Chapter 334
Chapter 334 Nightclub Mixer
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Finished
Of course, Leander wouldn’t know what was running through his brother’s head, but even if he had, he would have brushed it off with a laugh. The so–called title of “Highcliffe’s number one” no longer meant anything to him. His sights were set on all of Astria–on the entire world itself.
The brothers dined together at an upscale restaurant at the foot of Westvale Peak, then found a small bar where they drank lightly and reminisced about childhood days.
Leander lifted his glass with a faint smile. Once, they had been nothing but scrappy children. Nine years later, one of them now stood over all of Astria, while the other ruled Highcliffe. The changes were nothing short of staggering.
“Leander, you may not be practicing martial arts anymore, but you must know something of the current state of Astria’s martial world, right?” Ethan asked once the wine had gone around a few times.
“Yes, I know a bit.” Leander nodded slightly.
Ethan downed a glass of strong liquor without using his inner strength to suppress the burn. His face flushed red.
“Leander, there are things I’ve never been able to say to anyone. But now that you’re back, I finally have the chance to get it all out.” He let out a laugh that sounded half–mad.
“These nine years, with you gone, I poured everything into martial training. Step by step, I climbed from Martial Practitioner all the way to half–Sovereign. I’m just a step away from Martial Sovereign, hailed as the foremost of Astria’s Nine Geniuses!” He spoke with drunken abandon, no longer holding anything back.
“Leander, you can call me arrogant if you want, but with your martial power inside me, my progress has been unmatched. Among Astria’s younger generation, I was without question the strongest. For eight years, that’s what I believed. And for eight years, it was true—no one could surpass me. But then, a year ago, a monster appeared p>
Leander’s eyes flickered, but he only took a quiet sip of red wine, saying nothing.
“You must have heard of Jeff Ashcroft.” Ethan’s fists clenched, flames dancing in his gaze. “Before he appeared, I was Astria’s undisputed number one genius. But his arrival stole my name completely.
“I am the Ashcroft heir, Gareth Ashcroft’s son. I bear two martial power sources. By every measure, I should have been the most exceptional talent, the first in Astria’s history to reach Martial Sovereign. But all of that changed because of Jeff Ashcroft p>
He let out a bitter laugh, then slammed his hand against a nearby table, shattering it into
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splinters. The bar owner didn’t dare utter a word.
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“Leander, I hate it. Why? Why did another Jeff Ashcroft have to exist? With me here, why does there need to be a Jeff as well?
“Before, when people spoke of Astria’s number one genius, they all thought of me–Ethan Ashcroft. But now, the first name on everyone’s lips is Jeff Ashcroft. Even Father’s old title of Astria’s Grandmaster has been claimed by him! Tell me, brother–why am I still not his equal? Why p>
With drink loosening his tongue, Ethan spilled all the bitterness he had bottled up.
Sitting beside him, Leander’s eyes glinted, surprise flickering across his heart. He had underestimated how deeply his reappearance as Jeff Ashcroft had shaken Ethan.
Ethan’s pride had always been towering. He had believed himself the rightful first among Astria’s younger generation. Yet in the past year, Jeff Ashcroft had burst onto the scene, dominating the martial world and stealing away all the glory Ethan thought was his. No wonder he was so furious, so full of resentment.
He hesitated for a moment, debating whether to tell Ethan the truth–that he was Jeff Ashcroft -when his phone suddenly rang.
It was Nathan. The moment Leander answered, Nathan’s loud, carefree voice came through. “Leander, where are you? Hurry to Maplebrook Axis!
“I went to the library this afternoon and, by chance, met a finance major beauty. Her dorm agreed to have a mixer with us. They’re on their way right now, so get over here—it’s four on four p>
Leander felt helpless. Just the day before, because of a girl, they had nearly been beaten half to death. If he hadn’t stepped in, the outcome for his friends would still be uncertain.
And now, barely a day later, Nathan seemed to have forgotten the lesson entirely, already arranging another mixer. Leander couldn’t decide whether to laugh or sigh.
He glanced at Ethan, who was slumped over the table, seemingly passed out from drink.
“All right, I’m coming.” He didn’t want Nathan blundering into more trouble, so he could only
agree.
After settling Ethan into a nearby four–star hotel, Leander hailed a cab and headed straight for the Second Ring.
Maplebrook Axis was a nightclub on the Second Ring, outfitted with bar seating around a
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central dance floor where men and women were grinding and dancing under flashing lights.
Led by a server, Leander arrived at a table near the dance floor. Nathan, Evander, and Luke were already seated. Across from them were four female university students.
Three of them were strikingly pretty, the kind of girls who easily stood out in a crowd, with carefully applied makeup that made them instant attention–grabbers in the night scene.
But the fourth was different. Her beauty was sharp and cold, her almond eyes gleaming like rippling spring water, every glance carrying a trace of allure. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ.net
She was stunning, dressed in a fitted black leather jacket that accentuated her perfect figure, with black boots crossed casually beneath the table. The way she carried herself was pure nightclub queen, and more than a few men nearby couldn’t resist sneaking looks, their interest barely restrained.
Though seated with Nathan and the others, she barely acknowledged their efforts to engage her. Their enthusiasm earned nothing more than the occasional dismissive smile.
Most of the time, she couldn’t even be bothered to feign interest, her bearing lofty and untouchable. Yet Nathan and his friends didn’t mind at all. They kept raising their glasses, trying their best to please her.
When Leander arrived, Nathan quickly stood up. “Boss, you’re here p>
After seeing Daphne throw herself into Leander’s arms in class earlier, Nathan had been thoroughly convinced of his strength and had started calling him by the new title without hesitation.
Leander smiled faintly and took a seat beside them. Across the table, the four girls turned to look at him.
Earlier, before he arrived, Nathan had bragged about him, claiming that Leander was unstoppable in a fight, able to take on a hundred men, and that even the campus beauty, Daphne Florian, had thrown herself into his arms.
The four girls had been curious. But now that they saw him, their first impression was that he looked utterly ordinary. The leather–clad beauty especially gave him only a single glance before immediately looking away.
Remembering the day’s rumor–that Daphne had embraced some boy and even cried her eyes out for him–she gave a faint, disdainful snort through her nose.
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