Frank's car quickly arrived in the outskirts of Zamri, and it did not take him long to find the rundown temple.Still, he had yet to step inside when he sensed the grim presence of death, setting off every alarm bell in his mind.If his hunch was right, the people who kidnapped Nash and Carol were after him from the start… Or the spiritron vein, to be precise.Frank felt regret at the thought—the spiritron vein was such a big deal that various major factions in the country were on the move.Martial elites who cultivated in seclusion, major sects… even government officials like the mayor of Morhen were getting involved in this battle royale.And if Cloudnine Sect could reach him, others could.As Frank and Lanecorp become the heart of the storm, even the ones in the shadows would come or keep an eye to see how things panned out.Possessing the spiritron vein might sound amazing, but Frank was on his own and did not have what it took to hold on to it.With that thought, he gradua
With that in mind, Frank looked up and shouted, "Sir, I don't have the spiritron vein with me, but I know where it is. I appeal to your forbearance as my senior to grant me the favor of releasing my family, and I will take you to it!"Silence ensued across the rundown temple at Frank's words, as the person lurking in the shadows pondered.Soon, his elderly voice spoke again. "Very well. Since you're a man of principles, you have my trust."He then emerged from the shadows, an elderly man with gray hair and a steel mask covering half his face strode out. His expression was cold, and he carried a string of prayer beads in one hand.Frank's heart skipped a beat when he saw him—the terrible pressure that man projected made it clear he was Transcendentrank!He could not help remembering what Sienna Noirot of Cloudnine Sect told him… that dangers lurked everywhere across Draconia.And now, it was clear that he lacked vital knowledge on the martial elites in play.Still, he did not fli
Meanwhile, in a conference room on top of Lanecorp Tower, Vicky and Helen were scowling.After all, they both had swords pressed against their fair necks."What are you doing, Silverbell?!" Helen demanded loudly."Heh. I'm surprised... someone so close managed to blindside me." Vicky was laughing, but her eyes were flashing coldly."Apologies, ladies," Silverbell was dressed in white as usual, her sword in one hand and a glowing trinket resembling a talisman in her other.That was the spiritron vein that Helen had mentioned over the phone.When she, Vicky, and Silverbell returned to Lanecorp Tower, a group of black-clad men lying in wait jumped them.And when the black-clad men took the spiritron vein and handed it to Silverbell, Vicky and Helen realized they were betrayed.Even though she was Frank's childhood friend and was utterly intimate, she always had a different plan in mind.In fact, she had protected Vicky and Helen for the spiritron vein!"Do you think Frank would
Both Vicky and Helen had more or less realized that keeping the spiritron vein was not necessarily good for them, especially as it brought them endless troubles.Losing it in time was, from a point of view, the smart move.Frank understood what Silverbell was thinking.Only a major organization like the Martial Alliance and their supporters had the strength to keep it—giving to Frank as he was now would harm him instead."What should we do now, Frank?" Vicky asked worriedly."Sit back and do nothing," Frank said after thinking a long while about it, glancing between Vicky and Helen. "If someone can track the precise location of the spiritron vein, that makes it their problem and not ours. The city of Zamri is already a mess because of the spiritron vein, so it's not time for us to take the stage just yet. At this point, the ideal move is to take the loss and pretend nothing happened, and carry on as usual." Both women nodded at Frank's words.-Over the next month, Frank had s
While that meant Winter could not handle complicated cases and could not refine pills, her knowledge of acupoints, massaging, and skill with acupuncture could handle most of everything, albeit less effective than Frank could.After all, people like Frank who mastered both martial arts and medicine were a rarity.On the other hand, Paco was taken aback that Winter ignorantly took the scalpel, though he was soon laughing along with his assistants.The surgical wing was a place of solemnity, and they were ruining it."Wait, chief." Paco smirked even as he walked up to Winter. "It's not like I'm belittling you, but you just graduated from university and did not go through your internship. This is your first time taking the scalpel, right?"Winter nodded tamely and did not argue."Pfft…"Paco stifled a laugh, while his assistants laughed out loud.They were all elites here in Zamri Hospital, and all the qualified doctors were getting swamped with the sharp increase of patients.It
