Chapter 245 – Duan Jianhong’s Stratagem
“Lord Jiu, what happened to your cultivation?”
When Xuan Ye sensed Wu Jiu’s cultivation, his expression immediately changed.
“Don’t worry, my cultivation will recover in time. I was trapped in an isolated space for ten years, and when I was about to die, brother Jiang Chen saved my life. Without him, I would now be a dead body.”
Wu Jiu said.
“I see. Luckily, Lord Jiu is alright. I really have to thank brother Jiang!”
Hearing what Wu Jiu said, Xuan Ye’s attitude toward Jiang Chen immediately changed. Since Jiang Chen was Wu Jiu’s savior, that man he was also Xuan Ye’s savoir. Because in Xuan Ye’s mind, Wu Jiu’s life was hundreds of times more precious than his own.
Now, Shangguan Wei had offended Jiang Chen. If Jiang Chen didn’t kill him, Xuan Ye would kill Shangguan Wei instead.
“Senior, please save me!”
Shangguan Wei’s face had become red, and he kept shouting at Xuan Ye with a shrill voice. His voice had become hoarse become of the screaming. The gigantic dragon claw was crushing him like a gigantic mountain, and it was coming from all directions.
“Shangguan Wei, since you have made a mistake, you’ll have to bear the consequences yourself. It’s up to brother Jiang to decide what to do with you, I’m not involved in this matter.”
Xuan Ye said in a stiff manner. However, his words were like a death sentence for Shangguan Wei.
Ahh!!
Just as Xuan Ye finished his words, Shangguan Wei immediately let out a mournful blood-curdling screech. He had been killed by the True Dragon Palm in a miserable way. At this point of time, over 20 Late Divine Core warriors had died, and the entire scene was filled with pungent smell of blood. Broken limbs and dead bodies were scattered all over the place; it was a bloody and cruel scene.
What happened today would definitely be remembered by everyone at the scene. Jiang Chen’s ferocious reputation would also be heard by generation to come. Compared to those wild demons and devils, Jiang Chen was the true bloodthirsty demon lord.
The death of all these Late Divine Core warriors didn’t mean the end of this battle. After Jiang Chen killed Shangguan Wei, he turned his sight to the nearly 20 remaining Mid Divine Core warriors.
The expressions of these men changed dramatically; their faces paled in an instant, and some were even trembling because of fear. Just a look from Jiang Chen had caused to them to see the gates leading to hell.
“Lord Jiu, he has killed a lot of men, and if we let him continue, more than half the warriors in Inferno City will have been killed by him.”
Xuan Ye whispered to Wu Jiu. He had stayed in Inferno City for seven years, and although there were constant conflicts and fights, making it seem like human lives were worthless in this place; slaughtering so many people along, like Jiang Chen did, it was the first time something like this had ever happened in Inferno City.
“So what? They deserve it.”
Wu Jiu stared blankly at Xuan Ye.
“Understood.”
Xuan Ye immediately bowed toward Wu Jiu; he dared not neglect Wu Jiu’s words. In the entire Martial Saint Dynasty, there weren’t really anyone who dared neglect Wu Jiu’s words.
“Chief Jiang, please spare my life, I’m willing to hand over all my belongings!”
“Me too! I was blind to offend chief Jiang, I hope chief Jiang can forgive me and let me go! I’ll give you all my belongings!”
“Right, we will hand over everything we got, we won’t even leave behind a single pill, it will all belong to chief Jiang!”
…………
There were few who truly didn’t fear death. The more fiendish a man was, the more scared of death he was. When the shadow of death was cast above the head, whatever wealth a man possessed become worthless, and the most important thing was to keep living. There was always an opportunity to find more wealth, but a man only lived once, and once life ended, it was completely gone.
“Hand over all your belongings, then each of you cut off one arm.”
Jiang Chen said with an indifferent tone.
“What?! Cut off my arm?”
Someone exclaimed. But, his ending was similar to that of the previous man. Right as his words left his mouth, he was slashed in half by a single sword strike.
