Jiang Chen had almost forgotten about the letter of challenge, but the people of the Sacred City hadnât. Instead, they had kept it in mind and had been looking forward to this day.
The day of the fight finally came.
Zhuang Tian hadnât come alone. A group of people followed him into the Sacred Institute.
The attraction of this fight was Jiang Chenâs identity.
A short-term disciple of the Sacred Institute had insulted Zhuang Fan from the Zhuangs and almost gotten him killed. This news had been reported by the Sacred Cityâs newspaper. Although it was only published in a corner on the second page, it had attracted many peopleâs attention.
This day was when the fight would happen. Many nosy people, as well as Zhuang Tianâs family and friends, had come to support him.
âZhuang Tian, letâs make it clear before the fight. Even if you win, it doesnât mean youâve defeated a disciple of the Sacred Institute. Jiang Chen is only a short-term disciple.â
Lin Yu, who had warned Jiang Chen, cared more about the fight than Jiang Chen himself. He and some disciples of the Heaven Grade of the west courtyard had arrived even before Jiang Chen.
âSounds like the disciples of the Sacred Institute can defeat me easily,â Zhuang Tian sneered.
He was in white, looking hefty and energetic. His eyes were as sharp as knives.
âAt least among those who are the same age and state as you, no one is worse than you,â Lin Yu said seriously.
âYeah? Then why couldnât you even take a short-term disciple down? I heard heâs drawn much attention recently, and almost surpassed you,â Zhuang Tian mocked him.
âHe was just showing off.â
Lin Yuâs expression changed. Of course, he knew Jiang Chen had joined the superfine class, but it didnât mean he had won the recognition of the other disciples.
âWhatever. If the Sacred Institute isnât able to educate him, Iâll lend you a hand. I donât care whether itâs a disciple of the Sacred Institute that I defeat or not.â
âYouâd better not care,â Lin Yu sneered.
When Jiang Chen arrived at the square, there were two groups of people there. In comparison, he seemed a bit lonely, since he had come alone.
âYouâre Jiang Chen?â
It was the first time for Zhuang Tian had seen him. The letter of challenge had been sent to him by a third party.
âYep.â
âWell, youâve got some guts coming here alone! You know my brother is suffering because of you?â Zhuang Tian said sternly.
âI just gave him back what he said to me. If he couldnât take it, why should others?â
âAhem, youâre only a poor guy from the countryside. You should know who you are by now! Is your worthless life comparable to that of my brother?â
âAh, we have another one. Many people have said the same thing to me, and they all ended badly.â
As the two were crossing verbal swords, Lin Yu got impatient. He urged them on, âAre you done with talking? Fight!â
âJiang Chen, you canât fight with an outsider in the Sacred Institute. You two have to fight outside.â
Jiang Chen said, âI didnât know all of the rules of the Sacred Institute had been made by you. Youâre so great.â
âCut the crap. Even though youâre in the superfine class, youâre still a short-term disciple!â Lin Yuâs tone became more irritating because of jealousy.
âDonât rush. Youâve squawked before me several times, and I donât like it. Iâd better kill two birds with one stone today.â
The others were confused. They didnât understand what Jiang Chen had meant.
Although it was clear what his words implied, it didnât seem possible to them.
âYou two, bring it on, together.â
To their surprise, it was exactly what Jiang Chen had meant. He pointed at Zhuang Tian first, then Lin Yu, and said, âIâm going to have the fight in this square. Bring it on if you donât agree, on behalf of the Sacred Institute!â
As arrogant as ever!
The five disciples of the Fire Field were also in the crowd. The same idea occurred to them at the same time.
One could be arrogant, but he had to be strong enough. In the outsidersâ eyes, Jiang Chen was only a short-term disciple, so his words irritated almost all of them at once.
The disciples of the Heaven Grade of the west courtyard rolled up their sleeves and urged Lin Yu to teach him a lesson.
âHow arrogant. Heâs only a short-term disciple.â
âHe really thinks heâs powerful enough to fight with two people at the same time?â
âGo to heck!â
Zhuang Tian couldnât take it anymore, since he was the one who had challenged Jiang Chen. Jiang Chen was looking down on him.
His weapon was a knife, a class-six spiritual knife with a shining luster.
The person and the knife advanced together. The power of the knife immediately reached its peak, creating a strong and endless white wave in the air.
âI told you that you couldnât have the fight at the Sacred Institute!â
Lin Yu threw a tantrum when he saw them start the fight. He threw his spiritual sword out extremely fast. The energy given off by the sword was strong enough to shatter the universe.
One of Jiang Chenâs rivals was from the Heaven Grade of the west courtyard and the other was ranked on the Dragon Rise List. One used sword and the other used knife. They had already achieved the master level.
It was a pity that their opponent was Jiang Chen.
He pressed his black knife down. As a result, the tail of the sheath went up. Between the knife and him, there was a formidable power accumulating. The hand on the handle was the switch to release it.
âDonât look down on others!â
Both Zhuang Tian and Lin Yu were irritated. The knife and the sword became more aggressive.
By then, everyone knew Jiang Chen was a left-handed swordsman, but he insisted on using the knife to confront these two.
Was he arrogant or stupid?
âWithout shapes, without appearances, without permanence, without fixation, without uses, without boundaries, without limits, this is the infinite Maha.â
âA knife attack without shapes!â
He mouthed the formula silently before he drew his knife out, then it came out of its sheath silently.
No one could see through this knife attack, because it looked too simple, so simple that it could be described in one sentence.
But this knife attack not only parried Zhuang Tian and Lin Yuâs attacks, but also sent them flying.
This knife attack didnât try to crack the knife and the sword. Instead, it destroyed them directly.
âHow boring. You should keep on working.â
Jiang Chen shook his head and put the knife back in its sheath, then turned around and left without looking back.
âStop!â
Lin Yu turned red. He hadnât been convinced.
âI lost.â
However, Zhuang Tian took his knife back.
âYouâ!â
âDonât forget that heâs a swordsman,â Zhuang Tian said before Lin Yu could open his mouth.
Lin Yuâs anger disappeared. He was stunned.
It had happened too fast. There were more people coming. They hadnât expected the fight to end so fast, and they were surprised to learn that it was Jiang Chen who had won.
Zhuang Tian, top ten on List D of the Dragon Rise List, had mastered first-class martial arts techniques. His state was also high, the peak of the late stage.
Lin Yu, in the top 100 of the Heaven Grade List of the west courtyard, was as excellent as Zhuang Tian.
Both of them had some fame in the Sacred City, but they had been defeated by Jiang Chen with one knife attack, and he was actually a left-handed swordsman. People couldnât help but wonder how powerful this short-term disciple was.
At the same time, Jiang Chen had affected more people.
After his rise, the short-term disciples of the four courtyards stopped behaving like cowards. They would follow Jiang Chenâs example and talk back when they were threatened.
The disciples of the Sacred Institute werenât very happy with that. If this went on, there would be no differences between them and the short-term disciples.
Many disciples of the Sacred Institute hoped someone would come forward to teach Jiang Chen a lesson.
The key was that this guy needed to be strong enough. Otherwise, he would only be another stepping stone for Jiang Chen.
There were such people in the Sacred Institute, and quite a few.
More than half of the top 100 of the overall list of the four courtyards could take the current Jiang Chen down.