A Man Like None Other (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 5139

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The middle-aged man was reduced to ash, and every last clansman outside the barrier was consumed by the lightning tribulation.

No one knew how long it took before the final rumble of thunder faded; when silence fell, it was the suffocating stillness of a grave.

Corpses lay strewn across the ground, the air thick with the sickly stench of blood.

Jared withdrew the golden shield. His face had gone paper-white, his breathing unsteady—saving those few dozen survivors had drained nearly all of his strength, and he had possessed nowhere near the power required to rescue the rest.

“Why? Why didn't you save our clan leader? You could have!” the white-robed youth snarled, fixing Jared with a gaze that burned with accusation.

Flaxseed and the others rushed over; without a word, Flaxseed swung his palm across the youth's cheek.

“Remember this—if he can save you, he can just as easily kill you,” Flaxseed growled, then turned to steady Jared. “You all right?”

“I'll live,” Jared replied, though a sudden crease etched itself between his brows. His eyes sharpened, fixed on the far horizon. “They're coming.”

“Move!” Flaxseed sensed it too. He seized Jared's arm, and in a blink, the two of them were gone, the rest of their party vanishing close behind.

The surviving cultivators of the Worryfree Clan hurried after them in desperate silence.

No sooner had they fled than three black-robed figures appeared amid the field of corpses. Taking in the carnage, each of them broke into a satisfied smile before setting to work, methodically harvesting the lingering souls from the dead.

Jared's group did not stop until they had put several thousand miles between themselves and the scene of death.

Jared doubled over, panting; he had not even had a chance to replenish the power he had spent, and now the punishing flight had wrung his body nearly dry.

“Clearly, my physical body still needs serious work,” he muttered between ragged breaths. “Otherwise I'll never be able to withstand such a scarlet lightning tribulation long enough to reach the Fourth Heaven.”

Deciding then and there, he resolved to seize the remaining fragments of the Barbarian Body-Refinement Manual and forge a sturdier physique. His cultivation had advanced too quickly of late, and his body-tempering had lagged behind; repeated possessions by Vermilion Demon Lord had left him battered inside and out. He had to reinforce his physical body—soon.