Jaya woke abruptly, breath hitching as her mind clawed out of the dream. Her surroundings came into view: the lake, the moss, and Walford seated nearby with one eye closed and the other watching her in quiet thought. The embers overhead still shimmered across the twilight sky, but the air felt heavier—as if the Mystic Ground itself had shifted during her sleep.
Then she remembered.
She sat up fast. "He put me to sleep? He—that guy!"
Walford looked over and gave a small nod. "Yes. That's what happened."
Jaya clenched her fists. Her face burned with humiliation. "I swear, if he shows up again, I'll punch him so hard his cultivation core will scatter!"
Walford raised an eyebrow at her empty threat.
"But…" he added, "…he also said he'd think about helping us."
Jaya blinked, her fury tripping over her surprise. "He… did?"
Walford nodded again.
The anger dissolved instantly. She practically bounced to her feet.
"He did?" Her voice leapt with excitement. "He actually said that?"
Walford sighed. "Yes. He said he'd think about it. That's not the same as agreeing."
"But still!" She threw a fist in the air. "That means we have a chance!"
Walford rubbed his temples. "Don't celebrate yet."
That's when the wind fell still. The embers dimmed for a breath. And Jalen appeared.
No aura. No energy. No sound. Just… there. As though reality had always had him woven in and they'd only now noticed.
Both Jaya and Walford flinched in surprise.
Jaya took a defensive step back. "What—how did you—?"
Walford instinctively moved between them.
Jalen ignored the reaction. "Do you two know where any of the rare treasures are located. Preferably the blue flame pond treasure is or the supreme grade flaming tools and legendary armors?"
His voice was calm and distant. Not threatening. Just focused.
Walford hesitated. Jaya was the one who answered.
"I… I'm sorry. We don't know. Everyone's heard of the rare treasures of this place, but no one's ever found them."
She shook her head.
Jalen's gaze didn't shift.
The treasures in question—those rumored to grant instant success in the royal trial—were legendary across the continent:
The Flaming Supreme-Grade Spirit Tools and legendary armors, forged by a Sky Limit cultivator whose name had been erased from history. The Blue Flame Pool, said to be a remnant of a celestial beast's dying breath, capable of reshaping flame affinities forever. And the others are just as good too.
"I see," Jalen said.
Jaya began to panic. "Does that mean… You won't help us now?"
Jalen didn't respond immediately.
But then his gaze sharpened.
"We have company."
Walford spun toward the tree line. Jaya's breath caught.
From the edge of the forest, shadows parted—and twelve cultivators strode into view. Their presence was suffocating. Each one radiated mastery, their spirit pressure crackling across the ground like wildfire. Imperial Realm cultivators. Not average ones—peak Imperial Realm. Every single one.
And at their center, one figure stood taller. His robes shimmered with celestial embroidery. His aura was thicker than the air around him. A half-step into the Star Realm.
Jaya's eyes widened.
"Rayan WangChester," Walford whispered.
One of her many older brother under two hundred years old that are apart of the royal showdown.
Rayan stopped a few paces away, arms folded, eyes full of contempt and amusement.
"Well, if it isn't my little sister dearest," he said, tone mocking. "Why do you even bother entering this competition? Just drop out. There's no way you'll win."
Jaya stood still. Walford's posture stiffened.
Rayan smirked. "It's not like losing means you'll suffer. You can live a quiet life. Like that slu—I mean, your mother."
Jaya's nails dug into her palms. Her jaw clenched. Walford's eyes flashed with fury. Even Jalen's gaze darkened slightly, though he said nothing.
Rayan's expression turned sharp. "Are you going to drop out, or do I have to make you?"
He turned to one of his guards and gestured.
"Remind her of her place."
The cultivator lunged at Jaya, blade gleaming—but Walford intercepted the blow. Injured and exhausted, he barely held his ground. The clash sent him crashing into the dirt, coughing blood, struggling to stay conscious.
"Stupid guard," Rayan muttered. "You dare interfere with my family affairs?"
He waved again at the same guard that did the attacking earlier. "Kill him. Give her a proper beating. Then toss her out of Mystic Ground."
That guard nodded and then asked, "What about the boy with them?"
Rayan tilted his head, noticing Jalen again. "Oh… Right. I almost forgot he was here."
He gave a bored shrug. "Kill him too."
"Yes, Your Highness." The guard surged forward, his blade drawn, spirit pressure flooding the air like a tidal wave.
Jaya, who was being suppressed by the guard's strong spiritual qi, stared in horror. "Wait—no, you can't—!" Of course, she's not worried for Jalen's sake but for her brother and his guard. That stupid idiot is going to get himself killed, and if that happens, then her new benefactor will be labeled an enemy of the state. But it was too late.
Jalen didn't move.
No aura. No ripple. No reaction.
Then the shadows shifted.
From the ground, from the trees, from the folds of his cloak—thirteen spears formed in perfect silence. Each one forged from condensed shadow density, honed by intent, invisible to all but death itself.
They didn't hum. They didn't glow.
They simply were.
Silent Spear Manifestation.
Before anyone could blink, the spears launched.
One for all the enemies that stood before him.
The attacking guard was the first to get run through and sent flying backward, his core shattered instantly. As for the others—they couldn't even react. The spears shattered them, mind, body, and spirit.
And Jaya's brother?
He didn't survive.
A spear shot straight into Rayan's heart.
He didn't even have time to speak.
The prince staggered, eyes wide, mouth open, trying to summon his qi—but it was already gone. The spear hadn't shattered it. It had erased it.
He collapsed.
The forest fell silent.
Jaya stared, frozen. Walford's breath caught. Even the wind seemed afraid to move.
Jalen stood still, his cloak barely shifting.
The spears dissolved into vapor.
No blood touched him.
No one spoke.
Because in that moment, they understood: Jalen wasn't just strong.
He was something else.
And they had never sensed him coming.