Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

"You little bastard, are you deaf? I told you to stop, yet you dared to kill Luoo Ri and Meng Qing right in front of me?"

Zhao Qinghuo’s face was ashen, his gaze chilling to the extreme and filled with a grim killing intent.

His fists clenched, emitting a series of CRACKS that set one’s teeth on edge, as a terrifying killing intent emanated from him.

For an existence of Zhao Qinghuo’s level, face was of the utmost importance.

Previously, he, Zhao Qinghuo, had sworn to Meng Qing that as long as he was here, Luoo Ri and Meng Qing’s lives would not be in danger!

But in the blink of an eye, Jiang Chen had killed Luoo Ri and Meng Qing right before his very eyes, showing no mercy.

This was tantamount to a vicious slap across Zhao Qinghuo’s face!

Zhao Qinghuo’s face alternated between pale and livid, and he could feel a burning sting on his cheeks.

Beside him, Luo Zhen’s face was also grim. A moment ago, he had been acting all high and mighty, making grand pronouncements about Jiang Chen. He had proclaimed that it would take Jiang Chen at least a hundred moves to finish the fight, but the kid had ended it in a single strike.

This was nothing less than a blatant slap in the face!

Jiang Chen glanced sideways at Zhao Qinghuo, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold arc as he said flatly, "And who are you to tell me what to do? Why should I listen to you?"

His gaze was condescending, showing he didn’t give a damn about Zhao Qinghuo.

Zhao Qinghuo laughed in fury. "Good, very good. Young people with a little bit of talent tend to get arrogant and overconfident, not knowing their own limits. Today, I will teach you a lesson in your parents’ stead!"

"In my parents’ stead? You’re not qualified," Jiang Chen said indifferently.

"You..."

Zhao Qinghuo’s hair stirred without any wind as killing intent surged. He looked towards Zhao Qingshui and the other four True Martial Realm experts. "Second Brother, teach this kid a lesson for me. Show him how to conduct himself!"

"Don’t worry, Big Brother!"

Zhao Qingshui was at the True Martial Realm Fourth Stage, his combat power more than a level above the likes of Luoo Ri.

He strode confidently towards Jiang Chen, his half-lidded eyes glinting with a grim light as he sneered, "Kid, if you kneel and beg me for mercy right now, I might grant you a quick death. Otherwise..." He pointed to Lui Guan, who was tied to a wooden stake, and said sinisterly, "I’ll torture you just like I tortured Lui Guan. I’ll cut out your tongue, gouge out your eyes, and leave you in a living hell, unable to live or die!"

His sword-like brows twitched. A cold glint flashed through Jiang Chen’s eyes, as bright as stars, and he asked in a low voice, "Are you the one responsible for Uncle Lui’s injuries?"

"That’s right. I did it myself!"

Zhao Qingshui nodded, held up two fingers and wiggled them with a smug, cruel smile. "Tsk tsk, you have no idea how loud Lui Guan’s screams were. It was absolutely tragic, but listening to it really gets your blood pumping! Hahaha..."

The more he spoke, the more excited he became, his face flushing with a crazed crimson. He failed to notice Jiang Chen’s expression growing increasingly grim.

His cultivation crippled.

His four limbs severed.

His tongue ripped out.

His eyes gouged out by fingers...

Each of these acts was enough to make someone wish for death, and all this suffering had been inflicted upon Lui Guan alone.

Just from Zhao Qingshui’s vivid description, Jiang Chen could feel how much pain Lui Guan must have endured. He took a deep breath, looked at the smug Zhao Qingshui, and spoke slowly, "Good. Very good... I originally thought you Qinghuo Gang members were just a bunch of scumbags, but now I see you’re worse than beasts. And since you’re just a pack of beasts, I’ll have no psychological burden in slaughtering every last one of you."

"Kill me? Hahaha, are you delirious? You think you can kill me?" Zhao Qingshui reacted as if he’d heard the most ridiculous joke, laughing so hard he doubled over.

"You’ll find out soon enough if I’m delirious or not!"

With that, his figure flashed forward. His feet stomped on the ground with a series of soul-shaking BANGS! A terrifying True Essence fluctuation spread out from under his feet, forming a circular shockwave that radiated in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Chen was already in front of Zhao Qingshui.

"Pretty fast! Too bad that in my eyes, you’re still too slow!" Zhao Qingshui sneered. The True Essence Light of a True Martial Realm Fourth Stage expert surged forth as a pillar of water shot toward Jiang Chen. "Spirit Water Technique—Azure Dragon’s Water Breath!"

SPLASH!

