Jiang Hai's behavior was aggressive and overbearing. After Jiang Yunfeng thought things through, he stopped showing Jiang Hai any courtesy.
Since he wanted to compete for the position of clan head, he couldn't afford to cower.
Jiang Hai was a formidable contender.
"Hmph, what a bold claim. In that case, I want to see just how strong Jiang Chen is."
"Liu Yun tried to cripple Jiang Chen's cultivation before. Who would have thought Jiang Chen would be so lucky and escape being crippled? But no one could stay lucky forever." Jiang Hai spoke coldly.
The fact that Jiang Chen's cultivation was still intact truly shocked people. After all, many had seen Jiang Chen's dantian being shattered at the time.
At that time, Jiang Chen's cultivation had indeed been rapidly vanishing, and his true qi had been spilling out, proving that his dantian had been destroyed. Yet, for some unknown reason, Jiang Chen had actually survived unscathed.
Could it be that Liu Yun had secretly held back?
But judging from how things looked, it didn't seem like an act.
With so many Chaohai Sect experts present at the time, Liu Yun couldn't possibly have faked it.
In fact, Jiang Chen's dantian had indeed been destroyed before. It was only because the Sky Devouring Pearl became Jiang Chen's new dantian that he could cultivate again.
Jiang Chen had obtained this heaven-defying opportunity, allowing his strength to rise rapidly.
"Let's just wait for the results. Arguing among ourselves now is meaningless." Jiang Yunfeng glanced at Jiang Hai and spoke indifferently.
Facts were the best proof.
"The Jiang Family's competition officially begins now. We will begin drawing lots. Everyone participating, please come forward and draw your lots," one of the Jiang Family elders announced.
He would be presiding over the Jiang Family's competition this time.
The Jiang Family's competition was an important event for the younger generation.
It concerned how many resources they would receive from the Jiang Family in the future. Thus, every genius wanted to show off, earn a better ranking, and fight for more resources.
The many geniuses stepped forward one after another to draw lots.
Jiang Chen casually drew a lot. He had drawn number three, for the second match on the third arena.
There were five arenas throughout the martial field. The matches used an elimination system, with one-on-one battles.
The victors advanced to the next round.
As for those who lost, they would have another series of simple matches afterward. After fighting another round, those ranked near the top could still advance.
This was to prevent some powerful geniuses from encountering the top-ranked geniuses too early and being eliminated prematurely.
It also gave everyone another chance to advance.
"Jiang Chen, you injured my younger brother Jiang Nan before. I hope you won't be eliminated too quickly. Don't disappoint me too much." A cold snort rang out.
Jiang Chen turned around and saw a young man looking at him. The speaker was none other than this man.
This person was Jiang Dong, Jiang Hai's eldest son and also Jiang Chen's cousin.
"Cousin Jiang Dong, I hope you won't be eliminated either. Otherwise, things won't be fun, will they?" Jiang Chen chuckled, completely unfazed by Jiang Dong's words.
Jiang Dong narrowed his eyes. Jiang Chen was surprisingly calm. Facing the Jiang Family's number-one genius, he wasn't the least bit timid—instead, he even dared to make fun of him.
Although Jiang Dong was rumored to be at the Martial Artist Realm, Eighth Level, Jiang Chen could see that he had already reached the peak of the Martial Artist Realm, Ninth Level. He was only one step away from entering the Martial Artist Realm Tenth Level.
Jiang Chen had cultivated the Sky Devouring Demonic Dragon Art, so he could naturally see through his opponent's cultivation, even if Jiang Dong had concealed it.
There was no denying that Jiang Dong was also an extraordinary genius, worthy of being the Jiang Family's number-one genius.
If Jiang Chen had not obtained the Sky Devouring Pearl, he would never have been Jiang Dong's match.
However, Jiang Chen had turned misfortune into fortune. Because of Liu Yun, the Sky Devouring Pearl had unexpectedly acknowledged him as its master and become his new dantian.
