He paid Ma Yuan no mind.
A cultivator who had only reached the Great Accomplishment stage of the Vein Opening Realm was a complete joke to Xiao Chen.
After all, three years ago, at the tender age of fifteen, Xiao Chen himself had already reached the Vein Opening Realm.
After Xiao Chen defeated Ma Yuan in a single blow, Shen Ming, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up.
“So you’re the Xiao Family’s ‘true dragon’—the peerless genius everyone in Lingshan County is talking about?”
Shen Ming had heard of Xiao Chen before.
In fact, it wasn’t just him; even the upper echelons of the Jue Mountain Sect knew of Xiao Chen.
It couldn’t be helped—the talent he’d shown since he was a child left all his peers in the dust.
The Jue Mountain Sect’s leaders had even planned to make an exception to recruit him as a disciple.
It was a shame that three years ago, Xiao Chen had set out to make a name for himself and his whereabouts became unknown, leaving the Jue Mountain Sect unable to find him.
He had only ever heard of the legend but had never met the man himself.
Now, finally seeing Xiao Chen in the flesh, Shen Ming had to admit that the young man was more outstanding than him in every respect.
But it was precisely for this reason that Shen Ming felt a growing sense of displeasure, which only intensified when he noticed the complicated expression in Chen Muxue’s eyes.
A cold glint flickered in his eyes as Shen Ming said coolly, “Ma Yuan may be an ant to you, but don’t you know?
Before me, you’re an ant all the same…”
‘He didn’t take Xiao Chen seriously.
Sure, Xiao Chen’s talent was outstanding, but he was only eighteen this year.
How high could an eighteen-year-old’s cultivation be?
At best, he would have reached the Small Perfection of Vein Opening Realm.
He, on the other hand, though already twenty-eight, had reached the initial stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm.’
‘I can’t speak for the future, but right now, I’m confident I can utterly crush Xiao Chen.
I have a full ten years of cultivation on him.’
Shen Ming was about to teach Xiao Chen a lesson himself, but before he could, one of the Jue Mountain Sect disciples behind him stepped forward.
“Senior Brother, this kid isn’t worthy of you taking action personally.
Let me teach him a lesson.”
This man was also an Inner Sect Disciple of the Jue Mountain Sect.
Though his strength was far inferior to Shen Ming’s, his cultivation had reached the Vein Opening Realm Great Perfection.
Hearing his junior’s words, Shen Ming mulled it over for a moment before saying with feigned magnanimity, “Very well.
But don’t kill him.
Just make sure to leave him breathing for me.”
Confident that this disciple could handle Xiao Chen, Shen Ming watched as the man strode right up to Xiao Chen.
He drew his longsword, a sneer on his face.
“The Xiao Family’s ‘true dragon,’ heh.
You can only act mighty in this secular backwater.
In our Jue Mountain Sect, you’d be nothing more than an ordinary disciple.
Today, allow me to teach you some manners…”
As his voice fell, the disciple thrust his sword forward, the tip aimed directly at Xiao Chen’s throat.
Seeing this, Xiao Qing, who was standing behind him, immediately cried out, “Chen’Er, be careful…!”
‘He had great faith in his son, but a Sect Disciple was nothing like Ma Yuan.
Sects possessed unparalleled advantages for cultivation, and anyone who became a Sect Disciple had passed through a rigorous selection process.
Therefore, at the same cultivation realm, a Sect Disciple’s combat prowess was always far superior to that of an ordinary Martial Artist.’
‘He wasn’t sure if Xiao Chen could take this blow.’ However, just as the words left Xiao Qing’s mouth, the crowd saw Xiao Chen deftly catch the disciple’s longsword between two fingers.
He had stopped the disciple’s attack with just two fingers.
Faced with this scene, everyone wore expressions of utter disbelief.
But before they could even process what had happened, Xiao Chen lashed out with a kick, sending the disciple flying.
Once again, it was a single move.
Even against a Sect Disciple, Xiao Chen had defeated his foe in one blow.
Seeing him defeat their companion so cleanly, the other six Jue Mountain Sect disciples with Shen Ming attacked simultaneously, roaring in anger, “Brat, you’re courting death!
You dare injure a disciple of the Jue Mountain Sect?
No one can save you today!”
They had thrown all shame to the wind, ganging up on Xiao Chen, six against one.
A mocking smile touched Xiao Chen’s lips as he said, “The Jue Mountain Sect…
truly the bearing of a great sect.
Ganging up on a single person and still managing to sound so high and mighty.
I’ve really learned something today…”
“You’re courting death…!” Hearing Xiao Chen’s words, the six Jue Mountain Sect disciples roared in fury and attacked as one.
Facing the six-man assault, a flash of light emanated from the Storage Ring on Xiao Chen’s finger, and a silver-white longsword instantly appeared in his hand.
With the longsword in hand, Xiao Chen’s aura instantly sharpened.
If before he was a fine sword still in its scabbard, he had now revealed his razor-sharp edge.
‘A Storage Ring…’ Shen Ming was secretly astonished to see that Xiao Chen actually possessed one.
‘Storage Rings weren’t something ordinary people could possess.
Powers like the Xiao, Chen, and Ma Families probably only had one or two in their entire clan.
Even in the Jue Mountain Sect, only Elders and elite disciples like me were qualified to have our own.
I never expected Xiao Chen to have one as well.’
While Shen Ming was still reeling from the surprise of the Storage Ring, Xiao Chen, facing the six-man siege, was already revealing his heaven-defying prowess.
Known as the Xiao Family’s “true dragon” since childhood, Xiao Chen’s heaven-defying talent wasn’t limited to his cultivation speed; his combat prowess was equally monstrous.
Among those in the same realm, Xiao Chen had always been invincible.
The six Jue Mountain Sect disciples—three at Vein Opening Realm Great Perfection and three at the Small Perfection of Vein Opening Realm—formed a lineup that was not to be underestimated.
In front of Xiao Chen, however, they were still far from enough.
After a single exchange, the difference in their abilities was starkly apparent.
With his longsword in hand, no one could tell what Sword Technique Xiao Chen was using.
All his movements were simple—thrusts, flicks, sweeps, and other basic sword forms.
Yet, these fundamental moves that every martial artist practiced seemed completely transformed in Xiao Chen’s hands, their power amplified several times over.
He used these basic moves against the six Inner Sect Disciples from the Jue Mountain Sect.
Each thrust he made was from an incredibly tricky angle, and it was executed with extreme speed and immense power.
“How is that possible?
How can basic sword moves have such power…?” one of the Jue Mountain Sect disciples cried out, unable to believe what he was seeing.
“Nothing is impossible.
It just means you are ignorant,” Xiao Chen replied coolly to the disciple’s cry of disbelief.
He then swept his sword out, defeating the man in a single motion.
Having defeated one, the rest of the fight held no surprises.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Xiao Chen had overwhelmingly defeated all six Jue Mountain Sect disciples.
Even with all six of them working together, they had been unable to defeat Xiao Chen.
Now, only Shen Ming remained on the Jue Mountain Sect’s side.
His expression was grim as he looked at his companions groaning on the ground.
At the same time, Xiao Chen spoke coolly.
“This boring game is over.
If you leave now, I can pretend none of this ever happened.
But if you insist on being a fool, next time, you won’t get off with just a few injuries.”
Xiao Chen’s words were clearly meant for Shen Ming.
Hearing them, Shen Ming flew into a rage.
‘What is the meaning of this?
He’s completely looking down on me…!’