If Luis was going to rape her, she'd rather die than suffer and be humiliated that way. "So what? How dare a secondhand good like you act innocent. Take off your clothes right now!" Luis shouted. "No!" Gritting her teeth, Dahlia ignored her weak body and staggered to the door. "Do you think you can escape?" With a sneer, the man ran after her. Just as Dahlia was about to reach the lift, he sped up and made a lunge for her, dragging her to the floor. He immediately began to tug at her clothes. Just then, the lift doors opened with a ding. The two of them lifted their heads and froze when they saw Dustin emerging from the lift with a dark face. "What are you two doing?" Dustin seethed, a murderous air surrounding him. He realized that something was wrong when he heard Dahlia's earlier reply, so he quickly told someone to track her car, and this was the first thing he saw. "So, it's you." Luis leisurely pulled himself to his feet and lifted his pants, grinning tauntingly. "A

"Why aren't you saying anything? Do you agree with what I said?" Dustin's final glimmer of hope disappeared along with Dahlia's silence. He'd given her a chance to explain herself, but she didn't give him the answer he wanted. "I'm sorry. I have my reasons." Dahlia felt her heart bleeding, and breathing became difficult. "Reasons?" Dustin sneered. "What could make you sell your body? What could stop you from explaining things to me?" "I'm sorry … I'm sorry …" Dahlia sobbed, anguished. "Don't apologize to me. We're already divorced, so I have no right to control anything you do, and you didn't betray me." Dustin's face gradually turned hard. "However, please don't ever bother me again. I'm still human. I can't keep being hurt by you. So, won't you please let me go?" "I …" Dahlia didn't know what to say. Perhaps the best thing for her to do now was to completely cut ties with him since she had no choice but to yield to Luis for her brother, her family, and Dustin. Still, she'

Even after returning to the medical center, Dustin still felt restless after the heavy blow Dahlia had given him. He never thought that she was the kind of person who would toy with his emotions for revenge. They could have ended their relationship on a good note, yet she decided to make them enemies. Dustin just couldn't understand why. No matter how hard he thought back, he was sure he had never once done anything bad to her. "Dustin, are you in trouble?" Maximus emerged from the living room and asked. "Let me know if you need my help." The past few days of treatment have healed his core. He might not be as strong as before, but he was satisfied with just this. "Won't you drink with me?" Dustin fumbled around the cabinets for two bottles of wine. With Gregory around, there was never a shortage of alcohol. "Sure." Maximus sat down without a second thought. The two men began to drink, but no one spoke, so the tension in the air increased. After a few glasses, Dustin event

The man's arrogant gaze swept the room. "I'm Dustin. May I know why you're here?" Dustin glanced at the man before continuing to drink. "I'm a messenger of Boulderthorn's Royal Valor. We want to challenge you to a duel. You killed Joshua Hummer, our seventh disciple, so something has to be done. My senior will be visiting Swinton to challenge you to a duel to the death!" the man declared haughtily, throwing them a piece of paper. As a well-known guild, they had to do things publicly, including exacting revenge. They were also going to use this opportunity to show off their power. "You can take that back. I'm not interested." Dustin refused without even looking at the paper. "Are you scared?" The other man sneered. "Weren't you brave when you killed Joshua? Why are you shying away after hearing that my senior is your opponent?" "As if. I don't even know who your senior is," Dustin replied calmly. "I'll tell you right now. His name is Tatum Thunders, and his name can be fou

Time flew by, and two days passed. News about Tatum challenging Dustin to a duel had spread far and wide, and all the martial artists who caught wind of the challenge came in droves to watch the duel. The challenger was the principal disciple of Royal Valor, Fanatic Blade of the Heavenly Immortals–Tatum Thunders, while the challengee was Dustin Rhys, a dark horse. Eager to watch their challenge, many people woke up before dawn to get to Mount Halgue, so now, people crowded at the foot of the mountain. "I didn't know there would be this many people." Thinking that this was just an ordinary duel, Dustin was surprised by the size of the crowd. "That's just how Boulderthorn is. Anytime a famous disciple challenges someone to a duel, their guild makes sure to promote themselves and show off their strength. It's an unspoken rule among guilds." Maximus was used to the sight. "Really?" Dustin smiled. "In that case, wouldn't they be embarrassed if they lose?" "Lose?" The corner of M

