Tang San's expression changed slightly. He hadn't expected Jiang Chen to speak so directly; he had really entertained that thought for a moment.
"Then let me see what you're capable of!" Before the words even finished leaving his mouth, Jiang Chen was already charging toward Tang San.
He had long wanted to test Tang San's strength. Today, being in a bad mood, he decided to fight.
Seeing Jiang Chen coming at him with such fierce momentum, Tang San fully activated his Mysterious Jade Hand and met him head-on.
The Mysterious Jade Hand could resist poison corrosion, so he wasn't afraid of Jiang Chen's corpse poison either.
In their first clash, Jiang Chen held an absolute advantage. In a direct power confrontation, Tang San was immediately sent flying.
Jiang Chen didn't move from his spot. Tang San's strength was far inferior to his.
Tang San flipped twice in the air, and after landing, he staggered back several steps before finally stabilizing himself.
"So much power…" He was secretly shocked in his heart.
He had already known Jiang Chen possessed tremendous strength just from watching before, but experiencing it personally still left him astonished.
Tang San shook his numb palm and looked at Jiang Chen gravely. "I admit your strength is very powerful, but strength alone doesn't mean anything. To someone without technique, no matter how great the power, it's nothing more than brute force."
As soon as those words left his mouth, Jiang Chen's expression darkened.
He suddenly remembered all of Tang San's various skills: Purple Demon Eye, Mysterious Jade Hand, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, hidden weapons… not a single one was simple.
Apart from his brute strength, he really couldn't compare to Tang San in any other aspect. What's more, he had never really fought anyone before.
While he was lost in thought, Tang San had already closed in.
Using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, his feet created countless illusory afterimages, dazzling Jiang Chen.
In Tang San's eyes, Jiang Chen's whole body was full of openings. He landed a single kick on Jiang Chen's body.
Jiang Chen's reaction was still fairly quick; he managed to raise his hand to block the attack in time. But when he tried to counterattack, Tang San's figure had already vanished.
After several exchanges, Jiang Chen's body was already covered with footprints, though he could feel that Tang San hadn't used his full power.
In truth, his own speed wasn't slow, but he lacked Tang San's strange and elusive movement technique. He basically moved in straight lines; there was no way he could catch up to Tang San.
He roared again and again, but unfortunately he couldn't even touch the corner of Tang San's clothes.
Ten minutes later, Jiang Chen's entire body was covered in footprints. He didn't want to fight anymore. Facing Tang San's various bizarre techniques, he surprisingly had no power to resist.
This made him feel extremely stifled and frustrated. He had strength but couldn't use it; he had speed but couldn't catch Tang San. This feeling was truly unbearable.
He even started to resent his own system. Other people's golden fingers were all kinds of powerful and awesome abilities, but his? If he wanted a gift, he had to get struck by lightning.
Tang San stopped.
He had never truly intended to kill Jiang Chen; that thought had only flashed through his mind momentarily.
Recalling Jiang Chen's behavior over these years, it seemed he really had never taken the initiative to attack anyone.
"Was it really that boy who wanted to kill you?"
Jiang Chen nodded helplessly. "Absolutely true. If I'm lying, may I be struck by heavenly lightning. After I bit that boy, he was already under my control. If you don't believe me, I'll call him over in a few days to show you."
Suddenly remembering something, Tang San's expression changed. He didn't know whether Jiang Chen's zombie martial soul had the same characteristics as the zombies from his previous life, so he couldn't help asking:
"After being bitten by you, will that boy turn into a zombie?"
"He will, but he's already under my control. Without my order, he won't dare bite anyone randomly."
"This matter will be put aside for now. If I ever discover that you dare to harm Grandpa Jack, I will never forgive you."
After saying that, Tang San ignored Jiang Chen and walked down the mountain alone.
Jiang Chen slapped his own head and cursed bitterly: "Stingy system, couldn't you give me a movement technique? Couldn't you give me a set of fist techniques? You had to make me get struck by lightning."
He originally thought that with innate full soul power and a powerful zombie martial soul, he could already stand shoulder to shoulder with Tang San. He never expected that the moment they fought, he would be beaten so badly.
At this moment, he suddenly felt a strong urge to absorb that god-bestowed soul ring. After all, gaining one more skill might allow him to turn the tables and beat Tang San up.
But after thinking about it, he still suppressed the impulse. He couldn't act recklessly for a moment of satisfaction; his little life was more important.
He patted the dust off his body. Surprisingly, he hadn't suffered any real injuries.
After all, Tang San had held back earlier and hadn't used his full strength. And even if Tang San had used his full power, he might not have been able to seriously injure Jiang Chen.
One must know that earlier, Jing Wuming's sword had pierced straight through Jiang Chen's heart, yet wasn't he still alive and kicking right now?
With one kick, he shattered a large rock into pieces. Jiang Chen gnashed his teeth. After he absorbed the soul ring, he would definitely beat Tang San up badly and take his revenge.
At this moment, through his connection with Jing Wuming, he knew that Jing Wuming had already returned to Notting City.
Jing Wuming was considered a young master-level figure in the assassin organization of Notting City. It shouldn't take too long to investigate who had hired the killer to target Jiang Chen.
…
Meanwhile, inside the Spirit Hall of Notting City, Ma Xiunuo had summoned Su Yuntao to his office.
He had just received news from the assassin organization that Jiang Chen had died, and he couldn't wait to tell Su Yuntao.
As soon as Su Yuntao pushed open the door of Ma Xiunuo's office, he saw Ma Xiunuo inside. What surprised him was that Sisi was also there.
At this moment, Sisi's face was flushed, and her watery eyes looked extremely alluring.
As a wolf, his sense of smell was very sharp. His nose twitched—he seemed to smell something, but for a moment, he couldn't recall what the scent was.
"Master Ma Xiunuo. Sisi, why are you here? I've been looking for you all morning."
Sisi smiled and said, "I went to Saint Spirit Village early this morning to carry out the task Master Ma Xiunuo gave me, so that's why you couldn't find me."
"What task?"
Ma Xiunuo's sorrowful voice sounded: "Yuntao, I have some very unfortunate news I must tell you. It's about Jiang Chen."
Su Yuntao was stunned for a moment, then immediately became nervous. "Master Ma Xiunuo, what happened to Jiang Chen?"
"He's dead!"
Ma Xiunuo lowered his head in dejection, his voice filled with regret and heaviness.
It was as if a thunderbolt had struck out of a clear sky. Su Yuntao's vision darkened, and he staggered, nearly fainting on the spot.
Jiang Chen's hope of promotion was gone just like that!
Su Yuntao's emotions suddenly turned frantic. He rushed forward, grabbed Ma Xiunuo's shoulders tightly, and shook him vigorously, shouting: "Tell me! How did he die?"
"He went to the river to catch fish… and drowned. Sigh… such a genius child, what a pity…"
Su Yuntao's hands powerlessly fell from Ma Xiunuo's shoulders. He collapsed onto the table and began to sob.
He had struggled at the bottom of Spirit Hall for so many years, awakening thousands upon thousands of children. Now, just when he was finally about to make it big, it all came to nothing.
Sisi walked over, gently patted Su Yuntao's back, and comforted him: "Don't be too sad. I personally saw Jiang Chen already buried. I believe that in the future, you will definitely awaken even more outstanding children."
Su Yuntao pushed Sisi's hand away, walked out in a daze, completely lost.
He wanted to get dead drunk.