Teach me a lesson?
Jiang Chen burst into laughter at the absurdity of the statement.
His bout with Wu You earlier might not have been a spectacular display of technique, so ordinary folks wouldn’t have gleaned much from it. However, this guy wasn’t much stronger than Wu You… so where did his confidence come from? Did he not like to use his brain?
“I am Shen Fan, the top genius of the Cloudwave Sect.” The young man in question tossed Jiang Chen a contemptuous look. “In Eternal Divine Nation, I admire only one person – big brother Xiahou Zong. Since you’ve offended him, you’re automatically my enemy. I will deign to teach you how big the world really is!”
“You?” Jiang Chen’s eyes narrowed. “Teach me about the size of the world? What would you know about it?”
“Tsk tsk, I know why big brother Xiahou hates you so much. You’re such an annoying brat.”
“I’ve no problem with your preference for being Xiahou Zong’s dog. However, I tend to beat up any dogs that yap in front of me.” Jiang Chen didn’t like wasting words on people like these. It was a waste of time and intellect.
Shen Fan’s expression frozen over. How dare that kid call him a dog?!
“You’ve really made me angry now!” His voice had a sharp edge like a knife’s.
“Just angry, hmm?” Jiang Chen smiled coolly. “More exciting things are about to come.”
Shen Fan cackled. “Enough talk. Go to h.e.l.l!”
Spirit energy whipped up from all around him as he said this, forming wave after wave of an inexorable tide. This was a water attribute ability.
It wasn’t the first time Jiang Chen traded blows with a water attribute cultivator. He had fought more than three times with such enemies. Shen Fan was much superior to his past foes, but neither was he unchanged from back then.
Jiang Chen fearlessly cut into the powerful surge by wading in. He seemed almost relaxed amid the tempestuous waves. No matter how the waters swirled in s.p.a.ce around him, he remained unfettered by their restrictive influence.
Shen Fan was a little surprised by Jiang Chen’s agility. His water attribute ability didn’t look very destructive, but it was very nearly perfect ace. Once an enemy was trapped by the waves, they would continually apply increasing pressure and constraining power until the enemy’s inevitable demise.
The vortex formed by the waves gained in ferocity once more, but they seemed insufficient to ensnare their target. Shen Fan was even more taken aback; he had considered himself capable of holding his own against the sacred land’s Sui Chen.
He’d thought the suddenness of his best attack enough to overwhelm a wandering cultivator with panic. Though it seemed that he had been sorely mistaken, he had never been one to admit defeat to anyone in his generation – aside from Xiahou Zong, of course.
Someone comfortable as the foremost genius of the Cloudwave Sect was sure to be exceptional in more ways than one. He produced a sparkling, golden whip in his hand with a flourish. A powerful murderous aura emanated from the whip, along with a palpable bloodthirst.
“Do you think you can dodge my attacks with speed alone? How naïve!” Shen Fan chuckled. “This is the Raging Serpent’s Whip, formed from the bone and tendon of a Raging Serpent from the infinite oceans of Myriad Abyss! It contains the spirit of that beast. I will use it to consume your soul in turn!”
Raging Serpent?
Jiang Chen knew the bloodline was draconic in nature, though a mutated offshoot. Raging Serpents were fierce and bloodthirsty, capable of consuming all in their paths. They were some of the most combat-capable dragons out there, and every part of their bodies was suitable to be refined into treasure. Their tendons especially, were superb for weaponry.
It was rare to see such a complete tendon in the wild. Jiang Chen was surprised that Shen Fan had something like this – and so well-refined, to boot. The quality of that empyrean weapon was nothing short of splendid.
Shen Fan actually isn’t an enemy to take lightly.
“Shen Fan, a treasure like the Raging Serpent’s Whip is supposed to be a blessing to its bearer. Alas, you’d rather wag your tail like a dog. Don’t you know that dogs aren’t fit to own valuable things? You bring shame to all Raging Serpents everywhere, and their draconic ancestors as well!” Jiang Chen intentionally poked at his opponent.
