Just as Qin You was gritting his teeth in frustration, several of them suddenly felt their vision blur. Almost immediately, waves of golden light surged up around them, shrouding their entire surroundings in an instant.
From within that golden radiance, a figure slowly stepped forward, his entire face obscured by the golden glow, making it impossible to make out his expression.
"And how exactly did you plan to make me pay for that?" the voice drawled slowly.
Jiang Chen?
Qin You and his companions all shuddered, as though they had seen a ghost in broad daylight. Their eyes were filled with terror as they stared in the direction of the newcomer.
Normally, cultivators of their caliber would feel at most a measure of respect toward their peers — fear and despair were entirely out of the question.
But in this moment, watching that figure slowly emerge from the golden light, what they felt deep in their hearts was genuine fear and despair.
One of them turned to flee.
Yet under that overwhelming pressure, they couldn't even summon the strength to take a step. In an instant, their legs were trembling uncontrollably, completely unable to obey.
As the figure drew closer, Qin You gradually made out a blurry silhouette through the golden light. It seemed to be Jiang Chen, yet somehow not quite like him.
Still, as the figure continued to approach, Qin You's sense of despair only intensified.
The person stepping out of the golden light was, of course, Jiang Chen.
"Qin You, if I were you, I'd keep my head down and behave myself. A person who makes one mistake still has a chance at forgiveness. Make the same mistake twice, and you no longer deserve to be forgiven. Don't you think?" Jiang Chen's voice remained as flat and unhurried as ever.
Upon hearing this, Qin You was completely dumbfounded.
He rasped, "You… so it really was you last time? You were the one who stole my Trial Orbs?"
Jiang Chen let out a cold laugh. "Your Trial Orbs? However you obtained them is exactly how you lost them."
Qin You was rendered speechless once more. Indeed, almost none of his Trial Orbs had been found legitimately — nearly all of them had been seized through theft.
As Jiang Chen closed in step by step, Qin You grew increasingly anxious. Putting on a brave face, he shouted, "Boy, you have no right to run wild here!"
Jiang Chen smiled, completely at ease. "Is that so? I'd love to hear why I have no right to run wild here."
"You've been gone two days. How many Trial Orbs do you have on you now?"
Hearing Jiang Chen ask this, Qin You was even more shaken. His heart pounding with alarm, he barked, "Don't you dare cause trouble here — this territory is under Senior Brother Lu's command! If you dare run amuck, Senior Brother Lu will never let you off!"
Jiang Chen couldn't be bothered to listen to his bluster. His eyes flashed, and golden light shot out from his pupils.
The Evil Golden Eye struck the group directly, leaving them momentarily dazed.
Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Chen strode forward and swept the Trial Orbs from their bodies into his own collection once more.
It was only because the rules forbade killing that Jiang Chen had not pushed the Evil Golden Eye to its full potential. Otherwise, the Evil Golden Eye alone could have turned each of them into living statues.
Qin You felt as though his very soul had been locked down in that instant. No matter how he struggled, his entire body remained utterly frozen.