“I request a blood duel! I challenge everyone here at this party—to a blood duel!”Under the crushing gaze of the assembled elites, Jones remained calm. His expression did not waver, and not a trace of tremor touched his voice.In an instant, his words struck the banquet hall like a boulder shattering still water, sending waves of shock rippling through the crowd.The nobles stared at him in disbelief, whispers erupting on all sides.“This kid’s insane!”“How dare he? A piece of gutter trash actually challenging everyone here? Arrogant brat!”“Foolish. He’s only just awakened his Titan—and it’s a worthless one at that. What makes him think he can challenge us?”The blood duel—an institution that had risen after the Great Cataclysm—was modeled after ancient knightly combat. In this age, where the strong stood above the law and violence dictated all, such duels were revered. Even the most powerful elites were fervent supporters of the tradition.Now that Jones had called for one, these n

Facing the incoming thrust, Jones’s expression did not change.Time seemed to stretch in that instant. His gaze followed the sharp tip of the rapier, slid past the ruby set into the hilt, and locked onto the grip—and the hand holding it. That was where the force came from… and where the flaw lay.The young man’s swordsmanship was too aggressive, all edge and no restraint. He left himself no room to adjust. These pampered noble youths had never faced real danger; they had long forgotten the glory of their forebears—forgotten the blood and sacrifice that had defined the Cataclysm era.An opening.Jones’s eyes narrowed.With nothing more than a slight turn of his body and a subtle shift in angle, he let the rapier’s deadly thrust pass harmlessly by.“That’s impossible!” the young man gasped, eyes wide as he watched Jones evade his attack as effortlessly as a stroll through a garden. Meanwhile, his own overcommitted strike threw him off balance, pitching him forward.Damn it!Realization

Under the watchful eyes of the nobles, Jones casually tossed aside the rapier in his hand and stepped onto the dueling ground empty-handed.The moment they saw him discard his weapon, laughter broke out across the hall.“Is this kid scared out of his mind? He even threw away his weapon!”“Afraid now? Too late! He shouldn’t have provoked us in the first place!”“There’s nothing worth watching here. We might as well start thinking about what to drink for the celebration later!”Johnson frowned as he looked at Jones. When he saw him abandon his weapon, the disappointment on his face deepened to its limit.“Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you dropped your weapon. Pathetic coward. If you’re afraid, kneel now and beg for my forgiveness. Maybe I’ll spare you.”His tone was arrogant, as if he were granting mercy.Jones simply looked at him calmly, like one might look at a clown in a circus.“Begin.”“I hope you can stay that calm in a moment,” Johnson snapped, anger flaring at Jo

Sara carried an undeniable authority with her. As her gaze swept across the hall and finally settled on Jones, the tension in the air seemed to bend beneath her presence.“This duel ends now. Tonight, no one is allowed to harm Mr. Jones.” Her tone left no room for argument.In less than half an hour, she had already used the Blackwater Trading Company’s intelligence network to uncover everything about him—his identity, his past, every detail without exception.And she was certain.The young man before her—born in the slums, once a shining prodigy of Norman Academy, now mocked as the wielder of a “worthless Titan”—had already shattered everyone’s expectations. He had mastered the SS-class Titan, the Infernal Flame Demon, and could wield its terrifying power without suffering any backlash.In other words, Jones was no longer the crippled talent people believed him to be. He was a true top-tier genius, one who possessed an SS-class Titan.More importantly, he was exactly the person who co

The explosive clash instantly drew every noble’s attention.They turned in unison, eyes locked on the unbelievable sight before them—Jones’s fist had collided head-on with Robert’s axe.God…This was madness.What were they even looking at? A lowest-level hero, wielding what was widely dismissed as a useless Titan, had actually blocked Master Robert’s attack?In the crowd, Catherine’s pupils shrank. She froze where she stood.No matter how she tried to process it, she couldn’t accept that the man standing against Robert… was the same “worthless” ex-boyfriend she had cast aside.“Impossible… This can’t be happening!”Her heart pounded wildly as she muttered under her breath, panic creeping into her voice.“He must have taken some kind of forbidden drug—something that burns his life force to force out this kind of power!”She hurried up toward the platform, her expensive heels striking sharply against the floor, each step betraying her growing anxiety.But in the next instant, her expr