Jared didn’t respond immediately. He cast Dexton a cold, measured glance. Inwardly, a thought struck like a blade.
If I open this now and there’s treasure inside, they’ll pounce like starving wolves…
Though Jared had reached Level Three of the Wandering Immortal Realm and no longer feared these people individually, wasn’t reckless. If they banded together, things could turn ugly.
His gaze lingered on the two remaining coffins. A glimmer of calculation entered his eyes.
Silently, Jared extended his hands.
A faint red glow bloomed from his palms, growing brighter until it bathed both coffins in a shimmering aura. The blood-colored energy etched onto the coffins responded, pulsing and slowly blending with the glow from his hands, as if resonating.
The others fell silent, eyes locked on Jared. No one dared interrupt. Whatever was doing was beyond their understanding.
“Rise!” Jared bellowed, his voice echoing through the ancient chamber like a thunderclap.
To everyone’s astonishment, hoisted both coffins into the air.
A brilliant flash of white light followed, and in the blink of an eye, the coffins vanished without a trace.
He had sealed them into his storage ring. Whatever was inside those coffins, this wasn’t the place to investigate. Surrounded by uncertain allies and potential enemies, opening the coffins here would be a fool’s move.
If there’s anything of value inside, they’d turn on me without hesitation.
The others stood frozen, stunned by what they’d just witnessed. Eyes turned toward Jared, each gaze laced with a different emotion, awe, greed, suspicion, and fear.
“Hey, kid!” Aziel snapped as Jared tucked the coffins into his storage ring. “Those coffins were found in these ruins. Whatever’s inside should belong to all of us! Who gave you the right to claim them for yourself?”
Jared turned to calmly. “Do these ruins belong to your family?”
Aziel frowned. “No, of course not!”
“Then why do you care what I take from them?” Jared’s tone was cool, unwavering. He no longer feared Aziel. In fact, didn’t even see as a threat anymore.
Aziel was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected Jared, the same guy who had once treated with such caution, to suddenly stand his ground with such boldness.
“You’ve got some nerve,” Aziel growled. “Are you seriously talking to me like that?”
Jared smirked. “No… I’m talking to a dog…”
For a beat, silence hung in the air. Then, Nymeria burst into laughter. Jemima stifled a giggle, covering mouth as shoulders shook with amusement.
Aziel’s eyes flared with fury. “You’re begging for death, boy!”
Without another word, charged.
In a flash of golden light, Aziel unleashed the full might of a Wandering Immortal Realm Level Five cultivator.
The ancient ruins trembled beneath the weight of his aura, cracks split the ground like spiderwebs, and the air grew thick with pressure. Each of his steps thundered like hammer blows, the very earth fracturing beneath his feet. His body blazed with radiant energy, glowing like a miniature sun.
“You arrogant brat!” roared. “Let me show you just how ignorant you are!”
He gathered his essence in an instant, golden light coalescing in his palm. From that light, a colossal spear burst forth. It was nine meters long, shimmering with divine brilliance. The spearhead pulsed with lethal intent, its jagged edge aimed squarely at Jared’s throat.
It was the Heavenfall Pavilion’s ultimate technique, Sky-Breaking Thrust.
As the spear surged forward, the space around it twisted and groaned under the force. Wherever the tip passed, the air was sliced apart with a deafening sonic boom.
The strike descended like a golden dragon, its momentum unstoppable, potent enough to obliterate a typical Wandering Immortal Realm Level Six cultivator on impact.
“Jared, look out!” Jemima cried, voice sharp with panic. Her delicate hand clenched instinctively at the hem of dress, beautiful eyes wide with worry.
Dexton, standing to the side, simply scoffed. Aziel’s giving too much credit.
A Sky-breaking Thrust?
For a brat at Level Three?
A single punch would be more than enough…
Nymeria and the three men in black remained silent, their gazes fixed on the battlefield. In their eyes, Jared’s fate was already sealed.
But Jared didn’t move. Not at first. He stood there calmly, almost lazily, his posture relaxed, lips curved in a faint smirk. In his eyes gleamed a flicker of cold disdain.
And then, just as the golden spear closed the final nine centimeters toward his throat, his figure blurred.
In an instant, Jared ghosted out of its path, his movement so swift it seemed to tear through the air like a shadow slipping through light. At the same time, his right fist ignited with radiant gold.
“Sacred Light Fist!” roared.
Boom!
Aziel’s eyes widened in alarm. He tried to summon a barrier of golden light around his chest, twisting his body in a desperate attempt to evade.
But it was too late. Jared’s fist struck squarely against Aziel’s chest with devastating precision. The force behind it was like the crashing tide, layered, relentless, building with every breath Into a tidal wave of power.
