"Testing you?" Jesse muttered under his breath, stunned.Nashon stood up, walked next to the window, and looked at the garden for a while. "None of the Islanders are simple. Often, we have to make costly sacrifices if we want to gain their trust. Shingen must be very suspicious of us offering him a marriage. He thinks we're up to some schemes or this is in preparation for something else."Meanwhile, the Shinto Way requires the help of our family to enter our country. However, he needs to be on his guard in case we're up to no good. That's why we had this performance today. "If I'm someone who values family ties, then he will be sure I won't betray my country for some benefits. But if all I care about is profit and care little for family, it will make me the best partner for him. That's why I'm saying that instead of confirming the date of marriage, he's here to decide if he wants to work with us."Nashon explained all his conjectures one by one, and it was enough to stop Jesse i
"Yvonne has gone back to the Xavier residence last night, but she's not back yet," Ray said quietly to Harvey."The Xavier residence? Does she need to take this long?" Harvey asked. He had a bad feeling about it. Just when he was thinking if he should personally go to the Xavier residence, George's phone started to vibrate as he stood at the sideline silently.George was going to hang up, but when he saw who was calling, he decided to pick it up in front of Harvey. Listening to the voice from the other side, George frowned slightly. He then walked over to Havery and asked, "Sir, we have a problem. Something of interest has occurred while we're keeping an eye on the Martial Arts Alliance."An Islander called Shingen Tokugawa has led the elites from the Shinto Way to challenge the alliance. Out of the 48 so-called prodigious youths that the Alliance has chosen, half have been defeated. Many of them lost after one move. The Country H Martial Arts Alliance has lost all their digni
George continued to explain to Harvey and the others, "Some of them said that the Islanders must have used some tricks to win all 24 challenges. Others said that the so-called young elites from the training grounds and martial arts families were all bark and no bite. They were all used and crushed after just a single move!"There are also some who believe that the so-called martial arts in Country H is simply a performance art and has no place during actual fights. Some even said that the Country H Martial Arts Alliance has no right to be one of the Five Directors, and they should make way for others if they're too weak. In conclusion, the Alliance's reputation is completely ruined after this. "I even heard that a certain Elder Lee from the Alliance almost had a heart attack from the outrage. He only managed to calm down after spending a few hours in the hospital."Ray nodded. "I'm not part of the martial arts community, but I can imagine just how troublesome this will be. If we do
"In this situation, no one in the Elder Group dared to force the remaining 24 young elites to fight," said George.Tyson nodded. "Sir, I believe if the Island Nation's Shinto Way appears and challenges the Alliance at this time, it means they've come with preparations. They may have already investigated all the 48 youngsters and know all there is to know about their abilities, personalities, and even weaknesses."They have full confidence they can defeat all 48 of them. Otherwise, the Shinto Way wouldn't have acted like this, especially when the Islanders have failed during the conflicts with our country in the last few times. Currently, the difference of opinion within the Island Nation is quite great. Some believe they should make peace while some believe they should fight until the bitter end."If the Shinto Way lost, then the diplomatic faction within the Island Nation will be at an advantage. That's why the Shinto Way cannot afford to lose the challenge this time. If we conside
"No, we mustn't! The Shinto Way is the leader of the Six Schools of Martial Arts from the Island Nation. I heard the Shinto Way have recorded many of their murderous techniques that originated during the Warring States Period, and they're the only school recognized by the Island Nation's royal family."I have also heard that the school's techniques, if fully mastered, would even allow them to communicate with the spirits of the Island Nation. It's not wise for us to oppose a school like this, so we shouldn't accept the next challenge!"Not to mention, they're fully prepared while we're completely caught off guard. How are we supposed to win? I've also checked the 24 elites that have fought earlier. They're either from the training grounds or martial arts families, but every one of them is the best among the youths in our country—but they didn't even survive one round!"How are we supposed to fight in this situation? How can we even attempt to win the fight?" Deep inside the Songst
"Of course, it's possible that we will lose it all if we accept the challenge. We may ruin the Martial Arts Alliance's reputation. However, at least we dared to face the challenge head-on. "So what if we lose? At least we've let them know that we are courageous! But if we refuse to accept their challenge, we will only be known for our cowardice whenever someone speaks of this in the future."If the Islanders spread the news through the international community, not only will the Alliance be humiliated, but even the entire country won't be able to escape the infamy. We can't lose the respect and glory the people and warriors of our country fought for just because the Alliance refuses to fight. "Not to mention, the reason the Martial Arts Alliance was formed in the first place is to let the world know the power of our country's martial arts so we can go one step further. But if we don't even have the bravery to accept the challenge from an Islander, what right do we have to call ours
When Prince heard Madden's self-righteous speech, he replied coldly, "You make it sound like you're in the right, but have you ever thought of one thing? Once the pride of our country's martial arts community has been broken, we won't have any chance to have our revenge anymore. We should learn from our mistakes and fight the good fight. There's no future in begging for mercy!""Enough! No more talking!" Gaspar said when he saw the Elder Group once again falling into turmoil.As the seneschal of the Martial Arts Alliance, Gaspar was a veteran within the Alliance. He was greatly respected among his peers. All sides would need to show him some respect. When he started speaking, everyone else turned to look at him.Compared to his usual prideful self, Gaspar looked a little tired today. They could even see a faint mark on his face. However, no one mentioned anything about it. There was no need to expose everything under the sun.Gaspar didn't care what the others were thinking. He fel
"Who is it?" Gaspar instinctively asked."The representative of our country's Martial Arts Alliance, Harvey," Prince said clearly."The final remaining participant of the current tournament will be challenging Harvey in the final round. From that angle, Harvey is also one of the participants of the tournament. With him, we can easily deal with the Shinto Way."Prince then gave Gaspar a meaningful look. "Elder, I believe you have first-hand experience in understanding Harvey's power. You believe he's enough to deal with the Shinto Way, don't you? That's why, what we need to do right now is not to have this meaningless argument. Instead, we should get Harvey to help us no matter the cost!"When Gaspar heard the name Harvey, his expression quickly darkened. He could even feel the pain in his face as he remembered Harvey slapping him not that long ago.Meanwhile, all the other elders started to consider this. Some of them weren't very happy with Harvey becoming the representative. S