He guided the Jade Phoenix carriage toward distant spires veiled in pale gold light, the air thickening with divine oppression the closer he comes.
Several thousand kilometers out, he dismissed the carriage into its token, letting silence replace rumbling wheels. The silver-armored puppet escorts had served their purpose; a flicked wrist shattered their cores, their bodies collapsing into dull metal before vanishing into his ring.
Jared lifted off on a thin ribbon of light, the night air scraping across his cheeks. He arrowed toward the Divine Punishment Hall complex, its towering silhouette drowned in a wash of pale gold. Each mile he closed, the pressure pouring from the celestials’ domain pressed harder on his bones.
The weight wasn’t physical; it was authority made solid, a reminder that one wrong breath could get him shredded.
From this distance, the complex lounged like a sleeping beast, thick fumes of divine intent rolling from every eave. The stench of power crawled over his skin and tried to dig in. Spiked roofs and arching spires lined up in patterns he couldn’t fully track, yet his gut felt the design snap into place. An array that blanketed kilometers hummed in time with the world itself, every tremor echoing through the soles of his boots.
A chill pricked the base of his neck, but his face stayed locked in Mr. Clive’s usual aloof smirk, shadowed by recent “wounds”. Inside, he cinched the ripple of chaotic force until not a spark leaked. What filtered out matched Clive’s divine signature exactly—a trick he’d torn out of the envoy’s mind with the Soulsearch Technique. It wasn’t perfect; nothing could fake a full celestial brand, but almost no checkpoint was built for “almost”.
He coasted to the vast front gate. Two Divine Guards in gold plate stood statue-still, their auras spiking at high third-tier Upper Immortal, bright as twin suns. Their eyes swept every traveler like blades—cold, bored, certain of their own place at the top.
Jared’s boots hadn’t touched the landing stone before the left Divine Guard, a face chiseled from granite, stepped forward. “Halt! Identify yourself!” His shout snapped like iron striking ice.
Jared dismissed the flight light and slid into Clive’s ingratiating grin. “Esteemed guards, you work hard. Envoy Clive Cloud, returning from the eastern region with the latest collections, ready to report to the venerable one…” As he spoke, he produced Clive’s envoy token and two other personal seals, holding them between relaxed fingers.
The guard took the token, injected a thread of divine power, then studied Jared’s features with an accountant’s patience. After a breath, he nodded and handed the token back. “Identity confirmed. Enter… Venerable Glacier is in the side hall…”
Relief flickered through Jared’s chest; he shifted his weight to move past the gate.
“Hold!” The single word cracked behind him like a reins tug. The right Divine Guard, silent until now, let his sharper gaze finally settle on Jared. His eyes scraped down Jared’s robes, lingering where a record slip should have been. “Mr. Clive, why wasn‘t the collection log sent ahead through the transmission array? Protocol demands immediate transmission.”
A needle of ice tapped Jared’s spine. Clive’s memories had warned him of this rule, though enforcement was spotty. He bowed deeper, his face flushing just enough. “Reporting, sir, the trip was ambushed at Jade Immortal Manor. My Messaging Jade Slip was ruined in the fight. The attackers shadowed me afterward, so I rushed the remaining pickups and couldn’t reforge the link. I meant to detail everything to the venerable personally.”
“Ambushed?” The question cut short and flat. The two guards traded a look, suspicion sliding into place. “Open your storage pouch. I‘ll count the offerings and the soul crystals myself. No entry until numbers match!”
The request slammed into Jared like a shove; this wasn’t standard gate work at all. Normally only Venerable Glacier audited the haul, and even he skimmed. Jared’s smile cracked, anger curling beneath it. Clive’s persona liked outrage more than apology; Jared let it bloom. “Gatekeepers, by the hall’s rules I report straight to Venerable Glacier. Are you accusing me of skimming?!”
He pitched the final words louder, enough for patrolling celestial guards to lift their heads. The right Divine Guard’s face darkened. “Watch yourself, Clive! Inspection is my duty. Your stalling only looks guilty!”
Heat gathered between the three men like oil near flame. Jared let a sharp laugh slip, shoulders trembling as if from insult. One hard step forward cracked the flagstone under his boot. “I crawled here half-bleeding to finish the job, and you lecture me?! If you can’t show basic respect, don’t blame me when business gets delayed.”
“You…” The guard erupted, golden light crackling along his armor seams.
Jared didn’t give him time to finish the threat. Speed ripped the air apart. Too fast for thought, faster than the eye‘s first blink. To the guards, his outline smeared into smoke right before their eyes. All he did was raise both hands, palms open, simple as a greeting.
Jared’s palm met the left Divine Guard’s armored cheek. A sharp crack split the still air. Without pausing, he pivoted and let his other hand fly. A second crack followed immediately, even louder. Both blows landed flush, echoing off the marble steps. Helmets rattled as the two Divine Guards jerked sideways.
Jared had judged the force to a hair. The slaps slid under their protective aura, yet struck hard enough to twist their heads and raise angry welts that swelled before his eyes. A hush rippled outward. Patrolmen who had been marching past froze mid-step, mouths hanging open as if the world had turned upside down.
Someone whispered, unbelieving, “The envoy just slapped the gate Divine Guards?” Another voice cracked, softer still, “Right in front of the Divine Punishment Hall?”
The notion felt impossible, as though someone had punched a hole in the heavens. The left Divine Guard clutched his burning cheek. “You… You dare strike us?!” he roared. Fury flared across his features; golden light erupted from his armor as his Upper Immortal pressure slammed outward, ready to retaliate.
Jared stepped closer instead of backing down. “So what if I hit you?” His voice cut out like ice. He let his own aura surge, thick and brutal, easily overriding the Divine Guards’ presence and pinning them where they stood. His eyes, cold as freshly forged steel, swept across them.
“Remember your place!” he said, voice low yet freezing. “I serve Venerable Glacier directly, carrying his orders! You are mere gate dogs—you think you can bark at me? Those two slaps are a lesson! Delay me again and, when the venerable asks why I’m late, can you shoulder the blame?”
He struck each word like a hammer: “Venerable”, “Mission”, and “Official mandate”. Every title landed heavier than the last.
Their shoulders trembled; Jared saw veins beating in their necks while fury warred with caution. The raw difference in cultivation, and the threat of failing their superiors, pressed on them like an iron weight, smothering their anger.
