Chapter 740 - 739: Beautiful as a Painting

The garden, which had been a scene of joyous harmony, fell deathly silent.

Thanks to Ximen Yu’s provocation, the icy stares of the powerful experts all turned toward Jiang Chen.

Even Princess Luohua’s bright eyes flickered with displeasure.

She wasn’t just the treasured daughter of the City Lord of Coastal City; she was also recognized as one of the city’s ten greatest beauties.

Whether they were mortals or powerful Martial Artists...

So long as they were women...

...not a single one was indifferent to her own appearance.

Princess Luohua was a great beauty with countless suitors and admirers in Coastal City. How could someone dare to call her hideous? The remark instantly enraged many of Coastal City’s young geniuses.

"Who was it? Who dares to insult Princess Luohua? I, Nangong Ba, challenge you! I’m going to rip that mouth of yours to shreds!" A brutish young man in heavy black armor snorted. He cracked his knuckles, the joints popping with a series of sharp CRACKS, and his sinister gaze followed Ximen Yu’s pointing finger to land on Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen: "..."

’What the hell!’

’When did I ever say that?’

He desperately wanted to explain!

But...

Looking at the young experts, all filled with righteous indignation and seemingly on the verge of a rampage, Jiang Chen sighed to himself. He knew any explanation would be useless.

Jiang Chen’s eyes narrowed. He rose to his full height, faced Princess Luohua, and offered a cupped-fist salute. "Princess Luohua, I am grateful that the City Lord saw fit to invite me to this banquet of geniuses. I had thought I would meet other talents and discuss the Martial Dao, but I never expected to find that even any random riffraff with a filthy mouth is allowed in. I have no desire to associate with such beasts, so I will take my leave!"

With that said,

Jiang Chen ignored the murderous glares from Ximen Yu and his cronies. He instinctively took Yiluo’s slender hand and turned to leave.

Ximen Yu’s face turned livid.

He hadn’t expected Jiang Chen to dare call him riffraff in public. A chilling killing intent filled his eyes. He glanced at the equally grim-faced Nangong Ba, a scheme popping into his head. In a strange, passive-aggressive tone, he said, "Nangong Ba, it seems someone has no respect for you!"

"Hmph!"

Nangong Ba snorted. His body flickered with the light of a thunderbolt as he moved to block Jiang Chen’s path. His voice boomed like thunder, "Kid, I know who you are. You killed the White-eyed Blade Demon recently, didn’t you? No wonder you’re so arrogant... You probably don’t know that people from Zhongzhou like me aren’t allowed to compete for the Seven-Star Tower. Otherwise, with your strength, you wouldn’t even make it past the 1st Floor!"

"Are you done spouting bullshit? If so, get out of the way," Jiang Chen said flatly.

Nangong Ba’s expression darkened.

The corner of his eye twitched, his expression a mask of icy killing intent and boundless rage. "Good. Very good. It seems killing the White-eyed Blade Demon has inflated your ego so much that you dare to speak to me this way. You want to leave? Fine. Crawl between my legs. Otherwise, cripple your own cultivation and break all four of your limbs, and I’ll have someone carry you out!"

Nangong Ba’s words made Ximen Yu ecstatic.

A smug grin spread across his face as he said with a sinister sneer, "Jiang Chen, aren’t you supposed to be so arrogant? Don’t tell me you’re going to chicken out now. Are you too scared to accept Nangong Ba’s challenge? Or... do you look down on him?"

His words were like pouring oil on a fire.

This fanned Nangong Ba’s rage even higher. A cold light pulsed in his eyes as he spread his legs wide and pointed to the gap. "I knew you didn’t have the guts to fight me. Just be a good boy and crawl on through!"

A cold light flashed in Jiang Chen’s eyes.

Nangong Ba had pushed him again and again, finally crossing his line.

True Essence began to glow in his palm as he prepared to strike.

Just then, a fragrant breeze swept past him. The gust of wind was so sudden it startled Jiang Chen.

Before he could even react, a blood-curdling scream erupted from Nangong Ba. "AWOOOO..."

Jiang Chen instinctively looked over and couldn’t help but clamp his legs together.

Yiluo’s stunningly beautiful face remained perfectly calm. As for Nangong Ba, he was clutching his crotch with both hands, curled up on the ground like a cooked shrimp.

His balls were shattered!

GULP!

A series of sharp intakes of breath could be heard throughout the garden.

Yiluo spun around with effortless grace, tossing her long blue hair as she faced Ximen Yu. She raised a slender finger and beckoned to him. A captivating smile touched her exquisite face, and her ethereal voice, like a melody from the heavens, said, "You. Come over here."

"Huh?"

Ximen Yu froze, pointing at his own nose. "M-me? You’re calling me?"

"Mhm."

Yiluo gave a slight nod. "Come here."

Ximen Yu’s eyes burned with lust as he openly sized up Yiluo’s perfect figure and face. But the image of Nangong Ba’s fate made him swallow hard. Forcibly suppressing his desires, he frowned and asked, "What do you want me for?"

Yiluo blinked. "From the moment you first saw me, you’ve been staring at me with those disgusting eyes. Jiang Chen didn’t want to cause trouble, so I tolerated it. But of all the things you shouldn’t have done, you shouldn’t have provoked and slandered him. You’re a genius of Coastal City, aren’t you? I’m challenging you. Do you dare to fight me?"

BOOM!

The moment she spoke,

the experts throughout the garden erupted in an uproar.

"What? So Ximen Yu was the one slandering and framing Jiang Chen?"

"I get it... Ximen Yu must have wanted that violent beauty for himself, but she’s with Jiang Chen, so he got jealous and resentful."

"So he basically used Nangong Ba as his pawn!"

"Nangong Ba was completely wronged..."

The crowd looked at Nangong Ba with sympathy, their disgust for Ximen Yu growing stronger.

Ximen Yu’s face drained of color, his expression turning hideous.

He was completely cornered!

Yiluo’s delicate brows knitted together as she said impatiently, "Too scared to fight? How about I give you a two-hand handicap?"

Ximen Yu: "..."

Yiluo frowned. "Still not coming? Fine, I’ll give you my legs too... Hey, are you a man or not? If you’re a man, get down here and fight!"

Jiang Chen: "..."

Ximen Yu: "..."

The entire crowd was speechless: "..."

"Ximen Yu, are you a man or what?"

"She’s offering to fight you without her hands or feet, and you’re still too scared? You’re a disgrace to the Ximen Clan!"

The crowd jeered.

Ximen Yu’s expression was stormy. He let out a cold snort. "Fine. You’re asking to die, so don’t blame me for getting rough!"

SWISH!

Ximen Yu shot up and dove toward Yiluo.

Facing the Five Extremes Genius, Ximen Yu, Yiluo simply opened her mouth and uttered a few strange syllables.

These syllables coalesced into a song—incredibly beautiful, with a winding and undulating melody, yet at times rising and falling with sharp, piercing notes.

A vacant look suddenly appeared in the eyes of the charging Ximen Yu. His body, as if bound, went as stiff as deadwood. He crashed to the ground with a THUD. Yiluo took a graceful step forward and brought her foot down with a sickening CRUNCH. The area below Ximen Yu’s waist was a ruin, yet he remained as motionless as a wooden doll, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Yiluo tossed her hair, a faint, devastatingly beautiful smile on her face. With another graceful step, she returned to Jiang Chen’s side, becoming as still and demure as a statue, a beauty beyond compare.

At this moment, Yiluo was as beautiful as a figure in a painting!

Only the sight of Ximen Yu and Nangong Ba, both now emasculated at her feet, served as a reminder to all: this was a rose with very sharp thorns!