"Jackie! Over here!"Before Gina could say a word, several middle-aged women were calling out to Jackie."Calm down, Jess. I'll be right there. Excuse me, ladies," Jackie replied, nodding at Gina and Helen with a smile as he left, not before whistling at Helen.Gina watched as he left, not forgetting to tease Jackie's father. "Hehe, Hardy. Your son is such a good kid.""Hehe. He really has nothing going out for him aside from his silver tongue."Hardy chuckled before turning toward Helen and asking tentatively, "So? What do you think, Helen? My son is something of a regional manager. I know you're still close with your ex-husband, but the way your mom puts it… he doesn't sound all that reliable.""Exactly, Helen," Gina chimed in. "Just see how eloquent Jackie is, unlike Frank, who's always giving me a hard time.""Stop it, Mom."Helen shook her head exasperatedly. "Like I said, Frank is my husband, and I have no interest in other men.""Oh, what a pity." Hardy sighed in obviou
Caught off guard, Frank was at first confused as to why he was splashed in the face but was quickly incensed at Jackie's tone."Do you want to die?" Frank growled as he slowly looked up, his glare murderous.Jackie flinched in surprise, though he soon calmed down and scoffed. "Oh, my—color me surprised, you really know how to look scary! Go on, tell me… which gang are you from?""Gang?"Frank, who was not having it, seized Jackie by the collar and slammed him on the table.It shattered with a loud crash, drawing everyone's attention right then."What? What happened?""Hey, isn't that Jackie Xinder? Shit, someone's got him!"As everyone looked on, Jackie was left stupefied even as he collapsed on his knees before Frank, his face covered in blood.What? The bastard started getting physical at a moment's notice?!"I'm giving you one chance. Get out of my sight," Frank snapped at Jackie just then.He did not go further with the blind fool, as he had noticed the looks of panic ar
In no time at all, over a dozen vans came to a screeching halt outside the mansion, and members of two different factions quickly assembled.On one hand were men in black, while the other were wearing an assortment of colors and sported ridiculous hairstyles—obviously common street thugs."Who laid a finger on my darling Jackie?!" a woman bellowed as she got out of a luxurious car just then. She wore a diamond-encrusted black dress under her leopard skin patterned vest. However, she was so morbidly obese that she looked no different from a hippo, and any normal person would feel at once uncomfortable at the way her clothes were strained because of her size.On the other hand, the leader of the street sported a ridiculous haircut just like his men and was brandishing a metal bat while yapping, ""Who laid a finger on our manager?""It was him!" Jackie exclaimed as he hurried to receive them before pointing at Frank, who was sitting nonchalantly in the distance.He was certainly d
Poking at Frank's cheek with his metal bat at Frank's face, he then turned toward his men and laughed. "Look, boys. I haven't done anything, and this brat is putting on airs to scare me off! You have some sort of death wish, don't you?""He's a pompous prick, Scorpion!" Jackie laughed savagely, still clutching his face. "Just beat him to death with the boys. I'll take responsibility!""Alright!" Scorpion nodded, but just as he raised his metal bat, the two security guards from earlier rushed up to them."Hold on, hold on, brother. It's the Clarke family's big day… There's no reason to spill blood now!" one of them pleaded."Yeah, exactly! It's bad luck for blood to be spilled at a wedding!" The other nodded repeatedly.That was when Frank suddenly counted behind the two security guards. "Three."Both of the two security guards were sweating down their forehead right then.After all, they were well aware that Frank was Jaden Favoni's mentor—Jaden himself had even slapped them for
"Ugh."Frank sighed, shaking his head.He lowered his palm, glancing at the two security guards who were being clobbered, as well as the crowd who were simply watching in amusement."Well," Frank said, "you didn't give me a choice.""What the hell are you—"Before Scorpion could finish, he felt a gut-wrenching pain just beneath his chin, while his mind seemed to go blank.All he could vaguely feel was that he was suddenly free from gravity's constraint, and everything seemed to float."Eh?"It took Scorpion a long while to come to his senses, and he finally realized from the crunching crack from his spine that the rest of his body was stuck on the wall of the mansion.Even before he could think anything else, his vision faded and he lost all senses."Argh!!!"A woman in the crowd of bystanders screamed shrilly—a headless corpse was stuck overhead on the fifth floor wall!Worst of all, the head exploded into a rain of blood and brains half a second earlier and was pouring do
Before Jackie could finish, his head exploded instantly like a watermelon, splattering blood and brains across the floor and drawing another chorus of screams."I gave you a chance," Frank said flatly before withdrawing his earth aura and calmly returned to his seat.Around his table, the thugs with colorfully dyed hair whom Scorpion brought remained where they stood rigidly. None of them were begging for their lives or attacking Frank in a fit of rage, as they simply stood there in silence.It was only when the two security guards from earlier got up and stared fearfully at the thugs that they finally noticed the thugs' pupils were dilated.And none of them were breathing, as they were dead as a doornail, bleeding down from a subtle hole on their foreheads.It was only then that the two security guards realized why Jackie was fleeing like the devil was on his heels—he was closest to those thugs and knew that Frank had killed them all in a split second.With that, the two secur
