"Honestly, Lavinia is a highly skilled and fiercely committed individual. She's been in Goldspire for some time now, trying to convince Dominic to lend his support. It's unfortunate that someone with so much potential is being sent off as mere fodder for the battle," Gideon stated.Mose sighed. "This situation is incredibly complicated. It's best if you stay out of it. The Light Council is not the only force at play behind Tylland. There are many other factors that need to be considered."It would've been easy if it were just the The Light Council. We could handle them, even with their power and influence. But there are other players involved, and the stakes are much higher than we initially thought."Casse also warned, "Gideon, it's best not to meddle with this matter. We don't have all the facts ourselves. Only the king knows the full story. If you have the chance to meet him, you can ask him directly."Hearing their response, Gideon understood that pushing for more information w
Marion had been growing increasingly frustrated over the past few days. The Carter family was in serious trouble.Previously, Matthew had been filled with overconfidence, proudly proclaiming that he was favored by Rachel and being groomed as a key figure in Avila Group. But now, they seemed to completely ignore him.To add to their troubles, the Carter family had faced numerous setbacks recently. Their already struggling company was now on the verge of bankruptcy.There were even rumors circulating about their impending financial demise, and it appeared to be becoming more and more likely.Marion couldn't wrap her head around it. How could so much change happen in such a short period of time?Fortunately, she hadn't given Elara's hand in marriage to Matthew. If she had, they would have ended up with nothing. Marion seethed with anger internally at the thought.Gideon's words were filled with arrogance, and Marion couldn't help but feel angry. "The royal families have been power
The woman exuded an icy demeanor, along with an air of authority befitting someone of high status.Forlas watched as the two walked away."Princess Arabella, I feel this is a waste of time. How can we find someone in such a vast crowd?""There's no other way. We're taking a chance. The fortune teller pointed out that there's a hidden powerhouse in Goldspire who might help the Foxhall royal family overcome its current crisis."Arabella Foxhall's brows were furrowed with worry.Five years ago, on the eve of the Martial Arts Tournament, the young leader of the Foxhall royal family and a group of prodigies met with a terrible incident, with all of them perishing.That young leader was Arabella's brother.Arabella was heartbroken.In the years since, the Foxhall royal family had struggled with a lack of talent in its younger generation. If this continued, they would inevitably fall behind the other royal families.After all, whether it was a faction, a family, or even a nation, the
Time flew by like a fleeting horse. A week passed in the blink of an eye.Due to the major incident on Beaker Island recently, even the Chapman royal family had suffered setbacks, leaving Goldspire in a state of calm.Everything was peaceful. Even the factions within the criminal underworld had gone into hiding, behaving exceptionally well, making the city unusually harmonious.However, Gideon was worried.It had been seven days since Ajax and the others went to Kitherglen to search for the Jaeger royal family's territory, and there was still no news from them.Of course, Kitherglen was an extremely harsh environment with almost no signal, making communication nearly impossible.Gideon could only comfort himself with that thought.With the strength of Ajax's, Hercule's, and Alistair's factions combined, even if Howard had set them up, they should still be able to escape. Surely, they wouldn't meet their demise in Kitherglen.Meanwhile, Dominic and many other champions had enter
"Now, Lavinia is about to head to the border. I need you two to keep an eye on her from the shadows. Unless she's facing a life-or-death situation, there's no need for you to intervene," Gideon stated.Willis replied, "Sir, in other words, we're to ensure that Lavinia doesn't die!"Gideon said, "You could put it that way. But give her three chances. If, after three times, she still doesn't wake up to reality and refuses to retreat, you can come back."Stubbornness had its limits. Beyond that, it would just be foolishness and unworthy of any sympathy."Understood!" Willis and Lyle accepted the orders.…The next day, Ruby personally drove a truck to Beaker Island, rushing over in a panic. "Gideon! Gideon!""What's with the yelling? I'm not deaf.""Hurry up already! Lavinia can't wait any longer. She's leaving tomorrow," Ruby said, pacing anxiously.Gideon didn't reply but walked over to the truck, opened it up, and checked the herbs inside.He nodded with a smile. "Not bad. Th
