Long Baxiang's intentions were utterly damnable.
By humiliating the Peerless Emperor this way, he was doing two things at once. First, he wanted to strike a blow against Peacock Sacred Mountain. Second, he aimed to stir up hostile feelings among the rogue cultivators.
His words were laden with innuendo and provocation — look, a heavyweight of the rogue cultivator world has become a lapdog for Young Lord Zhen of Peacock Sacred Mountain. What a disgrace to your kind! And here you fools are, still championing this Young Lord Zhen. He's duped you all!
It had to be said — Long Baxiang's words were quite provocative.
The Peerless Emperor's expression darkened, though he was by nature a man who could keep his composure. Moreover, he understood Long Baxiang's intentions: if he lost his temper now, it would surely ruin the Young Lord's plans.
Jiang Chen, however, furrowed his brow, stepped forward ahead of the Peerless Emperor, and fixed Long Baxiang with a cold gaze. "Long — this is the third time you've crossed paths with our Peacock Sacred Mountain. The first two times you ran amok, I respected you as a guest and tolerated your behavior. But this time, you've gone even further, slandering our Peacock Sacred Mountain's Honorary Supreme Elder. How can I possibly tolerate you?"
"Jiao Yun, Jiao Feng — go. Expel this Long fellow from the premises. If he fails to leave Glazed Royal City's borders within the allotted time, kill him without hesitation!"
Jiang Chen swept his gaze across the crowd. "I, as Young Lord, have always lived by a simple principle: treat me with an inch of respect, and I'll return a foot. Those who offend Peacock Sacred Mountain — no matter how far, they shall be punished! Long — consider yourself warned!"
The first two times Long Baxiang had caused trouble, Jiang Chen had never turned on him openly. This had given Long Baxiang the illusion that the new Young Lord lacked the nerve — that he was still finding his footing and wouldn't dare to cross swords with him. Add to that the Heavenly Dragon Sect's longstanding habit of doing as they pleased, and Long Baxiang had simply assumed he was untouchable.
He never expected that he had badly miscalculated Peacock Sacred Mountain's backbone. The Young Lord had turned on him without warning. The sudden shift caught Long Baxiang completely off guard.
"Young Lord Zhen — you dare expel me?" A vicious gleam flickered in Long Baxiang's eyes.
Jiang Chen glanced casually at the Peerless Emperor. "Brother Mo, you, along with Jiao Yun and Jiao Feng, stand ready. If this Long fellow truly doesn't know what's good for him — don't hesitate. At any cost, take his head."
Jiang Chen wasted no breath on Long Baxiang. Decisive and ruthless, he issued his order on the spot.
The Jiao Brothers of Huai Mountain were no saints to begin with. With Peacock Sacred Mountain backing them, they felt no hesitation whatsoever. With savage grins, they charged toward Long Baxiang. "Long — are your ears deaf, or what? Do you want us brothers to get our hands dirty? Or will you use that tiny bit of sense you have and get lost on your own?"
Long Baxiang took in the ferocious Jiao Brothers, then looked over at the Peerless Emperor, whose expression promised nothing good. His own strength was considerable, but facing three emperors at once — and on their home turf — even he didn't dare to be reckless.
He swept a cold look across the room. "With so many first-rank sects represented here, is there not a single person willing to speak up? Has everyone been cowed by this Zhen fellow's intimidation? If you're all such cowards, is the entire human territory going to become this one man's dictatorship from now on?"
Long Baxiang was still trying to incite the crowd's emotions.
But no one stood up to speak for him. For one thing, nobody wanted to offend Jiang Chen over this. After all, when it came to who was in the right, it clearly wasn't the Young Lord who was at fault — Long Baxiang was the one with the foul mouth. If you wanted to pick a fight with Young Lord Zhen, fine, but why drag the Peerless Emperor into it as well? Offending the Peerless Emperor meant offending the Jiao Brothers, which meant offending every rogue cultivator emperor in the room.
For another, Long Baxiang himself was no kind soul. He was a bully by nature — the previous day at the auction, he had even turned on Grandmaster Dongye and threatened the man.
Someone like that, even when things went badly for him, wasn't going to earn much sympathy.
The representatives of the first-rank sects reacted in various ways: some sneered, some wore expressions of indifference, and some simply ignored the whole affair. Not a single person spoke up.
Long Baxiang's weathered face flushed a deep red, burning with humiliation. He wished he could find a crack in the floor to crawl into. An unprecedented sense of shame surged through him.
"Forget it, forget it — when has the Heavenly Dragon Sect ever begged anyone? Zhen — this is your territory, so enjoy your moment of arrogance. I refuse to believe that in the Upper Eight Territories, a wet-behind-the-ears brat like you can truly cover the sky with one hand! The humiliation I've suffered today — I will repay tenfold in the future!"
With a few curt threats, Long Baxiang left the gathering with a black face, slinking away in disgrace.
"Jiao Yun, Jiao Feng — keep an eye on him. Don't take your eyes off him until he's completely left Glazed Royal City's borders. If he delays, don't be polite." Jiang Chen ordered.
"At once!" The Jiao Brothers acknowledged the command.
Jiang Chen had acted with lightning decisiveness. In one fell swoop, he had stunned everyone present.
Watching the once-arrogant Long Baxiang skulk away in such a wretched state before Young Lord Zhen, the onlookers found themselves overcome with an indescribable feeling toward this unfathomably deep young man — part wariness, part admiration…