The Illegitimate Heir Returns

Chapter 7 - The Devil Of Hell’s Pit

The hall erupted into chaos.

Every guest stared at Jake in stunned disbelief, struggling to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

For as long as Ashbourne was concerned, no one had ever dared lay a hand on Lord Cassian before. Because the Briarwoods ruled with an iron fist, everyone knew better than to provoke them.

Yet this stranger had not only insulted Cassian Briarwood but had also struck him.

Gasps erupted through the hall instantly.

“He hit him…”

“He actually hit Lord Cassian.”

“That bastard is dead now.”

“No one has ever touched Lord Cassian before.”

Cassian’s face contorted into pain as he clutched his broken arm weakly. He turned to elder Killian, his voice rising into a furious roar.

“KILL HIM!” he screamed, pointing at Jake with his free hand. “KILL THAT BASTARD RIGHT NOW!”

Elder Killian didn’t wait to be told twice. He gave a slight bow before stepping forward.

The atmosphere in the hall changed instantly.

One by one, the conversations died out as every eye turned towards him.

For as much as most of them were concerned, this was their first time seeing elder Killian in person. He wasn’t someone you came across in public often. Among the ten strongest martial artists in the Briarwoods family, he held the ninth position.

More importantly, he was one of the few people capable of wielding and harnessing aether—a mysterious energy that only a select few martial artists could control.

His cultivation had already reached the Marshal Rank, a level that countless martial artists failed to reach in their entire lifetimes.

Killian’s eyes fell briefly upon Drax’s lifeless body, still lying motionless in the middle of the hall in such a crude manner.

He studied the corpse for a moment before turning his attention back to Jake.

He had never fought Drax in person, but he had spent enough years as a martial artist to recognize strength when he saw it. Although Drax had never been capable of wielding aether, his physical strength had far surpassed that of an ordinary human.

For someone to defeat and kill him so effortlessly meant the man standing before him was no ordinary opponent.

“You have potential,” Killian said for the first time since stepping into the hall, his voice carrying a trace of genuine interest. “Under different circumstances, I would have liked to bring you under my wing and train you.”

His voice dropped at that moment, the temperature in the room along with it. “But I’m afraid that won’t be possible. You have touched someone you shouldn’t have touched,” he paused deliberately, making sure each word landed. “And the punishment for that is death.”

He settled into a fighting stance.

His right foot slid across the floor, tracing a short arc before planting firmly. His right hand drew back slightly, followed by his left as he adjusted his stance.

Before anyone could react, a brilliant yellow light erupted from his body, short and blinding, illuminating the entire hall before gradually concentrating around his right arm.

Aether.

The air around him shifted as if disobeying the very laws of nature. Killian clenched his fist, channeling the remaining aether into it.

“As a fellow martial artist,” he said coldly, “I’ll grant you a swift death.”

The energy around his fist reached its peak, forming a swirling yellow vortex.

“Heaven’s paw – final breathing form!”

Then he charged. Fast, his speed unnoticeable to the human eye.

The floor cracked as he charged forward.

Within a second, he was already in front of Jake, his right fist already moving.

Jake didn’t move. He didn’t even flinch. He just stood there, his hands hanging low at his sides.

Then…

BANG!

Killian’s fist slammed into his chest, releasing the full force of the aether behind the attack.

The impact led to aggressive release of air, sending guests stumbling backward as massive cracks spread across the floor behind Jake.

The sound rolled like thunder in the hall, mixing with the pounding rain outside the walls.

Then, just as quickly as it had come, everything cleared. The energy dissipated.

The dust cleared to reveal Jake still standing exactly where he had been.

The next second, Killian’s screams tore through the hall. A deep, guttural sound that tore through his mouth, reverberating through the walls.

“ARRGHHH!!!”

The aether surrounding his fist vanished. His wrist snapped, twisting at an angle no human wrist should be.

He staggered backward, clutching his broken wrist weakly.

For the first time since encountering Jake, fear overwhelmed his body.

He had poured everything into that technique before throwing the punch. Fast enough to bring an entire building crashing to its knees. Powerful enough to crave a massive crater into the earth. Yet striking Jake had felt like punching an impenetrable wall.

To make matters worse, Jake hadn’t even moved an inch. Not even his clothes were disturbed from the force of the impact.

Killian stared at him, his mind struggling to process what had just happened.

The marshal rank was already considered an extraordinary level of martial prowess. A single marshal rank martial artist was said to possess roughly three hundred times the power of a novice rank martial artist and nearly a thousand times that of an adept rank martial artist.

Yet Jake had taken a full powered marshal rank attack directly to the chest and hadn’t even moved.

Still clutching his broken wrist, Killian raised his eyes to properly take a look at the man standing before him.

The moment his gaze fell on Jake and the faint light radiating off his body, his mouth hung open in shock.

“D-divine physique?” he stammered, shock and disbelief flashing across his face.

There was only one man in the entire world who possessed that physique.

The devil of Hell’s pit. The king of Open Bane city. A man whose name was feared across the entire continent.

Ten years ago, when he had ventured into Hell’s pit to develop his domain aura. It was there he had encountered that legendary figure.

Although he never got the chance to stand before him in person, he had witnessed that man’s terrifying martial prowess in person and seen that impervious body.

A body capable of withstanding every kind of attack – both physical and aether.

Killian’s heart pounded violently. Before he could speak, Jake’s voice cut through the silence.

“Not bad,” his voice was low, carrying a hint of amusement through the hall. It had been a long time since he had witnessed that technique. “Your heaven’s paw has potential, but aside from that, there’s nothing more. Your final form is incomplete. Weak. It lacks both the necessary force and aether reserve to reveal its true strength. Without those, it’s no different from the other six forms.” Jake paused, his voice echoing in the silence as a low smile curled his lips.

“Allow me to show you the true might of Heaven’s paw,”

With that, he settled into a stance, the same stance Killian had used. But different.

Jake’s form was more natural. More composed. His movements were fluid, replicating Killian’s technique with flawless precision.

The temperature in the hall dropped drastically, the air shifting and bending around him as though space itself was reacting to his presence. Then a blue energy rose from his legs, spreading upward and engulfing his entire body.

Aether.

Different. More condensed. More powerful.

Jake completed the final step before dashing forward, the ground cracking beneath his weight.

Killian’s eyes widened in horror as the punch connected.

BOOM!

The impact landed squarely across his chest, lifting him completely off his feet and throwing him backwards like a rag doll.

He crashed into the far wall with a tremendous force, blasting through one wall after another before finally coming to a stop. The chandeliers shook violently before several of them broke and crashed onto the floor in countless shards.

The wall cracked as Killian’s body slid down before collapsing on the floor.

Alive.

But completely unmoving.

The hall fell deadly silent. Too silent.

Every guest froze in stunned disbelief.

Cassian. Nela. Hannah. Charlie. Along with every other soul standing in the hall.

Jake slowly lowered his arm, dusting off his sleeve before locking eyes with Cassian. “You’re next.”