Chapter 86: Chapter 84: Massive Compensation

The biting wind howled, his black hair whipping about, as a Green Peak Long Sword pulsed with a sharp aura.

Jiang Chen’s figure, though not imposing, now stood like a Heaven-Reaching Divine Peak, so intimidating that others could only shrink back and gaze up in awe!

"Holy shit, three masters at the True Martial Realm Second Stage joined forces, and they still lost?"

"Who on earth is this Jiang Chen? To have such combat prowess at his age... in a few more years, I’m afraid he’ll be another Zhao Qiankun!"

"This kid..." Even Yulan Shouqing and Wang Yizhou exchanged a glance, each seeing the utter shock and disbelief in the other’s eyes.

The corner of Yulan Shouqing’s mouth twitched, and a bitter taste seemed to fill it. "Looks like we really underestimated this young man."

"Indeed! I was just thinking about getting him into Yulan Academy... but with talent like his, he’d receive the best training even at the Saint Martial Sword Sect. In a few decades, our Yulan Mansion would have another legend on its hands!" Wang Yizhou shook his head and murmured softly.

Si Xiaosheng and Yulan Tianpeng exchanged a look, both smiling wryly. "So he’s this strong. No wonder he’s been so fearless all along."

"Senior Brother Tianpeng, I remember you said he was also a disciple of the Saint Martial Sword Sect, didn’t you?" Si Xiaosheng suddenly asked.

Yulan Tianpeng nodded. "I only heard it from Lui Yifa myself. Apparently, he passed the special envoy’s test not long ago and became a disciple of the Saint Martial Sword Sect. For some reason, though, he didn’t head to the Sword Sect immediately. Why do you ask?"

It wasn’t rare for geniuses like Jiang Chen, who had passed the special envoy’s assessment, to not travel to the Saint Martial Sword Sect immediately.

A small number of powerful individuals wouldn’t travel with the special envoy, choosing to head to the Sword Sect on their own instead.

This was nothing new for the Saint Martial Sword Sect.

Si Xiaosheng smiled wryly and shrugged. "I was just wondering what kind of waves he’ll make when he finally gets to the Sword Sect."

"Well..."

Yulan Tianpeng paused, his gaze shifting to Jiang Chen. After a moment, he murmured to himself, "You’re right. A genius like him, one who’s destined to be extraordinary... his arrival will probably cause a huge sensation in the Sword Sect."

「In the canyon.」

Jiang Chen walked over to Qian Luohao first. He pinned him to the ground with a foot, rested the Cyan Blade Sword—pulsing with a deadly aura—against his neck, and said indifferently, "Patriarch Qian, if I recall, you were just saying you wanted to cripple my cultivation, cut off my limbs, and take my head back as an offering for Qian Jun. Is that right?"

The icy touch on his neck sent a violent shiver through Qian Luohao.

He glared at Jiang Chen, swallowed hard, and spat through gritted teeth, "That’s right, I did say that... I just regret my carelessness. I never expected to lose to a little bastard like you."

"Heh. Still trying to act tough, even now..."

Jiang Chen smiled faintly, his expression serene, but the foot he brought down showed no mercy.

CRACK!

With one stomp, he crushed Qian Luohao’s right shoulder.

"AHH! You little bastard, how dare you do this to me?" Qian Luohao’s face went white, and he let out a miserable scream.

CRACK!

With another stomp, he shattered his left shoulder.

"You little bastard, you—"

Qian Luohao’s features twisted into a ferocious snarl as he let out an enraged roar. But his roar was cut short as Jiang Chen delivered two more stomps in quick succession, brutally snapping both of his legs.

There was no mercy in those four stomps.

The bones in his limbs were utterly pulverized, shattered beyond any hope of healing. Qian Luohao was now a cripple, twitching on the ground. His eyes, fixed on Jiang Chen, were filled with terror and dread. "N-no... don’t come any closer... Jiang... Jiang Chen... Uncle Jiang... I beg you, please spare me! I was wrong! Qian Jun and the others deserved to die for trying to kill you! Please, stop hitting me..."

"So now you’re begging for mercy? A little late for that, don’t you think?"

Jiang Chen shrugged, a look of mock resignation on his face. "Well, since you admit you were wrong, I’ll give you a chance to show your sincerity. Have everyone from the Qian Family hand over everything of value. I know you have two Celestial Demon Orders—hand those over as compensation, and I’ll spare your life. Otherwise... my sword isn’t one for haggling."

The Cyan Blade Sword flashed, leaving a thin gash on Qian Luohao’s neck from which blood began to trickle down the blade.

He trembled in terror, his face ashen. "I’ll give them to you! I’ll give you everything!"

"That’s a good boy."

Jiang Chen chuckled. He took Qian Luohao’s Storage Ring and gave it a quick scan. He removed the sixty-five million taels in silver notes and the two Celestial Demon Orders before tossing everything, including the original ring, into his own Storage Ring from the Saint Martial Sword Sect.

"Are... are you satisfied now? C-Can you let me go?" Qian Luohao asked, forcing the words out through the pain, his forehead beaded with cold sweat. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Jiang Chen shook his head. "I said everyone from the Qian Family."

"You..."

Qian Luohao’s expression darkened, earning him another gash on his neck. Scared out of his wits, he roared at the other Qian Family members, "What are you waiting for? Hand over everything of value! Are you trying to get me killed?"

"We’ll do it! We’ll hand it all over right now!"

"Please, don’t hurt the Patriarch..."

The members of the Qian Family hurriedly handed over all their valuables.

Jiang Chen accepted it all without refusal, sweeping it into his Storage Ring. He then sent Qian Luohao flying with a kick, causing the Qian Family members to scramble in a panic.

