Duke Jon of Starlight County was taken aback when he saw his grandson''s condition. "Nate, what happened to you?"


    Before Nate could respond, Donna, who stood fearlessly by his side, was suddenly confronted by a figure that appeared before her. It was Chuck, the most powerful genius and warrior of Starlight County, and the leader of the Arcane Society.


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    Chuck, a young man dressed in a ck robe, who rarely smiled, immediately grabbed Donna''s wrist, his eyes shing with excitement.


    "Young one, I felt your energy when you made your move. Such a solid physical training, possessing a Super Core, and the blood of the Azure Dragon! Excellent! Who is your master?"


    Seeing Donna still stunned, Chuck pressed on, "It doesn''t matter, just tell me who your master is, and I will challenge them. I want to see who dares topete with me for disciples!"


    Donna remained silent for a long time before frowning and saying, "Buddy, who do you think you are?"


    Her dismissive response made the experts of Starlight County sweat, as Chuck had dominated the younger generation of the county in battles for centuries, and no one dared to speak to him in such a manner.


    Just when everyone feared a conflict might arise between the visitors from Cloudview County and the Arcane Society, Chuck''s mood surprisingly improved. "Good! A body cultivator uses strength to break magic, fearless and bold, that''s the spirit I want in a disciple. I''ve decided, you''re my disciple now!"


    He then stared emotionlessly at the people from ckwood, "Any objections from you folks?"


    The people from ckwood frowned slightly, realizing that Chuck genuinely admired Donna''s talents and wanted to take her as his disciple, despite his arrogance.


    Back at the screen, Ethan wore a peculiar expression, knowing that Chuck was indeed skilled but probably too arrogant from being unchallenged in Starlight County. "This attitude might cause trouble if Charlie Crackle, who sees Donna as his own, sees this. He''d probably fight Chuck over it."


    However, as Marcus was about to summon the Sky Pce, Donna revealed a sly smile and shook her head at the ckwood crowd. Jessica, standing nearby, smirked like a cunning fox.


    [Your descendant Jessica had already thoroughly investigated the forces of Starlight County. She knew of Chuck''s great strength and arrogant nature, and that hecked a worthy disciple to pass on his mantle.]


    [Together with Donna, they nned to expose Donna''s physical training aura if they encountered Chuck, knowing he disliked the weak. By acting recklessly, Donna won Chuck''s favor and gained entry into the Arcane Society to inherit Chuck''s mantle.


    This would ensure ckwood''s support in Starlight County and help the family control the county''s powers through Donna''s new status as Chuck''s direct disciple.]


    [Your descendant Donna has acquired a new identity as Chuck''s first disciple and a direct disciple of the Arcane Society!]


    Watching Jessica''s calm and smiling face, and Donna, who proudly agreed to be a disciple of the Arcane Society, along with Chuck, whoughed heartily, unaware of the scheme, Ethan''s expression turnedplex.


    It turned out that Jessica hadpletely uncovered Chuck''s background and even manipted his temperament.


    "It''s all a plot. Donna intentionally fought Nate to catch Chuck''s attention!"


    "People can be so devious, truly devious," Ethan sighed deeply.


    In the crowd, Keh and Jimmy exchanged nces, and Jimmy nced at Jessica and said resignedly, "There are indeed some bad folks in ckwood."


    As the forces from Cloudview County rushed to Starlight County, the ckwood n members scattered throughout the region, meticulously setting up their strategies to aid Amelia in oveing a formidable challenge known as the "Ny-Nine Heavenly Tribtions."


    Even the old friends from Cloudview County were clueless about the ckwoods'' activities. The ckwoods moved like ghosts, their actions shrouded in secrecy, revealing nothing of their whereabouts.


    Meanwhile, outside the Natural Magic Formation, someone had been watching for a whole month. Sometimes transforming into arge tree, sometimes merging with the earth, and at other times bing a bird. This time, emerging from the rocky soil, he silently slit the throat of a passing Druid, another dagger piercing directly into the Druid''s spiritual core, extinguishing his soul.


    William!


    Now, he was dressed in the Druids'' garb, his body marked with their inscriptions, exuding their very essence.


    "Brother, I think I want to return to the tribe. Justst year, the chief gave me two wives. I''ve been here for a few years now, and who knows if they''re still waiting for me," hemented in the tribe''s unique ent to his ''good friend'' while they patrolled together at noon.


    [Your descendant William has observed for a month, mastering the tribe''s ent, gathering information on some of the tribe members, their rtionships, and customs...]


    [He has acquired a new identity: Druids'' Mountain Patrol.]


    [Your descendant William is now rying information about the Natural Magic Formation back to the family.]


    The family often overlooked William when assigning tasks. His past actions were somewhat unreliable, and even after emptying his Storage Ring, it would soon fill up again with new ''spoils of war.'' He even had a trait known as ''Head Collector,'' which made assigning him tasks a risky affair.


    However, in Ethan''s view, William was making earnest efforts to integrate into the family. Although most of the family didn''t trust him, he still silently took on the role of a spy in the most dangerous locations.


    But most of the family didn''t know that after being exposed years ago in The Oracle Chamber by Stephen, William had be more cautious, managing to restrain himself from killing during his undercover missions.


    As for stabbing his fellow nsmen in the back... that little rascal still entertained the thought asionally.


    ...


    With the arrival of reinforcements from Cloudview County, a fierce battle erupted just outside the borders of Starlight County. Duke Jon, with the help of Cloudview County, led the first counterattack with the experts of Starlight County.


    Unbeknownst to them, a strange force was at work!


    Dawn!


    This assassin group, formed by Olivia over 120 years ago, had silently infiltrated Starlight County. Their mission this time was not to kill. Some of them followed the experts of Starlight County in battle, quietly remaining in the background, collecting the bodies of the deceased.


    They silently passed through areas damaged by the battle, collecting all the bodies they came across into their Storage Rings.


    In a secluded valley within Starlight County, the air was thick with the stench of decay. asionally, figures in ck appeared, their Storage Rings glowing as they dropped body after body into the valley.


    These bodies transformed into a ck light, absorbed by a silver coffin at the center of the valley.


    [Death Coffin, Fourth Layer: Endless Sea of Death]


    At that moment, Nathan was sitting cross-legged in the center of the Sea of Death, surrounded by mists formed from the deathly energy that shaped into roaring dragons in the sky.


    Floating above was a small coffin, inside whichy Gary, her breath now reaching the mid-stage of Competent Force. The deathly dragons formed from the mist furiously surged into her body, as if preparing her for a great terror upon awakening.