Chapter 43: Chapter 42: Talent—Devouring God

"What?"

"Has Jiang Chen lost his mind? How dare he openly provoke the Special Envoy? This is just suicidal!"

Jiang Chen’s words caused an uproar, and everyone stared at him in disbelief.

Even Jiang Ziyou was stunned for a moment. A vicious sneer appeared on her pale face as she berated him, "Jiang Chen, how dare you openly oppose a Special Envoy of the Saint Martial Sword Sect? You’re utterly reckless. Senior Brother Yun, please teach this audacious fool a lesson for defying the might of the Saint Martial Sword Sect!"

At this moment, Jiang Ziyou’s hatred for Jiang Chen had completely erupted. She wished she could devour his flesh and blood, to make him die a torturous death.

Yun Haoran’s gaze was sharp. He nodded, then looked at Jiang Chen and sneered, "Quite the character, Jiang Chen. Since I broke through to the True Martial Realm, you’re the first person who has dared to openly provoke me. Do you really think that just because you defeated Junior Sister Ziyou, you can disregard me? How ignorant. You’ll never know how terrifying a True Martial Realm powerhouse truly is!"

"But don’t worry. Soon, you’ll experience the terrifying methods of the True Martial Realm firsthand!"

Yun Haoran snorted coldly. A terrifying killing intent erupted from his body, transforming into a gale that swept across more than half of the altar.

Jiang Chen held his longsword, his gaze icy.

Just as he was about to speak, a flash of white light shot past him. The temperature on the entire altar dropped abruptly. Bai Ling now stood between the two men, her face grim as she looked at Yun Haoran. "Senior Brother Yun, you’re going too far!"

"Bai Ling, get out of my way." A cold light flashed in Yun Haoran’s eyes. He pulled a token from his robes and said nonchalantly, "Take a good look at this. If you dare to stop me from teaching this little bastard a lesson again, you’d better be prepared to face Senior Brother Lan’s wrath!"

"You..."

Upon seeing the token, Bai Ling’s expression changed, and she hesitated.

The Senior Brother Lan that Yun Haoran mentioned was a prodigious genius!

Even in the Saint Martial Sword Sect, which was filled with geniuses, Senior Brother Lan was among the absolute best, known as arguably the strongest prodigy in the sect’s history!

He had entered the True Martial Realm at the age of thirteen, and now, Senior Brother Lan’s cultivation was unfathomable.

When Bai Ling had left the Saint Martial Sword Sect, she heard that Senior Brother Lan was in seclusion. Once he emerged, he would aim for the title of Saint Disciple—a position no one in the Saint Martial Sword Sect had attained in a hundred years.

Once Senior Brother Lan became a Saint Disciple, not even the Sword Sect Elder backing her would be able to do anything to him.

Bai Ling’s brow furrowed, her thoughts racing. Although she was wary of Senior Brother Lan’s formidable power, she thought of her own mission’s purpose. Biting her lower lip gently with her pearly teeth, she said, "Senior Brother Yun, while Jiang Chen’s actions were indeed improper, we, as Special Envoys of the Sword Sect, cannot use force indiscriminately. Otherwise, if this matter is reported to the Law Enforcement Hall, I’m afraid even with Senior Brother Lan’s intervention, you won’t escape some form of punishment, Senior Brother Yun!"

Yun Haoran’s brows drew together as he fell into a thoughtful state.

’Bai Ling’s background is also impressive. If I offend her too deeply and she reports this to the Law Enforcement Hall, it would indeed cause me a great deal of trouble.’

At this thought, Yun Haoran looked at Jiang Chen with contempt and said, "It’s possible for me to spare him. As long as he kneels before me, kowtows in apology, I will let him live!"

"Alright!"

Bai Ling breathed a sigh of relief and quickly gave Jiang Chen a meaningful look. "Jiang Chen, hurry up and apologize to Senior Brother Yun. Let’s end this matter here, what do you say?"

Jiang Chen acted as if he hadn’t seen Bai Ling’s signal at all.

He shook his head lightly and said calmly, "Thank you for your help, Special Envoy Bai, but I’ve already said it. He, Yun Haoran, is not worthy of making me kneel!"

"You... Why are you so ungrateful? Yun Haoran is a True Martial Realm powerhouse! Can you possibly stand against the True Martial Realm?" Bai Ling’s face flushed with anger as she snapped.

Jiang Chen simply smiled and shook his head.

Seeing this, Yun Haoran’s expression slowly darkened. He sneered, "Junior Sister Bai, since he refuses to accept your kind intentions, you should probably stop getting in the way!"

"Jiang Chen..." Bai Ling looked at Jiang Chen again.

Jiang Chen still just shook his head. Even someone as normally aloof as Bai Ling was so angry she stomped her foot. "I’m done with you..." With a flash, Bai Ling leaped off the altar.

