Elder Ge focused his mind and readied himself for a killing strike. Enraged, he wasn’t going to easily let Jiang Chen off the hook. Although he wouldn’t necessarily deploy the most powerful attack he was capable of, he did intend to make it hurt.
“Have you made up your mind yet, Elder Zhen? These fists spare no one.” Elder Ge’s response sounded like both a warning and a threat.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. “Make your move.”
He readied his tempered body. Now at its peak after ascending to ninth level divine realm, it was strong enough to withstand a punch from a ninth level god, let alone a seventh level like Elder Ge.
Jiang Chen’s nonchalance stoked the fires of Elder Ge’s heart.
With grit teeth, the elder charged at Jiang Chen in a flash of light, focusing his might into a faint shadow overshadowing his fist that lunged forward like a hungry tiger.
Han Shuang’s slender eyebrows drew together. It displeased her that Elder Ge had pulled such a powerful move in a friendly match.
Jiang Chen, however, remained unfazed. He didn’t even blink as Elder Ge’s fist slammed toward him.
Irked by the young man’s lack of reaction, the elder put even more power into his punch.
Suddenly, Jiang Chen lifted his arm and drew a circle in the air with his finger. A golden line spiraled outwards.
Bam!
The punch landed on the spiral and dissipated like it’d been devoured by an unknown force. The seemingly impressive attack ended in a faint whimper, offset in an instant.
Jiang Chen put down his finger.
He hadn’t taken a step. Even his upper body had remained still throughout. All he’d done was made a circle with his finger.
Elder Ge stood rooted to the spot, his eyes filled with confusion. How had his attack been intercepted? He felt like he’d hit a ball of wool, and then… nothing.
Jiang Huan cackled. “Such restraint you’ve shown, Elder Ge. Holding back, are you?”
The elder flushed red. He hadn’t held back at all. In fact, he’d even infused more power at the last moment. Anyone with eyes could see that.
Still, he’d failed to even touch Jiang Chen. The young man had simply moved a finger and poof, gone was his attack. How powerful must the young man be?
Frustrated and furious, Elder Ge planted his feet with his face red. There was nothing he could do to recover from the humiliation.
The shorter elder was skeptical. His colleague must have held back, but there was no reason to.
If he hadn’t pulled his punches, however, what happened didn’t make any sense. Could the young man truly be powerful enough to counter the elder’s attack with only a single finger? That couldn’t be!
If the young man was so powerful, why would he come to the Fiendstar Sect? There were much bigger sects that would happily take him in.
Was he interested in Han Shuang? That made even less sense. Mistress Han was a beautiful woman, but she was a widow whose fiance had died before they’d gotten married, which was an ill omen. It might not be her who had caused her fiance’s death, but it was a stain on her record.
Nothing made any sense about this match.
“Elder Ge, you made your move. What do you think?” Han Shuang was much more confident now that Jiang Chen had taken Elder Ge’s hit with ease.
Weren’t you doubting me? Didn’t you think I was careless to bring in two new elders? Well now, the joke’s on you!
Elder Ge was shamefaced and wanted to hide.
“Fine, I’m not good enough to test his true power. It’s clear from the ease with which Elder Zhen countered my attack that he’s good.” He did his best to stay neutral and speak from the heart.
It was cathartic for Han Shuang to see Elder Ge admit his mistakes. What a win! She’d taken the right step.
“What about you, Elder Xu?” Han Shuang turned to the shorter elder.
Elder Xu chuckled. “Old Ge made only one attack. I’ll do the same. However, may I pick the older Elder Zhen as my opponent?”
Jiang Huan pulled a long face in response. “Me? I have to warn you that I’m not as good-tempered as my nephew.”
Elder Xu grinned. “This is but a friendly match between peers. Please don’t get too riled up, Elder Zhen.”
Jiang Huan threw his half-eaten fruit away and mumbled, “I’ll show you what I’ve got. We were picked by Sect Head Han. I can’t have you thinking that we’re some useless scum.”
He suddenly flashed to the center of the area, seemingly without moving a muscle. His agility was stunning. It was clear that he wasn’t just here to fill a seat.
Elder Xu tensed slightly. “Same rules?”
Jiang Huan shook his head. “I’m not one to stand and take a hit. How about this: I’ll move one finger. If you can take that and stay within a hundred meters, you win. Deal?”
“A hundred meters?” Elder Xu looked around. “Just one finger?”
“That’s right,” Jiang Huan responded nonchalantly.
Elder Xu grit his teeth. The conditions were heavily in his favor. It would be beyond humiliating for him to not accept the offer.
“Alright. As you wish. I’m curious how you’re going to knock me a hundred meters away with only one finger.”
Given the conditions, Elder Xu believed he’d be able to dodge. What was one single finger going to do to him?
Even if his opponent was a seventh level god, the gap between their strength couldn’t be that large. He would be fine.
“Come on then!” Elder Xu beckoned with newfound confidence. He steadied his footing and readied his stance.
Jiang Huan raised his arm with a chuckle, leaving countless, ever shifting shadows in the air like the Thousand-Armed Buddha.
The next moment, a beam of scarlet light shot out from his finger. “Crimson Charge!”
The bright light shot through the air like an arrow and brought forth a torrent powerful enough to topple a mountain, hitting Elder Xu with impressive might.
Before Elder Xu could do anything, the point evolved into terrifying attacks covering all directions in the blink of an eye, leaving no room for him to move out of the way. Caught up in the torrent, he barrelled out several hundred meters away until his advance was halted by a wall.
