A Man Like None Other (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 5168

Saleto stared stupidly at the ruins of his primordial artifact. It felt as though lightning had slammed straight through him; his legs nearly buckled beneath the shock.

He met Jared’s eyes—eyes that looked as if they could see through everything—and for the first time, despair flooded his heart.

What... what kind of monster is this man?

“Mr. Saleto,” Jared drawled, voice lazy as though watching a dull play, “any other tricks? Don’t keep them tucked away—show me everything. I’m curious how much power the Seventh Hall can muster at its peak.”

“You—you’ve gone too far!”

Driven to desperation, Saleto’s gaze turned vicious. “Since you’re so eager to die, blame no one when I invoke a forbidden secret art!”

He bit through the tip of his tongue. A mouthful of blood essence spattered across his chest, and his hands blurred through an intricate, unfathomable seal.

In an instant, his aura surged. His already Top Level cultivation strained toward an outright breakthrough. Golden flames coiled around him, and eerie markings crawled across his face.

“That’s... the Divine Sacrifice!” Jhaelyn gasped, horror sharpening every syllable.

As a member of the Celestial Palace herself, she understood all too well how terrifying that rite could be.

Flaxseed’s eyes narrowed, and he moved to help, but Jared stopped him with a single look.

Instead of fear, Jared’s expression showed lively interest. “Oh? Divine Sacrifice? Now that sounds entertaining.”

At that moment, Saleto resembled a war god, torrents of golden fire erupting skyward.

With a guttural roar, he hurled a fist straight at Jared.

He had poured every drop of burning life force into that blow. Space itself twisted beneath the gale; a phantom deity gathered on his knuckles, radiating annihilating might.

“Jared, die!”

Yet, faced with a punch that would have made any Wandering Immortal blanch, Jared merely lifted his left hand, fingers spread, and reached toward the oncoming force at what looked like a leisurely pace.

Pop!

Impossible...

Even after burning my life force and unleashing my final strike, I couldn’t so much as touch his sleeve?

Crack!

Agony ripped through Saleto’s arm as every bone shattered. He screamed, and Jared casually flung him away. Saleto slammed into a stone pillar with a thunderous thud.

“Gah—”

Blood gushed from Saleto’s mouth. The life-burning technique collapsed in chaos, his aura withering to nothing.

He clawed his way out of the rubble and watched Jared advance one step at a time, terror and hopelessness swallowing his eyes.

Only now did he understand: the gap between them was not merely one of realm—it was the abyss between an ant and a dragon.

“You... what do you want?”

His voice broke, half-sobbing, stripped of all former authority. “I—I’m sorry! I’ll apologize to the Eighth Hall! I’ll beg Braxton’s forgiveness! Please... spare me...”

The other members of the Seventh Hall lowered their heads in silence when they saw their overlord grovel.

A moment ago, they had considered rushing forward together; after witnessing Jared’s true power, every last one of them wilted.