With how powerful Jiang Chenâs consciousnesses was now, he could scan the enemy forces with a single glance. Even the most minute change in their expressions didnât escape his attention.He looked up to mentally hone in on the one who insulted him.
Two more golden rays of light streaked through the air and into the manâs eyes.The man cut off in mid-word like his throat had been slit. His body spasmed slightly, and he froze like heâd been hit in an acupoint. His expression was permanently stuck in one of shock.It painted an eerie picture.When the Tritalent crowd recovered from their shock, they realized that the man had been turned into a statue in the span of a breath. His blood seemed to have congealed and it was as if countless pails of molten iron had been poured over him. The new statue seemed to have stood there for thousands of years!
How...
The cultivators nearby moved away from the newly formed statue like the plague, afraid that theyâd be the next to turn.âWhat... what happened to him?â stammered someone closer to him.
âThis is a trick of the demons! That man knows demonic techniques!ââNonsense! That must be a petrifying technique that can turn a person into a stone statue!â
âThatâs no petrifying technique. He wouldâve turned into stone, not a statue looking like itâs made out of copper or gold.â Some of them were observant enough to identify the key issues.
What they were more eager for was to learn how everything had happened. The man from Rejuvenation had done nothing, but suddenly their companion had transformed into a statue. What a terrifying attack!Jiang Chen didnât want to kill needlessly. He simply wanted to knock Tritalent down a peg and deter them. However, that one had been ludicrously arrogant in running off his mouth like that.
There would be no mercy shown to people like him. Heâd serve as a warning to the others.
âIâm waiting for your response, Your Majesty,â continued Jiang Chen solemnly, ignoring the man whoâd been turned into a statue.
The emperor was caught off guard by the bizarrely unpredictable and difficult to avoid attack.
âYour Majesty, that man is very strange. Can he be the help that Imperial Prince Huo recruited?â
âIf heâs the one who killed Gao Kui and his people, we have to be wary of him.â
âHe might really be a master in demonic techniques. I didnât even see him do anything! Your Majesty, just who is this man?â
Jiang Chenâs actions had cast a pall over the Tritalent crowd.
Zhao Situ suddenly broke his silence. âThatâs an eye technique. Havenât you all figured it out? Thatâs a masterful eye technique!â
âEye technique? From someone so young? Who is this man? Since when has there been such a young genius from Rejuvenation?â
âHe canât be from Rejuvenation! Imperial Prince Huo is the second most important person in their isles, yet he defers to the young man. He must be foreign help!â
Zhao Situ paled when realization dawned on him. He turned to the emperor with a tragic look. âYour Majesty, this old official has figured out his identity. He... he...â
Suddenly overcome with uncontrollable fear, his teeth chattered incessantly. Heretofore unfelt terror drained all body heat from him.
âOld Situ, what are you trying to say?â
Zhao Situ took a deep breath to calm himself. âYour Majesty, if you value my opinions at all, give up. Itâs better to surrender. If we give up on fighting Rejuvenation, we may have a chance to live...â
âOld Situ, have you gone senile? Heâs just an immature kid! Why are you so fearful? Weâll just charge in and cut him down!â
There were still some defiant hotheads on Tritalentâs side.
The emperor asked gravely, âOld Situ, who are you referring to? Do you know this young man?â
âThis old official doesnât know him personally, but I can guess at his identity,â Zhao Situ said gravely. âHeâs very likely to be the Eternal Sacred Landâs genius who recently shot to fame - young lord Jiang Chen!â
What?!Young lord Jiang Chen?Even the fiercest amongst them instantly lost their will to fight.
How could that be? Young lord Jiang Chen was the future ruler of the Eternal Sacred Land. Why would someone like him be interested in a conflict between two minor factions?
However, if it wasnât the young lord, was there anyone else his age who could do what heâd done?
The emperor burned with anxiety.
âWe donât know if heâs the young lord, Your Majesty. Even if he is, he hasnât told us his identity. Why not finish what weâve started and kill him? If heâs an imposter, weâll become a laughingstock for being intimidated by his words!â
âYou mustnât, Your Majesty! If we start a fight, weâll essentially be declaring war against young lord Jiang Chen and the Eternal Sacred Land behind him! Tritalent is only so big. If the young lord is hurt or killed, we wonât be able to take the sacred landâs ire.â
âHmph, you sure are confident. Do you really think youâll be able to hurt him? With what?â
A hot debate broke out.
Jiang Chen crossed his arms idly. He was in no hurry. If he really was here to kill, heâd have made a move already instead of wasting his breath. In fact, he wouldnât have killed anyone at all if that man hadnât insulted him.
Tritalentâs forces were composed of desperados who lived on the edge. In the end, the majority decided to pretend not to know Jiang Chenâs identity as long as it wasnât explicitly revealed. They would stop at nothing to obtain the wealth of stones from the islands!
âYour Majesty, we are willing to take matters into our own hands and test him.â
âYour Majesty, theyâre in our territory. Even if we kill them, itâs simply an act of self-defense. No one can fault us for that.â