Another cloaked figure. Seeing yet another one appear, Jiang Chen felt a flicker of genuine astonishment. One genius after another, each draped in a mysterious cloak, and each more formidable than the last.
It was immediately obvious that this newcomer surpassed the previous one — both in presence and in raw power. The realization left Jiang Chen simultaneously surprised and wary.
"The Duowen Divine Kingdom? One of the Eight Great Houses?" Jiang Chen's gaze was cool and appraising as he regarded the arrival.
The newcomer's form was peculiar. When he moved, the air around him rippled like disturbed water, giving him an ethereal, elusive quality.
An ancient carved bow hung across his back. His eyes were deep and piercing — anyone with a weaker spiritual consciousness would likely have their soul shattered by a single glance from those eyes.
"You're not bad. To have forced that kid Xue Feng to surrender without a fight — you're truly an oddity on Dongyan Island." The stranger's voice matched his appearance: drifting, faint, impossible to pin down.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly, his mind as clear as a mirror. So that fellow's name was Xue Feng.
"Here's my proposal. Put down the Xuanhuang Shouwu, and I'll let you go — a quarter of an hour's head start. After that, I'll come after you. If you manage to escape, good luck to you. If you don't, then this was simply your fate. What do you say?" The tone sounded like a negotiation, but in truth it was closer to a death sentence handed down by judge and executioner.
Jiang Chen couldn't help but laugh inwardly. These geniuses from the Duowen Divine Kingdom were truly arrogant — as if the fate of every living soul in the world rested in their hands.
Then again, people of this sort and their insufferable airs were nothing new to him. He'd seen enough.
A faint, indifferent smile crossed his face. "You want the Xuanhuang Shouwu? Fine. Come and take it with your own strength."
He casually glanced at Xue Feng's corpse and added, "Though you should be prepared to follow in his footsteps."
A flicker of disdain passed through the newcomer's eyes. He shook his head at leisure. "You're overthinking this."
"Xue Feng might qualify as a genius, but he's not in the same tier as me. If you think whatever powder you used on him will work on me, you're sorely mistaken."
His tone was measured and deliberate, but beneath that restraint lay a thick, unmistakable arrogance.
Jiang Chen couldn't be bothered to argue. He had a hundred tricks up his sleeve; the Fengyun Shihun Powder was merely the most mundane of them. Looking at the man before him, he had to admit that in terms of presence and strength, he did outstrip Xue Feng. But the margin was hardly overwhelming.
Perhaps this one was a step above Xue Feng, but for Jiang Chen, there was nothing to fear. Earlier, the man had fired an arrow that killed Xue Feng — just moments before Xue Feng could reveal the truth.
Jiang Chen acknowledged the man's archery was genuinely skilled. But when it came to archery, he was no novice himself. From the early days of the Dayu Bow, to the Sheyang Bow, and later the Holy Dragon Bow obtained from the Shengyi Sect's sacred grounds, Jiang Chen had never lacked means in the art of the bow.
The Holy Dragon Bow in particular was a supreme treasure — the Shengyi Sect's most prized artifact. Even now, Jiang Chen could only draw out a fraction of its true power.
In archery, he truly had nothing to fear from this man.
A sudden grin spread across Jiang Chen's face. "Geniuses of the Duowen Divine Kingdom, instead of staying in your own kingdom, you come all the way to Dongyan Island to throw your lives away. Don't you think that's rather foolish?"
The man's pupils contracted sharply. Killing intent surged — then, just as quickly, it was reined in. He stared at Jiang Chen with cold eyes. "You're far too optimistic. If I'm not mistaken, of the thousand-plus trial participants still alive on this island, fewer than half remain. Once the fifteen days run out, I wouldn't be surprised if there were no survivors at all."
Jiang Chen casually glanced at Xue Feng's corpse. "What about him, then?"
"Did you kill him?" The man smiled thinly. "Don't forget — it was I who passed judgment on him. You trial participants from Dongyan Island are nothing more than prey. Do you understand? Prey."
"Prey?" Jiang Chen's brow furrowed.
"Exactly. From the very start of the selection, your sole purpose has been to serve as our quarry. We are the favored sons of the Duowen Divine Kingdom. You are nothing but a pack of convicts from Dongyan Island. Your fate is to be cattle and dogs — destined for slaughter. You thousand-plus prisoners are nothing more than playthings for the Eight Great Houses' geniuses, the quarry in our little hunting game." He chuckled softly. "Tell me — did the Overseer of Dongyan Island make you some grand promise? Did he make you believe your chance at a new life had finally arrived? Did you think your days of suffering were finally over?"
Every word dripped with mockery.
Jiang Chen drew a deep, slow breath. The man's words had sent enormous waves crashing through his mind. Connecting the dots before and after the selection, he was forced to admit that what the man said might very well be true.
The so-called selection, the so-called promise of a future — it had all been a lie from beginning to end.
Seeing Jiang Chen fall silent, the man felt a private rush of satisfaction. "Disappointed? Furious? And what good does it do? Convicts are convicts. Inferiority is inferiority. In the Wanyuan Islands, in the world of martial cultivation, hierarchy is absolute. Your birth determines your fate. Your tricks are impressive — among this batch of convicts, you might well be the best of the lot. But fate is fate. Remember: fate is something you can never defy. No matter how desperately you struggle, it changes nothing."
Fate?
At those words, Jiang Chen's fury gave way to laughter. Yes — the Duowen Divine Kingdom was one of the Wanyuan Islands' supreme powers. The Eight Great Houses of the Duowen Divine Kingdom were perhaps the very pinnacle of the Wanyuan Islands' elite.
But so what?
For reasons he couldn't quite place, this man's sneering face, this condescending tone, reminded Jiang Chen of the Xiahou Clan of the Eternal Divine Kingdom — and of his fated nemesis, Xiahou Zong, a man he had never yet laid eyes on.