Ah Hong was clearly a hot-headed man. Without a moment's hesitation, he brandished the weapon in his hand, gritted his teeth, and charged straight at Jiang Chen, giving no thought whatsoever to the vast gap in strength between them.
Jiang Chen gave a faint snort, his gaze shifting slightly as the Evil Golden Eye shot out a beam of radiance that struck Ah Hong squarely. The man's entire body shuddered, as though some invisible force had bound him completely. No matter how he struggled, he found himself utterly unable to break free.
"You… you…" Ah Hong's tongue stuttered as he glared furiously at Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen had not struck a killing blow. Had he done so, Ah Hong would have long since been reduced to a metallic statue, with no chance left to speak.
"My tolerance has its limits. Ah Hong, I respect you as a man of blood and grit, which is why I've spared your life. If you're bent on seeking death, I can grant your wish right now."
Jiang Chen had kept Ah Hong alive for a reason.
The Evil Golden Eye released its hold, and Ah Hong regained his ability to move. He seemed to understand as well that his strength was leagues below his opponent's. This was not even a contest between equals.
Dejected, he slumped to the ground and sat there heavily.
Ah Hong's tone was one of utter defeat: "Who are you people, really? My companions — were they truly killed?"
"They were." Jiang Chen made no denial. "As for who we are, you need not concern yourself with that."
"Since you killed my companions, why didn't you kill me too?" Ah Hong's voice carried the air of a man who had all but given up on himself.
"I kept you alive because I think you're useful, and because you strike me as a man of backbone. Tell me — have you truly submitted to the Xiahou family? To the royal family?"
"What… what did you say?" Ah Hong's eyes suddenly blazed with sharp light as he stared at Jiang Chen, his face full of astonishment. Clearly, his heart was shaken.
"Who are you, really?" Ah Hong rasped.
"One thing I can tell you — I'm no man of the Xiahou family or the royal family."
"Are you a powerhouse from a Sacred Land?" Ah Hong's tone grew deeply conflicted. "If that's the case, then my companions dying at your hands wasn't exactly unjust. Karmic retribution — it comes swift. Go on then, kill me. I, Hong, will not resist."
It was plain to see that Ah Hong had truly lost his will to fight.
"Killing you would be easy. But if you're not even afraid of death, are you truly afraid of living? What, you want to end it all? Don't you want to see how things play out — here in Ten Thousand Abyss Island, in this Eternal Divine Kingdom? How will the winds of fate blow?"
"What is there to see? Do you think you still have any chance of turning things around? The Xiahou family and the royal family already control most of the Divine Kingdom's vital arteries. Seventy percent of its forces have pledged allegiance. I don't know what position you hold in the Sacred Land, but I'd advise you to leave this place quickly. If you're marked, you won't have any chance of escape."
Ah Hong, it seemed, still harbored a measure of guilt toward the people of the Sacred Land. Even with himself in mortal peril, he was warning Jiang Chen and his companions to leave.
Jiang Chen merely smiled calmly. "Leave? Why would I leave? I've only just managed to return here. I'm about to infiltrate the Divine Capital — why on earth would I leave?"
"You want to infiltrate the Divine Capital? Are you… aren't you afraid of dying?" Ah Hong was stunned.
"Dying? In this world, the person capable of killing me hasn't been born yet. Enough talk — do you understand now why we killed your companions but kept you alive?"
"You want to use our identities to sneak into the Divine Capital." Ah Hong was no fool. He was merely rather blunt by nature.
"Well? Are you willing to cooperate?"
"Hmph. Aren't you afraid that I'll lead you into the Divine Capital and then rally our forces to besiege you? When that happens, you'll have no sky to flee to and no ground to burrow into." Ah Hong let out a cold snort.
"That's not something you need to worry about. We came to you because we're confident we can make you comply. Still, we'd much rather you act of your own free will. We can see that you, Hong, have no desire to mingle with the filth of the Xiahou family. And in this rebellion, your Radiance Sect stands to gain very little. On the contrary, you'll most likely end up being the prey discarded once the hunt is over. Once the Xiahou family and the royal family consolidate their power, their next move will inevitably be to weaken forces like yours."
Ah Hong was rendered speechless. This trend — he could already see the signs of it.
It was something he simply could not refute.
"Am I talking nonsense?" Jiang Chen chuckled. "The Eternal Sacred Land may control the Divine Kingdom, but it has never stooped to making moves against you lot. Every first-rate faction, compared to the Sacred Land, falls short in both strength and heritage. There's no need for the Sacred Land to weaken you. But the Xiahou family and the royal family are a different matter. Their strength and heritage were never that far above yours to begin with. To prevent you from growing strong enough to threaten their position, weakening you is an inevitable course. Surely even you can see that."
"Hmph, so what? If you've got something to say, go say it to our Sect Master of the Radiance Sect. I'm merely a provisional elder — a man of little voice and less influence. Telling me all this is like talking to a wall." Though Ah Hong privately believed every word, he still refused to admit it outright.
"Perhaps you can't change the larger tide, but you can still act in the small things with a clear conscience." Jiang Chen's gaze grew deep and penetrating, piercing straight into Ah Hong's consciousness and laying bare the landscape of his heart without reserve.
Ah Hong hesitated for a long while before he asked in a halting voice: "What… what do you want me to do?"
"It's simple. Help us get into the Divine Capital and cover for our identities. Everything else, you need not worry about."
"Just that?" Ah Hong found it hard to believe.