Heads pivoted toward the entrance of the Myriad Beast Altar.
An azure-robed figure walked in at an unhurried pace, shadow pooling at his heels.
His gait was the picture of leisure, as though reputation and danger were idle gossip carried on a breeze.
Jared had finally appeared.
At his flank padded the fire unicorn, golden pupils aglow with childlike wonder as flames danced along the array's boundary.
"He came? He actually dared to come?"
"Now? The trial's nearly over!"
"Hah! He's probably afraid he'd fail, so he came at the last minute, waiting for the array to tire itself out."
The jeers rose again, yet uncertainty now thinned their venom.
After all, he was here.
Gavin and Yvette exchanged startled grins, the weight on their hearts lifting halfway.
As expected, he does not shy away from battle.
Jared ignored every whisper, stopping before the altar. His eyes skimmed the crackling array, brow arching—almost disappointed.
He looked up at Paxton and the elders. "So this is the famed Threefold Beast-Soul Array you boasted about?"
Arden's feathers bristled. "You're late. Are you frightened, boy? Kneel, admit your bluster, and perhaps save a shred of dignity!"
Jared lifted his chin and gave the faintest shake of the head, as though brushing lint from a jacket. Instead of answering Arden's barbed remark, he murmured to the empty air, voice soft, almost bored. "This array feels... child-simple. Facing something so elementary hardly qualifies as entertainment."
He paused, letting the hush deepen until every heartbeat on the terrace could be counted. "Myriad Beast Sect—surely you own an array with a bit more bite. Would you bring that out and let me play with it?"
Blank stares answered him—a collective ellipsis of disbelief.
For one breath, the entire Myriad Beast Altar lay under a funeral hush.
Eyes widened as they looked at Jared as if looking at a crazy person.
Too simple? Boring? Play with it?
Under a spray of hostile, curious, and mocking gazes, he drifted forward—one unhurried step—and slipped into the notorious array like mist through keyholes.
"It's active—he's inside!"
"How many seconds before he crumples?"
"He asked for humiliation; let him have it."
The trio at the array's core, stung by his arrogance, answered with everything they owned.
The Titanforce Ape bellowed, its phantom fist descending with mountain-splitting weight.
The Windlash Leopard flashed into a silver streak, claws aimed at Jared's throat, while the Obsidian-Armoured Rhino locked the exits behind him with a wall of living stone.
Strength, speed, and defense converged—heaven and earth rattled. Below the altar, even seasoned disciples felt their hearts quake.
Jared stood utterly still at the center of the Myriad Beast Altar. Around him, three disciples fed their array with enough power to terrify a seasoned Level Five Heavenly Immortal, sending torrents of savage force screaming toward his unguarded chest.
Just as that storm of violet claws, ear-splitting roars, and crushing pressure was about to swallow him, Jared moved.

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: A Man Like None Other (Jared Chance)
Josephine's first time seeing Jared kill isn't with Leyton but with Falcon. Pay attention to your work....
You need to correct yourself,dear author. Josephine was in the City of Herbs when she was a kid, so why is the city's smell surprising to her?...
I need more chapters...
When can I get the next chapter...