The Divine Mountain Opens Early, Top Geniuses

"How could you be from the lower realm?!"

Jiang Chen: Because I have a cheat...

"What's wrong with being from the lower realm? I'm still invincible among those of the same rank, and I can fight geniuses above my level."

Li Jiang, Ye Hongyu: 6...

Jiang Chen and Li Jiang stood guard for Ye Hongyu as she fused with that ten-million-year External Soul Bone.

Time passed little by little.

The next morning.

A terrifying aura emerged from Ye Hongyu's body. She slowly opened her eyes, and a pair of cloud-like, resplendent wings gradually unfurled behind her, brimming with divinity.

"These are... the wings of a Flowing Cloud Butterfly?"

Two months later.

The three sat around a table. "I'll play a 3."

Li Jiang hurriedly said, "Brother Jiang Chen, wait a moment, I haven't sorted my cards yet..."

Ye Hongyu covered her mouth and chuckled, revealing two small dimples.

"Brother Li, with your hand speed in Landlord, you'd be kicked off the table where I come from..."

Li Jiang immediately drew out a card. "A 2."

Jiang Chen: ...I played a 3, brother. You're using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken?

Ye Hongyu: "Pass."

Jiang Chen: "Pass..."

Li Jiang looked at the cards in his hand and pondered for a moment. "Three 3s with a pair of 4s."

Ye Hongyu: "Three 7s with a pair of 6s."

Jiang Chen: "Three Ks with a pair of Js."

Li Jiang: "Three 2s with a pair of Qs."

Jiang Chen: ...Who the hell taught you to split up four 2s like that? You're a damn genius!

"Pass..."

Li Jiang: "A 4."

Jiang Chen: ...Damn impressive!

Ye Hongyu: "An 8."

Jiang Chen: "A 10."

Li Jiang: "A Q."

"..."

Jiang Chen finally snapped. "Li Jiang, you bastard, you split up your joker bomb to play single cards!"

Boom—

At that moment, a ripple swept over them, shattering the teacups on the table.

"W-What the hell just happened?!" Li Jiang cried in shock.

Jiang Chen released all of his spiritual power, sensing that the ripple had come from the north.

"This mysterious fluctuation came from the north," Jiang Chen said.

"We need to get to Fruit Mountain quickly. The Divine Mountain is probably about to open," Ye Hongyu urged.

"Wasn't the Divine Mountain supposed to open in another month?" Li Jiang asked in confusion.

"Brother Li, let's go take a look first. If we arrive too late and someone gets the jump on us, it'll be a huge loss."

Jiang Chen's group did not use soul power. Instead, they flew with the help of their External Soul Bones.

"Miss Hongyu, Brother Jiang Chen, wait for me!"

Jiang Chen and Ye Hongyu flew side by side, while Li Jiang was left far behind. He complained, "The gap between a hundred-thousand-year and a ten-million-year one is this huge?!"

"Young Master Jiang, shouldn't we wait for him?"

Jiang Chen glanced back before saying, "Miss Hongyu, we should get there first and scout things out. Brother Li will catch up from behind."

"Alright..."

Jiang Chen and Ye Hongyu accelerated toward Fruit Mountain. Li Jiang instantly could not even see their shadows anymore. "Hey, wait, why did you speed up after I called out?!"

Fruit Mountain was packed with people.

Three magnificent palanquins hovered in the air, each surrounded by hundreds of guards.

Beside the palanquin in the middle, a gray-haired old woman respectfully said to the person inside, "Holy Maiden, Fruit Mountain has opened ahead of schedule this time. I fear there may be unforeseen changes. I do not know whether this is a blessing or a disaster."

The old woman glanced to both sides before continuing, "The Divine Temple and Baique Sect are also eyeing our Shangyin Sect covetously. We must remain on guard!"

"Mother Ling, don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

A pleasant, mature female voice drifted out from the palanquin.

"Damn, why are there so many people here?!"

Jiang Chen looked at the crowd before Fruit Mountain. The ground was filled with people, and damn it, there were plenty in the sky too!

