Looking at how disheartened Yale was, Gerald could only sigh as he thought about it for a moment before replying, “…Fine, I’ll participate!” Naturally, the second he heard that, Yale instantly broke into a smile. Regardless, the duo then began heading toward the arena where the martial arts competition was being held… Upon arriving, they were slightly surprised to see how crowded it was. At the time, a woman and man were competing against each other, and each move they dealt gained loud cheers from the audience. Shortly after, the woman landed a kick right in the man’s chest, sending him flying out of the arena! Following more loud cheers, what appeared to be the judge then stood up before declaring, “And Miss Yalinda Juans scores another victory! Is there anyone else who wishes to challenge her? Remember, if you win, a hundred thousand holy stones will be yours!” Despite the promise of so many holy stones, the crowd instantly went silent. After all, they had all seen how p

“…Either way, there’s no helping it. That person won fair and square, and we just have to accept that!” replied Tanner as he consoled his daughter, knowing full well that in the world of martial arts competitions, nobody could remain at the top forever… Though Yalinda looked like she wanted to refute, she finally realized that there was a terrible scar on Tanner’s arm! With that in mind, she quickly asked, “Huh? When did you get injured, dad? What happened?” Hearing that, Tanner simply chuckled indifferently as he waved his good hand and said, “It’s just a scratch! Regardless, I got the wound from some of Mount Tygress’s bandits on my way back!” “Those bandits? They’re really getting more and more chaotic by the day! Either way, do consider increasing the number of men with you while you’re out delivering things! If you don’t, I swear I’m going to start coming with you as extra protection!” mumbled Yalinda after a short pause. Simply patting his daughter’s head in response, Tan

With his sentence cut short by Yalinda’s prideful and taunting tone, there was no way Gerald was going to say no now. If she wanted a fight, she was getting one, and he was going to make sure she never challenged him again! “Fine, I accept! However, I have one condition!” replied Gerald. “State it!” “If I win again, you’ll have to start addressing me as brother Gerald. Needless to say, I hope you’ll start treating me less coldly by that point! Seriously… Do you have to keep glaring at me like I owe you all the money in the world?” declared Gerald. Understanding how much of a sore loser Yalinda was, Gerald knew that he had to set clear rules or Yalinda would simply challenge him again in the future. Whatever the case was, Yalinda immediately replied, “Deal!” “Glad to hear it! Also, I’m sure you heard all that clearly, right, Captain Juan?” said Gerald as he turned to look at Tanner. With her father bearing witness to all this, Gerald was pretty sure Yalinda wouldn’t have the

Seeing how hesitant Gerald was, Yalinda then proposed, “…Look, to prove how serious I am about this, please allow me to treat you two to breakfast! Just so you know, there’s a particular bakery in Shontell that serves the most scrumptious bread on the planet! I’ll treat you to a meal there, and after that, you’ll take me as your disciple! How’s that?” Before Gerald could even reply, Yale—who hadn’t moved from the door—nodded excitedly before saying, “I agree with her! After all, we haven’t had breakfast yet, brother Gerald!” Raising a slight brow, Gerald then paused for a moment before reluctantly saying, “…Fine! I can’t deny that I’m a little hungry too! We’ll talk more about this once we’re done with breakfast!” Following that, the trio began heading to the bakery Yalinda was talking about… Upon arriving, Gerald and Yale could immediately tell that Yalinda hadn’t been exaggerating. After all, the entire place was crowded! Regardless, upon noticing Yalinda’s presence, the owne

Knowing that Gerald would definitely be angry at her now for lying to him, Yalinda immediately bowed before declaring, “I apologize for hiding it from you, master!” “Yalinda, I get why you’re doing all this, but I’m slightly disappointed that you planned on participating in that competition without notifying me about it! After all, there’s no reason for you to hide it! I’d have helped all the same!” replied Gerald while shaking his head. “I-I understand master! I truly apologize for not telling you about it! I swear on my life that I’ll share everything with you from this moment onward, master!” declared Yalinda with a nod. “That’s what I like to hear! Regardless, since you’re participating in that competition, I’ll make sure that the first prize is yours to take!” replied Gerald, seeing no reason to be mad at her anymore. “R-really? How wonderful!” exclaimed Yalinda excitedly. “Indeed. Regardless, is the registration period for the competition between cultivators over?” aske