Vomiting blood might look tragic. But when Tie Can spat blood, Jiang Chen found it anything but tragic — if anything, it was downright comical.
Of course, blood or no blood, Tie Can didn't dare stick around. Time was not on his side.
If he missed the six-hour deadline, Jiang Chen would absolutely follow through on his threat to start cutting.
It had to be said that the Tie family's wealth was truly staggering. Even though Jiang Chen's list was a shameless shakedown, Tie Can managed to scrape together everything within the remaining two or three hours.
The items filled three entire secret chambers.
After tallying every last piece, Jiang Chen strolled over to Tie Can with a satisfied grin. "Elder Tie is certainly a man of his word. I hope we get more opportunities for this kind of friendly exchange in the future."
In the future?
Killing intent flared through Tie Can's mind. This kid still wanted a next time? Still talking about the future?
"Everything's here — aren't you going to release them?" Tie Can growled, barely containing his rage.
Jiang Chen laughed heartily. "Release them, of course!"
Once Jiang Chen gave the order, Tie Dazhi and Zhou Yi were brought out from the back.
Both of them looked haggard and wretched. Seeing Tie Can, they were flooded with shame. Tie Dazhi, in particular, was still injured, his face pale and ghastly.
Jiang Chen stood at the doorway, wearing a leisurely smile, and gave Tie Dazhi a little wave. "Young Master Tie Dazhi, feel free to drop by anytime you're free."
Tie Dazhi nearly spat blood from sheer fury.
From that boundless tone, it was crystal clear Jiang Chen was already itching to bleed them dry again.
With the hostages released, Tie Can dropped all pretense. A vicious grin twisted his features. "Jiang Chen, don't think this is over. You'd better be able to digest everything you swallowed from my Tie family!"
Tie Can had kept his father's counsel in mind and endured the humiliation for now. But in his heart, he was already plotting — plotting how to take his revenge during the Grand Selection!
"Jiang Chen, the only way you're safe is if you don't participate in the Grand Selection! If you do, my Tie family will make sure you die in the most wretched way imaginable!" Tie Can seethed, a tidal wave of hatred surging in his chest.
…
Inside the Tie family compound, three generations of the Tie family had gathered together.
Only four people were in the secret chamber.
Tie Long, Tie Can, and Tie Dazhi. Zhou Yi, as one of the parties involved, stood nearby attending to them.
After hearing Tie Dazhi and Zhou Yi's accounts, Tie Long's expression grew frozen, as though he were deep in thought. A long moment passed before he let out a soft sigh.
"Spirit-grade spirit birds — even the beast-taming masters in our Treasure Tree Sect would find them incredibly difficult to breed. And this Jiang Chen not only commands spirit birds in battle, but can also train them to deploy formations. Such a monster, and he comes from a mundane kingdom? It's simply unbelievable!" Tie Long's voice carried a note of wonder.
"Father, that old fossil Ye Chonglou has always been devoted to the taming and raising of spirit beasts, hasn't he? Surely these tricks were taught to him by Ye Chonglou. And this Jiang Chen is probably a chess piece that Ye Chonglou has been secretly cultivating. Wouldn't you agree?" Tie Can offered his analysis, rather pleased with himself.
"Impossible!" Tie Long shook his head decisively. "I know Ye Chonglou's level quite well. He's certainly skilled when it comes to raising spirit beasts, but commanding spirit beasts to deploy formations? That is absolutely beyond his capability. This Jiang Chen must have had some other extraordinary encounter!"
"Another encounter?" Tie Can was skeptical. "He's a nobody from the Eastern Kingdom — a backwater dump. What kind of encounter could he possibly have had there?"
Tie Dazhi nodded in agreement. "The Eastern Kingdom is nothing more than a third-rate nation. In the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance, it's completely insignificant. What sort of encounter could Jiang Chen have had there? Grandfather, I think this Jiang Chen is most likely a chess piece that Ye Chonglou has been secretly grooming."
"No, no…" Tie Long sighed softly. "Dazhi, your talent is excellent, but your temperament still needs work. This Grand Selection is an opportunity. How it ultimately turns out will depend on your fortune."
"Fortune?" Tie Can's interest was piqued. "Father, is there something more behind this Grand Selection?"
Tie Dazhi, hearing about some kind of opportunity, fixed his eager gaze on Tie Long as well.
"Hmph. While you lot were off causing trouble in the Tiangui Kingdom, I — along with Xie Tianshu and Ye Chonglou — was summoned by our sect's Grand Ancestor Qianye for a private audience. This Grand Selection is being jointly presided over by the Grand Ancestors of all four great sects. Its stature far exceeds any previous selection in history. Each sect will ultimately select four top-tier candidates, forming the strongest sixteen across all four great sects."
"The strongest sixteen?" Tie Can was taken aback. "And what special treatment do they receive afterward?"
"Obviously. These sixteen will receive personal training from the Grand Ancestors and gain access to the four sects' most core resources for cultivation."
"What?!" Tie Dazhi was thunderstruck. "Personal training from the Grand Ancestors?"
"Correct. And this isn't some perfunctory formality — it's genuine, intensive training. You could even say they would become the Grand Ancestors' direct disciples, and that wouldn't be an exaggeration. The goal is to rapidly cultivate them into Yuan Realm powerhouses. Or rather, to quickly forge them into geniuses with the potential of Yuan Realm powerhouses!"