In the Haunted Marsh, at the headquarters of the underground black market, Callum, a level-nine Beast Master, stood with his head lowered. Not far from him, a woman sat on a sofa, her face obscured and her posture relaxed as she half-lay on the cushions, her eyes closed in deep thought.

As a level-nine Beast Master, Callum stood quietly, carefully controlling his breathing, afraid of disturbing the woman’s train of thought.

It was unclear how much time had passed, but eventually, the woman spoke slowly:

“There’s been a discovery of a suspected divine beast in Celestial City. Naturally, we can’t let other factions get involved in this. Prepare yourself and pick a few talented individuals to show them the world.”

Callum’s expression shifted. A divine beast?

That was something every Beast Master dreamed of. Even with his level-nine strength, he couldn’t help but feel tempted. If he could form a contract with a divine beast and nurture it, his own power could increase significantly.

The woman, Eva Xu, who was half-lying on the sofa, was the true ruler of the underground black market, a member of the ten-person council, and known as the “Poison Girl.” Her piercing gaze, capable of seeing through people’s hearts, briefly landed on Callum before she spoke softly:

“If our talents can form a contract with the suspected divine beast, that would be ideal. If not, the area where the divine beast resides likely holds many treasures. Make sure to gather as many as possible.”

“By the way, find a way to make the Suspended Mountain people suffer a bit. I’ve been wanting to take them down for a long time.”

Callum nodded firmly, acknowledging Eva Xu’s instructions.

Afterward, he left, intending to select a few of the talented individuals from the underground black market in the Haunted Marsh, perhaps one of them could successfully form a contract with the suspected divine beast.

As he walked, Callum couldn’t help but think of Ezra’s disciple, Charles. He had always felt that the kid was quite impressive.

However, Ezra was probably heading to the Abyssal Great Wall soon. Even if he received news from Celestial City, he wouldn’t be able to bring Charles along.

Without Charles, it would be impossible for him to enter.

Callum knew this well. Whatever the Haunted Marsh’s major factions set their sights on, they would never allow an ordinary Beast Master to have a chance to participate.

All the benefits would go to the Haunted Marsh’s factions; it was just a matter of who got more and who got less.

Even if an ordinary Beast Master, one without any powerful faction backing them, somehow managed to get involved and gain great benefits, they would either disappear within a few days or become a part of one of the major factions of the Haunted Marsh, giving up all the benefits they had gained.

This kind of thing had happened countless times, and Callum had long since grown used to it.

He sighed. If he really did encounter Charles in Celestial City, he would show some care for him, if only because of his connection to Ezra.

The Suspended Mountain, Beast Sect, the Beast Master Guild, the Alchemy Guild, the Forging Masters Guild, the underground black market, the Cyber Academy headquarters, and many other powerful academies all moved in unison.

Many powerful Beast Master talents quietly left the Haunted Marsh and set off on their journey to the Abyssal Depths Celestial City and the Infinity Isles.

As for Charles, he was completely unaware of all these movements. He could only speculate from the Infinity Isles Luo Family’s actions that a much stronger force had gotten involved in the Infinity Isles Forest.

This wasn’t good news for him. Because of this, the day after returning to Genosha Calivia, Charles briefly spoke with Professor Colton and Dean Jamie, then left Genosha.

This time, Charles was the only one from Genosha involved, especially since he had a Golden Quality item, the Substitute Mask for the Ten-Person Council.

Substitute Mask for the Ten-Person Council [Golden Quality]: A special mask personally crafted by the President of the Beast Master Guild and the Master of the Tower, carrying unique significance.

Effect 1: Breath Concealment – The wearer can conceal their breath, making it impossible for any entity below level-nine Beast Master to detect their true strength.

Effect 2: Attribute Energy Absorption – The mask can absorb an enemy’s attribute energy attacks, storing them within the mask. At a critical moment, it can replenish the wearer’s own attribute energy.

Effect 3: Phantom Summoning – Using blood and fiery energy, the wearer can summon a phantom of the Tower Master, Cuny. The phantom’s strength is influenced by the wearer’s own power and the fire attribute energy. The phantom currently summoned has the strength of a level-nine Beast Master and lasts for one minute.

Note: After using Phantom Summoning, the mask will be damaged. If not repaired, all effects will disappear.

If Charles were to encounter any unavoidable danger, he would have to use this Golden Quality item to resolve the danger.

