Ch. 1376..1380: The Secretly Rich Man Chapter 1376-1380
Chapter 1376
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1376
“…W-who are you…? And why are you here in our manor…?” asked the surprised Yume.
“Hahaha! Your manor? This is my manor! I was the one who founded the Gunter family, girl! Both of you are nothing more than my descendants!” replied the black light in a booming voice before slowly taking the shape of an old man.
Having white hair that tufted around his old head and a beard that dropped all the way to his chest, it was hard to deny that the old man gave off the impression of a skillful martial artist.
Regardless, the shocked Yume then replied, “…W-what did you say…?”
Gerald himself was now looking at the old man in slight surprise.
From what Gerald could tell, the old man’s form of existence was quite similar to that of the woman in white’s thought of the soul. However, there was a clear difference between the two. It was quite obvious, honestly, that the power and energy that the old man had—and could release from himself— was much stronger compared to what the woman in white could achieve.
While the woman in white was nothing more than an ordinary thought of the soul before the fusion, the figure currently standing before him was immensely different. After all, not only did he have the power and energy to materialize himself, but he was also extremely strong!
Gerald wondered how strong and terrifying that old man’s training level would actually be if he actually possessed a physical body…
“I said that both of you are nothing more than my descendants! What, hasn’t Yreth told you two about the Gunter family’s history before?” sneered the old man.
As Gerald found himself shaking his head, Yume—on the other hand—nodded quickly before saying, “Grandma’s told me lots about our ancestors ever since I was young! From what I was told, the Gunter ancestors gained immense supernatural powers and founded the base of our family after discovering some historical relics from the great civilization of antiquity. However, when our family finally became stable enough, one of our ancestors went on a journey to seek out more divine artifacts from the great civilization of antiquity… Unfortunately, that was the last anyone ever saw of him! …You… couldn’t really be suggesting that you’re that ancestor… right? But… But how? If you truly are who you claim to be, then why did grandma keep you locked up in here?” asked Yume.
Watching as the old man simply laughed in response, Yume then asked, “…What’s so funny…?”
“…I don’t think he’s locked up in here… Rather, he probably can’t show himself for certain reasons, which is why grandma brought him into this secret chamber instead. Of course, though he doesn’t leave the chamber, I’m sure he’s been remotely controlling the entire family this entire time,” said Gerald while looking at the old man.
Hearing that, the old man simply scanned Gerald from head to toe in surprise. Following that, he shook his head before saying, “I hadn’t expected our family to still have decent and capable descendants. I admit that you truly are smart, grandson! As you’ve said, I’ve been controlling the heads of the Gunter family for many generations now!”
As Yume’s jaw dropped in shock, Gerald himself felt slightly surprised.
While Zyla had already told him that the Gunters were an unusual family, he was now only realizing how true her words were. Though he had previously been wondering how the Gunters had even gotten involved with those from the Judgment Portal in the first place, everything now made sense. As it turned out, the real mastermind behind the scenes was this old man—who had probably lived for thousands of years—this entire time!
Finally starting to believe what the old man was saying, Yume then replied, “…So… You truly are our family’s ancestor…? But, if you really are our ancestor, why have you remained in here for so long without ever heading out? Didn’t you venture out to look for more divine artifacts…?”
“That’s going to be a long story to detail… Essentially, while it’s true that I headed off to seek out more divine artifacts at the time, understand that all divine artifacts—in general—tend to be guarded by heavenly spirits. With that in mind, I failed to take down one of the heavenly spirits, resulting in my body getting crushed into pieces! However, not long after, I managed to barely escape with the thought of my soul. Since the Gunters still had many strong enemies at the time, I took it upon myself to direct and control the Gunters from behind the scenes in order to prevent our family’s utter destruction. As for why I’ve managed to preserve the thought of my soul for so long, it’s because the Gunter’s heads have continuously supplied me with the spirit bodies of many top masters!” explained the old man.
“…Wait… W-what did you say…? Are… are you telling me that our family’s annual training meeting is nothing more than a means for you to absorb spiritual energy from the contestants….?” said Yume as she came to a sudden realization.
