'Impossible?'
He watched as his Fire Sparrow Seal hovered motionlessly before Jiang Chen, refusing to budge no matter how he urged it.
Even after living for over a century, Elder Resentment was shocked beyond words.
A storm of disbelief raged within him.
The Fire Sparrow Seal was the strongest Cultivation Technique of the Fire Sparrow Kingdom. When unleashed, it could incinerate the heavens and scorch the earth.
Its power was undeniable.
Elder Resentment had only learned to cultivate the Fire Sparrow Seal because he had once aided a Prince of the Fire Sparrow Kingdom. Seeing his loyalty, the Prince had bestowed the technique upon him.
And so, Elder Resentment became that Prince's servant.
But the Fire Sparrow Seal was a truly formidable Cultivation Technique.
Yet now, when used against a cripple, it had no effect whatsoever.
This was simply impossible.
'What's going on? How can this be?'
His heart was in utter turmoil.
He stared in horror at the Fire Sparrow Seal right in front of Jiang Chen. It was just a hair's breadth away from striking him.
A single hit from the Fire Sparrow Seal would take half the life of even a Martial King Expert.
The current situation completely overturned his understanding of the world.
Qin Muxue was also stunned.
She stared at the scene in disbelief.
'Why hasn't he killed him?'
She wondered if Elder Resentment was showing mercy.
Her heart seethed with a monstrous hatred for Jiang Chen; she would never allow him to live.
Elder Resentment's expression was incredibly grim.
"Fire Sparrow Seal, kill!"
He roared again.
But it was useless. The Fire Sparrow Seal remained motionless before Jiang Chen.
It just hovered there quietly.
"Retract!"
He tried to retract the Fire Sparrow Seal, only to discover in horror that he couldn't retract the Vermilion Bird Seal at all.
For some reason, at that moment, Elder Resentment suddenly felt a surge of panic.
In over a hundred years, this was the first time he had ever encountered a situation where a Cultivation Technique became unresponsive after being cast.
The members of the Qin Family were also clearly dumbfounded, staring in utter confusion as Elder Resentment's attack failed to produce any results.
The Jiang Family had been certain that Jiang Chen would be burned to death by the Fire Sparrow Seal, but now, time seemed to have frozen on this scene.
"What... what in the world is going on?"
"Jiang Chen didn't even move, and the Fire Sparrow Seal from the Fire Sparrow Kingdom didn't harm him."
And this was an attack from a Martial King Expert, no less.
Finally, Jiang Chen spoke, his voice light.
"Vermilion Bird, protect your master. Go."
As Jiang Chen's words fell,
HUMMM...
The fiery red figure of the Vermilion Bird shuddered violently.
It whipped around in an instant, its blazing, frenzied eyes locking directly onto Elder Resentment—the very master who had just unleashed the Fire Sparrow Seal.
'This is bad.'
The moment the Fire Sparrow turned to look at him, Elder Resentment's heart lurched within his chest.
He was now in a state of complete bewilderment.
The Fire Sparrow Seal had failed, and now, the Fire Sparrow was about to turn on him.
But the Fire Sparrow gave him no chance to react.
WHOOSH!
The Fire Sparrow charged forward, bringing with it a heaven-shaking flame and an endless, searing wave of heat that rolled out in all directions.
It was even more powerful than the Fire Sparrow that Elder Resentment had summoned, as if it had spontaneously absorbed fire from the world itself.
In that instant, its aura reached a terrifying Peak.
Even from a great distance, many members of the Jiang Family could feel the terrifying heat, as if it would destroy the great hall and incinerate everything.
SWISH!
Filled with endless questions, Elder Resentment scrambled to dodge his own Fire Sparrow Seal.
But in an instant, the Fire Sparrow Seal flooded the entire hall. It was as if the hall itself had transformed into a blazing inferno.
The Fire Sparrow descended directly upon Elder Resentment.
Then, the Fire Sparrow let out a piercing shriek.
Riding the waves of heat, it surged toward Elder Resentment.
BOOM!
A flash of fire, and the Fire Sparrow plunged into Elder Resentment's body.
"No...!"
