No sooner had Jiang Chen's words left his lips than dozens of his phantom figures appeared across the entire arena.
Yan Hongtu's expression changed drastically. Every one of those dozens of phantoms looked utterly real—there was no way to tell which was the original and which was the copy.
"Yan Hongtu, we are fellow disciples. Yet you insist on pushing your luck. You've been bullying everyone in Lingyun District, stepping on people so long it's become a habit. Today, I'll let you know what it feels like to be stepped on."
Suddenly!
Howling winds erupted all around the arena.
The storm blazed with golden light, instantly forming a golden ocean.
"Primordial Magnetic Storm!"
Jiang Chen had been building this up for some time, charging it in readiness. Now he unleashed everything at once. The Primordial Magnetic Storm's power could swallow anything whole.
With Yan Hongtu's current strength, a single Primordial Magnetic Storm from Jiang Chen wouldn't have been enough to consume him.
But when multiple storms converged together, the resulting force was terrifying.
Yan Hongtu suddenly felt himself sinking into a strange rhythm. His entire body's movement became sluggish, as if he were wading through treacle.
"What's going on? How did my whole body suddenly become so heavy?" Yan Hongtu was horrified.
A Primordial Magnetic Storm swept around his waist, and he instantly lost his balance. He tried to transform into a streak of light and escape, but storms from every direction coiled around his limbs and locked them in place.
One by one, Jiang Chen's phantom figures reverted to their true forms. Countless vines transformed into tough, resilient ropes that bound Yan Hongtu tight.
In that moment, no matter how many tricks Yan Hongtu had, not a single one could be executed.
Jiang Chen's real body flickered forward and materialized right in front of Yan Hongtu. The Nameless Blade swept upward in a single, decisive arc—and in a flash, it skimmed past the top of Yan Hongtu's head.
Shing!
The blade flashed past.
A chill ran through Yan Hongtu's entire body. His heart clenched, and he screamed in agony—only to realize that he wasn't hurt at all. All that had been cut was a lock of hair from the back of his head.
"Jiang Chen, if you're going to kill me, just do it! Why humiliate me?" Yan Hongtu snapped in fury and shame.
Jiang Chen's face darkened. "It's not that I don't know how to kill. It's that I choose not to. Sage Dan Chi brought me to Danxia Valley. If I were to kill you today, everyone would blame him for bringing in troublemaker, and that would tarnish his reputation. Were it purely up to me, your offense would earn you ten cuts—and I wouldn't so much as furrow my brow."
His voice rose sharply. "I, Jiang Chen, have only one principle: if you don't cross me, I won't cross you. But if you do cross me, I will cross you. This is your first time, Yan Hongtu, and I'm giving Sage Dan Chi face. But if there is a next time—no matter who it is—my blade will show no mercy."
Jiang Chen used Yan Hongtu's defeat as a declaration to all of Danxia Valley: don't mess with me. Whoever tries next won't get off with just a few strands of hair on the ground.
Yan Hongtu's face was ashen. He could never have imagined that he, a cultivator at the fifth level of the Yuan Realm, would be crushed so effortlessly by Jiang Chen.
For all his stubborn pride, he couldn't bring himself to say a single defiant word. If he angered Jiang Chen enough, one stroke of that blade would mean death, no matter how tough he pretended to be.
Below the arena, the spectators stood frozen like wooden chickens.
A fight that everyone had assumed Yan Hongtu would win had ended in this bizarre, rapid fashion.
Most hadn't even figured out what Jiang Chen had done before Yan Hongtu was defeated—completely, suddenly, and utterly.
A chill settled over every observer's heart.
Not a single one of them doubted Jiang Chen's words. The fact that he hadn't killed Yan Hongtu this time didn't mean the next person to provoke him would be so lucky.
Jiang Chen retracted his divine ability and walked straight off the arena, ignoring the countless stunned stares around him.
Just as he'd always believed, status and treatment were things you earned for yourself.
He was certain that after this battle, no one in Danxia Valley would dare chatter behind his back, and certainly no one else would be foolish enough to use him, Jiang Chen, as a stepping stone to display their own dominance.
Jiang Chen was no soft persimmon. He was a hard bone to chew.
The sect world worked in strange ways.
The weaker you were, the less respect you received. The more imposing and formidable you appeared, the more attention—and deference—you commanded.
News of the battle spread at lightning speed.
Sage Dan Chi received the report almost immediately.
"The Sage's eye for talent is truly extraordinary. Ha ha! This Jiang Chen has only been in Danxia Valley for three days, and he's already beaten Yan Hongtu into the ground. It seems the old order of Danxia Valley is about to be overturned."
"I have to admit, this Jiang Chen has changed my view of the Sixteen Surrounding Kingdoms. To produce someone like Jiang Chen—whether through anyone's deliberate effort or not—it proves one thing: even the smallest, most overlooked places can give rise to geniuses!"