Jiang Chen had come this time to make a statement, not to hurt anyone. After exchanging a single move with Lei Gangyang, he let out a cold laugh, his gaze sweeping frigidly over every face present, as though committing each one to memory.
"Anyone who isn't afraid of death, feel free to challenge me. I'll be waiting! But let me give you a word of warning — before you step into the arena, you'd all better be prepared to die!"
With that, he let out a hearty laugh, flipped in midair, vaulted over the outer wall, and vanished from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.
That single laugh shook the heavens, transforming into a thunderous roar that swept across the mountains and plains like a tidal wave, spreading through the entire Heavenly Spirit Zone in an instant.
"A bunch of trash — I come and go as I please. What can any of you do to me?"
Lei Gangyang flew into a rage and rushed out the door. Long Juxue darted out just as quickly.
But outside, under a vast and cloudless sky, there was not a single soul in sight. In that one burst of laughter, Jiang Chen had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only echoes that reverberated through the valley.
Lei Gangyang and Long Juxue exchanged a glance, and in each other's eyes they saw a fierce killing intent.
"That bastard really is arrogant." Lei Gangyang gritted his teeth. As the number-one seed of the Heavenly Spirit Zone, his sense of superiority ran deep.
By convening this summit, Lei Gangyang had been deliberately — or perhaps unconsciously — trying to consolidate his position as the number-one seed, using the gathering to intimidate the other prodigies.
What he had never expected was that this summit would see him rebuffed at every turn.
If Luo Xi and the others had merely refused to give him face and declined to play along with his plans, that was one thing.
But the sudden appearance of this mortal-world cultivator was an outright challenge to his authority — no, a slap across his face in front of everyone.
Among cultivators, trespassing on another's territory without an invitation was itself a grave disrespect. And for Jiang Chen to materialize directly on top of his perimeter wall was an absolute provocation.
If Lei Gangyang could have forcibly detained the man, his own prestige would have soared.
Yet both of his successive strikes had been effortlessly defused, and the other party appeared completely unscathed — as if the exchange had ended in a draw.
For Lei Gangyang, drawing a draw with an intruder on his own territory was an unparalleled humiliation. To make matters worse, his provocateur had simply walked away, composed and unhurried, then converted his voice into rolling thunder that echoed across the entire Heavenly Spirit Zone — a public mockery broadcast for all to hear. It was as though salt had been ground into his open wound.
In his eyes, this was nothing short of utter disgrace, and it was bound to send his reputation plummeting.
"Senior Brother Gangyang, now do you see just how insolent that beast is?" Long Juxue egged him on, her voice light and cool.
"Sister Long, this boy is your fated enemy — what do you think of him?"
Lei Gangyang suddenly shifted his tone, watching Long Juxue with a half-smile playing at his lips. "Did you feel that this boy's strength was severely underestimated by us before?"
Long Juxue naturally caught the subtext in Lei Gangyang's words and replied coolly, "No matter how many tricks he has, no matter how much cunning he possesses, the moment he faces me, he will be crushed."
She knew Lei Gangyang was deliberately testing her, trying to use these words to provoke her and shake her Dao Heart. After all, on the surface they were senior and junior fellow disciples, but in truth, at the end of the day, they were competitors.
Lei Gangyang in particular had witnessed Long Juxue's meteoric rise — to the point that even Senior Zeng of the Water Moon lineage had seen his standing eclipsed by her.
To say that Lei Gangyang didn't feel even a hint of crisis would be a lie.
He certainly didn't want his position as the Purple Sun Sect's First Senior Brother to be claimed by Long Juxue as well.
Although, deep down, he knew that in the eyes of the sect's powerbrokers, his own standing might already have fallen behind Long Juxue's.
But, as the First Senior Brother, as the leader of the pack — at least in terms of raw strength, he was still ahead!
Even if he had to hand over the scepter as king of the younger generation, Lei Gangyang didn't want it to happen so soon, and certainly not in such a docile, submissive fashion.
Miss Long was no fool either. Outwardly she maintained a show of respect toward Lei Gangyang, but deep inside, she had long been prepared to seize power.
When she detected the murderous edge in Lei Gangyang's words, she naturally refused to show weakness.
Her retort carried a subtle undertone of sarcasm aimed squarely at Lei Gangyang.
The implication was clear: that Jiang Chen, if he clashed with me, would be crushed without question. And just now, you — the First Senior Brother of the younger generation of the Purple Sun Sect — launched two consecutive attacks, yet still let the man walk away unscathed. What a humiliating loss of face.
While the two sparred with words, the others had begun filing out as well.
Judging from their expressions, apart from Shi Yunyun of the Liuyun Sect who still wore that faint, placid smile, every other face looked deeply grave.
Clearly, Jiang Chen's parting warning had already done its work.
"Anyone who isn't afraid of death — challenge me!"
That was no idle threat. Having witnessed the clash between that secular prodigy and Lei Gangyang, these so-called geniuses had suddenly realized they had drastically underestimated the young man's martial prowess.
If even Lei Gangyang, a prodigy at the seventh level of the Spirit Realm, had failed to gain the upper hand against that secular talent, just how formidable must this person's combat strength truly be?
For a moment, every genius present — those like Tie Dazhi chief among them — felt a shadow settle over their hearts. Each secretly asked himself: if it had been him in that arena, could he have withstood two such devastating blows from Lei Gangyang?