The most insidious part was that this battle, too, was on the Frost Arena.
No matter how calm
Of course, Lord Fang had done it to protect him.
Today, however, with this kind of setup? Jiang Chen simply refused to believe there was no human hand behind it.
But this time, the manipulation wasn't meant to protect him. Quite the opposite — it was designed to crush him.
Three challengers in a row, all picking him, with almost no breathing room between fights, and every single one on the Frost Arena.
What did that prove?
It proved that all of this was absolutely orchestrated. The first two powerful opponents were merely pawns, sent to wear him down.
This
Jiang Chen sneered inwardly and cast a meaningful, mocking glance toward
For a sect giant of her stature — the chief overseer of the Earth Spirit District — to resort to such shameless tactics, it truly made Jiang Chen look down on her.
"Old woman's got some nerve. Wear me down with two strong fighters first, then send her prized disciple to finish the job. A轮战 — now that's shameless."
Jiang Chen saw through Master Shuiyue's scheme in an instant.
Truth be told, it wasn't even much of a scheme. It was an brazen open gambit, right out in the open.
But without proof, anyone's accusations would be nothing more than speculation. There was no way to actually pin anything on Master Shuiyue.
Looking at that expression of sacred, untouchable dignity on the woman's face, Jiang Chen found her indescribably hypocritical, unspeakably disgusting.
"Think you can play me like this?" The defiant streak deep in Jiang Chen's bones flared up. "The harder you push, the less I'll let you have your way. You want your prized disciple to destroy me, to make a name for himself? This young master simply won't let your little plan work out."
In the previous two fights, because he was the one being challenged, Jiang Chen had deliberately held back, not unleashing any of his real techniques.
The so-called fatigue from those battles was negligible. The exhaustion he'd been putting on was nothing but an act to mislead.
And right now, across the arena, He Yan was completely convinced. A strange smile hung on his face as his eyes swept over Jiang Chen without a shred of courtesy, appraising him like a predator sizing up its prey.
It was the look of a beast pinning its quarry beneath its paws, deciding where to sink its teeth first.
"Who goes there? State your name. I, He Yan, do not kill nameless nobodies." He Yan sneered, striking a theatrical pose.
He knew perfectly well who his opponent was — all of this was pre-arranged.
But saying things like this was meant to boost his own morale and crush his opponent's spirit. It was a classic trick that sect disciples loved to employ.
Unfortunately for He Yan, the trick was far too stale for Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen didn't even spare him a glance, replying in a flat, indifferent tone: "Drop the act. Let's fight. Let's see whether your so-called prized disciple qualifies me to use a sliver of my real strength."
He Yan had worked hard to build up an aura of supreme dominance, only to have Jiang Chen douse it with a bucket of cold water in one sentence. The atmosphere shattered.
"A backwater bumpkin who doesn't know the first thing about manners!" He Yan struggled to suppress his fury and snarled, "Brat, now that you've stepped onto the Frost Arena, let He here fashion you an ice coffin!"
"Sure sounds like a disciple raised by a woman — chatty, nagging, and loud," Jiang Chen said with a frown.
That second bucket of cold water hit even harder than the first, snuffing out He Yan's second bid to seize momentum in one fell swoop.
He Yan sullenly realized that against this savage brutish oaf, all those rules of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and honor were completely useless. They couldn't get under his skin at all.
It seemed he had no choice but to beat the man into submission with force.
Brows knitting together, He Yan spread both arms wide, the five fingers on each hand swaying gently in a fluid rhythm.
In an instant, specks of frost-white starlight bloomed around his palms and kept spreading outward.
"Star Plucking Hands — Condense!"
He Yan thrust both palms forward, his body shooting ahead like a bolt of lightning. Streams of frost crystallized into a shroud of ice that froze the surrounding air solid.
Jiang Chen watched as the air before him sprouted translucent, crystal-clear ice formations inch by inch.
The next moment, He Yan's Star Plucking Hands were already clawing toward Jiang Chen's chest.
If those Star Plucking Hands so much as touched you — even grazed your skin — the cold alone would be enough to freeze your blood solid, or even turn you into a block of ice.
He Yan was supremely confident in this technique. Ten years of devoted cultivation had gone into it — his skill was no empty boast.
Jiang Chen stood rooted in place as countless frost-white crystals raced inward from every direction across the ground, spreading to his feet in an instant. The transparent ice climbed upward, locking Jiang Chen's legs in place up to his knees.
"Haha, brat — you're dead meat!"
Seeing his ice crystals pin the opponent's feet, He Yan was beside himself with elation.