33: Holy Land Competition, Start

The Medicinal Pill's potency was astonishing; in just a moment, Jiang Chen's pale complexion regained its color, and his depleted Qi Sea was refilled.

He slowly opened his eyes, meeting Su Qinger's gaze, which was still filled with a hint of worry, so close to him.

He could even make out her long eyelashes and his own reflection in the depths of her eyes.

The atmosphere, for a moment, was somewhat enchanting.

Jiang Chen straightened up, moving away from the soft warmth that had made him somewhat reluctant to leave.

"Thank you for the Medicinal Pill, Young Miss Su." He stretched his limbs, a smile returning to his face.

Su Qinger felt a bit shy under his gaze and instinctively took a half-step back, shaking her head gently, "I should be thanking you. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have..."

"That's enough."

Jiang Chen waved his hand, interrupting her, "I told you, I just didn't like Xu Ying. As for Daoist Tian Xuan, he came looking for death himself; it has nothing to do with you. You don't need to take responsibility for everything."

He paused, looking at Su Qinger, his expression suddenly becoming more serious, "Young Miss Su, you just need to remember that you are my, Jiang Chen's, guest. In this Hongtian Holy Land, no one can touch you."

"Whoever does, dies."

Such an overbearing declaration, if spoken by anyone else, would only be considered a joke.

But coming from Jiang Chen, who had just forced a Saint to kneel, it carried a reassuring conviction.

Su Qinger's heart was once again deeply moved.

She stared blankly at Jiang Chen, momentarily speechless.

After a long silence, as if having made up her mind, she took a deep breath and finally asked the question that had been lingering in her heart.

"Jiang Chen, at the Holy Land Grand Competition a month from now, will you... kill him?"

The "he" she referred to was, of course, Lin Fan, without needing to be stated.

This question was the last answer she sought for her past self.

She had completely severed her feelings for Lin Fan, but the young man in her memories was, after all, an indelible part of her life's past.

Jiang Chen heard her words, unsurprised.

He turned around, looking once more at the surging sea of clouds beyond the cliff, his voice calm.

"Whether I kill him or not has never depended on me, but on himself."

"The fate of an ant should naturally be decided by the one stepping on it. But if this ant insists on foolishly jumping under your foot, baring its fangs and claws to provoke you, tell me, should it be crushed with one stomp, or should one walk around it?"

He did not answer directly but gave the clearest answer with a rhetorical question.

Weakness is not a sin.

But if one is weak and fails to recognize reality, then one is already courting death.

Su Qinger understood.

She looked at Jiang Chen's tall figure, and the arrogance that viewed all beings as insignificant, which at this moment, no longer seemed so jarring in her eyes; instead, it felt more like a matter of course.

Yes, Brother Lin Fan... no, Lin Fan, he has fallen into a demonic obsession, and he should be responsible for everything he has done.

Su Qinger's last trace of concern also completely vanished with the mountain wind.

She said no more, simply standing quietly behind Jiang Chen, accompanying him as they watched the clouds roll and unfurl... The news of Daoist Tian Xuan's aggressive intrusion into Holy Son Peak, only to be forced to kneel and lose all face, was spread, embellished by who knows whom.

In less than half a day, it swept through the entire Hongtian Holy Land like a storm.

Suddenly, all the Disciples, deacons, and even Elders within the Holy Land were plunged into immense shock.

Those Disciples who had been privately complaining for Xu Ying and slandering Jiang Chen for bullying others instantly became silent, each one tucking their tails between their legs, fearing that a word might reach the ears of that ominous Saint, leading to the same fate as Xu Ying.

And those Core Disciples who already admired Jiang Chen were even more excited beyond measure.

"The Saint is mighty! Even a Ninth Realm Saint kneels at his command; what an imposing presence!"

"What is overbearing? This is overbearing! We Cultivators should be like this!"

"Before, I thought the Saint was a bit cold and unfeeling, but now it seems that's only towards enemies! Didn't you see how gentle the Saint was with Fairy Su?"

The direction of the rumors completely reversed overnight. The reputation of Jiang Chen as a Devil Head still remained, but it was now tinged with awe and less slander.

In the eyes of many female Disciples, such a powerful, overbearing man who knew how to protect his own people was simply full of fatal attraction.

As for the Elder lineage, they fell into a deathly silence.

Daoist Tian Xuan's miserable state was like a basin of ice water, extinguishing all their petty schemes.

They then realized that this Saint, who usually kept a low profile, had grown to such an extent.

In such a strange and oppressive atmosphere, a month passed in an instant.

The Hongtian Holy Land's century-old Sect Grand Competition finally began.

On this day, the Holy Land's mountain-protecting array opened, and the bell chimed nine times, echoing through the sky.

Countless powerful Auras arrived from all corners of the Nine Heavens, descending upon the Hongtian Holy Land.

All the major top Sects, Immortal Imperial Dynasties, and ancient families of the Eastern Domain sent people to observe the ceremony.

Numerous flying boats, divine palanquins, and chariots of various designs, obscuring the sky, docked above the sea of clouds outside the Holy Land, presenting a grand and magnificent scene.

Among them, a magnificent flying boat, crafted entirely from star crystals and emitting a bright moonlight, was particularly eye-catching.

Above the flying boat, the ancient Daoist inscription of "Nangong" was visible.

The cabin door opened, and a refined-looking middle-aged man with an unfathomable Aura stepped out first; he was Nangong Zhuo, the current patriarch of the Nangong Family.

And behind him, a stunning figure slowly emerged.

She wore a light blue palace gown, her figure tall and graceful.

Her dark hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her unadorned face was breathtakingly beautiful.

Her temperament was as cold as the moon, as indifferent as a Fairy, as if a Celestial Maiden from the Nine Heavens, untouched by mortal dust, had descended to the mundane world.

It was Jiang Chen's fiancée, Nangong Mingyue.

Her appearance instantly drew the gaze of everyone present.

Countless young, talented individuals looked at that exquisite figure, their eyes filled with admiration and adoration.

Nangong Mingyue was long accustomed to this, her expression unchanged.

Her cold gaze swept over the bustling Hongtian Holy Land below, and for some reason, a ripple she herself couldn't explain stirred in her heart.

Over the past month, she had heard many rumors about her fiancé.

Tales of him rescuing a beauty, capturing the heart of the Su Family Fairy, or being incomparably overbearing, forcing a Ninth Realm Saint Elder to kneel... These rumors made her feelings quite complex.

There was a faint displeasure at her fiancé's entanglement with other women, but also a sense of pride, which she herself was reluctant to admit, of being honored by his actions.

She was very curious, what kind of person had the man who was always so proper, yet a bit frivolous, and always seemed to see through her thoughts, become now?

Her gaze subconsciously searched through the crowd.