“Jiang Taichu, your crimes are heinous! We are in the midst of discussing how to surround and capture you, to cut you to pieces. Since you’ve delivered yourself to us, so much the better. End your own life to appease the spirits of those martial heroes in heaven!”
With a clang, Hong Junshan drew a treasured blade and threw it at Jiang Tian’s feet, shouting angrily.
Seeing the other side’s aggressive stance, Tang Linglong couldn’t bear it any longer. She stepped forward and said coldly, “Hmph! Which of the people my master killed were heroes? They were all cowards, all vicious curs!”
“You little brat, how dare you speak so wildly? Do you have a death wish?”
“Yes, just a snot-nosed kid, and you dare to recklessly discuss the martial heroes of the world? You’re simply asking for death!”
“If I were your family elder, I’d have slapped you dead long ago!”
“Look! ‘Cowards and vicious curs’—what an ugly thing to say!”
Many martial artists were furious, pointing at Tang Linglong and shouting angrily. The scene descended into chaos.
“Silence!”
Tang Linglong’s pretty face turned cold, her delicate brows raised. A sharp cry, infused with the Dragon’s Roar Demonic Tone, shocked everyone’s eardrums, causing intense pain. Fearful glances were exchanged, and the crowd quieted down.
“What’s this girl’s background? How is her aura so deep and powerful?”
Many martial artists present exclaimed in astonishment.
“She seems to be Tang Guozhu’s granddaughter. But she wasn’t a martial artist before; I’ve never seen her so formidable!” A sharp-eyed martial artist recognized her but found it even more unbelievable, feeling greatly puzzled.
Unlike Jiang Tian, who was detached and disinclined to explain anything, Tang Linglong was sharp-tongued and eloquent. Coupled with her disdain for these people, how could she keep silent?
Immediately, she spoke rapidly: “Don’t you believe it? That scoundrel Hong Tianzhao set up an ambush and used poison, trying to seize my master’s elixirs and treasures. Why shouldn’t my master fight back? Was he supposed to offer his neck and let himself be killed? Is Hong Tianzhao’s life a life, but my master’s isn’t?”
“This…” Hong Junshan was speechless, his face momentarily awkward, unsure how to argue.
“What about Wei Shuofeng then? Elder Immortal Wei was a transcendent figure outside the mundane world. Was he also deserving of death?” Zhang Mingli spoke up again.
Tang Linglong smiled disdainfully. “Wei Shuofeng was even worse. After failing to win in a business dispute, relying on his magical arts, he once raised ghosts at our Wolong Mountain Villa, causing my grandfather to fall gravely ill. Later, he sent disciples to try and control the magnates of Jiangbei. My master went to his door seeking an explanation. They agreed to a duel, with Cao Shixiong from the military as witness. He was less skilled than my master and was killed by him. Can you blame my master for that?”
Just as Mo Haoxiong’s descendants were about to retort, Tang Linglong had already anticipated them, sneering, “My master originally went to Wei Shuofeng seeking justice. Mo Haoxiong, thinking his cultivation was powerful enough to bully others with his influence, meddled in matters that didn’t concern him and insisted on attacking my master. Isn’t that like a dog catching mice—minding other people’s business? He deserved to die!”
“You… how can you speak so harshly!”
“A young girl like you, don’t you have any sympathy at all?”
The Mo family members were so angry their faces turned pale.
But Tang Linglong’s words hit the nail on the head, striking at the core of the issue. Their rebuttals seemed weak and powerless.
“I want to ask everyone present, which of you has never killed anyone?” Tang Linglong suddenly said coldly.
For a moment, the great hall fell into silence. Those present were all speechless, their expressions awkward.
“Knights errant use force to violate prohibitions!”
Although since the 1990s, with the establishment of Dragon Group and the Martial Alliance, efforts began to discipline the world and maintain martial order, making it much more peaceful, true martial arts isn’t about fitness or polite dinners. It’s the art of killing, the technique of slaying dragons—a life-and-death struggle!
