When he said this, not only the three people with him were embarrassed, but the people around also gave him uncomfortable looks.
Shi Tian was the first to respond, feeling awkward under others’ gazes. He said, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is to join the Natural Law School? People who could join there are one in a million. I’m not exaggerating at all.”
“I’m just telling the truth,” Jiang Chen said.
“You are biting off more than you can chew!” Shi Tian shouted at him.
“One should know their place.” Ye Xiu shook her head. She wasn’t as angry as Shi Tian, but was also laughing at him silently.
“Thank you for your invitation, Brother Meng.”
After saying this to Meng Hao, Jiang Chen shrugged and turned around to leave.
“Jiang Chen…” Meng Hao didn’t expect things to end like this, feeling very nervous.
“Brother Meng Hao, leave him alone. He’s just an insolent man from the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Just let the demon bats catch him!” Shi Tian said.
“That’s right. He really has an ego. People who don’t know him might think he’s important,” Ye Xiu nodded as well.
Meng Hao let out a sigh and gave up on persuading Jiang Chen.
In a flash, Jiang Chen had been on the Cloudbuster for two days.
He would arrive in Ninedragons in Widepool on the next day.
That night, when people were sound asleep, Jiang Chen heard strange screams and the flapping of wings coming from overhead.
The crew shouted to warn the passengers. “The demon bats!”
Jiang Chen walked out of the tent and found it was chaos on the deck. Everyone was rushing into the cabin, regardless of whether there was space or not, just trying to get to safety.
Those with bows on the ship volleyed arrows at the attackers. The demon bats came into sight.
The demon bats looked like small people with sharp teeth and claws. When they spread out their wings, they measured two meters from end to end. Their claws were as sharp as razors.
“What bad luck!”
It was out of Jiang Chen’s expectation that he would encounter these beasts on his first Cloudbuster trip, since the odds of meeting them were only one in three.
A crewman shouted loudly, “Everyone stay back to back! Or lean your back against the wall! As long as they don’t grab you and take you into the sky, you will have a slim chance of survival!” But then his shout turned into a scream.
He was caught by a demon bat and was carried up. Then, the bat loosened his grip and another bat caught him.
They did this repeatedly and finally, he was unable to scream anymore.
“Back to back!” Meng Hao told his companions immediately.
There were already a few demon bats around, preparing to attack.
The ghost level beasts weren’t a big threat for people in the Gathering Yuan State. If it was a one-on-one fight, the human would definitely win.
But there were more demon bats than people at that moment. Besides, they could fly. If distracted even a little, people could be taken into the sky.
As a man who had mastered the sword point, Meng Hao was really good. He was moving with great speed and killed a demon bat easily.
“The demon bat’s body is very weak, but watch their claws!” Meng Hao shouted to inform the others.
However, the demon bats were irritated by the death of their companion. There were five or six bats attacking Meng Hao and his two friends.
Ye Xiu and Shi Tian’s arms were soon wounded and bleeding.
“Brother Hao, we can’t hold them off anymore!” Shi Tian shouted out in fear.
“I don’t want to be caught.” The sword in Ye Xiu’s hand was drooping.
“On the ground, face down!”
Meng Hao was very calm. If Ye Xiu and Shi Tian were able to behave like him, they could have formed a perfect triangular formation and wouldn’t have to have worried about the demon bats.
But Ye Xiu and Shi Tian cowered in the face of death. What a pity!
Meng Hao was a loyal friend. He was worried about his friends’ safety and ordered them to lie on all fours, while he brandished his sword, trying to form the first line of defense with his own body.
However, more and more demon bats came to attack him. He was under severe pressure.
Sparks flew in all directions when the sword hit the claws.
“Ah!” Meng Hao screamed. A pair of claws grasped his shoulders. His feet were already off the ground.
At this crucial moment, a red ray appeared to attack. The demon bat was torn apart immediately.
Meng Hao fell back to the ground, half kneeling. His right shoulder was bleeding.
He raised his head and saw Jiang Chen coming nearer in the darkness. The sword in his hand was emitting a bright red light.
“Stay on the ground and face down,” Jiang Chen said to him.
With a wave of the Redcloud Sword, the deck was filled with the energy of the sword.
When the demon bats around came in contact with the sharp rays of the sword, they were cut into pieces instantly.
Meng Hao had felt the power of his swordsmanship and was dumbstruck. “The spirit of the sword. He has mastered the spirit of the sword!”
“What?!” Shi Tian couldn’t believe what he had heard. A youngster from the Hundred Thousand Mountains had such a high level of the swordsmanship realm?
But he had to believe when he raised his head.
Because he found Jiang Chen had achieved the peak of the preliminary stage, better than even his own stage!
His face turned red when he thought of his earlier contempt for Jiang Chen, as if someone had slapped him.
The corpses of the demon bats kept falling down while the Redcloud Sword was moving.
Human beings can’t fly, but these beasts could, only gaining strength once each time they flew. If they didn’t hit their target, they had to fly away and repeat the whole process again.
The demon bats started to retreat.
On the deck beside Jiang Chen, there were ten corpses of demon bats.
People started to walk out of the cabin when there were no more noises.
“How come? The demon bats usually only leave after they’ve finished hunting. How could they have been fended off?” The crew had a secret place to hide, so more than 90% of them had survived.
They thought 70% of the passengers on the deck would die, but less than 10% had died.
They also noticed those who had survived were looking at one young man with appreciation.
The youngster didn’t look like he had fought. He wasn’t wounded. His clothes weren’t even stained.
Then people started to clear up the corpses of the demon bats. They threw them off the ship.
As for the dead people, they covered them with a canvas sheet.
Jiang Chen helped Meng Hao dress his wounds. He said, “You didn’t have to do that just now.”
Ye Xiu and Shi Tian were so ashamed that they wanted to look for a hole to crawl into. They knew what Jiang Chen meant.
“They are my friends.” Meng Hao was very pale, his forehead soaked with sweat. But he tried to smile.
Jiang Chen didn’t speak. He was sighing silently when thinking of Ye Xiu and Shi Tian’s performance.
The Cloudbuster arrived in Ninedragons at dawn.
The ship stopped by the city wall. The local people weren’t surprised when they heard that the Cloudbuster had been attacked by demon bats. It was normal for them.
They returned the ship fare to everyone on the deck and sent the wounded to the local hospital.
Jiang Chen left when no one was paying attention. Many people had seen him using the Redcloud Sword. There could be people spying on him.
After making sure there was no one following him, he started to walk around Ninedragons at ease.
It was the end of winter. The city was crowded with people from the whole world, gathering there and waiting for chances to show their capabilities.
All sects and schools were recruiting disciples.
Of course the Natural Law School got the most attention. People were curious to see how many lucky people would join the school this year.
The disciples of the Natural Law School were well regarded in the whole Fire Field.
Some of the others, such as the Swordquest School, were only famous in the Province of Widepool.
If one could become a disciple of the Natural Law School, not only would they receive quality training, but their safety would also be guaranteed so that they could grow up in this cruel world.
Even their families would be taken care of. As the saying goes, when a man attains the highest status possible, even his pets ascend to heaven.