"Hm?"

Jiang Chen’s expression faltered. That was Bai Ling’s voice.

In Jiang Chen’s mind, Bai Ling had always been a woman like an iceberg, both in her personality and her composure.

He had never heard her sound so anxious.

A sense of unease bloomed in Jiang Chen’s heart. He rose to his feet and walked out of the Main Sword Pool.

Outside the Main Sword Pool.

Bai Ling and Yuwen Xunyi were standing close together, their faces etched with anxiety and worry.

Jiang Chen’s heart skipped a beat. The feeling of unease intensified, and he asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

"Do you know someone named Nalan Qiantian?" Bai Ling asked.

Jiang Chen froze.

The image of the Young Mansion Master from Cangyun Mansion surfaced in his mind. Although Nalan Qiantian’s arrogance and condescension had been somewhat off-putting when they first met, ever since the Earth Martial Hall assessment, he had started to idolize Jiang Chen, following his every command.

He was a rather dramatic friend, or perhaps, it was more accurate to say he was his own little brother!

Jiang Chen nodded, his brow furrowed. "What’s wrong with Nalan Qiantian?"

"He... he was killed!" Bai Ling said, glancing at Jiang Chen.

"What?" Jiang Chen’s expression changed, a cold glint appearing in his eyes. "What exactly happened?"

"Let me explain."

Yuwen Xunyi gave a wry smile. "Ever since you, Junior Brother Jiang, claimed the title of number one prodigy of the Outer Sect, many Outer Sect Disciples have come to see you as an idol. A rumor started somewhere that you were going to create your own faction, and many Outer Sect Disciples were eager to join you. Nalan Qiantian was one of the initiators of this group. His methods weren’t bad, and he managed to gather a batch of high-quality Outer Sect Disciples for you..."

As Yuwen Xunyi continued his explanation, Jiang Chen finally understood the cause of the matter.

Nalan Qiantian had truly come to see him as an idol and a leader.

He had run himself ragged trying to recruit Outer Sect Disciples for Jiang Chen, and had actually managed to gather a group of experts.

However...

How could Nalan Qiantian’s large-scale recruitment of Outer Sect Disciples possibly escape the notice of the Celestial Alliance?

The Celestial Alliance sent their experts, demanding Nalan Qiantian disband the organization.

Nalan Qiantian refused. He was brutally beaten and threatened by the Celestial Alliance’s experts, but he still refused to betray Jiang Chen, which completely enraged them.

In the end, he lost his life.

Bai Ling said, "To intimidate the Outer Sect and prevent anyone else from joining your banner, the Celestial Alliance hung Nalan Qiantian’s body from Cuiwei Pavilion. The two of us went to the Outer Sect a few days ago after finishing our seclusion, and that’s when we learned what happened."

The Saint Martial Sword Sect had over a million disciples.

Inner Sect Disciples lived within the Void Realm, while Outer Sect Disciples had corresponding residential areas based on their rank: regular, elite, and Core.

And Cuiwei Pavilion was precisely where the Core Disciples lived!

Jiang Chen’s face slowly darkened.

An extremely cold light flickered in his eyes. A frigid killing intent built up like a volcano, ready to erupt at any moment.

Although he hadn’t spent much time with Nalan Qiantian, the fact that he refused to betray him even unto death was enough for Jiang Chen to consider him a brother.

His fists clenched tightly, wisps of dark golden light dancing in his palms. Jiang Chen looked at Yuwen Xunyi and Bai Ling, his voice low as he enunciated each word, "Who is the one that killed Nalan Qiantian?"

"An Inner Sect True Disciple, Wangg Tianyi!" Yuwen Xunyi said.

Seeing the murderous look in Jiang Chen’s eyes, Bai Ling’s face filled with worry. She spoke up, "Jiang Chen, don’t be rash. That Wangg Tianyi is a True Disciple, and his cultivation has reached the Heavenly Destiny Realm Third Stage. He’s more than just a level stronger than Li Yunlong. You are no match for him. Senior Brother Xunyi and I already discussed this on the way here. We’ll go and demand Nalan Qiantian’s body back."

"Bai Ling is right. For Wangg Tianyi to dare kill a Core Disciple and even hang his body on Cuiwei Pavilion, he must have received permission from the Celestial Alliance’s upper echelons. This is very likely a trap set for you. You must not act impulsively!" Yuwen Xunyi said with a nod.

