Chapter 226: Chapter 224: Lend Me Your Head

"He lost!"

"Li Yunlong lost!"

"Tell me this isn’t real! Li Yunlong was my idol, a symbol of invincibility. How could he have lost?"

"Am I... am I dreaming?"

Before the Earth Martial Hall, hundreds of thousands of people stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with terror and disbelief.

Li Yunlong!

He was the number one expert on the Spirit List. Even Yuwen Xunyi, ranked second, couldn’t last three moves against him before being utterly defeated.

But now...

And yet, the powerful, invincible Li Yunlong had still been defeated by Jiang Chen.

Before this moment, who could have imagined that Jiang Chen could defeat Li Yunlong?

No one!

Even Prince Gong, Bai Ling, and the others had only been thinking about how to save Jiang Chen when he lost to Li Yunlong. They had never considered the possibility that he could actually win.

But the scene unfolding before them left them completely stunned.

Bai Ling swallowed hard. A flicker of shock appeared on her face, usually as cold as a frozen peak. She gazed at Jiang Chen with a complicated expression and forced a wry smile. "That guy... he’s a real monster!"

Beside her, Yuwen Xunyi was also in a state of shock, unable to snap out of it for a long time. Finally, he gave a wry smile. "I thought that with Li Yunlong advancing to the Heavenly Destiny Realm, I’d finally get a taste of being number one on the Spirit List... Where on earth did a freak of nature like Jiang Chen come from? Sigh, it looks like I have no hope of ever reaching the top of the Spirit List in this lifetime. I might as well just break through to the Heavenly Destiny Realm after the tournament is over!"

They were all heaven-blessed prodigies; breaking through to the Heavenly Destiny Realm wasn’t a difficult task for someone like Yuwen Xunyi.

In the crowd.

Lin Feifei’s phoenix eyes were filled with shock. She stared intently at Jiang Chen’s back, the expression in her eyes growing increasingly resolute.

On the high platform.

Zong Han and Zong Rui shot to their feet. They looked at each other, seeing the same astonishment and cold killing intent mirrored in the other’s eyes.

However...

Before either of them could make a move, Prince Gong and the Tower Guardian Elder also rose, their auras locking firmly onto the two men.

Prince Gong asked calmly, "Elder Zong, what do you intend to do?"

"Zong Rui, before the battle, you personally promised that no one would interfere!" the Tower Guardian Elder said gravely, his eyes glinting sharply.

"Damn it..."

"You’re making an enemy of the Celestial Alliance!" Zong Rui snarled.

Prince Gong retorted coolly, "The Celestial Alliance? Since when does the Celestial Alliance run the Saint Martial Sword Sect?"

"I haven’t broken any Sect rules," the Tower Guardian Elder sneered. "If your Celestial Alliance wants to move against me, you’ll need the agreement of at least five Hall Masters. Or do you fancy that the Celestial Alliance can already sway all Ten Hall Masters?"

"I..."

Zong Rui was speechless.

No matter how strong the Celestial Alliance was, Lan Haichen had not yet inherited the position of Sect Master. Furthermore, the Alliance’s overbearing and tyrannical methods had already caused many of the Sect’s powerful experts to harbor resentment.

If this matter was truly brought before the Ten Hall Masters, his time as Grand Elder would be over.

A cold glint flashed deep in Zong Rui’s eyes. ’This matter must not reach the Inner Sect,’ he thought. ’I have to make sure Jiang Chen stays in the Outer Sect forever. As long as I can carry out the Blood-colored Killing Order, I’m sure the Celestial Alliance’s senior veterans will step in to protect me!’

At this thought.

Zong Rui’s gaze shifted to Zong Han, killing intent surging within him. A vicious plan had already formed in his mind. He sent a secret voice transmission, "Zong Han, I will have someone take good care of your family."

"Hm? Big Brother, what are you...?"

Zong Han’s expression changed as he stared at Zong Rui in disbelief.

Zong Rui said coolly, "With me around, our Zong Family can continue to prosper. If we can’t deal with Jiang Chen, the higher-ups will certainly hold us accountable. When that happens, it won’t end well for either of us. Zong Han, the choice is yours."

Having said his piece, Zong Rui sat back down, his expression returning to calm.

He sat as if the person who had just been radiating a chilling killing intent, desperate to see Jiang Chen dead, had nothing to do with him whatsoever.

Zong Han’s gaze was cold, his eyes flashing with inner conflict. After a moment, his tightly clenched fists slowly relaxed.

He took a deep breath, looked toward Zong Rui, and sent a voice transmission, "Big Brother, you promised to take care of my wife and children!"

Zong Rui nodded.

HUUUH—

After letting out a long, slow breath, a cold light glinted in Zong Han’s eyes. He looked toward Jiang Chen on the Blood Battle Arena, his killing intent flaring to an extreme intensity.

...

On the Blood Battle Arena.

Jiang Chen stood at the edge of the large crater, looking down on Li Yunlong. "Li Yunlong, you’ve lost. Do you wish to continue?"

"I’ve lost... I actually lost?"

Li Yunlong’s eyes were vacant. He stared blankly at the sky for a long moment before letting out a wry laugh. "Jiang Chen, you win!"

"And that’s it?" Jiang Chen sneered.

