like a Parkinson’s patient as he clenched his teeth and said, “My name is Caden Howton. Everyone in North America addresses me respectfully as Master Howton!”Charlie curled his lips, looked him up and down, then asked, “They refer to you as Master Howton?”Caden clenched his teeth and said, “That’s right! I’m Master Howton!”Charlie curled his lips and said, “Oh, everyone refers to me as Master Wade, but if you’re Master Howton, do you believe that you’re more powerful than me, then?”Caden thought that Charlie was deliberately mocking him, so he said angrily, “Young lad, you’re really eloquent, but I’m not in the mood to talk nonsense with you now! I came here today to look for Anthony Simmons. Where is he?! Ask him to come out and talk to me!”As soon as his words fell, Xyla ran in quickly. As she ran, she said to Charlie, “Master Wade, I’ve already done everything you asked me to
When Caden saw Charlie stretching out his hand to threaten to hit him, he really wanted to tear Charlie into pieces because he had never suffered such humiliation before in his life. However, when he thought of the important matters that he still had to deal with in Aurous Hill and how the police station was just across the street, he could only suppress the great anger and hatred that he felt at the moment. When Charlie saw his angry expression and how he looked like a pressure cooker that was about to explode, he sneered and asked, “What’s wrong? You don’t dare to take my pulse? Old man, I think you must have used some cheap tricks to win against Dr. Simmons yesterday! Otherwise, why wouldn’t you dare to take my pulse?” Charlie had originally suspected that Caden had set up a trap for Anthony, and he became even more confident of his suspicion after seeing that the other party was actually an eight-star martial artist. An eight-star martial artist must have spent most of his
Caden suddenly became nervous. Things such as guessing a person’s age was not that simple in itself. He was afraid that Anthony would really have the ability to determine the other party’s age, so before he had looked for the women to put on an act, he had sought out a person who issued fake identification cards in advance to issue fake identification cards for them to deliberately deviate their birth date and age by a year or two for double insurance. In that case, Caden would not only know the answer in advance, but he could also confuse the real answer so that even if Anthony had great abilities and was very capable, he would not be able to guess the right age that would match the age on the identification card. Now that Charlie was suddenly launching an attack, he naturally did not dare to compete so casually. So, he said coldly, “Hmph! What can an identification card account for? Identification cards can also be faked. What if you forged an identification card and changed
Caden was suddenly at a loss for what to do.Charlie asked coldly, “Why? You don’t dare to? Aren’t you very powerful? You dare to call yourself a master but you’re already wimping out over such a small matter?”Caden said with a dark expression, “Young lad, how could I, Caden Howton, be a coward?”After saying that, he changed the topic, sneered arrogantly, and said, “Do you think that I’ll fall for a trap set by a brat like you?! Anthony Simmons willingly competed with me yesterday, and he already admitted defeat. Logically speaking, he should hand Serene World Clinic over to me, but he’s hiding like a coward and doesn’t even dare to come out to see me now! Isn’t he simply using an eloquent kid like you to spout nonsense here so he can renege on his debt? What’s more, I already won Serene World Clinic, so why should I bet with you again? What are you betting with me?”Charlie smiled and said, “Old man, the both of us have our own intentions, but I don’t care about you. I’ve secret
He did not expect that this matter would put him in such a passive state.The other party refused to even let him off now that he was raising his hands to surrender. Charlie looked at Caden and said with a smile, “I heard Dr. Simmons say that you made a bet with him yesterday, and the bet was a medicine cauldron. I can see the bulge in the bag that you have on you. Could that be the medicine cauldron?”Caden took a step back in fright, clutched tightly onto his bag, and blurted out, “You want my medicine cauldron?!”Charlie laughed and said, “Oh, you’re wrong to say that. How can you say that I want it? You obviously used it to place the bet yesterday, but you cheated during the bet yesterday. It stands to reason that cheating is equivalent to losing. You have to admit it if you lose, and you have to pay the bet after you admit your loss, right? There’s nothing wrong with what I’m saying, right?”Caden was furious. He clenched his teeth and scolded, “Don’t talk nonsense here! Whe
The fist of an eight-star martial artist was as strong as a fully loaded heavy truck.When all the surging power was concentrated on the fist made up of four fingers, the force that came with the wind was even more appalling!Not to mention that Charlie could clearly feel the strong impact of the wind, even Xyla, who was two meters away, could clearly feel a surge similar to a hurricane blowing against her face.Xyla was extremely nervous at this moment. She could not hide her panic and blurted out anxiously, “Be careful, Master Wade!” She heard a loud bang before she could finish speaking. The powerful impact caused Xyla’s eardrums and her internal organs to be shaken from the tremendous impact. Anthony heard his granddaughter yelling, so he could not continue obeying Charlie’s order to wait at the back anymore. He ran out nervously to see what was going on.However, when the grandfather and granddaughter duo looked toward Charlie and Caden, they realized that the two of them