“Bingo! Alas, even though those people possessed spirit bodies, their physical talents weren’t up to my standards at all! You two have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to possess a spirit body that’s able to help me achieve true reincarnation!” replied the old man with a laugh.
“…I… I think I see the bigger picture now… The person you’re aiming to possess is Gerald, right? The one grandma and those from the Judgment Portal are still trying to capture? After all, since his body contains the Herculean Primordial Spirit, his body is far different from an ordinary mortal’s… Is my guess correct?” asked the flabbergasted Yume.
“Right again! I can see now that you, too, are very intelligent!” said the old man before laughing once more.
Gerald himself was now so stunned that he muttered, “…Herculean Primordial Spirit…? What… is even going on here…?”
Whatever the case was, Gerald was now sure of one thing. These people were currently searching so desperately for him since his body contained a great secret that they urgently needed…
Chapter 1377
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1377
“Indeed! Once I possess Gerald’s body, I’ll surely be able to make a great comeback! Following that, our family will be able to head to Jaellatra together, a perfect world for the Gunters to reign supreme as overlords! By then, our family would be in total control of both heaven and earth!” added the old man as he chuckled longingly.
“…Regardless… Did you lead both of us down here just because you wanted to tell us all this…?” asked Yume.
“That’s a good question! See, while Gerald’s body would naturally be the best option for me, Yreth and the others have simply been too stupid. After waiting anxiously here for so long, I’m unwilling to wait any longer! Adding that to the fact that I’m slightly worried that Yreth will end up harming the body I wish to possess, I’m planning on making my comeback in advance! In order to do so, however, I’ll first need a suitable body for me to adapt to, and both of your bodies appear to possess sufficient auras…” replied the old man.
Turning to look at Gerald, he then added, “…Especially my grandson here! Quite frankly, I don’t think there’ll be anyone even close to being as suitable as him!”
“…You… what? But he’s your descendant! You aren’t even willing to let him go…?” asked Yume in surprise.
Quite honestly, even if the old man really were to harm Felton, Yume wasn’t about to feel upset or distressed for Felton’s sake. After all, Felton was a demon-like, cruel, and vicious person. In other words, him dying was actually going to be a good thing.
Even so, it still felt extremely awkward to Yume since she now knew that the person who was planning to harm Felton was her family’s ancestor whom everyone respected and admired! Knowing that simply
served to amplify her discomfort!
“Well, I don’t really have a choice either. Regardless, our family is already doing well at the moment, so your sacrifice—to secure an even better future for the Gunters—will definitely be worth it!” scoffed the old man as he smiled wryly.
Astonishment was reflected in Gerald’s eyes as he finally realized where the dangerous aura—that he had sensed upon entering this area—came from. To think that this old man would be so cruel and heartless!
Even wild beasts always looked after their cubs… But this old man… He wasn’t even willing to let his own descendant off!
As Gerald took a step back, the old men then laughed before sneering, “Now, now, there’s no need to be afraid! I’ll be sure to lessen the pain as much as possible!”
Watching as the old man’s soul dived straight for Gerald, Gerald instantly exhausted all of the Thunder essential qi in his body to resist the attack!
Upon collision, an explosive sound was heard! Though Gerald had the Thunder Essential qi aura up to defend himself, the more the old man’s soul continued pushing forward, the more Gerald could feel his own soul trembling…!
His soul wasn’t the only thing trembling either, and as Gerald’s body began quivering uncontrollably, he found himself tasting a familiar sweetness in his mouth as blood began overflowing from it!
“I advise you not to continue engaging in such futile resistance! After all, it’ll only make things much more painful for you!” snorted the old man with a grin.
It was a few seconds later when the smile on the old man’s face slowly faded… Only to be turned into an expression of utter disbelief!
“…I’ve already practiced the technique—that allows me to freely move the thought of my soul—for so long that I’m quite literally an expert at it… By right, I shouldn’t make any mistakes at all while using the technique… However, why is it that a surging power repels me whenever I attempt to touch your soul…?!” said the old man in horror as he quickly backed quite a distance away from Gerald, his expression a mix of awkwardness and embarrassment!
