Chapter Forty-Three: I Still Suggest You Go Together!

Chen Xiang listened to the voice in his mind, a hint of surprise flickering across his face.

At first, he had only wanted to test the power of the Crystal Flame, and conjuring a sea of fire had merely been a flourish to show off. He never expected that a single move would wipe out more than half of this group of cultivators!

Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!

Dozens of figures burst forth from the inferno. Their clothes were tattered, as if they'd just been rescued from a burning building, yet not a trace of scorching marred their bodies. Instead, they were covered in frost, their skin pale from the cold.

The chilling sensation crawling over their bodies sent them into a fresh panic. They stared at Chen Xiang, terror and dread filling their hearts.

“Ding. Congratulations to Host ‘Chen Xiang’ for instilling fear in cultivators. Gained one hundred points of reputation.”

“Ding. Congratulations to Host ‘Chen Xiang’ for instilling fear in cultivators. Gained fifty points of reputation.”

“Ding. Congratulations to Host ‘Chen Xiang’ for instilling dread in cultivators. Gained eighty points of reputation.”

“Ding. Congratulations to Host ‘Chen Xiang’ for instilling dread in cultivators. Gained sixty points of reputation.”

“Ding. Congratulations to Host ‘Chen Xiang’ for instilling fear in cultivators. Gained one hundred and twenty points of reputation.”

...

In that instant, Chen Xiang had earned nearly a thousand reputation points!

“What... what kind of flame is this? It possesses the properties of fire, yet harbors such a terrifying chill!” a cultivator stammered, shivering uncontrollably.

“All my cold-resisting treasures were destroyed, and still I couldn’t withstand that cold. It’s truly horrifying!”

“No, impossible, this is impossible! He can’t be a mere Core Formation cultivator!” someone cried out in hysteria.

Even the cultivators in the Nascent Soul stage wore grave expressions. They had suffered some minor injuries, nothing serious, but they could no longer afford to take him lightly.

Nearly a hundred cultivators wiped out in a single blow—no one would believe this was the work of someone in the Core Formation stage!

Chen Xiang glanced at his record. That one attack had propelled him straight to the seventh level of Core Formation, and he’d collected more than twenty golden cores, which could be recycled for two hundred thousand experience points. But the strongest cultivator he’d slain was only at the seventh level of Core Formation! It didn’t match his true offensive might—he’d once killed a Nascent Soul stage cultivator! Clearly, this flame was a crowd-control skill, he thought to himself.

He turned his gaze to the remaining twenty-odd cultivators, most of whom were Nascent Soul stage. That was a treasure trove of experience points!

Chen Xiang’s eyes shone as he regarded them, seeing nothing but experience in human form.

The survivors felt his gaze and collectively shuddered.

“What... what do you want?”

“I don’t want the Frost Lotus anymore. Fellow cultivators, farewell!”

“Brother Zeng, wait for me!”

Several of the Core Formation cultivators, gripped by fear, turned to flee. Though they had survived, they were grievously wounded, their cold-resisting artifacts destroyed. Staying in the Frozen Valley longer meant certain death—they desperately tried to escape this calamity.

“Hmph, do you think you can run? Since you wanted to take my toothpaste from the start, you must be prepared to pay the price!” Chen Xiang sneered coldly.

“Boy, don’t think you’re invincible just because you killed a few ants! Let me show you what real strength is!” A burly, savage-looking cultivator stepped forward, his aura revealing the fifth level of Nascent Soul.

“Well, well! I appreciate that you want to challenge me one-on-one, but I’d much prefer a group brawl. Me against all of you!” Chen Xiang beamed.

All the Nascent Soul cultivators present darkened with anger—this youth was simply too arrogant!

The burly cultivator’s temper flared. “What did you say? Boy, it may look bad for me to pick on the weak, but I’ll let you use one hand and still crush you!”

“Oh, is that so? Look up—there’s an old cow flying in the sky, and you’re the one blowing!” Chen Xiang retorted with a sly smile. “I’m not singling you out. I mean all of you here are trash! But since you want a duel, I’ll use only one hand and won’t move from this spot. Still, I suggest you all come at once, lest I be accused of bullying the weak!”

He clasped one hand behind his back, a faint, mocking smile curling his lips—his arrogance was boundless.

The onlookers seethed with rage, tempted to attack together and crush this insolent youth.

Watching from behind, Li Qin’er could barely suppress her laughter. This scene was so reminiscent of what happened in Heavenly Profundity City. It seemed Young Master Li truly had a way to deal with these cultivators.

After all, the inferno just now had shocked her as well, earning him dozens of reputation points from her alone!

“Boy, I’ll see how arrogant you are in a moment!” the Nascent Soul cultivator bellowed. With a flash, he vanished, a faint rumble of thunder echoing in the air.

His fellow Nascent Soul cultivators were astonished.

“What incredible speed!”

“I only saw an afterimage. What kind of movement technique is that?”

Chen Xiang was a little surprised himself, but nearly burst out laughing.

“Come on, isn’t that the Three Thousand Thunder Steps? And a broken version at that. How long have you practiced? You’ve only just reached the Thunder Flash stage?” Chen Xiang quipped lightly.

The cultivator had no idea what Chen Xiang meant by the Three Thousand Thunder Steps. The movement technique he’d acquired from a secret realm was called ‘Thousand Shadows Thunderstep,’ and it had made him incredibly fast—he treasured it dearly!

In less than a second, he appeared behind Chen Xiang, a slender sleeve-sword materializing in his hand. With a cold smile, he stabbed fiercely at Chen Xiang’s vital points, intending not to kill but to thoroughly torment this insolent youth.

“A burly man like you, using such a dainty sleeve-sword—your tastes are quite... unique!” Chen Xiang said indifferently, turning around with a deliberately fake smile.

“Earthshattering Palm!”

With that, Chen Xiang raised his hand, and a massive inky palm print burst forth. He’d been preparing this all along. Now at the seventh layer of Core Formation, and with a more powerful version of Earthshattering Palm, he was confident it would be enough for a Nascent Soul level five cultivator.

His opponent was taken aback, but it was too late to react—the palm slammed into him.

With a spurt of blood, the burly cultivator was sent flying by the force of the blow.

A deafening explosion echoed in the distance.

“Ding. Congratulations to Host ‘Chen Xiang’ for slaying a Nascent Soul stage five cultivator. Gained two hundred thousand experience points and a low-grade Nascent Soul.”

“Ding. Congratulations to Host ‘Chen Xiang’ for leveling up. Current realm: Core Formation, eighth level.”

...

The Nascent Soul cultivators stared in shock, the air suddenly falling eerily silent.

Without so much as a backward glance, Chen Xiang brushed imaginary dust from his shoulder, lifted his gaze to the sky at a forty-five degree angle, and sighed, “Too weak. I only used ten percent of my strength and he’s already gone. Ah, invincible—how lonely it is.”

“To be continued...”