"Welcome, fellow cultivator," Patriarch Tavares said, bowing slightly with his arms clasped. "It is rare to host one of your caliber. I trust your journey was smooth?"
This scene alone left many present stunned, whispering among themselves. Who was this kid? Why was their proud patriarch bowing to him like a subordinate?
But Jalen didn't return the gesture. His gaze remained fixed on the horizon, as if the Patriarch's words were wind brushing past a mountain.
"I'm not here for pleasantries," Jalen said, voice like tempered steel. "My brother is here to fight in a duel, Elder Phil Tyrrell. Hurry up and summon that scum; we don't have all day here."
Tavares's expression twitched.
Lionel, standing beside him, clenched his fists. This brat! How dare he?
But before he could do something impulsive, Tavares mind-linked him to keep his cool.
Murmurs rippled through the gathered elders and disciples—this was not how one addressed the leader of a top-tier sect.
But Tavares didn't lash out as much as he wanted to. He simply replied, "I apologize, fellow cultivator, but Elder Phil is currently outside the sect."
Lloyd stepped forward, disbelief etched across his face. "You're covering for him."
The Patriarch turned to him, tone clipped. "Young man, I don't know what your issue with Elder Phil is, but he is not here."
Lloyd's eyes burned. "My issue with that bastard is that I'm here to claim his head."
Silence fell like a guillotine.
Even the wind seemed to pause.
Disciples gasped. Elders stiffened. The declaration was not just bold—it was sacrilege. To speak of killing an elder in the heart of his own sect was madness.
Jalen placed a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. A silent signal for him to calm down.
"Since he's not here," Jalen said to Tavares. "Then we'll wait. Send someone to retrieve him."
Tavares's jaw tightened. But he remained diplomatic. "Very well."
He summoned a messenger with a flick of his sleeve. "Bring Elder Phil back to the sect. Immediately."
The messenger vanished in a blur of light.
Trying to regain control of the moment, the Patriarch offered, "Would you care to stay for a drink while you wait?"
Jalen shook his head. "No. But there is a disciple I wish to meet."
"Say who it is," the Patriarch replied, "and I'll summon them."
Jalen turned to Jaquan.
Jaquan didn't speak. He simply pointed.
At Yelena Illume.
The Patriarch's brow lifted. "Yelena," he called.
She stepped forward, graceful yet tense. Her aura flickered with unease. She bowed instinctively—but Jalen raised a hand.
"Don't bow," he said.
Yelena hesitated, then obeyed. But unease coiled in her chest as she met the gaze of the unknown young man. His blue eyes were steady—too steady. Not the eyes of someone summoned for pleasantries.
Who is he?Why does he want to meet me?Did Jaquan bring this master here to exact vengeance for what I did years ago?
She glanced at Jaquan, searching for answers in his expression. But he said nothing. Just stood there, calm and unreadable.
The young man didn't move. Didn't blink. And Yelena felt something she hadn't felt in years—uncertainty.
"You really don't know who I am, do you?" Jalen asked.
Yelena's brows furrowed. "No, my lord…"
"Of course you don't; you abandoned me and my father when I was just an infant," Jalen replied.
Then Jaquan stepped forward. "Yelena, this is our son, Jalen."
The words struck like thunder.
Yelena staggered back, eyes wide. Even Lloyd turned, stunned.
The man who had silenced sects, who made Immortal Realm cultivators bow, was her son.
The son she had abandoned.
"My—" she began.
"Don't," Jalen interrupted, voice colder than frost. "You forfeited the right to speak that word."
Yelena trembled.
The courtyard was silent once more.
Jalen didn't look at Yelena any further. "Do you have something to say to her, Dad? Because I don't." Though she was his biological mother, he felt nothing. He'd only ever known a father.
Jaquan nodded. Then he stepped forward.
"I used to be angry," he said, voice steady. "Angry that you left me when I needed you most. Angry that you divorced me and abandoned our infant son without a second thought. I hated you for that."
He paused, breath catching.
"But not anymore. I've come to terms with your decision. I accept it for what it is—your loss."
