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
"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
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
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
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
"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
"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
"The High Marshal secured a great treasure for His Majesty and rendered extraordinary service to the empire," Morgan continued, his voice echoing over the plaza. "Moreover, the High Marshal commands an extensive network of influence across the globe. He is Dasovia's most reliable ally!" That was another bombshell. Influence spread across the world? The crowd was reeling. The shock was almost too much to process. At that moment, everyone was buzzing with excitement and anticipation. Who exactly was the High Marshal? What kind of person could possibly live up to all this hype? "No more words," Morgan said. "The time has come. The High Marshal has already entered Heaven on Earth."Heaven on Earth was a palace located behind the Skyward Sanctum. In a few moments, Gideon would walk out from Heaven on Earth, following the ornate, dragon-carved pathway and stepping onto the Skyward Sanctum's altar to stand before the entire nation as a newly crowned star. The plaza erupted
Brantley truly lived up to his reputation. As soon as the netherflame entered his body, he immediately sat down cross-legged and began channeling his energy. His Martial God Physique reawakened, and he tried to forcefully suppress the netherflame.His body would turn blazing red one moment, as if it were about to melt, and then be covered in frost and ice shards the next.The alternating waves of fire and ice quickly tore through the internal structure of Brantley's Martial God Physique, and his condition kept worsening."No!"Harmoni was terrified. She quickly spat out an inner core—a treasure her father had given her. It was said to be the inner core of a half apex overbeast. However, it was badly damaged and no longer contained the full power of its original level.She instantly sent the inner core into Brantley's body. It exploded instantly, releasing a surge of energy that began to repair his damaged body.But it still wasn't enough. The netherflame was far too powerful. It
"Once you get the netherflame, your Martial God Physique will fully awaken in no time. When that happens, even Gideon won't be a threat."We can track Gideon down, crush him, and strip his Solar Titan Physique at the source. We'll also get the Beast Supreme Bone! Everything will be yours!" Harmoni shouted, cheering Brantley on.Gideon sneered. So, that was their plan.At this moment, Gideon couldn't help but admire the power of the Pharaoh's Shroud. They were just 100 yards away, yet neither Brantley nor Harmoni noticed them.Of course, it might have been because their attention was fully locked on breaking through to the third floor that they let their guards down."Open!" Brantley roared.His energy surged, and behind him, a phantom slowly took shape, radiating a fierce warrior-like energy. That phantom looked like a war god.Brantley kept swinging his fists, perfectly synchronized with the movements of the war god phantom behind him. Each strike made the floating palace tremb
Sure enough, floating in the deep sea ahead was a palace. It was pitch-black, and in the darkness of the deep sea, it was genuinely hard to spot.The glowing fish darted into the floating palace. Thanks to its golden light, Gideon was finally able to see that the palace gates were open.Strangely enough, the entrance seemed to carry some sort of mysterious power that blocked out the seawater completely. Not a single drop made it inside the palace."Marshal Snow, someone beat us to it.""It's fine. That just means they'll go and clear the way for us," Gideon said calmly.It didn't matter who got the heavenly flame first. As long as they weren't peak Supremes, he was confident he could take them on."Now that we've found our destination, do you two want to head back to shore first?" Gideon asked.Elara shook her head. "No. I'm not some helpless little thing. I've learned all the secret techniques you taught me. I can handle myself."Jessica chimed in proudly, "Marshal Snow, don't
Nethercult's outfits were nearly identical across the board, making them easy to recognize.As a major power in the northern region of the Wasteland, Nethercult kept a low profile. Tristan Neblanc, the leader, was as elusive as a ghost. He was heard of but rarely seen."Mr. Ballard, Harmoni and Brantley have started moving. Do you think they can get their hands on the heavenly flame?"Three people turned toward the eldest man among them—Nethercult's grand elder, Chaim Ballard.With Tristan absent, Chaim was in charge of the cult's operations.He pondered for a moment. "There's a decent chance. Brantley's working on forming the Martial God Physique. Though he's only at the half-step stage, his powerful body will attract the netherflame.""Mr. Ballard, are we waiting for the netherflame to enter Brantley's body before we suppress him?""Exactly.""That could tick off Talonclaw. And Harmoni said Brantley's from Martialgarde, the biggest faction in the eastern plains.""So what? I
