Not a single sound left anyone’s throat this time. Every figure stood rigid, staring at the pillar that still shimmered. The vast plaza grew so still a pin would have echoed.
Meanwhile, all trace of ease vanished from Dominic’s face. His brows locked tight while his gaze drilled into Jared’s back, a restless glint sliding across his eyes.
Vivian’s breath hitched for an instant. She started a half step forward, checked herself, and the autumn-water eyes behind the veil now searched him even harder.
Jared drew his hand back again, as serene as ever. He moved toward the third Trial Pillar, the one that measured raw physical might.
“The third one….. The third one will stop him for sure!” Someone finally managed a quavering shout, “Look at how skinny he is, there’s no way he has body strength!”
“Exactly! Strength isn’t talent, you have to grind for it!” “Even Lord Wagner only hit seven and a half segments! He can’t possibly beat that!”
Dominic offered no agreement, he simply stared, unblinking, at Jared. Jared halted in front of the third Trial Pillar. Instead of placing a palm on it, he tightened his right fist.
The very next heartbeat, he punched. He didn’t wind up, didn’t channel any internal energy, he simply drove one clean punch straight into the Trial Pillar.
Bang! A deep, rolling impact ripped through the square like a sky-splitting thunderclap. The pillar rocked violently, light flaring in the same breath-yet this time it was more than light alone.
Crack! A sharp fissure spread outward from the very spot Jared’s fist had landed. Below the stage, every watcher’s pupils snapped tight.
“It… C-Cracked?!”
“The pillar cracked?!”
“That’s body strength? He’s a demon beast, not a man!”
The radiance shot upward madly. One mark, two, three, four, then seven, eight, nine, ten!
All ten slots burned at full brilliance. The split ran from the pillar’s base to its crown, nearly cleaving the whole Trial Pillar in two.
Jared withdrew his fist, glanced at the crack, and a barely noticeable furrow gathered between his brows. In the same calm tone he said, “Used too much force… Sorry…”
Used too much force?!
Those four words burst beside every ear like rolling thunder. Bodies stood frozen, faces empty of response.
Dominic’s complexion darkened to the shade of raw iron.
What kind of physique is that?!
Vivian’s fingers clamped around her sleeve, and the light in her autumn-clear eyes blazed. She kept her stare nailed to Jared, as though intent on seeing through bone and marrow.
“One more pillar…” With that, Jared walked toward the fourth Trial Pillar.
Bloodline-strength test…
The crowd finally shook off its stupor; a quavering voice rose, “Bloodline! He’ll never pass bloodline!”
“Right! No matter how wild his celestial energy or body is, regular cultivators don’t carry special blood!”
“Lord Wagner has the Crimson Auric Bloodline! What can some nameless nobody have?”
The comment let a shade of ease creep back onto Dominic’s face. He drew a long breath, straightened again, and pinned a brooding stare on Jared.
“Indeed…” His voice came out dry but steady. “Our friend’s celestial energy and physique are marvelous, yet bloodline comes from inheritance, not tramming. House of Wagner’s line awakened only because an ancestor reached Golden Immortal rank. May task which clan you hail from, friend? The courtesy couldn’t hide the thrust, with no heritage, you must fail here…”
Jared offered no reply. He stepped to the fourth Trial Pillar, lifted his right hand, and laid it gently on the stone.
Then, there was a terrible roar.
Roar! A vast dragon’s cry flooded heaven and earth. No human throat made that sound, it was the voice of a true dragon. Ancient, commanding, domineering, like a call torn from the primordial wilds.
The blast churned every watcher’s life energy and blood, weaker cultivators wavered and staggered back.
A breath later, a golden phantom shot skyward behind Jared. A Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, hundred-yard body gleaming, scales crisp, whiskers flowing, eyes blazing like twin suns. It coiled above him, radiating supreme dominion, as if ruling heaven and every beast below.
“It… Golden Dragon Bloodline!”
The silence that followed swallowed the entire square.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Spider-web fractures crawled across the fourth Trial Pillar.
Boom! With a deafening crack, the Trial Pillar burst from within. Stone seams shot open, and the whole column blew apart in the same heartbeat. Countless shards fanned out in every direction while a column of golden light rocketed upward, painting the entire sky in a molten hue.
The Golden Dragon phantom threw back its head and let out a sky-splitting cry. That dragon’s roar made the walls and streets of Cloudhaven City quiver as if the ground itself were breathing.
Every spectator stood rooted to the spot, limbs locked, breaths half-drawn and forgotten.
All color drained from Dominic’s face. He stared first at the fading dragon, then at the pillar reduced to rubble. His lips parted twice, yet no sound escaped.
What had I boasted only moments ago?
“Bloodline is a matter of inheritance. No amount of training can create it! May I ask which clan you claim?”
Jared had just answered him in the bluntest way possible.
Golden Dragon Bloodline, a bloodline spoken of in legend, ranked higher than even the royal houses of the celestials.
What could Dominic’s own Crimson Auric Bloodline amount to beside that?
Dust beneath a boot!
Dominic stayed where he was, cheeks prickling as though slapped again and again before the entire crowd. The pride he flaunted and the disdain he enjoyed a breath ago now looked like the punch line of a bad joke.
Vivian’s eyes seemed to catch every stray glint of light, brilliance gathering until they nearly glowed.
With a sudden motion she lifted her veil, revealing features that could silence a hall. In those clear eyes, astonishment and keen interest mingled, a spark of heat flickering deep inside.
She fixed her gaze on Jared, then on the slowly vanishing dragon shadow behind him.
When she spoke, the edge of her voice trembled. “Young master… May I know your honored name?”
Jared lowered his hand, outward composure unchanged, as though he had merely dusted off a table. He glanced at Vivian and said in an even tone,
“Just a wandering cultivator, Jared…”
Wanted or not, he had given his name openly. Now that the Golden Dragon Bloodline was out in the open, hiding a name felt pointless.
