Before the hall the hundred-thousand Beastfolk Army waited in neat, bristling ranks, armor tes catching thete light.


    They were the smaller host, yet hatred zed in every Beastfolk Warrior''s eyes, fierce enough to swallow any fear of death.


    Jared stood at the front, Dragonyer Sword angled downward, his expression still and ssy as pond water.


    Behind him, Luther, Morvane, and Madam Nightfox stood shoulder to shoulder with 108 cultivators of High Immortal Realm Level Five and above.


    Their seals locked, the Chaos Convergence Array hummed to life; a massive gray vortex turned above the column of warriors, grinding the air with primeval force.


    "Jared!" The single name cracked across the battlefield like thunder.


    The Grand Venerable''s voice rolled after the shout, deeper than storm-clouds.


    "Do you understand the crimes you''vemitted?"


    Jared lifted his gaze, letting it slice through the miles of open air until it locked onto the Grand Venerable.


    "Crimes?" His tone stayed almost curious. "What crime could you possibly mean?"


    "You murdered celestial venerables, seized Beast-Quelling Hall, and rallied rebels against divine rule!"


    The Grand Venerable''s roar sharpened. "Each offense warrants death. I lead 300 thousand troops today to tear you limb from limb and make an example!"


    Jared''s lips curved into an easy smile. "Tear me apart? With what-yourself?"


    He lifted the Dragonyer Sword and pointed it straight at the loftymander. "Five of your venerables fell to me, three more in Epea, and whole regiments by the tens of thousands.


    You-Grand Venerable-couldn''t subdue a mere High Immortal Realm Level One, yet you dare bluster here?"


    "You" The Grand Venerable''s face darkened until it almost matched his armor.


    Jared refused him the pause. "For millennia the celestials have harvested souls, forged soul crystals, and bled every race dry.


    King Ironhide, Elder Hartcrest, tens of thousands of Beastfolk Warriors-their blood demands a hundredfold repayment today!"


    "Arrogant!" A shout burst from the ranks, hot with fury.


    One celestial venerable-voice raw-barked, "Jared, you''re nothing but a lucky


    whelp living off a fluke, yet you dare spout such nonsense?"


    Jared''s eyes narrowed on the speaker. "And you are? Name yourself. My de does not strike the nameless."


    "I am Venerable Frostbane of the Northern Realm!" the man announced, chin lifted.


    "Venerable Frostbane," Jared echoed, tasting the name.


    A nod, casual yet lethal. "Very well. You die first."


    "You—!" Frostbane trembled from shoulders to fingertips, words choking behind clenched teeth.


    At that instant Lyria let out a silveryugh, clear as chimes. "Senior Disciple, this Jared is amusing. High Immortal Realm Level One, yet his mouth reaches higher than the sky."


    Her bright eyes drifted over Jared. "Hey, boy, you''re Jared, yes? Young, promising. Come back to the Fourteenth Firmament with me.


    With talent like yours, submit to the celestials and I''ll beg Master to spare your life."


    Jared studied Lyria, a brief flicker of surprise crossing his gaze.


    She was undeniably stunning, yet that lifted-chin superiority soured the view.


    "Return with you to the Fourteenth Firmament?" he repeated.


    A quickugh peeled out. "Why, to serve as your kept man?"


    "You-!" The single word cracked from Lyria before heat painted her cheeks.


    Color flooded her wless face; anger shimmered behind the moonlit eyes. "Insolent!"


    Lucian''s brows pinched. "Jared, my junior offered mercy. Do not mistake it for obligation."


    Jared''s gaze hooked on the glowing emblem at Lucian''s brow. "Royal celestial blood, is it? No wonder you carry yourself so high. But—" He let the unfinished thought hang in the charged air.


    He continued, voice suddenly ice-cold. "Are all of you from the Fourteenth Firmament so self-important, thinking birth in an upper world grants you license to toy with every life below?"


    Lucian answered without raising his tone. "The strong devour the weak-that is heaven''s rule. The celestials reign because of strength. If you object, prove otherwise."


    "Prove it I shall."


    Jared advanced a single pace, de tipping forward. "But first, I need to take out some trash."


