Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

In Blood Jade City stood a massive estate.

Within a lavishly decorated, magnificent hall, a troupe of seductive songstresses struck alluring poses. A finely dressed young man lounged lazily in the arms of two beautiful women.

He had only to open his mouth for one of the alluring performers to feed him a piece of peeled fruit.

The young man wore an expression of pure bliss.

”Young Master Pei, wonderful news! Absolutely wonderful news!” A voice from outside the door startled the young man. He frowned at the newcomer and said coolly, ”So it’s you. Shouldn’t you be guarding the city gate? What are you doing here?”

The newcomer was none other than the soldier Jiang Chen had encountered at the city gate.

He wore a sycophantic smile and glanced around. The young man frowned, waved the songstresses away, and then fixed his gaze on the soldier. ”If you have something to say, spit it out. But if it’s nothing important, I’ll kill you for daring to disturb my good mood!”

”Yes, yes!”

The soldier wiped the cold sweat from his brow and spoke quickly. ”Young Master Pei, I just ran into a fellow at the city gate—a cultivator at the Ninth Stage of Human King Realm. He was all alone, and it’s his first time in Blood Jade City. I noticed... he was wearing a Storage Ring!”

”What?”

Young Master Pei shot up, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

A Storage Ring!

Even in Blood Jade City, such items were exceptionally rare.

The young man’s status was incredibly high; his father was one of the three Grand Commanders of the Blood Saber Guard, a mighty expert at the Ninth Stage of the Human Emperor Realm.

Yet even Young Master Pei didn’t possess a Storage Ring!

He had always dreamed of getting a Storage Ring. ”My father fought on the battlefield for years, accumulating countless merits, and only then did he receive a Storage Ring from the City Lord. If I don’t even have one, what right does that brat have? Have you found out where he is?”

”I already did. He’s resting at the Celestial Guest Inn!” the soldier replied hastily.

”Are you sure he’s alone?”

”Positive!”

Young Master Pei grunted, his eyes narrowing. He tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest, a cold, greedy light flickering in his gaze.

”Guards! Bring me Elder Yu...” The glint in his eyes intensified, and he crushed the fruit in his hand to a pulp. ”A Storage Ring... I, Pei Yuanhua, will have it!”

...

「Celestial Guest Inn.」

Jiang Chen was cultivating in his room, bringing himself to his peak state in preparation for the Blood Saber Guard assessment the next day.

”Don’t take my bun! My daddy hasn’t eaten all day, don’t take it...” A piteous cry from downstairs caught Jiang Chen’s attention.

Looking down from his window, he saw a group of young men trying to snatch a steamed bun from a child of about six or seven.

One particularly burly youth kicked the child to the ground. He pinned the boy’s hand—still clutching the bun—under his foot and sneered, ”I’m taking your stuff because I feel like it! Let go right now, or I’ll slap you dead!”

”No, this is for my daddy! I can’t give it to you...” the child said defiantly.

”You’re courting death!”

The youth snorted. He raised his palm, True Qi swirling around it, and brought it down toward the child’s head.

Just then...

With a WHOOSH, something shot through the air. The youth let out a cry of pain as he was sent flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground. Blood streamed from his mouth, and the massive print of a boot was stamped on his face. He stared in terror at the young man now standing beside the child. ”Who the hell are you? How dare you stick your nose in my business?”

”Get lost.”

Jiang Chen barked.

His single word, a low roar like thunder, created a concussive wave of sound that blasted the youths away. They were sent tumbling for hundreds of meters, landing in a heap, foaming at the mouth and knocked unconscious.

”Thank you, big brother!” the child said, looking up at Jiang Chen with innocent eyes.

Jiang Chen smiled, the image of Xiaoyou flashing in his mind. He ruffled the child’s hair. ”Hey, little guy. Why are you out buying food all by yourself?”

”My daddy’s sick, so I came out to get food,” the little boy replied.

Jiang Chen nodded. ”Let me walk you home. Maybe I can help with your dad’s sickness.”

”Really? Thank you so much, big brother!”