Charlie smiled and said indifferently, “I heard that you came to Aurous Hill to find clues about the Rejuvenating Pill?”After Caden heard this, his heart skipped a beat!He finally came to a realization at the moment. ‘It turns out that Master Wade has targeted me for a long time… I naively thought that I’d set up a trap for Anthony Simmons, but I didn’t expect that I’d fall into Master Wade’s trap instead!”At the same time, he could not help but wonder, ‘Not many people know about the fact that I came here for the Rejuvenating Pill aside from the people in the Acker family who were at the Acker family mansion that day and Quinn Golding who brought the Healing Pill to save Keith… Could it be that Charlie knows them?!”As he thought of this, a thought suddenly came to Caden’s mind. He instantly came to a realization and trembled as he said, “Master Wade… Could… Could it be that you’re the one who refined the Rejuvenating Pill?!”Charlie smiled. “You’re pretty smart.”When Caden
When Charlie said that he would accept it reluctantly, Caden felt his heart aching, and he felt as if it was about to bleed out. This medicine cauldron was passed down to him by the ancestors of the Taoist Sect, and dozens of patriarchs of the Taoist Sect had used this medicine cauldron to refine pills for hundreds of thousands of years. It could definitely be regarded as a treasure of the Taoist Sect.Caden felt that he would not be able to face his ancestors after his death now that the treasure of the Taoist Sect, which had been handed down for thousands of years, had been taken away by Charlie.But there was no other way now. This thing was already in Charlie’s hands. He could not fight against him, nor could he scold him. He was completely defeated in front of Charlie.Therefore, Caden’s current thought was that it would be the blessing of his ancestors if he could save his life in Serene World Clinic today. Smoke would be coming out of their graves, so how could he still ret
Elaine may have led a life as if she was above the rules, but beneath that tough exterior lay crippling insecurities and a horrific inferiority complex.She was always afraid of being belittled—but more than that, of being ostracized and betrayed.Over the years, the greatest source of her complexes could all be traced back to Matilda.After all, Matilda had been a star back in their school days. Because Elaine was a close friend of hers, many boys would get chummy with Elaine, but only because they were interested in Matilda.Being from a poor farmer's family, Elaine had been scorned plenty and therefore felt exceedingly inferior around Matilda.It was from that sense of inferiority that Elaine had inadvertently developed a one-sided rivalry against Matilda, and she believed her greatest triumph over Matilda in this life was the moment she had stolen Jacob from her.However, while Elaine presumed that she could hold that victory over Matilda's head, Lady Wilson had soured that v
Moreover, given Elaine's ridiculous temper, Jacob knew she would definitely go overboard and destroy him.He wouldn't even have a place to live at that point, and it would really be game over if she held a grudge and stormed the Calligraphy and Painting Association!Under such circumstances, he couldn't ask for a divorce—hell, he might even refuse a divorce if Elaine asked for one!However, that was when Elaine laughed coldly. "Oh, my… You're really not going to divorce me?""Come on—how long were we married?" Jacob quickly reasoned. "Getting divorced at our age? People would laugh at us."Elaine scoffed. "Now I'm curious… Matilda's quite old too, and she's a divorcee marrying again. Won't people laugh at her?""Technically, she's a widow—"Jacob blurted out, but soon turned pale, tensing up again not a second after he had just calmed down, asking gingerly, "W-Why would you suddenly mention her?'Elaine stopped pretending right then and snapped, "It's actually impressive that y
Horrified, Jacob promptly grasped the steering wheel and brought the Cullinan back under control while not hesitating to snap, "Are you crazy?! We're on the highway—that could have killed the both of us!"However, Elaine ignored him and seized the moment to open the armrest box, pulling out the large white envelope.As she opened it, she muttered, "So, it really was a wedding invitation… You really are a terrible friend, Jacob Wilson, hiding a wedding invitation like this! What's the point? Just look at that nervous face of yours—would I suspect you of having an affair with the bride-to-be?"She flipped open the card and was experienced enough to check the names first while disregarding the usual preamble. She wouldn't care about the venue or the time either, focusing solely on the professor who had somehow made Jacob very nervous.That was how Elaine found the names in less than a second: Yolden Hart and Matilda Hall.Matilda?!The name could well be knives stabbing Elaine in th
