An autumn wind rose, accompanied only by the sound of fluttering sleeves.
At that moment, everyone present thought their eyes were playing tricks on them. A cripple with a shattered Qi Sea and severed Spirit Veins could actually kill a First-level Mortal Warrior with one punch?
Although Jiang Haijun wasn't dead, it was clearly because Jiang Jichen had held back. He had thrown that punch so casually; if he had used his full strength, Jiang Haijun would likely be a corpse.
"Could the rumors be false? Was Jiang Jichen never crippled at all?"
Someone finally cried out, finding the scene utterly surreal.
"His Qi Sea is dead and stagnant, his Spirit Veins are blocked. What's more, that punch just now didn't have the slightest fluctuation of Spiritual Qi. He's definitely a cripple!"
A strange light flashed through Ouyang Mian's eyes. They shone like two motes of starfire, piercing through the world's illusions to see a glimpse of the truth.
Hearing this, many had a moment of realization and breathed a collective sigh of relief. "So that's it. Jiang Jichen must have been born with Divine Power. Jiang Haijun got too close, unaware, and was knocked down. It was pure luck!"
Others sneered, "So it was just luck. A cripple is still a cripple. As long as you don't make the same mistake, any Cultivator at the Mortal Cultivation Level can swat him dead!"
Jiang Jichen's Divine Soul was powerful, so the crowd's whispers naturally reached his ears. He was secretly amazed by Ouyang Mian's perceptive eyes. 'I never expected someone in this small city to possess the Buddhist Family's Void-Breaking Eye.'
He understood the crowd's mentality perfectly. As fellow Cultivators, they all wanted to see a genius more talented than themselves fall from grace, only to be trampled underfoot and ridiculed, satisfying their own sense of superiority.
"Defeating an enemy in one move... The people here are too weak. They can't even stir my desire to fight. How lonely it is to be undefeated!"
Jiang Jichen heaved a long sigh, a look of melancholy on his face. He then turned to leave, presenting his solitary back to the crowd.
The crowd was speechless. Seeing Jiang Jichen's pretentious act, they all felt the urge to attack and teach him a lesson.
'He's just a cripple. Does he really think he's still the peerless young expert of Cyan Moon City?'
"Jiang Jichen, stop! You think you can just leave without handing over the Five-Star Bronze Cultivation Card?"
"I, Jiang Haiyun, challenge you!"
Jiang Haiyun was the first to lose his patience. He strode out from the crowd and issued his challenge to Jiang Jichen.
Without turning around, Jiang Jichen clasped his hands behind his back and gazed at the sky. "You're no match for me," he said faintly. "I'm a kind person and can't bear to hurt you. You should back down."
However, the more Jiang Jichen spoke this way, the more the crowd believed he was bluffing. They thought he didn't dare to fight again and was just looking for an excuse to leave.
"You cripple! You coward! You're a disgrace to the Jiang Family!"
Jiang Haiyun was so furious he started shouting insults. If Jiang Jichen didn't verbally accept the challenge, it would be improper for him to seize the Five-Star Bronze Cultivation Card by force.
If he did, even if he succeeded, he would be giving people grounds for criticism.
"I can't bear to hurt you. So what if I have to endure a few insults?"
"Look back through history! Which of the greats who left their mark on the ages didn't walk a path laden with slander?"
Jiang Jichen's voice was incredibly deep and brimming with emotion. Anyone who didn't know the situation would have been genuinely moved.
However, everyone knew he was just making excuses to get away. He clearly didn't dare to accept the challenge, yet he was trying to make himself sound so noble, even comparing himself to historical legends. He was truly shameless.
"Coward! What will it take for you to accept my challenge?"
Finally, Jiang Haiyun was forced to ask.
Hearing this, Jiang Jichen spun around, a strange light glinting in his eyes.
"Since you're so sincerely begging me for a fight, I'm afraid you won't be able to sleep tonight if I refuse. I'm just too soft-hearted and love to help people!"