The blue True Essence Water Pillar surged forward, as thick as a water bucket.

This single pillar of water was powerful enough to pierce through a hill!

Jiang Chen neither dodged nor evaded, allowing the blue water pillar to slam viciously into his body...

Zhao Qingshui sneered contemptuously, "Too weak. You can’t even block a single one of my attacks!"

"Are you sure?"

Jiang Chen’s cold laugh suddenly sounded by his ear, making Zhao Qingshui shudder and look utterly incredulous. He whipped his head to the side and saw Jiang Chen, who had appeared there at some unknown time. A glance from the corner of his eye revealed the figure hit by the water pillar was wearing a strange, cold smile as it slowly blurred!

"That was an afterimage?" Zhao Qingshui exclaimed in horror.

Immediately after, the aura of death enveloped his entire body.

BOOM—

Jiang Chen viciously struck him in the back. The surging True Essence exploded like a cannonball, the terrifying energy tearing his back open into a mangled, bloody mess.

With a wretched cry, Zhao Qingshui was sent flying by the blast.

He crashed heavily against the rock wall.

His impact created a human-shaped crater in the wall, sending rubble tumbling down.

"ROAR!"

A roar echoed from the crater as a disheveled Zhao Qingshui charged out, sending huge rocks flying. He rode a surging wave into the air, his cold eyes locked on Jiang Chen, radiating a grim killing intent. "It seems we’ve all underestimated you. To think a True Martial Realm Third Stage cultivator has such speed. It looks like my nephew Qiankun truly did die at your hands."

"To take a hit from me and not die... you old bastard sure are tough!" Jiang Chen said mockingly, strolling leisurely through the air.

"Hmph, kid, don’t think you’ve got me beat just because you got in a lucky shot. I was just careless a moment ago. From now on, I won’t be holding back!"

Zhao Qingshui’s robes whipped about him as he slowly drew a blue Long Spear, its sharp tip pointed at Jiang Chen. "This spear is named Riptide. I paid a hefty price to have a noble Artifact Refiner forge it. You can be proud to die under its might!"

SWISH—

The blue Riptide Long Spear pierced through the air. In a flash, spear shadows flickered everywhere. It looked like a single thrust, but in reality, he had struck hundreds of times in an instant!

Countless blue spear shadows, accompanied by the sound of crashing waves, formed a blue curtain of spears that descended upon Jiang Chen.

"Oh? He actually forced Second Brother to use Riptide? It seems this Jiang Chen is most likely the one who killed Kun’Er. Hmph, you little bastard, not even the Celestial King himself could save you today!" Zhao Qinghuo said sinisterly, crossing his arms as a cold light gleamed in his eyes.

Luo Zhen nodded and said with conviction, "Vice Gang Leader Qingshui’s strength is formidable. With that Long Spear, a Profound Weapon, he can match an expert at the True Martial Realm Fifth Stage. No matter how strong Jiang Chen is, he’s no match for the Vice Gang Leader. Luo Zhen congratulates Gang Leader Zhao in advance on avenging your great loss!"

"I thank Young Master Luo for his auspicious words!"

Zhao Qinghuo nodded, his tone sycophantic.

「At the same time...」

Jiang Chen, who had been standing motionless, finally moved!

A flash of blue light shone as the Profound Ice Sword appeared in his hand. He thrust the sword forward. "Wind God Extreme—Gale Break!"

BUZZ!

A sphere of Sword Qi shot out.

The sphere of Sword Qi collided with the swath of blue spear shadows, but it was battered by them and steadily forced back.

Zhao Qingshui gloated, "Kid, your Swordsmanship isn’t all that great!"

"Are you sure?"

Jiang Chen looked up at him with a cold smile. He slowly opened his cupped left hand, blew on his palm, and softly uttered a single word: "Explode!"

"Hm?"

Zhao Qingshui froze, his expression changing drastically.

The retreating sphere of Sword Qi suddenly bloomed like a flower bud. One after another, Sword Qi Storms burst forth from the sphere, dancing chaotically like ferocious, sharp dragons of Sword Qi, and began shredding the blue spear shadows.

RUMBLE—

A terrifying blast of energy erupted, like a falling sun suspended above the Celestial Demon Canyon.

BOOM—

The Sword Qi Storms unstoppably shredded all of the blue spear shadows and shot forward with undiminished momentum. Streaks of Sword Qi, imbued with Destructive Power, coiled around Zhao Qingshui as the deafening rumble of energy filled the air.

Zhao Qingshui screamed repeatedly, his flesh torn apart by the blasts. He plummeted from the sky and crashed heavily onto the ground...