Outside the city, chaos brewed in the coalition army's camp."It's been half a month, and we still haven't made any progress. If this deadlock continues, we'll get nowhere.""The Spirale Clan only lost three defensive lines. Other than that, they’ve barely suffered any real damage. Instead, they're watching from the sidelines.""Now, even the leaders stop fighting. Samson and Lucifer haven't shown up for days, and the top ten legions on both sides have all gone quiet."Rhett, Emmanuel, and other faction leaders, along with representatives of the eight royal families, all voiced their grievances.However, Kingsley and the other world-class champions remained calm and unshaken. They believed in Gideon.Countless times before, he had faced perilous obstacles and life-or-death crises, only to turn the tide at the last moment. This time would be no different."Stop your whining. If you're scared, impatient, or losing your courage, then take your forces and leave.""If anyone dares t
"Keep going. Stay sharp while you work. Keep all weapons ready in case Gideon wakes up and goes violent. Report to me immediately if anything happens," Ewan ordered.With that, he turned and left the secret chamber, clearly deep in thought.Something didn't sit right with him. Was it Gideon? No, it was something else."Someone, get in here.""Yes, Mr. Moore?" A group of men in black appeared inside the main hall. These people were Ewan's secret force, trained in the shadows and loyal only to him."We're in a tight spot," he said. "Crank the city's surveillance to the max. I want every corner watched. If anything unusual pops up, I want to know before it even happens."He added, "Especially outsiders. If someone slipped through the cracks, report to me immediately!""Yes, Mr. Moore."The squad disappeared just as fast as they came.Ewan turned to the giant monitor and hit play. The screen filled with footage of Blue River. At that moment, that was the only way into the city.
Time felt like a blur. To Gideon, it felt like days, maybe months—hell, maybe even years—had gone by. Time stretched endlessly in his mind.He was starting to regain consciousness.But he couldn't move. Or rather, he couldn't even feel his own body—just a strange, overwhelming emptiness.His eyes refused to open, and he couldn't make a sound. In his mind, though, everything was razor-sharp. He saw chains—endless streams of them—no different from before. But there was something off. There were some slight changes that he couldn't quite name. The gene sequences curled and twisted around him, glowing in wild colors like some kind of living art piece. It was beautiful, chaotic, and terrifying all at once. "What the hell is that?" Something caught his eye. One sequence looked completely different. He couldn't explain how or why, but he knew it—that the GeneX Pill had altered one.Was he seriously mutating into some freak? What the hell?His heart started racing with panic.
Gideon had thrown everything he had into that punch. But to his frustration, it didn't do the kind of damage he'd hoped. Then, chunks of debris began falling off Ewan's body, splattered with streaks of blood."Amazing!" Ewan said as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. A twisted smile tugged at his lips, and he let out a few rough coughs. "That punch had some bite, Gideon. I'll give you that. If I wasn't wearing top-grade, custom-forged body armor, you would've crushed me." He looked down at the ruined pieces on the floor. "Quite a shame, though. This armor's been with me for over a decade. It took a fortune in resources to make it, and now, you've turned it into scrap." So that was it.Gideon felt a wave of relief. For a second, he'd doubted himself. He thought maybe the gap between him and Ewan was way bigger than expected. But it wasn't him. It was that top-grade armor. No wonder. That thing was paper-thin and still held up under a full-power hit. Tha
Gideon didn't rush to leave the city. He knew Ewan wasn't stupid. Going after him now wouldn't be a smart move. It could bring disaster down on the Spirale Clan. Ewan had wanted him for an experiment. Now that it was done, his goal had been met. There was no need to make an enemy out of Gideon. The leader of Ewan's secret force, Fabian Hunter, appeared quietly and asked for instructions, "Mr. Moore, should we keep tabs on him?"Ewan shook his head. "No need. As long as he doesn't stir up trouble, let him be. Also… let Snowy know that Gideon's free now." …Snowy was a mess. She'd gone to Ewan looking for information on Gideon, only to realize Winter was gone. She was nowhere to be found. Snowy was scared. What if Ewan had captured her? "Ms. Snowy," a maid approached. "Mr. Moore asked me to inform you that Gideon's free. He's still in the city.""For real?" Snowy's eyes lit up. She was just about to rush out the door when suddenly, there was a shout. A group of you
Gideon was completely thrown off. What the hell was going on? Back in the meeting room at the main hall a few weeks ago, Snowy had treated him like a stranger—cold, distant, and totally shut off. But now? "What are you doing?" he asked, totally confused. Before he could get an answer, he felt a sudden wave of killing intent hit him like a brick wall. He looked up. And just as expected, a whole squad of rich boys had surrounded him. "Snowy, is this the guy you came to see?" Kieran asked coldly, his expression hard as steel. "Obviously," Snowy said teasingly, still leaning sweetly against Gideon's arm like they were a couple. That set Kieran off. He was fuming.A squad of guards dropped in out of nowhere. All of them were transcendents, and a few were even fifth-tier peak transcendents."Who are you? Do you have any idea who Snowy is? Do you think someone like you gets to lay a finger on her? You've got a damn death wish!"A few of the spoiled rich kids pointed at Gid
