The Secretly Rich Man

Gerald Crawford: The Secretly or invisible Rich Man Chapter 1851

Upon returning to the real world, Gerald was instantly swept by feelings of relaxation as his mind acquired newfound understanding. As it turned out, returning from that white dimension was the final step for him to gain this understanding.

Looking at the soul bamboo before him, Gerald then lifted his hand… and with a swift strike using the side of his hand, he sliced the soul bamboo clean in half!

Pleased to have snapped his first soul bamboo, Gerald was now a hundred percent sure of what the first soul bamboo meant.

Essentially, one couldn’t just expect to see instant benefits. Things needed to be done in proper order, and only then would success come… After all, while Gerald did lose the first two Go games, after learning the rules a bit better and observing how things went on the board, step-by-step, he was eventually able to win against that old man.

Regardless, upon seeing that the soul bamboo had been snapped, Tomie—who had been watching over Gerald this entire time—couldn’t help but smile as he said, “Congratulations on breaking your first soul bamboo, Gerald!”

Smiling in response, Gerald then headed over to the next soul bamboo before placing his hand on it again. The sooner he got all this done with, the better.

Soon enough, Gerald found himself transported to yet another dimension. Compared to the previous white space, however, Gerald was greeted by the sight of several quickly alternating beautiful scenes…

Shortly after, another old man made his appearance before smiling warmly as he said, “Good day, mister. Tell me… What do you think these scenes symbolize…?”

Surprised by the sudden presence of the old man, Gerald quickly shook his shock off before asking, “…Before that, how should I address you, sir?”

Chuckling in response, the old man replied, “Well, I’m a psychic spirit, so you can call me that if you’d like!”

“I see… It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. Regardless, about your question… I can see that the scenes alternate endlessly among the four seasons. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter…” said Gerald in a respectful tone.

Nodding in response, the psychic spirit then replied, “Well, you’re not wrong there. While the scenes do depict the usual seasons, there’s another message to be found in all this… Why not try calming yourself to see if your heart can sense it?”

Upon hearing that, Gerald nodded before doing as the psychic spirit had told…

After a while, Gerald realized something and he opened his eyes again before saying, “…I think I understand now, sir. Essentially, not only do the scenes depict the four seasons, but they also symbolize the different experiences one undergoes in life.”

“The spring scene displays a sprout which I’m assuming symbolizes the moment one is born. The summer scene, on the other hand, shows how hot it can get.

From what I can gather, it’s a way of saying how hardships and distresses are normal experiences as one grows older.

Moving on to the autumn scene, it depicts the harvest season, which should be when an individual feels the most accomplished they’ve ever felt in their life.

Finally, winter, the period of reminiscing. For me, winter symbolizes the moment when one nears the end of their life cycle…” explained Gerald.

The second his explanation ended, the psychic spirit instantly began clapping as he declared, “Not bad at all, mister! As you’ve said, the four seasons do indeed symbolize a person’s life.

I have to say, you truly are extraordinary to be able to have such a deep understanding of life! You really are different from the others! Regardless, you’ve completed my test so you can leave now!”

And just as before, Gerald’s consciousness was quickly transmitted back to reality…

Upon seeing the second soul bamboo before him again, Gerald immediately repeated the slicing action on it!

Gerald Crawford: The Secretly or invisible Rich Man Chapter 1852

As expected, this bamboo broke instantly as well, and by conquering it, Gerald now understood the meaning of life.

Essentially, one’s life was like the four seasons since everyone experienced birth, sicknesses, and eventually death. It was simply according to the seasonal cycle. While one would definitely experience other things as well, nobody would truly be able to change their fate in the seasonal cycle of life.

Regardless, Torme himself was now smiling widely after watching Gerald successfully break the second soul bamboo. This youth wasn’t disappointing him in the least!

Whatever the case was, Gerald didn’t even wait for Torme to say anything before moving on to touch the third soul bamboo.

While Gerald was already used to having his consciousness getting transferred, he still found himself slightly stunned when he realized that standing before him, was a doppelganger!

“…And you are?” asked Gerald.

“Heh! I’m just you!” replied the other Gerald as he revealed a subtle smile.

“What? If you’re me, then who am I?” said Gerald.

“You’re me, and I’m you. There’s nothing technical about that! We’re simply the same person! Even so, we’re different from the way we view things!” explained the other Gerald.

“…Different views? Elaborate,” replied Gerald.

Chuckling in response, the other Gerald then said, “To put it in layman terms, I’m your dark side! A fancier name would make me your inner demon!”

As it turned out, the lookalike was a manifestation of his inner demons! This must be the third soul bamboo’s test!

With that in mind, Gerald had a hunch that as long as he managed to defeat the demon, he would be able to fully understand this soul bamboo.

