The private room turned completely silent.Earlier, the girls were slightly convinced that Frank could write a recommendation letter so that they would have a shot at getting an internship at Zamri Hospital. But now, he was also saying that he would help Winter get appointed as the chief of that hospital, and that he and Gene Pearce agreed to that?Everyone knew that Gene was the richest man of the east coast, and Frank would say that he and that man discussed and agreed to let Winter become chief?!Who did he think he was, swaying Gene's decisions?! It was no longer a joke at that point—just fiction.Yew did not even bother mocking Frank at that point. Keeping a straight face, she picked up her handbag and got to her feet, "Keep listening to him brag all you want. I'm leaving—I don't have the time to waste here."Two other girls followed suit, holding no hopes toward Frank at all.In their mind, Frank must be crazy for saying something like that, and anything else would just b
With that, only Jean and Winter were left in the room with Frank.Smiling at Winter, he said, "I'm going to teach you the precepts of Draconian traditional medicine over a month, while you study the rest from there. How about that?"Winter's eyes lit up—she had seen Frank's skill in medicine, and she would be a great help to him if she could inherit his skills.She nodded repeatedly at that thought."Good." Frank was pleased to see her agree to it. "With this, you'll be even more qualified as hospital chief.""Why are you still going on about that…" Winter pouted, clearly doubting Frank.Frank was not concerned, however, even smiling as he patted her head and told her to study well while he made the arrangements.Jean stood up just then—she was not convinced Frank could get someone like Gene to agree to his request, but Frank had already achieved the impossible one too many times.At this point, she was just used to Frank achieving wonders, which was why she was the only one mo
"Me?" Frank shook his head. "That wasn't me. Sage Lake Sect didn't want witnesses, and it's not my fault.""You're lying!" Aria bellowed. "I wouldn't be at White Hall if not for you, and I wouldn't end up like this!""Shut up!"Frank turned furious as well at her outburst. "You're the one who set me up in the first place! Would I have needed to travel to White Hall to find proof otherwise? None of it would have happened if you had just confessed from the start! And when we got to White Hall, you hooked up with Kim's father—which of those are not your fault? What part did I play in any of that?!"Aria hung her head at Frank's bellow, but the spite in her glare never faded.Seeing that, Frank knew that there was no saving her now—hate had completely clouded her mind, and she remained unrepentant even after he had been as lenient as he could.Moreover, he was not one who hesitated… and he was not about to keep a ticking time bomb around.Since Aria refused to see reason, Frank had
"What?"Kilian scowled in annoyance right then. "I informed you beforehand and even pulled strings so that Zamri City Hall covered it up as a highway project, and you still haven't acquired that plot of land?"Killian's accusation left Troy sweating buckets, and he pursed his lips awkwardly. "It's not like we're refusing, Mr. Lionheart, but Lanecorp just isn't giving up that land lot. Everyone we sent was turned down, not to mention that Zamri is a mess at the moment.""Really? You can't deal with some company? And what mess are you talking about?" Kilian asked, but he was convinced Troy was deliberately stalling to get more goodies from the Lionhearts."Well, sir, Lanecorp has recently seen progress," Troy replied. "They are gaining ground across various fields in Zamri. In contrast, Zomber Group, formerly one of the city's Three Bears, is declining. Their two leaders died under mysterious circumstances, and the company is now acquired by Lanecorp as a subsidiary."Seeing the loo
Just then, a commotion could be heard from the hallway outside. "Please, Mr. Bearson! You can't go in—your father is meeting an important guest, and he said no one is to disturb him!"Before Troy could react, his office doors opened.Then, he watched as his son , bleeding all over and bawling, was carried inside on a stretcher by Dean, Jarek, and Sunny.Troy's secretary and security guards were still trying to talk them out of it. "Please just step outside for a moment…"However, Ivor could not care less as he ordered Dean and the others to barge inside.As soon as he saw his father, he was shouting tearfully on top of his lungs."Dad! Dad!" he cried shrilly, trembling even as he kept howling, "Someone beat me up, and broke my hands and legs! I'm a cripple now… You have to avenge me"!Troy was about to scold his son for being tactless, but the gruesome sight of his injuries left his rage vaporizing.He strode up, his eyes flashing viciously as he barked, "Who did this to you?!