Shen Fan flew into a rage. “Death is staring at you in the face, kid! Shut up!”
He brandished his whip to create a myriad of swings and waves. The weapon created a series of afterimages that glittered enticingly in the air. The air whooshed ominously, like a reaper doing his work.
The power of the Raging Serpent’s Whip didn’t lie solely in its destructive ability. It could also strike at a cultivator’s consciousness, tearing away bits of essence and blood with each blow.
Truth be told, Shen Fan could probably rely on his Raging Serpent’s Whip to even fend off someone as strong as Xiahou Zong for a long time. The whip rent the air with terrifying force.
“I’d like to see how long you can dodge from me, kid!” Shen Fan had clearly trained extensively with his whip. He wielded it like an extension of his body.
Jiang Chen’s speed advantage was more p.r.o.nounced because of it. Thousands of his images danced through the air, making it impossible to see where he specifically was with the naked eye.
Shen Fan was hardly concerned. “You’re very fast, kid, but that doesn’t matter. In my zone of control, you won’t escape my whip’s judgment no matter how fast you are!”
As soon as his voice fell, the Raging Serpent’s Whip seemed to elongate as it spun in circles in midair. Golden rings rippled outward from the weapon, creating a number of strange, black glyphs. Their oddness warranted special attention.
“Restrict, cut!”
The Raging Serpent’s Whip suddenly collapsed inward.
Fwoos.h.!.+
s.p.a.ce seemed to be cut apart by ring after ring of the whip.
Shen Fan stared at the air, half-expecting an explosion of blood and guts. Unfortunately, the lack thereof of anything significant disappointed him.
“How can this be?”
The zone of control provided by the Raging Serpent’s Whip was already absurd enough. There was almost nowhere in the ring the whip couldn’t reach.
The whip first sliced up s.p.a.ce horizontally, then vertically. No mortal man could escape the whip’s fine dicing. Even flies were powerless before such a dense attack vector. But where had Shao Yuan gone??
“Looks like this whip really is a waste in your hands.” A voice echoed forth from the air.
“Where are you?” Shen Fan roared, pus.h.i.+ng his consciousness to the maximum. He raised his whip to deliver a lethal attack anytime.
“I’m here.”
“And here.”
“And here…” Countless voices rang through the air. Suddenly, images of Shao Yuan began to crop up all around Shen Fan.
Each afterimage was more real than the last. A faintly mocking expression decorated every face with biting disdain. Clearly, Jiang Chen didn’t think much of him. This hurt Shen Fan deeply.
“All you know are little tricks, kid!” Shen Fan was positively infuriated. “Ghosts and spirits, begone!”
He flourished the Raging Serpent’s Whip as much as he could. It swept into the indistinguishable afterimages like a bolt of lightning. By Shen Fan’s logic, both true and false options were targeted by the whip.
The afterimages were snuffed out like candles being extinguished. When they disappeared, they turned into blue smoke that vanished before his eyes. There was no antic.i.p.ated detonation of biological matter.
Shen Fan felt his heart race. He recognized all too late that this opponent wasn’t as easy as he’d thought. The Raging Serpent’s Whip was his strongest tool. His prominence in the Cloudwave Sect – and among other youths of his generation as well – was owed to the weapon.
The whip was more than just a strong weapon. It transformed his aura and granted him hidden advantages. Many of his opponents crumbled thanks to the whip’s pa.s.sive intimidation alone.
Thus, Shen Fan almost felt that he could face Xiahou Zong without too much of a handicap. So why would he care about Shao Yuan? His battle against the youth merely a minor responsibility to Xiahou Zong.
But things hadn’t gone nearly as easily as he had thought. Though he had the Raging Serpent’s Whip, his opponent was significantly more recalcitrant. Jiang Chen’s unfathomable way of moving and suite of various methods went beyond his scope of knowledge.