Destroying House Yan obviously didnât weigh on the four cloaked menâs minds. In their eyes, their superior power over the house justified their deeds.
They werenât fazed at all by Jiang Chenâs demand for an explanation.
The one cloaked in brown smiled slightly. âOf course we have our reasons. If you were in the same boat as House Yan, we wouldâve taken care of you as well. Youâre lucky though. Our master decided to spare you.â
Jiang Chen frowned. The manâs tone made it clear that he was used to being in charge. Even knowing that Jiang Chen was the heir to the Eternal Sacred Land didnât change his attitude. These people must have quite the important background.
However, Jiang Chen was also a proud man. The more forceful the other was, the less cooperative he would be.
His gaze turned frosty as he riposited in a frigid tone, âI donât know who your master is, but weâll determine our own fate. We donât need your fake mercy.â
âOh?â The brown-cloaked manâs voice sharpened. The air went thick and still with tension.
Yan Wanjun and the others felt their hearts race.
âJiang Chen, should we ask for the sacred landâs help?â Yan Qingsang asked quietly.
Jiang Chen didnât answer. He looked over the brown-cloaked man and his companions. âYou may be used to giving out orders, but let me tell you something: Not everyone is going to dance to your tune, and not everyone is easy prey for you.â
âTsk tsk, kid. I heard you contributed to the resolution of the Eternal Sacred Landâs uprising, but as far as we know, it was all due to luck and a few tricks you pulled. Do you think weâre anything like the idiotic rebels in your nation?â
âI donât care who you are. You four arenât entitled to talk to me like youâre better.â Jiang Chen scoffed, his tone casual.
The four cloaked men exchanged a glance and huffed. Theyâd killed many people to get to this point. There was a lot of blood on their hands. They felt nothing after killing everyone in House Yan. In fact, they never felt anything when they took a life. Their minds remained strong and unwavering.
They wouldnât have been civil with Jiang Chen if not for their masterâs order.
So he was the successor of the sacred land. Big deal. They still wouldnât hesitate to kill him. The Eternal Sacred Land was nothing in their eyes. The venerated forefather was the only one who could even pose a threat to them.
And their master wasnât any lesser than the forefather.
It only made sense that they would consider themselves superior and act accordingly. However, they didnât expect Jiang Chen to refuse to cooperate. They now felt the urge to kill the young man.
âOur master told us to spare you, kid, but itâll be unwise of you to abuse that privilege and strut around before us.â The brown-cloaked manâs expression darkened. âIâll have to teach you a lesson even if my master is going to punish me.â
Jiang Chen smiled slightly. âAre you going to come at me together, or one by one?â
âAll of us against the five of you?â the cloaked man sniffed derisively. âYou donât deserve such treatment.â
Blue cloak seemed to remember something at this time. He messaged brown cloak, who nodded and also responded silently.
Jiang Chen didnât know what they were talking about, but he could tell it was something important. He also noticed them glancing over his shoulders a few times during their conversation.
They were subconsciously looking at Huangâer.
He wasnât sure if he was mistaken, but it made him thirst for their blood. Targeting Huangâer was the quickest way to make Jiang Chen their enemy.
If theyâd massacred House Yan for a good reason, Jiang Chen might not fight them to the death. However, Huangâer was the one thing most precious to him. Anyone who dared lay a hand on her must die!
Nonetheless, Jiang Chen could tell they didnât desire Huangâer the way a man would a woman. Unfortunately, there wasnât enough time for him to pursue that thought further.
Brown cloak leveled Jiang Chen with a cold stare.
âThere was a young man from House Yan who was as arrogant as you. I think his name is Yan Zhenhuai. However, he was too weak to back up his arrogance, so heâs now a pile of dust. I hope you wonât let me down and will have something to back up your attitude.
âIâm wonât be a bully. If you can survive five exchanges with me in a duel, Iâll forgive your trespasses today. If you canât, itâll serve a boastful fool like you right to die at my hands.â
Jiang Chen smiled slightly. âIf weâre going to fight, why should we limit ourselves to only a few exchanges?â
âWhat do you mean?â Brown cloak paused. He didnât expect the young man to be dissatisfied with his offer.
âWe should our strength speak for ourselves even if it takes hundreds or thousands of exchanges of blows. Donât you feel embarrassed for boasting before we even start fighting? What if you fail to defeat me after a few hundred moves? Wonât that be the apex of shame?ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Brown cloak burst into laughter. âA few hundred? Kid, if you can survive ten moves from me, Iâll gladly let you have my head!â
Jiang Chen had thoroughly angered the man.
Which was exactly what he was trying to do. Heâd fought demigods before, even before he ascended to sixth level empyrean. Moreover, heâd exchanged blows with the man earlier with his Evil Golden Eye.
Even if he couldnât defeat the demigod cultivator, he was sure heâd be able to protect himself.
The manâs promise to give him his head gave Jiang Chen the upper hand. He asked gravely, âDo you meant that?â
Brown cloak raged. âOf course I did.â
Jiang Chen scoffed. âI donât want you to go back on your words.â
âYou way overestimate yourself, kid. How are you going to make me regret my words?â
âI canât force you to honor your words when it comes down to life or death. I donât want your head. Instead, tell me who you are if I can survive ten attacks from you.â
Jiang Chen changed the terms of the game. The man had three companions. If he was defeated, they werenât going to just let him kill their comrade, especially since brown cloak seemed to be the leader of the group.