Chapter 996 by Marina Vittori

The crowd was stunned as they looked at Dustin. Nobody expected the frail young man before them to be the legendary young grandmaster.

These days, everyone in Balerno was talking about the young grandmaster. Countless people admired and idolized him. Now that he was standing before them, they still could not believe their eyes.

“A young grandmaster? H–h–he’s a young grandmaster?” Walter widened his eyes in disbelief. He had initially thought Dustin was only a bit more talented than usual. He hadn’t realized the extent of his background.

It was even more absurd that he wanted to take Dustin in as his disciple. It was a laughable misjudgment! After all, everyone knew Dustin was the monster who had slain Augustus Kline.

Walter hadn’t even truly broken through yet. Even if he did become a grandmaster, he would only be scratching the surface.

He was not even worth mentioning next to a veteran grandmaster like Augustus, not to mention someone as extraordinary as Dustin.

“Damn it! This spells trouble!” Walter wiped away the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling unease.

It was one thing to take him in as a disciple. The problem was that he wanted to take Dustin’s

sword and even slandered him.

If Dustin were to take revenge, the consequences would be simply unimaginable.

“E–Emily. Did I hear it right? Dustin, is the famous young grandmaster?”

Vanessa stood frozen in place, stunned.

“Handsome and has a strong sense of justice. Only in his early twenties but is already a grandmaster…” Emily muttered to herself.

Her face lit with joy. “It is him! He checks all the boxes! He’s that rare, talented genius that

everyone looks up to!”

By the end of her speech, her body was shaking. She was excited and shocked.

Who would have thought the young grandmaster she looked up to had been next to her all this

time?

She should have known earlier. Dustin’s temperament, strength, and cultivation had far surpassed

He had defeated Magnus with a punch and lifted the black sword with two fingers. These had shown his extraordinary abilities.

Now that his true power had been revealed, it was even more shocking.

The rumors were true. A young grandmaster should indeed be as majestic as he was.

“Why is it him? Why?” Nathan clenched his teeth. Other than shock, he felt pathetic.

All this time, he had thought Dustin was only slightly better than him. He could crush him completely if he trained harder and achieved a breakthrough.

Only now did he realize how vast the gap in their skills was.

He was a little divine–level martial artist, yet Dustin was already challenging veteran

grandmasters.

It was a huge joke to say he could catch up to him in ten years.

“You little prick, I didn’t expect you to have another identity. I’ve underestimated you.”

After a brief moment of shock, Theodore’s aura grew stronger and fiercer than before.

“Sir Crane, it won’t be easy to deal with him. Let me help.”

Suddenly, they heard a commanding voice from above them. Following the voice, a black–clad figure descended from the sky.

Just like a feather, he landed on the ground gracefully. Not one speck of dirt was stirred from his landing.

After a closer look, the crowd noticed that it was a burly, white–bearded old man.

The old man had a rugged appearance and a sharp gaze. He had a fierce aura to him.

It was as if a transparent barrier surrounded him where he was isolated from everything.

“Damn! Isn’t that the leader of the Soul Reapers, Graham Thorne? Why is he here?”

The scene erupted into a frenzy after the white–bearded old man’s appearance.

The Soul Reapers were the strongest sect in Balerno. They were almost as famous as Boulderthorn.

And as the leader of the Soul Reapers, Graham Thorne was known as a revered veteran grandmaster in Balerno. He was only second to that of the leader of the martial world, Ronald Reeds.