Julian and the other four completed the five training tasks Victor assigned within nine days. “Very good. I honestly thought one or two of you were going to die,” Victor said with a wide grin. All five of them shivered at the same time. Thinking back on the past nine days, Julian felt he would remember Victor for the rest of his life. He was already determined to become a Champion as fast as possible—so he could one day pin Victor to the ground and give him a good beating. He was the proud young master of the Walker family. Sure, he’d experienced some hardships since becoming a professional trainer, but never had he suffered nine straight days of misery like this. This memory was burned into his soul. He’d never forget it. Just look at the way Asher was glaring at Victor—it was like he was looking at an enemy and not his father. Over the nine days, Asher had more than once begun to doubt whether his mom had cheated and he was actually the old man’s kid from next door. Otherwise, why would Victor treat his own son like this? Sometimes, he even got extra training sessions. “Take a good rest today, and tomorrow, we leave for the Western Ocean at nine in the morning.” After Victor finished speaking, he left directly. The five of them didn’t move. They just stood there, staring blankly, until Victor completely disappeared from view—at which point a gritted-teeth voice came from Ember. “Victor, this lady isn’t done with you yet.” She was thinking back to the extreme survival training—when Victor had dumped her into a pit of Grimers. She spent nearly half a day being chased around by the stinking blobs. In the end, she was tackled to the ground by one of them. Even now, she still felt like she stank. In fact, she really did still smell bad. For a beautiful girl, she was supposed to smell fresh and sweet—not like a landfill. It was just humiliating. Looking at Asher, who was covering his nose, Ember was so angry her mouth nearly twisted sideways. “One day, I’m going to kill both you and your dad.” Asher: “I no longer acknowledge Victor as my father.” Good grief, after nine days of training, Victor directly lost a son. Rowan spoke up: “I could ask my grandpa to do it.” Usually cold and serious, even Rowan was ready to give Victor a beating. He knew he couldn’t win in a fight himself, but his grandpa definitely could. After all, his grandfather used to be the former Ice Elite—an absolute powerhouse. Pierce also interjected: “We could start by beating up Asher to vent our anger.” Asher: 'This demon bas***d.' Julian, Ember, and Rowan all paused for a moment at that idea. 'Damn, that’s actually a good idea.' 'I might not be able to beat the father yet, but the son is fair game, right?' Looking at the malicious eyes of the three, Asher panicked and instinctively took a few steps back. “Don't mess around, I'm on the same side as you guys!” Over the past nine days, the five of them had grown somewhat close. While they still saw each other as rivals, at least there was a baseline level of trust between them now. In the end, the three of them didn’t beat up Asher—not because they were feeling merciful. But because Asher swore that he would absolutely never take care of Victor in his old age. Only then did Julian and the others let him go. Victor: 'Good thing I still have my precious little daughter.' Around dinner time, the five of them decided to head to a seafood restaurant together for a meal. During the nine days of training, they had spent almost half the time apart—and the first training task had put them in direct opposition. A no-rules free-for-all. During that part, Julian had been directly targeted by the other four. The shameless bunch even teamed up to bully him—the youngest of the group. Fortunately, Julian managed to flip Pierce to his side. With his military background, Pierce had the most experience in wild skirmishes, while Julian had access to both Advanced Aura and Advanced-level Psychic. The two teamed up and knocked down the other three. Then Julian betrayed Pierce at the last moment and claimed victory for himself. The two teamed up to defeat Asher and the other two. And in the end, Julian stabbed Pierce in the back and won the final victory. So until now, Pierce had been brooding about it. They had clearly agreed that the two of them will decide the outcome based on their real skills, but Julian shamelessly pulled a sneak attack. 'I trusted you so much, and you stabbed me in the back.' Julian, feeling uncomfortable under Pierce’s resentful gaze, put down the baby lobster in his hands and said sheepishly, "Don’t look at me like that—I was just trying to keep you from getting tricked again, that’s all." Julian really had no choice. Sure, backstabbing Pierce wasn’t the most honorable move—but what could he do when that day’s daily task had specifically required him to win a wild battle? The mission had shown up, so of course he had to find a way to complete it. Even if it meant stabbing Pierce in the back. “How about this—when we’re in the Top-tier secret realm, if we find any Rock-type treasures, I’ll give you my share.” All five of them had different type specialties anyway, so there wasn’t much overlap when it came to resources. However, treasures wouldn't be distributed based on type—they would be distributed based on contribution. Still, Julian already planned to separate from the group halfway through. As long as others were around, he definitely wouldn’t take out the Dowsing Machine. And in a place like a Top-tier secret realm, filled with untouched treasures. If he didn't take out the Dowsing Machine, then what was he even doing there? So yeah, he would definitely sneak off on his own. “Now that’s more like it.” Pierce nodded in satisfaction when he heard Julian's words. Even as a military prodigy, it wasn’t easy for him to get his hands on rare items. He had to exchange them for military merits, though the cost was a bit cheaper than the others. Meanwhile, the other four were all from major families—true rich kids. Especially Julian, he was the only heir of the Walker family. Every single resource they had was basically his alone. "Julian, you're so generous. In that case, how about giving the Fire-type resources to your big sis here?" Ember elegantly nibbled on the crab in her hand while playfully winking at Julian. Several male diners around them were already sneaking glances at Ember, and after that wink, her charm was so overwhelming that one of the men couldn’t resist and began walking over to their table. “Nope. I’m giving them to my dog,” Julian replied flatly, then added, “Someone’s coming your way.” 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶 Just as he finished speaking, the man had already walked up to Ember. Tall, handsome, and carried himself with confidence. Ember gave him a quick once-over—Hmm, not bad. “Scram.” Before the man could even speak, Ember's words made him freeze in place. He looked at her in disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe that such blunt words could come from such a sultry and seductive woman. Ember had long been used to such man. There were very few people in the world who could truly ignore her beauty. And annoyingly, the four guys sitting with her right now were those rare people. It hurt her pride, okay? Especially Julian—he even called her an old lady before. Damn it! The man in front of her happened to arrive just in time for her to vent. “Miss, I—” “I told you to scram. Didn't you hear me?" The man’s words were cut off again. This time, he was sure he’d heard right—this woman had really just told him to get lost. The other guys nearby, who’d just been regretting not approaching sooner, were now laughing at him. Noticing the mocking stares of the people around him, the man was about to get angry. “She’s not someone you can afford to mess with. You’d better leave quickly,” Pierce said calmly. ***** Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :- /ReduxMagister