Faced with their persuasion, Jiang Chen just shook his head gently.

He narrowed his eyes, two beams of almost tangible cold light flashing through them. Waving his hand, he said in a deep voice, "You two don’t need to get involved in this. Nalan Qiantian was my brother, and he died for me. How could I, Jiang Chen, possibly ignore his need for vengeance?"

"What are you planning to do?" Bai Ling asked.

A cold glint shone in Jiang Chen’s eyes as he enunciated each word, "Those who kill my brother shall be shown no mercy!"

An overwhelming killing intent surged from Jiang Chen.

It stirred an invisible, sharp chill around his body, a bone-deep coldness that swept outward.

Bai Ling and Yuwen Xunyi stared at each other, utterly shocked!

...

Jiang Chen immediately strode out of the Sword Pool. His face was ice-cold, his eyes glittered like wintry stars, and killing intent billowed from him. Like an awakened, peerless Demon God, he attracted the attention of many experts as he walked.

"Who is that? Such powerful killing intent!"

"I know him... That’s Jiang Chen, this year’s number one in the Outer Sect. I heard he killed Li Yunlong of the Celestial Alliance!"

"That’s the Evil Star who dared to go on a killing spree during the Outer Sect competition, even killing multiple experts from the Celestial Alliance. Looks like something big is about to happen. Quick, let’s follow him and see!"

The experts he passed along the way were all overcome with curiosity and began to follow Jiang Chen.

He sprinted all the way from the Sword Pool, heading straight for Cuiwei Pavilion!

Cuiwei Pavilion...

It was located halfway up Martial Saint Mountain, a full five hundred kilometers from the Sword Pool. Jiang Chen rushed over at top speed, arriving at Cuiwei Pavilion in less than the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn.

At this moment, Cuiwei Pavilion seemed rather quiet. The Core Disciples were either in seclusion or out on Sect missions, so only a few people could be seen coming and going.

At the entrance to Cuiwei Pavilion, a wooden pole was stuck in the ground.

At the top of the pole, a cold corpse was hanging in mid-air, a rope looped around its neck, swaying in the wind.

The entire pole was stained with dark red, the color of dried blood!

The people passing by all pointed and whispered when they saw the body hanging from the pole, their expressions varied.

Below the pole, two Core Disciples from the Celestial Alliance stood guard. Whenever anyone passed Cuiwei Pavilion, they would point at Nalan Qiantian’s body on the pole and yell smugly, "See that? This is what happens when you dare to oppose our Celestial Alliance! You’d all better know your place!"

"We wouldn’t dare, we wouldn’t dare!"

"How could we possibly dare to oppose the Celestial Alliance?" a few passersby said with fawning smiles.

"Hahaha, that’s more like it. You, come here!"

The Celestial Alliance expert pointed at one of them, then at Nalan Qiantian’s corpse. "This guy overestimated himself, actually trying to create some faction to oppose our Celestial Alliance. Now Senior Brother Wangg Tianyi has killed him and is displaying his corpse for ten days as a warning. Anyone who passes here must spit on his body and shout ’Jiang Chen ain’t shit’ before they’re allowed to leave!"

"Th-that’s not right, is it? Senior Brother Jiang is the number one person in the Outer Sect, after all, ah..." the Outer Sect Disciple said nervously.

The two Celestial Alliance Core Disciples glared and said, "The number one in the Outer Sect ain’t shit! Our Senior Brother Wangg is a bona fide True Disciple! If you don’t listen to Senior Brother Wangg’s words, are you trying to make an enemy of our Celestial Alliance?"

"We wouldn’t dare, how could we dare?" the person said, his face a mask of misery.

"If you wouldn’t dare, then get over there and spit on his corpse!" the Celestial Alliance Core Disciple said arrogantly.

The Outer Sect Disciple looked vexed, and unwillingly walked towards the wooden pole.

However...

None of them noticed that several li away, a youth who was speeding over happened to see this exact scene. A towering rage and a frigid killing intent erupted from his body...

[Author’s Note: Third update of the day, asking for recommendation tickets!! Also promoting my group again: 605481292. Everyone is welcome to join!]