Chapter 451 - Confined And Trapped
Seeing Adam suddenly disappear and appear a few dozen metres away, Nathaniel, the head of the US Cultivator Defence, was amused, but also impressed.
Adam knew that he couldn\'t match Nathaniel\'s speed in the slightest, so his best bet was to make some distance between them after hearing what he said.
After doing so, he could wait to see what he did next and created more time and space for him to react in case Nathaniel turned out to be his enemy.
"Impressive. You act decisively, and your instincts are sharp and always finding any way to survive. I am sure you know by now that if I wanted to kill you, I would have done so already. Just calm down,"
On the surface, his words appeared to be reassuring, but to Adam, they were a threat and were Nathaniel asserting his power and dominance.
Adam felt confined and the Master of the US Cultivator Defence was not someone he could handle with his current power and it was almost guaranteed that he could deal with Soul Forms, so Adam walked back over.
He was trapped and trying to escape or fight was futile, so his only option was cooperating.
His body acted without thinking, and he needed to come to an agreement with Nathaniel, but he would also prefer to keep his distance from him.
The way he smiled and looked at Adam was like a parent or sculptor admiring their child or creation.
He felt belittled and underestimated, but still stood strong and confidently, not planning on submitting even if that was the death of him.
"I recognise your strength boy, but do not cause trouble for my organisation or my country. I wanted to affiliate with you and your faction after seeing what you were doing in New York, and I came here for that purpose after hearing you have exited your seclusion,"
He spoke casually, but if anyone else were to hear him claim that he owned the entire country, they would merely laugh at him.
However, that was the truth and power would allow one to overcome all, while he was likely to be allied and in contact with the ancients, as they were the true rulers and controllers of everything that occurred in the world.
"You progressed so much and it is amazing. Your progress is on par with most geniuses in this generation and I wonder just how much you can continue to grow, and the same could be said for your faction. But..."
Being placed on par with most geniuses was slightly undermining for Adam, but was likely to be an accurate estimation when compared to the geniuses in the hidden cultivation sects that belonged to the ancients.
However, Adam was confident in his potential and that of his friends, while it merely made him want to grow and develop even further, so that wasn\'t the issue.
What caused him to take a step back was Nathaniel\'s pause after beginning his next sentence.
"But what?"
"After seeing how everything unfolded today and witnessing your power, capabilities and potential, I am beginning to doubt my decision to affiliate with your faction,"
Adam didn\'t mind that and as long as he didn\'t declare him an enemy and was allowed to leave, he wasn\'t planning on placing his hands out or requesting any aid from him.
His friends were on track to making unbelievable progress and standing on par with him with all their latent potential.
While the pressure that danger, threats and ambition placed on them would allow them to grow even faster, but it was still too early for Adam to even think about standing as an equal against the US Cultivator Defence.
"That is fine. I do not need you and can maintain peace within my territory without you. Once my territory expands throughout this entire country and the world, there won\'t be a need for you or any other organisation that claims to be protecting the people," stated Adam directly.
Adam\'s words were firm and direct.
While standing opposite Nathaniel, Adam felt small and insignificant, like an insect that could be crushed at any moment.
It wasn\'t because of the height difference, but because of his presence that seemed to swallow up everything around him, however, he stood before him as an equal and wouldn\'t submit to anybody else after the passing of his master.
He was more than capable of progressing alone by using his own intelligence, by making the most of the opportunities that come his way and by using the incredible Dungeon System.
Nathaniel began to laugh and Adam couldn\'t tell what the man was thinking or whether his words had angered him or not.
Suddenly he stopped laughing and became serious.
The entire atmosphere changed and even the weather seemed to be reacting to him as the closed rushed to cover the early morning sunlight.
"Is that a declaration of war?" he said before leaning towards Adam and glaring into his eyes.
Just as Adam was about to answer, while he also prepared himself to attempt to escape and defend himself, he was shocked to see that Nathaniel was laughing once again.
"I meant I was impressed by you and like you even more after seeing you and your capabilities for myself. Why so defensive boy?"
Hearing that Adam let out a sigh of relief, but still didn\'t let his guard down.
Nathaniel could see that and was amused, but also impressed that Adam was always prepared and never allowing himself to be tricked into relaxing and creating an opening for an attack.
Moving away from Adam\'s face, Nathaniel turned around and the Silent Ghost followed closely behind with his head still lowered.
Seeing that, Adam was about to turn and leave, not wanting to be near that man any longer, but it seemed as though their conversation was not over.
"Where are you going? Follow me, boy,"
"We were just starting to talk and get to know each other,"
He spoke in a friendly manner, but Adam knew he had no choice as he followed after him and wondered what the mysterious, powerful and frightening man had in store for him.