"O-Okay! Just wait here, Mr. Lawrence. We will get someone to clean up this mess right away!"However, things were far from over.After the two security guards left and everyone was left standing, afraid to make a sound, a furious bellow resounded from the entrance of the wedding hall. "Who?! Who has the balls to commit murder on my wedding day?!"Frank turned at the voice to find a man in a white tuxedo and a flower brooch striding outside.It was the bridegroom Eddie Clarke, and he was shaking with rage when he saw Jackie's headless corpse in the distance and Scorpion's body that was practically glued to the wall."Who did this?! Step forward!" he bellowed, glaring furiously at everyone outside the wedding hall.Eventually, as he followed everyone else's stares, he found Frank sitting in a corner.And seeing that Eddie was glaring at him, Frank nodded and admitted, "It was me."At the same time, wedding guests were filing out of the hall after hearing the commotion outside. M
Gina's reaction actually left Frank feeling guilty.He threw up his hands and tried to explain. "That's not it. I—"Before he could finish, however, a middle-aged man came running to Jackie's headless corpse, dropping to his knees in front of it before clinging to it and bawling.In fact, he cried so loudly that even Gina was left distracted. "Eh?"Still, she froze when she abruptly saw the ring that the headless corpse was wearing was exactly the ring that Hardy Xinder's son was wearing."Hardy…"Wiping her tears, Gina stared in disbelief at Hardy as he continued to howl and cling to the corpse as she realized who the corpse was."I'll kill you, Gina Zonda!"Hardy wheeled on her right then and screamed maniacally, "Jackie's my only son, but your son-in-law killed him! What did he even do…"His hysterics left the wedding guests heartbroken too—nothing was more tragic than a father having to bury his son."Frank!"Seeing that, even Helen had enough.Clenching her knuckles, s
Frank snorted. "Alright, I'm hanging up. I'm getting started over here soon.""Yeah. Good luck," Jouri replied.Hanging up, Frank looked up at the waterfall overhead, and then at Skyler, who was standing beside him. "So? Is it time yet?""Almost… Now!" Skyler's eyes were glowing even as she stared at her watch."Alright."Frank looked up just as the skies abruptly darkened. "Ah, there it is—the eclipse."The sun seemed to disappear, and the world was suddenly shrouded in darknesses.And beside him, a stone door imbued with the power of the spiritron vein also rumbled as it parted."Got it!" Frank rushed inside without another word as soon as he saw it."Hmph. I'm surprised that you could reach this place." A cold, wrathful voice resounded inside even before Frank got a hold of his surroundings.Looking up, Frank found a youth in a black cossack and sporting grey-white hair, standing upon a cliff as he looked down on him.Frank chuckled. "Hehe. Like I said, I've come to kill
Frank narrowed his eyes. "Is that so?'Crane shrugged. "I don't mind giving it to you straight—members of Torrent are actually… Ahem. A part of Torrent himself."Frank paused. "What's that supposed to mean?""You don't get it, do you?" Crane grinned. "Then let me put it to you this way—every member is a clone of Torrent.""A clone?" Frank gasped in realization."Yes," Crane nodded. "That's why I believe that challenging Crane is just suicide. You have no idea how powerful he is—only death awaits you down that path."Frank smirked. "Oh, but I don't think so."Crane rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever—now listen closely. You will find Torrent in the Mystic Trail, but you would only find that place when the sun and moon coincide, and the entrance is beneath the waterfall south of Horton."As he finished, he snorted coldly. "I have no idea if you can actually do it, but I'm hoping you do kill him… Heh. I'm getting tired of being stuck under his control for so long."Then, waving off
Frank abruptly turned, immediately noticing one of the Cranes crouching, ready to spring forward and blindside him."Got you!" He laughed."Hah! You fell for it!"Just as Frank swung a punch to pulverize that Crane, he suddenly burst into pus that splashed at Frank's face."Damn it!" Frank took a step back, surprised that the clone's presence was identical to the real Crane, and a trap on top of that!"Die!"The Cranes around him each whipped out a dagger, all of them stabbing at Frank at the same time."Get off!" Frank bellowed, unleashing a shockwave that sent all the Cranes flying across all directions."Frank! Above you!" Skyler suddenly shrieked."Yes! I'm right here!" A strange laughter sounded above Frank just as he wiped the pus off his face.Crane was suddenly directly above him, launching an aerial kick straight at Frank's head, and Frank had no time to dodge!"Die!" Crane's smile curled into a twisted angle as he saw that too.He was very confident with this kick
