Volume One, Chapter 15: They Came Looking for Trouble, Yet They’re Afraid to Die

Immediately, Jiang Wu lifted his sword, pointing it straight at Ye Chen, murmuring lowly, “Golden Crow Sunlight, go!”

With that sharp command, the golden light once concentrated at the sword’s tip suddenly transformed into a golden crow with outstretched wings, shimmering brilliantly as if a divine bird born from the very sun itself had taken flight.

The Golden Crow raised its head and let out a deafening screech. Then, beating its wings powerfully, it surged forward with an unstoppable momentum, directly charging at Ye Chen.

Faced with such a fierce assault, Ye Chen did not choose to stand his ground and await the attack.

Instead, his figure flickered like a phantom, agile and swift. With the Clear Wind Sword already drawn, its tip lightly tapping the ground to harness momentum, he shot backward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, aiming to turn defense into offense and disrupt Jiang Wu’s rhythm.

“Hmph, courting death!” Jiang Wu’s lips curled into a cold, cruel smile as he witnessed this. The smile was not only a manifestation of absolute confidence in his victory but also a deep mockery of his opponent’s arrogance.

As he spoke, the golden longsword in his hand suddenly soared into the air, its blade radiating dazzling golden light, reminiscent of the very first rays of the rising sun.

Then, Jiang Wu’s fingers traced a silent sword formation in the air. His eyes closed briefly, as if communicating in secret with the sword itself.

Abruptly opening his eyes, he pointed skyward. Under everyone’s gaze, the golden longsword began to tremble violently, as though torn apart by an invisible force. In an instant, it shattered into dozens of slightly lighter but equally sharp golden sword shadows, each brimming with formidable power.

These sword shadows, conjured by the sword-shadow technique, wove into an impenetrable golden net in midair, flickering with a terrifying radiance.

“Fall before me!” Jiang Wu commanded. He pointed toward Ye Chen’s location, and the golden swords obeyed, transforming into streams of light that tore through the air with shrill whistles, overwhelming Ye Chen from all directions.

Wherever the golden swords passed, the air seemed to split asunder, leaving clear spatial rifts, a testament to their indomitable force.

In that moment, the entire space was engulfed by a golden storm, suffocating and oppressive, making every breath painfully difficult.

Ye Chen understood that meeting this overwhelming force head-on would be foolhardy.

He twisted his body, attempting to evade the dense sword net with nimble movements, but the golden swords seemed to possess a will of their own, relentlessly pursuing him like shadows.

“Damn it!” Ye Chen cursed inwardly, ultimately forced to halt and confront the deadly assault directly.

He swiftly formed hand seals, splitting his Clear Wind Sword into over a dozen sword shadows. Though outnumbered by Jiang Wu’s golden sword shadows, he fought with all his might.

However, the speed and power of the golden sword shadows far exceeded his expectations. Wave after wave closed in, leaving Ye Chen no choice but to parry desperately with his Clear Wind Sword.

Clang!

A crisp metallic clash rang out as one golden sword shadow was deflected by Ye Chen’s blade, but more followed like relentless tides, overwhelming him.

Finally, during a fierce exchange, a powerful force knocked Ye Chen’s Clear Wind Sword flying. It arced through the air and crashed heavily to the ground with a sharp sound.

Glancing quickly, Ye Chen resolved to fight barehanded.

This was possible thanks to his cultivation at the Passage Mastery stage, allowing him to expel true energy outward for both offense and defense. Otherwise, relying solely on his physical body would be far weaker.

He adjusted his strategy swiftly, condensing true energy into his palms, attempting to fend off the golden sword light with powerful palm gusts.

Yet this consumed enormous energy; he knew his true energy reserves were limited and that he must find a breakthrough soon.

With resolve, Ye Chen gathered all remaining true energy to his body’s surface, forming a faintly shimmering true energy shield, hoping to withstand the entire onslaught.

From above, Jiang Wu smiled coldly, thinking, “Truly courting death.”

He had expected Ye Chen to be severely wounded by the golden sword light, yet unexpectedly, Ye Chen’s true energy shield barely held firm.

The collision between golden sword light and true energy shield erupted into a deafening roar, sword light gradually dissipating amid impact, while the shield’s strength waned steadily.

Jiang Wu’s expression darkened, recognizing he had underestimated Ye Chen’s strength.

Seizing the moment, he retracted all scattered golden swords, condensing them back into his hand to deliver a fatal blow.

Just as the true energy shield’s light dimmed and the golden sword light, like the first dawn’s gleam, was about to pierce Ye Chen’s faltering defense, a sudden, thunderous clang shattered the tension, reverberating through every heart.

Jiang Wu felt his longsword tremble violently, an irresistible force from the blade’s tip forcibly diverting his sword’s edge.

He looked up in astonishment, disbelief flooding his eyes. “What? A spear...?”

Before the words could fall, his gaze locked onto a gleaming blood-red spear that had somehow appeared before Ye Chen. The spear was straight as a dragon’s spine, its tip like a dragon’s pearl, radiating a chilling sharpness.

A playful smile curved Ye Chen’s lips, a mischievous light sparkling in his eyes. Softly, he said, “Junior brother, surprised?”

Without waiting for Jiang Wu to recover from his shock, Ye Chen surged forward, swinging the spear in a fierce arc, the rushing wind howling as it struck toward Jiang Wu’s chest.

The spear shadow resembled a dragon in flight, its momentum overwhelming, as if determined to shatter every obstacle before it.

Jiang Wu was struck by a piercing force that rushed toward him. In haste, he summoned all his strength to resist the blow.

Yet, when the spear tip touched his chest, it did not pierce as Ye Chen had expected.

Instead, a faint slicing sound echoed as the spear tip cut through Jiang Wu’s white robe, revealing not flesh beneath but a patchwork of shimmering silver scales. They gleamed brilliantly under the sunlight, like mysterious ancient armor guarding Jiang Wu from harm.

“Xuan Frost Secret Scale Armor...” Ye Chen’s pupils contracted sharply, disbelief spreading swiftly across his face.

He had never imagined that Jiang Wu, a master of the Aerial Sovereign realm, would not only seek him out today but also wear a defensive treasure—the Xuan Frost Secret Scale Armor. Such regard for him was unexpected.

In truth, Ye Chen thought Jiang Wu’s actions simply revealed his fear of death.