Chapter 3

Even though Delilah's heart ached just watching the dimensional ring and the Snow Maiden Sword fly toward Caleb, she knew she couldn't take them back with so many people watching.

It upset her all the more that Jax was glaring at her like she owed him her life, and her own mentor didn't dare breathe a word with Jax's threat!

Delilah stamped her feet spitefully, but with Caleb staring at her pointedly, she had no choice but to take off the mystic items she was wearing and throw them at him, one after the other.

Each time she threw one it felt like a pound of flesh was sliced off her body—and she was absolutely reluctant.

Standing beside Delilah, Ryona could feel her pain, as she was Delilah's mentor and had also received some of the goodies Delilah had been siphoning off Caleb—Delilah always knew to share with her, after all.

When Delilah was done, she scowled at Caleb. "That's everything. Are we done?!"

However, Caleb was staring pointedly at her robes, but Delilah snapped furiously, "Don't you dare! Do you think I'd take off my robes right here, right now?!"

While the eyes of everyone around them lit up right then, Caleb's gaze was cool in comparison. "I'll give you three days. Tell your father to prepare the spirit stones, and I want the mystic robes back too when I come to annul our engagement!"

Delilah's eyes were red from grief, as Caleb spoke like he wasn't bothered to look at her twice.

"Hmph! Let's go, Susie!" She snorted coolly, taking Susie by the hand and storming off with Ryona.

Caleb watched them coolly as they left before turning and leaving with Jax and the other

members of the Crawford clan.

When they were gone, everyone was left sighing at the end of the storm.

Meanwhile, Delilah was feeling a mess of different emotions as she left.

The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she was.

Her eyes burned as tears welled up, and she sniffed softly, "Heh, that man has really changed! He wouldn't have spoken to me like that a year ago!"

"Oh, Delilah, he was nothing good anyway!" Susie said indignantly. "All the stuff he gave was given over a year ago, and he has the cheek to demand you give them back? Oh, you really learn something new every day!

"Don't be sad about it—he doesn't deserve you even if he still had his cultivation! Wilbur Jormont is the better match for you in every way, as he's the child of an illustrious Sanctuary clan!"

Ryona nodded as she added coolly, "Susie's right. You're beautiful, and you have decent talent. It's both your triumph and your good fortune that you've caught Wilbur's eye. Who cares about Caleb Crawford anyway?!"

Delilah nodded slightly.

She had been a little sad when she first heard that Caleb's soul lamp had darkened.

But before long, she realized she was just not used to one less person showering her with gifts and sucking up to her.

Then, a month ago, Wilbur came to Zoronda.

He was the youngest son of the Jormont clan, one of the Sanctuary's Big Four clans, who was allegedly visiting to select a young batch of apprentices and take them to the Sanctuary for training.

The news rocked Zoronda as soon as it spread, with all the star pupils of Zoro Academy organizing a Derby, which was meant to curry favor for the opportunity to go to the Sanctuary.

On top of that, Wilbur had already shown interest in Delilah and was wooing her…

The thought that she would make it to the Sanctuary already made her feel better, while she also assured herself that the goodies Wilbur would give her were definitely much better than anything Caleb could give.

Beside her, Susie's eyes twinkled as she hatched the perfect plan. "Come on, Delilah—let's talk to Wilbur and ask for his help! There's no reason we should just return Caleb's spirit stones to him.

"Heck, with Wilbur's help, we could make Caleb return the Snow Maiden Sword and all the other gifts he's taken back! He won't ever measure up to a prodigy from the Sanctuary, after all!"

Delilah's eyes lit up too, the gloom clouding her heart clearing in an instant.

"Thank goodness you're always here for me, Susie. I knew I could count on you." Delilah said solemnly and quickly said goodbye to Ryona before going to look for Wilbur.

-

In the hall of the Crawford residence…

As the top clan of Zoronda, the Crawfords' residence was huge, and the hall easily fit all the clan elders and apprentices without issue.