And if the Soranos knew that it was Gene Pearce's lover who operated on their retainer, Winter was going down even quicker.Such was the trap Paco set for Winter—damned if you do, damned if you don't.He sneered, as he believed it was impossible for Winter to save Gus Zeller.Before Winter arrived, he had examined Gus—the man's bones were broken all over and he had lost one arm, while his organs were bleeding.Even his heart rate was dangerously low.To Paco, experienced as he may be, Gus could well have been run over by a train.He was a dead man walking, and things would get very bad for anyone who takes his case.And it just so happened that Paco could use it against his new chief, who was just starting her first day."No matter how unusual the circumstances are, saving the patient is top priority," Winter said, clearly more determined than Paco expected.She pushed Paco out of the way and led her bestie Jean Zims toward the surgical table.Even if she spent days practicin
"Phew…"After over four long hours of surgery, Winter collapsed on a chair, her hands covered in blood."Are you alright, Winter?" Jean asked as she wiped Winter's sweaty forehead.Winter shook her head. "I feel so disappointed…""Yeah…" Jean sighed, shaking her head as she and Winter turned toward the man on the surgical table, who was just stitched up. "It's alright—you did your best.""I know." Winter sighed unhappily.Soon, Gus Zeller was moved to a wheel bed and wheeled out of the surgery room."Hahaha! It's killing me… Just look at her face, it's almost like she's disappointed.""Hehe. Brats putting on airs, I tell you. Well done, a retainer of the Soranos ended up dead on their surgical table… the Soranos are really going to be pissed.""Well, it's not our fault. Let's just watch how this turns out."Winter frowned when she heard those people, but Paco was already striding toward her before she could say a word."Hah! And here I actually thought for a moment there's h
"Oh! They came looking for Winter." The assistant grinned. "They must be planning to ask her for an internship, seeing that she's just been appointed our hospital chief and all.""Hmph!" Paco wheeled on Winter right then, his glare cold as he snapped coldly, "What do you take our hospital for?! This isn't a place for brats to sleep your way to the top. Get out of here!""What? Are we asking to stay?" Tina sneered in contempt and turned to leave again after shooting a cold glare at Winter."Wait…"Winter tried to speak, but she was so exhausted from the surgery that she could barely manage a syllable.Paco continued to snap at her right then, "I say, chief, you've already given me enough trouble for one day, so get it in your head—this is a hospital, not a place for Gene Pearce to keep lovers!"Then, pointing at Gus Zeller on the trolley bed, Paco bellowed, "Look what you've done! Do you know who that is? He's a retainer of the Sorano family! You let him die in surgery—do you re
Frank's words left the white-clad geezer sweating down his back.Even he had to admit that the brat projected a menacing presence that intimidated even him! "Are you really going to do this?!" he snarled through his teeth nonetheless.He certainly would not have caused trouble if he had known that he would run into someone as powerful as Frank in this place.And now, forget revenge—they had nowhere to run.But as if bothered that the white-clad geezer was not dead already, his entourage kept adding fuel to the fire."What's the problem, sir?""It's obvious that he wouldn't win against you. Why are you getting cold feet?'At this sage, the white-clad geezer had nothing to hide and bellowed, "All you know is revenge! Do you even know your level compared to his?!"Forget you lot—no martial artist would ever win against that man! "Let me put it to you this way—there aren't more than a hundred individuals who could defeat me in this country. Not only is he among that hundred, bu
However, Frank was already prepared.He silently sent a tremor of the same frequency down under, nullifying the white-clad geezer's tremor with ease.Hence, before anyone realized what had happened, the white-clad geezer already realized that he would not win against Frank! Unlike her niece, the white-clad geezer had been traveling all his life. He understood that while earthbending was amazing, it was hardly invincible.A technique was just a technique, and nothing more. It came with its deficiencies, depending on the way it was wielded, and prodigies were completely on a different level compared to them—in fact, the white-clad geezer was recently beaten by another youth.Even if it rarely happened in a small town like Shagan, it happened all the time among martial artists and the like. Youth surpassed all—was there any martial artist worth their salt who did not understand that the kids would eventually surpass them?"Let's go!"Without hesitation, the white-clad geezer was
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