“Whatever the case is, you’re an idiot, Gerald. Why the hell didn’t you just pick Rey in exchange for the key to the large entrance of the Phangrottom Clan territory? Picking yourself… You could’ve died you know?” added the other Gerald in a gloomy tone.

Upon hearing that, Gerald stared at his inner demon for a while before retorting, “As if I’d ever use my friends as bargaining chips! I’ll never sacrifice them!”

“You utter buffoon! That Rey? He’s just a prick and you know it! You could’ve easily gotten rid of him for good! How stupid do you have to be for me to spell it out for you?!” scowled the inner demon as he glared at Gerald.

“Shut it! You’re just my inner demon! In the end, I’m the one who decides on what I think!” growled Gerald who was getting fed up with his inner self.

Upon hearing that, the inner demon instantly roared in laughter as everything around them turned pitch black. The scene was nothing short of terrifying…

“Talk big, will you? Look, I can easily just swallow you up, you know? Once that happens, you’ll be beneath me your entire life!” scoffed the inner demon as he smiled wickedly while staring at the youth.

Before Gerald could even reply, his eyes widened as his other self summoned an incredibly familiar-looking sword…

“…The Astrabyss Sword?!” yelled Gerald, feeling slightly stunned that the demon could also wield the legendary weapon.

“Things could have gone much differently, Gerald! But due to how idiotic you are, you only have yourself to blame! I’m vanquishing you for good so that I’ll be the rightful owner of your body and mind!”

Gerald Crawford: The Secretly or invisible Rich Man Chapter 1853

After saying that, his inner demon began charging toward Gerald!

Since the inner demon was an exact replica of Gerald, he shared the same strength and capabilities as Gerald. Naturally, Gerald noticed this, and he immediately began retreating as he dodged the onslaught of attacks!

Unfortunately, since their skills were on par, Gerald’s neck ended up getting slightly cut by the sharp blade.

The Astrabyss Sword’s tip had merely brushed across Gerald’s skin, yet it was already bleeding… Gerald didn’t even want to imagine what would happen if the sword struck him for real…

Whatever the case was, he couldn’t allow this inner demon to get rid of him. After all, if he lost this battle, he would lose control over his body forever!

With that in mind, once he was at a safe distance, Gerald drew out his own Astrabyss Sword.

“Hah! Thinking of launching a counterattack?” sneered the inner demon.

“You won’t have your way! I’m burying you deep in my heart so that you’ll never be able to resurface again!” declared Gerald in a righteous tone.

“Let’s see if you can win against me first!” yelled the inner demon as both he and Gerald bolted toward each other!

Since both of them were equally fast, their blades met even before a split second passed!

With a massive ‘clang’ the impact of the two legendary blades caused both of them to take a few steps backward!

“I hope you haven’t forgotten that I’m your dark side, Gerald! I don’t have anything weighing me down! With that in mind, I’m way stronger than you!” scoffed the inner demon in a smug tone before he immediately began chanting a spell…

Within seconds, Gerald watched as all sorts of knife brandishing ghosts began appearing! The inner demon had summoned them from the Astrabyss Sword to deal with Gerald!

began rushing toward Gerald, the youth remained calm and simply took out

spirits he slew, more would just appear… That b*stard of

inner demon then smugly proposed, “Gerald, listen. Wouldn’t it be great if we just cooperated? With your intellect and

to agree to

other self was merely a temporary manifestation of his

that, an idea suddenly came to Gerald. Understanding that it was now or never,

he started doing so, his inner demon immediately began suffering a severe

held on to his aching head as he asked, “You… The hell have

me in a million years! My true power will always be stronger than yours!” scoffed Gerald as he walked over to his

time, Gerald then

the inner demon vanished, sending Gerald’s consciousness back to

or invisible

bamboo, and with a swift attack, he instantly split it clean in

as he said, “Congratulations for defeating your

battle, Gerald was prompted

here stands for. Regardless, had you failed to defeat your inner demon, you’d have ended

I’m sure you’re aware that not only would your consciousness get sealed deep within your heart forever, but that inner demon

must say, you haven’t disappointed me at all!” declared Torme as he

Torme then added in a serious tone, “Inner demons are dark manifestations that exist in everyone’s hearts. Sadly, not many are

demons, they always ended up getting swallowed by their inner demons, resulting in them becoming their worst nightmares… With that in mind, since you’ve managed to make it past your demons, I have to say I greatly

the next soul bamboo!” replied Gerald in a gratuitous tone before walking toward his fourth soul

able to touch

a slight brow as he asked, “Is… something

to go through the fourth soul bamboo. You’ve passed the

his hand… and just

passed everything, sir?” asked

also be handing you the key to the large entrance of that territory! While I’m sure you’re on some extraordinary mission, do remember that in

was currently too pleasantly surprised and excited to feel down by that statement. To think that he had managed to pass the test without needing to fully complete

handing it to Gerald as he said,

inside, was an iron key with the Phangrottom Rune on

obtained it, Gerald

of advice before you head off. The Phangrottoms are a spiritual clan that rules over all souls… With that in mind, I’m sure you can imagine that they’re not ones who are easy to persuade. What I’m saying is please make sure that you’re mentally ready to face everything, and

keep that in mind!” replied Gerald in

sure you will. Now head off! The passing permit is already hanging on your

Gerald instantly looked at his waist area… as true to Torme’s words, a passing permit was hanging there! When had Torme even done the

