Chapter 172
“The head of the family?” asked Jonathan in shock. He froze for a moment before continuing, “How can
that be, Grandpa? Myst name isn''t Harrington, after all. I promise to do my best to protect the
Harringtons, but I can never be the head of the family.”
Yareth looked at Jonathan with an ambiguous grin and said, “Don''t think too much, kid. Do you think
I''m testing you? I already passed you the secret technique of Requiem and let you marry my only
granddaughter. What else do you think I''m keeping from you?”
Jonathan felt a sense of guilt. “Grandpa, I—”
Yareth interrupted, “To be honest, fame and family legacy aren''t really important to me. Throughout all
these years of living, I''ve already gone through many trials and tribtions. There''s nothing I don''t
understand or see-through. I''m just worried about the Harringtons'' safety. All I want is for my children
and grandchildren to live in bliss. As for their wealth orst names, they don''t matter too much to me.”
Yareth''s state of mind reflected his transcendent cultivation stage.
Jonathan couldn''t help but respect the elder even more than before.
At the end of that discussion, Yareth changed the subject and said, “By the way, the time limit of one
month is up. The examiners from Divine Realm have already arrived at Yaleview. Tomorrow, every
candidate will attend the assessment at a military base in Yaleview. The two of you should prepare
yourself. I''ll send you guys there.”
It was at that moment Jonathan finally realized the final assessment had already arrived.
However, he was already filled with confidence.
That night, Jonathan continued sleeping together in the same bed and sharing a nket with
Catherine.
During the silent night, he called out abruptly, “Catherine!”
She immediately opened her eyes and sat up. “What''s wrong?”
Jonathan got up as well.
He could faintly see her gorgeous face even in the dark night.
Then, he reached out to hold her hand.
As soon as he touched Catherine''s icy hand, he was startled. Our room is cozy, and she''s already
wrapped in a nket while she sleeps. How is her hand still freezing cold?
Jonathan couldn''t help but inquire, “Why is your hand so cold?”
Catherine frowned slightly and wanted to pull her hand back, but she resisted the urge to do so after
some contemtion. “My body''s temperature is always low since I''m a cold-blooded human,” she
answered.
Hearing that, he immediately reached out to feel for her forehead. Indeed, it''s cold too.
“How did this happen?” he blurted out, furrowing his brows.
She shook her head. “I don''t know. It''s been this way since I was a child.” She paused and knitted her
brows. “What''s wrong with you?”
Maybe this is the reason why she''s emotionless ever since she was young. If she''s born this way, I
should be more considerate of her.
He organized his thought briefly before asking, “Catherine, do you know what it means to be husband
and wife?”
Catherine was visibly stunned momentarily, then replied, “I know. It means a man and woman getting
together to breed the next generation.”
Jonathan smiled bitterly. “That''s not quite right. Being husband and wife means being intimate with
each other. It''s a rtionship that is way closer than the rtionship with your parents and siblings.
Being husband and wife means trusting each other the most.”
“What are you trying to say?” she asked promptly.
He answered, “I''m just trying to say that we''re husband and wife now. I don''t know if you feel or think
the same, but we''re considered the closest people to each other. In the future, I will protect you from
any harm because you''re my wife. Tomorrow will be the day of the final assessment, and we''ll be in
deep waters from then onward. I hope you can be on the same side as me regardless of what happens
in the future, okay?”
He was quite worried that she would betray him at a critical juncture.
If that happened, he would feel humiliated and disappointed at the same time.
She merely nced at him and responded expressionlessly, “I''ll try my best.”
Seeing her reaction, he fell silent.
The night went by quietly.
At seven o''clock the next morning, Jonathan and Catherine woke up and freshened themselves up
before having breakfast with Yareth.
Afterward, the trio got into the car driven by Bruce.
Then, the Bentley limousine they rode in sped away.
In the car, Yareth asked Jonathan gleefully, “Are you confident?”
“Yes,” thetter responded with a grin.
Yareth said reassuringly, “I believe in you.”
After an hour, the Bentley stopped at an empty lot in the suburbs.
There were three military aircraft parked in the middle of thend.
Luxury vehicles then arrived at the location one after another.
As soon as Jonathan''s group exited the car, he asked Yareth curiously, “I noticed they utilized military
aircraft and rented a military base. What''s the rtionship between Divine Realm and the army,
Grandpa?”
The elder exined, “Divine Realm has always been working closely with the government. Back then,
while the Emperor of Chanaea was a general, he brought honor to our country. Now, Divine Realm is
protecting the country from external threats as well. They basically provide mutual aid to each other.
However, Divine Realm is not that involved in the country''s matters currently. Even then, the
government will still provide help for them as a way of maintaining their contact.”
Jonathan was enlightened.
There were four luxury vehicles that arrived in front of them, and they made up a group of five cars,
including Jonathan''s group''s Bentley.
Also, there were twenty-five candidates in total, including Jonathan and Catherine.