"Disgusting…" Skyler murmured through her hand.Despite being skinned and scalped, the women were all still alive and singing to the music that was playing despite their anguish."Talk about a terrible fetish."Frank was scowling too—why were all the members of Torrent such sick deviants? It seemed like his plan to wipe them out was absolutely correct!"So, you killed my clone?"The lanky man on the couch slowly turned to level his bloodshot eyes at Frank.His lips were wet with bed as they curled upward into an eerie smile."Clone?" Frank narrowed his eyes."Hehe. It's a sage art."Crane shrugged as he stood up and wiped the blood off his lips. "It's only natural that you don't understand… Still, you deserve praise. If you can kill my clone, that means you're not just slightly stronger than Ghost."Naturally, the man was none other than the real Crane.Still, as Skyler studied him from a corner, even she could notice the strange twitch of his fingers, and his veins were pro
Even as Crane ran, he was looking over his shoulder, his heart pounding. "No… I won't win in a one-on-one!"No, as long as I get back to my real body… we can do this together!" He frowned, having seen how Frank sliced off the pinkies of those hood rats. It hence quickly dawned on him that Frank was not just slightly stronger than Ghost, as Torrent had put it!"Almost there!" He gasped when he saw the signboard of Pegasus Showtown in the distance. "As long as I get there and rendezvous with my real body, that brat will lose—"That was when he turned and saw that a shadow had caught up with impossible speed."What?!" Crane's eyes almost popped out in bewilderment. "What speed is that?! Are you kidding—"Even as he spotted the shadow, the shadow turned into a youth with an impassive visage.His fist outstretched, he was clearly punching toward Crane's forehead!"Argh…"Even as Crane looked on, the youth's punch slowed down by tenfold, but his fist kept closing in.Then, whe
Seeing Skyler sigh, the tattooed thug presumed that his extortion worked.He strode up, grabbing Frank's shoulder. "No one's gonna help you, boy. Pay up, or you're not leaving.""Exactly! You're not getting away!" the crowd of hood rats hollered. "Last chance."Frank's eyes were cold and fixed on Dani, however. "Are you going to intervene? If you do, you can keep that check. If you don't…""Ugh. Fuck off! I don't care!" Dani spat, her expression smug as she folded her arms before her chest. "Who do you think you are to threaten me?!""Exactly! Pay up, and you can leave!""Yeah! Ten grand, at least!""You probably don't know my boss Wyvern, but when he's here, you won't get away with just ten grand!"Even as the crowd closed in, Frank shook his head. "Well, you had your chance. Don't blame me for what happens next.""You're giving us a chance?! Hah! Who—argh!"Even before Dani could finish gloating, Frank was suddenly in front of her, grabbing her viciously by the wrist."Arg
"Five grand?! Did you hear that?! He just threw five grand!""Must be a rich kid coming here for a secret rendezvous, out of prying eyes? Those types are the easiest mark!""Fuck! And Dani got one of us… It hurts me more than losing at the races!"Frank could hear the buzz around him but ignored it as he strode past the men flanking him and headed toward the street that stank of blood."Stop!" A big tattooed man grinned sinisterly as he intercepted Frank.As his buddies encircled Frank as well, Frank snorted—it seemed that they took his reaction for a sign of weakness and thought that he could be cowed.The tattooed man rubbed his chin as he leered at Skyler's voluptuous figure, chuckling. "Look, boy. I'm short on cash, so let me take a loan. I'll pay you back some other day, how about that?"His friend laughed. "Exactly! You just gave Dani five grand, and we won't ask for more… just four, how about that?"Skyler scowled in turn and glanced worriedly at Frank beside her—was he
Frank himself had just stepped out of the nightclub when his eyes narrowed."Blood," he murmured, his nostrils twitching."Blood?"Skyler sniffed the air, puzzled. "I can't smell it.""It's from the opposite street… I smell the blood of over a dozen people.""A dozen?!" Skyler did a double take.He could identify the number of people who were killed?! That was just ridiculous!"Come on, let's take a look."Just as Frank led the way toward the source of the stench, a woman suddenly came up, catching Frank off guard and throwing herself into his arms."Hmmm?" He looked down to see that she had thick makeup, average looks, and a rather pudgy belly."Argh! He touched me!" she pointed at Frank and shrieked even before he realized what was happening."What?!" Skyler was staring at the woman too, mystified."Oh, sister! You just didn't see it!"The woman kept hollering, pointing at Frank's face. "Your boyfriend grabbed my ass! Is that how you teach him manners?!""Teach him ma
Wyvern screamed even as he clutched the stump that was his hand, screaming so shrilly one might mistake his voice as inhuman."Oh, just shut up." The lanky man glowered and launched a kick, reducing Wyvern into puddles of blood and pieces of innards, splattering all around the lobby. "Argh!!!" the devilish lady screamed as she watched the carnage unfolded."Another sound, and you'd end up just like him." The lanky man turned and frowned at her impatiently."Hngh…" The devilish lady promptly clasped a hand over her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes as she trembled."What the hell?!"Outside, Wyvern's lackeys heard the screams and ran inside, looking for him. "Hey, where's Wyvern?!"However, the lobby was too dimly lit for them to notice the blood and guts scattered around the walls, and they only sensed that terrible stench."Hngh…" The devilish lady was too scared to speak, and tears trickled out of her eyes."Fuck!"One of the lackeys strode up and seized the lanky man