Chapter 161 - 83: Jiang Xuan: You mistook my basic attack for me going all out?

Chapter 161: Chapter 83: Jiang Xuan: You mistook my basic attack for me going all out?

Under this invisible intervention, all the Demon Beasts would inexplicably reveal numerous openings and fatal weaknesses during battle, allowing the Cultivators to slay them with ease.

Take Zeng Jun, for example. Severely injured and with his combat power greatly diminished, he could only cautiously blend in with the trailing group.

At that moment, he was targeted by a crimson tiger.

BOOM!

The tiger’s aura was incredibly powerful. With a furious roar, it leaped toward him like a crimson meteor.

’It’s over...’

The tiger’s sheer power made him, with his one broken arm, feel a sense of despair.

But just as he was about to give up, he suddenly saw something strange. The leaping tiger was abruptly enhanced by a force—the earth’s pull of Gravity on it had suddenly weakened.

In the middle of a battle, however, a sudden change in power is never a good thing.

Just like now. The sudden boost in power made the tiger leap slightly higher. In the end, instead of pouncing on Zeng Jun as it had intended, it uncontrollably soared right over his head.

This action also exposed its softest part, its belly, to Zeng Jun.

"..."

Zeng Jun was stunned by the scene, but he quickly reacted. On pure instinct, he raised his Flying Sword and slashed open the tiger’s vulnerable abdomen.

SCHLICK...

Staring at the crimson tiger, which had been disemboweled and instantly crippled, Zeng Jun still felt as if he were in a dream, his Heart Spirit trembling uncontrollably.

’I did that? Fighting... can actually be this easy and simple?!’

This sort of bizarrely smooth battle situation wasn’t just happening to Zeng Jun. Within the field of his influence, any of the Demon Beasts could suddenly reveal a fatal flaw.

And Jiang Xuan wasn’t just manipulating the Demon Beasts. At times, with a slight crook of his finger, he would use Gravity to pull people to safety, saving them from the claws of a Demon Beast or from a raging inferno.

The Celestial Heart Mirror surveyed the entire battlefield to predict danger, while the Nether Abyss Dharma Eye controlled all things to turn the tide of battle. With these two abilities working in tandem, the Cultivators gathered around Jiang Xuan had only suffered a handful of deaths after walking for three to five minutes.

In this regard, Jiang Xuan was performing even better than Chen Qianjun.

To be sure, Chen Qianjun was brave and invincible. He had even shattered several of the molten rocks falling from the sky by throwing spears condensed from Golden Red Magical Power.

But he lacked Jiang Xuan’s ability to survey the entire battlefield, nor did he possess the emergency rescue technique of pulling someone from a beast’s maw with just a twitch of his finger.

As someone whose entire cultivation was focused on enhancing his head-on combat abilities, it was also difficult for him to spot the gouts of fire erupting from underground.

As a result, no matter how bravely he fought, dozens of his fellow disciples still died.

"He’s... even stronger than Chen Qianjun."

"You can’t really compare them like that. Chen Qianjun’s strength is in direct combat; he’s not suited for rescue missions. Besides, many of the Cultivators on his team who died were just too weak. They should have been eliminated back in the wilderness..."

Although there were some reasonable explanations, the scene was still a profound shock to many. It also prompted the surviving Loose Cultivators to continuously gather around Jiang Xuan.

Jiang Xuan, for his part, protected them all equally. He didn’t find the process tiring; instead, he felt himself becoming somewhat engrossed in it.

By constantly manipulating Gravity to interfere with the Demon Beasts and Cultivators, Jiang Xuan’s understanding of these two forces grew deeper and deeper.

’This is also a form of cultivation... To wield Magic in battle and identify its shortcomings—this is the most orthodox form of training.’

Although his main goal was to experiment with Gravity and deepen his understanding of it, he had nevertheless saved many people in the process.

What he didn’t notice was that after experiencing the wonder of fighting alongside him, the gazes those people directed at him and his two companions had become complicated.

Toward Jiang Xuan, they naturally felt gratitude, awe, and a degree of adoration.

But when they looked at Dong Hao and Su Linyin, who stayed by Jiang Xuan’s side enjoying his core protection, their gazes were filled with nothing but heartfelt envy and intense jealousy.

This was especially true when they realized the two would likely pass the assessment under Jiang Xuan’s protection. The thought that they could have taken that spot—that they could do it too—made them burn with a soul-scratching jealousy.

"Damn it, why didn’t I know Lord Jiang Xuan was this powerful beforehand!"

"With Lord Jiang Xuan escorting them, Su Linyin and Dong Hao are basically guaranteed a spot in the top eighteen. I’m so envious..."

"If only I were the one being protected."

Dong Hao and Su Linyin naturally felt these scorching, envious, and jealous stares, which made the two of them huddle even closer to Jiang Xuan.

And at this very moment, Dong Hao’s heart was filled with relief.

’My investment back then was the right call.’

...

As they continued forward, having gathered so many people, the presence surrounding Jiang Xuan had grown quite formidable. It could even be compared to that of Qin Feng, or Tang Yinzheng from the Rooster Daoist School.

Some took notice of this, while others paid it no mind.

"He can avoid the molten rock from the sky and save so many people, so his methods are quite clever. He has even attained Mastery in the Investigation Technique. He’s a talented individual, but unfortunately, while his Techniques are ingenious, they’re somewhat lacking in raw power."

"And the final battle of this trial will be a contest of pure, brute strength. It’s not something you can win with a few clever tricks."

The top prodigies of the Three Great Daoist Schools all gave Jiang Xuan a low Evaluation, not paying him much mind.

This wasn’t because they were shortsighted; it had more to do with Jiang Xuan himself and the combat style he had displayed so far.