"Alright, I'll fight you... for twenty First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills!"
After his magnanimous speech, Jiang Jichen's sudden demand startled everyone. Twenty First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills was a huge amount of resources for a Mortal Warrior. Even for a direct descendant like Jiang Haiyun, twenty pills likely represented his entire fortune. For the other Mortal Warrior disciples from the Outer Sect, it was an even more unimaginable sum, equivalent to half a year's worth of cultivation resources.
The crowd faintly sensed that something was amiss, as if they were being tricked.
Jiang Haiyun, however, agreed without a second thought. As a Fourth Layer Mortal, defeating a cripple would be as easy as turning over his hand.
"Fine. If I win, I don't want your Condensing Spirit Pills. I just want you to kneel and hand over the Five-Star Bronze Cultivation Card yourself!"
Jiang Haiyun laughed maliciously, his eyes filled with scorn, as if he were looking at an ant.
"Well, my Five-Star Bronze Cultivation Card is right here. Where are your twenty First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills?"
Jiang Jichen was getting excited. He had just used up twenty Condensing Spirit Pills and was worried about running out of Cultivation Pills. Now, someone was finally delivering more to his doorstep. All that talking had been for this very moment.
In his past life, there wasn't a pill he hadn't seen; he could have anything he wanted. In this life, however, he was starting from scratch. He had to scheme just to get his hands on a single First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pill.
Jiang Haiyun tossed a bag containing twenty First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills onto a nearby cyan boulder. Jiang Jichen placed his Five-Star Bronze Cultivation Card there as well.
The moment this was done, Jiang Haiyun couldn't wait to make his move. He sneered, "The twenty Condensing Spirit Pills are right here, but you won't live to enjoy them. Now, get on your knees!"
Jiang Haiyun's Qi Sea churned and his four Spirit Veins trembled as powerful Spiritual Power flooded his body. Instantly, cyan-gray Spiritual Power Lines swirled around him, and his entire body began to emit a faint Spiritual Light.
A Fourth Layer Mortal Warrior, overflowing with Spiritual Light, his body as agile as a spirit ape.
The crowd watched Jiang Haiyun with immense envy. After all, very few of the Jiang Family disciples present had reached the Fourth Layer Mortal Realm, and those who had were nearly twenty years old.
A cruel smile flashed across Jiang Haiyun's face. Channeling powerful Spiritual Power into his legs, he aimed a low sweep kick at Jiang Jichen's knees.
"Jiang Jichen's legs are done for!"
Ouyang Xue's delicate brows furrowed slightly, a hint of regret in her voice.
She hadn't expected Jiang Haiyun to be so vicious. To humiliate Jiang Jichen by forcing him to his knees, he was going straight for crippling his legs.
Jiang Jichen might have beaten Jiang Haijun, a First-level Mortal Realm warrior, through luck. But he was still a cripple. Against a Fourth Layer Mortal, luck and brute force were useless. He would likely spend the rest of his life bedridden.
Ouyang Xue wasn't the only one who thought this; the other Jiang Family disciples also believed Jiang Jichen's legs were as good as gone.
BOOM!
A fierce wind kicked up dust and smoke as the ground trembled. Jiang Haiyun's kick was fast and powerful, its momentum ferocious, sinister, and unforgiving. It gouged a deep trench in the earth, shrouding a ten-foot area in a cloud of dust that obscured everyone's vision.
CRACK!
The sound of a bone snapping followed, making everyone's scalp tingle.
'A battle with a foregone conclusion!'
Though no one could see through the dust, the sound of bone breaking was sickeningly clear. They all assumed the battle was over: Jiang Jichen's legs were shattered, and he was now kneeling on the ground.
"From now on, there is no more Jichen in Qingcheng."
"Genius to cripple, cripple to invalid. What a tragedy."
"Jiang Jichen... just like his name suggests. From now on, he will be nothing more than forgotten dust."