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case was, Gerald simply nodded

saw that Rey was taking a nap with

few times while saying, “Hey, I wasn’t in

waking up, the shocked Rey couldn’t help but exclaim, “A-ah! Mr. Crawford!

I’ve been in there for half an hour at

to lie. Could the time in the tower move differently compared to the time in the outside world…? After all, as they said, ‘a day in heaven was equivalent to a year in the human world’. With that

added Gerald, not wanting to bother about something that trivial. After

gates again, and upon showing the

to do to obtain the passing permit, Mr. Crawford…?” asked Rey in a curious

through some tests of life,” replied Gerald, knowing that his answer was the truth despite how

the tower, he couldn’t help but feel pleased

Rey naturally didn’t know what Gerald was going on

to Rey before whispering, “Forget about that for the moment. I actually have some

news, Rey immediately grew excited as

all that others may learn of this?” replied Gerald as he glared

Rey instantly calmed down, making sure to cover a hand over his mouth to ensure no further noise

no different from human settlements, the ghosts here had their own lifestyles that were

the duo watched hordes of ghosts wandering along the streets of the town, it wasn’t long before a few phantom soldiers—riding phantom

you, come with us!” ordered one of the soldiers in a frigid

Crawford: The Secretly or invisible Rich Man

command, the

good to cause a scene, both

they arrived at what appeared to be a palace of sorts within

soon saw an armor-clad ghost sitting atop

to them, the ghost went by the name of Yohr God, and he was

town!” reported one of

Yohr got to his feet before squinting his eyes at

prompted to say, “…You’re

you again…?” asked Gerald in a composed

am? You truly have some nerve coming

Yohr God!” snapped one of the phantom soldiers standing

slightly surprised. To think that there would actually

case was, Gerald felt that it was best not to immediately offend these people. It was honestly amusing

“Just so you know, we’re not here to cause any trouble! We’re simply passing

headed to?”

Phangrottom Clan!” declared Gerald, seeing

In case you didn’t know, anyone who barges into their territory will definitely suffer a terrible fate! Do you honestly think you can make it back

before smiling as he replied, “But of course I’m serious. Why wouldn’t I head there when even you

Are you trying to court death or something?!” growled Yohr as he instantly transformed into a

second, Yohr was already standing inches away from Gerald’s feet,

all?” scoffed Yohr as he continued staring

if I’d come here in the first place if I was afraid of dying! Regardless, perhaps this

but exclaim, “…So you’re a cultivator who’s half human and ghost?

also

Yohr then turned to face his phantom soldiers before

soldiers do Yohr’s bidding, Gerald then returned to

up getting all tied up the other day. After all, just like what had happened moments ago, Gerald’s physical body had gone unconscious while he was in his ghost form. If

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ordered Yohr at his soldiers, prompting the phantom soldiers to quickly leave

and Rey to take a seat before looking at Gerald and

go by

cueing the boy to add, “You can just call me

of you, Gerald and Rey. I admit that I may have been a bit offensive earlier… With that in mind, I do hope that you don’t take that to heart!” said

and Rey were rightfully confused. After all, Yohr’s attitude toward them had just taken

pass through Phantom City to accomplish something important elsewhere! With that in mind, I hope you’ll just let us go!” replied Gerald, not wanting to waste any more time than he needed to here. Every second

course… But before that, I do have a favor I’d

asked

a Phangrottom Jade back once you’re done with your mission!” said Yohr as he retrieved a sheet of paper from under

taking the paper and looking at the sketch of the Phangrottom Jade, Gerald couldn’t help but ask, “…And why do you need

definitely tell you more about it once you bring

he just wanted to leave this place

men to escort you out right this instant!” declared Yohr with a wide smile on his face as he ordered for

left Phantom City rather easily… and soon after, they

Phangrottom Clan. With that in mind, the duo would have to scale

asked Gerald as he

how to get there. Regardless, this is where our escort ends. The rest is up to you,” replied the

left, Gerald and Rey couldn’t help but feel that they

should we do now, Mr.

appeared rather perplexed. To think that this ocean would be the largest hurdle

around, Gerald saw that there really weren’t any boats around. Did they actually have to resort to

The Secretly or invisible Rich Man