"I believe the Nile family can be of assistance in this matter!""Oh? Can you help?"Fred was somewhat surprised, but Seelie merely smiled and responded, "Of course, he can help! Talents are drawn from various towns during the annual selection of sect disciples. And how these talents are known is because they're reported by the rulers of each town!"Now that the Nile family has won the five-year competition, they're the current rulers of Waterway Town. They have the authority to recommend talents to their affiliated sect."It was clear that Seelie was leveraging the fact that the Nile family now held the reins of Waterway Town by intentionally mentioning the matter in front of Hector.Moreover, since Fred had played a significant role in securing this position for the Nile family…Hector immediately expressed his willingness at Seelie’s words. "I'm willing! I'm definitely willing to recommend Mr. Hoffman as a talent for the Triple Flair Sect!""Triple Flair Sect?"Fred’s curios
Hector was quite the efficient man. After discussing the matter of the sect with Fred that evening, he got news back the next afternoon. Everything took only half a day."Mr. Hoffman, this is what’s going to happen.”In the mansion on West Street, Hector quenched his thirst with a sip of tea before saying, "The Triple Flair Sect that’s affiliated with Waterway Town generally begins their selection of disciples from the subordinate towns around mid-July each year. "So, all we need to do is report the talents discovered and ensure they head to the sect in time for the assessment. I already gave them your name this morning, so you should be ready to depart!""So soon?" Fred asked with a slight furrow of his brows. After all, it was just early July, and there were still more than ten days until mid-July.Hector nodded quickly. "Mr Hoffman, the distance from Waterway Town to Brume Peak, where the Triple Flair Sect is based, is at least ten days on foot. If you leave now, you’ll get th
In front of Borris, Bovies, who had fled the five-year competition, was bowing respectfully. He did not dare move from this position. Borris slowly opened his eyes and looked at Bovies. "Bovies, you’ve quite the gall! You violated the family rules back then, and I ordered that you were no longer allowed to set foot inside the family’s territory again. "Yet, not only did you audaciously return, but you're also claiming that Elder Bartolomew died after leaving the family for you? Tell me! Did you kill Elder Bartolomew?"Bovies immediately fell to his knees in panic and hurriedly said, "Sir! How... How is that possible? How could I have harmed Elder Bartolomew? I... Our relationship is something you're well aware of! "If it weren't for Elder Bartolomew supporting me all these years, I would've died out there long ago!"Bovies was even swearing his conviction as he said this."Hmph!"It was evident that Borris’ words just now were meant to intimidate Bovies. Seeing Bovies swear,
”Mr. Hoffman, we’re here. I'm afraid I can't accompany you any farther on this road!"They had traveled for almost a day and night after leaving Waterway Town. It was noon on the third day when Howard finally stopped the carriage and knocked on the wooden door at the back."Are we there already? Looks like Mr. Nile was telling the truth. It takes about ten days to reach the Triple Flair Sect." Slowly pushing open the wooden door, Fred walked out lazily. He stretched his waist.Fred was born in the secular world where he had cars to travel for short distances, high-speed trains for longer distances, and even airplanes for destinations that were farther away. It had been a long time since Fred experienced going on a bumpy journey that lasted this long.Seelie came out from behind him and seemed to be in much better spirits. She was not only smiling but also looked refreshed. The reason was simple. Since she could not enjoy the luxuries from the mansion on West Street anymore, she h
"What's your plan, then?" Fred asked after thinking about it a little."Very simple! Let's enjoy the scenery!" Seelie laughed. "This place is beautiful with all its mountains and rivers. Why not relax a bit? We just need to time it right and get there in five to seven days. This way, it won't be too conspicuous, and we won't risk being eliminated before even entering the gate due to poor performance. Isn't that the best?""Yeah, that makes sense." Fred nodded slightly and then slapped the nearby cliff with his palm.A deep and seemingly bottomless cave appeared on the hard cliff with a rumble."I'll rest here. If you want to enjoy the scenery, go ahead! Come back in six days!" Fred said without waiting for Seelie's response. With a step, he flashed into the cave.Seelie stood still for a while, then scoffed. "Truly a guy with no sense of humor! I really don't know how he managed to get a girlfriend!"After saying that, Seelie immediately tossed her head and walked away. She gri
The elder man handed the token over casually as he did with his congratulations.Fred paid it no heed. After all, he and Seelie chose to arrive on the sixth day to avoid attracting too much attention. Judging from Elder Hestion's attitude, it seemed that their goal had been achieved.With a smile, Fred thanked Elder Hestion and took the token. He led Seelie toward the main gate of Brume Peak.Upon entering the mountain gate and seeing the crowd, Seelie immediately exclaimed, "There’s really a lot of people!" Although Seelie was the daughter of one of the Holy Emperors, her special status meant that she had never witnessed how lower-ranked Ancient Warlords handled the recruitment of disciples for their sect. Thus, she could not help her amazement when she saw the crowd in front of her. However, Fred just smiled and shook his head."A lot of people?" The seemingly vast crowd in front of them amounted to just over 200 people. In the mundane world, this number might not be consid