"Who here can eliminate me? How laughable." Jiang Dong sneered.
"Heh." Jiang Chen sneered back.
The two stood opposed, neither willing to yield.
Because of Jiang Hai, Jiang Dong also disliked Jiang Chen.
Especially since Jiang Chen had injured Jiang Nan earlier—he, as the older brother, had to reclaim his younger brother's honor.
After everyone finished drawing lots, the matches began, with five battles taking place simultaneously.
More than seventy Jiang Family geniuses were participating in the competition this time.
They were all members of the younger generation under twenty years old.
It was Jiang Chen's turn very soon.
Jiang Chen stepped onto the arena. His opponent was Jiang Ling, a Martial Artist Realm, Fourth Level cultivator whose strength was quite good.
Jiang Ling had been more famous than Jiang Chen before, because Jiang Chen's cultivation had previously been only at the Martial Artist Realm, Second Level.
"Jiang Chen, although your cultivation wasn't crippled, you still aren't my match. You should go down yourself, so I don't end up hurting you," Jiang Ling said indifferently.
Jiang Ling's father was the Fourth Elder. He was close to Jiang Hai and supported Jiang Hai's bid to become clan head.
He had likewise received orders that, if he encountered Jiang Chen, he absolutely could not let Jiang Chen win.
"Why are you spouting so much nonsense? Do you think a single sentence is enough to make me admit defeat? Aren't you being rather full of yourself?" Jiang Chen said.
"Hm? You were inferior to me before. Since you insist on fighting, don't regret it. If I happen to lose control of my strength and injure you, you'll have only yourself to blame." Jiang Ling narrowed his eyes.
"Nine Yang Fist!" Jiang Ling charged directly at Jiang Chen.
Jiang Ling's Nine Yang Fist was even more powerful than Jiang Nan's version.
"Pfft..."
"Ah..."
A figure shot rapidly out of the arena, vomiting blood as he flew backward.
"What? What exactly happened?" Many people stared at the scene in shock.
The person who had flown out of the arena was none other than Jiang Ling.
Many people hadn't even seen what happened clearly before Jiang Ling was sent flying.
Jiang Ling lay on the ground with a feeble aura, clearly badly injured. Once he had left the arena, he had lost.
"Er, on Arena Three, Jiang Chen wins." The referee announced the result.
"Whoa! Jiang Ling was at the Martial Artist Realm, Fourth Level, wasn't he? How did he lose so quickly?" Many people were utterly astonished.
"Who knows? Jiang Chen is so strong."
"I heard Jiang Chen's dantian had been crippled before. How is he so powerful? Even Jiang Ling wasn't his match."
Quite a few people whispered among themselves, discussing Jiang Chen.
It turned out that when Jiang Ling charged over, Jiang Chen had moved with astonishing speed and struck Jiang Ling with a palm. Jiang Ling hadn't been able to dodge at all and had been sent flying by Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen had even held back. Otherwise, if he had attacked with all his strength, Jiang Ling would certainly have lost his life.
They had no deep-seated grudge between them, so there was no need to take a clansman's life.
The gap between their strengths was simply too great.
"Haha, my son Jiang Chen is truly impressive." Jiang Yunfeng burst into laughter at the sight.
With such an outstanding son, how could Jiang Yunfeng, as his father, not feel proud?
Many people hadn't even sensed Jiang Chen's exact realm before the battle was already over.
After hearing the announcement of his victory, Jiang Chen jumped down from the arena and waited for the next match.
"Jiang Ling, you're far too pathetic. You were practically powerless to resist, yet you still wanted me to admit defeat? The naive one is you." As Jiang Chen passed by Jiang Ling, he spoke indifferently.
"Jiang Chen, you..." Jiang Ling was furious.
Being defeated by Jiang Chen in a single move on the arena had utterly humiliated him.
"Jiang Chen, don't push things too far." At this moment, Jiang Dong shouted coldly.
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