All color drained from Morven''s face.


    He atst understood that the Jared standing here was nothing like the man who had fled before them three days earlier.


    The change had nothing to do with a simple rise in cultivation level; it came from something else—


    that aura.


    The same crushing presence that made the very blood in Morven''s veins quiver.


    It was the oppression of the Dragon Sovereign Bloodline.


    Three days ago Jared had been badly wounded, his energy sealed, unable to tap the bloodline''s true strength.


    Today the wounds were gone, the Binding Cor had been removed, and the bloodline was fully awake.


    In this moment Jared was the true Emperor Deragon.


    An unnamed unease rushed through Morven; his shoulders twitched and he edged one step back.


    Right then, Jared moved.


    He took a single step forward.


    In Morven''s eyes that step flipped heaven and earth over on themselves.


    An invisible weight mmed down, solid as stone, crushing against his body.


    Dragon blood inside him seemed to congeal; his knees buckled and nearly hit the ground.


    "No... impossible..."


    He mumbled, "You''re only High Immortal Realm Level Three-how can you..."


    Jared offered no reply.


    He merely lifted his hand and pointed at Morven.


    A muffled pop rang out.


    A thread of golden light shot from his fingertip.


    The beam looked faint, yet the instant it appeared Morven felt death descend on him.


    He tried to dodge, but his body felt nailed in ce.


    The gold light bored straight through his forehead.


    Morven froze where he stood, the look on his face fixed forever.


    A thumb-thick hole opened between his brows, dark red blood leaking out.


    His mouth worked, searching for words that would nevere.


    Bang!


    The corpse hit the ground.


    Morven had fallen.


    From the body, the Dragon Sovereign Seal drifted over and settled into Jared''s palm.


    Quentin and Ss stood stupefied.


    They had not even processed what happened before Morven was already dead.


    Quentin let out a furious roar and turned to flee.


    Ss bolted right after him.


    They had flown less than ten yards when Jared appeared before them.


    "Why the hurry?"


    Jared''s tone stayed calm. "Weren''t you here to kill me and steal my bloodline?"


    Despair shed in Quentin''s eyes; he threw everything he had into a punch aimed at Jared.


    Jared neither dodged nor raised a guard.


    He simply stayed where he was and let the fist crash into his chest.


    Bang!


    The strikended squarely.


    Jared did not so much as sway, yet agony shot through Quentin''s hand; every knuckle shattered.


    "Y-your body..." Quentin''s eyes widened.


    Jared looked at him and spoke softly, "The Dragon Essence Elixir Darian gave me didn''t just raise my cultivation; it tempered my flesh. My body now matches True Immortal toughness."


    He raised his hand and tapped Quentin lightly on the forehead.


    Quentin''s brow caved in, the light in his eyes went out, and the body dropped from the sky.


    Ss stared at what had just taken ce. The faint light in his eyes guttered out as though someone had pinched the wick.


    With a dull ssh he dropped to his


    knees and knocked his forehead against the ground again and again "Spare me! Your Majesty the Dragon Emperor, spare me! I submit I''ll follow you!"


    Jared lowered his gaze to the kneeling figure. His eyes stayed as calm as still water.


    "Submit?"


    In a voice barely above a murmur he repeated the word, then added, "When you


    chose the demons, did surrender ever cross your mind?"


    Ss shook from head to toe. His mouth opened, but no sound escaped.


    Jared looked away, raised one hand, and brought his palm straight down. "St..."


    Ss''s body keeled over andnded in a widening pool of blood.


    The three Demon Dragons were finished-everyst one of them.


    From Jared''s first move to the final corpse, only ten breaths had passed.


    Jared stood between the bodies. His robe remained spotless; not a single drop of blood had dared touch it.


    He turned and looked toward


    Dominic, who had wedged himself into a cleft at the base of the cliff,


    shaking so hard, his back thumped


    against the rock. Sontent


    A small line formed between Jared''s brows.


    Dominic was nowhere in sight.


    All that remained on the ground was a damp patch and the faint residue of a teleportation talisman.


    Jared lifted his eyes. Far out on the skyline a single figure fled with everything it had,


    then slipped beyond the horizon.


    "Teleportation talisman," Jared said, the words carrying a thin edge of


    disappointment.


    He did not give chase.


    Once a talisman like that ignited, it hurled its user a thousand miles in an instant. Catching up was impossible.


    So be it.


    In Jared''s eyes, rubbish like Dominic made no difference alive or dead.


    He let the horizon go and turned toward Vivian.


    Vivian still sat copsed on the ground, every limb drained of strength.


    Even so, her wide eyes clung to Jared and had not shifted for a single heartbeat.


    Everything that had just happened had unfolded right in front of her.


    The guards who had hunted her for


    three straight days and nights had


    been crushed by Jared the way someone snaps ar ant between two fingers.


    The three fearsome Demon Dragons had been cut down inside ten breaths.


    Dominic, the man who had driven her past the brink of terror, had wet himself and


    bolted the moment Jared''s gaze fell on him.


    Her lips parted, but only three silent words formed: This man...


    ...stood at a height she could scarcely imagine.


    His power was not merely cultivated strength; it pulsed from his very marrow, something he seemed born with.


    That presence bent knees, drew worship, and—before she could stop it—sent a quick spike through her heartbeat.


    Jared reached her, crouched, and met her eyes with a warmth that steadied her breathing.


    "Miss Janis, can you walk?"


    Vivian blinked, color seeping into her cheeks. Head lowered, she whispered, "My...


    my legs won''t hold me..."


    Jared let out a quietugh and lifted her to her feet with a steady hand.


    She rose, Jared''s cloak draped over her shoulders, leaning into him while a rare sense of safety settled over her.


    "Jared..."


    Her voice floated out as a breath. "Thank you..."


    Jared shook his head. "Save the thanks. I waste—that hardship falls on me." Moisture welled in her eyes; tears threatened to slip free again.


    He patted her back in a light, calming rhythm. "Come on. I''ll take you somewhere."


    Vivian nodded, pressed against him, and let him guide her toward the depths of the mountains.


    Behind them, corpsesy strewn across the ground.


    The three Demon Dragon bodies rested in their own blood, silent and still.


    High in the distant air, a faint, barely formed awareness hovered and watched everything that had unfolded.


    A few momentster, that hidden awareness thinned and drifted away.