A Man Like None Other (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 6710

Divine Radiance Palace.

The hall looked as though it had been sealed inside a block of amber. Golden radiance saturated the air from wall to wall.

Divine sigils moved slowly across the walls, radiating an ancient, crushing pressure. It was the accumulated presence of countless celestial experts over tens of thousands of years, weighing on the palace like an invisible mountain.

On the divine throne, Aureon Suncrest watched the hall through eyes bright with barely contained rage.

A celestial elder knelt before him, trembling from head to toe. His forehead was pressed tightly to the cold golden floor, and he did not even dare lift his head.

The elder had just reported the one development Aureon least wanted to hear.

The demons had issued a bounty of their own, offering twice the celestial reward for celestial heads.

In only two days, celestial cultivators across the Twentieth Firmament had been ambushed. More than a hundred were dead, their heads cut off and exchanged for crystals.

The human and beast clan cultivators who had previously hunted Demonic Cultivators for celestial golden elixirs had switched sides almost overnight and become executioners hunting celestials instead.

They had never been loyal in the first place. The celestials offered crystals, so they killed demons.

When the demons doubled the price, those same blades immediately turned on celestial necks.

The calculation could not have been simpler. No one was going to choose against his own profit.

"The demons..."

Aureon's voice was colder than ancient ice, every word forced through clenched teeth. "Those rats hiding in Black Abyss Valley dare place bounties on my people?"

"Your Majesty..." The elder's voice shook, and he kept his head down. "According to the reports, the demon bounty was issued by a young man from the Inferno Devil Descent. His name is Skylar, and they say he cultivates the demonic primal flame.

"He joined forces with the Demonic Cultivators in Black Abyss Valley, spread the bounty throughout the Twentieth Firmament, and encouraged every non-celestial faction to hunt celestial cultivators for rewards. And... and we've also heard that Jared is in Black Abyss Valley with Skylar..."

"Jared..."

When Aureon spoke the name, the killing intent in his eyes nearly became tangible.

That was the man who had killed Grand Elder Greenwood, destroyed the celestial forces of the Nineteenth Firmament, and then come to the Twentieth Firmament to stir up even more chaos.

"Your Majesty," another elder ventured carefully, his tone testing the waters, "the demons have limited resources. There is no way they can sustain double bounties for long.

"If we simply raise our rewards above theirs, those opportunists will naturally turn back to us. With the resources of the Celestial High Temple, we can easily outspend the demons..."

"Raise the bounty?"

Aureon cut him off with an icy stare, his golden gaze striking the elder like a blade. "You want the celestials to compete financially with a pack of rats hiding in the mountains?"

The elder shuddered violently and bowed even lower. "I would never presume, Your Majesty. I only meant—"

"A worthless idea."

Aureon rose from the throne. His golden divine robe billowed without wind as overwhelming pressure rolled outward like a physical force, crushing the kneeling elders until they could barely breathe.

"The celestials have ruled the Twentieth Firmament for tens of thousands of years because of strength, not crystals. Those opportunists kill celestials for crystals today, and tomorrow they will kill demons for crystals. If we start bidding against them, the celestials will become a joke."

"But Your Majesty, human and beast clan cultivators have already killed more than a hundred of our people. If we do nothing, they'll only become bolder..."

"I have my own solution."

There was absolute finality in Aureon's voice. Something deeper than rage moved inside his golden eyes.

Aureon opened his right hand. Golden radiance drew inward from the surrounding air until a blazing sphere rested above his palm.

It shone with blinding brilliance, like a miniature star beating in his hand, releasing a pressure that made the heart seize.

That pressure was denser than ever before, as though it had already brushed against a higher realm.

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