The old man patted the dust off his body in a poised manner. "That was a wonderful fight!" The young girl excitedly clapped after Ralph won. She turned to Dustin and Maximus. "See? Isn't my grandpa amazing?" "Abby, did you see my palm strikes just now? Those are our guild's signature moves. You'll amaze the world when you finally learn it," Ralph said loudly. "I'll work hard to meet your expectations, Grandpa!" Abby nodded fervently. "Oh, and they are?" Ralph turned his attention to Dustin and Maximus."They're passersby who were being nosy, but I stopped them in time. With their abilities, they'll only be a bother," Abby explained."I see." Ralph gave them a look over. "Treacherous bandits and ferocious beasts always roam this mountain. You two shouldn't run around carelessly." "Thanks for the advice. We'll make a move since you're safe." Dustin thanked them and spun around to leave. "Hold on!" Abby suddenly called out. "You're here to watch the fight between Tatum and,

"Forget it. I was just repaying your kindness earlier. Since you don't want to, forget it." Ralph shook his head pretentiously, giving them a you'll-regret-it-one-day look. Dustin and Maximus exchanged amused glances silently. "Let's go. Since we've run into each other, I might as well escort you two up in case there's danger again," Ralph said, walking ahead with his hands clasped behind his back. "You guys are lucky to be able to walk with my grandpa!" With a humph, Abby glared at them and hurried after Ralph. Dustin smiled and followed behind them without protest. After all, there was only one way up the mountain. Moving at a brisk pace, the group soon made it to the top. At the center of the hilltop was a platform, which was where Dustin and Tatum's fight was supposed to take place. Many people had already gathered around the platform, most of them martial artists, making things much livelier. "Mr. Dunn? Nice to meet you." "I've heard so much about you, Mr. Dunn. It's

Abby humphed. "Stop pretending when you don't know anything." She rolled her eyes. "We'll know who's better soon enough!" "Even if Dustin doesn't win against Tatum, he's still a rare genius, so we should still respect him," the man from earlier said. "You're right. Just getting Tatum to challenge him to a duel is a feat of its own. Otherwise, Boulderthorn wouldn't have wasted so much energy on this." "I heard that he's only around twenty. It's extremely rare to see someone that age reach divinity. He's practically a genius!" "Even if he doesn't win against Tatum, it will be an honorable defeat." Everyone began to chip in their opinions. Although they were sure Dustin would lose to Tatum, they still acknowledged the former's talents and skills. "I heard that Dustin doesn't have a guild and is self-taught. He's bound to shine if he enters Ironshade!" one said. Another chuckled. "Ironshade only has around a hundred disciples. A talent like him would be wasted there." Someo

"Brody!" The crowd jumped in shock and anger when Brody was sent flying by Maximus' punch. Never had they imagined Maximus to wield such power after his core was destroyed. "H-how dare you hit me?" Brody said spitefully, pressing against his chest, which was throbbing with excruciating pain. The audacity of someone excommunicated, a good-for-nothing to lay a finger on him! "So what? You should thank the heavens that I didn't take your life." Maximus went up and took the hand of the lady in white. He soothed her affectionately, "Caitlyn, don't you worry. I won't let anyone bully you when I'm around. I'll protect you even if I have to risk my life!" "M-Max, what are you doing?" Her expression fell as she slowly stumbled away from him. "Caitlyn, I know you've been through a lot. I'll be good to you. Let's run away, shall we? We can leave Balerno for a place where no one knows us. How does that sound?" He looked at her with anticipation. Although he was no match for Luther, he coul

The sword clanked as it moved. Right when it was about to cut Maximus' neck, a hand reached out and caught it. "Hm?" Brody lifted his gaze, and his eyes immediately shook in fear. "I-it's you!" He had been too focused on Maximus to notice the legend standing behind the man. "Is it worth grieving over a woman who doesn't deserve it?" Dustin ignored Brody and stared straight at Maximus. "If what you want is death, I can grant your wish. I shall forget ever having saved a useless thing as you. But, if you have any bit of ego left in you, as a man, you should stand up straight. You don't look a bit like a swordsman right now, even though you once said you wanted to be the best swordsman in the world! Wake up!" Then, he gave Maximus a hard slap, sending the latter trembling from the impact. He seemed to have slapped some sense into Maximus, whose eyes had a new sparkle in them. He noticed Brody's mean and murderous look, and he took in the look of disgust in Caitlyn's eyes. Finally, h