Jared chuckled and said to the clan leader, “If all your people die, those pouches will end up mine whether I lift a finger or not. Do you imagine your corpses could stop me?”
The clan leader froze, speechless; if every last clansman perished, their possessions would indeed belong to whoever survived, Jared had no incentive at all to help.
“Help us if you will, forget it if you won’t, we’re not afraid of death!” a young man in a white robe snapped, glaring at Jared with clear displeasure.
He stood among the chosen youths, and despite his young age, his cultivation level was already at the Wandering Immortal Realm Level Eight-an exceptional talent by any measure.
Jared swept his gaze across the group, every one of them belonged to the younger generation, prodigies brimming with monstrous potential.
So that‘s his plan, to preserve a spark for the clan’s future, Jared mused.
“Mind your manners!” A young woman stepped forward, face a shade pale, yet eyes steady.
“My apologies, friend,” said to Jared, voice calm. “Whether you assist us or not is entirely your right…”
Turning to fellows, declared, “Perhaps this is simply the fate of the Worryfree Clan. Accept it and fight alongside the clan leader!”
“Fight we shall!” the gathered youths cried in unison.
Resolved, they prepared to rush back to the clan leader’s side and face the scarlet lightning together.
The clan leader let out a long sigh, helpless. He had hoped these youngsters would carry the clan’s embers into the future, now it seemed the Worryfree Clan might vanish from history altogether.
“Wait…” Jared’s voice cut through the tumult.
Hope flared in the clan leader’s eyes, while Flaxseed tugged worriedly at Jared’s sleeve. “Jared, think it through. That scarlet lightning tribulation is terrifying, can you really protect them?”
“Shield the entire clan? Impossible. But these few dozen? I can at least try,” Jared replied.
“Sir, you truly will help us?” the clan leader asked, hope shining in every syllable.
“Not help, it’s a transaction,” Jared corrected, then stepped forward, crossing into the very heart of the lightning-wracked zone.
He raised his palm Skyward, a column of golden radiance surged upward, expanding instantly into a shimmering shield that encircled the gathered youths.
Seeing the barrier form, the clan leader’s lips curved in quiet relief, the hesitation in his eyes was gone.
Scarlet bolts crashed down one after another. The clan leader’s vital energy rattled beneath their might, growing thin and illusory, while the rest of the clan had already reached their final moments.
They had no strength left at all; all they could do was stare in helpless horror while the lightning tribulation thundered down, one deafening strike after another, snatching away life after life in bloody sheets of destruction.
Only moments ago they had believed that, by uniting the power of their entire Worryfree Clan, they would be able to fend off the scarlet lightning and help their clan leader reach the Fourth Heaven, breaking through to the Earthly Immortal Realm.
Now, however, they finally understood how childishly simple that hope had been.
Inside Jared’s body, wave upon wave of energy erupted, surging outward to sustain the lustrous golden shield wrapped around and the people nearest him.
Every seething arc of lightning crashed against that radiant barrier, yet not a single crack appeared, the shield held firm, refusing to let the furious power pass.
From within the shelter, dozens of cultivators stared out, eyes widened and voices hoarse, as their own clansmen shrieked and fell, their lives harvested by the ravenous storm.
“What are you doing? Hurry up! Save them!” the white-robed young man bellowed, panic and fury twisting his features.
He swung toward Jared, convinced that if only Jared would expand the barrier, more of their people could be rescued.
Jared paid no heed, was pouring every shred of focus into withstanding the lightning’s relentless assault.
Just then, a young woman shot the white-robed man a fierce glare and hissed, “Shut your mouth!”
Out beyond the shield, the middle-aged clan leader watched his clansmen vanish beneath the lightning’s crimson light and finally let go of all resistance.
“Aagh!” roared, and in the next instant, his entire body ignited like a living torch.
“Clan leader!” the survivors beneath Jared’s golden shield cried out, tears streamed down their faces while grief ripped through their chests.
