Astonishing the Entire Audience

"What kind of martial skill was this, to be so overbearing?" Jiang Minghao was horrified. The swordsmanship martial skill Su Chen had used was so powerful that it did not resemble a Yellow-Tier Low-Grade swordsmanship skill at all!

Could it be a Yellow Grade Middle Tier swordsmanship skill?

But Jiang Minghao had no time to think.

Su Chen had already pushed off with the tips of his toes and rushed toward him, raising his longsword once more, killing intent blazing.

Jiang Minghao was terrified. Su Chen clearly intended to seize this chance and defeat him completely in one vigorous push.

He had wanted to say, "I concede," but faced with the icy killing intent in Su Chen's eyes, Jiang Minghao opened his mouth, yet the words "I concede" caught in his throat, and he failed to say them in time.

He could only watch helplessly as Su Chen struck with another sword!

"Little Chen!"

Xu Yin could not help crying out. If Su Chen's strike landed, Jiang Minghao would be severely wounded even if he did not die.

Clang!

At that critical moment, a longsword appeared from nowhere and firmly blocked Su Chen's sword.

Su Chen glanced sideways, and Jiang Mingxuan's face abruptly entered his sight, his expression extremely grim.

"Su Chen, he has already lost. Could it be that you still intend to kill him?" Jiang Mingxuan's expression was ugly. Had he not rushed in to save Jiang Minghao in time just now, Jiang Minghao might truly have been cut down by Su Chen's sword!

This was Jiang Family territory. If a direct descendant of the Jiang Family were cut down by an outsider with a single sword, would the Jiang Family not become the laughingstock of the entire city?

Su Chen smiled calmly, lowering his eyelids slightly to conceal that bloodthirsty gleam. He said blandly, "Swords have no eyes in a duel. Even if I killed him by mistake, it would not be my fault. Besides, you say he has already lost, but I never heard him admit defeat!"

As he spoke, Su Chen looked down at Jiang Minghao, who had been frightened limp on the ground, and said, "Earlier, you called me trash. Now that you cannot even defeat me, does that not make you inferior even to trash?"

"You..." Jiang Minghao's face burned as though Su Chen had viciously slapped him across it, yet he was unable to refute him.

"The duel is not over yet. Either admit defeat, or stand up and continue!" Su Chen said airily.

Jiang Minghao was caught between a rock and a hard place. If he continued, he had no chance of winning and would even risk being cut down by Su Chen.

But if he admitted defeat, would he not be personally acknowledging that he was inferior even to trash?

Jiang Mingxuan, standing nearby, could not resist sneering disdainfully, "As expected of an abandoned disciple kicked out by a sect. All you know is how to pull off useless tricks!"

"Oh?" Su Chen slowly turned to Jiang Mingxuan. "You sound rather useful. How about you take his place and continue the duel with me?"

"What?" Jiang Mingxuan nearly thought he had misheard. "You want to duel me?"

Not only Jiang Mingxuan—even everyone else present thought there was something wrong with their ears. An Eighth Layer of Qi-Attraction Realm cultivator wanted to duel a Ninth Layer of Qi-Attraction Realm cultivator?

Jiang Mingxuan had always been proud. Being challenged by someone whose cultivation was a full layer below his own was no different from an insult.

At once, Jiang Mingxuan was about to refuse without even thinking.

But at that moment, Jiang Mingxuan heard his father Jiang Shan's faint voice by his ear.

"Mingxuan, duel him!"

Jiang Mingxuan glanced sideways and saw Jiang Shan standing not far away, looking at him.

Jiang Mingxuan knew that Jiang Shan was using the martial skill Sound-Convergence Thread to speak to him. No one else could hear it; only Jiang Mingxuan could.

In an instant, Jiang Mingxuan understood Jiang Shan's intention.

This was the perfect chance to recover their losses from the wager!

"Fine. I will take Minghao's place and continue the duel with you! But if you lose, those five hundred Lesser Origin Pills will not go to the second branch." Jiang Mingxuan said.

Su Chen smiled, a sly gleam flashing through his eyes. "Fine. But if I win, the five hundred Lesser Origin Pills will become one thousand."

He had known Jiang Shan and Jiang Mingxuan would take the bait. To recover those five hundred Lesser Origin Pills, Jiang Shan would definitely have Jiang Mingxuan duel him.

Sure enough, Jiang Mingxuan agreed without hesitation. "Fine."

The two swiftly entered the dueling ground, and the duel began!

It had just been Jiang Minghao against Su Chen, but now it was Jiang Mingxuan against Su Chen.

Su Chen's gaze was calm. He had been very satisfied with the power of Layered Wave Slash just now. As expected of a special secret technique that did not fall within any grade, merely using One Sword, Threefold Waves had allowed him to defeat Jiang Minghao, who had the same cultivation level, with ease.

Now, Su Chen wanted to know what power Sevenfold Waves of One Sword would possess if he used it without holding anything back.

As soon as Jiang Mingxuan stepped up, he wasted no words. He fully displayed the strength of the Ninth Layer of Qi-Attraction Realm and used the Yellow Grade Middle Tier Azure Wood Swordsmanship.

His momentum made it clear that he intended to kill Su Chen in a single move.

Jiang Shan stood at the edge of the field, his gaze fixed tightly on Jiang Mingxuan and Su Chen.

He knew that from every angle, Su Chen's chances of victory were practically zero.

Jiang Mingxuan was already at the Ninth Layer of Qi-Attraction Realm, while Su Chen was only at the Eighth Layer. The saying "one layer, one world" did not exist for nothing. A difference of one cultivation layer meant a difference as vast as heaven and earth in strength.

Yet for some reason, Jiang Shan could not calm his heart. A vague sense of unease lingered within him.

Jiang Shan shook his head. It had to be an illusion. How could a fifteen-year-old boy make him feel that way?

In the arena, Jiang Mingxuan looked at Su Chen disdainfully. "Su Chen, though you do have some skill, you are ultimately far too arrogant."

"It is impossible for the Eighth Layer of Qi-Attraction Realm to defeat the Ninth Layer of Qi-Attraction Realm."

"Today, I, Jiang Mingxuan, will teach you how to behave."

"Azure Wood Swordsmanship!"

Jiang Mingxuan immediately unleashed his trump card, Azure Wood Swordsmanship. His sword force surged fiercely, determined to cut Su Chen down with a single stroke!

"Trifling tricks!"

Facing Jiang Mingxuan, whose cultivation was a full layer higher than his own, Su Chen no longer held back. He raised his sword high and unleashed Sevenfold Waves of One Sword.

With one slash, it bore the force of wind and thunder and carried the sound of ocean tides as it collided head-on with Jiang Mingxuan's sword.

Clang!

A violent collision rang out, followed by seven muffled bursts of air—bang, bang, bang...

Everyone present shuddered. They could almost picture Su Chen's miserable defeat in the next instant.

But in the next instant, a scene beyond everyone's imagination appeared once more!

One person stood in the arena, frozen like a wooden chicken, holding a longsword without moving in the slightest.

Yet upon closer inspection, the longsword in his hand had actually been severed for most of its length, leaving only a bare hilt!

And that person was not Su Chen, as everyone had expected, but Jiang Mingxuan!

At that moment, the entire venue fell silent!

Shock filled every pair of eyes.

They simply could not believe what they were seeing!

Jiang Mingxuan had actually lost!