The man in front wore a white robe with golden lotus patterns stitched along the hem. His features looked refined, and a mild smile rested at the corners of his mouth. It was Cedric Vale, the Vice Preceptor of the Hallowmere Order.
More than ten Elders followed behind him. The weakest among them was still High Immortal Realm Level Nine. The strongest had already reached the True Immortal Realm.
Cedric landed in front of Jared and let his gaze pass over the group one by one. In the end, his eyes stopped on Evelyn. A flicker of surprise crossed them, and then he threw his head back and laughed.
“So it’s you, Jared… What exactly are you doing? I was kind enough to betroth Evelyn to you. Fine, maybe you didn’t appreciate it, but why come all the way here and attack my Hallowmere Order?”
Jared only looked at him in silence.
“Jared, you carry a Sovereign Bloodline. I have been nothing but sincere with you. If you don’t like Evelyn, I can give you another. There are plenty of female disciples in the Order. Pick whichever one you want. Why take it this far and ruin the peace?”
Jared still said nothing.
The smile on Cedric’s face tightened for a beat, then settled back into place. “Jared, I’m giving you one last chance. Surrender without a fight and hand over your bloodline. If you do, I can spare your life. I’ll even let you join the Hallowmere Order and serve as a protector here, with endless resources at your disposal. What do you say?”
At last, Jared spoke. “Done talking?”
Seeing this, Cedric froze.
The corner of Jared’s mouth lifted, pulling into a faint smile. “Finished? Well… Then die…”
Before the words had even fully landed, he vanished from where he stood. In the next instant, he was already in front of an Elder at High Immortal Realm Level Nine.
The Elder jolted and threw up both hands to block. In Jared’s eyes, the movement crawled slower than a snail. Jared raised a hand and brought his palm down.
Boom!
The Elder’s head blew apart on the spot. Blood sprayed everywhere, and the body crashed to the ground.
“What?!” The rest of the Elders’ faces changed on the spot, and they all shot backward.
Jared gave them no chance at all. His figure moved through the crowd like a ghost. Every time a palm came down, an Elder dropped dead. Every punch he drove out sent an Elder flying.
In no more than a few breaths, the dozen-plus Elders—High Immortal Realm Level Nine and even True Immortal Realm—were all down in spreading pools of blood. Not one of them had any life left.
Jared came to a stop and stood there with his hands behind his back. Not a speck of dust stained his robe. He looked at Cedric and said, “That’s it?”
The smile on Cedric’s face locked up completely. What replaced it was naked dread. His eyes went wide as he stared at the bodies covering the ground. His whole body shook hard.
“Y-You… You… How is that possible? You’re only High Immortal Realm Level Four. How could you…”
He tried to run. He spun and bolted, driving his spiritual power wildly through his body until he turned into a streak of light. He fled with everything he had toward the depths of the Hallowmere Order.
Jared watched his back and didn’t move. He only lifted a hand and flicked out a casual finger. A golden sword aura shot from his fingertip. It moved like lightning and caught Cedric in an instant.
Pfft!
The sword aura punched through his back and went straight through his spirit well. Cedric let out a shrill scream and dropped from the air. He slammed into the ground with a heavy bang, blood spilling from his mouth as his aura collapsed on the spot.
Jared stepped forward and walked over to him at an unhurried pace. Then he stopped in front of him and looked down. Cedric collapsed on the ground, his whole body shaking. What was left in his eyes now was pure terror, with nowhere left to run.
“N-No… D-Don’t kill me… I… I can give you anything… Resources, techniques, women… W-Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you…”
Jared didn’t answer. He only turned his head and looked at Evelyn. “Evelyn, come here.”
Evelyn froze for a beat, then caught on and hurried forward. She looked at Cedric sprawled on the ground. This man had once stood high above her, the one who decided where her life went and how it would be used. Now he was flattened there like a dying dog, his eyes crammed with fear and pleading.
“E-Evelyn! Evelyn!” Cedric scrambled toward her at once, his voice shaking. “Y-You help me here! I treated you well! All these years, you ate what I gave you, you used what I gave you! I never shortchanged you! Please help me beg for mercy… T-Tell him to spare my life!”
Evelyn looked at him. Too much sat in her gaze to sort through in a glance.
Treated me well?
The years of being kept penned in came back first. Then the cultivation partners chosen for her. Then the healing elixirs forced down her throat.
“You treated me well?” She repeated it softly, and the calm in her voice made the words land even harder. “Did you ever treat me like a person?”
Cedric went still, caught completely off guard.
Evelyn kept going. “You never saw me as a person. I was a tool to you. A piece on the board. Something to be traded. You never once asked whether I was willing. All you knew was how to arrange, force and threaten. You said you treated me well, so tell me this… Do you know how many times I wanted to die?”
Cedric’s mouth opened, then stalled there. He tried to argue, but not a single word came out.
Evelyn looked at him like that, and whatever little hesitation she still had left drained away. She pulled the longsword from her waist and set the tip against Cedric’s throat.
Cedric shook all over. Tears spilled straight out of his eyes. “N-No… Don’t… Evelyn, I’m begging you… I… I can give you your freedom… Give you anything…”
Evelyn gave him nothing. She closed her eyes, drew in a long breath, then opened them again.
The sword flashed!
Cedric’s head rolled across the ground, and blood burst out in a spray.
Evelyn stood where she was, still gripping the sword, her body trembling faintly. She stared at the severed head. That face that had once looked down on everyone else was now frozen with shock and refusal.
A long while passed before she lifted her head and looked at Jared. The tears came all at once. “Young Master Chance… I… I got my revenge…”
Jared walked over and lightly patted her shoulder. “Mm… You did well…”
Evelyn threw herself into Jared’s arms and broke down, her crying spilling out all at once. Lydia stood off to the side and watched the scene without a word. Luther and Grace traded a glance. Neither of them said anything either.
After a moment, once Evelyn had cried it out, she lifted her head from Jared’s chest and wiped at the tears on her face.
“Mr. Chance, what do we do next…”
Jared turned and looked deeper into the Hallowmere Order, his gaze sharp and cold. “What next?”
The corner of his mouth tipped up, pulling out a smile that didn’t carry a trace of warmth. “Next, we wipe out the Hallowmere Order.”
He stepped forward and headed deeper into the Hallowmere Order. Lydia and the others followed behind him.
Along the way, countless Hallowmere disciples rushed in, trying to block his path. Jared didn’t even look at them; he just kept walking forward, one step at a time. With every step he took, a flash of sword light slashed out. Every streak of sword light dropped several disciples where they stood.
He moved through the Hallowmere Order just like that, unhurried, as if he were taking a casual walk through his own courtyard. In front of him, those disciples simply couldn’t hold the line. It didn’t matter whether they were High Immortal Realm Level Eight or High Immortal Realm Level Nine.
It didn’t matter whether they were ordinary disciples or Guardian Elders. The moment any of them came within 3 yards of him, the sword aura shredded them apart.
