“Tell me, you’re not just smitten by her looks, right?” Neville studied Jared’s expression, trying to read the truth beneath the calm facade.
“Hardly… Beautiful women are hardly a novelty to me. Besides, you’re coming with us tomorrow. If trouble shows its face, I’ll have you standing between it and me.” Jared’s grin widened as he spoke, confidence rolling off him like summer heat.
Neville barked a laugh, clapped Jared’s shoulder, and said, “With me around, Sylvia wouldn’t dare pull any tricks. I’ll make the arrangements right away!”
He turned to leave, boots already scraping across the stone floor, when Jared’s voice stopped him. “Neville, one more thing. I need to ask about someone.”
“Who?”
“Do you know the Celestial King of the Celestial Palace, the one whose court sits on level eight?”
“Of course. The Celestial Palace is famous. That Celestial King may reside on level eight, but his strength is nothing to scoff at. Why the sudden interest?”
“A friend asked me to inquire. The Celestial King traveled up to level nine and then vanished. No one has heard from him since.”
“I met him years ago near Heaven Gate Mountain. He had two hall masters with him, probably searching for the sect’s old ruins. Where he’s gone since, I can’t say, but once we’re at the mountain, we can poke around.”
Neville’s words made Jared’s determination flare even hotter.
If the Celestial King had truly been spotted near Heaven Gate Mountain, Jared now had one more reason, perhaps the most pressing yet, to make that journey.
“Thank you, Neville.” He dipped his chin in genuine gratitude.
Neville started off again, paused, then glanced back with a sly smile. “Jared… Mind if I draw a bit of your blood later?”
Jared froze, breath locking in his chest.
Why in the world does he need my blood all of a sudden?
“Please, don’t misunderstand,” Neville said, voice low, almost reverent. “Within Nethergate Sect, we guard an arcane practice. A single drop of your blood will let me triangulate the exact position of the presence shielding you.”
He let the promise hang. “And you do wish to know where that hidden titan dwells, don’t you?”
Without hesitation, Jared pricked a fingertip.
The ruby bead slipped from his skin and splashed into Neville’s waiting palm, then spread like red ink across parchment.
“Mr. Contreras,” Jared warned, half-teasing, half-serious, “The person backing me is ridiculously powerful. If something goes sideways, I’m not covering the damages.”
“Naturally,” Neville replied with a thin smile. “I’m only sensing a location, not launching an assault. What could possibly go wrong?”
He shut his eyes. The blood in his hand boiled into vapor, rising as a crimson thread that curled around his fingers before drifting skyward.
Boom!
Neville’s eyes flew open. Every stitch of fabric on his body aged a century in a heartbeat and powdered away, leaving him bare as stone.
The great hall of Nethergate Sect bucked like a ship in storm-tossed seas. A mountain ten thousand feet high, just beyond the sect walls, crumbled in a single, thunderous heartbeat. Disciples spilled outside in panic, only to stop short at the sight of their Sect Master, naked, trembling, and covered in dust.
Stunned, Jared took two careful steps back. “Mr. Contreras, does every secret art of Nethergate Sect demand a price this steep?”
Neville said nothing. He slowly uncurled his fist. In his palm, Jared’s congealed blood had reshaped itself into one enormous scarlet character, “Leave”.
Swallowing hard, Neville managed, “M-Mr. Chance… T-The being behind you is beyond anything I can even comprehend…”
He spun and bolted, a damp trail glistening on the polished stone where his steps fell.
Neville had known Jared had an expert backing him, but never imagined a force so vast that a casual probe could nearly obliterate an entire sect. If that unseen giant had not shown mercy, the Nethergate Sect would already lie in ruin. Only mercy kept every soul here alive.
Jared glanced down and realized the Sect Master had lost control of more than just his courage.
