Chapter 105: Without Equal in the World
“Hahahahaha….” That Xu Zhen was extremely proud of himself as he threw back his head and voiced a long shout. This call formed a strange undercurrent of strength as ripples of a strange power continuously spread out. Within a hundred meters of his being, those Greenwing Swordbirds who hadn’t had time to escape kept crying out in agony as they fell one by one from the sky.
“Oscillations of spirit qi, this is a spirit dao practitioner!” Above the Second Crossing, Princess Gouyu’s expression also suddenly changed drastically. She called out to a Goldwing Swordbird and leapt on its back, immediately rushing over to Jiang Chen’s side.
Even Jiang Feng, who was always valiant and fearless of nothing, paled when he heard the words “spirit dao practitioner”. He also summoned a Goldwing Swordbird and dived down the pass.
One had to know that Jiang Feng had a tremendous amount of self pride such that not even Long Zhaofeng, the first duke, could cow him into submission. But when he heard the words spirit dao practitioner, he too greatly lost his composure.
In such a common kingdom, a spirit dao practitioner was the existence of legends.
Even without Princess Gouyu’s reminder, at this moment, Jiang Chen had already made the judgement that these two people were spirit dao practitioners from the Purple Sun Sect.
This Xu Zhen was obviously playing up his strength. The imposing presence of his spirit dao aura increased with each step he took, making the Swordbird army on all sides scatter in disarray and continuously retreat.
Although Jiang Chen was two to three hundred meters away from this person, with every step that Xu Zhen took, the latter was using his spirit dao to suppress Jiang Chen, whether by accident or by design.
This unformed pressure was not like that of the glint and flash of cold steel, and was more frightening than any flashes and shadows of the swords could ever be.
Jiang Chen could clearly feel that by his side, his father’s breathing had started becoming uneven, and even his own upper and lower teeth couldn’t help but chatter together.
Princess Gouyu wasn’t that much better off. Although her self-control was slightly stronger, the sight of her slender shoulders slightly trembling betrayed her current difficult situation.
It was rather Jiang Chen, with only ten meridians true qi, who could just so happen to bear up beneath the onslaught thanks to the aid of “Boulder’s Heart” operating at its maximum.
However, Jiang Chen knew very well that if this continued any longer, his father and Princess Gouyu would likely collapse on the spot if this fellow took another few steps forward.
He immediately whistled loudly and longly, his voice thundering out, “Evil spirit, what are you playing at?”
This roar encompassed a divine ability to dispel internal demons. One roar was enough to help his father and Princess Gouyu walk out from under the influence of those internal demons.
This power also washed away Xu Zhen’s momentum. Although it wasn’t an equal match of strength, it was still able to offset a great portion of it.
“Eh?” The turquoise robed male, Yu Jie, displayed a slightly surprised look. His brow furrowed afterwards, “Xu Zhen, hurry and go about your business if you’re going to do anything.”
“Understood.” Xu Zhen smiled gruesomely. “Kid, you can actually compel these Swordbirds to fight. That’s a bit strange. Who’s your patron? Let’s hear his name!”
Jiang Chen’s eyebrows rose slightly but he looked at Xu Zhen with a cold smile, ignoring him.
“Kid, master Xu’s patience is limited. I’ll ask you again, who’s your patron?”
If it was any ordinary practitioner, Xu Zhen absolutely would not ask a single word and would have taken action immediately. He’d display great abilities and kill the other person to curry favor with Long Juxue.
Except, Xu Zhen was both curious and a bit greedy about Jiang Chen’s wondrous methods in controlling the Swordbirds. He was also slightly worried that if the other also had an impressive background, he’d take great delight in brashly killing the other now, but have would suffer the repercussions in the future.
“Why should I tell you who my patron is?” Jiang Chen said faintly.
“Jiang Chen, don’t you dare be arrogant. These two are genius disciples of the Purple Sun Sect, and you dare talk back at them with your status as a mere common practitioner. You’re courting death!” Hatred was written all over Long Juxue’s face as she said to Xu Zhen, “Senior brother Xu, this Jiang Chen is only the son of a duke and likely stumbled upon this method to compel the Swordbirds during the trials in the Boundless Catacombs. My Soaring Dragon manor has made a full inquiry into all the generations of the Jiang family and know that he has no patron.”
