Jared chuckled coldly. “Pride? No… What I saw was blind conceit. Up here, strength rules all. Yet Celestia waves books and etiquette like medals, convinced that reading a few scrolls makes you superior. The reality?”
“Your students lose in cultivation, lose in knowledge, and when cornered, they brandish their so-called ‘celestial bloodline’ like a shield. That is the mindset of ignorant people.”
His words struck true. Yuliana wanted a rebuttal, but none came. Back in the academy, Jared had quoted heaven and earth laws and cultivation theory with such clarity that even she, an advisor to the king, had felt enlightened.
In contrast, a student of the academy could only recite scripture by rote, then resort to raw cultivation level when their arguments collapsed. and still lost an arm for the effort.
“Ahead lies Myriad Treasures Pavilion,” said, shifting the subject like turning a page. “Treasures from every corner of the celestial realm rest inside. Your ability is impressive, Mr. Chance, but your cultivation level is still a touch low. You might find some magical items suited to you in there to increase your cultivation level.”
The invitation dripped with courtesy, yet inside watched keenly.
If powerful patrons backed him, would show no hunger for magical items. If were a wandering cultivator, Myriad Treasures Pavilion’s trove might light greed in his eyes.
Jared’s gaze swept over the white-jade tower in the distance.
Luminous Pearls set into the eaves glimmered even in daylight, and two Earthly immortal Realm Level Eight guards flanked the gate, their aura as steady as anchored mountains. Plainly, only treasures of the highest order warranted such defense.
“No need… I’m not especially fond of magical items,” Jared said, his tone so mild it bordered on boredom.
Inside his item pouch lay priceless artifacts, and slung across his back rested the Divine Bow, a true divine weapon. This weapon rendered everything inside Myriad Treasures Pavilion a child’s plaything by comparison.
Yuliana’s violet eyes flickered in surprise, the lamplight of the corridor catching the smallest hitch in breath.
Even cultivators from Celestia clawed and scraped to own a single magical item from Myriad Treasures Pavilion. Yet Jared, merely Earthly Immortal Realm Level One, dismissed the trove without so much as a quickened pulse.
“Do you truly feel no need to increase your cultivation level?” Yuliana asked, stepping closer so the scent of snow-orchids in hair drifted between them. “You know… In the celestial realm, the ones at Earthly Immortal Realm Level One sit on the bottom rung. Something from Myriad Treasures Pavilion could hurl you straight to Earthly Immortal Realm Level Three.”
“Cultivation level?” Jared echoed softly, as though tasting a foreign word. “To me, cultivation level is window dressing. Some parade around with high cultivation levels yet cannot best an Earthly Immortal Realm Level One in open combat. Some others with lower cultivation levels can take down opponents several levels above. Tell me, Ms. Fiala, which matters more, cultivation level or strength?”
Hearing this, Yuliana fell silent.
She remembered Westley, Earthly Immortal Realm Level Seven, reeling and screaming as Jared’s single stroke severed his arm.
She felt again the tremble of own Earthly Immortal Realm Level Eight core beneath the weight of Jared’s aura, fear rising unbidden like frost on winter glass.
“Your point is persuasive,” admitted, pride bleeding from voice. “But within Celestia, cultivation level dictates one’s station. Strength without sufficient cultivation level rarely earns respect.”
“That is why Celestia wanes,” Jared replied, voice cool as distant thunder. “You worship facades, bloodline, cultivation level, until you’re left with peacocks strutting in borrowed feathers.”
