"You want to teach me a lesson?"
Jiang Chen's lips curled into a grin instead of anger at the words.
His earlier fight against Wu You might not have been a display of any particular technical brilliance — ordinary spectators probably couldn't read much from it. But this fellow wasn't necessarily that much stronger than Wu You, so where did all that confidence come from? Or perhaps this man simply never bothered to use his head?
"I am Shen Fan, the number-one genius of the Cloud Wave Sect." Shen Fan's gaze dripped with arrogance. "In the Eternal Sacred Land, there is only one person I, Shen Fan, acknowledge — and that is Brother Xiahou Zong. You dare to offend Brother Xiahou, which means you are my enemy. I'm afraid I'll have to step in on Brother Xiahou's behalf and show you just how high the heavens truly are."
"You?" Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. "How high the heavens are? You — do you even understand the heavens?"
"Tsk, tsk. Now I see why Brother Xiahou can't stand you. I have to say, you really are an insufferable sort."
Jiang Chen's tone was flat. "If you want to be Xiahou Zong's dog, I have no objection. But if you're going to bark in my face while playing that role, don't blame me for shutting the door and beating the dog."
He truly had no desire to waste words with this kind of person. Every sentence exchanged was a waste of breath and an insult to his own intelligence.
Shen Fan's face turned cold. The brat had just called him a dog?
"You've succeeded in enraging me!" Shen Fan's voice was as sharp as a blade's edge.
"Just enraged?" Jiang Chen smiled with a faint, detached air. "The real show is still ahead."
Shen Fan let out a savage laugh. "Enough big talk, brat. Die!"
As the words left his mouth, spiritual energy erupted from his entire body. A tremendous surge of force formed into rolling waves, each layer pushing the next forward in a torrential rush.
This was a water-attribute Divine Ability.
Jiang Chen had clashed with water-attribute cultivators before — more than three times against water-attribute geniuses, in fact. But he had to admit that the gap between those previous opponents and this Shen Fan was enormous.
Then again, the Jiang Chen of today was no longer the Jiang Chen of old.
Seeing the ferocious waves surge toward him, Jiang Chen showed not a shred of fear. His body moved like lightning, treading upon the waves and cleaving through them with effortless grace — utterly at ease atop those towering crests.
No matter how the water churned, how it spiraled, how it sealed off the void, it could never trap him.
Shen Fan's eyes narrowed in surprise at those movements. His water-attribute Divine Ability didn't look like one of those cataclysmic, world-ending techniques, but in reality it was one of his most refined finishing moves — with virtually no openings. It was nearly flawless.
Once an opponent became entangled in the current, the water would coil tighter and tighter, wave upon wave, continuously increasing the pressure, continuously amplifying the binding force, until the target was completely ensnared and strangled within that endless aquatic prison.
The colossal waves and the vortexes they spawned grew ever more ferocious. Yet even that fearsome momentum could not snare this opponent. Shen Fan was genuinely taken aback. He considered his abilities to be outstanding — even against Young Master Sui Chen of the Eternal Sacred Land, he figured he had at least a coin-flip's chance of winning.
He had assumed that by unleashing this technique without warning against a mere itinerant cultivator — a young man with no sect background — the opponent would be thrown into panic. But it seemed that had been nothing but wishful thinking.
Still, there was a reason Shen Fan was the number-one genius of the Cloud Wave Sect. Apart from Xiahou Zong, he had never conceded superiority to anyone of his generation.
A man that confident naturally had more to offer. His abilities went well beyond this. He opened his palm, and suddenly a gleaming golden whip materialized in his hand.
The moment the whip appeared, it radiated a powerful aura of killing intent, brimming with savage ferocity — giving off a distinctly bloodthirsty air.
"You think you can dodge my attacks with footwork alone? How naive!" Shen Fan laughed. "This is the Whip of the Fury Dragon, forged from the sinews and bones of the Fury Dragon clan from the endless seas of the Myriad Abyss Island. It contains the Fury Dragon's essential spirit. I'll use this whip to devour your vital blood and consume your divine soul!"
The Fury Dragon?
Jiang Chen naturally knew this was a variant bloodline of the dragon race. The Fury Dragon clan was savage and bloodthirsty, with extraordinary devouring power. They were among the most warlike and blood-hungry of all dragon bloodlines. Every part of a Fury Dragon could be used to forge magical treasures.
The Fury Dragon's sinews, in particular, were supreme materials for crafting weapons.
A complete set of Fury Dragon sinews was exceedingly rare. He hadn't expected Shen Fan to possess such a thing — and from the look of it, the whip had been refined to near perfection.
It was, in effect, a near-flawless Heaven Rank weapon.
Jiang Chen's expression grew solemn. He now recognized that Shen Fan was an opponent who could not be taken lightly.
"Shen Fan, a treasure like the Whip of the Fury Dragon falling into your hands should have been a blessing. Yet you chose to be a dog. Do you know that those who play the part of a dog are unworthy of wielding the Fury Dragon's Whip? You are an insult to the Fury Dragon bloodline — an insult to the noble blood of the dragons!"
Jiang Chen deliberately prodded Shen Fan with those words.
Shen Fan erupted in fury. "Brat — on the brink of death and still running your mouth!"