He looked around and realized the candidates were all highly skilled in their cultivation. Even the
weakest ones among them were already at the early stage of Nascent Soul.
Meanwhile, the majority of them were at the middle stage of Nascent Soul, while some of them were
even in the final stage.
It was, as expected, a group of outstanding candidates.
Jonathan learned that these candidates were all young, and the eldest one wasn''t even over thirty
years old.
Everyone remained distant, and none of them would speak with each other.
Since the candidates were all from different locations and were egotistical, nobody wanted to interact
with anyone else.
There were some elders who were apanying those candidates, and Yareth had a great time
conversing with them.
Shortly after everyone boarded the military aircraft, it took off smoothly.
Confused, Jonathan went up to Yareth and asked, “Grandpa, are we the only candidates attending the
assessment? There are only over twenty of us.”
Thetter smiled and answered, “Of course not. There are many foreign candidates who''d taken the
military aircraft to the military base directly. I think they''ve already arrived yesterday.”
Realization dawned on Jonathan after listening to Yareth''s exnation.
The military aircraft flew across the sky above a dense forest. Almost half an hourter, they finally
arrived at the secret military base.
It was an enormous field surrounded by electric fences.
The core of the military base was built like an indestructible castle, with many gun-wielding soldiers
guarding the area.
Atst, the military aircraftnded on the field.
The weather that day was terrible. The wind howled violently, and the sky was overcast.
It was also slightly snowing, and it seemed like it would be increasingly heavy at night.
As soon as everyone alighted the military aircraft, a female officer weed them. There were a few
attendants following behind her closely.
The female officer seemed to look like she was twenty-four years old, dressing in a military uniform that
made her look valiant and formidable.
The sharp-eyed Jonathan noticed that her military uniform differed from the others.
It wasn''t a Chanaean military uniform but a custom-made one that had unique patterns of the Fire
Dragon Troop.
It piqued his curiosity, but he had no one to seek rification from. Soon, he discovered that the female
officer''s name was Lah Hall, and she was an inner disciple of Divine Realm. She was one of the
examiners who would oversee the assessment. Not only that, but she was also wearing a custom
uniform that belonged to Divine Realm''s stationed army.
Other than that, the attendants that were following her belonged to Divine Realm as well. Unlike Lah,
who had already achieved Celestial Soul, the attendants were only experts at handling various tasks
and running errands. They didn''t possess high cultivation.
After a nce, Jonathan could already tell that Lah''s cultivation was on the same level as Mabel''s.
However, he would never expect himself to have a life-and-death rtionship with Lah in the future.
Of course, that would be a story for another time.
“Long time no see, Ms. Hall. You''re still as beautiful as ever,” Yarethplimented Lah with a smile
on his face.
She returned a polite grin and replied, “You look healthy and strong as well, Old Mr. Harrington.”
There were a few other elders who greeted Lah too, but thetter maintained a neutral tone in
response. Judging from her attitude, it was apparent that she was an arrogantdy.
Still, it wasn''t a surprise, as most aplished people were always slightly prideful.
A few secondster, Lah ordered, “All candidates are required to gather in the center of the field right
now.”
Upon receiving the instruction, Jonathan, Catherine, and the rest of the candidates quickly walked
toward the center of the field.
At that moment, Jonathan noticed that there were already many candidates gathering at the
destination. All he could see from afar was a sea of people.
After the candidates gathered, Lah walked toward them along with the attendants and other elders.
Jonathan stood beside Catherine and scanned the surroundings. There were at least a hundred
candidates on the field at the moment, which was way more than the number that Yareth had told him.
All of the candidates were exceptional.
However, they were mostly scattered around the field, and there wasn''t even a slight disy of
discipline at all.
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After all, it wasmon for capable people like them to be rebellious and entric. It would be absurd
to ask them to form a line like rookies.
“Everyone, get down now!” Lah ordered sternly at this moment.
Instantaneously, Jonathan dragged Catherine downward and crouched.
Eventually, most of the candidates did the same, except for ten of them.
The ten candidates who refused to follow the instruction felt that crouching down was disrespectful and
humiliating.
“Step forward!” she yelled at the candidates who refused to obey.
The ten candidates nced at Lah fearlessly and took a step forward, separating themselves from
the crowd.
“The ten of you are eliminated. Now scram,” she uttered heartlessly.
Jonathan''s expression changed slightly because he hadn''t expected her to be so straightforward. After
all, the ten people who were disqualified were all aces and Nascent Soul elites.
It seemed like Nascent Soul elites were merely a bunch of ordinary folks when they were attending this
assessment. However, that didn''t mean that all Nascent Soul elites were worthless. They were a few
selected people who sessfully got to the final assessment.
The ten candidates were bewildered upon hearing Lah''s demands.
Fiy Kiehl was one of them. He had achieved the final stage of Nascent Soul.
The final stage of Nascent Soul was the same cultivation stage as Logan''s.
There was no way that a person like that would stay humble. Right then, he red at Lah icily and
protested, “Why? I refuse, Ms. Hall!”