Long Juxue couldn’t kill Jiang Chen with her current strength, so she wanted to borrow the strength of her two senior brothers in order to kill Jiang Chen.
Her eyes became red and teary at the same time as she looked at Yu Jie by her side, “Senior brother Yu, this Jiang Chen has killed both my father and my elder brother, as well as many members of my Long family. If he is not eliminated, then he will surely become your little sister’s internal demon. Your little sister is a weak girl with no father or brothers, and she is left forlorn without a protector. I ask senior brother to make a judgment for your little sister.”
Long Juxue possessed high acting skills and tears flowed downwards as she spoke, a veritable weeping beauty. Yu Jie couldn’t help but want to put his arms around her and comfort her with soft words.
“Junior sister, be at peace. Within the territory of these sixteen kingdoms, no matter who his patron is, there are none that our Purple Sun Sect can’t afford to offend. This kid has killed your father and brother. This is the equivalent of killing someone from the Purple Sun Sect. Your foolish brother will make a judgment on your behalf today.” Yu Jie couldn’t hold up against the tears of a beauty and patted his chest as he promised.
After he spoke, Yu Jie took one step forward as his body seemed to waver in and out of existence. He appeared to arrive in front of Xu Zhen with this single step.
“Junior brother Xu, you are dismissed. I’m taking over now.” Yu Jie’s tone was coldly arrogant. Although they were both disciples of the Purple Sun Sect, Yu Jie had an obvious feeling of superiority in front of Xu Zhen.
Although Xu Zhen was a bit surprised, he knew how to behave and backed down, offering up some fawning words as he did so. “Using an ox cleaver to kill a chicken? Since senior brother Yu wishes to personally torture this kid, it’s this kid’s fortune of lifetimes past to die at the hands of senior brother Yu.”
Yu Jie’s face was expressionless as he didn’t have much of a reaction to Xu Zhen’s bootlicking.
His cold eyes swept the scene, shooting out frosty looks as he looked upon Jiang Chen standing a few hundred meters away. “You’re called Jiang Chen? I’ll give you two choices right now. The first is to tell me the secret to compelling the Swordbirds, and I’ll give you a swift and clean death. The second is that you take this secret with you to the grave. I’ll slowly torture you to death first, and then kill your father, then rape and kill the woman beside you, before finally going to your family clan and killing everyone within it.”
Yu Jie’s tone wasn’t opening this up for discussion, it was an order.
The disciples beneath one of the nine great elders of the Purple Sun Sect were close to the existence of a god in an ordinary kingdom, whether in terms of status or strength. This was what gave him the right to take a commanding position and speak in such lofty terms.
In other words, although Jiang Chen had the ability to compel the Swordbirds, this only made him a slightly odd common practitioner in Yu Jie’s eyes.
Common practitioners were common practitioners after all. To those sect disciples high on top, accustomed to looking down upon living creatures, common practitioners were like ants.
“Jiang Chen, my senior brother takes pleasure in the welfare of living things and has given you a chance to choose. If you know how to behave, then hurry up and hand over the secrets to compelling the Swordbirds. Otherwise, your entire Jiang family clan will be hard pressed to escape death.” Xu Zhen called out from the sidelines.
“Takes pleasure in the welfare of living things?” Jiang Chen looked coldly at these two Purple Sun Sect disciples. “I’m rather curious, why is it that every so-called sect disciple must be as hypocritical as you two, and imitate you in having their noses to the sky? Choose? Who do you think you are? Why must I choose?”
“Oh? You don’t choose?” Yu Jie laughed in his extreme anger. “Do you think that with your status as a common practitioner, you can still daydream about a counter attack on us geniuses of the Purple Sun Sect?”
Xu Zhen also laughed in contempt, “What wild fantasies.”
“Genius?” Jiang Chen also laughed. In this world, who dared to call himself a genius in front of him? Which genius would have a better understanding of the heavens than him, Jiang Chen?”
