Chapter 180 Breaking into the Village

ShadowCorp enforcers—the name alone screams shady, like some secret organization operating outside any country's laws.

Even though Hidden Stronghold is secluded and its members are Martial Artists, they aren't naive.

Life in the mountains might not be as flashy as the outside world, but agreeing to Jeremy's proposal and leaving with him could mean never coming back alive.

Dean spoke up, "Sure, you might have exceptional talent and strength, with the potential to break through to the Innate Realm Martial Artists in the future."

"But we at Hidden Stronghold don't want to get mixed up in conflicts, and we can't agree to leave the mountains, let alone join your so-called ShadowCorp."

Dean had to think about the well-being of hundreds of people in the clan. If they followed Jeremy out of the mountains and the Inspectorate or Avalonia's higher-ups got involved, they could easily send someone powerful enough to wipe out the entire Hidden Stronghold.

He couldn't risk the lives of his entire clan.

Jeremy got where they were coming from, so he smiled and said, "If I'm not wrong, someone must have threatened you about Wayne's situation, right?"

"Can the people of Hidden Stronghold really handle this crisis?"

"You might be protecting Hidden Stronghold now, but what about a hundred years from now? Who's gonna protect it then?"

"I want to take you out of the mountains, but I don't need all your Martial Artists, just half of them!"

"I'll provide a medicine that boosts strength, letting you become a Supreme Grandmaster, or even a Half-step Innate Realm, and elevate the entire clan's Martial Artists by one level."

Hearing Jeremy's words, the Martial Artists of Hidden Stronghold gasped in shock!

Raising their level, even from Early Grandmaster to Mid Grandmaster, was a huge leap. Some people might never get the chance in their lifetime.

Could such a medicine really exist?

If anyone else had said this, they wouldn't believe it, but coming from the successor of GhostHealer, it was a different story.

Dean asked, "Are you sure your medicine can really boost my strength to Supreme Grandmaster?"

Jeremy nodded, "Do you think it would help me to lie to you now?"

Dean sighed, "This is a big decision. You should rest for now. We need to hold a meeting to discuss this and will give you an answer tomorrow."

For the entire Hidden Stronghold clan, this was a matter of their fate. Even Dean couldn't make such a decision lightly.

The fate of over four hundred people in Hidden Stronghold required everyone's input.

Jeremy was escorted to a guest room to rest, while in the main hall of Hidden Stronghold, a meeting was held with all the decision-makers of the clan.

Jeremy spent the night meditating. The mountain air was much better for cultivation than the city air.

Early the next morning, Dana came to take Jeremy to see Dean.

Dean probably didn't sleep well either, but as a Late Grandmaster Martial Artist, he looked energetic and unaffected.

This time, Dean met Jeremy alone in his room.

After Dana escorted Jeremy in, she closed the door and stood guard outside.

Dean looked at Jeremy and sighed, "I don't know what you're planning, but Dana told me about what you did in Sunrise. Even though you're the successor of GhostHealer, your actions are quite different from GhostHealer's."

"Can you tell me how far you intend to take this ShadowCorp you're creating?"

Jeremy and Dean talked all morning, and finally, they reached an agreement.

Dean decided to let Hidden Stronghold's Martial Artists join Jeremy's ShadowCorp.

But as Jeremy had mentioned before, he had to ensure that all of Hidden Stronghold's Martial Artists would be elevated by one level.

This required time to prepare the medicine and a large supply of herbs from Hidden Stronghold.

Fortunately, Hidden Stronghold had collected a significant amount of these herbs over the centuries, originally intended for critical moments, and now they were put to good use.

The real reason Dean and the clan agreed, aside from Jeremy's offer, was because of what Jeremy did in Sunrise, taking out those people.

Hidden Stronghold had a small population, and over the years, they had lost about twenty young people, both men and women, to deception.

If a small village like Hidden Stronghold could lose people, larger villages must have lost even more.

Jeremy's creation of ShadowCorp to punish these deceivers and wrongdoers naturally garnered support from most people.

The people of Hidden Stronghold had a strong sense of justice. Sending young people to join the military had always been a tradition in the clan.

Moreover, Hidden Stronghold was facing a decline, with fewer and fewer young people capable of practicing martial arts.

In this situation, Hidden Stronghold needed a strong backer.

Jeremy's appearance provided Hidden Stronghold with such an opportunity, and under various coincidences and circumstances, Jeremy's mission in Hidden Stronghold was successfully completed.

In the end, he gained a Mid Grandmaster, three Early Grandmasters, and fifteen Internal Force Martial Artists from Hidden Stronghold.

Among the fifteen Internal Force Martial Artists, three were Half-step Grandmasters!

With Jeremy's medicine, within half a month, these people would all be elevated by one level!

The Half-step Grandmasters would become true Grandmasters, the Early Grandmasters would become Mid Grandmasters, and the Mid Grandmaster would become a Late Grandmaster.

After preparing the medicine and having the Martial Artists take it, it was Jeremy's third day in Hidden Stronghold.

He had another place to go and would return to take the Martial Artists out of the mountains afterward.

Adjacent to Hidden Stronghold was another village called TeaGrove Stronghold.

Dana had been sent to TeaGrove Stronghold to learn martial arts, and her teacher was the new leader of TeaGrove Stronghold.

TeaGrove Stronghold had close ties with the Brooks family, who secretly provided many benefits to TeaGrove Stronghold. In fact, some of the Brooks family's Martial Artists were actually sent by TeaGrove Stronghold.

TeaGrove Stronghold and Hidden Stronghold were neighbors and had interactions with each other.

Dana was accepted by TeaGrove Stronghold because of her ancestral ties to the clan.

However, Jeremy didn't bring Dana along this time. The two villages were only a few miles apart, a matter of minutes for Jeremy.

At his full speed, even a car couldn't catch up with him.

Jeremy went to TeaGrove Stronghold to establish his authority, so he used his identity as GhostHealer.

Dressed in flowing white robes with long white hair, he was immediately noticed at the entrance of TeaGrove Stronghold.

A group of young Martial Artists blocked his way, one of them speaking up, "Who are you to trespass on TeaGrove Stronghold?"

In his GhostHealer persona, Jeremy waved his hand, and the young Martial Artists were sent flying.

"I am GhostHealer, here to visit TeaGrove Stronghold. Bring your leader to see me!"