The Hero Palace would only recruit the best geniuses among the new graduates of the Sacred Institute every year.
There were still two months to go until this yearâs graduation, which meant the current newbies had been at the Hero Palace for ten months.
These ten months were enough for them to transform and improve.
Murong Xing had joined the Hero Palace two years ago. He had been in the initial phase of the Reaching Heaven State for a long time and had finally moved up to a new level.
As a newbie, it would be impossible for Jiang Chen to dodge his attack.
It was true. Jiang Chen hadnât drawn his sword or his knife. He had completely given up, just standing there still.
The sword was already very close to him.
A white figure suddenly appeared and parried Murong Xingâs sword under peopleâs shocked gazes.
Murong Xing lost his spiritual sword and fell onto the ground. The slide of his body left a deep track in the ground.
Grr!
A thundering tiger growl came while people were still in shock. Everyone covered their ears in pain.
Whitty had suddenly shown up in killing mode. His scarlet eyes were giving off tremendous killing intent. The bystanders felt their souls trembling, as if they were in hell.
âWhitty,â Jiang Chen called him gently, trying to stop Whitty from killing Murong Xing.
Whittyâs hair, which had been standing on end, went down again. His eyes went back to blue. He ran towards the mountain wall beside them and up to the peak like he was running on a flat road. Then he jumped down gracefully, ran back to Jiang Chen, and nuzzled his lap. After all this was done, he just ran aside to play by himself.
Whitty had turned back to the tame mount that had come with Jiang Chen.
However, Murong Xing, still lying on the ground, was spitting blood. It looked like he had been badly injured.
âWhat a formidable animal!â
âMurong Xing couldnât even take one attack from his mount.â
âTwo elders are coming.â
When the bystanders had just come back to themselves, two elders could be seen approaching from the Time Palace.
The disciples stepped back involuntarily. The guys from the Knife Dragon Association were surprised to see the situation getting serious, but at the same time, they felt very excited.
Anyway, they wouldnât be the ones to be punished.
One elder helped Murong Xing stand up. The other walked towards Jiang Chen, staring at Whitty.
âTell your mount to stop fighting back and put its collar on.â
This elder was still young, not too fat or too slim. He was average-looking, but his sharp look was giving off the aggressive energy that belonged to Reaching Heaven States.
âI donât have a collar for him,â Jiang Chen said.
âNo?â
The elder pulled a long face. He was getting angry. He said, âYou donât have a collar for such a ferocious mount? Someone was injured because of your indulgence.â
âElder, youâve come just in time. Iâm guessing you saw what happened. Letâs forget about the collar for a minute. Do you think Iâm the one to blame?â asked Jiang Chen.
âYou think youâre not?!â the elder answered Jiang Chenâs question with a question. His voice was cold and fierce.
âShould I have stood there without fighting back?â
The elder flicked his sleeve and said, âYou provoked him first. Murong Xing is a proud person. Of course, he wouldnât allow you to talk nonsense to him. It was quite reasonable for him to attack you.â
âReasonable? Great. Reasonable!â Jiang Chen was so angry that he burst out in laughter. This elder reminded him of the elders of the Natural Law School that had been against him. They were the same. None of them could tell right from wrong.
The Hero Palace wasnât an exception.
âJiang Chen, shut up. You wonât die if you donât talk back,â Ying Wushuang said coldly.
âYeah?â
Jiang Chen was surprised. Had she just warned him with good intentions?
âDu Yue, Murong Xing has been badly injured. Iâm afraid heâll be bedridden for months,â the elder that was treating Murong Xingâs injury said.
âTake him back and give him a proper treatment.â
The elder called Du Yue didnât even look back, never taking his cold eyes off Jiang Chen for a second.
âIf youâre a disciple of the Sacred Institute, youâll be whipped. If youâre from the Hero Palace, youâll practice with handcuffs on for one year.â
âIf youâre neither, youâll die!â
When Du Yue said âdie,â the whole world outside the Time Palace quieted down.
âIâm from the Hero Palace,â said Jiang Chen. He sounded strangely calm.
âGreat.â
Du Yue took out a pair of heavy handcuffs from who knows where and threw them in front of Jiang Chen.
âPut it on.â
Du Yue looked indifferent. He sounded like he wouldnât accept any disputes from Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen squatted down as if he was really going to put the shackles on. Some of the bystanders gloated over this scene. Others shook their heads with pity.
âThe cuffs weigh thousands of pounds. What a punishment,â Jiang Chen exclaimed.
âThe heaviness isnât the key point.â
The people around smiled disdainfully to show that they knew the secret well.
Being chained in the Hero Palace for a year would make him a complete joke. No one would be friends with him. He wouldnât achieve anything, not to mention his tasks outside the Hero Palace.
âElder Du Yue, if I put them on, Iâm afraid youâll be blamed.â
Jiang Chen stood up and ignored the handcuffs.
âWhat did you say?â Du Yue thought maybe he had misheard him. This new face had had the nerve to speak to him so arrogantly?
Those from the Knife Dragon Association burst out in laughter when they heard him.
âA short-term disciple joined the Hero Palace ahead of time, and he thinks heâs someone important?â
They had investigated Jiang Chen after their quarrel.
The other people werenât as surprised once they had learned Jiang Chenâs background. In their eyes, Jiang Chen was nothing but a clown.
Du Yue was also very clear that it was impossible for a short-term disciple to have any support in the Dragon Field.
âSo you donât think I can do anything to you? Or Iâll be afraid of this beast?â Du Yue said.
âAnyway, Iâve warned you. If you insist, Iâll accept your justifiable punishment! But hopefully you wonât regret it.â Jiang Chen shrugged his shoulders and put the chains on. They clanged when he walked.
âTheyâre not only heavy, but also painful. Even if I enter the Time Palace, it will just be a waste of time. Wushuang, letâs go. Weâd better go back,â Jiang Chen shook his head and said.
âThis is only the punishment for now. If anything happens to Murong Xing, youâll be punished further!â Du Yue didnât feel it was enough to vent his anger. If there hadnât been so many people around, he would have slapped Jiang Chen.
âFine. Letâs sit here for a while.â
Ying Wushuang knew what Jiang Chen was planning. She rolled her eyes and helped Jiang Chen sit down.
The curiosity of those watching was piqued. Would something unexpected happen as Jiang Chen had claimed?
Du Yue was very unhappy. He pointed at Whitty, who was beside them in a bad mood, and shouted, âI wonât let you go anyway. I havenât heard any news about Murong Xingâs condition yet. If anything happens to him, this beast will be killed immediately!â
âPity.â
Whitty was a precious mount, both in terms of appearance and strength. It would be quite heartbreaking if he was killed for this.
If they had to find someone to blame, they would blame his master, because he was so stupid that he had asked for trouble himself.
âWhat happened?â
Suddenly, several lights landed from the air. Several figures showed up outside the Time Palace.
âWow!â
Everyone was surprised when they saw who had come. They were all important elders with authority in the Hero Palace.
âElders.â
Even Du Yue had to greet them with respect. He wasnât feeling well, but he refused to believe what seemed to be true.