“The power of a sect lies in enjoying all resources under the heavens and the adoration of the common people. It should uphold the peace beneath the heavens and bring benefits to the common people. Look at all your faces. Hypocritical, greedy, arrogant, domineering… I’d like to ask, what part of your entire body is worthy of the label of a sect disciple?”
Jiang Chen’s tone was awe-inspiring as he spoke gravely, “If these so-called geniuses, so-called sect disciples are all people like you, then allow me to topple all of you off your pedestals and firmly stomp on every single one of you. If even people of your quality are called geniuses, then that is the ultimate insult to the heavens.”
Jiang Chen was thoroughly enraged.
In his previous life, he was the exalted son of the Celestial Emperor and had seen countless premier geniuses. Each of these geniuses had a unique personality to varying degrees.
But here, there were no redeeming factors to be found on the two sect disciples standing in front of him, and they dared call themselves geniuses!
And to dare tell him to make a choice with a tone like that of a judge, this undoubtedly enraged the self-esteem hidden deep within Jiang Chen’s heart.
This self esteem stemmed from the heritage of a former son of the Celestial Emperor.
Jiang Chen’s arm had already slowly lifted up when he finished speaking, the arrowhead locking onto Yu Jie and suddenly shooting out.
“This, is my choice.”
Jiang Chen gave a long whistle, and it was as if all the Goldwing Swordbirds, having remained alert and battle-ready, were of one mind. They flew fearlessly in front of Jiang Chen, circling endlessly as they formed a thick wall of Swordbirds.
“Jiang Chen, you’re seeking death!” Yu Jie didn’t move as he watched that arrow moving like a shooting star. A beam of light materialized and flickered between his eyes.
Suddenly, Yu Jie’s raised his arm and a beam of cold light formed a shadowy palm, grasping towards that arrow.
A crisp breaking sound rang out. The arrow had turned into dust and scattered downwards.
A random blow from a spirit dao practitioner was more than enough to crush this tried and true metal arrow into dust.
“Jiang Chen, you must die today. No one in the heavens or on the earth will be able to help you.”
Yu Jie’s footsteps moved again as he seemed to become a beam of wavering green runes. Truth and illusion, falsehoods and reality. He seemed to sway like the willow boughs and fly wildly like the river reeds.
There were countless shadows in the air when suddenly, a turquoise blur flashed across Jiang Chen’s eyes. The next moment, Yu Jie seemed to shatter the laws of space as he suddenly appeared within ten meters of Jiang Chen.
“I only need one finger to kill you.” Yu Jie’s voice was remote as the fingertip of his right hand pointed. Frosty light shot out, as if a cold star had shattered in the heavens and flared out with breaktaking splendor.
Imposing icy air was like a life-reaping rune from hell as it firmly locked onto Jiang Chen’s forehead.
Jiang Chen only felt that his breathing was exceedingly harried as a Goldwing Swordbird dashed in from behind, colliding headfirst with this fingertip of light.
Frigid light exploded outwards as the frightening spirit power connected with the Goldwing Swordbird. The Goldwing Swordbird, which knives and swords couldn’t even penetrate, immediately exploded beneath the attack of this fingertip and exploded into a mist of blood, scattering across the air.
The Goldwing Swordbird had been fierce and unafraid of death, dying on Jiang Chen’s behalf.
At this moment, all the Goldwing Swordbirds emitted desolate bird cries and resolutely encircled Jiang Chen. One layer upon another, surrounding him such that even water wouldn’t leak through.
The Silverwing Swordbirds also moved beneath the emotional cry of their wails. The tens of thousands of Silverwing Swordbirds also flew over and clumped together like a pile of sandbags.
In the next moment, the most numerous Greenwing Swordbirds also moved like the tidewaters surging towards the same direction.
This scene utterly flabbergasted those who had stayed behind in the Second Crossing to watch the battle.
This scene would be sure to leave behind an unforgettable memory for the rest of their lives.
“Damned feathered animals, die!”
Yu Jie’s sleeves flourished as strong spirit power attacks swept away all the Swordbirds that had surged to his side, like a strong wind forming a tornado.
Layer upon layers of such a protective perimeter could only serve to somewhat slow his forward movement.