He had never even met Li Yunlong before today, yet the man had tried to kill him at first sight.

If not for his breakthrough in the Lingxi Tower and the subsequent surge in his power, he could have very well been the one defeated today. And if he had lost, Jiang Chen was certain that Li Yunlong would not have let him off so easily. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

And Li Yunlong thought a simple "you win" was enough to wipe the slate clean between them?

Impossible!

Li Yunlong’s face darkened. "Then what more do you want?" he demanded angrily.

"What more do I want? I’d like to borrow something from you!" Jiang Chen laughed.

Li Yunlong paused, then frowned. "What is it? Spirit Pills? Spirit Crystals? I can compensate you with some Spirit Crystals, but if you make any other unreasonable demands, I’d rather die than comply!"

"Spirit Pills and Spirit Crystals? Do I look like I’m short on those?"

Jiang Chen gave a scornful laugh. "To me, this thing is practically worthless. To you, however, it’s quite valuable. So, are you going to lend it to me or not?"

"What is it you want to borrow?" Li Yunlong asked gravely.

Jiang Chen smiled and, enunciating every syllable, spoke the words that made Li Yunlong’s face drain of all color: "I’d like to borrow the head on your shoulders!"

"What? Are you insane? I’m a prodigy of the Li Family, the head of the Outer Sect’s Ten Great Talents, a genius personally fostered by the Celestial Alliance! And you want to kill me?" Li Yunlong’s face was a mask of rage, and he roared like a cornered lion.

The smile on Jiang Chen’s face slowly vanished, replaced by an expression of absolute ice. "Head of the Ten Great Talents? The moment you lost, you stopped being one. As for the Celestial Alliance... haven’t I killed enough of their experts today? What’s one more? I will use your head to send a message to everyone in the Celestial Alliance who wants me dead. If you come for Jiang Chen’s life, be prepared to meet your end in the Yellow Springs!"

As soon as his voice fell, Jiang Chen waved his hand, and Li Yunlong’s Advanced Profound Tier Weapon flew into his grasp.

His eyes glinting coldly, he thrust the sword toward Li Yunlong.

Li Yunlong’s eyes bulged in terror. He screamed, "Mercy! Jiang Chen, spare me, I beg you! I’ll be your slave... Please, just let me go! I don’t want to die..."

At this moment, Li Yunlong’s heart was filled with regret.

’Why did I have to provoke this demon for a Blood-colored Killing Order?!’

But it was a pity...

But Jiang Chen wasn’t going to give him the chance. "Begging for mercy now? It’s too late!"

The sword’s momentum didn’t slow. With a single slash, a head flew high into the air.

Li Yunlong’s head spun through the air, his eyes wide with despair and regret, not closing even in death.

"..."

Before the Earth Martial Hall, the crowd of nearly a million people was utterly silent.

Jiang Chen hovered in the air, his icy gaze sweeping across the crowd until it landed on a trembling Hex Junchen. "Hex Junchen," he said coldly, "get up here and die."

"No... I won’t! I won’t go up there..."

Hex Junchen, one of the esteemed Ten Great Talents, had a look of pure terror on his face. He turned and began to flee into the distance.

He was the one who had personally crippled Lui Yifa, and he had just witnessed Jiang Chen’s merciless execution. How could he possibly dare to step onto the Blood Battle Arena?

The crowd stared, dumbfounded, a mix of emotions in their eyes.

A member of the Ten Great Talents, a prodigy who had once stood high above, looking down on the masses, now lacked even the courage to face Jiang Chen. He was fleeing in disarray, like a dog with its tail between its legs.

The crowd couldn’t help but sigh at the sight.

Jiang Chen sneered, "Think you can escape?"

"Blood Rain Without Limits!"

He thrust his sword from hundreds of meters away. A sky-blotting rain of bloody Sword Qi shot forth, riddling Hex Junchen with holes and leaving no intact corpse behind.

Jiang Chen’s gaze was calm as he scanned the area. "Anyone else who wants my life," he announced peacefully, "is welcome to come up to the stage and fight!"

"..."

Among the nearly one million experts present, not a single person dared to step onto the stage.

After a full ten breaths of silence, Jiang Chen threw his head back and laughed. He looked toward Zong Rui and Zong Han on the high platform and said calmly, "Grand Elder, Third Elder, isn’t it about time you announced the result?"

Zong Rui’s face twitched, his expression turning pale and ashen. It was an incredibly ugly sight.

His body was practically shaking as he stood up. A cold light flickered in his cloudy eyes as his voice, tight with barely suppressed rage, echoed above the Earth Martial Hall. "Since no one else dares to challenge Jiang Chen, then I, the Grand Elder, announce that the winner of this Outer Sect tournament is... Jiang Chen!"

At his words, the vast area before the Earth Martial Hall fell silent for a moment, then erupted in a deafening roar like a tidal wave crashing against a mountain...

"The number one prodigy!"

"Jiang Chen, invincible! Jiang Chen, long live!"

The roars shook the heavens. Countless experts stared at him, their eyes filled with fervent adoration.

One man, one sword, had brought the entire Outer Sect to heel.

At that moment, the black-clad youth standing with his sword seemed like a peerless Divine King, the very embodiment of invincibility.