On a busy pedestrian street in Goldspire, Mollie asked curiously, "Princess Arabella, we've been in Goldspire for a week now. What are you thinking? Are we just going to stay here like this?"Why wasn't Arabella even a little anxious?"I'm waiting.""Waiting for what?""These past few days, we've learned that Goldspire has been hit by one major incident after another recently. There's no doubt that it's all connected to that hidden powerhouse."Arabella's eyes were bright, and her tone was filled with anticipation. "I believe another major event will happen soon. When it does, we'll know where this hidden powerhouse is and who they are!"Mollie responded, "Princess Arabella, are you sure it'll happen soon? After the Chapman royal family took a hit last time, all the forces in Goldspire are likely lying low. There shouldn't be any more big events!""Just wait and see. My intuition is usually right," Arabella said with a smile.The icy beauty's smile instantly attracted the atten
Matthew wanted to make a big move.Standing by the roadside, he made a call. "Are you ready?"A cold laugh came from the phone. "Don't worry. As long as the mother and daughter are here, they won't escape. Once it's done, the reward we promised you won't be a penny less."Matthew said, "Good."After hanging up, his expression turned fierce. "Marion, Elara, don't blame me. My family is on the brink of collapse. I have no other choice."Yesterday, the Boxing King's son, Christopher Stark, contacted him with a proposition. He wanted Matthew to help capture Marion and Elara.Matthew was shocked. Christopher's background was anything but ordinary.Goldspire's underground fighting rings numbered in the dozens, and Black Pugilists was the biggest and strongest among them.The owner of Black Pugilists was a formidable fighter, undefeated across the underground scene. His fighters were all top-tier as well.The scariest part of all this was that Black Pugilists was merely a small branc
"Shaun, what a pair of stunning beauties they are. Too bad we can't touch them," said the young man in the Land Rover as he licked his lips and gave Marion's curvy backside a slap.The slap jolted Marion awake."Where is this?" she asked, her face blank with confusion.The driver, Shaun Lloyd, grinned. "Beautiful, you're in the car. We're taking you to a hotel."Marion shrieked in alarm, startling Elara awake as well.When the mother and daughter realized their predicament, they were furious and frightened. The young man in the back sneered. "Ladies, are you looking for your bags? Here they are. Take them."Marion grabbed her bag and frantically searched through it.The man laughed maliciously. "Looking for your phone? Don't bother. I crushed it!"Marion's face turned deathly pale.Terrified, Elara burst into tears. "Who are you people? Why are you kidnapping us? This is a crime! Let us go now, and we'll pretend nothing happened!"Marion shouted, "That's right! Stop the car
Unlike Emery, Constantin had gotten intel from Logan and the others that Gideon was heading west. So, Constantin concluded that he had gone to Kitherglen.However, Kitherglen was vast. Finding one person was like looking for a needle.Still, Constantin was no fool. He figured Emery was connected to Gideon. Otherwise, why would he suddenly show up and block his entry into Drammore?So, Constantin hid along the route and sure enough, saw Emery heading west. He trailed him quietly.And now, they were at the Jaeger royal family's grounds."I haven't been inland in a while. Has the Jaeger royal family of the eight royal families fallen? A woman is in charge now? And only a half-Supreme at that."Constantin sized up Talia with contempt, making her seethe with rage. But Constantin was clearly on the same terrifying level as Emery. She was angry but didn't dare speak out.Emery, on the other hand, believed Talia. He patted the white crane and turned to leave.Seeing this, Constantin sh
After leaving the underground palace, Gideon had no intention of lingering.He said his goodbyes to Talia, took Adrelda, and left the Jaeger royal family's ancestral grounds, entering the nether aircraft to continue westward.In the Daysia Tower, Clementia asked cautiously, "Lady Talia, did the High Marshal agree to take over?""Whether he'll even make it back from Mount Immortal is still unknown. Talking about whether he'll take over or not is meaningless right now."Talia picked up her cup, blew on it, and said, "Clementia, I've never married and have no children. I treat you like a daughter and have invested a lot in training you. However, your talent still falls short compared to the world's top prodigies."Clementia's face burned with shame. Her expression dimmed. "Lady Talia, I'm sorry for letting you down.""It's not exactly disappointment. It's just that all top prodigies have some kind of unique physique. You don't, so naturally, you fall behind.""Lady Talia, if I had
Facing Talia's seemingly forceful stance, Gideon ignored it and asked instead, "The old man guarding the third floor of Sutra Library—who is he? Why is he always mumbling weird stuff?"Talia shook her head. "Honestly, I don't know. He's been around since I was a kid. I asked your grandfather once, and he said the man can guarantee our clan a hundred years of peace.""Seriously? That powerful? No elders in the royal family know who he is?""If someone did, don't you think I'd already know?" She looked exasperated.He rubbed his chin, full of thoughts.Talia continued, "He's always cryptic. What did he say to get you so worked up?""He said I'd be thrown into the 18 Hells.""Huh?" Talia's expression darkened.Gideon asked, "What, do you know something?""Are you going to Zonia Sect in Neroxia?""How'd you know?" He was slightly surprised. "I'm planning to head to Mount Immortal first, then cross it to visit Zonia Sect.""You're going to Mount Immortal, too?" Her eyes widened.
