The presidents of the martial arts associations all wore bitter expressions.
The man who had threatened to exterminate Chen Jie’s nine generations of kin was now pale with terror.
Their Pingcheng Martial Arts Association had no one left who could contend with Chen Jie. Even Chairman Fang Tai likely stood no chance against him.
How could they possibly seek revenge now?
Who had they provoked?
Why was Chen Jie so powerful?
“What are you doing?” Chen Jie looked at Hong Zhong in confusion.
Hong Zhong sneered, “Stop pretending. In a way, we are the same kind of people! Not on the same level as these common mortals.”
Chen Jie’s heart skipped a beat. Was Hong Zhong also a cultivator?
“Die!”
Hong Zhong slammed his palm onto the ground, muttering an incantation. A thick, malevolent energy surged towards Chen Jie.
In an instant, Chen Jie felt enveloped by darkness.
Normally, he could easily refine such malevolent energy into spiritual energy.
But now, it was as if the energy had a master; he could not refine it no matter how hard he tried.
Simultaneously, Chen Jie felt his five senses gradually weaken.
“Boy, today I’ll show you the unique secret technique of my Shadowless Sect, Cursing!” Hong Zhong sneered.
Chen Jie’s expression darkened. At this moment, his five senses had completely vanished.
He quickly sat down cross-legged and circulated his cultivation technique.
As spiritual energy flowed through his body, his five senses gradually returned.
However, the malevolent energy that had infiltrated his body seemed to be inexhaustible, constantly eroding him.
“Master!” Lin Mengjiao anxiously placed her hand on Chen Jie’s shoulder. But the moment she touched him, she abruptly withdrew her hand, looking at it in shock.
Her originally fair and elegant hand had turned completely black.
Chen Jie’s heart stirred. This so-called cursing energy didn’t affect him much, but it was very effective against Lin Mengjiao.
Could it be because their cultivation techniques are different?
After a brief examination, he was shocked to discover that the power Hong Zhong was wielding seemed to have surpassed the realm of a Grandmaster of Arts.
It was more like a cultivation technique.
However, it was much more complicated to execute than standard cultivation techniques.
Unlike his healing or immobilizing spells, which could be cast with a mere thought, this required significant effort.
“Perhaps Hong Zhong is cultivating some extremely low-level immortal technique, barely exceeding the realm of a Grandmaster of Arts,” Chen Jie mused.
“Boy, do you know how formidable I am now? I’ll give you a chance to live. If you become a dog for my Shadowless Sect, and from now on, prepare twenty cauldrons like the girl beside you every year, I might spare your life today,” Hong Zhong said with a sinister smile.
“You evil cultivator, your existence on this earth only brings harm to the innocent. Today, I shall act on behalf of heaven!”
Chen Jie no longer hesitated. His body trembled, and he accelerated the circulation of his cultivation technique.
Instantly, all the malevolent energy that had infiltrated his body was repelled.
At the same time, Chen Jie followed suit, controlling his spiritual energy to chase after the malevolent energy and surge into Hong Zhong’s body.
He didn’t need to draw symbols with blood or have lengthy incantations; he cast it with ease.
Boom!
Hong Zhong, who had been gloating, was suddenly struck with immense force, spitting blood uncontrollably.
Ah!
Hong Zhong screamed, his body contorting unnaturally.
He looked at Chen Jie in terror, “What did you do to me!”
Chen Jie replied, “I merely returned the favor!”
Hong Zhong’s condition was far worse than Chen Jie’s. The spiritual energy seemed to carry a destructive aura that he could not resist.
“Stop! Stop it quickly! How do you know the unique technique of my Shadowless Sect?” Hong Zhong exclaimed in disbelief. “If you undo my curse, I’ll undo yours! Otherwise, we’ll both be destroyed! Hurry!”
“Hmph! You will be harmed, but I won’t be!” Chen Jie remained unmoved.
“Damn it! Chen Jie, you little bastard, how dare you! I warn you, if you kill me, you will be making an enemy of the entire Shadowless Sect! I am merely a low-ranking member. There are plenty who can kill you!” Hong Zhong shouted wildly.
Chen Jie’s expression turned cold, “I don’t care what the Shadowless Sect is, but they had better not provoke me, or they’ll face a dead end! You are a prime example!”
With that, he sent another surge of spiritual energy towards Hong Zhong.
“My life is forfeit!”
Hong Zhong screamed, “All my subordinates, hear my command! Chen Jie is currently weakened by a unique secret technique of my Shadowless Sect! Kill him! My Shadowless Sect owes you a favor!”
Pfft!
After uttering these words, Hong Zhong’s bones shattered, and he fell to the ground, utterly dead.
The members of the Martial Arts Association looked at Chen Jie hesitantly.
After Chen Jie’s feigned injury earlier, they now dared not make a move.
After all, they only had one life.
Even Fang Tai fell into silence.
While they hesitated, Chen Jie moved.
He walked step by step towards Fang Tai.
Fang Tai’s heart jolted, and he took two steps back nervously, then stood his ground. “Chen Jie, what do you want?”
Chen Jie said as he walked, “If you want revenge for your son, now is your chance. Because this is when I am weakest. From now on, I will only grow stronger.”
“You… casualties are inevitable in martial competitions. I will not seek revenge for my son!” Fang Tai said.
“Very good. But now, we need to settle some accounts!” Chen Jie said calmly.
Damn it, he had already shown weakness, and Chen Jie still wouldn’t let it go! Fang Tai cursed inwardly and asked, “What accounts do we need to settle? You haven’t lost anything.”
After saying this, he felt immensely bitter.
Facing the murderer of his son, he could only speak to the other party in such a weak tone. It was a humiliation!
Their attempt to punish Chen Jie and establish their authority had ended so disastrously.
For him, the reputation of the Martial Arts Association would be severely tarnished. He didn’t know if anyone would be willing to join the association in the future.
“I just heard that your Martial Arts Association threatened to exterminate my nine generations of kin,” Chen Jie said coldly.
“No! That was just an angry outburst! We would never do such a thing,” Fang Tai replied.
“You don’t have the guts to do that anyway,” Chen Jie said dismissively.
“Is… is there anything else?” Fang Tai asked.
“Where’s the money!” Chen Jie demanded.
“What?”
Chen Jie’s gaze sharpened. “Didn’t you say there was a hundred million prize for the martial arts champion? Are you going back on your word?”
A flicker of malevolence crossed Fang Tai’s eyes. He had killed his son, and now he wanted the prize money. This was like trying to kill his heart!
He reluctantly wrote a check and handed it to Chen Jie. “You’ve offended the Shadowless Sect. They will never let you go!”
“You don’t need to worry about that!”
Chen Jie took the check, turned, and looked in another direction.
In the distance, sensing Chen Jie’s gaze, Yin Chuji became extremely anxious and stood up. “Manman, come back to the provincial city with me. Let’s go now!”