Darian got to his feet and said respectfully, “My lord, your subordinate has an urgent matter to report.” He paused, then went through the whole chain of events in detail.
He started with the Celestial Palace’s Grand Elder coming to visit, then the Sky Dragon Clan emerging from seclusion, then the young man carrying the Dragon Sovereign Bloodline. He laid out every part of it, one by one.
“Right now, Roland has led the Sky Dragon Clan into Cloudhaven City, and that young man has disappeared. The Celestial Palace wants to join forces with my Demon Dragon Lineage and kill him together. Your subordinate didn’t dare make that decision on his own, so I came to ask my lord for guidance.”
After Mordren heard him out, a flicker passed over that face that had seemed still as dead water.
“Dragon Sovereign Bloodline?” He repeated it under his breath. A sharp light flashed through those deep violet eyes. “Are you certain that young man really has the Dragon Sovereign Bloodline?”
Darian hurried to answer. “Your subordinate didn’t see it with his own eyes, but according to the Celestial Palace, when Jared’s bloodline was tested, a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon phantom appeared. The dragon’s pressure rolled through the place and shocked everyone there.
And Roland was willing to bring the Sky Dragon Clan out of seclusion and move into Cloudhaven City. That alone means he recognized Jared’s identity. Based on that, Jared should indeed have the Dragon Sovereign Bloodline.”
Mordren went silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, “What did you say that young man was called?” Darian answered, “Replying to my lord, his name is Jared Chance.”
The instant those words fell, the young man standing beside Mordren gave a clear jolt. Something shifted in his eyes, and the smile on his face stiffened for a beat. The woman in violet caught that change at once. Her brows drew together, and she leaned close to his ear and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Junior brother, that name Jared sounds familiar. Is he the one we met before?”
The young man didn’t answer. He only looked at Darian in silence. A moment later, he suddenly spoke, his voice clear and even. “What cultivation level is Jared at now?”
Darian froze, then turned to look at the young man. His gaze swept over him, and a trace of contempt showed in his eyes. A young junior dared cut into this? He let out a cold snort, arrogance plain in his voice. “I’m speaking with my lord. What are you supposed to be? How dare you interrupt?”
The moment those words left his mouth, the air in the great hall locked solid. The smile stayed on the young man’s face, but a chill flashed through his eyes. Mordren’s expression changed. “Darian! Watch your tongue!”
Darian stopped short and looked toward Mordren. Mordren looked straight at him, his tone severe. “This one is my grand-uncle master. Speak to him with respect.”
“W-What?” Darian’s eyes flew wide, disbelief written all over his face. Grand-uncle master?! This young man, who looks barely past twenty, is actually my lord’s grand-uncle master?!
Mordren was the Lord of the Demon Marches, an ancient monster who had lived for who knew how many years. If the young man was his grand-uncle master, then what kind of seniority did that make him? A chill shot up from the soles of Darian’s feet straight to the crown of his skull.
His legs went weak, and he nearly dropped to his knees again. He bent over in a rush and saluted, his voice respectful to the extreme. “T-This subordinate was blind and offended Senior. I ask Senior to forgive me!”
The young man looked at him, smiled faintly, and gave a small wave of his hand. “Those who don’t know are not to blame. Get up…” His voice was gentle, but what reached Darian’s ears carried an authority that left no room to refuse.
Darian straightened up at once, but he didn’t dare lift his head again to look at the young man. The young man asked again, “What cultivation level is Jared at now?”
Darian didn’t dare delay. He answered immediately, “Replying to Senior, according to the Celestial Palace, Jared is now at High Immortal Realm Level Three.”
“High Immortal Realm Level Three?” The young man paused slightly, then smiled. That smile carried a hint of intrigue, a hint of remembrance, and a hint of anticipation. “High Immortal Realm Level Three… interesting…” He turned his head and looked at the woman in violet.
The woman in violet looked at him too, and something complicated flickered through her eyes. The young man drew his gaze back, looked at Mordren, and said evenly, “Mordren, I want to go see this Jared.”
Mordren paused, then nodded. “Since Senior is interested, then go. Darian, go with Seniors…”
Darian bowed at once. “Yes!”
The young man nodded and started walking toward the outside of the hall. The woman in violet stayed at his side and asked softly, “Junior brother, is it really him?”
The young man didn’t answer. The corner of his mouth only lifted a little, leaving behind a smile that gave away nothing and everything at once. “We’ll know once we see him.”
The two figures disappeared through the palace gate. Darian hurried after them, but inside, wave after wave kept crashing through him. Just what kind of background did this Jared have? Why would even my lord’s Senior take an interest in him? He didn’t know. But one thing he did know was that what came next was probably going to get lively.
High above the Demon Marches, three figures tore across the sky. At the front, the young man looked off into the distance. Something complicated flashed through his eyes as he said, “Jared, it’s been a long time. I didn’t expect you’d reach the Fourteenth Firmament this fast…”
If Jared saw that man and woman, he would definitely be beside himself. Because that male cultivator was Skylar, the one who had always wanted Jared dead, and that female was Josephine, the one Jared had never been able to forget. It was just that Josephine no longer recognized Jared now. No one knew how those two had ended up in the Fourteenth Firmament, and Skylar had even become Mordren’s Senior.
Skylar was now the Inferno Devil’s disciple. That meant Mordren likely belonged to the Inferno Devil’s line too, only his standing there was low. And with Skylar being the Inferno Devil’s direct disciple, for cultivators of the Inferno Devil’s line to call him Senior was only natural.
