Volume One, Chapter 113: A Harsh Lesson!

“You? Challenge me to a duel? Who are you, and why should I accept? If I end up seriously injuring you, won't your master go to the Azure Cloud Sword Sect to complain?”

Shen Huaizhu spoke with disdain. At eighteen, she was hailed as a prodigy and had entered the Formless Realm just last year. A mere obscure junior cultivator like him had no right to challenge her.

“I will not accept your challenge. Nor do I want to!” Shen Huaizhu declared firmly.

Jiang Chen replied, “Do you think I’m speaking to you under my own name?”

Shen Huaizhu sized him up. Apart from being somewhat handsome, the man had nothing remarkable. “Then what? Do you have some other status worth my attention?”

Jiang Chen’s tone sharpened: “I am now challenging you as a disciple of Dragon-Tiger Mountain.”

He deliberately avoided using the title of the sect leader of Dragon-Tiger Mountain because she was unworthy. If anyone was to be challenged, it would be her master. Jiang Chen did not want to create a rift between his sect and the Azure Cloud Sword Sect over a foolish disciple. Although it is said that one rotten apple spoils the barrel, such a comparison was inappropriate here.

Shen Huaizhu’s mistake did not mean the Azure Cloud Sword Sect was at fault. Their sect leader was a remarkable man with broad vision whom Jiang Chen had met.

Shen Huaizhu blinked slightly. "You’re a disciple of Dragon-Tiger Mountain?”

She sighed. Indeed, a disciple of Dragon-Tiger Mountain challenging her was legitimate. Since he represented Dragon-Tiger Mountain, it naturally meant she represented the Azure Cloud Sword Sect.

“Fine... but if you get hurt, don’t blame me. I won’t go easy on you.” Shen Huaizhu drew her long sword and pointed it at Jiang Chen.

The sword in her hand was called Frostbite, one of the Azure Cloud Sword Sect’s treasured blades. Its power was especially formidable in winter, reaching an incredible level.

She had already sized up Jiang Chen and found no deep cultivation foundation. Even if he was strong for his age, he was unlikely beyond the Vajra Realm. She believed she could win steadily by swordsmanship alone.

“I will fight only with swordsmanship. How about that?” Shen Huaizhu said, brandishing her sword.

Jiang Chen waved his hand. “No need. Just give it your all.”

Shen Huaizhu sneered. If she used her full strength, Jiang Chen might not withstand even a single strike.

But since he asked her to use her full power, she would not hold back.

“Arrogant people must take responsibility for their words!”

The long sword gleamed sharply under the sky.

Nearby, Liuli whispered, “Should we stop my senior sister? Do you think your friend can handle this?”

Li Changsheng wanted to laugh out loud, but he was nursing internal injuries. Any laughter would cause blood to spurt uncontrollably, so he swallowed his amusement in front of Liuli.

But Liuli’s worry was needless. Jiang Chen’s ferocity was well known. He once held off two divine beasts alone and later solved the crisis in Qing City single-handedly. What chance did a sheltered flower like Shen Huaizhu have against him?

Li Changsheng patted Liuli’s hand reassuringly.

Bang—

A crisp sound echoed as a nearby woodpile collapsed.

Jiang Chen stood there unscathed, motionless, as if he hadn’t even moved.

Liuli was startled. She saw her senior sister emerge disheveled from the fallen woodpile, her eyes dazed.

Liuli herself was stunned. She looked at Li Changsheng, whose face wore a knowing smile, clearly having anticipated this.

Her senior sister was the strongest in their sect aside from the elders and sect leader. How could she fail to withstand even one strike from Jiang Chen, and be beaten so miserably?

Back on the mountain, her senior sister had always dominated peers in sparring, giving them no chance to counter—like slaughtering chickens. Now, Liuli felt that Jiang Chen inspired the same dread.

Shen Huaizhu’s eyes were bloodshot. Her long sword lay mercilessly discarded on the ground by Jiang Chen.

“You! You did this on purpose, didn’t you? Just to humiliate me today...” Shen Huaizhu’s voice was loud and furious.

In her eyes, Jiang Chen had hidden his strength only to shame her now. Otherwise, why hadn’t he objected earlier when she spoke?

Jiang Chen had no time for such explanations. Tenderness was out of the question; she would have to be quicksilver to merit any pity.

Shen Huaizhu summoned her sword, her entire body erupting with spiritual energy. The ground around them crystallized with frost.

Among the elements, ice was unique. It lacked thunder’s explosive power, fire’s endurance, and water’s pliancy. Yet its solidity and control rivaled that of wood.

Jiang Chen felt the cold from the ground and noticed his feet were encased in shards of ice.

He formed a talisman to isolate the surrounding sounds, preventing the villagers of the small town from witnessing the fight and posting it online, which would only cause more trouble.

The frost’s control was difficult to counter. Unconsciously, Jiang Chen’s movements were becoming restricted.

“It’s over. Senior sister is using her ultimate move!” Liuli wanted to warn Jiang Chen. Her senior sister’s control was so strong that even her father forbade using it in sparring.

“Winter’s Chill, Frostbite!”

This technique completely restricted the opponent’s thoughts and movements, slowing their mind and body. Before they could react, the battle would be swiftly decided.

Jiang Chen stood with eyes closed, feeling the incoming attack. It was a powerful control technique, and its strength lay in its silent approach—few could respond in time.

Shen Huaizhu was ferocious but only in anger, not with true killing intent.

To Jiang Chen, this was child’s play.

The frost spread relentlessly, freezing Jiang Chen’s legs. Both were now covered in ice, immobilized where they stood.

“Ultimate Snow, Frost Heaven!” Ice pillars shot up around Shen Huaizhu, moisture sucked dry from the air. Jiang Chen was momentarily taken aback by this move.

It was clearly not a traditional legacy technique but something she had developed herself. This arrogant girl was undoubtedly a genius. Given time to refine her skills, she would inevitably take the helm of the Azure Cloud Sword Sect.

“Jiang Chen, you bullied me and struck me. I will make you pay. You won’t be able to get up after this.”

With her freezing power complete, Jiang Chen’s escape was impossible. He was at her mercy.

Jiang Chen looked at her and lightly moved. The ice shattered and fell to the ground as if it had never been.

“Still... too weak.”