Chapter 157
Finished
As soon as Leander appeared, the one-armed elder and the pale-dressed girl quickly bowed and backed away a few steps.
Ginny and Colin froze. Their bodies were stiff as boards, and they nearly collapsed from sheer fright.
But Leander didn’t even glance their way. He looked briefly at Madeline, then turned to Yvette.
“Do you believe me now p>
Yvette gazed into Leander’s eyes. The tears on her cheeks had dried, but her gaze remained hollow and desolate. Her red lips trembled slightly as she murmured, “I never imagined… that you were Mr. Ashcroft p>
Back then, she’d actually thought Leander was working for Frankie. She had no idea that Frankie and the others were just following Leander’s lead.
“Hard to believe, isn’t it? The man who looked like a beggar when you first met him turned out to be the one in charge of Mornwick. I guess you never saw that coming. Am I right p>
Leander’s voice was calm, yet his words cut straight through her heart.
Yvette staggered, her body trembling.
Had she just taken a moment to think things through, it wouldn’t be that hard to guess Leander’s real identity. But she had been too arrogant and too quick to judge. She never once considered the possibility that Leander could be “Mr. Ashcroft p>
“So… is this what you meant when you told me about the most important thing in the world- the
power to control life and death p>
Yvette slowly lifted her misty eyes and asked softly.
“The answer should be obvious by now. Do you really need me to spell it out p>
Leander spread his hands and gestured toward Frankie, Tommy, and the others in the distance. He had subdued the powerhouses of Mornwick with nothing but his strength. Even the Great Seven Martial Clans of Cloudveil had bowed their heads to serve him. This was a power beyond any wealth or status, and it was the meaning of true domination.
Yvette took a deep breath. Her face was filled with despair as she asked in a soft voice, “That day in the boiler room… were you the one who saved me p>
Leander stood with one hand in his pocket, his expression icy. “Does that even matter p>
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His answer left Yvette looking utterly heartbroken, as though every ounce of strength had been drained from her body. Her shoulders trembled as she stared at Leander’s striking side profile.
“You saved me, but you won’t even admit it. You even called Colin to pick me up right after. If it really doesn’t matter to you, why did you save me? Why not just let me die?
“Leander, do you really hate me so much that you won’t even give me an answer?” She stood less than two feet from Leander, but it felt like a canyon stretched between them, keeping her forever out of reach from him.
Leander’s face remained cold as he turned slightly away.
“Fine. Since you want an answer, I’ll give you one.
“Yes. I saved you that night, but it was simply because Ms. Hollis asked me to find you.
“And I had Colin pick you up… because I believed that was the best possible outcome for you p>
Yvette stood frozen in place, her face already soaked in tears.
“The best possible outcome p>
Tears streamed down Yvette’s cheeks as she suddenly lunged forward and grabbed hold of Leander’s clothes.
“Leander, you said this is the best outcome for me, but did you ever ask what I want? Did you ever stop to think about how I feel p>
“Do you have any idea what you mean to me? Do you even know what I’ve been thinking about all these days you were gone p>
“All I could think about was you. It was always you p>
Yvette didn’t care about the countless martial practitioners watching them. She only wanted to bare her heart and let it all out.
Off to the side, Colin clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His teeth nearly cracked from the pressure. As he listened to his girlfriend bare her soul to another man, he could only shrink into the background, powerless to do anything. Yvette’s voice cracked through her sobs. “Leander, even before I knew you were Mr. Ashcroft… I had already fallen for you. Do you know that p>
“I never thought I could care about someone so deeply, to the point that I lost sight of myself. And the worst part is… it’s someone I used to despise, someone I used to look down on p>
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“But I fell for you anyway. I fell hard, and I can’t help it p>
Her desperate sobs echoed across the valley of Glidewing Mountain.
“But why are you treating me like this? Why is it that I am dispensable in your heart? Every time you saved me… it was only because you knew my mom p>
“I’ve always wanted to hear you say that you saved me because of me-because of who I am, without any other reason or anything else in the way. But that’s just my wishful thinking, isn’t it p>
Yvette’s tears had completely soaked through Leander’s clothes. By the time she finished her words, she had no strength left and collapsed into his arms.
Leander kept his arms at his sides, his expression unchanged the entire time. “Yvette, do you know something? Out of all the things you’ve ever said to me, there’s only one line I agree
with p>
“And that is… we’re from two different worlds p>
He gently pushed Yvette away and took half a step back.
“Colin may be cunning and manipulative, but he truly loves you. He’ll be a good match for you p>
With that, he turned away from Yvette and looked at Madeline.
“If you ever run into trouble you can’t handle, go to Frankie. He’ll take care of it. And
if he can’t… he’ll let me know p>
“You’re Ms. Shire’s only living family member. If you run into trouble in the future, no matter where you are in the world, I’ll come for you p>
As his final words fell, Leander turned and disappeared into the wilderness of Glidewing Mountain.
The moment he left, Yvette crumpled to the ground and passed out. Meanwhile, Madeline stood frozen like a statue.
Leander had once done everything out of consideration for Madeline. But because
of her foolishness, lapse in judgment, and weakness before reality, she had lost Leander’s genuine care -just like Yvette had.
Now, even if Leander were to go through fire and brimstone for her, it would no longer be for her sake. It would only be because of her late mother.
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Leander, where are you going? Come back p>
Yvette’s heart-wrenching cry echoed through the valley of Glidewing Mountain, but
Leander was already gone.
Some things, once lost… are lost forever.
After Leander left, the other martial arts practitioners on Glidewing Mountain slowly began to leave as well, though they were still reeling from the shock. This long- awaited showdown had finally ended in Leander’s overwhelming victory. Within a single day, news of the chaotic three-way battle on the summit of Glidewing Mountain spread like wildfire across Astria, shaking the entire Astria martial world to its core!
In a secluded courtyard in Highcliffe, a commanding elderly man clad in a silk tunic tapped the wooden table lightly with his palm, murmuring in disbelief. “Grayson is dead? And Tsaric was killed by Jeff, too? How is that even possible p>
Grayson and Tsaric were both legendary figures in the martial world, and they were nightmares to countless martial practitioners. Yet, they had both been slain at Glidewing Mountain. Many found the outcome hard to believe, including the old
man.
“Gareth, we’ve never heard of this Jeff before, and yet he’s risen out of nowhere over the past few months. He even defeated both Grayson and Tsaric. If you were to face him… what are your chances of winning p>
He turned to the man beside him, a well-dressed, scholarly-looking man in his early forties. On the surface, he resembled a professor more than a martial practitioner.
But this man was none other than Gareth Ashcroft-revered as the “North Dragon” and a dominant force in Astria’s martial world.
The elderly man beside him was Reginald Ashcroft, the current head of the Ashcroft family.
Gareth’s expression remained somber. After a few seconds, he gave a short reply. “Forty percent”
Reginald’s brows furrowed deeply. He knew exactly how confident Gareth was in his
own cultivation. Both Grayson and Tsaric had suffered defeat at Gareth’s hands
before.
But now, Gareth claimed he only had a forty percent chance against Jeff. That was
as good as admitting that Jeff was probably stronger than him.
Reginald tightened his grip on his Dragonbinder Staff, his gaze rippling with
emotion.
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He understood that with Jeff’s emergence, the power dynamics of Astria’s martial
world were about to be overturned.
Shortly after the news of the Glidewing Mountain match broke out, another announcement followed-one that sent shockwaves through Astria’s martial world and ushered in a new era of turbulence and upheaval.
After being dormant for twenty-five years, the Divine Loom had reopened again!
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