"The first is the largest group, the handyman disciples! In this sect, they can only be considered half a disciple. In addition to the basic practice of the ancient martial arts, they're responsible for various chores in the sect. They have the lowest status!"The second group consists of the ordinary disciples. They're official disciples of our Triple Flair Sect. They mainly delegate the chores of the miscellaneous disciples. Of course, due to their different status, they also practice a higher form of ancient martial arts!"The third are the elite disciples and those who perform exceptionally well in the disciple recruitment assessment. They can not only choose one of us elders to be their mentor, but the Triple Flair Sect will also ensure their complete cultivation! They can even learn advanced ancient martial arts!"The old man suddenly stopped to look at the crowd’s puzzled expressions. One person asked curiously, "What about the fourth?""The fourth group?" The old man chuckl
"Elder Eisler, why have you come?"The old man led Fred and Seelie into the Martial Display Hall of the Triple Flair Sect since he wanted to see how they would perform after saying it was like ‘taking candy from a baby’. There was a man inside the hall. When he saw the old man approach, he immediately stepped forward while showing the utmost respect.Elder Eisler held a remarkable position within the Triple Flair Sect. Even the sect leader showed great respect to him. He also always had a keen eye and was the one who identified the new core disciple earlier.As the man bowed to Elder Eisler respectfully, he also caught sight of Fred and Seelie. He wondered if the two of them were also talents the elder had identified."Nothing in particular. Just bringing these two little ones here to have a look!"Elder Eisler waved his hand casually in response to the man’s salute before turning his attention to Fred and Seelie. "What are your names?""I'm Fred," Fred replied calmly.Seelie
Marciella walking away did not bode well with the giant snake. Marciella was its food! How could it accept that its food had escaped?Marciella had not moved far yet. She reluctantly looked back at Fred.She did not know how Fred would handle the River God. She could only hope Fred would be okay!When Fred saw that she had left, he geared up, rubbing his palms in glee. He had an eager look on his face, which confused the giant snake.It was the snake’s first time meeting a man like Fred!How strange indeed!At this time!Suddenly, Fred said with hostility etched on his face, "Hey, Big Snake, what are you going to do now?"The snake's attention was entirely focused on him, which seemed off to Fred."What I’m going to do?"The giant snake fixated its eyes on Fred. It felt that it could handle a human like Fred easily.“I’m going to kill you with one bite! How dare you look down on me like this!"The giant snake rushed toward Fred fiercely at a speed so fast that no one could
Fred was annoyed by the giant snake's arrogant tone. Fred squinted his eyes at the snake and asked in confusion, "Why are you making that face?"“Huh?"The giant snake was shocked. He thought that Fred would submit to him, but to his surprise, Fred was not shaken at all.The snake was about to lose his temper.“Dirty snake, haven't I made myself clear enough? I think you are probably sleep-talking if you want me to hand over my people to you..." Fred said impatiently.At this moment…Feeling that it was being ridiculed, the snake said suddenly, "You punk, this is the first time anyone spoke to me this way. What is your name?"“Me?"Fred was stunned subconsciously, not knowing what the snake wanted. Suddenly, he understood.“Did you want to know my name so you can remember me, bow down before me, and become my follower? Sure, I’ll give you that chance!"He was adding fuel to the fire. The giant snake almost spat out blood in anger!"What? You want me to follow an immature bei
Huh!?Putting aside Marciella, even Fred could not hide his shock as a giant snake appeared from under the water!A giant snake!How could it be!?Fred's eyes widened at the sheer size of the snake. "A Giant Snake… Is this the so-called River God?"Moreover, the size was humongous. The snake must be at least ten stories high!What a huge snake!Fred finally understood why he felt a powerful force under the water!There was a sharp glint in the giant snake’s eyes! That was the blinking light from time to time!"Who comes here? Are you from the village? Who do you plan to sacrifice to me this time?" As soon as the giant snake spoke, Fred realized that this was not the first time it had done this.The snake seemed familiar with the ritual process. Obviously, the villagers had witnessed this giant snake before. This was the meeting between the two sides! Fred felt uncomfortable at this. As for the giant snake, it felt bemused when it saw Fred. The snake had never seen Fred befo
