On his way, Jiang Chen saw many candidates were still gathering together. They were surprised to see him heading in that direction.
"Oh? Is he going towards Zhang Shichao?"
"Don't you remember he said to Zhang that they didn't know yet who the prey was?"
"Zhang is already in the peak of the middle stage and is in the top 500 of the Eternal Flame List. He's strong."
"Looks like there will be a lot of fun this year. Let's wait and see."
Jiang Chen met an acquaintance along the way. It was Wen Xin!
"Why are you going there? Don't you remember what Zhang Shichao said?" Wen Xin was surprised to see where he was heading.
"Of course I remember. And that's why I am going there. Whoever wants to kill me, I'll kill them first. That's the rule of the mountain," Jiang Chen said.
"The thing is, are you even able to kill him?"
Wen Xin recalled the fight on the Martial Saint Mountain. From her experience, Jiang Chen had no way to beat Zhang Shichao, since even she couldn't beat him.
But Jiang Chen didn't intend to waste more time persuading others. He smiled mysteriously and kept walking ahead.
Wen Xin was annoyed by him. "How stubborn!" She stomped on the ground and in the end followed him.
People who knew her well would be surprised to see her act like that.
Zhang Shichao seemed to know where Jiang Chen was going. They met on a creek bank.
"Yo!" Zhang Shichao showed a cold smile. The people beside him were forced to step back from the force of his aggression.
"So boring. I didn't even get to hunt you. Have you come to court death?" Zhang Shichao said.
"I have come to kill you," Jiang Chen said.
The people around were surprised to hear this. They didn't understand why Jiang Chen was treating the fight with Zhang seriously.
Suddenly, Zhang Shichao burst into laughter. He laughed until he cried.
"Do you think you're stronger than me just because you have more talent? If so, you've made a fatal mistake."
"You are the most conceited guy I've ever seen," Jiang Chen mocked him.
"Am I?" Zhang Shichao raised his eyebrows. His scimitar emitted a roaring flame.
It was a class-one spiritual scimitar inscribed with the pattern of fire.
People couldn't help but feel even more pity for Jiang Chen.
Wen Xin didn't know what Jiang Chen was relying on. If he had anything, he had better show it as soon as possible.
But Jiang Chen was, as always, holding an iron sword, not doing anything special.
By comparison, Zhang Shichao, listed in the top 500 of the Eternal Flame List, had a strength that matched his fierce character perfectly.
"Splitting the universe with one slash!"
The creek he was standing by was cut into two directly. The water flew to where the people were standing.
While the creek water splashed, the flame wave was running along the tip of the scimitar.
Pah!
The fire caught onto Jiang Chen's sleeves and his iron sword was broken.
"Ha, I see. That's how you will kill me."
Zhang Shichao laughed at him loudly after seeing Jiang Chen had almost collapsed at the first blow.
"Alas." Wen Xin shook her head. If Jiang Chen's performance hadn't been so poor, maybe they could have fought together to confront Zhang Shichao.
"The warm-up is over."
Jiang Chen didn't chicken out at all. His reaction was beyond everyone's understanding. He had to consider what kind of occasion this was if he was just trying to save face.
He would die if he didn't stop.
"I'm wondering how you'll talk back after I kill you."
Zhang Shichao's knife strength was erupting like a volcano and dancing like a fiery dragon.
"You are the one who will die."
Jiang Chen stopped reserving his strength. He picked up the Redcloud Sword with his left hand.
His sword emitted an astonishing hostility, as if it had been restrained for too long. It dispelled the fiery dragon instantly.
Even the elders of the Natural Law School, who were observing from the air, were given a good scare.
"That explains it. This guy is left-handed."
"What a dark horse!"
"The mature spirit of the sword! The full spirit!"
Wen Xin finally understood why Jiang Chen had been able to instruct her, but at the same time, she felt annoyed.
Jiang Chen intentionally hadn't told her the truth, and she had been worrying about him all that time.
"I was worried… How could I have been worried about him?" Wen Xin was shocked and shook her head immediately.
Zhang Shichao had been dominating, but at that moment the situation changed and the fight became fiercer.
"You think you can kill me with your strength?" Jiang Chen scoffed at him cruelly.
"Damn." Zhang Shichao was both angry and anxious when he realized he had met someone difficult to deal with, but he didn't lose his morale, since the situation was still in his favor for the moment.
"There is nothing better than killing a sword genius with my own hands!"
Zhang Shichao kept sneering. At the same time, his knife method changed. He wasn't superior in skills, so he had chosen to play to his strengths, which was wise of him to do.
His strength was the powerful genuine yuan he had!
"Let me show you the strength of one in the top 500 of the Eternal Flame List!"
In the meantime, the air around Zhang Shichao started to distort, as if there were a fire burning near. Suddenly, a seemingly infinite roaring flame appeared there.
Zhang Shichao, who was burning in the fire, behaved like nothing had happened, then brought the fire under the control of his spiritual knife.
The spiritual knife instantly became a ten-zhang long flame knife.
Even if Jiang Chen was dozens of meters away, he was still within reach of the knife's blade.
The flame knife was made from the roaring flame, and it could be used as a whip, too, which was difficult to defend against.
"A secret method?"
Wen Xin had started to worry about Jiang Chen again. Zhang Shichao had obviously practiced a secret method. It matched perfectly with his knife method and the ware pattern of his spiritual knife.
Zhang Shichao's attack had become a big threat. He could even beat a guy in the late stage of the Gathering Yuan State.
And Jiang Chen was at a much lower level than that.
"Now, do you regret coming here?"
Zhang Shichao didn't rush to end the fight. He watched Jiang Chen tauntingly. His right hand, which held the knife, was surrounded by the roaring flame. This made him look very awe-inspiring, like an invincible fighting master.
"Typical. Guys like you always bluff a lot before a fight, and later, always fail miserably." It seemed that Jiang Chen had failed to judge the situation once again.
But this time Wen Xin was confident in him. She was sure he still had his ace in the hole.
"I'll break your legs and then see what you say!"
"Dance macabre!"
Zhang Shichao was dying to tear Jiang Chen apart. He didn't show any mercy when he attacked. In this movement, the flame blade turned into eight and they flapped down heavily like tentacles.
Pah!
The rock was smashed immediately when the tentacles hit it. Gravel and sparkles were both splattering about.
Wen Xin had to step back so that she wouldn't be involved.
Jiang Chen started to move. He was inferior in state, so if he got hit, the consequences would be severe.
However, while he was dodging, he burst into laughter. "Ha."
"What are you laughing at?" Zhang Shichao shouted at him.
"If you had mastered the knife point, these eight flame knives would follow wherever you aim. If you had achieved the spirit of the knife, they would cooperate with each other and your opponent would have no way out.
"What a pity! Your knife movement is so powerful, but due to your terrible martial arts techniques, it has no way to exert its power. Even I feel sorry for you."
The flame knives were dancing in a dizzying way, but Jiang Chen was extremely calm under the attack. He even had the spare time to scoff at his rival.
"What do you have then?"
Zhang Shichao wished he could kill Jiang Chen with his fierce look. He took a step ahead and his knives followed him, intending to push Jiang Chen into a corner where he would have no way to escape.