He turned slightly, gesturing toward Jalen and Lloyd.
"I'm happy, Yelena. My son Jalen is a master cultivator. Even the elders who once looked down on us now bow in respect. I have a wonderful adoptive son, Lloyd. I'm married to the love of my life, a woman who shows me the true meanings of what love is, and together we're raising five incredible children."
He smiled through tears.
"I have eleven grandchildren. Each one a blessing you forfeited."
Lloyd smiled awkwardly as Jaquan glanced at him, then turned back to Yelena.
"And it's all thanks to your decision. Back then, I thought it was a tragedy. But now I see—it was a blessing in disguise. God's work."
He bowed his head slightly.
"So I just want to say thank you. From the bottom of my heart. For leaving me."
The air outside the sect gates fell silent once more.
"Back then, you said I was crippled. That I'd hold you back. That I should crawl into a corner and die.
But look at me now.
I'm a Peak Moon Realm cultivator.
And you—four realms below me.
Not even worthy of standing before me."
He stepped closer.
"So tell me, Yelena… Do you regret it?"
Yelena didn't answer. But the anger from this embarrassment in her eyes was unmistakable. She didn't dare lash out.
Everyone else stood frozen, watching the storm unfold. Renard wished he could disappear—hide behind a rock, vanish into the crowd. But Jaquan's gaze found him, turning him stiff as stone.
"And you, my cousin," Jaquan said, voice low but cutting. "We grew up like brothers. I loved you dearly. But the moment tragedy struck, you became a viper."
Renard flinched.
"You didn't just kick me while I was down—you stole the woman I once believed was the love of my life. I couldn't see it then, but it's clear now. You didn't get close to me out of loyalty. You were jealous. You wanted everything I had."
Jaquan's eyes narrowed.
"And you got it. But where did it take you? To this—groveling as a sect lackey."
The words hit Renard like a blade. He kept his composure, but fear gripped him. Jaquan was stronger now. And his son—this young master who had made even the arrogant Patriarch bow—was clearly beyond comprehension. Renard wasn't foolish. He knew power when he saw it.
But he didn't avoid the storm.
Jalen appeared before him in a flash—so fast, not even Tavares or Lionel saw it coming.
"So you're the scum who lay with his brother's wife," Jalen said, his voice like tempered steel. "You don't deserve to live for this level of betrayal."
A single finger strike.
Renard's dantian shattered. His core collapsed. He fell to his knees, crippled.
Jalen stood over him, gaze cold.
"But you're family. So I'll spare you. You'll live as a normal mortal. And die like the serpent you are."
He turned to the Patriarch.
"If anyone helps him recover his cultivation, I'll take it as an offense. And I will slaughter the entire Sabre Sect."
"You insolent brat!" Lionel snarled, teeth clenched as his aura flared. Lightning qi surged around his blade as he charged toward Jalen, fury driving every step. He was done tolerating this child's arrogance.
Jalen didn't move.
"An ant dares to bare its fangs at an elephant?" he murmured.
The moment Lionel entered range, Jalen vanished.
Light Flicker.
He reappeared directly in front of Lionel—too fast for even Tavares or his second to track.
Luminal Edge flashed.
A single strike. Controlled. Precise.
Lionel collapsed, blood spraying as his blade shattered and his ribs cracked. He wasn't dead—but he was broken.
Jalen stood over him, calm.
He could have killed him.
But he didn't.
There was no personal vendetta. Only a message.
This was a warning.
To anyone who thought he was a pushover.
The crowd—already stunned by the tension—watched in disbelief as one of their strongest experts was cut down like a pesky fly.
Even Lloyd and Jaquan—who knew Jalen's strength—were stunned.
Tavares, who had planned to intervene after Lionel struck, as part of their secret plan, had a second thought after what had happened.
In fact, had he moved faster, he would've ended up like Lionel.
And in that moment, he also realized something terrifying.
Jalen wasn't in the Immortal Realm anymore.
No.
This pressure… this speed… this control…
No doubt about it. This kid is a Sage Realm expert.
Tavares's heart pounded like a war drum.