With the strength that the old man currently possessed, it was near-impossible for him not to be able to absorb anyone’s soul, regardless of how powerful or talented that person was. Thinking about it, it was also impossible for a Gunter descendant to possess such powerful soul strength! Forget invading this young man’s soul, Gerald’s soul had the capability of destroying the old man’s own thought of the soul! But how could that be possible…?
“…You… You aren’t a descendant of my family, are you…? Who the hell are you?” muttered the intelligent old man who could now tell that something was amiss.
The strength this young man possessed was simply too incredible… Knowing that fact that it could easily destroy his thought of soul, the old man knew that he was very fortunate to have been able to pull away in time.
“His name is Felton Gunter, great-grandpa! There’s simply no way that he isn’t a Gunter descendant!” explained Yume.
“I’m well aware of who Felton is… Yreth had constantly been training him to become the next generation’s successor of the Gunter family, so I know the strength range of Felton’s power very well… With that said, the person who came with you earlier is definitely not Felton…! After all, the power of this person’s soul is so strong that even I feel terrified by it!” replied the terror-stricken old man.
Chapter 1378
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1378
Hearing that, Yume turned to look at Felton in amazement and immediately sensed that something was wrong. For one, she had never seen Felton’s eyes like that before.
Smiling faintly, Gerald then replied, “…You are correct. I’m not Felton.”
Truth be told, even he had no idea what was currently going on. While he had felt immensely dizzy after getting hit by that old man’s soul earlier, it wasn’t long before a rush of essential qi suddenly began filling his body!
It was as if a water god had collided against a mountain, causing all the essential qi dammed up inside to gush out the moment a crack appeared! To put things simply, Gerald’s body was currently overflowing with power, and along with it, came an extremely destructive aura.
As Gerald realized that he no longer needed to be afraid of the old man anymore, the surprised Yume exclaimed, “…H-huh…? Then… If you’re not Felton… Who are you…?!”
“I’m the one who killed him!” replied Gerald casually.
“You… You killed Felton…?!” said Yume as she took a few steps back.
Even so, she already had a good guess who the person standing before her truly was… Could… Could it really be him…?
As Yume pondered on her conclusion, the enraged old man roared, “You… You brat…! Not only did you kill my descendant, but you also disguised yourself to be him just so you could enter our family’s secret chamber! No wonder your essential qi felt so different compared to the rest of the Gunter family members…!”
Just as the old man was preparing to take action again, he suddenly froze in place as he saw what seemed to be a faint, golden light glowing off Gerald’s entire body…
It was the same golden light that had earlier hurt him!
“…What is this…? Why does it seem as though the power of your soul keeps getting stronger and stronger…? It’s just been a few moments, yet the aura your body’s emitting has risen several levels already…!” muttered the old man as his eyes widened in disbelief.
“I’ll be honest and say that I have no idea what’s happening either. What I do know, however, is that the strong impact on my soul—when you attacked me earlier—seemed to release something that had been suppressed within my body for the longest time… With that said, it’s now filling me with extreme strength!” replied the curious Gerald rather casually.
“You’re… being filled with extreme strength?” asked the old man in surprise.
“Indeed. With how strong I am now, I’m going to be frank and say that I now have the means to easily destroy you in seconds! I truly wonder how you managed to trigger all this… Well, since all this happened the second you attacked me, why don’t you try attacking me again?” asked Gerald in a curious tone as he smiled wryly.
“…T-that…” stuttered the old man as he began panting rather heavily.
By that point, the golden light had grown so much that it almost seemed to encapsulate Gerald within an orb of light. As the light completed its condensation process, the energy it emitted grew even more terrifying to the old man!
After staring intently at Gerald for a while, the old man’s eyes widened as he took a few steps back in horror. Seemingly understanding what was happening now, the old man then said, “This… This is the
first stage of the Herculean Golden Primordial Spirit…! It seems to be the first-level potential release of the Herculean Primordial Spirit…! Which could only mean that… You… You’re Gerald…!”
