At this moment, the dark horse of Tianfeng Kingdom, Jiang Chen, was lying in bed.
Pain... His whole body ached!
Jiang Chen felt like his body was about to fall apart.
Every inch of his skin felt as if it were being sliced by knives.
It was death by a thousand cuts!
Wang Bailu, Li Ming, and many other familiar faces from Lingyun Martial Academy were all looking at Jiang Chen nervously.
Wang Bailu was leaning by the bed, holding Jiang Chen's hand tightly, tears streaming from her eyes.
The bed was soaked.
Women really are made of water.
Jiang Chen forced himself to comfort them, "I'm fine now. I'm awake."
Seeing his deathly pale face, they didn't believe him one bit.
Jiang Chen had no choice but to change the subject. "In my fight with Nangong Meng from the Tianlan Sect, who won in the end?"
At this, everyone started talking at once.
"Of course you won, Junior Brother Jiang!"
A pretty senior sister's eyes lit up as she looked at Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen felt something smooth and soft on his hand, cool yet warm.
It turned out Wang Bailu was pressing her cheek against his hand.
She was staking her claim.
This made Jiang Chen not know whether to laugh or cry, and even the pain from his injuries seemed to lessen.
"The entire Royal Capital is buzzing with legends about you, Junior Brother Jiang! Nangong Meng was a top contender for the top three, but you defeated her, knocking her out of the top ten!"
A senior brother chimed in, his voice full of admiration for Jiang Chen.
"Junior Brother Jiang's martial spirit is worthy of respect! This is what martial arts is all about—forging ahead fearlessly, without regard for life or death. It gets your blood boiling!"
Another senior brother praised, already won over by Jiang Chen.
In reality, Jiang Chen was screaming internally from the pain.
To hell with martial spirit. As long as you don't die, that's the only martial spirit that matters.
The reason he fought so desperately...
...was entirely because Nangong Meng was the disciple Li Qingyue was so proud of.
The image of Li Qingyue breaking off their engagement in his past life was still seared into his mind.
He couldn't beat Li Qingyue, but surely he could beat her disciple, right?
This was a battle to prove himself.
Jiang Chen told himself he could not lose!
Until the very end, there was only one voice in Jiang Chen's mind: defeat Nangong Meng.
And so, in the end, Jiang Chen won.
In a simple sparring match, Jiang Chen would have been no match for Nangong Meng.
But when it came to real combat experience, Nangong Meng was no match for him.
"Jiang Chen, you're so damn awesome!"
"Nangong Meng is the Dream Fairy, one of the ten great beauties of the younger generation, and you actually beat her until she cried and surrendered!"
Li Ming's face was full of worship as he kept exclaiming how awesome it was.
Seeing his best bro make a name for himself, Li Ming was thrilled.
If you get rich, don't forget me.
Best bros share glory and disgrace.
Jiang Chen, however, was lost in deep thought.
A question mark popped up in his mind.
Did that really happen?
For a Heaven's Chosen to be beaten to tears like that was simply too absurd.
How could he, the person involved, not know that Nangong Meng had been beaten to tears?
Jiang Chen said slowly, "When did this happen? Nangong Meng is a martial arts Heaven's Chosen. She wouldn't be beaten to tears, would she?"
"It's all over the streets and alleys now," Li Ming said with conviction. "The storytellers are making a huge deal of it, saying you made the Dream Fairy cry. Now, a bunch of young masters from various factions are planning to team up and come after you."
"If your injuries haven't healed, I suggest you lay low for a while."
A stampede of mythical beasts thundered through Jiang Chen's mind. If he found out which bastard started this rumor, he would definitely string him up and give him a good whipping.
It wasn't that Jiang Chen didn't want to make Nangong Meng cry. It was that he *hadn't* made her cry, yet he was saddled with this huge problem for no reason.
What have I done to deserve this!
Just then, a middle-aged man walked in. Seeing the awakened Jiang Chen, he strode forward, clapped him on the shoulder, and laughed heartily. "Jiang Chen, well done!"
"Our Lingyun Martial Academy finally has someone in the top ten of the martial tournament!"
The middle-aged man's expression was overjoyed. But when he looked down, Jiang Chen was already lying motionless on the bed.
Only a faint voice could be heard. "Elder Mu... could you be a little gentler..."
Jiang Chen had passed out again.
Everyone in the room stared grimly at Elder Mu.
Elder Mu gave an awkward laugh and reluctantly took out a 3rd Grade Elixir for Jiang Chen to consume.
He had no choice. For five consecutive martial tournaments, no one had made it into the top ten. Now, they finally had Jiang Chen. If he was crippled just like that, the old geezers back at the academy would surely skin him alive.
If only I hadn't come today, Elder Mu thought.
A 3rd Grade Elixir... that's over a hundred thousand gold coins.
.......
Jiang Chen eventually woke up, tasting a 3rd Grade Elixir for the first time.
It was just like a divine pill.
The rewards from the Tianfeng Royal Capital were also quite generous.
Three days of cultivation in the Spirit Pool, a cyan Spirit Mark, and a Low-Grade Profound Rank weapon. Jiang Chen chose a long spear.
An inch longer, an inch stronger.
Three days later, Jiang Chen's cultivation advanced further, breaking through the seventh level of the Spirit Gathering realm to reach the eighth.
Leaving the Spirit Pool, Jiang Chen saw another familiar figure.
Her slender figure was perfectly accentuated by a purple dress, her face as cold as winter snow. A few strands of hair fell across her forehead, giving her a dreamlike appearance.
She was a beauty countless men yearned for day and night.
If only her eyes weren't filled with killing intent.
Jiang Chen's heart sank. The newcomer was none other than the person he had defeated, Nangong Meng.
"Jiang Chen, I challenge you!"
Nangong Meng was furious. The rumors spreading through the streets and alleys claimed that she had been beaten to tears by the madman from Lingyun Martial Academy before surrendering and leaving the stage.
She, Nangong Meng, could accept the part about surrendering. After all, she wouldn't lower herself to argue with a madman.
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But she, Nangong Meng, had not cried!
Nangong Meng had to prove this. She would defeat Jiang Chen and wash away her shame!
Jiang Chen walked around her.
His cultivation had now broken through to the eighth level of the Spirit Gathering realm. Defeating Nangong Meng wouldn't be difficult, but he didn't want to fight.
Seeing Jiang Chen ignore her, Nangong Meng was half-dead with anger. "Jiang Chen, are you even a man!"
Jiang Chen looked back at the furious Nangong Meng, a puzzled expression on his face. "What does me being a man have to do with whether I accept your challenge?"
He couldn't understand the logic of these young girls.
Nangong Meng was enraged. She decided to force the issue.
She drew her sword and slashed directly at Jiang Chen.
"She looks so cold and aloof, but she's actually a short-tempered tigress."
Jiang Chen muttered under his breath, but every single word reached Nangong Meng's ears.
He raised his long spear, its tip glinting with a cold light.
The cold light pressed against Nangong Meng's head. The spear's aura pierced her delicate forehead.
A drop of crimson blood trickled down.
It added a peculiar kind of beauty to her.
Jiang Chen retracted his spear and waved his hand dismissively. "Little girl, why don't you wait until you've entered the Spirit Mark Realm before you come challenge your big bro!"
With that, he walked away coolly.
Nangong Meng stood stunned for a long time. Besides the streak of blood on her forehead, her eyes filled with tears that began to drip, drip, drip.
"Bastard! Jiang Chen, you bastard!"
That day, the Royal Capital was shaken once again.
A new rumor spread: the Dream Fairy had been cruelly abandoned by Jiang Chen, left heartbroken and crying for an entire day.
This caused the younger generation of the Tianfeng Kingdom to cry out in outrage, clamoring to make the one who bullied the Dream Fairy pay the price.
Proofreader: Peter Pan