Just when Qin You gnashed his teeth together, a dazzling light flicker registered before the Flora gang. A shower of gold surged all around them, enveloping where they were in an aura of light.

A figure walked out from within that light, his face entirely enshrouded by the radiance around him. His expression was completely hidden.

“How exactly do you intend to make me suffer?” the voice declared slowly.

Jiang Chen?

Qin You and the others trembled like they were seeing a ghost in broad daylight. They looked fearfully towards the voice’s source.

Usually, they at most respected strong cultivators in the same generation. They wouldn’t dread or despair over encounters with their peers.

But the person leisurely walking out of the golden light was an exception. They shuddered and trembled just to behold him. Some wanted to instantly turn and run.

Alas, the frightening presence this person within the light exerted upon them took away their strength to walk. Their legs turned to jelly.

As the figure approached, Qin You could barely make out the outline of a person within. It looked like Jiang Chen, but was it really?

His anguish deepened with every step the figure took.

Naturally it was Jiang Chen.

“If I were you, Qin You, I would keep my tail between my legs and live more honestly. Every criminal deserves a second chance, but not necessarily a third. Wouldn’t you agree?” Jiang Chen’s tone was as aloof as ever.

Qin You was floored by what he heard.

“You...” he hissed. “So you did rob me of my orbs last time?”

“Your orbs?” Jiang Chen snickered. “You lost them the same way you got them.”

Qin You was utterly speechless. Yes, he had found almost none of his orbs himself. They’d been amassed through force of arms alone.

He grew anxious at Jiang Chen’s proximity. “You won’t be allowed to run wild here, kid!” he tried to present himself as fiercely as he could.

Jiang Chen laughed lazily. “Is that so? I’d like to know how you’ll make me. It’s been two days since we last met. How many orbs have you gotten your hands on since then?”

Qin You’s heart trembled at the question. “Don’t you dare try to push me around!” he called out anxiously. “This territory belongs to senior brother Lu. He won’t let you off easy if you try anything!”

Jiang Chen couldn’t be bothered with idle threats. He glared at Qin You with his Evil Golden Eye, landing a direct hit that briefly stunned the group of geniuses. He took advantage of that time to relieve them of their orbs again.

Because the rules forbade him from killing, his Evil Golden Eye’s power was restricted. Otherwise, he would have turned them all to statues on the spot.

Qin You felt his soul being petrified. No matter how he struggled, his body refused to budge.

He could only watch while Jiang Chen took away his orbs once more. His face flushed beet red, but his mouth couldn’t even move to curse.

Jiang Chen didn’t let them off easily this time. He poked at their bodies a few times. “The rules prevent me from killing you, but you’re going to suffer a bit for your misdeeds.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin You and the rest felt their ability to move return to them. Very quickly however, they discovered that a new nightmare had arrived.

Now that they could move, their entire body began to itch. First they felt it on their skin, but the sensation soon spread to their bones and veins.

Qin You flopped against the earth, moaning.

The others weren’t much better. They collapsed one by one into the mud, shrieking all the while.

This was ten times worse than breaking their limbs could ever be. Temporary pain couldn’t compare to this sort of strange and unusual torture.

Jiang Chen didn’t have any compassion for them. He was about to walk forward when he noticed something awry in the bushes to his right.

“Whoever’s inside there, why hide yourself? Do you admire the suffering of your comrades the same way as I do?” His tone was subtly mocking.

“Insolent cur!” A rebuke instantly echoed from deeper into the forest. A figure drifted out from the green. It was a young man dressed in a robe of spotted deerskin. His clothes rather complimented his figure.

Without the newcomer having to name himself, Jiang Chen gathered that this was the Lu Mingye Gan Ning had mentioned, the cultivator who was every bit the poison consort’s equal.

He certainly had a sufficiently intimidating aura, and his eyes sparked with electric fury.

As expected of the Flora Sacred Land’s best, Lu Mingye was almost seventh level empyrean already. In other words, he was a notch above Hu Lei and the first genius Jiang Chen had met on the island who was advanced empyrean realm.

It seems the Flora Sacred Land is much wealthier than Eternal. Eternal’s so-called Five Gentlemen have no advantage whatsoever among the other sacred lands. Jiang Chen was beginning to notice that Eternal’s best were really quite average among their peers. They couldn’t even beat Xiahou Zong!

Xiahou Zong really didn’t match up well against many of the better geniuses from the other sacred lands.

And it was also Jiang Chen’s presence that allowed Eternal to foster the ambition of seeking the alliance leadership position in the first place. Without him, they would have no viable competitors in their younger generation. Sui Chen, first among the Five Gentlemen, was only so-so.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Lu Mingye projected his aura as soon as he came into the open in an attempt to pressure his opponent. He had supposed Jiang Chen to be sixth level empyrean at most, which gave him a natural edge in cultivation. Unfortunately, field testing showed that to not quite be the case.

His aura had very little of its intended effect. It disappeared without response after being cast out, like a rock into the ocean. His opponent displayed no fear whatsoever.