Elder Liang's entire body was trembling, his eyes filled with terror. He had heard rumors about Holy Sovereign Ningyan's strength. Even if he had never heard of her before, the sheer oppressive pressure she was emanating right now was enough to seal off every possible escape route.
Her power was absolutely, overwhelmingly above his.
"H-H-Holy Sovereign... I... I..." Elder Liang's lips quivered. "I..."
"You what? Weren't you quite the speaker just a moment ago? Weren't you going to do something to my master and disciple? Well, here I am, delivered right to your doorstep. What do you plan to do about it?"
Elder Liang's face went deathly pale. He slapped himself across the cheek. "Holy Sovereign, this lowly one was foolish—foolish beyond measure, blind as a bat. Please, Holy Sovereign, do not stoop to this lowly one's level. Please, Holy Sovereign, be merciful and spare my young master."
"Spare him?" Jiang Chen, perched above, laughed aloud. "This brat is young, but his appetite is enormous. He had the nerve to cook up schemes against the Holy Sovereign himself, and now he has the face to beg for mercy?"
"Holy Sovereign, I'd say the old sect master of this Menglan Sect, Meng Qianqiu, is nothing but an old scoundrel himself. That's the only way he could have produced a little bastard like this."
Elder Liang spoke in a trembling voice: "Who... who exactly are you? How did you break into the Menglan Sect?"
"Heh, this Menglan Sect's defenses wouldn't even keep out a three-year-old child—utterly useless. I come and go as I please."
Meng Tianxing, having been seized by Jiang Chen, remained defiant: "What kind of boast is that? Isn't it just a sneak attack? If you've got the guts, fight me one on one!"
Jiang Chen smiled with contempt. Such a crude provocation—how could Jiang Chen possibly fall for it?
He slapped Meng Tianxing's handsome face in an almost insulting manner. "Kid, are you still dreaming? One on one? With your level of ability, you resort to baiting tactics? If your grandfather Meng Qianqiu said something like that, I might actually consider it. But who do you think you are? You think you're worthy of fighting me one on one?"
"I must say, you've got a fine face on you. What a waste—your insides are wicked and depraved. What a shame for such a good-looking face."
Meng Tianxing shrieked as Jiang Chen continued slapping his cheek: "Don't hit my face! Don't hit my face!"
Meng Tianxing was extremely confident in his looks—to the point of outright narcissism. Having Jiang Chen repeatedly slap him across the face naturally filled him with worry about disfigurement.
Jiang Chen couldn't help but laugh in exasperation. "Kid, were you planning to live off your face?"
"I've got the capital for it—why shouldn't I live off my face? If you're not just jealous, stop hitting my face!" Meng Tianxing was truly one of a kind.
Jiang Chen was momentarily speechless.
Was there really such a bizarre person in this world? He was already a captive, yet he still cared about his face? Did this brat actually think he could walk away alive?
Jiang Chen spoke in a mocking tone: "Meng Tianxing, would you prefer to die with your pretty face intact? Or would you rather I disfigure you and let you live?"
Meng Tianxing's entire body shuddered. "You wouldn't dare kill me!"
"Give me one good reason why I wouldn't," Jiang Chen replied with a grin.
"My... my grandfather is Meng Qianqiu! If you kill me, in all the vastness of the True Martial God Kingdom, there will be nowhere for you to hide!" Meng Tianxing seemed to have found his argument.
Jiang Chen burst out laughing and shook his head. "Sorry, I'm not from the True Martial God Kingdom. Your threat doesn't seem to carry much weight."
"What?! You're not from the True Martial God Kingdom? Then what business do you have interfering in our True Martial God Kingdom's affairs?"
Jiang Chen shrugged. "Rebels and traitors like you—anyone would be justified in putting you to death. Besides, I just love meddling in other people's business. You got a problem with that?"
Meng Tianxing let out a strange laugh. "Kid, you've landed yourself in deep trouble. Our allied army has already surrounded the True Martial Holy Land. It could fall at any moment. Once that happens, the True Martial Holy Land is finished. The entire kingdom will be under the allied army's control. Release me now, and we can still negotiate. Otherwise, you'll be making an enemy of our Menglan Sect, and my grandfather will never let you go. My grandfather is one of the four demigods of the True Martial God Kingdom's allied army!"
Meng Tianxing may have been a spoiled, arrogant young master who thought the world revolved around him, but when it came to leveraging someone else's power to bully others, he was well-practiced.
Unfortunately for him, Jiang Chen wasn't buying any of it. He smiled mockingly: "Four demigods? That impressive?"
"Kid, your mouth is awfully big! The four demigods exist just below the gods themselves! Don't think you're anything special just because you're at the Heavenly Stage! Let me tell you—in front of a demigod, your cultivation level is absolutely worthless. Release me right now, and you might still—"
"Sorry, I forgot to mention—just before coming here, I accidentally killed a demigod. He had this golden bell that seemed rather interesting, so I picked it up as a toy. Do you happen to know him?" Jiang Chen said, giving the golden bell a casual shake and flashing a grin.
Holy Sovereign Ningyan watched Jiang Chen toy with Meng Tianxing and observed how Meng Tianxing's face instantly went blank with shock. She found the whole scene rather amusing.
After all, he was still young at heart—this was no time to forget about having fun.
Sure enough, Meng Tianxing's jaw dropped wide open, his face draining of all color. "This... this is Golden Bell Ancestor's golden bell?"
"You've got some knowledge, I'll give you that. By the way, what treasures does Meng Qianqiu like to use? When I cut off his head later, I'll grab one of his toys to play with too." Jiang Chen licked his lips.
Those words sent a fresh wave of terror crashing through Meng Tianxing.
"You... you... you brat, you're nothing but a liar! Golden Bell Ancestor possesses divine abilities beyond measure! You're not even fully grown—you killed Golden Bell Ancestor? Keep dreaming!" Meng Tianxing seemed to have found something to convince himself with.
But despite his stubborn bravado, he couldn't truly convince himself. Because the golden bell he was looking at didn't seem the least bit counterfeit.
Elder Liang looked at Jiang Chen, then at Holy Sovereign Ningyan, then at the golden bell. In that instant, an overwhelming terror engulfed him.
Golden Bell Ancestor had been tasked with attacking the Spiritual Medicine base—and the one defending that base had been none other than Holy Sovereign Ningyan herself.
And yet here, Holy Sovereign Ningyan was not at the Spiritual Medicine base but had instead appeared at the Menglan Sect. What did that mean?