Right then-


    "Roar..."


    A new dragon''s roar split the air, louder than any that hade before.


    A shaft of gold burst from the sky.


    The brilliance stabbed so fiercely that no one could keep their eyes open.


    Morven''s descending strike mmed into the gold light and stalled there.


    His pupils tightened; he whipped his head toward the neer.


    A young man hovered in a gold robe, strikingly handsome, draconic energy rolling off him in waves.


    Morven''s face drained. "H-Hadrian? What are you doing here?!"


    The young man offered a mild smile. "Morven, long time no see."


    He turned toward Jared and dipped his head. "Hadrian of the Sky Dragon Lineage pays respects to Your Majesty, the Dragon Emperor."


    He froze mid-step, breath hanging in his throat.


    A single thought skittered across his mind—another Draconian had appeared.


    The neer carried no trace of demonic aura; every rippleing off him was the clean, regal power of the Sky Dragon n.


    Hadrian faced Morven and spoke in a calm, knife-edge voice, "Morven, you turned your back on the Draconians and threw yourself at the demons. Today you meet your end."


    Morven''s face darkened. "Hadrian, you''re only High Immortal Realm Level Nine. I can kill you myself, and I still have Quentin and Ss beside me!"


    Hadrian let out a lightugh.


    "You sure about that?"


    Behind him, more than a dozen silhouettes emerged without warning. Every one of those figures released a dense wave of draconic energy.


    Color drained from Morven''s face; the change left no room for disguise.


    "You... you dragged the Draconian army here?!"


    Hadrian gave a small nod. "Correct. Now that the Dragon Sovereign Bloodline has surfaced, the Sky Dragon Lineage naturallyes to wee it."


    He turned and bowed once more to Jared. "Your Majesty, forgive us for arrivingte."


    Watching the scene unfold, Jared felt a swirl he could not name tightening inside his chest.


    The Draconians had reallye.


    And they had arrived in force.


    Morven''splexion went ashen; he understood he was finished today.


    Yet refusal to ept that oue still burned inside him.


    He locked his gaze on Jared, words hissing through his teeth: "Jared, don''t look so pleased. Even if you survive today, the Demon Dragon Lineage will hunt you down. The Dragon Sovereign Bloodline will be ours."


    "On top of that, the Celestial Pce and The Janis Family won''t spare you either. Counting on that withering Sky Dragon Lineage to protect you? Keep dreaming."


    With that, he whirled away. Quentin and Ss followed, three streaks of dark-red light shooting toward the horizon.


    Hadrian started to pursue, but Jared reached out and blocked his path.


    "Let them go."


    Hadrian blinked. "Your Majesty?"


    Jared shook his head. "Now isn''t the moment to chase them. I still have business to handle."


    His gaze shifted to Vivian; she stood rooted to the spot, clearly still reeling from everything that had happened.


    "Miss Janis, are you hurt?"


    Vivian shook her head, eyes fixed on him, the look inside them tangled and hard to read.


    "You... are you truly the Dragon Emperor?"


    Jared chuckled. "Hardly. I''m just the unlucky fellow your Janis Family keeps trying to kill."


    Vivian broke intoughter, and before the sound faded, tears had already slipped down her cheeks.


    Hadrian stepped forward and spoke with reverence. "Your Majesty, please return with us to Sky Dragon Valley. Chief Rnd Deragon awaits you."


    Jared considered a heartbeat, then nodded. "All right."


    He turned to Vivian. "Miss Janis, what about you?"


    Vivian stayed silent for a moment, then shook her head. "I belong to The Janis Family. I have to go back."


    Jared''s brows knit together. "If you return, your father will not spare you."


    Vivian''s smile curved, edged in bitterness. "That''s the price I owe. I lied to you,


    betrayed the family, and then set you free... there has to be an end."


    Jared studied her for a long beat. "Miss Janis, take care of yourself." Vivian nodded once. "You too."


    She turned and started walking toward Cloudhaven City.


    Jared watched her retreating figure and suddenly called out, "Vivian!"


    Vivian stopped and looked back at him.


    Jared grinned. "When I finish my business, I''lle back and dual cultivate with you."


    Vivian stood there, motionless.


    A flush raced up her cheeks; she shot him a fierce re. "Get lost!"


    She spun around and hurried off.


    But the corners of her mouth still lifted in a tiny, uncontroble smile.


    Jared kept his eyes on her fading silhouette, the smile on his own face growing


    wider.


    Beside him, Hadrian watched, the corner of his mouth twitching.


    This Dragon Emperor really was something else...


    "Your Majesty, let''s leave."


    Jared dipped his head once, fell in beside Hadrian and the others, and their figures slipped into the endless, stretch of the Wastnds until even their shadows were gone.


    *****


    Cloudhaven City, Janis Manor.


    Vivian stepped into the ancestral hall, lowered herself to her knees, and ced both hands on the cold stone before the line of ancestral tablets.


    Garrick stood behind her, his face the color of forged iron. "You still dare toe back?"


    Without turning, she answered in a level voice, "This is my home. Why shouldn''t I be here?"


    Garrick drew a long breath and forced whatever was pounding in his chest back down.


    "Do you grasp what you''ve done? You let Jared escape and offended those three Draconian Envoys. If they demand payment, how can The Janis Family bear it?" Vivian gave a quietugh.


    The upward curl of her lips carried open scorn.


    "Father, do you even know who those three so-called Envoys are?"


    Garrick blinked, caught off guard.


    "They''re traitors to the Draconians. They''ve thrown in with demons. The reek clinging to them is demonic aura Working with them is no better than keeping a venomous beast in your sleeve."


    Garrick''s shoulders twitched. "What did you just say?" Vivian rose, meeting her father''s eyes without flinching.


    "For the sake of so-called family interests you''ll try anything-using me, deceiving Jared, joining with Demon Dragons. Did it ever cross your mind what these choices might cost?"


    Garrick kept silent.


    "Jared carries the Dragon Sovereign Bloodline, and the true Draconians have


    alreadye for him. Offend him, and you offend their whole race."


    She paused, each word falling sharp and slow. "Father, do you wish you could take any of it back?"


    Garrick''s jaw knotted, yet no reply came.


    Vivian let out a breath, turned, and stepped toward the doorway of the shrine.


    "Where are you going?" Garrick asked from behind.


    "To face the wall and reflect. That was the punishment you set for me."


    She crossed the threshold and slipped into the night, her figure soon lost to the


    darkness.


    Garrick stayed where he was, unmoving for a very long time.


    The question wed at the air around him: had everything truly passed the point of


    return?


    He found no answer.


    He only knew The Janis Family might have just walked onto a road that ends at a


    cliff.