Where that note traveled, the very air shivered; even time seemed to hesitate, held spellbound by the call.


    Every cultivator from Malevolent Path Hall froze mid-strike, as though unseen chains had snapped tight around their limbs.


    Those already leaping toward the mountain gate fared worse. Invisible thunder pounded them from the sky; grunts burst from their throats as they were flung backward, blood streaming from eyes and ears.


    At the front, the three deputy leaders nched in unison.


    "What''s that sound?" Bonefiend asked, brow furrowing.


    Annihilum hissed. "That''s a dragon''s roar... And one of absolute purity! Wait... Why are there Draconians in Earthfire Pavilion, though?"


    Soulbane spat in the direction of the sound. "No matter. Whatever it is, it dies today." Before the echo faded, ance of gold shot out from the pavilion''s depths.


    In the blink of a heartbeat, it crossed several leagues of sky and halted above the shattered gate.


    The light peeled away, unveiling three figures.


    The one who stood foremost wore a wind-stirred teal robe. Midnight hair whipped behind a face both handsome and calm, his gaze as still aske ss.


    He hovered a step above the void, hands sped behind his back. Even though his aura was only that of a Top Level Heavenly Immortal Realm Level Two, depth coiled beneath it like an ocean masked by morning mist.


    To his left towered the Vermilion Demon Lord-a three-headed, six-armed colossus wreathed in billowing ck fire. Each of the six fists brandished a demonic weapon, and the pressure of a Top Level Heavenly Immortal Realm Level Seven beat against the stones.


    At his right, a gilded-crimson unicorn ten stories tall stamped hooves of living me. Dragon-scaled armor glittered across its hide; its roar carried true draconic authority, its strength equal to the demon lord beside it.


    Ignatius'' eyes widened. "Jared?"


    He froze for half a heartbeat. Color drained from his me-scarred cheeks, then red back, hotter than the embers that licked across his crimson armor. "Why are you out here? Go back-now! You shouldn''t be here!"


    Ignatius'' terror made sense. Jared was gifted, yes, but he still hovered at Top Level Heavenly Immortal Realm Level Two.


    The three deputy leaders, on the other hand, were all at Top Level Heavenly Immortal Realm Level Nine. Going up against them would be a hopeless endeavor.


    "Mr. Chance is here!" Around the fractured gate, Earthfire Pavilion disciples brightened when they spotted Jared, then immediately sagged back into dread. "Hurry up and leave, Mr. Chance! Don''t worry about us!"


    "That''s right, Mr. Chance. Take Princess Lindsay and get as far from here as you can!"


    Jared acted as though the cries never reached him. He swept a calm, unblinking gaze over the ck-armored horde of Malevolent Path Hall, then fixed on the trio of deputy leaders who floated above the ruins like ravens scenting carrion.


    "You three dare to storm Earthfire Pavilion, huh? Have you asked me for my permission yet?"


    The words were spoken softly, yet they threaded every corner of the broken courtyard with crystalline rity.


    Silence dropped like a guillotine. Even the mes crackling in shattered braziers seemed to hold their breath.


    A single beatter, time exhaled again and Bonefiend erupted inughter, a harsh, scraping cackle that rattled loose stones off the pavilion walls.


    "Haha! Who the hell are you, kid? A mere Top Level Heavenly Immortal Realm Level Two fledgling dares address us as equals?"


    He jabbed a bony finger at Jared, mock astonishment twisting his skeletal grin. "You think a pet unicorn and a Demonic Cultivator at your side will bend fate? To me, boy, you''re only slightly better than an insignificant being."


    Soulbane snorted, flicking ash from his blood-red gauntlet. "Ignatius, this is your so- called ace in the hole? A Heavenly Immortal Realm Level Two young cultivator? Hahaha. How pathetic."


    Annihilum''s dead eyes locked on Lucky the fire unicorn. Grey mist writhed around his cloak like hungry spirits. "That''s a pure-blood unicorn right there. Oh, it''d make for a splendid trophy," he crooned. "Hand it over, kid, and I may grant you a swift death."


    Malevolent Path Hall''s army roared approval.


    "Heavenly Immortal Realm Level Two? Does he have a death wish?"


    "Earthfire Pavilion really is scraping the bottom of the barrel. I can''t believe they''re sending out such a weakling to stall for time."


    "I pity that unicorn. It chose the wrong master."


    Mockery rained down, yet Jared never once flinched. If anything, a ghost of a smile tugged at one corner of his mouth.


    "Yes, I may only be at Top Level Heavenly Immortal Realm Level Two..." he said, golden light shing behind his pupils. "But to kill you three, that is more than enough."


    Soulbane flew into a rage. "Such arrogance! Since you crave death, I will oblige you."


    With that, he flung an arm wide. "Listen up, everyone! Continue attacking Earthfire Pavilion. Leave this kid to me!"


    Before thest syble faded, Soulbane dissolved into a streak of blood-red light, crossing a thousand feet in a blink to materialize before Jared-speed so savage it appeared as true teleportation.


    "Soulbane Palm!"


    Out of the clear sky, a blood-red hand coalesced, so vast it drowned the daylight. Every ridge in its titanic palm was a river of tormented faces, souls twisted together until the lines themselves writhed and screamed.


    The spectral band, heavy with Soulbane''s murderous aura, hurtled toward Jared. Its passage churned the air into a crimson vortex, and the shrieks of the trapped spirits braided with the roaring wind like a funeral dirge.


    Shockingly enough, he had only poured seventy percent of his strength into that single strike.


    To him, such force was more than enough to erase a mere Top Level Heavenly Immortal Realm Level Two cultivator.


    After all, it was a blow capable of annihting anyone beneath Heavenly Immortal


    Realm Level Eight before they could even gasp.


    "Jared, be careful!" Ignatius yelled.


    He moved to intervene, but the moment he gathered power, the


    chilling intent of Bonefiend locked t


    onto him. Invisible chains of


    pressure pinned his limbs and spirit alike leaving him rooted to the spot, furious yet helpless.


    Inside the torchlit arena, every disciple of Earthfire Pavilion felt their hearts jump to their throats. A few of the younger women even squeezed their eyes shut unwilling to witness Jared being smashed into a smear of blood and bone.


    Meanwhile, cultivators from Malevolent Path Hall showed their teeth in vicious delight. In their minds, the scene had already yed out the son-inw sprawled lifeless, the floor awash in gore.


    Jared, the object of both dread and malice, remained utterlyposed. He did not even deign to lift an eyelid.


    He raised his right hand, fingers loose, and closed them withzy grace toward the blood-red palm that covered the sky.


    The gesture looked no grander than shooing away a summer fly.


    "Chaos Origin—Fire Domain."


    The four words fell from his lips soft as drifting ash, yet they rang through every soul


    present.


    Boom!


    Space within a thousand-yard circle twisted around him, folding like burning parchment.


    Ash-gray chaotic energy braided itself with molten-gold Earthfire True me, knitting a battlefield that belonged only to him.


    Within that perimeter, the Law of Fire roared; chaotic energy drifted like newborn gxies, forming a world all its own.


    The blood-red giant palm entered that world and instantly slowed, its violent strength choked, like a mammoth sinking helplessly in tar.


    The howling spirits housed in the palm touched the mingled mes and chaos, shrieked in terror, then vaporized as snow beneath a ruthless noon sun.