Chapter 1039: Pressured
The silver-haired man looked at Vale with a frown and folded his arms behind his back. He seemed more like a judge and executioner.
"Confidential?" he repeated Vale’s words with a sneer.
"Inside our Hoffman Tower, nothing is confidential. Do you know how many divine crystals were drained, stabilizing the structure because of your reckless breakthrough with your spell?"
Another Immortal stepped forward and jabbed a finger at Vale. His Divine Aura leaked aggressively and pressured Vale.
"If you think you can just pay with words, you’re mistaken. The Divinity you consumed belonged to the Tower—belonged to us. You will reimburse us with divine crystals, or..."
As he paused from this, the man couldn’t help but show a smile. "...you can hand over the method you cultivated. You have an awesome Spell Model, right? That corrosive energy wasn’t ordinary. It smelled of forbidden arts. It should be inspected."
The other woman from before spoke next. She tried to sound kind, but Vale could feel it was dripping with malice.
"You’re new here. Alone. No one to vouch for you. Do you think the Tower will tolerate an outsider practicing... whatever that was... and shaking the foundations? If you cooperate, we’ll make sure you’re not banned from every Immortal Tower in Note City."
The others chuckled faintly, as if they had seen this sort of "handling" before.
Vale’s jaw tightened, but his face remained calm.
He glanced at the receptionist, who flinched and looked away guiltily, clearly powerless to intervene.
’So this is how they treat people here...’ he thought.
He could feel the Umbral Dominion within him stirring, wanting him to silence them all. He didn’t want to cause unnecessary bloodshed, but he also wasn’t about to bow to corruption.
’I can tell that they’re strong, but they shouldn’t be that beyond me... Especially if it’s a one-on-one combat.’ He thought.
Right now, he believed that the only way he could lose against them would be by fighting them all at once.
So, for now, he had to control his emotions and show that he wasn’t easy to deal with, but he couldn’t start the fight.
His eyes swept across the group of Immortals, and though his voice remained even, he showed hostility.
"You want compensation? Or my Spell Model?" Vale’s lips curled faintly.
"That’s no different from robbery. Do the Hoffman Tower Immortals usually operate like street bandits?"
The gaunt Immortal was shocked seeing the young Immortal being so uncooperative.
In normal cases, their target should be to give everything they already have.
"Watch your tongue! You’re fortunate we haven’t restrained you already!"
"Wait--You... You’re seriously not aware of who we are?!" One of the Immortals finally realized that they weren’t recognized by Vale at all.
Vale chuckled softly—though the sound held no humor.
"Do I have to know you all? And... You want to restrain me? Try it. You’ll find that even if I can’t defeat all of you, I won’t be the one left regretting it."
The corridor stilled at his boldness. The Immortals clearly hadn’t expected someone who seemed to have just advanced to dare speak back so sharply.
At this time, multiple Immortals in various rooms were already watching the scene. They may not be leaving their rooms but they were all using their abilities to observe what was going on.
Then, before their aggression could escalate further, Vale slowly reached into his robe and pulled something out.
It was the dark insignia of the Abyss Watch Guild.
He removed it a while ago since he was afraid that it would get damaged during his Advancement.
Alongside it, he revealed a second emblem—etched with the crest of Luminis Hold.
"I see," Vale said coldly, his gaze steady. "So this is how Note City treats an Abyss Watch Guild member... and an Honorable Ally of Luminis Hold."
The effect was immediate.
The woman’s smile faltered as she saw Vale’s affiliation... The silver-haired man’s expression also froze...
He was in disbelief seeing that the young Immortal would be connected to two strong organizations of the outer region...
Even with their status as Sky Immortals, they couldn’t help but worry a little.
As for checking their authenticity, it was very easy for Immortals like them...They knew that it was genuine.
At this time, the receptionist gasped audibly, her pale face now filled with dread.
If Vale’s identity was genuine, then bullying him was not just reckless; it was dangerous.
Vale let the silence stretch a moment before he continued.
"Do you still want to ’inspect’ me? Or are we done here?"
***
The silver-haired man scowled...
"Guilds... Holds... big names, indeed," he said slowly. "But here, inside the Hoffman Immortal Tower, you are still just one customer. Do not think your affiliations make you untouchable."
Hearing their leader start like this, the other Immortals laughed harshly. They were obviously emboldened by their leader’s companion.
"Exactly. So what if you belong to the Abyss Watch Guild? The Guild is far, far away from Note City. And Luminis Hold? What authority do they have here? None. You’re in our domain."
The woman leaned closer and nodded.
"Do not misunderstand. We’re not robbing you. We’re simply enforcing Tower laws. If you hand over your Spell Model for inspection and pay the losses you caused, we will let you leave quietly. Refuse... and even your so-called titles won’t protect you from consequences."
Vale’s eyes darkened.
"You’re really determined to make enemies today."
The silver-haired man stepped forward.
"Enemies?" he repeated. At the same time, his aura pressed down heavily on Vale’s body...
"We don’t see you as an enemy. Not yet. Just an arrogant young Immortal who doesn’t understand where he stands. If we wanted to make you disappear, who would know? Who would come for you in time?"
The pressure intensified. The receptionist gasped, clearly terrified, and several watching Immortals from other rooms held their breath, waiting for the clash.
Vale’s hand twitched at his side. His instincts screamed to unleash the Umbral Dominion, use his Emperor’s Domain to drown the corridor in darkness, and show these so-called Sky Immortals what it meant to provoke him.
But he restrained himself—for now.
He met the silver-haired man’s eyes without blinking.
"You think I stand alone?" Vale asked coldly...