An elder reacted first. He said with hope in his eyes, âYou mean you killed someone on the Slay Demon List?â
âThatâs right.â
âReally? Who did you kill then?â said Mo Jianfei. He sounded like he didnât believe Jiang Chen at all.
âLiu Shayang,â Ying Wushuang answered for Jiang Chen. She had made sure Jiang Chen wasnât lying to her by that point, but her words made everyone around feel strange.
The vice presidents of the Sword Association burst out in laughter, despite their injuries.
âLiu Shayang killed Duan Wuhui at the Wind Moon City only two days ago. His strength deserves much better than number ten on the Slay Demon List!â
Mo Jianfei looked complacent, as if he had exposed Jiang Chenâs lie.
Jiang Chen had just come back. It was normal that he knew nothing about the reports of The Sacred Daily.
As a result, his lie was full of holes.
If it was true, Jiang Chen would have returned from the Wind Moon City as soon as he had killed Liu Shayang, the day before.
Aside from the gap in strength between them, which was the key factor, if he had really killed Liu Shayang, it would have been a desperate fight.
But he didnât look like he had experienced such a fight at all.
âYes, he held back his strength, but it didnât change anything.â Jiang Chen found it funny.
âYouâre still sticking to your lie. All right, let me ask you one thing. Do you have any proof? You canât just leave directly after killing someone,â Mo Jianfei kept staring at him. He looked sure of himself, smiling.
Jiang Chen didnât waste time talking. He took out the recording reel and played the video of Liu Shayang dying on the balcony.
The Hero Palace not only had names on the Slay Demon List, but also photos, so those watching recognized Liu Shayang immediately.
In the video, he couldnât have been more lifeless.
âHow could it beâŚâ
Mo Jianfei had fought against Jiang Chen only a few months before. If he was already strong enough to kill Liu Shayang, his progress would have been surprisingly extreme.
Besides, they had learned that Liu Shayang had been holding back his strength that very day. He would naturally have fought with all his effort before his death, but it didnât change anything.
âYou canât be that strong. You must have followed Liu Shayang and recorded his death after someone else killed him. Now youâre claiming you killed him. How shameless you are!â
Mo Jianfei finally found an excuse that seemed reasonable and acceptable to him.
âMoron,â Jiang Chen couldnât help but curse. He said, âI killed him at the Wind Moon City. The news will come tonight at the earliest, and my task will be due in nine days. Donât you understand?â
What he had said reminded the bystanders that Mo Jianfeiâs questioning was meaningless.
âBesides, donât behave like this, as if youâre reluctant to accept the fact that you have some kind of restriction that stops you from fighting against me now. Iâll come to you in a month. Donât try to run away from me then,â Jiang Chen continued.
âWhat a joke. All right! Iâll seek justice for my men then.â
Mo Jianfei had been looking for an excuse to leave, since it wasnât possible to have the fight or acceptable to give up the fight. He left with the five vice presidents after he finished speaking.
The bystanders left, too.
The elders took Jiang Chenâs reel and hurried to fly deep into the Hero Palace.
After everyone else had left, Ying Wushuang asked out of curiosity, âJiang Chen, are you really going to challenge Mo Jianfei?â
âWhy do you ask? Donât you have enough confidence in me?â asked Jiang Chen.
âNo, not because of that. Mo Jianfei isnât an average guy. Itâs true that youâve defeated the five vice presidents, but those five arenât at the same level as Mo Jianfei.â
âNot at the same level? Are they much worse?â Jiang Chen asked curiously.
âYep. One wonât work for someone at the same level as oneself. Heâll just start his own guild or association.â
Ying Wushuang still hadnât told him about Mo Jianfeiâs strength precisely. In a flash of wit, she put it in another way.
âLi Qianren and the other four are ranked on List B of the Dragon Rise List. Mo Jianfei is ranked seventy-fourth on List A.
âLiu Shayangâs rank was around ninety when he held back his strength, but even if he hadnât held anything back, his rank wouldnât be higher than Mo Jianfeiâs.â
Ying Wushuang grinned when she saw that Jiang Chen finally understood.
There were too many factors to decide oneâs strength. These lists were irreplaceable.
That was why people retained such a keen interest in lists.
âIâm sort of at the same level as Mo Jianfei. So, I can start my own association,â Jiang Chen suddenly said.
Ying Wushuang didnât anticipate such a reaction from him. She was surprised, but also thought it natural, since it was him.
âYeah, as long as you get yourself into the top ten of the Fighting Power List.â
âHow? Do I need to challenge anyone?â
âNo, thatâs unnecessary. You just need to input your energy into your token and the result will come out. As long as itâs your energy, it will be counted as fighting power,â Ying Wushuang explained to him with patience.
âIncluding martial arts techniques?â
âIncluding martial arts techniques.â
Jiang Chen was a little surprised. He was eager to break into the token and see how it was designed.
âŚ
The news came faster than Jiang Chen had expected. Not even an hour had passed since the elders had left with the recording reel when a line appeared on smooth stone surfaces all over the Hero Palace.
âLiu Shayang, ranked tenth on the Slay Demon List, was killed at the Wind Moon City. Jiang Chen completed his task successfully.â
They were simple sentences, and what they meant was quite clear. They caused a great stir in many skeptical people.
It was true. It was really true!
Jiang Chen hadnât lied. He had completed his task in the past few days, and he had picked Liu Shayang, who was a hot topic.
The next day, The Sacred Daily also reported it. And it was a headline, reported with more details.
From the description of the bystanders in the Wind Moon City, people came to know how powerful Jiang Chen had been in that fight.
As for those who were dark inside and thought the Hero Palace had helped Jiang Chen, the report also shut them up.
This time, Jiang Chenâs name was no longer strange to people.
It was unnecessary to mention him and include âwho had defeated Gao Tiange in the competition held by the Sacred Instituteâ anymore.
Peopleâs first impression of him was how strong he had been to kill Liu Shayang and how talented he was at such a young age.
At the same time, he was ranked on List A of the Dragon Rise List without any doubts. He took Liu Shayangâs rank, ninety-eighth, but people knew he was far better than that.
In the Hero Palace, people started to anticipate the fight between Jiang Chen and Mo Jianfei.
They had to admit that when Jiang Chen had challenged Mo Jianfei, they hadnât believed it at all.
But by then, they knew Jiang Chen was really something. They were sure the fight would be quite wonderful.
Jiang Chen was preparing for it. His target was not only Mo Jianfei, but number one on the Dragon Rise List.
If he couldnât achieve that, it would be less feasible for him to marry his apprentice sister.
He needed this month to practice the Dragon and Elephant Method and study the phoenix bloodâs wonderful effects.
When he could receive aid from the power of both the dragon and phoenix, plus his extraordinary meridians and the holy pulse, Mo Jianfei would be easy to defeat.
However, neither the Dragon and Elephant Method nor phoenix blood were simple. It was nearly impossible for him to become proficient in both of them in one month.