The spear was over two meters long, its shaft slender yet exuding a heavy, weighty feeling. Several scales from some unknown creature were embedded at both its head and butt, while the power radiating from the gorgeous gemstones decorating its shaft surprised Jiang Yuan.
This was... Star Power?
The surprise in Jiang Yuan's eyes faded. It seemed the reason the Flood Dragon Spear had surpassed the forger's expectations might have something to do with these gemstones containing Star Power.
"Young Master Jiang Yuan, aren't you going a little too far?" An aged voice rang out.
Jiang Yuan looked over. A man dressed in black finery, with a head of white hair but the face of a middle-aged man, was glaring at him with ill intent. This was likely the Uncle Gong Chu Yun had mentioned, an expert akin to a guard assigned by the Lineage.
Rather than becoming angry, Jiang Yuan laughed. "You were the one who ambushed me just now, weren't you?"
"What a joke. I am a dignified Hua Jin Martial Artist. Why would I ambush a junior like you? You simply went too far!" Uncle Gong stared coldly at Jiang Yuan, a dangerous aura radiating from his body.
Jiang Yuan did not waste any more words. He tightened his grip, and suddenly, a surge of power flowed from the spear. That familiar force instantly coursed through his entire body.
The power of Star Power!
A faint glow appeared in Jiang Yuan's eyes. He raised his spear, and the scales upon it pulsed slightly as a barely audible dragon's roar emerged.
Starlight flashed, and the spear in Jiang Yuan's hand shot forth, moving several times faster than Chu Yun.
Uncle Gong's pupils contracted. He no longer dared to be careless, and the long blade on his back appeared in his hand, barely blocking the strike.
His Internal Force erupted at full strength, attempting to seep into Jiang Yuan's body.
Yet a force was resisting and erasing his Internal Force.
The advantage of being a Hua Jin Martial Artist was instantly cut by more than half.
Starlight blazed as Jiang Yuan finally felt once more what it had been like when starlight had enveloped him in his Third Life.
Immense power poured forth continuously through the Dragon's Roar Spear Technique.
Beneath his feet, the Spirit Snake Movement Technique, upgraded to the major mastery realm through the Martial Arts Enlightenment Card, was unleashed at full force. Jiang Yuan's steps shifted slightly, dragon roars ringing without end, and he resembled a proud true dragon surveying the world.
Uncle Gong tried to make a strategic retreat, but Jiang Yuan had him tightly entangled.
Uncle Gong only felt his entire body growing increasingly weak.
How was this possible?! He was a consummate expert who had opened the Ren Meridian! How could he lose to a junior who had not even knocked upon the Hua Jin Heavenly Gate?
A murky blackness suddenly surfaced in Uncle Gong's eyes, and strands of black qi dispersed from within his body, winding through his Internal Force.
Hm?
Jiang Yuan frowned slightly. This feeling...
The power of demons... The Hua Jin Martial Artist among the three people Jiang Yuan had encountered before had possessed the same eerie feeling.
The blackness in Uncle Gong's eyes spread outward, transforming into dark blood vessels that crawled from his eye sockets across his entire face like centipedes.
Jiang Yuan's expression turned grave as the starlight in his hand flared brightly.
"Po Jun!" Jiang Yuan recalled that sensation. Star Power boiled throughout his body, and immense force burst forth through the spear in his hand.
The blazing radiance made everyone present instinctively close their eyes.
The light erupted violently, like a comet crashing into the earth.
An incredulous yet bewildered expression appeared on Uncle Gong's face as his body vanished inch by inch within the starlight.
When the light faded, everyone looked toward the center and found only Jiang Yuan standing proudly with his spear in hand. The Chu Family's Hua Jin expert had already vanished.
Everyone fell silent.
This!
A Blood Qi cultivator defeating a Hua Jin expert against the odds?
If Jiang Yuan defeating Chu Yun within a few moves had already been enough to astonish everyone...
Then Jiang Yuan's feat of defeating Hua Jin with Blood Qi could absolutely be written into the annals of Haiyuan City.
The starlight in Jiang Yuan's eyes faded, but his expression did not change. He calmly picked up the Cold Light Sword from the ground, placed it into the weapon case, then mounted the spear onto the weapon case's external attachment.
Looking at the now-perfect weapon case, a satisfied expression appeared on his face.
Jiang Yuan swept his gaze over the still-stunned crowd and said nothing more.
"Jiang Yuan! There is no grudge between Chu Yun and you. Why did you...?"
Chu Yun finally came to his senses, but he roared unwillingly. The noble bearing of a great young master from an aristocratic family had already vanished from him. At this moment, he was more like a dog that had lost its home.
Jiang Yuan glanced at Chu Yun. He could feel the immense killing intent emanating from him, yet Jiang Yuan's eyes only revealed pity.
He casually pulled up Li Quan, who had been staring blankly from the ground, placed Li Quan's hand into Feng Yao's, and then said, "I already told you. You should not have bullied someone from my Zhenyuan Escort Agency, and you should not have taken my things."
Jiang Yuan pointed at the Flood Dragon Spear hanging from the weapon case before slinging the case onto his back.
