Chapter 384: A Vow of Vengeance
A Vow of Vengeance
Julian himself had advanced from the middle Silver Realm all the way to the middle Gold Realm in a single leap.
Feeling the power flowing through his limbs, he slowly clenched his fist.
The air around it rippled faintly.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
After this round of enhancement, their overall combat power had risen dramatically.
Two peak Gold Realm experts.
One middle Gold Realm expert.
Even the great households and major sects of the Old Martial Arts world would have to think twice before provoking such a lineup.
Yet Julian’s expression soon became thoughtful again.
He wasn’t completely satisfied.
The image shown by the Heavenly Law Seed still lingered in his mind.
Steffan.
The mysterious golden seed.
Two opponents standing at the peak Gold Realm.
Against enemies like that...
Was this really enough?
Julian leaned back in his chair.
His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.
"I still need stronger allies..."
His gaze shifted toward the remaining Mystic Life Fruits stored within the Heavenly Law Seed’s internal space.
There were still many left.
Enough to nurture more powerful companions.
As he quietly considered who should receive them next, a notification sound suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
Ding.
Julian picked up his phone.
A new message had arrived through Hello Messenger.
The sender was Bianca De Dominicis.
He opened it.
"Darling, I’ve got some important information from the Blackstone Global Group again. Should we increase the pressure to short it?"
Julian rubbed his chin.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he considered the situation.
After a few moments, he typed a reply.
"How much do you need?"
The response arrived almost immediately.
"How much do you have?"
Julian smiled faintly.
"About seventy billion in liquid assets."
Another message appeared.
"Bring it on!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Julian stood and made a call to the company’s deputy chief financial officer.
He calmly instructed them to cooperate with Bianca and prepare the required funds.
When it came to making money...
He had absolute faith in Bianca’s judgment.
After ending the call, Julian placed his phone back on the table.
Far away, inside the headquarters of the De Dominicis Group, Bianca stood before the office’s floor-to-ceiling window after reading Julian’s reply.
The bustling city stretched beneath her feet.
Her crimson eyes reflected countless buildings and moving vehicles.
A confident smile curved across her lips.
"Then let’s make this one count..."
...
Silverhaven City.
Morning had already come.
On the outskirts of the city, an enormous garbage dump lay beneath the dim moonlight.
The air carried a foul odor.
Silence dominated the area.
Then...
A pile of refuse suddenly shifted.
A filthy figure slowly crawled out from beneath the mountain of garbage.
His movements were sluggish.
Painful.
Like a cockroach struggling to survive after being crushed.
It was Steffan.
His clothes had long since been torn apart.
Blood stained nearly every inch of his body.
Fresh wounds mixed with dried blood, making his appearance utterly miserable.
His face was frighteningly pale from excessive blood loss.
Every breath caused his body to tremble.
If he hadn’t managed to force a temporary breakthrough to the peak Gold Realm...
He knew he never would have escaped alive.
The desperate sacrifice of White Ghost had bought him only a tiny opportunity.
He had fled on a motorcycle.
Later, he abandoned it, hid inside a garbage truck, and buried himself beneath mountains of refuse until the pursuit finally ended.
Now...
He had survived.
Barely.
Steffan lowered his head.
His gaze slowly fell upon the grievous wound near his groin.
The muscles in his face twitched violently.
His eyes filled with terrifying hatred.
His fists clenched until fresh blood dripped from his palms.
"Julian..."
His voice was hoarse.
Filled with venom.
"I want you to die a miserable death."
The words scraped out of his throat like a curse born from the depths of hell.
Every muscle in Steffan’s battered body trembled violently. His face twisted with resentment, and his bloodshot eyes burned with murderous intent. The humiliation he had suffered at the Ashbourne Manor replayed endlessly in his mind.
Julian’s face.
Julian’s smile.
The sword strike that had taken away his manhood.
Those memories refused to fade.
Steffan gritted his teeth so hard that a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Without another moment of hesitation, he spun around and dashed out of the garbage station.
Morning had already arrived, and the streets were gradually becoming livelier.
Keeping to the shadows, he avoided the main roads and disappeared into a nearby urban village.
The neighborhood was packed with aging apartment buildings standing shoulder to shoulder. Narrow alleys twisted between them like a maze, making it an ideal place to hide.
With the agility of a peak Gold Realm cultivator, Steffan leaped effortlessly across walls and rooftops.
His movements were swift despite his injuries.
Every landing sent sharp pain shooting through his body, but he ignored it completely.
Pain meant nothing now.
Only revenge mattered.
After searching for a suitable place, he quietly slipped through the open window of a rental apartment on the second floor.
The apartment was a modest one-bedroom unit.
The tenant inside remained completely unaware of the intruder.
Wearing headphones, the young man sat in front of his computer, completely engrossed in an explicit adult video playing across the screen.
His full attention was fixed on the monitor, one hand occupied with pleasuring himself, leaving him utterly oblivious to everything around him.
He never noticed Steffan climbing through the window behind him.
Steffan’s expression turned cold.
Without saying a single word, he lunged forward.
His fist shot out like lightning.
Bang!
The punch landed squarely on the back of the tenant’s head.
The young man, who had been smiling moments earlier, instantly lost consciousness and collapsed onto the floor without making another sound.
The room fell silent.
Steffan slowly turned his gaze toward the computer monitor.
The adult film continued to play.
The loud dialogue and exaggerated performances echoed through the headphones that had slipped from the unconscious tenant’s ears.
Under normal circumstances...
The hot-tempered Steffan would have been aroused within moments by such content.
But today...