Frank drove straight to Salazar House with Quinn after leaving Sage Lake Sect.The Salazars had been messing with him too many times, and there was no reason to let them live now.Frank called Trevor on his way there, asking him to send his people over to clean up the mess he would make.-Donald Salazar was seated in his drawing room and having a drink with a guest, who happened to be none other than Eron White."Mr. Salazar, is it true?" Eron asked, looking hopefully at Donald. "You told me that Sage Lake Sect could restore me as the head of the family.""Don't worry." Donald spread his arms proudly without hesitation. "Maron Ocean and I had an agreement. Once he takes his place as the sect chief, he will restore my family to its former glory. When that happens, I just need to put a good word in—helping you reclaim your place as head of the White family couldn't be easier."Seeing how cheerful Donald was, Eron picked up his glass and saluted him fawningly. "Thank you so much,
Even as Eron continued drinking, he felt a rising foreboding sensation.As if on cue, Donald suddenly beckoned at a servant to bring pen and paper. "Ah, I almost forgot—come on, Eron. Let's have our agreement put in writing, in case alcohol causes our conversation to slip your mind.""In writing?" Eron exclaimed in surprise."Yes." Donald grinned. "Write here that you're willing to have your daughter marry me. My pledge for you in turn is to do my utmost in restoring you as head of the White family. How about that?"Eron was hesitant. "Is that… necessary?""Of course," Donald was suddenly solemn despite his smile. "I am a man of my word, and verbal promises never count in my opinion. Don't you agree?"Eron glanced between Donald's smile and Donald's bodyguards who stood around them, and he felt sweat trickling over his brow.Still, after musing to himself for a while, he suddenly laughed and picked up the pen. "Well, since it's your principle, I shall certainly follow. It's good
"Quinn Ocean?! You're alive?!"Donald stared at Quinn in disbelief, more shocked to see her than Frank!"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm alive and kicking!" Quinn laughed icily as her brow creased, and she bellowed, "You killed my father and forced me off a cliff. And now, you shall pay!"Even as Quinn leapt toward him, sword in hand, Donald was clenching his jaw so hard his teeth could break."Fucking mooks! All of them!" he growled. It was now obvious why his men never found Quinn's corpse!However, he was not about to just roll over and die—he promptly overturned the table and quickly leapt backward to draw the sword hung on the wall. After everything was said and done, he was still a vigor wielder!Still, Quinn was an unstoppable entity of rage, slicing through the table and clashing swords with Donald!On the other hand, Frank slowly strode inside and immediately saw the man sitting limply on the floor. "Hmm? What are you doing here, Eron?""I, I…" Eron kept trying but
Donald's left hand—kept hidden from view—suddenly pressed on a hidden depression on the wall.Then, a black handgun popped out, landing in his hand.As Quinn kept charging at him, sword poised, he grinned savagely as he brought the gun to bear between her eyes."What—"Quinn's eyes widened, not expecting Donald to have such a trick up his sleeve!Worst of all, he would shoot her through the head even before her sword reached him!Biting her lip, she closed her eyes as she resigned herself to her fate…Bang!Clang!The crack of a gunshot resounded, soon followed by the stifling scent of gunpowder.Quinn opened her eyes, presuming that she had been shot… only to see Donald's gun flying out of his grasp and the bullet shot striking a vase behind her."Frank Lawrence!!!" Donald was glaring savagely at Frank.He saw Frank firing a burst of his pure vigor, sending his gun flying!"Die!"Seeing her opportunity, Quinn raised her sword and sliced off Donald's hand."Argh!!!" Dona
Mona stood nearby awkwardly, blinking."Hmm…" she mused as she glanced at Frank. "Should I be hugging you too, Frank?""Quit it." Frank shoved her away even as she moved up.Kiki was the last to arrive, clicking her tongue in wonder as she watched the other ladies chattering, pouting, flirting, or bawling around Frank."What's this, Trevor?" Frank asked when he saw Trevor Zurich arrive with his men.Trevor grinned. "It seems that they weren't subject to any abuse—Maron might have an agenda here, but it was just house arrest at best. In fact, they were kept in the guest room and not the basement.""Yeah, don't worry, Frank—we're fine," Helen said with a smile."What do you mean 'fine'?" Vicky folded her arms before her chest, snapping in annoyance. "I had to sleep in the same bed with you, and you almost knocked me off! Go on a diet, Helen!""S-Shut it!" Helen blushed, retorting loudly, "You go on a diet!""Tut, tut. Denying it with all that flab around your belly?" Vicky reach
"Yes, Mr. Lawrence." Trevor agreed to it right away without asking any questions.Frank then returned to his Maybach to find it congested, with the ladies arguing endlessly on who got to ride shotgun.Eventually, Winter triumphed, not because Vicky or Helen actually lost, but because neither woman could stand the thought of the other riding shotgun."Hmph. I've ridden shotgun with my darling many times anyway," Vicky huffed, folding her arms before her chest. "Who's your darling? How brazen," Helen snapped, her ice-like beauty persona long forgotten."Oh, just stop it already…" Frank was left rubbing his brow—his days of peace were long gone."I won't be going back to Skywater Bay," Kiki said, standing outside the car and waving him goodbye. "The Soranos have given up on me after Hubert Sorano's death, and I can live the way I want to now.""Are you going to be alright?" Frank frowned, somehow worried."Don't worry. Vicky has my back!" Kiki grinned and winked at Vicky, while V
Helen waved him off, smiling faintly. "Just give it a rest—I bring good tidings, as we Northstream Lanes are now completely a part of the Lane family again.""Uh huh, and?" Frank remained unaffected.Helen was not surprised and kept smiling. "Well, that's not all. Uncle Gavin also told me that I'm now a candidate for the head of the family!""Just a candidate?" Frank snorted in disdain. "Hey, don't get too greedy!" Helen bumped him in the head, giggling. "Others would have to rack their brains scheming just to get the opportunity. It's already amazing that someone like me, who was only recently taken back, was chosen at all!"To be honest, Helen was as apathetic about being brought back to the main family as Frank was. They would only be a branch of relatives, having a superficial relationship with the Southstream Lanes without any meaningful exchange.As such, becoming a candidate for the next head of the family was different! The title alone carried weight and position over th
In the end, Vicky was the heiress of an important family.Helen certainly dulled in comparison, just as her pride could not take it.Therefore, now that she had the chance to become the head of the Lane family and become an equal of Vicky's, she would seize it.As for who would come up on top, that depended entirely on their respective abilities!Ring…Helen's phone started jingling just then, and she answered it. "Hello?"Gina was immediately snapping, "Where are you? Come back to the manor right now! Remember Madam Lang, Mark's second wife? She's here, and she's also being very specific about wanting to see you!""She wants to see me? Why?" Helen asked even as she glanced at Frank.Mark was brother to Henry Lane—Helen's grandfather—and had married three wives in his younger days. It also happened to be the reason Henry and Mark had parted ways in the past.Nonetheless, Gina was at once cheerful, "Oh, don't you get it? It must be because your uncle has informed you that you'r
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