Li Quan looked at Jiang Yuan, his face flushed red and his eyes filled with nothing but gratitude. Yet for a moment, he did not know what to say.
"Just because of that? Li Quan is not close to you, and as for the Flood Dragon Spear... I did not know it was yours either! Why did you have to disgrace me?" Chu Yun roared.
Jiang Yuan could not help laughing. He said nothing more and left alone.
Leaving Chu Yun behind, raging helplessly where he stood.
"Jiang Yuan..." Beichuan Wan leaned forward slightly and reached out her right hand, as though she wanted to chase after Jiang Yuan. Then she fell still again, standing blankly in place as she stared dazedly at his retreating back.
Within the venue, the crowd instantly erupted into an uproar.
What had happened today was simply too dramatic!
Eldest Young Master Chu had hosted a poetry gathering without inviting Jiang Yuan. Jiang Yuan had come anyway, beaten Eldest Young Master Chu senseless, and ground his face beneath his heel.
Most people did not care about the details. The surface of the matter alone was enough for everyone to feast on gossip.
This was a complete slap in the Chu Family's face!
Was the Zhenyuan Escort Agency planning to oppose the Chu Family?
Some were shocked, having connected the dots. They bid farewell to Chu Yun, who was still lying on the ground with lifeless eyes, then hurried away.
Others focused on Jiang Yuan's martial attainments.
Everyone had long heard of his Phoenix Cry Sword Technique at major mastery. That was one of the main reasons Jiang Yuan had risen to fame over the past month.
And the spear technique Jiang Yuan had used just now to defeat a Hua Jin expert against the odds was clearly the Zhenyuan Escort Agency's Dragon's Roar Spear Technique!
To defeat a Hua Jin expert, could it be the legendary Sublime Mastery?
Right, could that glittering power have been the legendary "intent"?
Spear intent?
Only that power called "intent" could cross the enormous gulf between Blood Qi and Hua Jin, could it not?
Jiang Yuan... had stunned the world with a single feat!
Everyone was impatient to share the enormous gossip they had witnessed today with others.
They all bid Chu Yun farewell in turn.
In an instant, the venue became deserted, like tea gone cold after the guests had left.
Only a handful of people remained in what had once been a lively garden.
"Young Master..." One attendant wanted to help Chu Yun up.
That action seemed to awaken Chu Yun. He violently shoved the attendant's hand away.
A venomous expression gradually appeared on his face.
"Jiang Yuan! Just you wait!"
As for Uncle Gong, who had been blasted into scraps, Chu Yun did not care. He was only an Attendant.
What had happened in the Myriad Phenomena Tower swiftly spread throughout all of Haiyuan City.
Haiyuan City was vast, but those attending the poetry gathering had all been disciples of major factions, so the news spread at once.
Especially since the incident itself carried no small amount of shock and deeper implications.
First, the Chu Family had been viciously slapped in the face.
Then there was the Zhenyuan Escort Agency's attitude toward the Chu Family that had been revealed through it.
The Zhenyuan Escort Agency had always been a neutral force akin to mercenaries. Though powerful, it had never taken the initiative to involve itself in conflicts between the city's factions.
But now, was the Zhenyuan Escort Agency going to become enemies with the Chu Family?
Then every power in Haiyuan City would be shaken!
At this time, Jiang Yuan had returned to his small courtyard. He set down the weapon case, sat cross-legged in the yard, and began sorting through the gains he had made recently.
As for the enormous waves his actions had just stirred up, Jiang Yuan knew nothing of them.
In his view, he had merely reclaimed his weapon.
Still, the Star Power within the Flood Dragon Spear had exceeded Jiang Yuan's expectations, especially since it seemed capable of cooperating with his Po Jun Destiny to strengthen his combat power.
But after the expenditure just now, the Star Power inside the Flood Dragon Spear seemed to have been exhausted...
The good news was that the Star Power was slowly recovering.
As for where it came from, it was probably from the several Meteorite Fragments embedded in the Flood Dragon Spear. Jiang Yuan had previously heard the Ban Family's Treasure Gathering Pavilion mention it in passing.
At the time, Jiang Yuan had not taken it to heart.
He had not expected those Meteorite Fragments to provide Star Power.
Then Jiang Yuan's gaze grew somewhat grave. The Attendant Chu Yun had mentioned had felt exactly the same as the people sent by that hidden force before.
Could the Chu Family be that so-called strange hidden force?
The Chu Family was Haiyuan City's foremost power. If even the Chu Family was like this, then Haiyuan City...
Jiang Yuan's thoughts grew heavy.
As for Chu Yun, he was merely an "incompetent" scion of an aristocratic family. It was not that Jiang Yuan had not considered uprooting the grass and eliminating the roots, but Chu Yun had that status after all. With so many eyes watching, Jiang Yuan could not kill him.
Jiang Yuan still could not come into conflict with the Chu Family. For now, at most, it was a conflict between Jiang Yuan and Chu Yun. It had not risen to the Lineage level.
Jiang Yuan opened the simulator and stopped thinking about what had just happened.
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