“I do not show mercy upon those who have tried to kill me. Asking for one arm is the lightest punishment I can bestow upon you. I’ll count to three, those who are not willing to do it, die. Don’t think I’m joking, none of you are qualified for my jokes.”
Jiang Chen gazed at all the men from left to right. His gaze was like razor sharp edge scratching their faces, causing the fear in their minds to increase.
“Damn it, I’ll do it, it’s just one arm; it is worth less than my life!”
Many men made up their minds. With combat weapon in hand, they cut off one of their arms while gritting their teeth. No one thought Jiang Chen was joking, he was not someone who joked a lot. So many Late Divine Core warriors were killed by him, even Shangguan Wei was killed by him. If Jiang Chen wanted to kill them, it wouldn’t take him too much effort.
Before Jiang Chen started counting, all the men sliced off their own arm. After that, they handed all their belongings over to Jiang Chen in a respectful manner, including the combat weapon in their hands.
For these Mid Divine Core warriors, losing an arm wasn’t really a serious injury. If they could obtain good treatment in time, although they still wouldn’t be able to get their arms back; losing an arm wouldn’t really affect their cultivation.
Jiang Chen took all the storage rings and combat weapons, then he stored it all in his storage ring. At the same time, Big Yellow came up to Jiang Chen while bouncing around excitedly, then he handed all his harvest over to Jiang Chen.
“Kaka, buddy, we’re rich now! The wealth we obtained in the outer perimeter can’t compare with what these men possessed! Buddy, you’re an enormous treasure vault right now, in the future, when daddy wants to eat natural essences, you’ll have to give me!”
Big Yellow said as his tail wagged back and forth.
“No problem.”
Jiang Chen patted the dog’s head. As long as he had it, he would give Big Yellow anything he wanted without hesitation.
After that, Jiang Chen and Big Yellow turned around and went to Wu Jiu.
“Chief Jiang, you’re such a mighty man!”
Wang Heng stared at Jiang Chen while blinking his eyes; he absolutely worshipped Jiang Chen. Even Guan Yiyun and Tian Yishan worshiped him. The gap between them and Jiang Chen was not small. As haughty men, if they could accomplish what Jiang Chen had, that would be enough glory for a lifetime to them.
“Brother Jiang, thank you for saving Lord Jiu’s life! Please accept my gratitude.”
Xuan Ye cupped his fist toward Jiang Chen and bowed deeply.
Looking at this, Jiang Chen immediately extended his hand and stopped Xuan Ye from bowing, “Brother Xuan, no need to be so polite. I felt like I was meeting an old friend when I first saw brother Jiu, of course I would save my old friend.”
Jiang Chen was being polite while talking to Xuan Ye. Firstly, Xuan Ye was Wu Jiu’s friend, and that also meant he was one of them. Secondly, Xuan Ye had stayed in Inferno City for seven years, he was surely familiar with everything here, and he might be able to provide great help with hunting for the treasure. He could perhaps even help later on when fighting the Earth Devil. Xuan Ye was after all a Combat Soul warrior.
“Brother Jiang, let me introduce, Xuan Ye is my friend. All these years, he has willingly stayed in the harsh Inferno Hell, just because he was searching for me.”
Wu Jiu said as he patted Xuan Ye’s shoulder. He felt glad because of Xuan Ye’s loyalty.
“It is really good for brother Jiu to have such a good friend.”
Jiang Chen praised. A man willing to stay in this harsh environment just because he wanted to searching for his friend, just the determination and purpose alone was enough to deserve respect from everyone.
“Alright, brother Jiang, we should continue our business.”
Wu Jiu said.
“Lord Jiu, what business do you have?”
Xuan Ye asked.
“Let’s go, we’ll talk in the center of Inferno City.”
Jiang Chen said.
“Fine, please follow me.”
