Jiang Chen was just getting started. It wasn’t near time to stop. Besides, he’d never intended to make peace with the Silversword Gang.
He’d continue his killing streak until he was satisfied, and until the gang wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone anymore. The way their leader had lost his calm told Jiang Chen that the gang was out of ideas on how to fight back.
They weren’t as strong as he’d thought.
Seeing no signs that Jiang Chen seemed inclined to stop, the gang continuously retreated, but still suffered great casualties in the face of his enormous speed.
The gang leader gnashed his teeth and called out, “You’ve been having a great time killing our members. As long as the Silversword Gang stands, you will be our worst enemy. Warmspring Island will not tolerate your deeds!”
Jiang Chen judged it was about time for the Warmspring authorities to arrive. They must know about the gang’s actions. Perhaps the two were even in cahoots. Otherwise, the gang couldn’t have been allowed to openly commit crimes like this.
All of this would greatly undermine the island’s reputation.
As he cut down the gang members, Jiang Chen kept his eyes sharp and his ears keen. Forces were converging from all directions. It was time to retreat.
Suddenly, he whistled and shot through the air with Kunpeng Meteoric Escape, soaring up like a flash of lightning.
“Listen up, Silversword Gang members. This is payback for all the people you’ve victimized. I’ll spare the rest of you, but in the future, if I hear that you’ve committed atrocities again, I won’t hesitate to teach you another lesson. You’ll learn how to be honest men after I do this a few more times.”
The boss swallowed down the blood rus.h.i.+ng up to his throat. The gang had suffered greatly. If Jiang Chen attacked even one or two more times, they were as good as disbanded. They’d already lost half of their senior executives.
“Not so fast, murderer!” The gang leader couldn’t just take the abuse. He soared up the sky and pelted after Jiang Chen. “Stay and tell those from the authorities to follow me.”
None of the gang members would be of much help. He had to take matters into his own hands. Perhaps only the official authorities could eliminate this murderer.
Jiang Chen didn’t blindly rush away at full speed. He maintained a good grasp on direction as he flew at a more deliberate pace. Although he was retreating, he had to do so smartly. It’d be troublesome to be intercepted by experts from Warmspring Island.
He escaped the island’s vicinity in no time.
Once he reached the vast ocean, there was no longer anything tying him down. He rushed forward at full throttle and soon shook off his tail.
Nevertheless, he remained cautious. After his killing spree, the gang boss wasn’t going to remain idle. The island authorities were unlikely to stand by and do nothing, either. His pursuers would continue to chase after him.
But what was there to be afraid of?
He summoned Starfate and made his way to Bluesmoke Isles at full speed. His destination was Miracle City.
The last time he was there, he’d left a message at an inn. The Vermilion Bird and Long Xiaoxuan were to go there and find him once they ended their closed door cultivation.
So many years had pa.s.sed. He wanted to find out about their situation as well.
He found the inn to inquire after his friends, but no one had come for him. That meant the two divine spirit creatures had yet to end their cultivation.
“Senior Vermilion must really like h.e.l.l King Island.” Jiang Chen sighed. At least it wasn’t far from where he was. Why not pay a visit? He’d missed the two dearly after their long absence.
Not long after Jiang Chen’s departure, a group of Warmspring cultivators arrived at Miracle City, one of which was the boss of the Silversword Gang. The other six were all Warmspring’s senior executives; their cultivation was a uniform advanced empyrean realm.
One could see from this that the island authorities had been truly angered this time. They’d deployed their highest ranking law-enforcing elders.
“Boss Luo, are you sure you can still track him down?”
“I’m sure,” the boss responded with great determination. “I can’t stop him from escaping, but I collected some of his aura during our fight, which lets me track him down. He hasn’t realized what I’m doing yet. We still have a chance to catch up! He’s just left the city after a short stay.”
“If so, let us chase him down at once!” declared a white-browed old man. He was the leader of the elders, and his cultivation seemed to be the highest.
The other elders took his words as their command. Even the gang boss deferred to the old man.
