"You bitch. Annul the engagement if you want, but you dare threaten me?"
Jiang Chen decisively slapped Qin Muxue hard across the face.
He hated being threatened more than anything. Besides, Qin Muxue was clearly in the wrong, yet she was still so arrogant, acting as if the world revolved around her.
Jiang Chen had no intention of indulging such behavior.
At that moment, the sharp sound of a slap echoed through the main hall.
It was a stark reminder to everyone that Jiang Chen had viciously struck his fiancée, Qin Muxue, who had come to annul their engagement.
The members of the Jiang Family were all stunned.
Watching the decisive and sharp-witted Jiang Chen, they felt a thrill of satisfaction.
There were very few people who would dare to lay a hand on Qin Muxue.
Not even Jiang Han would dare.
But Jiang Chen had.
"The Young Master is so fierce."
"This side of him is even more shocking."
As their eyes widened in astonishment, the members of the Qin Family were already enraged.
"You bastard! You're courting death."
"You dare touch our Young Miss? You're dead."
They immediately surged forward, ready to crush Jiang Chen, each one like a raging bull.
Their eyes were bloodshot.
They had never imagined that the annulment, which should have been a sure thing, would be thrown into endless uncertainty by Jiang Chen's single slap.
'Can this engagement even be successfully annulled now?'
No one had expected this so-called waste, Jiang Chen, to pull such a move.
Even Elder Resentment hadn't anticipated this scene.
By the time he reacted, it was already too late.
He moved with even greater speed.
The cane in his hand erupted with boundless killing power.
His eyes were wide and round with fury.
His body trembled, and the aura of a Martial King burst forth.
BOOM!
The aura of his Martial King Cultivation instantly swept through the entire Jiang Family's main hall.
"This is bad."
"Dammit, a Martial King Expert."
"Heavens, this old man is actually a Martial King Expert! Where did such a master come from?"
Jiang Han's expression changed drastically. Feeling the terrifying aura emanating from Elder Resentment, he was scared stiff.
The moment his son landed that slap, he knew things had gotten serious.
'To think Qin Muxue has a Martial King Expert by her side.'
If there were no Martial King Expert, it would be one thing. A slap is just a slap, especially since she was the one who had stolen his son's Martial Vein.
But with a Martial King Expert protecting her, they had to think this through carefully.
A Martial King's wrath could reduce their entire Jiang Family to ashes.
Seeing Elder Resentment make a move, intending to kill his son, he cried out in alarm.
"Elder Resentment, please, stay your hand!"
But how could Elder Resentment possibly agree? He had accompanied Qin Muxue to annul the engagement, and he was determined to see it through successfully.
If he couldn't even manage the annulment after personally showing up, he would lose all face.
Besides, Jiang Chen had now struck Qin Muxue. This matter could absolutely not be let go.
He roared, "Good, kid. You've got some nerve. You dare hit Miss Muxue in front of me? If I don't kill you with my own hands, it would be an insult to my, Elder Resentment's, name."
"Die!"
"Fire Sparrow Seal!"
He was already very close to Jiang Chen.
Lashing out in anger, his cane became filled with an endless, scorching heat as flames materialized from thin air.
The faces of the Jiang Family members turned pale, and they were all filled with terror and unease.
Even the experts from the Qin Family behind them, who had been preparing to avenge Qin Muxue, hastily stopped when they saw Elder Resentment take action.
After all, with a master of Elder Resentment's Martial King Cultivation present, there was no need for them to act.
'Kill him.'
'He's gone too far. Daring to hit our Young Miss… death is too good for him.'
Elder Resentment's cane descended from the sky, carrying with it endless flames as it shot straight for Jiang Chen.
The moment the flames appeared, they immediately coalesced into a Firebird.
Its ferocious power was immense, as if it could set the heavens and earth ablaze.
Qin Muxue clutched her cheek, which was still stinging with fiery pain from Jiang Chen's slap.
She stared at Jiang Chen with incomparable hatred.