Whether for contending interests, vendettas, or sparring matches, regardless of the reason, who among those present had never injured or killed? Whose hands weren’t stained with a few lives?
It’s just that if the killed person was also a martial artist, friends and family would generally consider it a lack of skill and accept their bad luck, not reporting it to the authorities. As the saying goes, “If the people don’t report, the officials won’t investigate.”
To put it bluntly, whether it’s Dragon Group or the Martial Alliance, what they truly protect are ordinary people in the secular world; they don’t allow martial artists to harm ordinary people.
As for fights between martial artists, unless innocents are harmed, they usually turn a blind eye.
“If my master is guilty, then everyone present is guilty!”
Tang Linglong’s voice was icy. “If my master must confess his crimes and be punished, then everyone should be treated equally, with no exceptions!”
Her voice was like the ring of a sword, faintly metallic, vibrating in everyone’s ears:
“If you believe yourselves innocent, that you’ve never killed anyone, then go ahead and attack my master!”
When her speech ended, the entire hall fell deathly silent.
Many martial artists were tongue-tied, unsure how to refute.
“Actually, I’ve only just stepped into the martial world, and there are many rules I’m not very familiar with…”
Jiang Tian’s face was relaxed and composed as he chuckled lazily. “I want to ask everyone present a question: If I want to kill you, can you refrain from fighting back?”
“Of course I’d fight back! No matter how powerful you are, even if you were Ye Zhantian, I’d still put up a fight!”
From among the seated, a hot-tempered man slammed the table, craned his neck, and roared loudly.
“Are you missing a screw in your head…”
“Stubborn Tyrant truly lives up to his name—utterly brainless!”
All the powerful figures looked at him with frustration, inwardly cursing.
“Ah, he’s been led down the garden path by Jiang Taichu. Really…”
A martial artist held his forehead, shaking his head and sighing helplessly.
This martial artist was one of Wei Feilong’s younger sons, named Wei Sanduo, known as the Stubborn Tyrant.
He was tall and burly with bulging muscles, probably at the Iron Body level. But his gaze seemed somewhat unfocused and dull, as if his mind wasn’t quite right.
“See? Even a three-year-old knows this logic. Don’t you all know it?” Jiang Tian gave an appreciative glance at Wei Sanduo, who grinned back with a simple, honest smile.
Jiang Tian continued leisurely, unhurried: “They wanted to kill me. Of course I had to fight back!”
“Jiang Taichu, don’t try to quibble. Don’t you know the principles of being kind to others and knowing when to stop? In short, since your debut, you’ve been insane, stirring up storms of blood wherever you go. At this moment, Chairman Wei appreciates your talent and only asks you to bow your head and apologize. Yet even this you refuse. Do you intend to become the enemy of all martial comrades under heaven?”
Hong Junshan stood up, face full of rage, arguing without reason as he pointed at Jiang Tian and shouted loudly.
These words struck at the heart.
They directly set Jiang Tian and Wei Feilong personally against the Martial Alliance and all the heroes under heaven. It was like putting Jiang Tian on a spit over the fire.
“So what if I make enemies of the whole world!”
Jiang Tian chuckled lazily. “I’ll be staying at the Poyang Water Manor these next few days, waiting for everyone to come seek revenge!”
These words plunged the entire hall into dead silence.
“This kid is too arrogant!”
Everyone’s expressions changed dramatically, unable to believe it. Even Wei Feilong’s face turned very ugly.
He had harbored some appreciation for Jiang Tian’s talent, thinking to let him lower his head and apologize, giving everyone a way out and letting the conflict pass. But he never expected Jiang Tian to be so unaware of the situation, betraying his well-meaning efforts, insisting on a head-on collision and putting him in a difficult position.
Since you don’t give me face, I can’t be bothered with you anymore. You can fend for yourself.