Fred was going to risk it all to open this girl's eyes!The force from the punch was extraordinary! As soon as the tree was hit by the seismic fist, it fell immediately and the whole tree split neatly in two!Marciella was dumbfounded!Although she knew how powerful Fred was, to witness his power was a different thing entirely!"Master Fred, your power is insane!"Marciella could not help but applaud.Fred seemed indifferent, as though he had no feeling at all about this."Is it? Why do you think so?"He looked so indifferent.For Ancient Martial Arts, things did not get any simpler than this!"You’re so strong. Anyway, I don’t doubt you anymore..." Marciella sighed, suddenly feeling very sad. "This is the reward of being educated. If we were more knowledgeable, we wouldn’t be so clueless.”"Haha, if you can't solve your issues, your descendants can work harder," Fred said with a wink.Marciella said, "Mr. Fred, I needed to ask you something! What if our luck was changed ju
What Fred said aroused her curiosity."What does it look like when you offer a sacrifice?"Fred knew he could not speak of this matter. Sure enough, Marciella felt a little downcast after Fred said the words. She did not know why Fred would say such a thing. Suddenly, Fred felt bad about it.He coughed and said, "Don't think too much about it... I just want to find a clue. Maybe we could find a solution. Why does it never rain in your village?""Huh?"Marciella's eyes, which were still a little dejected, suddenly realized what was important and asked hurriedly, "Mr. Fred, are you saying that the reason why it never rains in our village is because someone is behind it?"Although Fred was unwilling to admit it, he could not help but nod. "Yes, this is exactly what you thought!""For real?!"Marciella felt hopeful again when she heard this. She said hastily, "The thing you asked about is pretty simple. You can just check out that place!""That place?"Fred turned around to see w
Marciella found herself nodding in agreement with Fred's harsh assessment. "You're spot on," she said. "That woman is nothing but vile!"Seeing Marciella's reaction, a rare smile crossed Fred's face as he nodded back. "Glad you see it my way," he said.What caught Fred off guard was the villagers' reaction. One by one, their faces turned ashen with despair.It seemed to them that nothing could be worse than the predicament they were facing. The absence of the witch spelled doom for the village—it was like their last shred of hope had vanished. They had all put their faith in her to charm the River God into blessing them with rain, which would have brought some peace to their troubled lives. However, now their chances seemed to have dried up just like their fields. Fred stood there, his face a mask of serenity amidst the chaos.In the moments that followed, the village chief was a picture of despair, his only option was to send everyone home while he racked his brain for a backup pl
"What?"Fred did not even have time to blink before the witch suddenly made a move.It was like a bomb went off.Kaboom!Then, she was dead!Fred dusted off his hands, even surprising himself with his lack of tolerance for the witch.Now, though, he had a real headache. He had planned to clear the air with the witch and lay out the past so everyone would know the full picture.He thought that might just turn things around.The situation changed when she vanished, and Fred's plans were completely derailed. Then again, changing the villagers' minds was not going to be a walk in the park anyway. They were pretty set in their ways, thanks to all the stuff they had been fed.As such, just talking it out might not cut it. Heck, it could even mess with history!With the witch out of the equation, Fred figured he might as well try a different tactic. Maybe if he took out the guy in the cloak and worked his own magic to bring some rain, it could save a lot of hassle. The more he thoug
"No way!"The witch bristled with defiance. She could not accept that she was no match for Fred.As she noticed Fred's focus was locked on her, a sly idea popped up in her mind.Before she could act on it, though, she found herself pinned against the wall by Fred in a flash...Her face contorted in disbelief. She was pinned so tightly that she could not even move!The witch was completely overpowered, her heart racing with panic.How could he be so much stronger than her?Fred, on the other hand, seemed unfazed."What's going through your head? You don't seriously think you can take me on, do you?" Fred asked, his voice laced with skepticism.The witch felt utterly trapped, as if at any second, Fred might just finish her off."Look, I messed up, okay? Can we not do this? I'm old, just a pile of brittle bones—I can't take this kind of rough treatment!" the witch pleaded with Fred, trying a new tactic to get through to him.Fred was not falling for it. He looked at her with a
"Heh, I caught on to you a while back, you know. You've been tailing me, and I'm pretty sure you're here for me. Plus, you don't have the look of someone from our village. That means you are an outsider, and I'm your target, right? Listen, man, we don't have any beef with each other, so why are you sticking your nose where it doesn't belong?"The witch had sensed the raw power rolling off Fred, and it was enough to send shivers down her spine!At that moment, she knew that challenging Fred was not going to be a walk in the park! If she had spotted him earlier in the forest, it would not have been good news for her. For starters, she had no clue how many tricks Fred had up his sleeve, and if he took her down, she and her buddy would be toast.However, the witch was not about to let Fred take her out without a fight! She racked her brain and finally settled on one strategy!She would try to sweet-talk him, hoping Fred would fall for her words just like everyone else, and fall into he