The old man didn't stop Gideon. Instead, he laughed weirdly from behind. "Young man, you're definitely screwed. You're getting thrown into hell.""What a nutjob!" Gideon pushed the nonsense out of his mind.The third floor didn't have many martial arts techniques, but the ones there were clearly high-level."Soaring Immortal's Blow." Gideon stumbled on one technique by chance. What surprised him was the name signed underneath—Annalise Jaeger."Did Mom create this secret technique?"He quickly grabbed the book and skimmed it. It turned out that the Soaring Immortal's Blow was incomplete. This was only a fragment of it. Even so, he could tell it was terrifyingly powerful."Mom was a badass." Gideon was seriously impressed.Annalise had left the royal family in her 20s, which meant this technique was created before that. She probably came up with it when she was still a teenager. She was a total prodigy and stunningly gifted.Edric's and the others' praise of Annalise was clearl
"It's no wonder they are a royal family. The heritage here is insane. There are so many resources." Gideon strolled through the Sutra Library, full of praise.Then, it hit him.He had built his own force, packed with world champions and elite soldiers. But in terms of martial arts resources, he had almost nothing. He lacked top-tier martial arts.He couldn't just hand out his own secret techniques. Even if he did, it would only be to his most trusted inner circle. There was no way it would be public."It looks like I need to start paying attention to this. It's time to stockpile martial arts techniques," he thought to himself.The Sutra Library had three levels. The first floor was all basic stuff. By the second, the quality shot up, and there were a few techniques Gideon found interesting.However, it didn't move him. Sure, it was interesting, but it wasn't enough.He headed toward the third floor and finally noticed an old, wiry man lying in front of the entrance."Even a pla
"That's because…" Clementia trailed off. A cold sweat broke out on her back.If she spilled that Gideon had just mentioned taking the family head position, the fallout would be huge. That was far more serious than any assault. The elders would come charging in, ready to kill."Clementia, go on.""Don't be scared, Clementia. We need him to apologize today.""The royal family cannot be insulted!"Seeing the younger generation yelling and shouting in the square, Gideon couldn't help but chuckle. "Are you all that bored? This has nothing to do with you. Get lost.""Insolence!""Arrogant bastard!"The hot-blooded youths were fired up.Gideon let out a cold snort. A sharp pressure swept over the entire square, instantly silencing everyone."You haven't trained your strength, but your mouths sure work fine. Be glad I'm not interested in the family head position. Otherwise, I'd show you what real discipline looks like."He glanced at Clementia.She immediately led Gideon away from
Gideon stared at Talia's retreating figure, lost in thought. He couldn't figure out what she was really up to.The position of the family head in the royal family was something prestigious and powerful, yet Talia was willingly handing it over. Something didn't add up.If something was too strange, there was probably a trap.Still, Gideon wasn't in a rush to leave. Since Talia had the idea to pass the family head position to him, he might as well collect some interest first. If there wasn't even a little interest, the offer had to be a fake.As he walked out of Daysia Tower, a graceful woman approached. Gideon recognized her. During the Martial Arts Tournament of the Eight Major Royal Families, she was the leader of the Jaeger royal family's younger generation. Her name was Clementia, if he remembered right."Mr. Snow, we meet again.""It's been a while. Ms. Jaeger, you've become even more beautiful.""You flatter me, Mr. Snow." Clementia smiled and added, "But it's you who des
"Then, why did you force my mother to leave?" Gideon questioned"No, no, you've got it wrong. Annie's leaving wasn't because of me. It was her choice. From the beginning, she never planned to fight me to be the family head. As soon as the struggle began, she quietly left with the Empyrean Atlas," Talia explained.Giden frowned slightly.Suddenly, Talia smiled. "Besides, if Annie hadn't left, she would've never met your father, and you wouldn't even exist, right?""I've been searching for my parents all this time. Do you have any leads?""None." Talia shook her head and sighed. "I want to find Annie just as badly as you do. But all these years, I've come up empty."Gideon, I've known for a long time that you're Annie's son, but I never made a move against you. That's because I hoped you might find her."Gideon didn't doubt this. With Talia's influence, confirming his identity would've been easy. Back when he was still weak, she could've captured or even killed him at any time.
"Wait here for me," Gideon said softly to Adrelda, then walked step by step into the main hall.Callan and the others were also waiting outside the hall.The hall was deep and imposing. Around it stood tall bronze pillars, carved with strange patterns. At the very end stood a majestic stone statue.The statue depicted a woman. It had one hand pointing skyward while the other held some kind of artifact as it gazed into the sky.Gideon instinctively guessed this was the founder of the Jaeger royal family, worshipped by generations of descendants.Beneath the solemn statue stood a throne. On the throne sat a stunning woman, upright and dignified, dressed in a lavish white phoenix robe.Gideon stopped walking. He stared straight at Talia, his expression slightly dazed.Talia looked just like Annalise—those eyes, that nose, and those brows. For a moment, Gideon thought the woman on the throne was the very mother he had longed for all these years.The hall was silent. Talia was als