Jared raised a quiet hand. The jubilant storm fell instantly to a reverent hush. The simple motion was calm, almost lyrical, as though every heartbeat in the courtyard flowed from a script only he could read.
“There’s no need for ceremony,” said, voice soft yet unbreakable. “I merely did what was right.”
With that, turned toward Twin Ridge Stronghold’s storehouse. Each deliberate step thrummed like a plucked string inside the watchers’ chests.
He knew, felt it deep in his marrow-that mountains of celestial gems waited beyond those doors, and that would need every last shard for the trials ahead.
The great doors creaked open to reveal a blinding trove, celestial gems stacked higher than a man could reach, their pure celestial energy brighter than anything had seen even in the celestial realm. Each celestial gem shimmered with an inner cosmos, whispering promises of power and horizons yet to be seen.
Jared spoke with excitement, his eyes gleaming.
Perfect… Absolutely perfect! These celestial gems are exactly what I need to push my strength to the next threshold!
He understood with bone-deep clarity that in that realm, where power decided life or death, only relentless growth could shield both himself and those walking beside him, only strength could let carry the quiet mission held in his heart.
Without a scrap of hesitation, swept every last celestial gem into his storage ring. His hands moved with the speed of muscle memory, as though had rehearsed the gesture a thousand times beneath far harsher suns.
“We move,” Jared said, turning toward Quincy and the others. “Next quarry! Now!”
Unblinking resolve burned behind his eyes; no wall of stone, steel, or fear could hope to slow that stare.
In the days that followed, Jared led Quincy and the small band like a blade through silk, carving a path across every quarry the demons controlled within Cardinal Realm.
They became a whetted dagger aimed straight at Demonic Cultivators’ hearts, wherever they appeared, Demonic Cultivators scattered in blind panic.
Each site they reached ended the same way, every Demonic Cultivator slain, every chain struck from the wrists of the enslaved.
The Dragonslayer Sword flashed in Jared’s grip, cold light rippling down the steel. Every swing reaped lives with practiced, economical beauty, each form honed until raw power and perfect precision were one and the same.
Quincy and the others refused to lag behind. They unleashed their own arts, turning each skirmish into thunder and flame.
Cancel
Report Ad
Violent
Disturbing
Offensive
Vulgar
Ad was closed
Buy Today, HODL Tomorrow!
Along the way, they shattered slave seals and cut shackles. Freed cultivators, eyes once dulled by despair, now glowed with hope and hurried to join Jared’s ranks.
All liberated celestial gems vanished into Jared’s keeping, fuel for his ascent and poison to the enemy’s cause. His name stormed across Cardinal Realm.
Whispers grew into campfire legends of an Immortal Lord who had descended from the celestial realm to break their chains. Every rescued soul retold the tale until the story itself marched ahead of like a banner of light.
Demonic Cultivators who heard the name Jared felt their spirits fray.
Once swaggering tyrants in Cardinal Realm, they slunk into forests and backwater caves, praying the avenging sword would pass them by. Within weeks, more than a thousand quarries in Cardinal Realm stood abandoned.
Freed workers flocked to Jared’s banner until a handful became an army of several thousand, the kind of tide that could roll straight through stone.
***
Just as the Demonic Cultivators’ morale shattered, a lone silhouette materialized above the realm, radiating pressure like a mountain that had decided to float.
