"So that''s how it is..."


    She drew in a deep breath, then forced herself to her feet and gave Jared a deep bow.


    "Thank you, Young Lord, for saving my life. Evelyn has no way to repay you now, but if there''s ever a chance in the future, I will repay this great kindness no matter what it takes."


    Jared waved a hand. "No need. Let''s get out of here first."


    The moment he finished speaking, a sharp tearing sound suddenly came from the distance.


    Jared''s brow tightened, and he looked up.


    Several streaks of white light came tearing across the horizon, fast as lightning. In the blink of an eye, they stopped above the forest.


    As the streaks of light faded, five figures appeared.


    At the front stood a middle-aged man in a white robe with a golden lotus


    embroidered on his chest. It was the same man who had tested Jared''s bloodline earlier.


    Behind him were four cultivators in fittedbat clothes. Every one of them carried a sharp, cutting presence, and all of them were between High Immortal Realm Level Seven and Level Eight.


    The middle-aged man looked at Jared and Evelyn, a cold smile spreading across his face.


    "Young Master Chance, what are you doing? The Vice Preceptor told you to take Evelyn away to rest, so why did you bring her out to this wilderness?"


    Jared looked at him quietly, then smiled faintly. "I happen to enjoy doing it in the wild. Don''t you think dual cultivation out here in the mountains is more exciting?" The middle-aged man went still. He clearly hadn''t expected Jared to answer like that.


    Evelyn''s face flushed too. Those three words, doing it in the wild,nded like a p. "Fine. Then we''ll stand here and watch the two of you cultivate together. Go on. Get started."


    the middle-aged man said.


    Jared let out a coldugh. "But I don''t like people watching me cultivate. Let me ask you something. If your father and mother were cultivating together, would they like being watched?"


    "You..."


    The middle-aged man''s brow furrowed. He pressed his fury down and said, "Young Master Chance, the Vice Preceptor has treated you well. He gave Evelyn to you, and he even arranged a quiet room for you. Yet you brought her out here and tried to run. What exactly is that supposed to mean?"


    He paused, then let his gaze fall on Evelyn. Something vicious shed through his eyes.


    "Evelyn, you''ve got a lot of nerve! The Vice Preceptor bestowed the Bridefire Elixir on you because he thought highly of you. Yet you colluded with an outsider and tried to flee. You really don''t know what''s good for you!"


    Evelyn''s face turned deathly pale. She took an involuntary step back and hid behind Jared.


    Jared moved in front of her and blocked her from view. He said nothing.


    Seeing Jared stay silent, the middle-aged man took it for fear, and the sneer on his face deepened.


    "Young Master Chance, you''re only High Immortal Realm Level Three. In front of me, you''re nothing but an ant. If you know what''s good for you, surrender now ande back with me. Kneel before the Vice Preceptor and admit your mistake, and maybe you''ll still be spared. But if you don''t..."


    He lifted a hand. Spiritual power gathered in his palm, spilling out a fierce pressure.


    "Then don''t me me for getting rough!"


    Jared looked at him, and all at once, he smiled.


    The smile was faint, so faint it was almost impossible to see.


    "What did you just say... I''m an ant?"


    The middle-aged man paused, then gave a coldugh. "What? Am I wrong? You''re just High Immortal Realm Level Three if you''re not an, ant in front of me, then what are you?"


    Jared nodded.


    "Good."


    He let that one word out softly, then stepped forward.


    The step looked slow, but when itnded, he was already standing right in front of the middle-aged man.


    The middle-aged man''s face changed violently. He threw up a hand to block on instinct, but before his hand could rise halfway, it froze in midair.


    Jared''s hand was already pressed against the crown of the skull. "You... you..."


    The middle-aged man''s eyes went wide, disbelief filling them. He hadn''t even seen how, Jared moved. Jared had already crossed the distance, appeared in front of him, and pinned him down.


    "High Immortal Realm Level Three?"


    Jared repeated it lightly. The corner of his mouth lifted a little, carrying a thin, mocking edge.


    "You''re right. I am High Immortal Realm Level Three. But a High Immortal Realm Level Eight like you, in my eyes, isn''t even worth calling an ant."


    As soon as the words fell, Jared''s palm pressed down lightly.


    "Pfft-"


    A dull thud cracked through the air.


    Bruno''s head exploded on the spot. Blood sprayed everywhere.


    The corpse dropped out of the air and mmed onto the ground with a heavy bang, kicking up a cloud of dust.


    The four cultivators left standing wentpletely nk.


    They stared at Jared as if they were looking at the monster, their eyes filled with


    dread and despair.


    A High Immortal Realm Level Eight had just died like that?


    Killed in one move by a High Immortal Realm Level Three?


    What kind of strength was that?


    "Run!"


    Nobody knew who shouted it


    ét


    but the four cultivators spun and fled at once, turning into four streaks


    of light as they shot desperately into the distance.


    Jared watched them without the slightest change in his expression.


    He lifted a hand and gave a casual flick.


    Four strands of golden sword aura shot from his fingertips.


    They were fast as lightning, and in the blink of an eye they caught the four fleeing


    cultivators.