Chapter 1379
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1379
“…Gerald?” asked Yume, looking at Gerald wide-eyed.
Nodding in response, Gerald then replied, “While Zyla did talk about the Herculean Golden Primordial Spirit—that you just mentioned—she didn’t elaborate much on it. With that in mind, I know very little about it. What exactly is it…? From what I can guess, it seems that you’re referring to the secret that’s hidden within me… Had the King of Judgment Portal come all the way here just to acquire this secret as well…?”
Upon hearing that, the old man’s eyes instantly lit up as he shouted, “So you truly are, Gerald!”
While he was overjoyed that Gerald was finally standing before him now, he was simultaneously saddened to know that Gerald’s current potential and strength were a bit too daunting for him to handle.
The old man was also well aware that even the slightest carelessness—on his behalf—could end up enraging Gerald, in turn destroying the Gunter Manor and eventually, the rest of his family despite them being so cautious this entire time!
Whatever the case was, it appeared that he was the one who had helped Gerald unlock the first stage of the Herculean Golden Primordial Spirit’s release…
To think that he was already this terrifying despite being only at the first stage! Hell, Gerald hadn’t even gained the full power of the first stage yet! If he were to one day unlock all nine stages of the Herculean Primordial Spirit, then he’d surely be able to destroy entire worlds with just a flick of his finger! How utterly horrifying…!
“You still haven’t answered my question. What exactly is the Herculean Golden Primordial Spirit?” asked Gerald.
“…It’s the potential that exists within you… Every time it is released, it’ll ramp up the potential of the three realms… Such potential is enough to make anyone whose training in martial arts go crazy!” explained the old man.
“This… potential… Is it in my body?” asked Gerald who hadn’t noticed the old man slowly moving his hands, sneakily gathering his essential qi.
“Bingo. Tell me, do you know who you are?” asked the old man in a hushed voice before gulping.
“Who I am?” asked Gerald.
The second Gerald’s question ended, the old man suddenly raised his head before launching an attack at Gerald with all his strength!
Since the worst possible outcome—to him—was now a reality, he knew that he couldn’t allow Gerald to continue developing any further. If he did, then his thousands of years preparing for all this would’ve been for nothing!
His only option left was to fight Gerald!
As the old man’s palm grew inches away from Gerald’s chest, the golden light suddenly reappeared where he had planned to strike, causing an explosive sound to ensue!
Not only did the thought of the soul of the old man tremble as it flew backward, but the darkness surrounding his body immediately dissipated as well! Due to the sudden instability of the thought of his soul, the old man instantly screamed in tremendous pain as he stared at Gerald with utterly horrified eyes.
“By god…! You’ve just unlocked the first stage of your potential yet you’re already capable of piercing through the thought of my soul?! How is any of this even possible?!” shouted the old man, looking extremely desperate now.
Watching as his thought of the soul slowly dissipated, the old man could only wail hysterically in all the pain he was experiencing.
He had already come this far, yet… No. He wasn’t going to just reconcile with this… He wasn’t going to just get destroyed like this…!
With that, he then turned to glare at the frightened Yume—who was still looking at Gerald—before dashing toward her!
Even if he wasn’t able to move Gerald’s soul, he could at least still take over Yume’s body. In doing so, he would, at the very least, still have a lease of life!
“Be careful!” shouted Gerald as he pointed his fingers at Yume before sealing the position between her eyebrows. Unable to bear Gerald’s power, she instantly fainted on the spot.
Gerald had learned a thing or two about adaptable bodies from Leo, and he knew what needed to be done in order to prevent a soul from entering another person’s body. True to Leo’s teachings, regardless of how powerful the old man was, there was nothing more he could do about the situation.
“I’ll say it now that you lost the right to call yourself the ancestor of the Gunters ages ago. In my eyes, you’re nothing but an old demon who’s lived for thousands of years! With that in mind, I believe it’s high time you got destroyed!” said Gerald.
“N-no…! Please don’t destroy me…! Wait!”
