"Did you think you won't look dumb doing this? No, it'd just make you look even dumber! Hahaha…Huh?"Sif suddenly stopped laughing when she saw it—the tiny sprout that lay in Frank's palm after the hale pearl shattered.There was no doubting it… The sprout was growing inside the pearl!And though it was small, it was crystalline like a perfect gem. Its very shape was the work of a master craftsman, and the emerald luster was so bright that it hurt to stare at it for too long!Moreover, one could see the bright green sap flowing through the crystalline sprout and the abundant vigor it carried.Even an idiot would be able to see that it was special."I-Isn't that a Hale Marrow? Isn't it just a legend?!" Tavis shrieked on top of his lungs after a brief moment of shock, not caring about saving Sif's face just then.The auction hall was left in an uproar right then."Hale Marrow? What is that?""Shit, it's the Hale Marrow! There's only a fractional chance it'd grow in mountains fil
Sif could feel her guts squirming, especially when someone asked Frank loudly if he would sell the Hale Marrow for 50 billion dollars.Two hundred million for 50 billion—it went without saying that Frank had made a killing!She would have competed against Frank's bid to the bid if she had known the devilry growing inside that hale pearl, and she certainly regretted not doing it now!If she could, she would travel back in time to slap herself twice!Just then, Trevor was clicking his tongue gleefully. "How about that, Ms. Lionheart? To think that your family sold the Hale Marrow to the Leaf family for just two hundred thousand. All I can say to that is… Tut, tut."Frank was feeling buoyed too, and he was rarely happy about anything—the Hale Marrow was an extremely rare treasure, and much rarer than the Five Elemental Wonders.Forget healing himself—they would make a booming business in Mark Lane's farm with this!In fact, he had seen the sprout within the hale pearl from the star
Frank, however, had no intention to negotiate and refused bluntly. "I'm sorry, Ms. Lionheart—I have great use for my Hale Marrow, and I'm not selling no matter what you offer me.""What?!" Sif did a double take, her temper flaring right then.It was the first time someone would refuse her, the heiress of the Lionheart!"I'm being nice here!" she snapped. "Know your place and give it to me right now! No one ever refuses me, and everyone will always hand over whatever I want to me on a silver platter!"Frank simply raised a brow and sneered. "Really? How on earth did you manage to describe daylight robbery with such righteous words? Or perhaps you own this place too? Surely you should know how to abide by rules too, Ms. Lionheart?" "Shut up! What I say is the rule!" Sif bellowed haughtily, glaring at Frank. "The Lionhearts will make this worth your while—you bought it for 200 million, didn't you? I'm now buying it for 2 billion dollars. It's no loss for you, so hand it over!"Seei
Really, what was the point of the Leaf family's auction? Why not just give away every auctioned item to the Lionhearts?!"Hmph. In that case, excuse me.""Yeah, well, the Lionhearts are too big for the rest of us to mess with anyway."Eventually, one of the bidders got up and left… and soon, there were groups of them."Huh… Wait, wait, wait, please don't go!" Jenny called out from the stage, but most of the bidders were packing up to leave anyway.After all, it was now clear that they had no reason to attend this auction anyway."What…" Sif was left stunned as she watched the crowd leaving the auction hall, never expecting everyone to leave just like that.But their reason was simple, with Frank being the precedent—if any of them chanced upon some treasure now, they could only leave with Sif's permission.If she said no, it was time to hand it over—or one would expect the wrath of the Lionhearts.And since no one present could afford to suffer the wrath of the Lionhearts, they
"Please be understanding."And with a polite nod, Jenny left without looking back.Sif was left standing there, shaking with rage.It was the most terrible day for her, ever!She paid a whopping grand total of 5.5 billion dollars for two pieces of junk. And worst of all, every bigwig attending the auction had seen the vindictive side of the Lionhearts, and as word soon spread, it would soon become the image everyone had of them.Forget Norsedam—even the main branch of the family in Morhen would be affected!"Bastard…" Knowing that she had messed up terribly, Sif clenched her knuckles even as her fury threatened to consume her.But she soon smiled savagely—since she had already messed up anyway, she just had to see things through to the end!She would make Frank pay even if all of Norsedam would talk—and most importantly, take the treasure he kept in his pocket. It was Frank's fault for messing with her, and if not for that little speech he made, the situation would not have f
Frank sighed. "Sif Lionheart is as despicable as she is… despotic."The Birthright rank goon leader paused visibly at the mention of Sif and snapped impatiently, "We have no relation to Ms. Lionheart. Hand over the Hale Marrow or die!""What, are you saying I'd live if I hand it over? Also, 'Ms. Lionheart'?" Frank snorted in disdain. "You slipped up there, brother."Realizing that he had been tricked, the Birthright rank goon leader gave up on all pretenses."Go!" he bellowed, gesturing for his men to attack Frank."Wait, you wanted this, right?" Frank casually whipped out the Hale Marrow just then."Stop! Don't break the Hale Marrow!" Some of the goons backed away when they saw it, afraid they would ruin it.The Birthright rank goon leader promptly strode up at Frank, demanding, "That's it! Give it to me!""Alright, take it," Frank replied and threw the Hale Marrow up into the air.In a split second, every goon's eyes were glued to the bright green sprout, while Frank sneer
