Jared knew the celestials thrived on rank; every rule inside this fortress screamed power above all.As Clive the envoy, he technically stood several rungs above simple gate guards, and Jared made sure they remembered it.When manners collapsed into open conflict, their badges could not protect them; Jared doubted they would gain any advantage.He caught the flicker of confusion on their faces-why was the usually pliant envoy suddenly this fierce?Perhaps they blamed his sour mood on that rumored ambush; the thought darted across their eyes.noveldramaOr maybe they sensed deeper trouble in his mission and wanted no part of it.Jared could almost watch the possibilities tumble through their minds like dice across a board.The right Divine Guard ground his teeth, stepped aside, and hissed, "Very well, Mr. Clive. Enter. But this isn't over."Jared snorted, ignored them, and swept forward, cloak snapping as he crossed the vast threshold into the shadowed hall.Not until his silhouette vanished did the two guards finally let their fury boil over.The left Divine Guard barked, "Damn that Clive! Hiding behind Venerable Glacier's favor."Heat throbbed across his cheek; the sting of humiliation nearly drove him mad. "This isn't finished," he growled.The right Divine Guard's eyes glimmered with venom. "The venerable will deal with him; we'll see him crawl."He spun on his heel. "Let's alert the Law Enforcement Department under Venerable Celestial Metal. Report Clive's erratic conduct for immediate review."The pair stalked off, unaware the man behind that face was someone else entirely.*****Inside the corridor, Jared felt little stir; the incident had served its purpose.The slaps had been more than intimidation; they let him probe the celestials' rules and measure how far Clive's name would carry.The answer pleased him.Everyone he passes shifts aside without being told. Lower-ranked celestials bow while stronger ones stride through unchallenged. The pecking order hums in the air like static Jared can taste on his tongue.He keeps the borrowed power of being Venerable Glacier's favored envoy wrapped around him like a cloak; as long as that emblem stays bright, needless questions slide away.Guided by Clive's memories, he threads the solemn corridors at a brisk pace. Celestials hurry past, faces blank with duty. A few who know Clive give him a curt nod and keep moving, exactly the distance Jared wants.After seven quick turns and several warded archways, he reaches the northern annex known as Frigid Silence Hall.The doors are shut, exhaling a steady breath of chill.No sentry stands outside, yet an icy pressure leaks from within, sharper than duringhis last visit—a silent warning that Venerable Glacier is home.Jared smooths his robe, adjusts the faint hitch in his breathing so it matches a wounded man, then inhales once and taps the door with two measured knuckles."Enter."The command drifts out, flat and glacial, carrying no hint of warmth undeniably Venerable Glacier.Jared pushes the door and steps inside.The scene matches his memory down to the shadowed corners.Dim light hangs above ice-blue floors and walls carved from ten-thousand-year glacier stone; the air bites like midwinter.At the far end, Venerable Glacier stands with hands folded behind him, back to the door, studying a tangle of star charts etched into the wall.His robe is black trimmed in azure, his hair white as frost; even the outline of his shoulders radiates a suffocating cold.He strides forward and drops to one knee about thirty meters away, forehead low."Envoy Clive reporting, Venerable Glacier. The collection run in the eastern region is complete. I have come to render account."Venerable Glacier turns, movement slow as settling frost.His face is carved from ice. His gaze drags over Jared like a drill of frozen steel."Rise."His voice remains level. "Task Jade Slip, offerings, soul crystals."Jared answers, lifts the prepared Task Jade Slip from his chest and, after a heartbeat's hesitation, a storage pouch conspicuously slimmer than it should be.He sets both items on the glacial desk beside Venerable Glacier, then retreats three steps, hands at his sides.A pulse ticks in his jaw despite him; the tension slips through the mask.Venerable Glacier lifts the slip. A sweep of divine sense verifies the route, no flaw found.Then he takes the pouch; his awareness dives inside.The cold in the hall plummets, frost spidering across the floor.A storm of murderous chill explodes from Venerable Glacier, slamming against every surface."Clive!""Why are there barely three tenths of the scheduled offering crystals?""Rare materials are almost nonexistent, and you brought four soul crystals when the list demands seven. Where are the others? Where is the A11-73 Box from Jade Immortal Manor?"Jared jerks, collapses to both knees. His voice cracks. "Mercy, Venerable, please! There are reasons. Allow me to explain!""Speak!"Venerable Glacier's eyes narrow, cold blades fastening on him.Jared spills the rehearsed tale in onebreath-shadowy assailants,ambushes, cargo seized under fire. He paints himself as the loyal envoy who bled to safeguard what little. remained. Venerable Glacier listens, frost growing thicker around his boots; scorn flickers behind the icy glare."A mysterious enemy... repeated ambushes... and they still wrested soul crystals from you?"He descends the ice steps one by one, looming over Jared."Clive, do you take me for a three-year-old?"He circles closer, pointing out the untouched bandages and the flush of healthy blood. "These wounds are showpieces-not the marks of repeated ambushes.""More important, your soul ripple, however carefully forged, is a hair off from Clive's. Speak-who are you, and where is the real Clive?"A cold clarity settles over Jared's mind; the playacting is finished.The accusation did not jar him. Jared had braced for it the instant he stepped inside. Cold air slid over his skin, and, almost in relief, his breathing leveled into an even rhythm.He lifted his head. The tremor he had painted across his face vanished, wiped cleanby a flat, glacial stillness that seemed to freeze even the torchlight reflecting in hiseyes.Jared rose, unhurried.The feeblewobble in his stance snapped away,replaced by a heavy, coiledpresence. Chaotic force seepedfrom spores silent yet overwhelming, like a tide gathering under dark clouds. 5Pressure exploded outward. Marble tiles groaned, frost on the walls shattered. Power at the very brink ofthe only immortal threshold slammed through the chamber, thick enough to make the air ripple.