Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

”Hm?”

The moment he spoke, the clamorous crowd fell silent.

The smug and arrogant expressions on the faces of the dozen or so Jiuhua Celestial Sect disciples instantly froze.

In their place was a mixture of shame, annoyance, and rage.

Pairs of icy eyes turned toward the source of the voice.

The crowd automatically parted.

No one wanted to be targeted by the experts of the Jiuhua Celestial Sect. Only Jiang Chen, dressed in black, walked out slowly with his hands clasped behind his back.

”You bastard!”

”Who are you? How dare you meddle in the affairs of my Jiuhua Celestial Sect? Are you tired of living?”

Several of the Jiuhua Celestial Sect experts berated him angrily.

Jian Yulou sat atop a tall horse, a golden longsword on his back and his arms crossed over his chest. His indifferent expression turned grim, and he squinted at Jiang Chen. His eyes seemed to flicker with cold starlight, his gaze filled with a chilling killing intent.

In response to the shouts from the Jiuhua Celestial Sect disciples, Jiang Chen merely lifted his eyelids and glanced at them.

He looked at them as if they were thin air, completely unfazed.

He walked straight to Xiaobao’s side and scooped the terrified child into his arms. A gentle light emanated from his palm and flowed into Xiaobao’s body.

Xiaobao’s trembling body gradually calmed down.

”Go to sleep. You’ll forget everything when you wake up. This is just a bad dream! Don’t be afraid.” Jiang Chen’s gentle voice whispered in Xiaobao’s ear. The boy’s eyelids fluttered and slowly closed. A moment later, the sound of faint breathing could be heard.

Xiaobao’s father limped over as well.

He had an anxious expression on his face. He looked at Jiang Chen, wringing his hands, unsure of what to do.

Jiang Chen smiled faintly and handed Xiaobao to him. ”Take your child and leave this place.”

”B-But...”

The middle-aged man held Xiaobao, his face filled with lingering fear. He glanced worriedly at the Jiuhua Celestial Sect disciples, then back at Jiang Chen, wanting to speak but hesitating.

In the Celestial Fate Dynasty,

the Jiuhua Celestial Sect was the undisputed Overlord.

Every single one of their disciples wielded immense power. Who would dare to offend them?

Jiang Chen waved his hand and smiled. ”Don’t worry, they can’t do anything to me. You should go now. Take Xiaobao and get as far away as you can. Don’t come back to the Imperial Capital again.”

”Thank you, benefactor! Thank you so much...”

The middle-aged man kowtowed in gratitude.

He clutched Xiaobao and fled in a panic.

The crowd parted for them. Once the father and son were swallowed by the throng, the people in the crowd began to move about randomly.

They were trying to conceal the tracks of Xiaobao and his father.

”Where do you think you’re going?!”

A Heavenly Destiny Realm expert from the Jiuhua Celestial Sect’s face darkened. He shot into the air, about to pursue the father and son.

Jiang Chen glanced at him and said coolly, ”Down.”

He hadn’t even lifted a finger, having only spoken that single word.

The Heavenly Destiny Realm disciple from the Jiuhua Celestial Sect shuddered, a look of horror on his face as his body fell uncontrollably from the sky. He landed directly on the back of a Profound Blood Warhorse, unable to move. He stared at Jiang Chen in terror. Jiang Chen smiled faintly and said, ”Stay put on that horse. If you dare move again, I don’t mind making you die right here.”

”You...”

The expressions of the other Jiuhua Celestial Sect disciples all changed.

But Jiang Chen’s earlier, unfathomably bizarre technique had filled them with dread, and they all turned to look at Jian Yulou.

Jian Yulou’s expression was also ugly. His cold gaze locked onto Jiang Chen as he said, word by word, ”Just who are you? Have you thought this through? Can you truly bear the consequences of offending the Jiuhua Celestial Sect?”

”Consequences? I’m quite curious. What consequences could there be for offending your Jiuhua Celestial Sect?” Jiang Chen said, his eyes narrowed into a smile.

”Fine.”

Jian Yulou shook his head. He looked at the disciple at the Heavenly Destiny Realm Ninth Stage and said, ”Lai Chunhua, you go test this kid!”

”Yes, Senior Brother Jian!”

Lai Chunhua grinned, leaping high off the Profound Blood Warhorse. A sharp Sword Aura cut through the air. ”Celestial Snow Sword Technique—Hundred-Mile Flying Snow!”

SWOOSH!

The sword light was like snow, drifting down.

Streams of bone-chilling white sword light flew toward Jiang Chen like a blizzard, threatening to shred him to pieces.

”Senior Brother Lai’s Celestial Snow Swordsmanship is getting more and more profound!”

”This Hundred-Mile Flying Snow is already approaching Perfection! It’s enough to match an ordinary Union Palace Realm First Stage expert. That meddling kid is toast!”

The group of Jiuhua Celestial Sect disciples laughed.