The little boy exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Jiang Chen’s hand and leading him away.

Only after Jiang Chen was long gone did the youths slowly come to. A sinister smirk curved one of their lips. ”The fish has finally taken the bait.”

Led by the little boy, Jiang Chen traversed streets and alleys until he arrived in a slum. There were no shops here, only a few raggedly dressed people scattered on the streets, their gazes toward Jiang Chen holding an eerie coldness.

Jiang Chen frowned and said in a low voice, ”Little guy, where is your house?”

”Just up ahead! We’re almost there!”

The little boy continued walking, then suddenly pulled his hand from Jiang Chen’s grasp.

Once he was several dozen meters away from Jiang Chen, he whirled around, his childish face twisted into a triumphant grin. ”Hahaha, you fell for it!”

”Hm?”

Jiang Chen’s eyes narrowed. He swept the area with his Divine Thought, and a cold smirk formed on his lips. ’Two experts at the Third Stage of the Human Emperor Realm? I’m almost flattered.’

”Hahaha! Kid, I didn’t expect your senses to be so sharp!”

”To think you could discover the two of us. Not bad, not bad at all!”

Two menacing laughs echoed.

Two burly figures emerged from the darkness, followed by two squads of black-clad experts wielding Profound Weapons. Every one of them was at the Human King Realm. A total of sixteen experts, led by two Human Emperors, surrounded Jiang Chen, cruel smiles on their faces.

Jiang Chen said coolly, ”There’s still one more hiding. Why not come out and join the party?”

”Hm?”

A finely dressed young man stepped out of the shadows, a playful smirk on his face as he sized up Jiang Chen. ”For you to find me when I was hidden so well... you really do have a few tricks. Kid, if you don’t want to die, hand over that Storage Ring. As long as you cooperate, this young master might spare your life. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being merciless!”

”A Storage Ring?”

Jiang Chen paused, glancing at the Storage Ring on his finger. A look of understanding dawned on him. ”So this is a robbery. To think you’d dispatch two Human Emperor Realm experts for a single Storage Ring. With resources like these, your status must be quite high.”

”Of course!”

The young man grinned smugly. ”My father is Pei Yidao, one of the three Grand Commanders of the Blood Saber Guard! So don’t even think about trying any tricks. I could kill you right here, and no one would dare to do a thing about it!”

The Blood Saber Guard was the most elite force in Blood Jade City.

For Young Master Pei’s father to be a Grand Commander of the Blood Saber Guard meant his family wielded considerable power.

However...

Jiang Chen merely narrowed his eyes and sneered. ”I don’t care if his name is Pei One-Blade or Pei Ten-Blades. I suggest you all get lost before I lose my temper. Otherwise, don’t blame me for what comes next.”

”Hmph! You’ve got a lot of nerve, kid!” Young Master Pei snorted, then turned to an elderly man at the Third Stage of the Human Emperor Realm. ”Elder Yu, I’ll leave him to you.”

”Rest assured, Young Master Pei!”

Elder Yu chuckled, his cold gaze landing on Jiang Chen. ”Boy, you have only yourself to blame for offending someone you can’t afford to offend. Now, die!”

SWISH!

Elder Yu attacked instantly. A peerless Sword Aura slashed through the air, powerful enough to slay an expert at the Third Stage of the Human Emperor Realm.

Young Master Pei’s face was smug. ”Elder Yu is on the verge of breaking through to the Human Emperor Realm Fourth Stage. Dealing with a piddling kid at the Ninth Stage of the Human King Realm will be as easy as... as... How is this possible?”

The smug expression on Young Master Pei’s face froze solid.

His eyes widened in utter, disbelieving shock.

He watched as the peerless sword strike from the ever-confident Elder Yu was shattered by a single poke from Jiang Chen’s finger. In the next instant, Jiang Chen took a step forward, seemingly descending from the sky, and brought his foot down on Elder Yu’s face.

CRACK!

Elder Yu’s entire head was stomped into his chest cavity. His body lay stiff on the ground, as dead as one could possibly be.