Xuan Ye turned around and started flying toward Inferno City. Jiang Chen, Wu Jiu and the rest of them followed closely behind. It had been seven years, and Xuan Ye could basically be considered the master of Inferno City. He would walk around in the city like it was his own backyard.
…………
Qi Province, Heavenly Sword Sect!
Within a grand palace located in the heart of the Heavenly Sword Sect, a couple of men were sitting on both sides of a hall, and a middle-aged man was sitting in a grand chair right in front of everyone. The man was quite fat, and he had a greasy face, giving everyone an impression that he was on a hefty diet. But, he had a pair of bright eyes that caused anyone who stared into them to lose themselves, as well as a natural dignity and a face that portrayed great power.
This man was the Heavenly Sword Sect’s Sect Chief, Duan Jianhong. Right now, a gloomy and heavy hearted expression could be seen on his face. All these men were the Divine Core Sect Elders of the Heavenly Sword Sect, and they too had worried expressions.
“Hmph! This is going too far, who does that Nanbei Chao think he is? Who gave him the audacity to ask us to submit to him in three days; what a joke!”
One of the Sect Elders let out a cold snort.
“That Nanbei Chao has merely broken through to the Mid Divine Core realm, but it has caused him to become so presumptuous, this is ridiculous!”
“You’re right! No matter how much of a genius he is, he’s still only a Mid Divine Core warrior, he’s no match for Sect Chief!”
All Sect Elders were burning with rage. No matter what, the Heavenly Sword Sect was one of the biggest sects in the Qi Province, and now, someone had placed a knife on their throat. Of course they wouldn’t accept it.
“Sect Chief, what should we do?”
Everyone looked at Duan Jianhong.
“Don’t underestimate Nanbei Chao, he is a man with great talent, and he’s a peerless genius. Since he has the courage to make such an arrogant statement, I’m sure he has some powerful approaches.”
Duan Jianhong squinted his eyes and said indifferently. A look of intelligence could be seen in his eyes.
“So, what does Sect Chief want us to do?”
Someone asked.
“What I want is simple, we’ll surrender to Nanbei Chao.”
Duan Jianhong said.
“What? Surrender? Sect Chief, Nanbei Chao is merely a Mid Divine Core warrior who has just broken through, I don’t think he’s that strong, so why should we surrender?”
“I agree! No matter what, the Heavenly Sword Sect is one of the biggest sects in the Qi Province, we can’t surrender just like that.”
None of the Sect Elders agreed with the decision. Surrendering even before the fighting began? This was just hopelessly stupid!
“You guys know nothing; a little impatience spoils great plans. Do you think I am a man who is willing to surrender? Can’t you guys just use your brains?”
Duan Jianhong gazed at all the Sect Elders.
“Does Sect Chief have a strategy?”
Someone asked.
“Of course! Nanbei Chao and Zhao Chongyang are trying to rule the entire Qi Province. I, Duan Jianhong want to rule the entire Qi Province as well. Amongst all four big sects, with the exception of the Valley of Happiness, all of us have the same dream, but we haven’t had the opportunity to accomplish this. Now, a perfect opportunity has presented itself to us, the Heavenly Sword Sect is going to rule the entire Qi Province!”
A grin emerged on Duan Jianhong’s face.
“Sect Chief, please enlighten us.”
A Sect Elder said.
“I told you before; since Nanbei Chao has the courage to ask us to submit to him, I’m sure he has a strategy. But, it’s just like you said, none of the four big sects in the Qi Province is an easy target. Therefore, I’ll pretend to surrender to the Burning Sky Pavilion, and with this, we’ll be able to preserve our full strength. With Nanbei Chao and Zhao Chongyang’s character, I’m sure they will attack the Black Sect and Valley of Happiness. At that point of time, we’ll be able to witness Nanbei Chao’s strategy and approaches. Their battle will certainly cause damage to all parties, and that will be the perfect time for the Heavenly Sword Sect to reap the harvest!”
Duan Jianhong’s eyes blinking. He was a brilliant man who had the ability to give thorough thought on anything he was going to do.