The young man's eyes narrowed, studying Jalen with suspicion. "What are you planning, boy? I refuse to believe your heart is so pure that you'd want to help your enemy."
"I don't," Jalen replied. "But you are a looming threat to me—one I cannot defeat easily without harming others around me. Therefore, I'll help you with this situation."
The intruder tilted his head, arrogance flickering across his features. "Are you not afraid that once you mask my cultivation from the Upper Realm, I'll turn on you?"
"I considered it," Jalen admitted, his voice calm. "But I figure you wouldn't dare bite the hand that feeds you. Besides, if you decided to be foolish and we engaged in a life-and-death battle, sure, I'll lose a lot, but you'd lose your life."
"Plausible." The young man's smile thinned. "But I'm not buying it."
"I'm the only one who can keep you hidden from the Upper Realm. And I suspect you don't have much time left. They'll catch onto your energy signature soon, and when they do, you'll be captured and sent away."
For a moment, silence hung heavy between them. The young man's expression shifted—first doubt, then calculation. Finally, a smile curved across his lips, sharp and dangerous.
"Alright then. "Let's see what you have planned, you sly little brat. He didn't believe this brat was so genuine to help, but he's desperate; he can't stay forever hidden from the upper realm. If this brat tries anything, he can just strike him down on the spot.
"Good, let's move to somewhere more quiet where we won't be disturbed," Jalen suggested. The young man nodded, and then Jalen left the scene, and he followed.
The two appeared at the heart of the Ember Veil Forest.
"Now that we are here, now what?" the young man asked.
Jalen raised his hand, green light threading faintly through his fingers. "This technique requires resonance. Our qi must intertwine. Without your cooperation, it will fail."
The intruder sneered. "Intertwine our qi? Dangerous game, boy. You expect me to bare my core to you?"
"You don't have a choice," Jalen replied evenly.
Reluctantly, the intruder extended his qi. Their energies touched—threads weaving together. At first, concealment began to take hold, dimming his aura. But then his eyes widened.
Something was wrong.
"What is this?" he snarled, his qi surging violently. "Are you trying to bind me?" He wasn't sure, but the method felt similar to forming a slave pact. That made no sense—since they were at the same realm, it shouldn't hold. It was pointless. Still, he couldn't sit idly by and allow this brat to have his way. If Jalen was doing this, then there must be a way to bind a peer‑realm cultivator.
Emerald light erupted from Jalen's body, his second spirit core responding instinctively. The intruder fought back, unleashing his full Peak Transcendent Mega Star Realm cultivation. Their qi collided, twisting into a storm of raw force.
The forest trembled. Trees splintered, rivers boiled, and the western edge of the Ember Veil Forest was reduced to ruin. Spirit beasts fled in terror as the sky itself darkened. Many died from simply being too close.
Fortunately, Jalen had a formation set up by Tyrian, Frost, Zakia, Nate, and Calen to prevent the qi from spilling into the Flare State. Jalen had informed them via divine sense earlier what to do. Even with their efforts, tremors still shook the entire Rouna Continent.
The tug of war between the two raged—qi threads snapping, reforming, and binding tighter. The intruder's fury was palpable, but Jalen's calm pressure never wavered.
Finally, the storm subsided. The master-slave pact was formed.
Normally, such a covenant could never bind an unwilling cultivator. But the intruder had extended his qi willingly at the start, believing Jalen's words. That brief moment of cooperation was all Jalen's second spirit core needed. By the time suspicion dawned, the essence had already taken root, and resistance only tightened the chains.
The intruder staggered, his aura dimmed to nothing. A faint green mark pulsed upon his chest. His eyes burned with fury, but beneath it lay fear.
"You sly brat…" he hissed. Then a dark purple energy surrounded his hand as he attempted to strike Jalen—but agony pierced his spirit sea, forcing him to vomit blood. After a few coughs, he looked up at Jalen, eyes bloodshot.
"What did you do to me?"
Jalen lowered his hand, his expression unreadable.
"You are now in a master‑slave pact with me. Trying to harm me will only kill yourself."
The intruder clenched his fists, but the mark glowed brighter, silencing his rebellion. He could feel it—the invisible chain linking his life to Jalen's will. He then snorted.
"I must admit you caught me. But at least you managed to mask my realm from the Upper Realm."
"Now that you are my servant, your task is simple. You will protect the Flare State and the people you've threatened to destroy for a hundred years. If you do your task well, I might set you free."
"And if I refuse?" The words had barely left his mouth before a powerful wave of qi struck him, forcing him prostrate to the ground as he vomited blood.
"As you can see, you cannot refuse," Jalen said. He then looked to Nate and Calen. "Take him back to the state. He can no longer harm anyone."
"I'll kill you, you brat." The cultivator's spirit sea trembled as if struck by a powerful spirit‑sense attack, nearly causing him to pass out.
"It would be wise to be obedient from now on, or it will only end in your own demise."
The cultivator felt the urge to strangle Jalen but quickly abandoned the thought—since even imagining killing this brat injured him severely.
Nate and Calen escorted the cultivator from the scene back to the Flare State.
"Master," Frost lowered his head to Jalen.
"I told you, senior, you don't have to call me that," Jalen said.
"Are you sure it's wise to keep a venomous snake amongst us?" Zakia asked.
"He won't be a threat for now. And even if by some miracle he managed to break the master‑slave pact, we'll have far surpassed him by then. But that's unlikely to happen, since I've ordered him to stop cultivating."
"I see," Zakia said. "Well, now that this enemy is out of our way, I'll return to the Light Clan to check on things. It's been a while."
"Thank you again, Patriarch." Jalen bowed respectfully.
Zakia then left.
"Let's get out of here," Jalen said. Tyrian and Frost nodded, then followed after him.