Whether outside or inside the Infinity Isles Forest, as long as Charles used this item, he would certainly be able to escape danger.

This was not just an item that could summon a phantom with the power of a level-nine Beast Master; it was also a token of identity.

One day later, in Celestial City near the Infinity Isles, at a small town’s tavern.

Charles, disguised using the Beast Transformation Flesh item, appeared at the tavern’s bar.

It was still afternoon, and the tavern wasn’t very crowded, with only three or four Beast Masters drinking wine and discussing various topics.

Across from Charles sat Soren, the Beast Master he had helped before.

Soren was wiping a wine glass while quietly speaking to Charles, “Lately, more and more unfamiliar Beast Masters have appeared. The vast majority of them are probably from the Haunted Marsh.”

Charles, intrigued, asked, “How do you know that?”

Soren smiled and replied, “You can tell by the way they act. Beast Masters from the Haunted Marsh usually hold themselves in high regard and look down on everything here. They occasionally make snide comments.”

This was not good news. Charles knew how powerful the Haunted Marsh Beast Masters were.

If those powerful factions had their sights set on the Infinity Isles Forest, there was a very real possibility that Charles wouldn’t even have a chance to enter the forest.

Ezra had already left. Even though Ezra had many friends in the Haunted Marsh, Charles wasn’t sure if those people would come, nor did he know if he could rely on them to help him get into the Infinity Isles Forest.

Just then, Soren spoke again in a low voice, “I’ve received reliable news that the four directions—north, south, east, and west—around the Infinity Isles Forest are all being blocked off.”

“At first, it was just the Luo Family of the Infinity Isles. But after the Luo Family pulled out, other factions took over, and soon, even more new forces joined in.”

“Up until now, I still can’t determine how many factions are involved.”

Charles nodded. As expected, things were heading in the worst direction. These major factions would certainly try to prevent other Beast Masters from getting involved while they competed with each other.

Charles’s mind was racing. Soon, he leaned in and quietly asked Soren, “There must be a lot of Beast Masters, not from these factions, who have gathered together to try and find a way into the forest, right?”

Soren nodded, taking a deep breath, and said, “Yes, quite a few. A group of idiots tried to break through the blockade a few days ago, but none of them made it into the forest alive.”

“Sigh, I feel like this is something we Beast Masters shouldn’t even try to get involved in.”

Watching Charles, who was still lost in thought, Soren opened his mouth, attempting to persuade him, “Maybe it’s better to just let it go. It’s too dangerous. Even if we can get into the forest, there’s no way we could compete with those Beast Masters from the big factions.”

Soren then began to recount an incident that had recently happened in the town. A level-six Beast Master, who appeared to be around twenty years old, had a confrontation with three other level-six Beast Masters, and it quickly escalated into a physical altercation.

Soren had gone outside to watch the commotion. He remembered it clearly—just two or three seconds, and the young Beast Master, without using any weapons or summoning a mystical beast, tore the three level-six Beast Masters apart with his bare hands.

This wasn’t an exaggeration; he literally tore them in half down the middle, their insides spilling out onto the ground. Even now, at the site of the fight, there were still bloodstains on the ground that hadn’t been cleaned up.

After hearing this, Charles’s expression grew serious.

To be able to tear apart three level-six Beast Masters with just physical strength in a matter of seconds—this level of power was far greater than his own.

It seemed that the situation with the Infinity Isles Forest had truly attracted many powerful geniuses to get involved.

Thinking of this, Charles was even more determined not to give up on participating. He had to find a way to get into the Infinity Isles Forest.

First, he would check out the Beast Masters who had gathered together to resist the forest’s blockade. If their strength was decent, perhaps he could leverage their power to give it a try.

If that didn’t work, he would have to resort to other methods, especially since there were still several days left before things truly began.

Charles asked Soren for more details about the ordinary Beast Masters who had gathered, and Soren told him that this tavern was where they were meeting, but he would have to wait until around 10 PM.

So, Charles had no choice but to wait, bored. Soon, as nightfall approached, more people started to gather in the tavern.

At that moment, Soren suddenly whispered to Charles, “The one at the door—that’s the level-six Beast Master I was telling you about!”

Charles turned to look. A tall man with a body as solid as steel, covered in muscle, was slowly walking into the tavern.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!

Report chapter

Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter