"Did you just say there's no one in the Sword Sect?" Jiang Yun said coldly as he stared at Chen Si. His entire aura trembled, and the sword intent harbored within his Sword Qi locked onto Chen Si.
In that instant when Chen Si felt the lock of Jiang Yun's sword intent, he seemed to be placed in an icy abyss, sensing a chill from the depths of his heart, as if the air around him had frozen into blocks of ice.
Although the Yan Yue Sect had been outnumbered by the outer sect disciples of the Sword Sect, their overwhelming presence had given them an advantage in terms of momentum. This was due to the fact that Zhou Ziyue, Li Dadan, and Wang Kaihai, some of the outstanding outer sect disciples, had all been defeated by them.
Now, with Jiang Yun's appearance, the outer sect disciples of the Sword Sect seemed to have found a savior. The members of the Yan Yue Sect weren't fools either; they guessed that Jiang Yun was probably the number one outer sect disciple of the Sword Sect.
"Yes, I said it. So what? They are all my subordinates who've been defeated. If you can defeat all of our Yan Yue Sect members, then you can naturally say the same," Chen Si replied, emitting his spiritual energy to counter Jiang Yun's Sword Qi, dispelling the suffocating sensation he had felt earlier.
"Defeat you?" Jiang Yun chuckled lightly and said, "You're just garbage."
"Who are you calling garbage?" Chen Si stepped forward angrily.
"I'm not targeting you specifically; I'm saying that everyone from the Yan Yue Sect present here is garbage," Jiang Yun's face still carried a smile, but his words stifled any laughter from the crowd.
Throughout, Jiang Yun had always displayed a cold attitude towards everyone. Apart from Li Dadan, he had very little direct interaction with the other outer sect disciples. Suddenly challenging all the members of the Yan Yue Sect was something they couldn't have anticipated.
The group from the Yan Yue Sect did have some fear of Jiang Yun's strength, as the sword intent he had revealed earlier made them realize that Jiang Yun was vastly different from the outer sect disciples of the Sword Sect. However, Jiang Yun's words were a slap to their faces, a clear insult. This was something they could no longer tolerate.
"Arrogant."
The members of the Yan Yue Sect exclaimed indignantly, cursing one after another.
"You guys like to speak through strength, right? Whether it's arrogant or not, you'll only know after we fight," Jiang Yun said nonchalantly in the face of the Yan Yue Sect's anger.
"Fine, since you're so confident, let me teach you a lesson. Let's see what gives you the audacity to say those words," Chen Si couldn't hold back his temper and threatened.
"One, two, three, four, five, six." Jiang Yun counted the number of people from the Yan Yue Sect with the hand gripping his sword, saying, "There are six of you. No need to bother, let's go together."
With those words, the members of the Yan Yue Sect froze instantly. The way they looked at Jiang Yun was as though he was a madman. Although they couldn't underestimate Jiang Yun's strength, the idea of one person challenging the six of them was simply unbelievable. Only a madman would dare to do that.
The strength of the members from the Yan Yue Sect ranged from the lowest Elemental Martial Layer to Chen Si's Seventh Elemental Martial Layer. Although there was still a gap between them and the Earth Martial Realm, it was a level of power that ordinary Elemental Martial Realm warriors couldn't contend with. The disparity between the Earth Martial Realm and the Human Martial Realm couldn't be compensated for by sheer numbers. However, Jiang Yun wasn't an Earth Martial Realm warrior; if he were, he would have long become a core disciple of the inner sect.
Not only did the members of the Yan Yue Sect feel like they misheard, but even the outer sect disciples of the Sword Sect widened their eyes in disbelief. They couldn't fathom why Jiang Yun suddenly uttered such audacious words. Only Li Dadan didn't find it strange. Instead, his eyes shone even brighter as he looked at Jiang Yun. He wasn't worried about what would happen if Jiang Yun failed.
Jiang Yun was so confident precisely because he had broken through the seal of Sword Qi. The sword intent contained within not only significantly boosted his attacks but also gave him an aura akin to that of a Pseudo Earth Martial Realm.
This Pseudo Earth Martial Realm aura meant that Jiang Yun's second layer of sword intent could temporarily suppress the strength of those below the Earth Martial Realm. Although, with his current Sword Qi, he could only sustain this suppression for around five minutes, it was sufficient given his sword techniques.
"Jiang Yun is being too impulsive. One person challenging the six members of the Yan Yue Sect is impossible."
Yang Jinyan had once sparred with Jiang Yun during a small assessment and knew that while Jiang Yun's strength surpassed his by much, it hadn't reached a point where he could take on six opponents at once. However, his understanding of Jiang Yun's strength was based on before Jiang Yun had broken through the seal of Sword Qi.
"I believe in him. He's not an impulsive person. He must have his audacious reasons," the first person to voice support for Jiang Yun wasn't Li Dadan; it was Wang Kaihai. Wang Kaihai looked at Jiang Yun with a complex expression. Although he felt puzzled, he chose to believe in Jiang Yun.
Both Yang Jinyan and Wang Kaihai were among the top outer sect disciples. One felt Jiang Yun couldn't possibly win, while the other blindly believed in him. This left the other outer sect disciples unsure about who to support.
"Hmph, Jiang Yun is completely overestimating himself. Who does he think he is, Senior Luo Qi? I bet he's bound to lose. I'm afraid that after this, the members of the Yan Yue Sect will mock us outer sect disciples of the Sword Sect for not knowing our place," Zhou Ziyue sneered at this moment. His words caused the outer sect disciples of the Sword Sect to glare at him angrily. Regardless of whether Jiang Yun had the strength to take on six opponents, he was currently salvaging the pride of the Sword Sect. While Zhou Ziyue's lack of support was one thing, his blatant attempts to add fuel to the fire made him appear contemptible.
Jiang Yun paid no attention to this. Since the words had already been spoken, the contest was like an arrow drawn in the bowstring; it had to be released. Besides, with his Sword Qi, he didn't find his words arrogant.
Chen Si's expression turned a bit unsightly. The Yan Yue Sect had always had friction with the Sword Sect, whether it was the outer sect disciples or the core disciples. His original intent in coming here was to humiliate the outer sect disciples of the Sword Sect. Although he was also an outer sect disciple of the Yan Yue Sect, he was a disciple of a senior elder and was close to becoming an inner sect disciple in terms of power. However, since that senior elder was in seclusion and hadn't formally promoted him to an inner sect disciple, his power was nearly on par with the inner sect disciples'.
This trip to the Sword Sect was initially motivated by others, with the intention of bullying the outer sect disciples of the Sword Sect. However, now that Jiang Yun had declared his intention to take on all six of them, even if they managed to defeat Jiang Yun by joining forces, there would be nothing noteworthy to boast about. This mission could only be considered a complete failure.
However, they were already in a difficult position. Jiang Yun's words left them with no room to retreat. They had no choice but to try to take Jiang Yun down as quickly as possible and prevent this mission from becoming a mockery. All other choices were now meaningless.