Jason's eyes brightened the entire room with an almost blinding light.

There was no need for him to hold back anymore.

He had done so way too often during the last few years, trying to avoid conflict and taking a step back while the big clans had done however they pleased.

For a long time, he had only sat back and watched them. Not now! Not anymore!

As such, Jason utilized everything he had.

Releasing Petris' enhanced petrification curse, the race specific weakening curse, his Emperor Eyes' abyssal effect, and his distinct killing intent all at once, they fused, turning the multi-layered attack into one lethal attack, targeting the middle-aged man.

Time seemed to have slowed down as Jason lifted his hand slowly while his aura enveloped him. His stigma began to glow brightly, dazzling everyone.

Only his cold voice echoed through the surroundings, bouncing off the walls that amplified it further.

"SLEEP!" He uttered just one word and nothing more but that word held the anger and fury of a thousand worlds. The moment Jason said this he snapped his fingers as the entire light around him vanished in an instant, seemingly devoured by something grand, something the human race couldn't grasp.

A second later, time returned to normal again, and nobody could help but take a deep breath as they turned their head from Jason to the middle-aged man.

There was a tinge of fear in their heart that told them to not look at the patriarch, that they wouldn't like what they would see.

However, contrary to their expectations, the middle-aged man was still seated on the chair as if nothing had happened.

Only his eyes were void of any color. His eyelids drooped and his eyes closed slowly as the middle-aged man's head crashed into the large table in front of him.

A loud bang echoed through the tightly packed room, and the tension intensified to a whole new level.

It was as if everyone had been momentarily rendered speechless, nobody said anything for several seconds. The only sounds in the room were gasps and sharp intake of breath. Jason swept his eyes across the room before he stated,

"As previously mentioned, this is just a warning. I might still look like a pushover to all of you, but don't try to be funny with me or lecture me in any way. There is nothing I can learn from the big clans anymore."

A chill ran down everyone's spine as young or old, rich or poor, all of them heard Jason's cold voice that spoke nothing but the truth.

It was evident that the young man must have used the vast majority of his mana, but thinking that someone at the late 1st Lique stage was able to knock out one of the big clans' patriarchs was still shocking.

The middle-aged man might be a newly appointed patriarch, but he was still at the first threshold of the Prismar stage with two solidified prismarine crystals!

That meant his strength shouldn't be underestimated. Yet, Jason had barely flicked a finger and easily sent him to sleep, which meant it wouldn't take him much effort to kill him afterward.

Jason hadn't expected his intimidation to have such a nerve-wracking impact on the audience.

Post his little power play, everything went smoothly, and he realized only now how strong the divine aura he had absorbed and merged with was.

Every cell inside his body had been strengthened by the divine aura, but that was not all.

His abilities had received a substantial increase too! The abyssal effect had barely been strong enough to defeat those at the same rank, at most, but that had changed.

Jason was still not sure how strong the lethal power of his multitude of overlapping effects was working, but it was mighty!

After he had made his stance clear, the other big clan heads ignored the patriarch. He was simply sleeping, exactly as Jason had ordered him to.

Through his Emperor Eyes, he perceived that the present powerhouses were more afraid of him than they were before.

This was only logical and Jason wouldn't have a different reaction if he were to swap places with them.

Because the entire gathering had been brought to a standstill, Jason knew that he had to do something.

He cleared his throat before he addressed the large group,

"To be honest, I have already visited the other continents during the last few months. Only the most knowledgeable individuals of the Olympus federation know the human tongue, and most of them speak in the universal language.

If nobody can speak the universal language fluently, I will have to translate everything, which will be annoying and cumbersome. As such, I propose that the big clans learn to speak the universal language, otherwise, it will be an embarrassment when we will meet the Olympus federation's authorities.

Other than that, does anyone know what races are included in the federation, how strong they are, what kind of special features, strengths, or weaknesses they have?

I doubt it, and if I were to speak bluntly, what is the use of learning multiple manuals of the foreign races, if they're more proficient in them?

Just practice one and get to know your opponents. We don't need to become their enemies after all!"

Somehow, Jason's words eased the tension while doing the exact opposite only a few seconds later.

Nobody was sure what his plan was, or if he was just lecturing the present powerhouses.

Contrary to the outrage he had expected, everyone was silently mulling over Jason's words.

They couldn't take him lightly anymore.

If the final battle of the Great Argos war had not been enough to show them that Jason was not ordinary, the golden-silverish pillar he had erected and the fact that his strength was enough to force someone at the Prismar stage to fall asleep was more than enough to make them take him seriously.

His growth had been exponential, and the rumors that Jason had defeated one of the Burance race's assassins during the Blood Eclipse was now turning into a serious question.

HadJason already been strong enough to defeat his opponent at the Prismar stage with six solidified prismarine crystals several months ago?

It was unlikely, but nobody knew about the true extent of Jason's bloodline.

As such, instead of killing him, the big clans began to change their tactics as if they had a tacit agreement.

"So...we should learn more about the universal language, and the God's children should...get to know their opponents?"

Only one person dared to speak right now, and it was no other than Merl Arths.

Jason just nodded his head as he responded,

"Exactly. You will have to learn their language either way. Otherwise, it will be difficult to make agreements with the Olympus federation, or other races...whatever you guys are planning. In my opinion, mankind should focus on advancing by establishing firm connections with other races, WITHOUT using citizens as resources to trade-off.

This will be much better than stagnating our progress by waging another useless war.

Because of that, you need to learn their culture, strengths, weaknesses, and so on. If that's not tempting enough, there are many world bridges leading to resourceful areas, lots of knowledge mankind has yet to procure, and much more.

Let's just go to Janur, which is the biggest city of the Olympus federation. I guess the liberation tournament will be held there too!

We can only gain something by going"

Somehow, Jason sensed that the present powerhouses didn't like the authoritative way in which he spoke, but they remained silent.

He was glad to have demonstrated his strength while hiding his exhaustion almost perfectly.

Only the woman from the God's Children was still staring at him.

Fortunately, she wouldn't be able to see anything about him, but he couldn't help but be suspicious about her.

There was something that made him worry, but at the same time, his gut feeling told him that he was overreacting.

His gut feeling had bever been wrong so far.

Suddenly, the woman with whom he had had a short staring match spoke,

"I like the idea. Let's go to Janur, and get to know the culture of the Olympus federation!"

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