Elder Resentment let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Despite his Martial King Cultivation, he was utterly powerless against his own Fire Sparrow Seal.
His body was instantly sent flying backward.
Like a kite with a snapped string, he sailed out of the great hall.
CRASH!
Elder Resentment's aged body slammed heavily onto the hard stone slabs outside, the sound of breaking bones audible to all.
SPURT... SPURT...
After crashing to the ground, Elder Resentment coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.
He was a pathetic sight.
He wasn't just injured; he was severely injured.
"Elder Resentment...!"
Qin Muxue had been waiting for Elder Resentment to help her annul the engagement and take control of the situation.
But now, Elder Resentment had suddenly been injured by his own Fire Sparrow Seal.
With a cry of alarm, she ignored the pain on her own face and rushed outside.
She and the other members of the Qin Family, who were already scared witless, scrambled out to help Elder Resentment to his feet.
"Elder Resentment, are you all right?"
Qin Muxue asked anxiously.
"Cough, cough..."
Elder Resentment managed two difficult coughs.
His entire body was in agony from the backlash of the Fire Sparrow Seal.
This was the first time in history anyone had ever heard of such a thing.
He still didn't understand why.
And yet the Fire Sparrow Seal hadn't harmed Jiang Chen in the slightest.
He looked toward the Jiang Family's great hall and saw Jiang Chen standing alone in the center, exuding an aura of profound mystery.
'It seems all of this is related to that young man.'
But he couldn't be sure.
After coughing a few more times, Elder Resentment waved his hand. "There was a small accident. I'm fine."
Qin Muxue looked at Elder Resentment with some doubt.
In the end, she didn't press the matter.
Instead, she said, "Elder Resentment, about my annulment... do you think we should proceed?"
Having come all this way for the annulment, Qin Muxue couldn't accept leaving without it.
She absolutely could not marry a waste, not even in name only.
Elder Resentment also believed that what had just happened was definitely an accident.
He didn't even consider the possibility that it was related to Jiang Chen.
He coughed a few times, his cane still clutched tightly in his hand.
He said in a low voice, "Let's go back inside. We'll settle the annulment first."
And so, Qin Muxue once again helped Elder Resentment back into the great hall.
Meanwhile, the members of the Jiang Family all looked at each other in dismay.
The scene just now had been so bizarre.
None of them understood why Elder Resentment's Vermilion Bird Seal would attack its own master.
However, Elder Resentment had previously exuded the aura of a Martial King. He was a Martial King Expert. Seeing him enter again, they were filled with renewed terror.
No one dared to speak.
Only Jiang Chen, standing alone in the center of the hall, possessed a mysterious, unruffled composure.
Perhaps, to him, this wasn't much of a threat after all.
Not even the Martial King Expert.
As long as his opponent used the Fire Sparrow Seal, they would inevitably suffer a backlash.
After entering, Qin Muxue glared at Jiang Chen.
"Are you going to sign it or not?"
"My time is very precious."
"I forgot to tell you all from the Jiang Family, this is the National Guardian Envoy of the Fire Sparrow Kingdom, Lord Elder Resentment."
"If the Jiang Family knows what's good for it, you'll sign this obediently."
Qin Muxue decided to just reveal Elder Resentment's identity.
For now, she wouldn't pursue the matter of Jiang Chen hitting her. She would have plenty of opportunities to settle that score with him later.
BOOM!
The faces of everyone in the Jiang Family showed an even deeper sense of horror and fear.
This man wasn't just a Martial King Expert, but also the National Guardian Envoy of the Fire Sparrow Kingdom.
All the clan members looked toward Jiang Han.
"Elder Brother, just sign it."
"Yes, don't bring disaster upon our Jiang Family."
They were scared. Truly scared.
Who would dare provoke someone from the Fire Sparrow Kingdom? That was undoubtedly courting death. In the eyes of the Fire Sparrow Kingdom, the Jiang Family was no different from ants.
Jiang Han also took a deep breath.
Although he was bewildered by Elder Resentment's backlash,
he now looked toward Jiang Chen.
"Son, just sign it."
Deep down, they all wanted to annul the engagement anyway.