Even though Gideon was locked in place and restrained, Gideon didn't sense any hostility from the giant fish. He met its gaze without flinching or acting humble.After a moment, he said, "I used your blood and triggered your phantom once, which helped me out of a tight spot. Thank you."The giant fish didn't move. It shut its eyes, clearly not interested in responding to Gideon."Mighty One, I came this time just to express my gratitude. I'll be on my way. If I get the chance, I'll come see you again."With that, Gideon bowed and turned to leave.Suddenly, a beam of golden light shot out like a sword and pierced into his body."Marshal Snow!" Jessica cried out in alarm.Gideon's body trembled, nearly losing his breath, but the sensation quickly faded.He touched his body and checked himself over. Nothing felt out of place.When he looked back, he saw the giant fish's eyes slowly closing. Clearly, that beam of light had come from its eyes just moments ago."Thank you." Gideon
"The Heavenly Sovereign is the ultimate trump card. As long as Chase doesn't have it, Attwell will always have a shot at pushing back against him."Of course, we're not expecting Attwell to actually beat Chase. We just need him to stir up some trouble and pull Chase's attention. That way, Chase won't have time to focus on the power grab," Jandial explained.Edric nodded to himself. "What you're saying makes sense, but why would Attwell even listen to you?"Jandial paused, looked around the room, and said in a low voice, "I'm only telling you all because we're brothers. Listen closely. When Attwell lost and fled to the Wasteland, his whole family was wiped out. But in reality, I secretly saved one.""What?" Everyone was shocked.Jandial said, "Attwell's only son has been living in my estate. I gave him a name—Alfsee… Alfsee Cook!"The princes around the table started murmuring, "Now that you mentioned it, I've seen that boy at your estate a few times. So that's Attwell's son? Unbe
As the saying went, good fortune hid misfortune, and misfortune might lead to good fortune.After everything Elara had just gone through, her strength had actually improved when she woke up. Her core had already advanced another step.However, Elara still hadn't undergone any formal training. She had all this energy in her body but didn't really know how to use it.Gideon passed on a few top-tier techniques to her—Voidpoint Touch and Cloudborne Palm—ones more suited for a woman to use.But for actual training, Elara would need to rely heavily on Umbra for guidance. When it came to refining the pure-essence physique, Gideon didn't know much himself.…The next morning, Jessica arrived at the High Marshal's estate. Gideon brought the two of them aboard an aircraft and left Drammore."Your Highness, I have news. Marshal Snow has left Drammore."In the grand hall, Edric, Freddie, and several other royal princes were seated together, expressions mixed.Edric asked, "Freddie, are yo
"Then, is it possible that Marshal Snow planted something in Jessica's body? Quick! Summon the four renowned physicians immediately. Have them do a full examination of Jessica," Freddie ordered.The four renowned physicians of Drammore arrived swiftly. After examining Jessica's body, each of them showed visible shock."Your Highness, Princess Jessica's body has no issues at all. She's just a bit weak. With some rest and care, she'll make a full recovery in just over a month.""It's truly remarkable!""The High Marshal isn't just a powerhouse. His medical skills are practically otherworldly, too. He's a true prodigy!""Even our own skills can't hold a candle to Marshal Snow's!""He's a giant among men!"The four renowned physicians sang praises nonstop.Only they knew just how miraculous the treatment was. Within just three days, Jessica's injuries were already 70% to 80% healed. It was like watching a living immortal at work."If only Marshal Snow would give us a few pointers,
"Where exactly did you get exposed to the fire poison?" Gideon asked.Jessica tilted her head, thinking for a moment, then said, "I remember now. It was probably in Tyrant Sea!""Tyrant Sea!"Gideon's eyes narrowed. That was the inland sea within Mulstead and the largest ocean in all of Dasovia. The weather above it was notoriously violent and unpredictable, with thunderous storms raging frequently. That was how it got its name.Jonathan asked, "Jessica, when did you sneak off to Tyrant Sea? That place is crawling with lightning storms. You've got some nerve."Jessica grinned. "I was just planning to sightsee along the shore of the sea, but then I spotted a shiny golden fish. It was so pretty, so I followed it right into the sea.""Princess Jessica, could you describe what happened in more detail?""Let me think… I dove into Tyrant Sea, chased that glowing fish, and went deeper and deeper. Then, I realized something wasn't right. I was way too far from the coast."I tried to sw