Even if Troy was furious to see his son being maimed, he obviously had more important things to do."Dad! You have to avenge me!" Ivor kept bawling."Got it. Now go, and get some proper rest." Troy nodded.After Ivor and his friends were gone and closed the door behind them, Troy's secretary reported, "Sir, the head of Lanecorp's health and security department is Frank Lawrence, a male in his twenties.""Frank Lawrence?!" Troy's eyes widened—that was the name of the man who hurt his son!Could it be two different Frank Lawrences? Though that would be unlikely…Troy glanced at Kilian, who remained calm as a cucumber and nodded when he heard the name. "If that's really him, then it makes sense. Frank Lawrence must be the one masterminding Lanecorp's resurgence.""Do you know him, Mr. Lionheart?" Troy asked blankly."I don't." Kilian shook his head and explained quietly, "I've only heard that this man had been at odds with the Lionhearts, robbing Titus Lionheart off his fiance
Getting the idea just then, Troy asked tentatively, "Then, if my men die because of Frank…""I will get involved." Kilian seemed to see through Troy, but he did not care and stared at Troy as he continued quietly, "A full-fledged Birthright rank may be able to strut across the east coast, but they would be insignificant in the South Sea.""Great!" Troy was delighted—with an elder of Volsung Sect like Kilian, even all of Zamri did not stand a chance against them.Seeing Troy's delight, Kilian snorted and remained impassive. "I've come under orders to supervise the excavation of the spiritron vein. For that, I will eliminate those in your way, but don't think I'm taking orders from you."Troy was cursing in his head, but he kept smiling and nodded repeatedly.-After Frank returned to Zamri, he called Gene, who laughed heartily when Frank told him he wanted a mansion near the city."I've just noticed one in South Zamri," he said. "I heard it belonged to the Bearsons, and I think
"It's been so long, darling!" Vicky exclaimed. "I missed you!""It's just been a week." Frank sighed exasperatedly and tucked her hair behind her ear, studying her cheek.Vicky's gruesome red scars were already gone from her face—his ointment worked so well that no trace was left.In fact, Vicky's skin was fair, even bright and flushed like a baby's, her lips red without needing lipstick.Even barefaced, she would beat ninety percent of the rest of Draconia's beauties.In fact, Vicky had a slight advantage over Helen now."Heh. You're even more beautiful now, Ms. Turnbull," Frank praised after studying her face.Vicky was naturally unable to contain her delight. "Is that because I have a wonderful husband? So, shall we…?"She glanced pointedly at the bed, her gaze bewitching and her breath tender as she offered Frank a suggestion.Frank zoned out for a moment, feeling the softness in his palm and almost went to work right then.That was when someone knocked on the door, causi
As it turned out, the white-clad geezer did not return for revenge.People change as they age, along with their mindset, and develop a longing for their hometown.In fact, the white-clad geezer had returned to make peace with his family, and died in their company.Naturally, he was furious to hear that someone was using his name to bluff their way out and abduct his niece, the hag.And so he came with the rest of them, looking for Frank.After all, if Frank was not sent by the white-clad geezer, the only other person would be…-Back at the present, the white-clad geezer growled icily, "Where is my niece?"Frank smirked. "She paid the price for her crimes. What, do you want revenge?""A life for a life," the white-clad geezer growled. "That's the one rule that has never changed since olden times!"His entourage roared in approval. "Don't get so full of yourself, brat! He is different from the rest of us, and he can kill you anytime!""Really?" Frank simply snorted nonchalant
As the geezer spoke, he opened the rosewood box and put an ashtray in it. "I actually don't have any abilities—everything I make is produced from this box. With its help, I can imbue any object with an enchantment beyond human comprehension. See for yourself!"He closed the box and held it by its sides as the box glowed in a rainbow gradient.Frank felt a sense of familiarity as he watched, as the energy signature resembled the spiritron vein, but one different from the meteor.So what the heck was going on?While Frank was left surprised, the geezer stopped and opened the box, handing Frank the ashtray.As Frank held the ashtray, he saw that it really was altered—it could carry more now!The geezer then passed him a yellowed old book. "This is how you can use it!"Frank frowned. "Why are you giving it to me? I can't take it, or people would just say that I stole it from you when they find out."The geezer smiled in wry amusement. "It's yours either way, kid! And after you've d
To be honest, the hag really had not considered that question and was just playing along to her own whims, never once considering why she was such a philanderer.Frank then pressed his advantage. "Your so-called love is but a manifestation of your lust. It seems noble, but it has no warmth or color, and the world has no way of determining if it exists."If I want it, I can do what you do too. Heck, I'm sure that's the same for everyone else—they're just kind people who know that they shouldn't hog the limited resources of mental asylums.""Insolence!"The hag lunged at Frank as she realized that he was mocking her, but Frank was already prepared and pinned her to the floor with his telekinesis."Alright, you can quit hollering now. The more you do, the more you're just proving that you've lost!"Crouching in front of the hag, Frank growled coolly. "Did you think I'd only rely on brute strength to force your compliance? You're kidding—I don't even need to do that with someone like
