It wasn't that Jiang Chen had anything personal against Ye Dai. The problem was that the First Prince kept provoking him, time and time again, pressing him with one aggressive jab after another.
Jiang Chen had no desire to stir up trouble, but he couldn't just keep swallowing these provocations from this crowd.
Calling him a country bumpkin — that, he could shrug off without a second thought. What truly disgusted him was the First Prince's lofty, self-righteous superiority complex.
That same brand of disgust he had felt before from Long Juxue, and from those Purple Sun Sect disciples. And now, here it was again, radiating from the First Prince and his entourage.
As if they were heaven-blessed prodigies, and everyone else existed merely to be shouted at, humiliated, and ground beneath their heels.
What Jiang Chen despised most were exactly these kinds of fools — people who were absolutely nothing, yet loved to play the part of favored sons of heaven.
If you wanted to talk about genius, about being chosen by heaven — in his previous life as the son of the Celestial Emperor, who could possibly have had more right to that title than he?
And yet Jiang Chen had never once called himself a genius, nor had he ever adopted that lofty posture to lord over others.
A true genius had no need for self-promotion. And certainly no need to crush others for the pleasure of it.
Consort Dan was mildly surprised to see Jiang Chen actually talking back to Ye Dai. She had been about to smooth things over, but on second thought, she suddenly wanted to see what this Jiang Chen was really made of. The conciliatory words rose to her lips, but she swallowed them back down.
Second Prince Ye Qiao chimed in with a grin: "That's right, Big Brother — do you actually have some brilliant insight? Why don't you share it and let us all be enlightened?"
Ye Rong was also fed up. The First Prince's scolding of Jiang Chen was, in name, directed at the outsider — but in reality, it was all aimed at him, Ye Rong.
"Big Brother, you say I'm ignorant? Then do something wise and set an example for us. If you can solve the old man's problem, we brothers will all bow to you. Otherwise, swaggering around here and only knowing how to lash out — how exactly are you setting an example for your brothers?"
Prince Ye Rong had never openly defied the First Prince before. But at this moment, he was finally done holding his tongue.
Ye Dai let out a cold laugh: "This follower of yours dares to slander sect geniuses — is there anything he wouldn't say? Why should anyone even bother responding to him?"
Lü Wuji hurriedly jumped in: "Exactly! Jiang Chen, you talk a mighty game — calling a sect genius incompetent. Are you saying you could do better?"
Han Xianke spoke in an equally frigid tone: "Jiang Chen, you're nothing but a mortal insect. To dare accuse me of fabricating lies — that's an insult to me as a sect disciple, and an insult to the Treasure Tree Sect itself."
One after another, they bore down on Jiang Chen with a storm of words, each more aggressive than the last.
Jiang Chen remained perfectly composed, a faint smile on his face: "Enough with the posturing. A sect disciple proves himself through real skill and talent. Using a sect's reputation to bully others — that's not genius, that's worthless. You call me a mortal insect. But what if it turns out that the so-called genius can't solve this problem, while the insect can? What will you think then? Where will you put your face?"
"You?" Han Xianke burst out laughing. "A talentless hack who isn't even at the Spirit Realm — you don't even qualify to approach a Fengjiao Five-Winged Beast, and you're going to solve anything? If you can solve it, I, Han Xianke, will immediately admit I'm the worthless one and you're the genius. I'll be your dog from that day forward!"
"My dog? Heh — I'm afraid you don't quite qualify." Jiang Chen gave a casual smile.
Consort Dan's almond-shaped eyes flickered, a glimmer of hope passing through them: "Your name is Jiang Chen? You just called this beast a Fengjiao Five-Winged Beast?"
Jiang Chen nodded: "That's right. Its correct name is the Fengjiao Five-Winged Beast."
"But we've always just called it a Fengjiao."
"The Fengjiao is its lineage, and the Five-Winged Beast is its physical form. It's a hybrid bloodline of phoenix and flood dragon, inherited from ancient times. With each generation, the bloodline thins further. This Fengjiao Five-Winged Beast is actually a rather low-tier descendant. The truly powerful ones are the Twelve-Winged Fengjiao — now *those* are something else."
"Twelve wings?" A look of disbelief flashed through Consort Dan's beautiful eyes.
"Jiang Chen, don't blow things out of proportion. Making up stories is easy — anyone can do that! So why don't you tell us what's actually going on with this Fengjiao?" Han Xianke demanded angrily.
"Don't try to goad me. As it happens, I do happen to know a little more about this than you."
Consort Dan's eyes flickered with interest. "Jiang Chen, do you actually know? Out with it, out with it — what's the real story with this Fengjiao?"
"This Fengjiao — did the old master take it in when it was still a cub? If so, that would make it roughly thirty years now, wouldn't it?"
"That… how did you know?" Consort Dan was taken aback.
Meanwhile, the old master, who had been sitting in his chair all along, suddenly shot a sharp, penetrating gaze toward Jiang Chen.
"From the way this Fengjiao displays its various moods and behaviors, it should be a male. A female beast wouldn't exhibit these kinds of problems."
"You know that too? Did you secretly observe it just now?" Consort Dan was even more baffled.
"Adapting to a new environment, untamed wild nature — all nonsense. The Fengjiao is actually one of the easier ancient bloodline Spirit Beasts to raise and train. There's only one reason it's acting the way it is."
"What?" Consort Dan asked instinctively.