Releasing streaks of pure vigor, Frank quickly projected a miasma before himself.Most people would not see it, but the goons could feel their movements slowing even as they charged inside. The weaker ones could not even move at all!On the other hand, Frank moved quicker while in the miasma.Pow!His punches landed rapidly, and five goons were left coughing blood, their bodies stiffening."What?! C-Could he have completed Birthright rank?!" The goon on the edge promptly withdrew his leg when he saw what was happening, his face turning pale in shock as if seeing a ghost.Frank's movement was smooth as a flowing river and inch-precise, even elegant in appearance.As he charged toward the edge of the circle of goons, he would strike with his palm, knuckles, or fingers while each goon still had their weapons raised, leaving them frozen in place.Then, when he left their encirclement, he sighed, and the miasma of pure vigor faded.The goons, who were all still standing, collapse
The lucky goon did not even dare to peek at Frank's car plate as they left.Moreover, Frank was not lying—the other masked goons stirred around thirty minutes later, each of them trading glances as they could not remember what happened.When they finally came to their senses, they were all terrified in the realization that Sif had messed with someone she should not.Nonetheless, Sif herself arrived, and she was frowning at the mess all over the place as well as the three headless bodies."What's going on here? Where's my Hale Marrow?!" she demanded. "Ms. Lionheart, that man is too much for us," the lucky goon strode up, bracing himself as he relayed Frank's message. "He wiped the floor with us without even breaking a sweat—he completely overwhelmed us.""Incompetent fools!" Sif was left seething at the sight of their dejected state, snapping, "He's just a hick, and you can't even deal with him?! Why do I even keep you around?!"While the goons promptly lowered their heads in
Frank yelled, "Tell me who your boss is, and I might spare your life! Otherwise, the glass shards on the door will be your doom."That certainly showed the woman that Frank was being honest, and that she misjudged men!Chuckling bitterly, she said, "I actually quite liked you, so I'd rather not speed you to your death. Know when to stop if you're really smart, kid."Frank laughed coolly. "If I was going to stop, would I have come after you or Horace at all?"Fear comes from the unknown, which is why people fear the dark and the paranormal. But when they emerge from it, they fear nothing!"The woman gaped at Frank in disbelief, surprised that someone like him existed in such a quiet corner in this world.Terrifying, yet not patient—his existence was way beyond her reach.But when it came to men like him, she was still all too happy to help him die for on reason!"Fine, I'll take you to her—just don't be disappointed in the gap of power. Try to keep your pride as you do now."Fr
"What the fuck do you want?!"It was the first time Horace had ever seen anyone do something like this.Frank was helping out of sheer conscience and clearly would not tolerate anyone who committed evils, even going all out to wipe them out.At the same time, he was also different from the rest. Cunning ploys and fancy tricks were pointless against him, and he did not care about his reputation as long as he achieved his goal.And when it came to personal ability, wit, and influence, Horace simply did not compare in any element. He was also experienced enough to see that compliance was his only chance against a character like Frank. But chance did not even mean surviving but a polite death, because Frank would not let someone like him live!Throwing up his hands, Horace exclaimed, "I-I'll tell you everything! Just kill me—don't throw me in jail, okay?!"Frank said nothing and waited until Horace confessed everything, and once he gathered sufficient information, he snapped his fi
"How did you get in here?"Before this, Horace had arranged a security detail of over a dozen men in case Frank came after him.Even if they were no match for Frank, they could at least buy time, while he would hear the commotion and flee!However, Frank simply appeared without a sound behind him, making it all the more horrific!"Simple, really."Frank smirked. "I knocked them all out quietly! But to be honest, it's your own fault for not hiring martial artists despite being so rich. It's what you deserve.""You can kill me, but what's going to happen to the girl's parents?"Horace smirked, still confident in his own advantage as he waved his phone at Frank.It was a simple gesture to tell him that he was ready to take Aisling's parents down with him.Frank simply ignored him. "The assassin you sent was quite something, to be honest. Pretty face, and that mole under her eye… She's really special."Horace lost all composure right then—that could only mean that Frank had met h
