Inside the Council Hall, Rnd stood in front of a massive map with his brows locked tight.


    The map was marked with the terrain of the Demon Marches, its cities, and the power distribution of the Demon Dragon Lineage.


    Red markers crowded together so densely they nearly nketed the entire northern


    half of the map.


    "Mr. Chance!"


    The moment he saw Jarede in, Rnd hurried to his feet, a flicker of surprise shing through his eyes. "You''ve finally returned!"


    Jared walked to the map and swept his eyes over the markings on it. "How bad is it?"


    Rnd''s face turned heavy. "Not good. The Demon Dragon Lineage has been gathering its forces this whole time. Looks like they''re preparing for something big. Our scouts reported back that Darian has already recalled all the scattered Demon Dragons from every corner. There are at least a thousand Demon Dragons gathered in the deep Demon Marches now."


    "A thousand?" Jared''s brow tightened.


    "Yes."


    Rnd pointed to several red marks on the map. "And it''s not just the Demon Dragons. Darian also brought in one of the demonic cultivators from the deep Demon Marches. Supposedly, that person''s strength runs too deep to measure. Our scouts caught a distant look at him and said ck me coiled all around him. Even the sky for 100 miles around was stained ck."


    Jared''s brow drew down even harder.


    ck me... demonic cultivators...


    Could it be Skr?


    No. Probably not.


    Skr''s demonic aura was pure ck. There was no me mixed into it.


    And Skr had only just shown up at the Celestial Pce. There was no way he could have run to the Demon Marches that fast.


    "What do we know about that demonic cultivator?" Jared asked.


    Rnd shook his head.


    "We couldn''t find anything. That person kept his movements locked down tight and never showed his real face. Our scouts only caught a glimpse of his demonic aura from far away. They couldn''t even make out what he looked like."


    Jared went quiet for a moment.


    "But..."


    Rnd hesitated before going on.


    "There''s one thing that doesn''t add up. The Demon Dragon Lineage has been gathering its forces this whole time, but they still haven''tunched an attack on Cloudhaven City. With Darian''s temper, he should''vee at us long ago. But he hasn''t moved. It''s like he''s waiting for something."


    "Waiting for what?"


    "I don''t know." Rnd shook his head.


    "Maybe reinforcements. Maybe some kind of opening."


    Jared stood there thinking for a while.


    Then he lifted his head, and something sharp passed through his eyes.


    "We''re done waiting. We hit them first."


    Rnd froze. "Take the fight to them?"


    "That''s right."


    Jared pointed at one of the marks deep in the Demon Marches on the map.


    "Instead of sitting here waiting for them toe to us, we go straight to their door and kill our way in. We wipe out the Demon Dragon Lineage, cut off that demonic cultivator''s ws, and then drag him out too."


    Rnd''s face shifted.


    "Mr. Chance, the Demon Marches are demon territory. If we rush in that deep..."


    "I know," Jared cut him off. "But have you thought about why the Demon Dragon Lineage dares to strut around outside Cloudhaven City? Because we''ve been stuck defending the whole time. If we show enough strength-enough to make them understand we''re not easy to provoke—they''ll pull back instead."


    He paused and looked at Rnd.


    "And I''m not taking a big force. You, the core strength of the Sky Dragon Lineage, and me. That''ll be enough."


    Rnd held back for a moment, then finally nodded.


    "Alright. I''ll follow your lead, Mr. Chance."


    Jared patted him on the shoulder.


    "Go make the preparations. We leave tomorrow."


    Rnd turned and walked out of the Council Hall.


    Jared stayed where he was in front of the map, staring at that red mark deep in the Demon Marches.


    A hard glint shed through his eyes.


    Demon Dragon, whatever backing you''ve got behind you, this time, Jared wasn''t giving you another chance.


    That night, when Jared returned to his room, he found Vivian sitting on his bed, waiting for him.


    Vivian sat on his bed with a look that wouldn''t settle, like the words were already there, right at the edge, and she still couldn''t find a way to start.


    "What''s wrong?" Jared walked over and sat down beside her.


    Vivian stayed quiet for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "That Gwendolyn... you and her really have nothing going on?"


    Jared paused, caught off guard for a second, then let out a dry, helpless smile. "You''re still thinking about that?"


    "I just want to know."


    Vivian lifted her head and looked straight into his eyes. "The way you look at her isn''t the same as the way you look at other people."


    Jared went quiet for a moment.


    "Gwendolyn and I..." Jared weighed his words before he spoke. "I can''t say there''s nothing between us. We''ve been through life and death. together. She saved me before, and I saved her too. She''s helped me a lot, and I''ve helped her a lot. But if you''re asking whether it''s love. can''t really make that clear myself."


    Vivian bit her lip. "Then do you like her?"


    Jared didn''t answer right away.


    He thought about it for a while, then said with quiet seriousness, "I don''t know if that counts as liking her. But one thing I can say for sure is this-she''s already mine.


    We''ve done dual cultivation."


    "Dual cultivation with her?"


    Vivian''s eyes turned a little red.


    By all rights, she and Jared counted as husband and wife. There had been the marriage contest, after all. Back then, she had gone into it nning to use him, but that wasn''t where things stood anymore.


    Now Jared had actually done dual cultivation with Gwendolyn, while she still hadn''t even crossed that line with him herself.


    "You''re awful. You really are." Her voice caught as she spoke. "You knew I''d get jealous, and you still brought another woman back with you."


    Jared reached out and pulled Vivian into his arms.


    "I''m sorry."


    Vivian leaned against his chest. Listening to the steady strength of his heartbeat, the


    sour edge inside her slowly loosened and faded.


    "Forget it." Vivian''s voice came out muffled against him. "You''ve already got so many women anyway. One more doesn''t make a difference."


    Jared decided to keep his mouth shut.


    "I want to dual cultivate with you too..." Vivian said.


    Jared looked at Vivian and hesitated.


    Then he said, "Vivian, after a while, I may have to go to the Fifteenth Firmament. I can''t take you with me. You''ll have to stay in Cloudhaven City, and as for when I''lle back... I don''t know."


    Jared thought about his time in the celestial realm, about how he''d left pieces of himself everywhere along the way, about how many women he''d slept with. Maybe they were all still waiting for him to return.


    But there was no turning back for him now. He could only keep climbing toward the highest peak of the celestial realm, all the way until he stood before Marvin.


    But what about those women?


    Jared had even started to forget some of their names.


    That was exactly why he didn''t want to keep leaving this kind of mess behind everywhere he went. Set against Vivian, it sat badly with him.


    Yes, the two of them had gone through that marriage contest, but back then it had


    all been an act. Each of them had their own calctions. It didn''t really count.


    "It''s okay. I can wait for you..." Vivian said.


    "Vivian, listen to me. There''s a chance I may nevere back to the Fourteenth Firmament for the rest of my life, so you should find a man you really like instead," Jared said, trying to persuade her.


    But the moment Vivian heard that, she broke down on the spot. Tears ran down her face as she said, "If youre nevering back then I. have even more reason to duak cultivate with you. I want to keep thest warmth you leave me."


    As soon as she finished speaking, Vivian pulled off her clothes...


    Seeing that, Jared could only give in.


    When he was on top of Vivian, one thought kept crashing through Jared''s head: this wasn''t him being some heartless yer These women kepting to him on their


    own. There was nothing he could do about it. What was he supposed to do when his charm was this much trouble?