They were utterly confident, relaxed, and at ease.

In contrast to the relaxed attitude of the disciples, Jian Yulou’s face was grim. He suddenly let out a low growl, ”All of you, shut up!”

”Huh?”

”Senior Brother Jian, why do you look so terrible?”

The experts’ expressions all changed, and they looked at him in confusion.

Jian Yulou snorted coldly. ”Look closely. Lai Chunhua has already lost!”

”Ah?”

”That’s impossible, right?”

The group was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Lai Chunhua and Jiang Chen.

Amidst the drifting, snow-like Sword Qi, they saw Jiang Chen’s figure blur slightly as he dodged all the attacks and appeared right in front of Lai Chunhua.

He threw a simple, clean slap.

SLAP—

The slap landed squarely on Lai Chunhua’s face.

”WAAAH...”

Lai Chunhua screamed as he was sent flying backward. He spun thirty-six times in the air before crashing heavily to the ground, where he convulsed, his fate unknown.

”HISS!”

The Jiuhua Celestial Sect disciples, who had just been full of confidence and pride, were now completely horrified.

Lai Chunhua was a dignified master of the Heavenly Destiny Realm Ninth Stage!

Among all the Outer Disciples of the Jiuhua Celestial Sect, he was considered one of the best. And yet, he was sent flying by a single slap from Jiang Chen. It was simply unbelievable!

Even Jian Yulou narrowed his eyes, his gaze toward Jiang Chen now filled with gravity.

The longsword on his back vibrated slightly. Jian Yulou said in a low voice, ”No wonder you dared to interfere in the business of my Jiuhua Celestial Sect. It seems you truly have some skill. I am Jian Yulou, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Jiuhua Celestial Sect. May I ask your name?”

”You are not yet worthy of knowing my name,” Jiang Chen said flatly.

From start to finish, he hadn’t even deigned to look Jian Yulou in the eye.

Jian Yulou shuddered. The Profound Blood Warhorse beneath him buckled at the knees, nearly collapsing. Jian Yulou let out a series of cold, grating laughs. ”Good, very good. Even the top experts of my Inner Sect have never said such words to me. Not worthy? I’d like to see for myself just how much strength you have to back up such arrogance!”

SWISH—

As his words fell, the golden longsword on Jian Yulou’s back shot out of its scabbard.

Jian Yulou formed a hand seal for a Sword Technique and barked, ”Sword Control Technique—Breaking Army!”

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Amidst a series of crisp metallic clashes, the golden sword split into three, then nine. The nine blades trailed golden sword rainbows as they slashed toward Jiang Chen.

’Sword Control Technique? As expected of a Jiuhua Celestial Sect disciple, to possess such Swordsmanship. A pity it’s all flash and no substance.’ Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes. With his Eyes of the Heavens, he could perceive the true essence of all things, seeing right through the feints of this Sword Control Technique.

His palm shot out into the empty air.

A mass of dark-gold True Essence Light Wave coalesced in his palm. He clenched his fingers into a fist, creating a BOOM BOOM sound of roaring True Essence.

”Azure Dragon Emerges from the Sea!”

As he punched, a dragon roared. The dark-gold fist shadow transformed into a long river that whistled through the air.

BANG...

The punch was incomparably sharp. It smashed the nine golden Sword Auras away and, with the force of splitting bamboo, crashed into Jian Yulou.

Jian Yulou grunted, his body shuddered violently, and he was forced back dozens of steps.

His face was a storm of changing emotions as he looked at Jiang Chen. He snorted coldly and said, ”Fine. Your strength is indeed great, to be able to fight me on even ground. I, Jian Yulou, respect you as a powerful expert. I will not pursue today’s matter any further.” He glanced at the remaining Jiuhua Celestial Sect disciples and said with a grim face, ”Let’s go!”

SWISH—

Jian Yulou was the first to mount his horse and gallop away.

The other Jiuhua Celestial Sect disciples scrambled to follow.

”Holy shit, that guy is amazing! He could actually fight Jian Yulou to a standstill?”

”That’s truly incredible!”

Sounds of praise and shock rose from the crowd.

’A standstill?’

A corner of Jiang Chen’s mouth lifted. He watched Jian Yulou’s departing figure with a cryptic smile. ’I hope you’re not foolish enough to hold it in for too long. If you damage your foundation, you can’t blame me for it!’

「Several kilometers away from Jiang Chen.」

Jian Yulou, who was spurring his horse onward, wore a grim expression. He glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye, and seeing that no one was around, he immediately opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

It turned out that their earlier exchange hadn’t been a draw at all!

Instead, Jiang Chen had completely crushed Jian Yulou!

He was already severely injured.

He had only been holding it in to save face, and only now did he spit out the stagnant blood.

He quickly swallowed a few Healing Elixirs. His face became much paler, and his eyes glinted with a sinister, venomous hatred. ”If I, Jian Yulou, do not avenge this, I swear I am not human!”