The woman was Quinn Ocean.Still, Frank was confused even as he felt relieved—he clearly remembered letting Quinn and her father Bocek go.Even without her vigor and meridian nexus, she still had her martial arts.So what could have left her half-dead? Sage Lake Sect?Frank kept making theories, but blind guessing proved pointless.Instead, he turned toward the busy healers around Quinn, frowning as he urged, "Make way. Leave her to me."Janet walked up and asked, "Do you know her, Frank?""Yeah," Frank directed his vigor into his fingers, tapping Quinn's various acupoints rapidly without stopping.Soon, she coughed out a mouthful of clotted blood."Needle!" Frank snapped, holding out a hand to Janet."Oh… Okay!" Janet promptly ran to get a box of disinfected needles.Whoosh.Frank grabbed a handful and spread them like petals over Quinn's acupoints before taking out an Ichor Pill and feeding it to her.As the Ichor Pill took effect, color returned to Quinn's cheeks, her e
Frank mused to himself even as he held Quinn's searing gaze, but he eventually shook his head."It's probably too late. I don't think anyone can reason with Maron Ocean, and Sage Lake Sect wouldn't change their mind even if you returned."Pausing, he then continued, "Moreover, you're worth nothing to the Sage Lake Sect after your father's death. Instead of retaliating against the Salazar's like you said, Maron would just have me killed to get more out of this."Frank's dissection left Quinn's face paling in despair.After all, she knew that everything Frank said was right.As soon as Bocek's meridian nexus was destroyed, he and Quinn knew that there was no longer any place for them in Sage Lake Sake.They wanted to return just to gather their allies and use their reputation to reclaim whatever fortune they had before they left.Now that Bocek was dead, any influence he had had gone up in smoke.It was pointless even if Quinn returned now—no one would listen to her, and she migh
Quinn shrugged. "Don't worry about me. They can kill me for all I care."Frank was actually surprised to see her acting tough."Fine. Get in," he said and was left watching as she limped toward his car, struggling to get inside.It was clear that even with his miraculous Ichor Pill, one night was too brief for Quinn to fully recover—it only stopped her injuries from deteriorating at best.In fact, moving would have ruptured it, and Quinn was bleeding from her lap even as she rode shotgun.She was silent throughout their journey, her eyes staring ahead.Frank's phone rang with a call from Janet Zimmer just then. "Frank… Have you seen the woman last night? She's gone when I woke up this morning! Her injuries are still very severe, and her bones haven't been realigned. I'm afraid…""Don't worry," Frank said quietly, hearing the concern in Janet's voice even as he glanced at Quinn's shaking fingers and bleeding legs. "She's with me. I'll treat her myself.""Oh, I see…" Janet sounde
The technique in question was the Needles of Nine Animus.Frank projected his pure vigor, coiling it around the acupoint needles as translucent threads after disinfecting them.Then, taking aim at Quinn's acupoint, he focused all his attention to the epidermis as he slowly pressed one needle into her belly."Ahhh…" Quinn moaned in a way that would send imaginations running wild."Hold on," Frank told her, breaking a rare drop of sweat over his brow.He had never used this acupuncture technique before, since he had only read about it in a book from Mystic Sky Sect's forbidden section.This acupuncture technique accelerated regeneration, regardless of how severe the injury could be. While that was as unbelievable as it was illogical, it was not a technique that healed all injuries and maladies. Instead, it was a radical technique to be used in extreme circumstances because it burned through the person's potential and vigor limit in exchange for quickened regeneration.It was undou
Frank never turned back as he strode out of the hotel room only to find a large group of people crowding the doorway outside.There were both men and women, and all of them were nodding in understanding when they saw Frank.Two men strode up right then, exclaiming, "That was amazing, brother!""Damn straight. What supplements have you been taking? Can you give me a recommendation?"Frank did a double take, and it was only after a while that he realized what both men meant.The hotel was not particularly large, and the walls were thin—Quinn's voice must have resounded across the entire building "Leave a number, handsome?" Two ladies whose bodies were only covered with bath towels even intercepted Frank on his way out, winking flirtatiously."Sorry, not interested." Frank strode past them right then, though the two men gave chase right then. "Come on, brother! What's your secret? Tell us…"Still in the room, Quinn was left staring blankly at the bloodstains on the sheets, and
Nothing was easier than for Quinn to avoid the guards and sneak into Dahok's residence.She split up with Frank as he would be drawing the attention of the Sage Lake Sect leaders.He strode through the mountain gates and immediately saw the stately board on which the name 'Sage Lake Sect' was carved—century-old sects really did impress.The apprentices standing guard were glowering and barking when they saw Frank, "Who goes there?!""Frank Lawrence of Riverton."The apprentices' faces fell as soon as Frank replied, and they encircled Frank while one of them ran into the building to report.Soon, Maron Ocean and a group of Sage Lake Sect elders stepped out, standing above the stairs as they looked down on Frank with lofty contempt.Maron was still in his white suit, clapping when he saw Frank. "Not bad. You have the balls to come here to die."The two elders with him scowled in disdain, snapping, "Slaying our apprentices and our high elder?! Get down on your knees and accept you
"I'm giving you a chance now," Frank simply growled at Maron, returning his threat word-for-word. "Release them, or you'll die!"Elder Huxley and Elder Randel's faces fell at Frank's threat, but Maron appeared perfectly calm.It was as he had expected Frank to attack and hold him hostage and did not even resist.In fact, he almost appeared perfectly content as Frank's hostage."Don't move!" he snapped at Elder Huxley and Elder Randel as they were ready to save him before turning back to Frank and smiling. "Go on, do it. Kill me!""What?" Frank was dumbstruck that Frank was that fearless."Oh, don't be so surprised." Maron chuckled. "Kill me right here if you have the balls, Frank Lawrence—but you have to think about it: none of your girls are going to get away alive if you do. If that's what you want, then do it."Maron was absolutely confident that Frank would back down—even if Frank could crush his neck like he wanted, it meant burning bridges with Sage Lake Sect.Even Frank
Maron was endlessly pompous, clearly saying all he could to provoke Frank."It just happens that I have a guest from Morhen, but how do I put this? We can't afford to upset her." Maron sighed, shaking his head dramatically as he walked circles around Frank. "She's so hot, but she's also too powerful. She'd just kill me if I try to force myself on her—that's why I need a fearless champion, and one who has nothing to do with Sage Lake Sect to take her down. But I don't mean to hurt her, I just want to incapacitate her—ideally unconscious.""After that, leave everything to me," he finished, clapping Frank on the shoulder and patting his cheek. "I'm counting on you, Mr. Lawrence! If you do, I'll…"Maron trailed off as he switched gears. "Hold on, letting off a martial elite like you so easily is a waste. Let's do it this way instead—I have five hostages, but you can pick the one I release while I release each of them after you fulfill a task for me. Generous, aren't I? That's decided!