“Fine, fine, fine! Jiang Taichu, you’ve got nerve! If you have the guts, stay right here. I’ll be the first one to deal with you!”
Jiang Tian’s words had ignited the fire. Hong Junshan’s beard seemed to flutter as he roared.
“Master Jiang, this move of yours is rash. Even if you are a Transformation Grandmaster, alone, can you withstand all of us, the heroes of the world?” Zhang Wendao also sneered coldly.
“Hmph! After the tournament ends, we will surely free our hands to slay you!” Mo Haoxiong’s descendants gnashed their teeth.
“See? This is his true face—insisting on making enemies of the whole world!”
“This clearly shows he doesn’t take the world’s martial arts seriously! So arrogant and overbearing!”
“Ah, he’s so young. Even reaching the minor accomplishment of the Transformation realm is rare. But he doesn’t understand that ‘the tallest tree catches the wind.’ Facing so many powerful figures, even if Ye Zhantian himself were here, he probably wouldn’t be so arrogant and rude!”
“Yes, this kind of arrogant and domineering personality won’t get him far. He’s just asking for a short life!”
For a moment, some martial artists angrily shouted, some shook their heads and sighed regretfully, and others rolled up their sleeves. The vast Assembly Hall became noisy and chaotic.
“Everyone, stop arguing!”
At this moment, Wei Feilong stood up, pressing his hands down to quiet the crowd.
As everyone settled down, a voice like a crow’s caw in the night suddenly rang out: “Jiang Taichu, what big talk! You’re not even afraid of making enemies with the whole world? Dare I ask, aren’t you afraid of Da Quan’s Lin Zhenyu? You killed his disciple Xing Shanhu. He’s already on his way here! You’ll be scared to death!”
That voice again!
“Annoying racket!”
Jiang Tian sneered. Suddenly, with a flick of his hand and a pointed finger, whoosh—a wind blade shot through the air.
In the crowd, someone who saw Jiang Tian raise his hand tried to flee. Unexpectedly, his vision blurred—the wind blade had already arrived.
With a tear sound, this person’s neck was cleanly severed. Blood spurted several meters high, the head rolling on the ground.
“Hmm? Isn’t this the Hung Kuen master Li Ling? Jiang Taichu, you kill indiscriminately like this?” Wei Feilong angrily slapped the table.
His nature was originally calm and peaceful, but Jiang Tian killing someone in front of him at the slightest disagreement—even if he were made of clay, he couldn’t suppress his anger.
“He wasn’t Li Ling…” Jiang Tian smiled faintly.
“Ah! He was disguised! Look at his face…”
Suddenly, Wei Sanduo cried out in surprise.
Everyone had been glaring at Jiang Tian before. Hearing this, they all turned to look.
They saw the man’s face peeling apart, revealing his true appearance—actually a foreigner with blond hair and blue eyes.
“It’s Lin Zhenyu’s disciple, Xing Shanhu’s junior brother, the head of Da Quan’s California branch—Hanks!”
Someone familiar with overseas martial arts exclaimed in shock.
“That foreigner never opened his mouth from start to finish. We didn’t notice. How did he discover him? His hearing is so astonishing!”
“That move just now was definitely condensing qi into a weapon. Whether it’s major or minor accomplishment is hard to say, but he has truly stepped into the Transformation realm!”
At this moment, their gazes towards Jiang Tian changed, carrying a trace of fear.
Previously, they were angry at Jiang Tian, but they had some doubts about his Transformation realm cultivation.
After all, in the past hundred years of Hua Xia, no one had appeared who reached the Transformation realm before the age of thirty.
But now, seeing Jiang Tian’s wind blade, they no longer doubted it in the slightest.
“Alright then, I’ll be waiting for you all to come seek revenge on me!”
Jiang Tian dropped this sentence, calm and composed, then walked out the door, strolling away as if taking a leisurely walk in a park.