Jiang Chen looked at the thousand-plus people in the air. Seriously, you brought several hundred Third-Level God bodyguards with you, and you're still this useless?

"Young Master Jiang, they belong to three of the twelve top forces in the God Realm. If I'm not mistaken, they are the Divine Temple, the Shangyin Sect, and the Baique Sect, in that order."

"There are many lunatics in the Divine Temple. They act without any rules, and some are bloodthirsty by nature, utterly without principles. It would be best not to provoke them."

Jiang Chen began to ponder. He had encountered people from the Divine Temple before, but they did not seem like the bloodthirsty people she described. Still, Jiang Chen understood that he could not judge the whole by a single part.

"Miss Hongyu, Brother Jiang Chen."

A call came from nearby as a figure rapidly approached the Divine Mountain.

"Huff, huff~ I finally caught up to you after using soul power to boost my Soul Bone flight."

Li Jiang was panting heavily from exhaustion.

"Brother Li, it's good that you caught up. We'll wait here for the Divine Mountain to open."

Bang—

A long saber flew out of a palanquin and shot straight toward Li Jiang. Jiang Chen sensed the danger and sent out the Zhuxian Sword, which collided with the saber.

"Oh?"

"You actually blocked it?"

A mocking voice drifted over lightly.

"Why did you attack someone without cause?" Jiang Chen stared intently at the palanquin in the sky.

Li Jiang and Ye Hongyu came to their senses, summoned their Martial Souls, and became alert.

"The divine relics of Fruit Mountain aren't a place that just any stray cat or dog can enter."

"You trash should stay here."

As soon as the man finished speaking, the long saber slashed out again.

"That's the Divine Temple's Holy Son, Luo Mo?! How did we run into that madman..." Ye Hongyu felt that something was wrong.

"You're courting death!"

Jiang Chen gripped the Zhuxian Sword, sending several streaks of sword light shooting out and knocking the long saber back.

Jiang Chen leaped into the air and flew high above, looking down at where Luo Mo, the Divine Temple's Holy Son, was located. The Zhuxian Sword shot toward Luo Mo's palanquin.

In an instant, hundreds of guards behind Luo Mo soared into the air and tightly surrounded Jiang Chen.

"Miss Hongyu, let's go help Brother Jiang Chen."

"Alright."

A golden staff appeared in Li Jiang's hand, while Ye Hongyu summoned her Martial Soul as well—a begonia flower.

"Don't move, or you'll bring trouble upon yourselves."

"After Fruit Mountain, I'll return directly to the lower realm. They won't be able to find me."

Just as the two were about to act, Jiang Chen transmitted his voice directly into their minds.

"Impudent! You dare attack the Divine Temple's Holy Son? You're seeking death!"

The Divine Temple's Holy Son sat inside his palanquin, chuckling mockingly as he raised a teacup and drained it in one gulp. To him, such a matter was merely a trivial amusement to spice up life.

The people on the ground feared the Divine Temple, while the other two factions watched with the attitude of spectators.

"Mother Ling, that young man is likely about to die," Gu Qingran, the Shangyin Sect's Holy Maiden, said slowly.

"Holy Maiden, even if he dies, it has nothing to do with us. What matters is the divine relics of Fruit Mountain."

Mother Ling replied respectfully.

"I know."

"You think a bunch of good-for-nothings like you can kill me?" Jiang Chen said disdainfully.

"Get him! Kill him!"

The Martial Souls of the hundred guards lit up as they charged toward Jiang Chen.

"Second Soul Skill, One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Techniques."

Jiang Chen stood with one hand behind his back, his right hand forming a sword gesture before his chest. The Zhuxian Sword hovering before him continuously grew larger, radiating a fierce edge.

"Go!" Jiang Chen shouted.

The Zhuxian Sword shot forward at high speed. In an instant, guards who failed to dodge were cleaved in two, blood spraying everywhere.

"Ah!"

"Kid, you're fucking dead!"

A saber came slashing at him. Jiang Chen spread his wings and dodged aside, then controlled the Zhuxian Sword to pierce through the chests of several more guards.

Seeing this, the captain of the guards shouted loudly.

"Form the array! Execute this bastard!"