Treasure-hunting: Into the Unknown

Nathan had to admit that Barnes' concerns did make sense. The young master of the Kong Clan's proposal had been interrupted by Zachary. Worse, he had been on the verge of a proposal himself. Proceeding with his plan after that would only cause the clan embarrassment, making a mockery of it.

"I refuse to cower from such as him. If he wants to propose, then let him do it too. I have never been afraid of anyone and will surely not start now," Nathan snapped. Despite his words, he wasn't fine with Zachary doing that and he would ensure the other man didn't win this round. Now that Zachary had publicly challenged him, Nathan was determined to show him his true strength.

Seeing Nathan had made up his mind, Barnes frowned and looked at Zachary, asking, "Harley, are you certain proposing to Alisa is something you truly want?"

"Of course! For that, I don't mind competing with Nathan," Zachary replied in a seemingly conceding tone.

"In that case, you two can compete first. Show everyone present whose proposal is the most sincere," Barnes suggested after giving it some thought.

"Sure. What are the rules?" Zachary asked.

After casting a glance at Nathan, Barnes caught the meaningful look in his eyes. Barnes immediately understood what Nathan wanted him to do. He looked back at Zachary and replied, "Let us see what you prepared for the proposal. I mean, the betrothal presents. According to customs, one must prepare betrothal presents when proposing to a woman. Here in the Vanity Kingdom, the more valuable the presents are, the more sincere the suitor is. Harley, since you're here now to propose to Alisa, you must have prepared some presents. Or have you come empty-handed? It wouldn't look good if you did, you know."

The cunning old fox chose to seize Zachary's weakness, believing that he hadn't prepared betrothal presents. In Barnes' opinion, if Zachary proposed to Alisa, Nathan would be at a disadvantage. While they didn't look to be in love, they were obviously working together to ruin Nathan's proposal. As long as Zachary didn't pass this hurdle, Nathan would still have a chance. Also, he knew that Zachary didn't have an influential family. Except for the fact that he was to be the son-in-law of the Xi

e Dragon Pill was one of those treasures as it could accelerate the breakthrough process. However, such treasures were few and found only in nature. Of course, some could be especially refined, but it would take a lot of time to collect all kinds of rare flowers and plants to produce such treasures. Therefore, there was no market for such precious pills in the Supernal Continent, and the demand exceeded the supply.

With such an extraordinary treasure, Alisa couldn't help but look at Zachary with concern. She did not believe he could come up with something better.

"I must admit that as the young master of the Kong Clan, you are indeed rich and generous enough to offer such a precious and rare pill," Zachary responded in a seemingly surprised tone after a quick glance at the gift.

Nathan's disdain heightened at Zachary's words. No matter how powerful Zachary was, he was a mere Imperial Level warrior and couldn't possibly have access to great treasures like he did. Besides, he had the support of the whole Kong Clan, so an outsider couldn't possibly defeat him. In actuality, he didn't really think of Zachary as a threat.

"Since you were so generous to present such a precious treasure, I couldn't possibly do anything less myself," Zachary replied calmly. He casually flipped his wrist and a yellow crystal-like object appeared in his hand. It was the Celestial Energy Crystal.

The crystal immediately emitted a bright orange light, giving off strong spiritual energy.