They regrouped and followed the gang leader in going after Jiang Chen. They soon left the city and entered the boundless ocean.
Jiang Chen had deliberately slowed down after reaching the ocean. There weren’t many threats here. Once he entered the three thousand miles radius of h.e.l.l King Island, it would become much more dangerous. Of course, it was easier for him now to deal with anything that cropped up, given the significant progress he’d made in cultivation.
Last time, he’d needed the Vermilion Bird and Long Xiaoxuan to help him traverse the ocean. He’d been great emperor then, but was now fourth-level empyrean.
A sudden sense of apprehension crept into his heart. It was a familiar feeling.
“What’s going on? Why is there a feeling of danger? Are the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds from Warmspring still chasing me?” He had sharp instincts. Once he realized the problem, he focused on surveying the area. His findings made him break out in a cold sweat.
His pursuers had not only caught up, but were only a few dozens miles away from him. It’d take an empyrean expert only a few seconds to travel the distance.
Jiang Chen tensed up and cursed under his breath, “Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds sure are insistent.”
He had no choice but to hurry. It was fortunate that Starfate was capable of amazing speed when needed.
Although the elders from Warmspring were also traveling in airboats, their speed couldn’t surpa.s.s that of Starfate. The chase continued on over the vast ocean.
“You’ve picked the wrong direction to flee in, kid! Right ahead of you is the infamous h.e.l.l King Island. It’s a barren land where no living beings can pa.s.s through. That’s a dead end. You have no chance of escape!” The gang boss may have yet to catch up to Jiang Chen, but threats were issued in abundance.
The white-browed old man frowned slightly. “Boss Luo, why are you in such a rush? You must be patient in order to eliminate that kid. How are we going to ambush him now that he knows he’s approaching h.e.l.l King Island? What if he pulls off another cunning escape? Are you sure you’ll be able to track him down again?”
He didn’t want any accidents now that they’d had Jiang Chen cornered.
The gang leader cackled. “Venerated Elder Lu, there’s no need to worry. No living beings can cross h.e.l.l King Island. He won’t have the opportunity to play any tricks even if he wants to. He’s killed many of my men and disrupted our business. I must skin him alive and slice and dice him!”
The gang leader ground his teeth. His hatred for Jiang Chen ran bone-deep.
The old man frowned. “Have you figured out who he is? If he’s a scion from one of the top factions in the Ten Divine Nations, it’ll do more harm than good for you to make him an enemy. Moreover, you might bring Warmspring down in the process.”
He wasn’t exaggerating. In a second-tier isle like Bluesmoke, Warmspring Island could only be considered a third-tier faction. They were at most among the fourth or fifth tier factions in the grand scheme of Myriad Abyss.
If they offended a top genius from the Ten Divine Nations and in turn offended a top faction, Warmspring was as good as destroyed. It wouldn’t be the first time that such a thing had occured in the history of Myriad Abyss.
There were several examples of geniuses from top factions meeting a premature death by the hands of uninformed local factions as they traveled to gain worldly experience. The top factions would then retaliate and eliminate the local factions.
The top factions were protective of their own. They considered it normal for their geniuses to stir up trouble in other factions’ territories. However, if their geniuses were killed, they’d hold the local factions accountable.
For example, when three aristocratic families from Polylore Divine Nation suffered casualties on Winterdraw Island, they blamed Rejuvenation Isles, despite it being their own fault. In the end, they made a mess of Rejuvenation.
Top geniuses from the major factions were to be avoided at all costs.
Chief Luo tightened his jaw. “He can’t be from House Xiahou. None of their youths other than Xiahou Zong is that strong, and Xiahou Zong is dead.”
“Can he be a top genius from other divine nations?” asked the white-browed old man.
“He doesn’t look the part. Besides, if he’s a top genius, why is he not followed by guards and servants? No one seemed to recognize him at all.”
The Silversword Gang was smart with how they picked their targets. They could tell a genius from a big faction at first glance and would never make a move on them. They’d made sure the young man couldn’t be from a powerful faction before targeting him. At the very least, he wasn’t a known genius.