Boom! Before Rowena could finish speaking, a terrifying aura slammed into her, pressing down on her with overwhelming force. She collapsed to her knees, dazed and disoriented. Neville fixed her with an icy stare. “Nethergate Sect recognizes only the Golden Pass. Nothing else!”
He continued, “For one hundred thousand years, we’ve issued just three. Even if our sect falls, our word must never be broken. That promise is the foundation of our existence, and today, you left Jared behind and ran off on your own? Do you even understand what you’ve done?!”
Rowena’s body trembled, and her face drained of color, leaving her looking pale and helpless.
“Mr. Contreras, Jared hasn’t just angered Malice Hall. He’s also crossed paths with the Soul Devourer and the Fire Demon Lord,” Rowena hurriedly said, dropping the names like a shield to protect herself.
Neville’s eyes flickered at the mention of those notorious figures, his brow furrowing in sharp concentration. Rowena allowed herself a shaky breath of relief.
“Those two vanished ten thousand years ago. How could he possibly have crossed them?” Neville asked, disbelief sharpening his tone.
“I swear it was his own words, Mr. Contreras,” Rowena replied, her voice low and pleading. Neville hesitated for a moment longer, then his frost-hard expression returned. “Even so, that is no excuse for desertion. All of you will face death.”
Thud! The disciples behind Rowena immediately dropped to their knees, foreheads pressed to the stone floor.
“Mr. Contreras, it was Rowena who ordered us to leave Jared behind,” one of them cried.
“She said bringing him here would put the Nethergate Sect in danger!” A junior disciple quickly jumped forward, trying to shirk responsibility, and shoved all the blame onto Rowena.
“Mr. Contreras, it was my idea,” Rowena said, kneeling, voice tight with helplessness. “Jared angered both the Soul Devourer and the Fire Demon Lord…”
“The Soul Devourer had already reached incredible power at Level Nine millennia ago. Anyone from Nethergate Sect would avoid him rather than fight. And the Fire Demon Lord had long been famous and vanished from sight. We simply have no way to help Jared handle either of them. And Malevolent Path Hall…”
“Even though their power at Level Nine isn’t particularly strong, their influence stretches across multiple worlds. I’ve even heard they still have disciples at Level Twelve. How could we possibly protect Jared?” Rowena’s voice trembled, but she was only thinking of the sect’s safety, they had tried to protect.
Jared and angered these forces, Nethergate Sect itself could have been wiped out.
Neville’s face remained cold and unmoved.
“Remember this,” he said, his voice icy, every word cutting into their hearts. “If anything happens to Jared, every one of you dies!”
With that, Neville vanished instantly from the main hall, leaving only the echo of his authority.
“Ah…” Rowena watched Neville walk away and sighed. “If only the former sect leader were still here… He disappeared thousands of years ago…”
***
Somewhere in the void at Level Nine, Jared was still locked in fierce combat with the silhouette.
No one could say how long they had been fighting, yet Jared still had not drawn the Dragonslayer Sword, relying entirely on his sword intent to hold his ground.
His body was marked with wounds, but he barely noticed. With every strike and clash, his power grew rather than faded, as if the battle itself were refining him, sharpening his strength. Even more astonishing, his sword intent continued to multiply instead of being depleted.
This discovery filled Jared with excitement. Normally, prolonged combat would drain spiritual energy, the Power of Dragons, or even internal flame, leaving one exhausted to the point of death. But his sword intent increased with each exchange, seemingly without limit.
The silhouette pressed the attack relentlessly, often gaining the upper hand, yet Jared refused to fall, unbreakable, enduring, and relentless against every strike.
