“You want Dragonmere’s treasure?” A sudden laugh rolled out of him. “Then come and take it!”
Before their robes could settle, Jared blurred, sprinting toward the thinnest segment of the encirclement. That weak spot lay where the white-haired elder was posted. The elder gave a cold snort and thrust out a palm, raw force billowing ahead of the strike.
Jared chose not to dodge. He took the blow on his chest and, at the same instant, hammered a fist straight for the elder’s face.
Bang!
The collision blasted Jared backward; three ribs cracked with a sickening crunch. Yet the white-haired elder staggered several steps, and a gap yawned open in the defensive ring. Jared wheeled and shot through that slit like lightning, breaking clear of the elders’ formation.
“After him!” Garrick barked the order, and the six elders vaulted after their quarry. Jared poured every shred of spiritual power into his legs and raced for the mouth of the valley.
At his throat, the Binding Collar pulsed with sinister red glyphs, squeezing tighter on the flow of power inside him. Each stride drained more of the energy coursing through his veins. Stopping was not an option. Hesitation meant a corpse on the road.
Beyond the ravine, thirty of the Chance Family guards waited in a solid battle line. The moment Jared burst into view, they unleashed a storm of spells that came crashing down like a tidal wave. Jared’s eyes narrowed; he clenched his jaw and drove straight into the barrage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions ripped at his flesh, spraying blood and shredded robes, but he never slackened his charge. Through sheer momentum, Jared smashed past the outer ring, forcing a path out of their formation.
“Jared!” Vivian’s voice rang from behind, high and raw. Jared didn’t look back; his feet kept pounding the earth.
A figure dropped from the sky and landed in front of him, blocking the road with a single step. It was Garrick! A True Immortal Realm master had finally decided to move.
Jared skidded to a halt, chest heaving for air. Blood coated him from scalp to boots, and wounds striped every limb. Yet he stayed on his feet. Garrick studied him, a brief gleam crossing the patriarch’s eyes.
“Young Master Chance, you are impressive indeed. A High Immortal Realm Level Two cultivator breaking out while six Ninth Rank Elders closed in, then punching through thirty guards—skill and resolve like that, I have rarely seen.” He paused, and when he spoke again, the chill cut straight through the air. “But this is where it ends…”
He raised his palm and brought it crashing down. That strike carried the full force of a True Immortal Realm expert. Even before the wind of the blow arrived, Jared already felt a pressure fierce enough to tear the sky apart. Blood thundered, bones grated, every joint straining as though the next heartbeat would grind him into pulp. Still, he did not fall. He forced his head up and watched the looming hand, an unbending light burning in his eyes.
Is this really the end? No… He refused to let this valley become his grave. There was far too much left undone.
“Stop!” A sharp cry split the air, and a figure darted forward to shield Jared.
It was Vivian! Garrick’s palm halted at the last inch, yet the leftover gust flung Vivian aside and slammed her to the ground.
“Vivian!” Garrick’s shout cracked. “Have you lost your mind?”
Vivian pushed herself up, blood beading at the corner of her mouth, and stood between the two men. “Father, you can’t kill him!”
Garrick’s face darkened. “Move!”
“I won’t!” She shook her head, tears spilling. “You lied to me and used me to swallow that. But you can’t kill him! He’s done nothing! He’s innocent!”
“Innocent?” Garrick let out a low laugh. “The Celestial Palace has him on the wanted rolls; do you still call that innocent?”
“That’s between him and the Palace!” Her voice rang out. “It has nothing to do with our family. He helped us, and now we’re turning on him. How is that not betraying a benefactor?”
Garrick drew a slow breath, voice held flat. “Vivian, I’ll say it once more. Step aside…”
Vivian shook her head again, slipped a short sword from her sleeve, and set the blade against her own throat. “Father, take one more step and I die right here!”
Garrick’s pupils tightened. The six elders also froze.
“Vivian!” Garrick burst out. “What are you doing? Put the sword down!”
Tears streamed as she clutched the weapon; the edge had already nicked skin, and fresh blood trickled down her neck. Her voice trembled. “Since childhood I obeyed every word. You told me to cultivate, I cultivated… You ordered me into the tournament marriage, and I went. You told me to fool Jared, and I did… This time, please let him go. Think of it as the last request your daughter will ever make.”
Garrick stared at her; heat flashed, cooled into hard tension, and something else made his shoulders sink. After a long silence, he finally spoke, each word weighed. “Put the sword down and I’ll let him leave.”
Vivian blinked. “Really?”
Garrick nodded. “I, Garrick, keep my word.”
She hesitated, then slowly lowered the blade. In that exact instant, Garrick moved. A single finger jab sent a burst of force into Vivian’s wrist. The sword spun free; she gasped as Garrick yanked her behind him.
“Seize him!” Garrick snapped.
The six elders stepped forward again. In the very next heartbeat, they closed ranks around Jared. Jared watched them surround him, then, quite suddenly, he laughed. The smile that spread across his face dripped with mockery.
“Master Garrick, you really do keep your word…”
Garrick’s expression did not shift. “All’s fair in war, Young Master Chance. Accept your fate.”
Jared gave no reply; he simply turned his eyes to Vivian. She was pinned in Garrick’s grip. She could not move, could only stare while fresh tears streamed down. “Young Master Chance… I’m sorry…”
Jared shook his head. “Miss Chance, save your apology. None of this is your doing.”
He drew a deep breath, threw his head back, and let a long howl rip from his lungs. Roar!
A dragon’s roar burst from his mouth like a shockwave. Its force dwarfed what he had shown during the trial; it was several times stronger. Blinding gold light erupted from inside him. Behind his back, the radiance gathered into the silhouette of the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon.
The phantom lifted its head and answered with its own thunderous cry. The sweeping draconic pressure rolled across the clearing. The six elders halted mid-stride, bodies stiff under the sudden tide of dragon might. Jared seized that sliver of time and poured every ounce of bloodline power through his veins. His aura surged, climbing higher and higher without pause.
“Break!” His shout rang like thunder.
The Binding Collar at his throat cracked with a sharp snap, a jagged fissure splitting the metal. The unexpected leap in power tore through part of the collar’s suppression.
Garrick’s face tightened. “No! Stop him!”
The order came a heartbeat too late. Jared blurred into a streak of gold light and shot toward the distant tree line. He was gone. He fled with wounds covering every inch of flesh and a white-hot fire roaring inside him.
Garrick lunged to give chase, but the phantom Golden Dragon slid into his path and barred the way. The phantom lingered for exactly three breaths before vanishing without a trace. Three breaths were all it needed. By the time Garrick tore through the fading light, Jared had already melted into the surrounding forest.
