Paxton had not expected such instant acceptance. For a moment, the mighty Sect Master looked almost startled. “Consider carefully,” he rumbled. “Our Beast-Soul Array is lethal. This is no child’s sparring match.”
“No need,” Jared replied, shaking his head once. Arden laughed, a razor-thin sound. “You still underestimate the Myriad Beast Sect, whelp. When you understand the might of the array, you wouldn’t even have time to cry before you die.”
Jared’s smile was almost gentle. “So the legendary Myriad Beast Sect is that formidable, hmm?”
Arden’s brow knotted. “Are you mocking us?!”
“If you are so formidable,” Jared asked softly, “why did the Infinite Soul Demon Sect beat you down until you forgot how to fight back?”
“You…” Arden’s throat seized the instant the word left his beak-sharp lips. Rage flooded his eyes, yet for all that fury no further sound emerged, as though indignation itself had strangled whatever accusation he had prepared.
Paxton’s massive frame leaned forward, shadow engulfing half the hall.
In a voice as cold and final as an executioner’s blade, he said, “Enough. Trade insults all you like, but real skill speaks on the battlefield. Three days from now, the truth will decide who’s mocking whom.”
Jared lifted an eyebrow, unhurried, as though the entire court were nothing more than a tavern porch at dusk. “Fine. I’ll unravel your so-called Beast-Soul Array and let everyone witness what I can do, but I’ll need something from you in return.”
Paxton’s mane of bronze hair barely shifted when he asked, “Name it…”
“When I break that array,” Jared said, tone mild but unyielding, “you will place one million celestial gems in my hand. I refuse to save your disciples only to be called a fraud afterward. That would be… most embarrassing.”
His expression remained calm, almost detached, as though he were bargaining over wheat instead of miracles.
“A million? Why not rob the treasury while you’re at it!” Arden shrieked, plumage bristling like spears of obsidian.
Jared’s answering laugh was soft, cutting. “What’s wrong? I thought you were certain I’d fail. Why are you afraid to wager with me?”
Silenced, Arden shot a glance toward Paxton.
After a long, granite-hard silence, Paxton nodded once. “Very well… Break the Beast-Soul Array, and you’ll receive one million gems. I will even offer you a seat among our elders—an exception made for no one else.”
“I don’t need that,” Jared replied, turning away. “See you in three days.”
Cloak swirling like midnight water, he strode out of the hall without another word.
No sooner had he left than Gavin and Yvette hurried after him, the marble terrace echoing under their uneven breaths.
“Sir, please, wait!” Their voices fused in desperate harmony across the courtyard.
Gavin caught up first, bowing so low his tusked pauldron almost scraped the tiles. “Jared, forgive us. We never imagined the Sect Master and elders would doubt you so openly. You shouldn’t have been treated that way.”
Yvette’s head dipped, raven hair hiding flushed cheeks. “You saved our lives. To see you slandered beneath that roof, our hearts ache with shame.”
Jared stopped. Moonlight poured over the young beasts as he turned, the earlier chill in his gaze softening by a single degree.
A small smile curved his lips, as if the uproar moments ago had been no more than a gust brushing past a mountain.
“It’s nothing,” he said, voice steady, almost gentle. “Most people trust only what their eyes confirm. Their doubt is natural. As for that Beast-Soul Array…”
He paused, the corner of his mouth lifting in the faintest, knowing arc. “The result will speak for itself.”
The ease with which he dismissed ridicule left Gavin and Yvette awestruck.
This is what true mastery looks like!
Against the petty swagger of Garrick or the shrieking arrogance of Arden, Jared’s composure was a sky they could only look up to. Yet anxiety still needled them.
They knew the Threefold Beast-Soul Array had humbled plenty of Level Five Heavenly Immortals.
“Sir, that array truly is formidable; when the beast souls merge, their strike can level ridge-lines…” Gavin trailed off, unsure whether warning or pleading would change anything.
Jared raised a hand, cutting him off. “I know my limits. Find me a secluded place to cultivate, and make sure no one disturbs me for the next three days.”
When Jared made it plain his mind was set, Gavin and Yvette exchanged a resigned glance. Any further persuasion would only waste breath, so they swallowed their words and bowed in silent assent.
They hurried off, securing for him the finest standalone courtyard in the entire Myriad Beast Sect guest compound, where the air shimmered with unusually rich spiritual energy.
***
Jared carried the small Fire Unicorn across the threshold, closed the door, and did not appear again.
Outside that gate, speculation ignited like oil, gossip boiling through the sect’s corridors until every corner echoed with his name.
“Hey, did you hear? Some Human Immortal Level-Seven whelp is swaggering around claiming he can shatter our sacred Threefold Beast-Soul Array.”
“Ha! Funniest thing I’ve heard all week. The kid doesn’t even know how to spell the word danger.”
“They say he rescued Gavin Stone, sure, but Elder Garrick died in that skirmish. A Level-Seven Human Immortal saving the day? Please… He must’ve cheated or just stumbled into dumb luck.”
“Elder Aileron is right. Bet the runt’s a Demon Sect spy.”
“Just wait… Three days till the trial. I doubt he’ll even step near the array before wetting himself.”
The slander spread like mold in darkness, clinging to every staircase and training yard. Almost no one trusted the outlander boy; most simply waited for his inevitable humiliation in public.