His gaze then swept over and landed on Meng Qing. Jiang Chen grinned wickedly. "The Money Commerce Association, supposedly the wealthiest faction in Yulan Mansion. The Qian Family just forked over eighty million. As the president of the Money Commerce Association’s Yulan Mansion branch, your personal fortune must be at least ten times Qian Luohao’s, wouldn’t you say?"

"T-ten times? You could kill me and I still couldn’t cough that up!" Meng Qing’s face was a mask of misery. "The most I can give you is one hundred million!"

Jiang Chen just said, "Oh," and pointed a finger. A sliver of True Essence Sword Qi shot from his fingertip like a sharp, bright streak of light. PHFFT! It pierced through Meng Qing’s right shoulder, causing flesh to explode. His entire right arm was severed and sent flying as blood gushed like a fountain. Meng Qing frantically clutched the wound, his face utterly pale.

Jiang Chen ambled closer, looking down on him like a king regarding a peasant. "One arm is worth a hundred million. Four limbs, four hundred million. Crippling your cultivation is worth three hundred million. So, if you just give me one hundred million, we’re square! I’m being generous, aren’t I?"

"N-No... don’t! I’ll pay! I’ll pay!"

Utterly terrified, Meng Qing hastily fumbled for his Storage Ring and handed it over with a trembling hand. "H-Here! There are five hundred million in silver notes, and-and also some precious treasures. The total value is definitely over eight hundred million!"

"I’ll be the judge of whether it’s worth eight hundred million."

Jiang Chen’s Divine Thought swept into the Storage Ring. Just as Meng Qing had said, inside were five hundred million in silver notes, plus two large chests of treasures worth no less than eight hundred million, and seven Celestial Demon Orders.

Nodding in satisfaction, Jiang Chen turned his gaze to Luoo Ri.

Having seen what happened to the first two, the Luoo Family didn’t hesitate. They handed over all their valuables to Jiang Chen, totaling around one hundred and thirty million!

After looting all three families, he had acquired over seven hundred million in silver notes, plus countless treasures!

The total value exceeded one billion.

Satisfied, Jiang Chen put away his haul and turned to face Zhao Qiankun, who had been watching coldly the entire time. He raised his sword, pointed it at him, and said flatly, "It’s about time we settled the score between us, don’t you think?"

"It is indeed."

Zhao Qiankun nodded, his expression indifferent, but a fervent battle lust erupted from him. "I never thought your strength could improve so much in just a few short days. It’s quite astonishing." His tone sharpened. "Unfortunately for you, you’ve run into me. No matter how strong you become, you are destined to die by my hand!"

"You said the same thing a few days ago. What’s the matter? Has your hand fully healed already?" Jiang Chen grinned, his eyes landing on Zhao Qiankun’s right hand.

Zhao Qiankun’s pupils constricted as rage boiled up inside him.

A few days prior, he had been certain of victory, thinking he could crush Jiang Chen at will. Instead, Jiang Chen had fought back and nearly crippled his right hand!

It was an utter humiliation!

"Congratulations, you’ve succeeded in angering me. Now, I’ll use the cruelest means possible to show you what a fate worse than death truly is," Zhao Qiankun said, his every word dripping with killing intent.

Terrifying fluctuations of True Essence erupted from both men simultaneously. The resulting shockwaves shot toward the heavens, and their soaring battle intent was so palpable it felt as if the very air between them was catching fire, raising the temperature until onlookers broke out in a sweat.

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife; a great battle was about to erupt at any moment.

Just then, two figures descended from the sky. One was the scholarly, middle-aged Yulan Shouqing, dressed in a green robe. The other was Wang Yizhou, clad in crimson battle armor, looking as formidable as a furious vajra warrior. They were the two undisputed top figures in Yulan Mansion. Yulan Shouqing smiled and said, "Gentlemen, the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm is now open, and the Ancient Domain Gate will soon close. Would you be willing to give this Mansion Master some face and allow everyone to enter the realm first?"

Jiang Chen paused. He recognized Yulan Shouqing’s resemblance to Yulan Tianpeng, and a thought occurred to him, but he remained silent.

Zhao Qiankun, however, frowned and said in a low voice, "Master of Yulan Mansion, step aside. It will only take me a few minutes to kill this little mongrel. After that, everyone is free to enter the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm."

"Insolent! Zhao Qiankun, how dare you speak to the Mansion Master like that?" Wang Yizhou’s expression darkened as he barked, "Others may be afraid of you because you’re a Saint Martial Sword Sect disciple, but I, Wang Yizhou, am not. Speak another disrespectful word, and believe me when I say this general will deal with you according to military law!"

The Red Flame Army was the official army of the Saint Martial Dynasty!

Furthermore, Wang Yizhou was a general in charge of a Mansion, a position of great prestige. Combined with the fact that his cultivation was vastly superior to Zhao Qiankun’s, he had no reason to fear him whatsoever.

Zhao Qiankun’s expression flickered. He might not fear Yulan Shouqing, but he didn’t dare take Wang Yizhou lightly.

His gaze shifted, and he shrugged, saying coolly, "Fine. I’ll give you both face. I’ll let this brat live a few more days."

After speaking, he waved his hand and led the Qinghuo Gang and the other experts under his command toward the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm. As he approached the entrance, Zhao Qiankun made a throat-slitting gesture at Jiang Chen and sneered, "Jiang Chen, with these two old codgers protecting you, you get to live a few more days. You’d better pray you don’t run into me inside the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm. Otherwise, it will be your grave! Hahaha..."

Zhao Qiankun led his followers, and with a leap, they all entered the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm and vanished.

Jiang Chen remained standing in mid-air, his eyes narrowed. The Cyan Blade Sword in his hand hummed, and a cold smirk touched his lips. ’The Celestial Demon Ancient Realm... an even more fitting place for *your* grave.’