Naturally, Gerald wasn’t going to listen to a word he said. Gerald was well aware that the old man wasn’t most afraid of his essential qi, nor his strength. No, the old man was utterly terrified by his thought of the soul. After all, Gerald’s thought of the soul was many times stronger compared to the old man’s. Hell, Gerald’s thought of the soul was capable of ending the old man in a snap of a finger.
With that in mind, Gerald then unleashed a great power from his thought of the soul! Aiming it toward the old man, Gerald then coldly shouted, “To hell with you!”
Chapter 1380
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1380
Gerald’s golden light then flickered before completely enveloping the already faint, black light. And with that, the black light was no more, completely overwhelmed by the immense power.
‘So my potential has finally been released… If this is truly the Herculean Primordial Spirit, then that means I’ve successfully unlocked the first stage of the Primordial Spirit! Though I do wonder… Once I unlock all nine stages, will I really be capable of causing massive destruction to both heaven and earth…?’ Gerald thought to himself in amazement.
Whatever the case was, Gerald then lifted the unconscious Yume off the ground before tearing his mask off, revealing his true face. Just as he was about to leave with her, however, he suddenly noticed a rather strange piece of equipment built in the center of the secret chamber.
It looked like some kind of pool, and above it, was a blue light that dispersed a blue liquid from it, not unlike how automatic water fountains functioned. The pool itself seemed to be emitting its own blue glow.
‘…This should be what Felton was telling me about… It should be the cornerstone that this family—with secret techniques—used to train their inner strength…! In other words, this should be the source of their family’s power…!’ Gerald thought to himself.
“Well, since I’m already here anyway, I may as well make the best of the situation. In order to repay your kindness, I’ll be passing on a special training technique to you, Yume! Still, it truly seems that both of us can never be on the same path after all!” muttered Gerald with a wry smile as he shook his head.
Following that, he gathered some strength in his palm before blasting the concentrated energy at the cornerstone!
Upon hitting its mark, the blue crystal sphere rolled to the side and the stone platform ended up shattering to pieces in an explosive sound, causing the liquid in the pool to immediately flow out!
“Let’s see how arrogant you can continue being after taking this away from you!” sneered Gerald before picking the blue crystal sphere up and leaving the place for good.
Meanwhile, Yreth—who had been busy commanding the rest of the Gunters in her search for Gerald— suddenly felt her heart palpitate, prompting her to shudder and shout, “…Something’s not right…!”
“What is it, Lady Yreth?” asked one of her subordinates.
“Something’s happened at home…! It seems that our foundation has shaken!” replied Yreth as she frowned incredulously.
She knew for a fact that the place where their foundation was hidden was extremely deep and well- concealed. What more, ‘he’ would’ve been standing guard there as well. With that in mind, how could it have shaken…?
If the Gunters no longer had the foundation, then they’d never be able to continue making any progress in their training. Should that come to be, then all the Gunters could do in future was sit idle till their fortune ran dry! Worst come to worst, all it would take was a few years for there to no longer be any more new Gunters who possessed any knowledge of secret techniques!
As she was thinking about that, one of her subordinates suddenly called out in a panicked voice, “W- we’ve found him…! Lady Yreth, we’ve found him…!”
“What? You’ve found Gerald? Also, why do you look so panicked?” asked Yreth as her eyes instantly lit up. Turning to face the direction of the voice, she saw several Gunters carrying a person as they rushed toward her.
Gulping, the subordinate then miserably replied, “…I-it’s not Gerald, Lady Yreth… We… We found Mr. Felton’s body…!”
“…W-what did you say…? Felton’s body…?!” said Yreth as she felt an acute pain in her heart.
By the time the subordinates stood before her with Felton’s body, Yreth was feeling so faint from the shock that she required someone to support her body.
Upon carefully inspecting the body, she heavy-heartedly had to acknowledge that her grandson was dead… But how could that be…? Hadn’t he already returned home…? Why was his corpse here then…?
…If he was here this entire time… Then… Who was the Felton back at Gunter Manor?
As a sea of questions arose in her heart, she slowly began connecting the dots… Before her eyes widened in astonishment.
“…This is bad. Everyone! Hurry and return to the Gunter Manor with me…!” commanded Yreth.