My Substitute CEO Bride
Chapter 1921

The old man did not manage to dodge in time. He landed straight on the dagger, which pierced his throat and had him convulsing as he landed on the ground.

It was then that Sven realized something was off about the old man. After all, if they had gotten impaled, they would not be convulsing or twitching this much after that. Somehow, he mustered up the courage to walk closer to him to find out what was happening. No one expected the old man to bite Sven while he was not paying attention.

...

"Oof... Ouch..."

Josef lay sprawled out on the ground in the Melton family's back garden.

Though they called it a back garden, all the land within a hundred-mile radius of the Melton family's mansion actually belonged to them. The Melton family had bought all the forest land, especially for their youngest son, Clint, so that he could practice his cultivation in peace.

"Good job, Clint. You've made incredible progress.

Clint walked over to Oswald and pulled him to his feet.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

"No, but I think it'll be somewhat difficult for you to master new skills given your current skill level..."

"Indeed." Clint sighed, an odd look on his face as he gazed at the pendant he was holding. "This is all that there is for me to learn. I've already done my best, though. What can I do..."

The Melton family placed a lot of value on passing down the legacy through legitimate means. Clint was not allowed to learn any 'corrupt' methods or from anyone other than his usual mentors.

Although only practicing one singular skill still brought about results, it also meant that his knowledge would be confined to that one skill. Once he was fully accustomed to things, it would be difficult for him to achieve any more breakthroughs.

"It's my fault. I'm not capable enough to inspire anything more within you. Sorry about that," Oswald said as he lowered his head with a disappointed look on his face.

"Oswald, is there anyone in your circle who's particularly talented?" Clint asked abruptly.

"Well... Those in my circle have achieved just about similar skill levels to me. The same can be said about those in the Unyielding Truth. You-"”

"Kilmort Star."

Clint chimed in abruptly.

Ever since the last incident, Clint had taken an interest in Zaafea. Upon learning of his identity, he wanted even more to fight him once again.

"Oh, him? You should forget about him."

Oswald waved a hand.

"Why?"

Oswald got to his feet and massaged his shoulder.

"Do you know why we decided to join the Unyielding Truth?"

"To deal with the gods' arrival," Clint said confidently.

"No. In fact, many members of the Unyielding Truth didn't even have a clue that the gods would awaken. How could we be willing to fight to our deaths for this issue?"

Oswald continued speaking, "A good number of us had ulterior motives for joining the Unyielding Truth."

"Ulterior motives? But what sort of benefit does this bring you? It might even cause you to lose your life at any given moment," Clint said as he propped his head up with a hand, his eyes shifting about with his thoughts. Shortly after, he let out a sound of realization. "Oh, I see..."

"You understand now, don't you?"

Clint said, heaving a weary sigh before he continued, "All of us struck a deal with Battlestar. In exchange for him realizing our wishes that fell within th

the realms of being morally ethical, we'd become his

subordinates and work for him.

"However, he tricked us. He said that we'd get to bask in wealth and glory once everything was settled, but what we didn't know beforehand was that it was highly possible we would end up losing our lives.

"We have no choice though, since

the deal has already been struck. For

now, Kilmort is Battlestar's way of keeping his promise to us. If any of us are on the same team as him, we'll reap benefits in terms of our cultivation skills."

"Gosh, he's really one of a kind." Clint sighed.

"But..." Oswald changed the subject abruptly. "Based on what other members have said, Kilmort uses extremely cruel methods. It's alright if you achieve a breakthrough, but if you don't, the outcomes can range anywhere from needing time to recuperate to having your entire soul and spirit disintegrate into pieces.

"Battlestar has his ways of remedying the issue, but it'll still take a long time to recover. Given how close the summit is, I don't think it's worth taking this risk, Clint." Seeing how determined Oswald was, Clint had no choice but to agree.

"We've arrived, Nash."

Talroth and Nash arrived at the mountain's peak.

Nash could not help but voice his doubts as he gazed at the snow-covered lands below him.

"Are you sure we can trust what the master of the Endless Horizon Sect said? I can't believe we have to absorb energy from a place like this."