"How long are you planning to hold me like this?" Back at the manor, Snowy's voice turned ice-cold, her tone dripping with irritation. Gideon grinned. "What's wrong with carrying my sister-in-law?" "Get lost!" Now that she felt the pressure around her loosen, Snowy quickly wriggled out of his arms. She raised her hand and slapped him. Not that it did anything. To Gideon, she was way too weak. He didn't even bother to block it. Her slap landed, sure, but it had all the force of a butterfly tap. "What the hell are you throwing a tantrum for?" He shot her a look. Then, he pulled out his communicator. "Alright. Strike a few good poses for me. I'll snap some pics. Since I can't take you with me right now, I'll have to settle for sending Winter some photos."Actually, let's shoot a video. Say a few words to Winter. Too bad the network here is not compatible with my communicator. Otherwise, I'd set up a full-on video call between you two." Snowy snorted. "Save it. I'v
"Hey, Gideon...""Yeah?" Gideon snapped out of his thoughts. "You've been calling me a lot lately. What are you up to?" "I just wanted to ask… Has my sister gotten her hands on the Snow Beast Clan's inheritance scroll?" "And why are you concerned about that?" "Back then, in Kitherglen, I was captured by a leader of the Spirale Clan. They brought me here for one reason—to decode the second half of my clan's inheritance scroll..."Snowy laid everything out, leaving nothing out of the story.Gideon fell into deep thought. The first half of the inheritance scroll was in his possession, but he hadn't brought it with him. It was stashed back on Beaker Island.Snowy said, "If I could get the full inheritance scroll, decoding it would be much easier. But once it's complete, Ewan might uncover the secret, too.""That's easy. You've got the second half of the scroll, right? Just hand it over to me," Gideon replied."What? No way it's in my hands." Snowy scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Lavinia, you're also back? Things are still tense at the border of the northern wilderness. You can't afford to let your guard down." Seanno frowned slightly.He knew full well—despite Lavinia's status as a five-star war hero, her foundation was still relatively thin. Many were eyeing her, waiting for any slip-up. If she made a mistake, they would pounce and drag her down. "Don't worry, Dad," Lavinia said with a smile. "Bukmond is stable right now." She then looked toward the Skyward Sanctum. "An event as important as the High Marshal enfeoffment—I had to come see for myself. I want to know who won His Majesty's favor!" "No matter how talented they are, they're not better than you, Lavinia," Maya said proudly. "You're the youngest five-star war hero in history, commanding millions of troops and holding military authority. That's way more impressive than some fancy High Marshal title." "Mom, even though the High Marshal doesn't hold military authority, I heard he's allowed
"What?" Maximus' expression turned serious. "Leave it to me. I'll make a call and alert the relevant departments to start searching," he said. Gideon then said, "But the forces of the secular world might not be enough. We'll need to tap into the martial world's resources. My friend has a pure-essence physique but not much strength. If the warriors got their hands on her..." "She has a pure-essence physique?" Maximus asked. He was visibly startled. A pure-essence physique was a priceless treasure—anyone who encountered it wouldn't be able to resist."She's my ex-wife," Gideon added. Maximus' heart skipped a beat as he realized how serious things were. She might have been an ex-wife, but there were still feelings between them."Rest assured, Marshal Snow. Leave it to me." "Alright. Thank you," Gideon said seriously. "Head into Imperial Palace first. Your enfeoffment ceremony is today—you need to bathe and change. As for your ex-wife, I'll personally make sure she's
Faced with Jasiah's Savage Claw strike, Elara's presence instantly turned sharp and icy-cold. Over the past few days, she hadn't been training any techniques. Instead, following Umbra's advice, she had been focusing on adapting to and mastering her pure-essence physique.But even so, at the moment of danger, her pure essence core surged instinctively. Without thinking, Elara struck out toward the claw imprint.The Savage Claw exploded apart.A bone-chilling wave of cold swept forward, making Jasiah's scalp tingle. His face was full of shock."This energy... is the pure essence energy!" Jasiah muttered. His face was full of disbelief, but in the next instant, he burst into excited laughter. "I didn't expect it—you actually have a pure-essence physique. What a priceless treasure you are!"From the way you reacted to my attack just now, I can tell you have the pure-essence physique, but you don't know how to use it. I'm guessing you only recently awakened your constitution."All the
