A Man Like None Other (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 6618

"You... you are Jared?"

Magnus's voice shook.

Of course he had heard the name.

The Hall of Radiance had fallen.

The Ember God Palace had fallen.

Both had fallen because of this young man.

Magnus had never imagined that Jared would come to the Inferno Devil bloodline.

Jared looked at him with calm violet eyes.

"I am looking for someone."

"Who?" Magnus asked, his voice hoarse.

"Josephine."

Jared spoke evenly, but the cold underneath his words made the hall tense. "Some time ago, she appeared near celestial territory with demonic cultivators from your Inferno Devil bloodline. Where is she now?"

Magnus's face changed at once.

He knew Josephine.

She was the holy maiden of the Inferno Devil bloodline.

"She... she is not in the Eighteenth Firmament anymore."

Cold light appeared in Jared's eyes.

"Where?"

Magnus swallowed. Hesitation flashed across his black eyes.

He was weighing whether to lie.

If he told the truth, maybe Jared would spare him.

If he lied...

His gaze slid toward the deep trench outside in the square, and his body shivered.

"She... she went to the Nineteenth Firmament."

Jared's brows tightened slightly.

"The Nineteenth Firmament. Where exactly?"

Magnus shook his head. "I do not know. Holy Maiden Josephine came here suddenly, and she did not stay long. She was injured some time ago. Once she recovered, she said she was going to the Nineteenth Firmament. I truly do not know where she went after that. I had no right to ask."

Jared was silent.

His violet eyes locked onto Magnus like sharpened blades.

Under that stare, Magnus felt as if his skin were being peeled away. Large beads of sweat rolled from his forehead, and he instinctively shrank back.

"You are not lying to me."

It was not quite a question.

"No! Absolutely not!"

Magnus waved his hands over and over, almost frantic. "Every word is true! Holy Maiden Josephine really went to the Nineteenth Firmament. If I lied, may lightning split me apart and leave me without a whole corpse!"

Jared said nothing for a long while.

His face showed no emotion, but Gwendolyn could see the turmoil buried in his eyes.

Disappointment.

Concern.

And a faint relief that could not be put into words.

Josephine was not dead.

She had gone to the Nineteenth Firmament.

As long as she was alive, he would find her.

"Where is the patron sect of the Inferno Devil bloodline in the Nineteenth Firmament?" Jared asked.

Magnus shook his head again. "I really do not know. The patron sect in the Nineteenth Firmament and our Eighteenth Firmament branch only communicate one way. They can contact us. We cannot contact them."

Jared's frown deepened.

He could not prove whether Magnus was telling the truth, but the man's eyes did not look false.

He truly did not know.

Jared turned to Gwendolyn.

"We go to the Nineteenth Firmament."

Gwendolyn was quiet for a moment, then nodded.

"All right."

Jared walked out of the hall with her.

His violet eyes looked toward the far horizon.

That was the direction of the Nineteenth Firmament.

And the direction where Josephine had gone.

He never looked back at Magnus.

Inside the tower, time flowed a hundred times faster. Combined with the huge amount of resources he had taken from the Hall of Radiance and the Ember God Palace, he could raise his cultivation again in a short time.

What he needed was preparation.

He needed to be ready for the Nineteenth Firmament.

...

Three days later, Jared stood before the mountain gate of Ashford Hollow.

Behind him were Gwendolyn and Master Alaric Vale.

In the square, three hundred disciples stood in neat formation. Their blue-green robes glowed faintly in the morning light. The swords at their waists tapped softly against their belts, making clear, crisp sounds.

Their faces were solemn.

Their eyes carried reluctance.

Their Chief Preceptor was leaving.

He was going to the Nineteenth Firmament.

"Mr. Chance, are you certain you want to go alone?"

Master Vale could not hide his worry. "The Nineteenth Firmament is not the Eighteenth. Experts are everywhere there. Going by yourself is too dangerous."

Jared nodded. "I am certain. Master Vale, I leave Ashford Hollow in your care. The three hundred disciples are still in seclusion, and someone must watch over them. If I get the chance, I will come back."

Master Vale fell silent.

A complicated look moved through his aged eyes.

"Take care, Mr. Chance."

Jared nodded.

Then he turned toward the sky.

"Let's go."

Gwendolyn came to his side and took his hand.

They rose together, becoming two streams of light that vanished into the distance.

Master Vale stood at the mountain gate and watched those lights disappear. Loneliness crossed his old eyes.

Jared had gone to the Nineteenth Firmament.

Master Vale knew that once Jared left, he might never come back.

Or perhaps he would simply forget them.

After all, the Aureate Way had forces throughout the celestial realm and even across the heavens and myriad worlds.

Ashford Hollow was only one insignificant branch.