...
The crowd's sighs were laced with cold indifference.
They just wanted to see the dust settle and find the former top young genius of Cyan Moon City kneeling in despair. They wanted to witness the fall of a prodigy.
The fickleness of human nature, the cruelty of cultivation—it was all laid bare in this moment.
The dust finally settled, revealing a disheveled youth kneeling on the ground. His legs were buried deep in the dirt, his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was a mask of shame and fury, as if he were about to go mad.
"That... How is that possible? The one kneeling on the ground is... Jiang Haiyun!"
The voice rang out, shaking the valley and echoing without end.
They couldn't believe it. They couldn't accept this outcome.
How could someone who was obviously a cripple defeat a Fourth Layer Mortal Warrior?
"Heaven has a virtue of cherishing life. Since you are willing to kneel and beg me, you have clearly shown remorse. Very well. I won't take your life this time, merely offer a small punishment. You'd best be on your way and reflect on this."
Jiang Jichen stood before Jiang Haiyun completely unscathed, speaking in a compassionate tone that left the crowd utterly speechless.
Anyone could see that Jiang Haiyun's legs had been broken, forcing him to kneel. He was in no way "repenting on his own and kneeling to beg for mercy" as Jiang Jichen claimed.
One look at Jiang Haiyun's face revealed he was filled with resentment, fury, and humiliation. His glare was so hateful he looked like he wanted to tear Jiang Jichen limb from limb.
"You... Jiang Jichen, I swear that one of us must die!"
Jiang Haiyun's hate-filled voice rang out as he struggled to lunge at Jiang Jichen.
Moments ago, he had boasted about making Jiang Jichen kneel before him. Now, in the span of a few breaths, he was the one kneeling.
This was a lifelong humiliation. He would likely never be able to show his face in public again and would become the laughingstock of the Jiang Family.
"This Young Master is broad-minded. I can't be bothered with you!"
Ignoring Jiang Haiyun, Jiang Jichen walked over to retrieve his Five-Star Bronze Cultivation Card and the twenty First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills he had won.
As he walked, Jiang Jichen's body swayed, and he looked as if he was about to fall.
This detail, naturally, did not escape the notice of the more observant members of the crowd.
"Wait! I have yet to fight you!"
Just as Jiang Jichen was about to turn and leave, Jiang Haijian's voice rang out, issuing his own challenge.
Everything that had happened today was beyond Jiang Haijian's expectations. He originally thought Jiang Jichen was a cripple, an ant that even a First-level Mortal Warrior could crush with ease. He never imagined he would have to step in himself.
Yet this cripple, whom he had regarded as an ant, had first defeated Jiang Haijun with a single punch, then beaten Jiang Haiyun to his knees. It was all so unbelievable that he was beginning to feel a little unnerved.
But he was determined to obtain the Five-Star Bronze Cultivation Card and could not let Jiang Jichen leave.
"Are you planning to gang up on me, a cripple, fighting me one after another?"
Jiang Jichen spun around and demanded, his gaze suddenly as sharp as a sword. Although there was no Spiritual Energy Flow from his body, he exuded a powerful, imposing aura. It made Jiang Haijian feel as though he were facing a towering mountain, the pressure immense.
"Are you scared?"
Jiang Haijian had to activate his Qi Sea and circulate his Spirit Veins just to dispel the pressure coming from Jiang Jichen. His heart was filled with shock.
"Why would I be scared? But since this is the third fight, the wager will be forty First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills. Do you have that much?"
"Fine. Forty Condensing Spirit Pills, right here."
"Then hand them over!"
"You..."
The instant Jiang Haijian produced a bag of Condensing Spirit Pills, Jiang Jichen's demeanor changed completely. His eyes flashed with a divine light as he took the initiative and lunged forward. His body moved like a flood dragon emerging from the sea, his hand like a spirit ape reaching for the moon. In a flash, he had snatched the bag.