The group of people couldn't reach a consensus, and in the end, all eyes converged on the tall young man with the high-bridged nose.
He was clearly the leader.
"Senior Brother Kuang, what do you think? Should we take them down? These people are so arrogant."
"Senior Brother Kuang, in my humble opinion, those two swindlers have already fled quite far. In this cloud-and-mist landscape, they'll be nearly impossible to find."
"Exactly. This lot is flying across our turf as bold as you please, and the aura of their mounts will cover up the swindlers' scent. Where are we supposed to search?"
"Right! To be honest, if we fail to catch those two swindlers, these bastards are partly to blame. If they hadn't passed through here and masked the swindlers' trail, our search wouldn't be nearly so difficult!"
One by one, the group transferred all their resentment onto Jiang Chen's party, laying the full blame for their failed pursuit squarely on Jiang Chen's shoulders.
The tall Senior Brother Kuang let out an amused smile, his eyes sweeping over Jiang Chen's group with unmistakable hostility, like a butcher sizing up lambs waiting for the slaughter.
"You lot — who exactly are you? I'll give you one last chance. If you don't answer nicely, don't blame us from the Qianlan Northern Palace for not being polite." Senior Brother Kuang finally spoke.
In truth, he had wanted to strike long ago. But if he was going to do it, he needed at least a passable excuse.
Jiang Chen glanced at Senior Brother Kuang with cool indifference, let out a cold laugh, and waved his hand dismissively without another word: "Let's go."
"Think you can just leave?" Kuang was furious at being ignored. "On Qianlan Northern Palace territory, and you think you can leave without explaining who you are?"
Jiang Chen's figure halted abruptly, and a piercing gaze shot toward Kuang: "And who do you think you are? Are you the Dragon Tooth Guard? Some imperial expert? What right do you have to interrogate me?"
"Oh ho, kid, you've got quite the temper?"
"Senior Brother Kuang, stop wasting breath on this brat. Just take him down first. On our Qianlan Northern Palace turf, we've never had anyone this brazen!"
"Exactly! Just for that tone alone, he deserves to die!"
Buoyed by his companions' support, Kuang grew more confident: "The brothers are right. These people are suspicious — most likely accomplices of those two swindlers. Seize them!"
Every one of these people was a True Qi master. Within the Qianlan Northern Palace, they weren't the absolute elite, but bullying outsiders on their own turf was as good as done.
Besides, they had the mighty Qianlan Northern Palace backing them up.
Jiang Chen had no desire to start a fight on someone else's territory. He sent a voice transmission to Gouyu: "You and Father take point and lead the team ahead. I'll hold these people off and catch up shortly."
Princess Gouyu swept her gaze over the group, a contemptuous smirk playing on her lips. Even without Jiang Chen, she, Gouyu, wouldn't fear these people.
If Jiang Chen wanted to stay and hold them back, that was fine by her.
Fighting on hostile ground was always a disadvantage. Gouyu understood that well enough. With a wave of her hand, she exchanged a wordless signal with Jiang Feng, and without a second word, the team took off at full speed.
"Huh? They're actually trying to leave?"
"Stop! Hold it right there!"
Jiang Chen stood alone like a gatekeeper, raising the Dayu Bow in his hand. He didn't bother with the bow's specialized arrows, instead pulling out three ordinary shafts.
"What's the rush? I haven't left yet. If you want to play, I'll play with you." Jiang Chen's aura surged abruptly. The mighty Canglang True Qi stirred up enormous waves of energy, churning the surrounding clouds and mist into a spectacular spectacle. He stood with the air of "one man holding the pass against ten thousand."
Don't underestimate a bow. With that weapon in hand, every Qianlan Northern Palace disciple who had been charging forward to block the group came to a dead halt.
They weren't fools. They were all True Qi masters who had seen plenty of battles.
An expert's move told you everything you needed to know.
Jiang Chen stood alone with his bow, and the moment his aura erupted, it carried a heaven-swallowing, earth-devouring presence. This was no bluff — it was the momentum honed through one bloody battle after another.
This was the bearing of someone who had slain a Spirit Realm powerhouse!
Not a single one of them doubted that if they charged recklessly, they would become corpses under his arrows!
Senior Brother Kuang stared coldly at Jiang Chen. He hadn't expected that this unremarkable-looking group concealed such a formidable expert.
"You're a True Qi master too!" Kuang's tone was icy. "On our Qianlan Northern Palace turf, you dare to draw a weapon first. Fine — you're dead!"
"If I'm not mistaken, your Qianlan Northern Palace is just one of the Treasure Tree Sect's dojos in the Tiangui Kingdom. Funny how it seems to have even more rules than the Treasure Tree Sect itself."
Jiang Chen scoffed. How could he not recognize the type that Kuang represented?
This kind of person had some strength — far from the top of the sect, but always eager to show off, stir up trouble, and wield the sect's name like a bully hiding behind a tiger's stripes.
Jiang Chen had nothing but contempt for such people. Supposedly they were chasing two enemies. Then they spotted strangers passing through, and suddenly they dropped the mission entirely to play highway robber.
Call them sect disciples if you want to be kind. Call them what they really were — common bandits, cutthroat thugs. Even if you answered every one of their questions perfectly, they'd still find an excuse to come after you.
Jiang Chen couldn't be bothered to waste more words. He raised the Dayu Bow, its targeting locked onto the crowd from a distance. Anyone who dared take one step forward would be the first to receive an arrow.
Even if this was Qianlan Northern Palace territory, Jiang Chen was past caring. He had never been the type to swallow insults meekly, let alone stand there and let someone carve him up.
Since these people had robbery on their minds, they certainly had killing intent as well. Robbery and murder had always gone hand in hand.
Only robbing without killing — Jiang Chen didn't believe the Qianlan Northern Palace lot were that merciful.