Thea, who was disguised as Tobias, fled alongside Maxine. After a while, Maxine stopped in her tracks. Looking at Thea, she said, “You should go, Thea. I’ll stay and think of a way to save James.” Thea said, “James has already escaped. He was that old man earlier.” “What? Is that true?” Maxine exclaimed. “Yup, I could tell from his voice. We should leave now.” “In that case, I can’t leave James behind. Thea, you should retreat with the martial artists of the God-King Palace,” Maxine said before she ran back. “What the hell?” Thea frowned. Seeing that Maxine was running back to where they had fled, Thea ordered her subordinates of the God-King Palace, “Retreat.” “Understood,” they said in unison. The martial artists of the God-King Palace swiftly retreated. Meanwhile, Thea chased after Maxine. Upon returning to the mountaintop, the two saw James, who was disguised as an old man, fighting against Donovan. They saw how James beat Donovan to a pulp. Not only that, Donov
He would be defeated if the battle persisted. However, Donovan had lost all fighting spirit. Seeing that James was charging toward him, his face paled, and he staggered backward. “Save me, Grand Patriarch!” His cry reverberated throughout Mount Littleroot as Donovan began calling for help. Seeing this, James’ heart skipped a beat. He knew that Donovan was begging for help, so he had to kill him as soon as possible. Thankfully, he was disguised as someone else, or else he would incur the wrath of the Blithes after this was over. Even if he killed Donovan, the Blithes would never know who the culprit was. As these thoughts flashed across his mind, he swiftly charged at Donovan. Raising his hand, strong True Energy gathered in his palm. “Such audacity to act so insolently on Mount Littleroot… What do you take the Blithes for?” Just as James’ fist was about to make contact with Donovan, a voice boomed and reverberated throughout the mountains. Then, powerful energy burst in
Creak… The door opened. A skinny old man walked out. His face was timeworn and wrinkled, and he seemed a bit spiritless as if life and old age were getting the better of him. The man walked over to Thomas and took a seat. “Thomas…” His soulless eyes suddenly lit up. Watching the old man intently, Thomas grinned. “Winston, to think that you were able to make a breakthrough into the eighth rank before your death. Congratulations, you get to live for a few decades or so.” Winston sighed. “At long last… I was in closed-door meditation for so long. However, I’m still not an eighth-rank martial artist. I’m just halfway there. Regardless, I can definitely live for an additional twenty years. You, on the other hand…” He glanced at Thomas. “What do you plan to do? For the past thirty years, you have visited Mount Littleroot thrice. You have read through all of the Blithes’ martial art manuals in the library.” In the past thirty years, Thomas had been here thrice. Today was
Thea, who was disguised as Tobias, asked, “Was James the one who called?” “Yup.” Maxine nodded and said, “James asked us to return to Cansington at once. He’ll be there shortly. He must be worried that we might be seen by the Blithes, which would certainly complicate things.” “In that case, we should leave.” Thea nodded. “Alright.” They headed to the airport. Meanwhile, James headed to the suburbs. After finding a desolate place, he removed the human mask on his face. Then, he took off his jacket and put on a vest before returning to the city. He bought a plane ticket to Cansington. At the same time… At the Cadens’ mansion in the Capital… Tobias was sitting in a lotus position in a cultivation room in the courtyard. A voice came from outside. “Patriarch, there’s news from Mount Littleroot of the Western Border.” “Speak.” Sitting in a lotus position, Tobias opened his eyes. “Maxine appeared at Mount Littleroot. However, someone impersonating you appeared and
Tobias walked in. He looked at an elderly man who was sitting in a lotus position on the floor and greeted him respectfully, “Grandfather.” The elderly man opened his eyes. Nodding his head, he asked, “Is something the matter?” “Grandfather, I just received news that the Blithe family now has an eighth-rank martial artist.” Faced with Bennett, the individual of the highest status in the family, Tobias spoke in a respectful tone despite being the patriarch. “Oh?’ Bennett’s curiosity was piqued. “Eighth-rank?” Topbias continued, “Yes, my sources are accurate. The situation is becoming more and more disadvantageous to us. The other three families of the Ancient Four accused me of stealing their paintings. At the Mount Thunder conference, the Johnstons, Sullivans, and the Lees will surely confront the Cadens. Not only that, we’ve had a falling out with the Blithes. If the eighth-rank martial artist of the Blithes appears at Mount Thunder…” Tobias fell silent. There was no nee
“It really isn’t me, Grandfather. Besides, although the secret of the painting has been unraveled, I still don’t know how to cultivate it.” Bennett nodded his head slightly. “Yes, I had a look at it too. Indeed, it’s impossible to cultivate. Let’s not be too engrossed in deciphering the painting. Perhaps the Prince of Orchid Mountain was just trying to fool us all. With so many varieties of martial arts in the Caden family, each of them, when mastered, is extremely powerful─especially the Thirteen Heavenly Swords. If you can master the Thirteenth Sword, you’ll be undefeatable.” “Understood.” Tobias nodded. “You’re dismissed.” Bennett waved his hand and returned to the bamboo house, slamming the door shut. Tobias stood at the doorstep, lost in contemplation. “Did Grandfather manage to reach the eighth rank?” he murmured. He knew that Bennett had reached the seventh rank decades ago. Since he had been in closed-door meditation for so long, theoretically, he should have succ
Maxine shook her head slightly. “I’m not sure either. That’s my opinion after watching his fight with Donovan. Only he has the answers.” Thea smiled. “We’ll know once he gets back.” The three gathered and discussed the events that unfolded at the Western Border. Soon, Quincy returned. Though Quincy had her own place to stay, she was feeling bored alone. Thus, she would normally go to Cynthia’s place after work. After all, her villa was vast and spacious. Quincy was fatigued after a whole day of work. “You’re back. Where’s James though?” Quincy walked over to them. Then, tossing her handbag casually aside, she took a seat on the sofa. Thea nodded. “He’s safe now. He should be here soon.” “That’s great.” Quincy breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she grumbled, “I’ll make him treat me to a meal. For his company, I have been working day in and day out. I don’t even have time to eat. It’s nearly midnight and I haven’t eaten dinner yet. Do you have anything here that I can eat
No way. They could not believe James’ luck. Maxine said with an envious look on her face, “You’re certainly lucky, James. However, you only managed to withstand the potent True Energy because you opened up your meridians in advance.” James asked, “By the way, why didn’t Tobias show himself? What happened?” Hearing this, Maxine fell silent. She had been left to her own fate. Between her and the Cadens’ best interests, Tobias had chosen the latter. “Grandpa had no choice.” She sighed. “As the patriarch of the family, he can’t put the family in harm’s way just because of a single individual. If I was in his position, I would have done the same thing.” Though Tobias had abandoned her, she chose to stand on his side. Originally, she went to the Western Border prepared to die. The fact that she survived was already a miracle. “So, what do you plan to do next?” James asked. Maxine shook her head. She had no idea and had not thought of returning the moment she left the Cade