It was just as the geezer had said—the hag had been pampered for so long that she could not tell right from wrong.In fact, in her mind, everything she did was never wrong and was even reasonable!That was what frustrated the geezer the most, and he simply stopped arguing and started whipping her with his belt.Pain really clears the mind, and the hag was no exception. In fact, she thought for a split second that she might have made a mistake.However, it only lasted for that split second—a little whipping was never really going to correct a lifetime of distorted beliefs!"I don't get it!" she cried. "Why do you treat my love with such disdain?! You don't have to love me, but you have to respect me!" The geezer laughed coolly and continued to whip her as he snapped, "That's true! But now, what I say goes—that's all there is to it!"That was when Frank suddenly reached out and caught the belt.It stunned the geezer, who quickly checked Frank's hand, and sighed after seeing that
It had been so long since he had seen his enemy, that the geezer almost fell out of his lounger.If he were to be honest, he really did not hold out much hope since it had been years, and no one lasted more than twenty strikes against the hag.However, while he was convinced that his revenge was futile in this life, Frank suddenly appeared.While he looked like he had nothing but his looks going for him, he brought the hag like she was some harmless hatchling."H-How did you do it?" the geezer exclaimed, presuming that Frank must have pulled some cunning trick.However, the geezer was once again reminded of the hag's conceit as she snorted. "How, you asked? With just a wave of his hand, and I lost!"Turning to Frank, she snapped, "There, he had his justice. Can you tell my uncle to show his face now?"Frank rolled his eyes. "I don't know your uncle. I only brought you here because of him!""No… That's impossible!" The truth was starting to dawn on the hag, but she still refus
"H-How did you do that?!"While the cabal was left flabbergasted, the hag was much calmer for some reason.After all, her father had told her about an uncle of hers, who had left the family because they kept abusing their earthbending ability.It was rumored that the uncle eventually cultivated a superior ability, fusing things that would otherwise not be just like what Frank just did.As such, she told her cabal as much, but Frank shook his head. "I learned your technique by directly observing you when you used it. And by doing so, I found a fatal flaw, which I adjusted for."He certainly did not have anything to do with the hag's uncle—he was just that quick a learner and that gifted to wield earthbending in an instant.Naturally, the hag was not about to believe that.No matter how gifted a person could be, there was no way anyone could learn earthbending instantly and even perfect it. In the end, someone must have taught him!As such, she was starting to get impatient with
Before the cabal could react, molehills appeared beneath their feet and sent them flying.Most passed out when they hit the ground, while the rest were barely holding on."W-Who the hell are you?!" The cabal had grown conceited since they did not have many rivals in a remote corner such as this one, and they therefore presumed that no one could challenge them.And now, they could not win with numbers against Frank, let alone one against one.Could anyone bear the shame?"What a bunch of mooks. I told you kids to stay on your training, but none of you listened. And now you're acting surprised?"A hunched hag appeared on a nearby alley, looking very much affable.Surprised, the cabal exclaimed, "What are you doing here, ma'am?""Do you think I'd miss the tremors?" the hag snapped coolly before wheeling on Frank. "Impressive physique! I certainly didn't expect you to hurt those boys."The cabal quickly warned her, "This isn't the time, ma'am. He knows earthbending, and he could
Frank's tone was calm, as if he was merely stating a fact. "What's there to deny? Even if I spilled my guts, do you stand a chance against me? See, no one does!"The man was furious—he had met plenty of conceited individuals, but Frank definitely took the crown!And seeing that Frank was not even in his thirties and was definitely small fry, he did not hesitate to slam his palm on the ground, which promptly started to move! "Interesting!"Frank stood his ground instead of leaping away, staring cooly at the molehills that streaked toward him. Even as the molehills were reaching Frank's feet, the man was left wondering why Frank did not dodge when the unexpected happened.The molehills struck the brat, but he remained unscathed!Earthbending was their cabal's signature technique, capable of causing seismic tremors—even if it was no match for real earthquakes, most people would still have trouble dealing with it.They were either torn into pieces by the shockwave, though the mor
Frank waited for a taxi and headed to his destination. Soon, the taxi stopped outside a dilapidated apartment.As Frank alighted and stared at the cracks on every block or the shaky foundations, even he could tell that it was in such a bad state it must be demolished. Shaking his head, he sighed in exasperation and entered the fifth unit on the sixth floor of Block D.He knocked on the door, and a smiling geezer opened it as he studied him. "What can I do for you, sir?"Able to tell right away that he was special, Frank asked, "Let's just call it a visit. I heard you could craft mystic items?"The geezer laughed right then. "I knew it. The nail that sticks out really gets hammered! I just want to keep my head down and live out my days, but you found me anyway.""Please don't misunderstand, sir," Frank quickly said. "I'm no robber, and I'm not going to steal from you. As long as you assist me, I can do anything for you.""Let's talk inside." The geezer stepped aside to let Fr