"Got it!"The woman hung up and used her other phone to call Aisling again. "Lady, you will do everything we say. To put it harshly, you're now a slave—you don't get to refuse us!""Is that so?"Just as the woman finished, the window suddenly crashed open, and someone zoomed inside!Even before she could react, she was held firmly in place by the shoulder.Seeing the handsome face and knowing it was the martial elite who took down the dozenish goons sent by the cottage, she exclaimed in shock, "H-How did you find me?""Did you think I can't find you just because you're on the move?"Frank smirked as he pointed outside. "First and foremost, finding your name is simple since I have the means to find your number and therefore personal details. Also, this vehicle is registered under your name—and with the support of the most advanced GPS systems, it'd be shocking if I couldn't find you."In fact, Frank already knew the woman would not hang around in Aisling's home and called Jouri
Other factors aside, pride matters more than anything else when a person gets rich, and Horace absolutely refused to be mocked as a coward."Don't worry about it. I have other arrangements in place," he said. He then told the middle-aged man to leave and called a mysterious number.-An hour later, Frank was speaking with the intern at his homestay cottage when her phone rang.Taking it out and seeing an unfamiliar number, she knew right away that it was from the Mount Statera's management and turned on the speakers despite her curiosity as she answered."Aisling Walls, was it? Your name has a nice ring to it!" A playful, feminine voice giggled eerily from the other end."What's it to you?" Aisling snorted in annoyance. "Mess around, and I'll call the cops on you!"The woman was not intimidated at all, even laughing icily. "Go on, but your parents will die if you do."Aisling was stunned, shaking her head as she cried, "No, that's impossible… How could you know where I live?"
The middle-aged man frowned.He knew that the intern and the chief ranger would take convincing, but they did not even care to listen. "Actually, neither of you have any control over your lives now."And with that, he turned to leave.This was a homestay, after all—a fight would only further complicate the situation, which was why he did not want to do it here.However, just because he could bear with it did not mean that Frank could. "Hold it. Don't you think you're disrespecting me by leaving so quickly?"The middle-aged man stopped and turned, seemingly interested. "And where did you get the confidence to threaten me?"Frank simply smiled.At the very next instant, the middle-aged man and his dozen goons were sent flying.Then, even before they could get up, Frank had already cut up and stamped his foot on the middle-aged man's face."W-Who the hell are you?"He had worked for Horace for a while, but someone as bothersome as Frank was the first.Even if he was stupid, he
The chief ranger sighed. "I can understand being altruistic, kid, but strength doesn't solve all problems."Frank laughed. "Are you sure I'm just good in a fight? The behavior of upper management is definitely terrible—if someone like me would simply let it slide, what would happen to the ordinary folk?"The chief ranger no longer hesitated and told the intern everything he knew.Soon, her article blew up on the internet, with netizens everywhere outraged.Management naturally could not just let it slide.Horace Gagne, the person in charge, promptly sent his people after the intern and the chief ranger, only to find that they were both in Frank's homestay cottage.As both groups convened, they reported to Horace right away despite their surprise.Horace was certainly no fool—he knew that someone was setting this scene.But so what about it? He had plenty of ways to bury his opponent.And with that, his thugs all stormed into the first floor living room to find Frank seated on
The chief ranger had no idea that he had fallen for a trap and left with Frank and the others to get some rest.In the lounge, Jada was feeling bored and scrolled through her phone when she stumbled on an article, titled 'Rescuer so incompetent, he couldn't even defend himself.'There was nothing to hide about it, so Jada showed the chief ranger right then, sighing. "Those journalists are horrible, playing word tricks to blame everything on you, when they could report on the incompetence of the rescue leader."While Jada appeared indignant, the chief leader appeared calm. "They can blame me all they want—it's not our first rodeo."The journalists are horrible, but the people in charge shouldn't treat rescue efforts like a game either. As long as it wasn't that dire, they always sent fools to take over command… And when I say command, I mean cause trouble."People would die pointlessly because of that, and journalists used to report it unbiased. But if they did, they would either b
Fortunately for the rescue leader, the chief ranger was not planning on killing him.Catching the rescue leader at the last possible moment, the chief ranger smirked. "Run your mouth again, and I'll really let you fly."It worked this time, as the rescue leader was hysterical and yelling through tears, "This is harassment! This isn't over yet!"The chief ranger snorted. "This isn't over yet, you say? But you see, I could kill you, and one wouldn't even bat an eye!"The rescue leader shook his head, laughing. "No chance! Blood calls for blood! It's a tale as old as time!"The chief ranger sneered. "True, but evidence matters these days! Do you think I'm capable of launching another adult man into the air? Hell, even if I did it in full view of the public, I know for sure that I can escape unscathed."The rescue leader was left speechless—that much was true.Forget anyone else. The rescue leader himself had personally experienced how it felt to be thrown up into the skies, but eve