They were all excited about Caleb's return, with the clan chief, Xar Crawford, laughing heartily and clearly delighted to see Caleb. "Hahaha! As long as you know your way home, son! As the junior chief and a youth with the talent to reach the Emperor rank, there's no way you would fall that easily!"

Xar was clearly relieved, and judging from how everyone else was smiling cheerfully, they felt just the same.

Over the past year, they hadn't slept or eaten well as they kept searching for Caleb, and many had even died because of that.

In the end, the nine clan elders each had their own ideas in mind, and there was this mysterious twinkle in their eyes…

However, Caleb never noticed any of that, as he was earnestly touched by the warm, homely reception.

He was actually surprised the Crawfords were still treating him so well. He said solemnly, "Chief Xar, I've lost all my cultivation and am no longer suitable to be the junior chief. You should choose a new junior chief from the clan members."

The hall was suddenly silent as he finished.

Then, before Xar could speak, the black-clad woman beside him strode toward Caleb.

Her visage was flawless with a touch of iciness, and her sharp gaze had this apathy as if she were a mere observer of all existence.

As Caleb turned to her, he bowed his head respectfully. "Elder."

She was the leading elder in the Crawford clan, and she had the appearance of a young woman.

Behind her, a jet-black sword hovered over thin air, and Caleb's heart raced every time he saw it.

After all, it was the epitome of destruction and death.

"What are you saying, Cal? The position of junior chief is yours forever. No one has the right to replace you."

The Crawford clan had nine elders, ranked from the First Elder to the Ninth, six men and three women, all of them immensely powerful.

"That's right!" Jax's voice boomed in the hall. "You lost your cultivation? Then start cultivating again! I doubt that we can't achieve that much if we invest the entire clan's resources in you!"

Lux Crawford, who was the sixth Crawford elder, smiled and nodded. "That's right! The honors and wealth that Caleb had claimed for our clan are more than what the rest of our younger generations could ever hope to achieve. That sets his claim as junior chief beyond question!"

His eyes were dark as the starry sky, as if he could see through the whole universe, and the occasional gleam in that gaze would leave anyone cringing in fear.

"I concur! Lux is right about that!" Eldin Crawford, the mild-mannered second Crawford elder, spoke up too.

He was wearing a scholar's robe and had grown his beard out to chest length.

His cheeks were a healthy flush, and his dark gaze seemed to see the path of the divine.

His hair was slicked back with a wooden hair stick, and his robes were an elegant cloud print. Each thread and embroidery seemed to be transcendent, standing above mere mortality.

"Brother Caleb, don't try to convince us otherwise! None of us has what it takes to replace you. You're our junior chief even if you had no cultivation!"

"That's right! You'll always be our junior chief, and we'll serve you for life!"

Dozens of juniors were agreeing all at once, making it very clear that none of them coveted Caleb's place as the heir.

Caleb couldn't help but feel touched, even as he looked around at everyone in the hall showing such solidarity.

Before he could speak, an elderly voice cut him short. "Cal, let's put the discussion of your inheritance aside. Why don't you tell us where you've been for the past year?"

Caleb turned toward the Fifth Elder.

The white-haired old man wore a gentle expression, a faint herbal scent clinging to him.

Caleb bowed his head.

“Yes, Elder Witz.”

Looking around at everyone's eager stares, he sighed. "I was in Gehenna."

Gehenna!

Just as they thought!

There was silence, but everyone didn't appear all that surprised, if just a little shocked.

Xar himself felt his heart skip a beat, his shock showing all over his face. "Gehenna, where millions of coffins lay and rot, its very air filled with a strange black smoke and the breath of demons… How did you manage to get inside such a forbidden place? And how did you then escape?"

Caleb pursed his lips, feeling a mess of different emotions. "I had no idea who got me in there, but I woke up in a coffin… And when I managed to get out, it's been a year."

Everyone traded glances, all of them clearly finding his tale extraordinary.

Caleb stayed in a coffin within Gehenna for a year… and survived?

Unbelievable!