Only Jiang Chen and Yun Haoran remained on the altar.

A frigid glint shone in Yun Haoran’s eyes, as if he could see right through Jiang Chen. The corner of his mouth curved up into a cruel smile. "Jiang Chen, you’ve got quite the spine! I’ve heard that people with a lot of backbone have especially hard bones. I’ve always been skeptical of that saying. In a moment, I’m going to snap every bone in your body, inch by inch. Then I’ll see for myself if your bones are really that hard!"

"I’m just afraid my bones will be too hard and shatter that mouth full of fangs!" Jiang Chen retorted sarcastically, his demeanor neither servile nor overbearing.

"Hahaha..."

Yun Haoran let out a series of harsh, cold laughs. His gaze suddenly sank, and he snorted, "You arrogant, ignorant little bastard. Soon you’ll know just how insignificant you are. Before the True Martial Realm, even the strongest in the Martial Arts Realm are nothing but ants. To deal with an ant like you, I only need three moves to kill you!"

"Bring it on!"

The broken sword in Jiang Chen’s hand pulsed with a sharp aura as he stood ready for battle.

BOOM—

Yun Haoran moved. As his feet struck the ground, a sound like roaring thunder suddenly exploded from the floor of the altar.

This was the Profound Tier Advanced Body Technique, Gale Step!

Steps like thunder, movement like a storm!

As he charged forward, a tempest of faint azure wind enveloped his body, filled with rapidly spinning, razor-sharp wind blades. They sliced through the air itself. Just the wind blades generated by this Gale Step alone were enough to cut several slits in Jiang Chen’s billowing robes.

"Take my first punch—Gale Iron Fist!"

Yun Haoran let out a low roar and threw a punch. A vortex of azure wind condensed over his fist.

The azure vortex was initially only the size of a fist, but as it left his hand, a terrifying devouring force erupted from within it, sucking in all the surrounding air and creating a vacuum.

Inside the azure tempest, a swirling vortex of wind could be faintly seen spinning at high speed.

In the blink of an eye, it had already reached Jiang Chen.

"Flowing Light Technique..."

"Thunderbolt Technique..."

"Instant Sword..."

As Jiang Chen retreated explosively, he swung the broken sword in his hand horizontally, continuously unleashing powerful Sword Skills. He used almost every trump card he had just to block the azure tempest.

BOOM—

Under the frenzied assault of Jiang Chen’s Sword Skills, the azure tempest violently exploded. The terrifying aftershock kicked up a cloud of dust and sent Jiang Chen flying back more than ten meters.

He staggered upon landing, and the sleeves on both of his arms exploded into tatters.

Yun Haoran sneered arrogantly, "Tsk tsk. To be able to block that punch at the mere Eighth Stage of Martial Arts, you’re not half bad. However, I didn’t even use fifty percent of my power in that last punch. For the next one, I’ll use seventy percent. You’d better be ready!"

These words shocked everyone present.

"That terrifying attack was less than fifty percent of his power? Just how horrifying are True Martial Realm powerhouses?!" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Jiang Chen is already incredibly strong. He managed to break through to the Eighth Stage of Martial Arts in just two short months, and he can even block an attack from a True Martial Realm powerhouse using fifty percent of their strength. It’s a pity he’s so reckless. In this battle, his death is certain!"

Sima Tao and the others shook their heads grimly, feeling it was a great pity.

By this point, they had come to accept Jiang Chen’s side of the story. With his level of strength, he had no need to ambush Lin Yu and the others. Their hostility naturally vanished, replaced only by a sense of regret for a wasted talent.

Only Jiang Tai and Jiang Ziyou, upon seeing Jiang Chen in this desperate situation, showed expressions of excitement and ecstasy. The father and daughter exchanged a look. ’This little bastard has been an eyesore for too long. He’s finally going to die!’

「On the altar.」

Jiang Chen’s brows furrowed deeply as he stared at Yun Haoran opposite him. ’This guy is truly worthy of being a True Martial Realm successor from the Saint Martial Sword Sect. With my current Cultivation Realm, trying to defeat him is too much of a stretch. It seems... I have no choice but to use that move!’

Just thinking of that move made Jiang Chen suck in a sharp breath.

He had been unwilling to reveal that move so easily.

But now, with his life on the line and facing a powerful True Martial Realm powerhouse, he could no longer afford to hold anything back.

Jiang Chen’s gaze hardened. He gritted his teeth, and two beams of tangible, cold light shot from his eyes. His expression suddenly became ferocious. His clear voice, filled with unyielding defiance and a fervent will to fight, echoed across the altar like a clap of thunder on a clear day. It entered everyone’s ears, rumbling like the beat of war drums...

"You see me as an ant you can crush at will? Today, this ant is going to shake you, this arrogant, great tree of Azure Heaven, to your very roots! Yun Haoran, take this—"

"Innate Divine Technique—Devouring God!"