It was the first time in her life she had been slapped, and the blow had been quite severe.
The one who hit her was none other than the waste she despised, Jiang Chen.
'But how could a waste possibly hit me, and so fast that I couldn't even react?'
She was so consumed by rage that she had forgotten to analyze the situation.
She had only one thought.
'Kill Jiang Chen. I want him dead.'
"Elder Resentment, hurry! Annihilate him! Kill that bastard!"
She shrieked, her voice like a banshee's wail.
She looked utterly crazed.
Of course, even without her telling him, Elder Resentment had already made his killing move.
"Die!"
The Firebird formed from the flames lunged at Jiang Chen.
It grew closer and closer.
Jiang Chen felt the intense heat, but his expression remained unchanged.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
'The Vermilion Bird Seal… no, that's not right. It's not the Vermilion Bird Seal.'
'It's a cheap imitation that only has the form but none of the substance.'
He had previously sensed a faint, familiar scent of flame from Elder Resentment.
Now, seeing the Divine Technique the man unleashed, he recognized it instantly.
A millennium ago, Jiang Chen, as a Divine Emperor, had created many Cultivation Techniques himself.
One of them was the Vermilion Bird Seal.
He created it back when he was exploring the Great Ruins alone and happened to see a Vermilion Bird fly past.
That Vermilion Bird, known as one of the four great Divine Beasts, was incredibly powerful.
As it flew by, it was like a sea of fire scorching the heavens and earth.
He had been so frightened that he'd hidden underground.
Afterward, by Visualizing the Vermilion Bird's form, he had actually managed to create a new technique: the Vermilion Bird Seal.
The Vermilion Bird Seal was immensely powerful.
But a thousand years had passed, and he never expected that the Vermilion Bird Seal would have been passed down to this place.
After all, the Vermilion Bird Seal was a Cultivation Technique he had created. From its very inception, it had been imbued with Jiang Chen's unique Spiritual Qi.
Therefore, even if others learned the Vermilion Bird Seal, they must have learned it from his original version.
In that case, it would inevitably contain his, Jiang Chen's, Spiritual Qi.
Someone was using a Cultivation Technique he created to attack him.
'What a joke.'
Because a technique is ineffective against its creator, the master whose Spiritual Qi it contains. In fact, it might even offer protection.
It was just like a sentient Magical Treasure.
He gave a faint, indifferent smile.
'An imperfect Vermilion Bird Seal trying to harm me, its true master?'
'A fool's dream.'
Watching the Firebird lunge toward him, Jiang Chen spoke calmly, his voice serene, "Vermilion Bird, turn back. Protect your master."
In that instant, the Firebird that had been flying toward Jiang Chen came to a sudden halt, just inches from his face.
It was perilously close.
The situation looked incredibly dangerous.
And yet, the Firebird had truly stopped.
The Jiang Family had thought Jiang Chen was about to be devoured by the Firebird, but seeing what was happening now, they couldn't believe their eyes.
Jiang Han had wanted to save his son but was too late. Besides, as a mere Martial Artist, it was impossible for him to save someone from the clutches of a Martial King.
When he saw the Firebird appear, he had exclaimed, "The Fire Sparrow Kingdom! The Fire Sparrow Seal!"
He recognized the flame technique. It was the Fire Sparrow Seal from the Fire Sparrow Kingdom.
The Fire Sparrow Seal was famous, known by all to be extraordinarily powerful.
And the Fire Sparrow Kingdom was the Kingdom that ruled over dozens of cities in this region.
That included their very own Hanwu City.
Their power was terrifying, far beyond what the Jiang Family could ever hope to challenge. Compared to the Fire Sparrow Kingdom, the Jiang Family was but a single hair on a cow's back, while the Kingdom was the entire cow.
He had been about to close his eyes, unable to bear watching his son be burned to death, but when he saw the Fire Sparrow Seal stop in front of Jiang Chen, he was instantly stunned.
"This…."