    His stare shifted to the Grand Venerable. "Old thing, you marched 300 thousand troops out here for a spectacle? Fight, or stop wasting breath."


    Fury twisted into augh inside the Grand Venerable''s throat. "Fine—since you crave death, I will oblige!"


    With a sweep of his arm he bellowed, "First formation, charge! ughter the beastfolk rebels!"


    "Kill!" The answering roar thundered from the frontline.


    Over ten thousand celestial vanguards moved as one, locking ranks into a war formation.


    The mass surged toward Godsbane Hall like a rolling river of steel.


    Each fighter carried at least High Immortal Realm Level Four strength.


    Bound together, theirbined aura fused into a single, grinding fortress that advanced on trembling earth.


    The hundred-thousand Beastfolk Army locked their shields and halberds, every banner bristling.


    Jared let their tension hang only a breath, then flicked his wrist in a casual wave, as if brushing dust from the air.


    "Stand down."


    His voice cut through the battlefield like a de, swift and impossible to ignore.


    He pivoted on his heel, cloak


    snappin


    gaze


    on


    at his calves, and fixed his


    the one hundred and


    cultivators fanned out behind him.


    "Chaos Convergence Array-begin."


    At the same instant, the one-hundred-and-eight High Immortal Realm Level Five


    and above experts raised their hands.


    Finger seals shed, and a low thrum rippled across the za, as though an ancient drum had awakened beneath the stone.


    Boom.


    The ground lurched, air buckling outward in a blunt shockwave that rattled armor tes and sent loose gravel skipping across the steps.


    Overhead, a colossal gray vortex tore open, its walls spinning so fast the clouds blurred into streaks.


    From its heart poured a hungry pull, a pressure that made even distant banners snap toward the void.


    The foremost celestial vanguard-several thousand strong-rushed in with battle cries still forming.


    Before any of them could raise a shield, the vortex yanked them off their feet and folded them into gray nothingness.


    Not a single scream escaped.


    There were no falling des, no broken limbs, just an abrupt absence as though the men had been erased from existence.


    In the space of a breath, thousands of High Immortal Realm Level Four and above elites were simply gone.


    "What?!"


    The Grand Venerable''s pupils tightened to pinpoints, his voice cracking against the


    cold sky.


    Around him, the ten Celestial Venerables nched, confidence draining faster than the color from their cheeks.


    High above, Lucian and Lyria traded a look; shock shed in both pairs of eyes before either could hide it.


    That vortex had devoured thousands


    of High Immortal cultivators in the blink of an eye-an impossibility every witness struggled to ept.


    "What kind of array is that?!" A hoarse question rippled through the celestial ranks, unanswered and unwee.


    At the heart of the formation, Jared let the coursing power soak into his bones, each


    pulse steadying his breath.


    "Anyone else?" His tone was mild, almost courteous.


    The Grand Venerable''s face


    darkened to iron. Jaw locked, he


    barked, "Second formation, chargez again refuse to believe that things


    can swallow my


    three-hundred-thousand-strong army!"


    Another wave-well over ten thousand celestial soldiers-lowered their spears and


    thundered forward, boots drumming in grim unison.


    The moment they crossed the array''s threshold, the oue repeated itself.


    Formation lines buckled, bodies lifted, and the vortex imed the entire charge before a single shout could form.


    The gray whirlpool gaped like a starving beast; everything that entered slid across those swirling walls and vanished down its throat.


    More than ten thousand soldiers breached the perimeter; not one footprint remained


    to prove they had ever stood there.


    In total, twenty thousand elite troops had been wiped from existence in mere


    heartbeats.


    Silence settled over the battlefield, heavy and unnatural.


    The remaining three-hundred-thousand Celestial Army stood motionless, not a clink


    of armor daring to disturb the hush.


    Every celestial soldier stared at the swirling maw, eyes wide, throats too tight for breath; terror eclipsed discipline.


    This was no battle; it was a one-sided ughter, and they all knew it.


    The Grand Venerable''s shoulders shook, fury wrestling with the cold dread slithering


    up his spine.


    Only now did he grasp how Beast-Quelling Venerable and Venerable Goldspear had


    fallen sopletely.


    Jared—he realized with a shiver—was something beyond human.