Oasis Vale was isolated from the rest of the world. Few knew that in this peaceful valley lived a group of extraordinary people, including the overlords of the criminal underworld, business magnates with net worths that rivaled countries, and even core government officials of various countries.It was noon, and Gideon Snow walked out of the cottage with a basket in hand."Sir!"Ajax Bale, a burly, heavily bearded man, scrambled up to Gideon as he herded the goats around him. "As per your punishment, I have tended to the goats for a month. Today is the last day. What should I do next?""You can start harvesting the wheat next.""That's my job, sir! What am I supposed to do if Ajax takes over?" Donald Ingleson, Cherony's minister of defense, asked with a pitiful expression."You can be in charge of cleaning up the dung.""You got it, sir."Gideon had only taken a few more steps when someone approached him and reported, "Sir! Justin Mugler, the military commander of Magaria, and P
"I knew it! It's just as I thought. I knew you didn't die, you old bugger! You tricked me for three years!"Gideon hadn't found a body in the grave, but he had expected as much. Titus had been an enigmatic figure who possessed extraordinary abilities. Why would someone like that abruptly claim to have come to his life's end and decide to bury himself? It was unthinkable.Nevertheless, Gideon couldn't disobey Titus, his mentor, so he had to do as told and guard the grave for three years."If I don't get a treasure that's to my satisfaction, Titus, that means you wasted three years of my youth. I'll make you pay for that at some point," Gideon grumbled.Alas, even after combing through the entire grave thoroughly, he found nothing other than a letter."You old con artist," Gideon ranted before opening the envelope with a scowl on his face. He found two pages of a letter.After he read the first page, his scowl of dissatisfaction was replaced by a moved expression. According to the
"No!" the crowd screamed, but the suicide operative merely cackled evilly.Yet, all was silent. There was no explosion.Even the suicide operative was stumped. He kept spamming the red button, but nothing happened. He had no clue that a silver needle had been shot into the controller, cutting off the circuit.At the same time, Benny and Derek shot down the two armed operatives, while the bomb-strapped one was hit in all four limbs and fell onto a pool of his blood. The airport police swiftly swarmed in to subdue him."Let go of me! This is impossible! Why didn't it explode? Why?" the suicide operative screamed at the top of his lungs."This proves that fate favors Dasovia and me," Lavinia declared icily. "Tylland has committed many atrocities and will surely come to a terrible end. Take him away and interrogate him."Slowly, peace returned to the departure hall. The passengers, who were still reeling from the ordeal, came up to Lavinia with looks of awe and respect."It is truly
"Dominic Zeller?" Gideon repeated. Frowning, he remarked, "The name sounds familiar to me.""He's a good friend of Hercule's, sir! Hercule mentioned that to you before.""I remember now."When Gideon first captured Hercule and brought him back to Oasis Vale, Hercule claimed that Dominic would be coming to save him.Dominic had indeed turned up, but it wasn't Gideon he faced. Paul, Ajax, and a few others had given him a thorough thrashing, and he fled with his tail between his legs.Smiling, Leopold explained, "Somehow, Dominic heard that you'll be coming to Goldspire, so he dared not stick around to act like a big shot here. He came to me and offered Beaker Island to be your residence."Gideon chuckled. "He's quick-witted and amenable, I see. Did he mention anything about wanting to save Hercule from Oasis Vale?""He said he wouldn't dare to and that it would be good for Hercule to undergo some training at Oasis Vale," Leopold replied. "In fact, he said that if given the chance,
"How is he not good enough for you?" Arnold fumed. "Your grandfather was a farmer, too! He built the family business from the ground up, and that is how our family's wealth came to be! "He doted on you the most before he passed away. I don't want to see you disobeying his dying wish! This marriage is going to happen. I won't let you back out of it!""Mr. Seymour."Gideon had arrived.Arnold hurried through the door and greeted with a smile, "Gideon! You're finally here. We've been waiting for you. Do come in!"Gideon didn't expect Arnold to be this welcoming. As Arnold ushered Gideon into the house, he called out, "Ella, hurry up and head to the city hall with Gideon to get the marriage registered. I'll pick a good date for you guys to have the ceremony.""I don't want to, Dad!""If you don't listen to me, I'll freeze your bank account and cut off your allowance! I'm not letting you have your way with this. You're going to do as I say. Anyone who protests will suffer my wrath
"How dare you hit me, Gideon? How dare you call me a lackey?" Eric shrieked in fury as he clutched his face."Why not?""Do you think you Snows still possess the prestige you once had? Do you think you're still Gideon Snow, one of the Four Elites of Goldspire? I'll show you the price you'll have to pay for hitting me and humiliating us Grosses!"Eric wanted nothing more than to rip Gideon to pieces, and he swore to take Gideon down."I'll be waiting," Gideon retorted condescendingly. "You'd better not disappoint me. Also, pass your family a message for me. Tell them to be prepared for when I buy out Gross Group."Eric was flabbergasted, but after a moment, he mocked, "You must've gone mad, Gideon. To think you'd say such ridiculous things. You want to buy out our company? With what? Just wait, all of you! It's over for the Snow family!"And with that, he stormed out of the Snow residence.Only then did Cormac bellow, "Look at what you did, Gideon! The Grosses will surely join fo
After leaving Gideon at the city hall half an hour ago, Elara had been in such a foul mood that she went to a bar to drown her sorrows in alcohol. By sheer coincidence, she bumped into Matthew Carter.He was the handsome and talented son of the Carters of Goldspire, and they had been classmates at college, too. Over time, they became great friends who confided everything in each other. In fact, she considered him her bosom friend despite him being a guy."Why are you upset, Ella? Tell me what happened," Matthew asked in concern as he patted Elara's hand."I don't even want to talk about it. I got married.""What did you say?" Matthew exclaimed in shock. Frowning, he asked, "You're joking, right? Why would you have gotten married out of the blue? This is my first time hearing about this."Elara replied in frustration, "It was my dad who arranged this marriage for me. He made me marry a stinking farmer! We even got our marriage license already."Matthew's expression turned dark.E
"Thanks to you, Matthew, we get to share in this honor, too! I never even dreamed of being able to partake in such precious wine.""I have to take a photo of it and share it on my feed!"While everyone else showered Matthew with flattery, he was utterly confused as well. The Carters were merely a run-of-the-mill wealthy family without much prestige. Meanwhile, the owner of Twilight Bar was a big shot in the criminal underworld.They belonged to two entirely different social classes, so why was he being given such expensive wine?"Hey, Matthew. Is this a sign that the Carters are about to make it big? Why else would the owner of Twilight Bar give you this wine?""Well, about that…"Matthew didn't know what to say, but after a brief moment, he came up with an idea. Straightening up, he said with a smile, "Since this has happened, I won't try to hide it any longer. A few days ago, I had the honor of receiving the recognition of the chairperson of Avila Group. "She said she was int
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