Maximus felt like crying but had no tears left."Alright. I've put it away. You can get up now," Gideon said. He tucked the Imperial Token into his coat and patted Maximus on the shoulder. Then, he added, "Mr. Cook, you've worked hard. You're busy, so I'll take my leave.""Marshal Snow, take care."Maximus nodded repeatedly, only relaxing once Gideon left Imperial Palace. He wiped the cold sweat off his brow, his mind still in a whirlwind."His Majesty actually gave Gideon the Imperial Token. This is a one-of-a-kind thing. That means Gideon is essentially His Majesty's representative. Holy shit…"Maximus was a bit shaken by the weight of it. He dared not speak of this, nor reveal it to anyone, for fear of angering Chase.…After Gideon left Imperial Palace, he returned to the hotel and immediately began studying the Five Emperors Warlord Fist, paying no attention to Elara.In fact, Elara wasn't even in the room. After Gideon left for the palace, Elara, bored out of her mind
Gideon was floored when he heard that he had to gather nine different types of heavenly flames to evolve the Solar Divine Physique. Was that even possible?Then, a memory clicked. Back in the Spirale Clan's city, when he faced off against Pope of Light, he had summoned a white flame called Light's Fire.At the time, Gideon could feel that his Solar Titan Physique core had reacted, like it was hungry for that flame.Now, what Logan said suddenly made perfect sense."Collecting nine different heavenly flames? That's no walk in the park. It's damn near impossible. But if your fate's strong enough, and you manage it, you'll unlock the full Solar Divine Physique. "Once that happens, your control over your own power will be absolute. No outside force could mess with you," Logan said. "Thank you, sir," Gideon said, truly grateful. He gave a deep nod of respect.Logan just went right back to snoring.Gideon didn't waste any more time. He turned, pushed open the door to the old est
"The promise I made to teach you the art of the Triarchs' Codex still stands," Chase said. He continued, "But I warn you that it won't be easy. Morgan has already drafted the royal decree. Tomorrow, I'll announce your appointment publicly. You'll be granted the title of High Marshal. "You'll be independent of court control and are allowed to enter and exit Imperial Palace freely."Then, Chase added, "You will also receive the Imperial Token. With it, you carry my authority. Show it, and it will be as though I stand before them."As soon as the words left his mouth, a token the size of a palm flew through the air, landing in Gideon's hand. It was heavy, black-gold in color, and radiated a supreme energy. Gideon was stunned. Holding the Imperial Token was as good as standing in for Chase himself. It was essentially a free pass to act with full authority in Dasovia. No one outranked it except Chase.Simply put, Gideon now stood just beneath the King of Dasovia and above everyon
Chase's voice echoed like thunder, shaking the very air.It crashed into Gideon's mind like a celestial thunderclap. His ears rang, his vision blurred, and for a moment, he almost dropped to his knees on reflex.But in the next second, he snapped back to awareness, scalp tingling.Chase was clearly trying to put him in his place.For a citizen of Dasovia, kneeling before the King was tradition—absolute, unshakable, and beyond challenge. There was no flaw in the logic. So, how the hell was he supposed to counter that?Chase didn't rush Gideon for an answer. He simply sat on the throne, calm and composed, silently watching him.The palace was dead silent.Gideon's mind raced. But when he finally spoke, his voice was steady—neither arrogant nor meek. "As a citizen of Dasovia, it is right for me to pay my respects. But I am also the king of the champions—the ruler among rulers. Such a title forbids me from kneeling.""That's not convincing enough," Chase said calmly, shaking his he
That evening, Gideon and Elara arrived in Drammore. They checked into a luxury suite at Cherron Hotel. Gideon turned to her and said, "Do whatever you want. I'm heading to Imperial Palace to meet the King of Dasovia.""Imperial Palace? Sounds exciting! Can I come with you?" Elara asked.Gideon shot her a look and rolled his eyes. "What do you think?"He didn't bother waiting for her. She was a grown woman, and he wasn't about to play babysitter. Without another word, he left the hotel and made his way toward the palace under the cover of night.He'd expected to be stopped at the gates, maybe go through a whole mess of formalities. But surprisingly, a seventh-tier transcendent was already waiting for him outside the main gate."Greetings, Mr. Snow. I am Maximus Cook, Commander of the Imperial Guard. His Majesty ordered me to await your arrival," Maximus greeted."Appreciate it, Mr. Cook." Gideon replied."Please, follow me." Maximus was respectful and led the way through the pa
Arnold and Marion stared at each other, wide-eyed. Elara caused a massive hole in the roof. Was she really their daughter?"Mom? Dad? What's wrong?" Elara asked. Their thoughts snapped back. Looking down and seeing Elara's innocent face staring up at them, neither of them knew what to say. Or maybe… they just didn't dare ask."N-Nothing," Arnold stammered. "We've got another big villa. You and Mom can stay there. I'll stay here and get someone to fix this place.""No need. I'll just stay at Beaker Island. When this place is fixed, just give me a call.""Beaker Island?" Arnold repeated, stunned.That place was strictly off-limits in Goldspire—a restricted zone, officially sealed off. Rumor had it some top-tier figure lived there. Even Caius wouldn't dare step foot on the island without permission.And Elara was just casually… moving in?He opened his mouth to ask more, but Elara was already gone. The next second, Marion suddenly jumped up, eyes shining with excitement. "Arnie