Arrogant!
Incomparably arrogant!
No one could have imagined that a handyman who had just entered the Xianyun Sword Sect not long ago would dare to speak to the veteran Wang Hu in such a manner. His words and demeanor were filled with utter disdain, completely disregarding him.
Liu Yun was filled with boundless regret at this moment. Had she known he was such a reckless hothead, why on earth had she bothered meddling?
Now she was in for it—once she was discovered, she was definitely finished...
Even Wang Yuan, who harbored a bone-deep hatred for Jiang Chen and had racked his brains trying to get his older brother to deal with him, was momentarily stunned.
For a fleeting second, it felt as though time had stopped.
Good heavens, he didn't even need to draw aggro himself; this little handyman could draw it all on his own...
As for the handymen crowding around behind them, they all fell into deep thought.
At least those who were close by did.
Those further away hadn't clearly heard what Jiang Chen said, but seeing the expressions of the people in front of them, they were consumed with curiosity and desperately wanted to push forward to see what was going on.
Yet, due to the severe congestion, pushing through was simply impossible.
Finally, someone couldn't hold back anymore and whispered urgently, "Brother, brother, what on earth is going on?"
"Yeah, yeah, what is happening up front? How come not a single one of you is saying anything?"
"What's wrong with Jiang Chen? What is he trying to do now?"
"Right, did Jiang Chen beg for mercy? I can't see a thing—did he drop to his knees?"
"..."
Among these people were many new handymen, and they all shared one common trait: a deep hostility toward Jiang Chen.
After all, from their perspective... they were all newly arrived handymen, so why were they the only ones being oppressed and having their resources plundered, while Jiang Chen alone went around plundering others back?
This made them feel extremely unbalanced. Since they were all handymen, why should there be such a difference?
Consequently, they desperately hoped to see Jiang Chen crushed, stripped of his resources, and ideally crippled!
No one spoke.
After a long while, someone finally broke the silence, their voice filled with shock: "Jiang Chen... wants to go toe-to-toe with Wang Hu."
Gasp!
Like a single stone stirring up a thousand ripples, the crowd plunged into silence.
Aside from shock, they had no other thoughts whatsoever.
This Jiang Chen... was truly arrogant to the extreme!
Meanwhile, a subset of handymen, though keeping expressionless faces and saying nothing aloud, were inwardly bursting with anticipation, longing for Jiang Chen to be crippled by Wang Hu!
A terrifying powerhouse at the Qi Refining Realm 5th Layer, and Jiang Chen dared to provoke him like this?
There was no difference between this and courting death!
Among everyone present, not a single soul favored Jiang Chen's chances.
Then, Jiang Chen leisurely added, "Wang Hu, I hear you're at the Qi Refining 5th Layer..."
Wang Hu narrowed his eyes. Truth be told, he hadn't originally wanted to come over, given how many issues this cousin of his stirred up day in and day out.
He still had other matters to attend to.
However, coming here this time naturally had its reasons.
After listening to what Wang Yuan had to say, Wang Hu realized that this Jiang Chen was definitely abnormal. All things considered, the fellow couldn't have been here as a handyman for even a full month.
He probably hadn't even come into contact with immortal cultivation techniques before this, yet in less than a month, he had actually broken through directly to the Qi Refining 2nd Layer!
There had to be some treasure hidden on him.
With this suspicion in mind, Wang Hu had chosen to carve out time and come over personally to verify his guess.
And now, he was even more certain of it.
Wang Hu looked at Jiang Chen and suddenly burst out laughing: "Hahaha, you really are an interesting fellow."
"How about this? I'll point a way out for you—hand over the treasure, and from now on, I've got your back."
"If you don't..."
Wang Hu didn't finish his sentence, but his fierce, cold gaze already conveyed his exact meaning.
You won't hand it over?
Then... I'll cripple you.
Hearing this, Jiang Chen gave a faint smile: "I don't have any so-called treasure, and likewise... I don't need you to have my back."
Everyone was completely bewildered by this exchange.
Treasure?
Having your back?
What on earth was going on here?
Before they could sort out the conversation between Jiang Chen and Wang Hu, they saw Wang Hu flash forward, delivering a direct kick straight toward Jiang Chen.
A faint smile hung on Wang Hu's face; this kick seemed imbued with the force of a thousand jun, unleashing the full, unreserved power of the Qi Refining 5th Layer!
Wang Hu was utterly confident that as long as his kick landed on Jiang Chen, breaking the fellow's leg would be an absolute breeze!
Yet Jiang Chen neither dodged nor parried, offering only a faint smile. The next instant, his right hand blurred into a phantom, moving too fast for the eye to track, and when it reappeared, it had already clamped firmly onto Wang Hu's leg, catching it with absolute steadiness.
Moreover, throughout the entire process—Jiang Chen was completely unaffected, and the blow containing Wang Hu's full strength failed to make Jiang Chen's body tremble by even a fraction.
"What?!"
The confident, haughty expression on Wang Hu's face finally shifted. Struck by utter terror, he stared at the Jiang Chen before him in disbelief and shock.
Qi—Qi Refining 2nd Layer?
Could this truly be the combat prowess of someone at the Qi Refining 2nd Layer?
Reluctant to accept defeat, the dignified Qi Refining Realm 5th Layer cultivator refused to believe he could be suppressed like this.
"A sneak attack! Right, it was definitely a sneak attack!"
Finding an excuse for himself, Wang Hu prepared to strike again.
As for the onlookers?
They were all completely frozen in place.
Wait, was this Jiang Chen... really this ferocious?!
Didn't he only have Qi Refining 3rd Layer strength just a short while ago? How could he already suppress Wang Hu now?
This... this was at least the Qi Refining 5th Layer!
Even if they weren't at the Qi Refining 5th Layer themselves, they had seen enough pigs run to know what pork tasted like, right?
Judging by the strength Jiang Chen had just displayed, it was definitely at the level of the Qi Refining 5th Layer!
Just as Wang Hu was about to test the waters once more, Jiang Chen's heavy slap suddenly arrived, sending Wang Hu flying with a single strike.
Wang Hu froze, and the lingering bit of reluctance in his heart instantly vanished into thin air.
He could now be certain that the strength of the Jiang Chen before him far surpassed his own; any lingering thoughts of fighting him vanished entirely from his mind...
Seeing Jiang Chen walking toward him again, Wang Hu couldn't hold back any longer and hurriedly dropped to his knees to beg for mercy: "Jiang Chen! Jiang Chen! I'll give you my storage ring, it has plenty of resources inside—just don't cripple me!"
You couldn't really blame Wang Hu for thinking this way. After all, in conflicts among handymen, having one's cultivation crippled usually resulted in nothing more than a minor punishment.
Naturally, this depended on who had the greater strength; as long as one didn't repeatedly commit such acts, the consequences were generally not too severe.
Especially not for someone with decent talent like Jiang Chen... the officials in charge of the handymen couldn't be bothered to pursue accountability either, since they were always happy to see someone graduate from their ranks to the outer sect.
Therefore, casting aside all pride, Wang Hu recalled the countless enemies he had made over the years—it was hard to imagine how dark his life would become if his cultivation were truly crippled...
Jiang Chen was taken aback, then smiled and said, "You're quite sensible after all. Hand over the storage ring, then."
He hadn't actually planned to cripple Wang Hu anyway; he merely wanted to teach him a lesson.
Hearing this, Wang Hu hurriedly presented the storage ring with both hands. Though his heart was bleeding, he also felt a deep sense of relief!
Thank goodness Jiang Chen was letting him off!