Jacob's brain blanked out, leaving only a dull hum as soon as Walker mentioned 'Professor Hall'.Already feeling nervous in the first place, he quickly said, "Okay, okay—I got it. Anyway, I'm hanging up if there's nothing else!"With that, he promptly pressed the button to hang up.Nonetheless, Elaine was soon asking in curiosity, "Who's Professor Hall?"If Jacob had any semblance of composure, he would have said 'a colleague at Senior University' as if it was perfectly natural, and the matter would have been forgotten.But the reality was that he didn't—in fact, he was the champion when it came to dropping the ball as a casual question from Elaine left him sweating all over his brow.Even as he slid nervous glances at her face, he stammered uncontrollably, "N-Nobody…"Elaine promptly noticed his strange reaction and frowned. "I'm talking about Professor Hall. What do you mean, nobody? Who are they? And what's this about an invitation? Inviting you for what?"Seeing that he was
Jacob had really had too much to drink and couldn't remember the later parts of what had happened last night—even how he had gotten home was a blur.Naturally, he also forgot that Walker had brought Matilda's wedding invitation, and therefore didn't hesitate to answer the in-car answer button.Over the phone, Walker was positively fawning as he asked, "Mr. Wilson? It's Walker. Why didn't you come in today? Had too much to drink last night?""Uh-huh," Jacob grunted, lethargic. "I did—my head still hurts now… Anyway, what's up? Trouble at the association?""No, of course not," Walker quickly said. "I was just worried you're still hungover, so I called to ask. If you need a driver or anything, you just need to ask!"Then, before Jacob could answer, he continued, "By the way, my wife is somewhat knowledgable in Oskian medicine, and she has recipes for brews that cure hangovers and nourish the liver. I'm sure you'll need the latter since you're always drinking at social events, so I as
Fortunately, Elaine and Jacob's bickering never escalated.Even though Elaine was winning, Jacob found it tolerable.After Jacob finished his lunch and cleaned up, he never looked up as he said, "Charlie sent a text, saying Claire's flight would touch down earlier at three. We will leave at two."Elaine grumbled. "Why leave so early? She's coming back from abroad, and there'd be checkpoints she has to clear—she'd be lucky if she could leave by half past three. I'm sleeping a few winks now, and we'll leave at half past two."As she left the dining room, she didn't even look back as she said, "Clean up for me too."Jacob had a million complaints but said nothing as he kept his head down, throwing Elaine's lunchbox in the trash can as well.With Elaine gone, he sat on the couch as her hangover slowly cleared while his mood soured with the lack of alcohol.In the end, the pleasure of being fawned over at the Diamond Room was but temporary—the pain of his beloved leaving with someone
Vera kept her plan to investigate the identity of the abbess deep in her mind and told Charlie nothing.Instead, she smiled as she said, "It seems that it's both yours and Ms. Ito's good fortune that she has attained enlightenment. You've never had anyone who could attain enlightenment and master Reiki at the same time, so Ms. Ito will definitely be a great help to you in the future."Charlie chuckled and said calmly, "I'm not hoping for her to help. I'm simply happy for her with her enlightenment and excited to have another comrade in my solo ventures into the dark forests."Vera nodded in understanding, and she murmured emotionally, "I've lived for so long, and it's only when I opened my heart to you that I felt that sensation you described."There was a flicker of wistfulness in her eyes.She really did not expect to attain enlightenment before meeting Charlie.Years ago, she thought that she would eventually avenge her father.Now, she no longer hoped to murder Fleur Griffi
Vera was inwardly disappointed to hear that Claire was returning.That meant there were fewer chances of Charlie visiting the Scarlet Pinnacle Manor, as were her chances of seeing him again.Still, she didn't let it show, instead asking casually, "How are things at Champs Elys? Are the warriors improving at a rate to your satisfaction?""Well, most of everyone's improvement is within expectations…" Charlie explained, just as he remembered a certain someone. "By the way, there's something I haven't told you yet. Are you perhaps acquainted with the name Ito Nanako?""Yes," Vera smiled. "The Japanese lady who was with you. What about her?""She attained enlightenment days ago.""Enlightenment?" Vera did a double take and soon pressed, "Enlightenment in what sense? Essential Qi or Reiki?"After all, the former was the path to enlightenment in martial arts, while the latter meant enlightenment in cultivation.But despite the distinction between both domains, enlightenment was a comm
While Charlie had long since gotten used to Elaine and Jacob's bizarre marriage, being near the heart of the storm still took a toll on his senses—to the point that he felt physically sick.Leaving right away was therefore his best solution.Once he left, however, he realized he didn't have anywhere to go. Champs Elys was quite far, and it would take a lot of time.As he started to feel bored stiff, he remembered Vera for some reason and called her.Once Vera answered, she quickly asked in curiosity, "To what do I owe the pleasure? Lunch, perhaps?"Charlie chuckled. "Since you've put it that way… I haven't eaten either, so lunch it is!"Vera giggled. "Come over to my place, then. It's cold outside, and I was just lighting up a hot pot. I'll have Madam Marilyn prepare an additional portion.""Okay!" Charlie agreed to it without hesitation. "I can return her car too. Just wait, I'll be right there!"Once he hung up, he got on the Rolls Roycs he had borrowed from Scarlet Pinnacl