Chapter 13

At night, in the military camp, on the battlefield!

Jiang Chen stood there, slowly raised his hand, and gathered an incomparable and formidable palm force, carrying the might of a great victory, he stepped forward, inch by inch, to take the life of the Dharma King of the Golden Wheel.

Seeing this, the Dharma King of the Golden Wheel was utterly shocked!

After sixteen years of diligent cultivation, he was confident that he had mastered the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill to the tenth level. Although he could not claim to be invincible, he did not fear any opponent. This time, he did not bring his prized weapon, or else he would not have ended up in such a dire situation.

His heart was filled with unwillingness, but the outcome of the battle and life and death were decided in an instant, and he was powerless to change the course of events.

"Bald monk, prepare to die!" With a stern shout, Jiang Chen was about to deliver the fatal blow, but unexpectedly, at that moment, a sudden and dense sound of breaking wind came, followed by countless arrows in the night sky, like a heavy rain in a fierce storm, covering the sky and earth.

"Damn!" Jiang Chen's mind was instantly alert, and he immediately retreated, sweeping out with his formidable palm force, creating a gap in the endless rain of arrows. But in this brief moment, the Dharma King of the Golden Wheel had already fled deeper into the military camp. He wanted to pursue, but the Yuan-Mongol side was well-prepared, and the rain of arrows continued one after another. If he forced his way through, he would be surrounded by thousands of soldiers, making it difficult to gain any advantage.

"Truly hateful!" Jiang Chen knew that the Dharma King of the Golden Wheel was an unparalleled expert of his time, with truly extraordinary cultivation. This time, he could defeat him, but if the Dharma King of the Golden Wheel was fully prepared next time, he had no guarantee of victory. Moreover, this time they had fought with bare hands; if the Dharma King of the Golden Wheel used his golden wheel, he would have to avoid its sharp edge.

"Hmm, it seems I need to find a divine weapon to gain the upper hand!" With this thought in mind, and with the Dharma King of the Golden Wheel's arrival, he could no longer infiltrate the Yuan-Mongol military camp and slaughter as he had before. He decided to leave Wancheng and head straight for Xiangyang.

The news of a mysterious expert who single-handedly killed thirty thousand Yuan-Mongol soldiers in Nanyang and nearly twenty thousand more in Wancheng spread, causing a great stir throughout the land!

However, those who heard the news could not help but laugh in disbelief, as they would never believe the authenticity of the story.

One person killing tens of thousands of well-equipped, fierce Yuan-Mongol soldiers? This was simply a fairy tale! Any sane person would not believe such a tale. After all, no matter how powerful one's martial arts were, it was impossible to defeat tens of thousands of soldiers with just one person!

Regardless, Jiang Chen continued his journey to Xiangyang. With ample time, he focused on cultivating his martial arts and performed acts of justice along the way, killing corrupt officials, bandits, and Yuan soldiers... In short, whenever he encountered someone who deserved to die, he showed no mercy. Because no one knew his name and he preferred to wear black, many people called him:

The Black-Clothed Asura!

Asura, meaning "non-heavenly beings," symbolizes "retribution," resembling heaven but not being of heaven. They are quick to anger, fond of fighting, brave, and skilled in battle, and are considered deities of slaughter!

For a time, the ancient Jingxiang region was plunged into endless bloodshed and turmoil due to Jiang Chen's presence, but at the same time, his existence greatly improved the lives of the people. Whether it was the Yuan-Mongol officials, soldiers, or bandits, they all feared Jiang Chen.

After wandering for two or three months, Jiang Chen finally arrived in Xiangyang.

"Congratulations, Jiang Chen, for completing the secondary task: Arrive in Xiangyang before the Beggar Sect assembly! You have earned the qualification to activate the wristwatch space."

"Wristwatch space initially activated: Size is one cubic meter, can be resized according to the user's wishes, can store objects without consciousness and not exceeding the space limit, can be expanded by completing specific tasks, and can bring items out of the cycle world..."

"Secondary task two activated: At the Beggar Sect assembly, dominate the crowd and awe the martial world. Completing the task will grant a double expansion of the wristwatch space. Failure will result in six days of weakness."

Finally, the secondary task is completed! Jiang Chen was pleasantly surprised. Activating the wristwatch space, this was the legendary personal space!

Although it was only one cubic meter in size, as long as he calculated carefully, having such a personal space would definitely play a role beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

The activation of the second secondary task, however, made him frown. Based on his experiences over the past period, he had some suspicions:

The secondary tasks issued by the cycle wristwatch had their uniqueness and continuity. Only by completing one secondary task could the next one be triggered, not at any time or place as he pleased.

Otherwise, with his previous massacres in Nanyang and Wancheng, the cycle wristwatch would have issued countless tasks to him long ago, rather than waiting quietly until he arrived in Xiangyang and completed the first secondary task before issuing the second one.

"Hmm?" With a deep sigh, Jiang Chen estimated that with his current supreme martial arts, dominating the crowd at the Beggar Sect assembly should not be too difficult. After all, he had already defeated the ultimate antagonist, the Dharma King of the Golden Wheel. Dealing with the Wu brothers, Yelü Qi, and the Dharma King of the Golden Wheel's disciple Huo Du would be even easier.

However, anything could happen, and Jiang Chen was also worried. If Guo Jing were to intervene at the Beggar Sect assembly, it would not be so easy for him to win.

Guo Jing was undoubtedly a wise and humble figure. If not, he would not have said, "A great hero serves the country and the people," nor would he have become one of the most supreme experts in the world through various fortuitous encounters.

Guo Jing was in his prime, with his martial arts reaching the pinnacle. Internally, he had the Nine Yin Manual, externally, the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, and with his nearly cheating-like ability to fight with both hands, he had the qualifications to be the top expert in the world!

In comparison, although Jiang Chen's Iron Palm Skill, derived from Qiu Qianren, was also a high-level martial art, it was still inferior to the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. This was evident when he faced the Dharma King of the Golden Wheel's Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill. Moreover, Guo Jing had the ability to fight with both hands.

Of course, Jiang Chen also had his advantages. First, his lightness skill was very high, not necessarily stronger than Guo Jing's, but definitely not inferior. Second, his internal skill was definitely higher than Guo Jing's. The reason the Dharma King of the Golden Wheel lost to him was also due to this.

"It's only June now, and there's still some time before the Beggar Sect assembly. I should first find a divine weapon." The more he thought, the more restless Jiang Chen became. He decided to stop thinking and casually entered Xiangyang.

The Song soldiers in Xiangyang looked spirited and well-trained, which was mostly due to the efforts of Guo Jing and his wife. However, compared to the Mongol soldiers, they were still lacking, and it was hard to believe that they could defend Xiangyang. Various martial artists and Beggar Sect disciples were scattered throughout the streets.

Jiang Chen first found a inn to stay in and then went to find Guo Jing. Unfortunately, the guards at his door, seeing him as a young man, assumed he was there to learn martial arts from Guo Jing and did not even report his presence.

It made sense; as a great hero, Guo Jing had many admirers and potential disciples. If they all were allowed in, he would have no time to defend Xiangyang or organize the martial arts assembly.

Putting this aside, he also inquired about Guo Xiang. In Xiangyang, Guo Xiang was known for her kindness and popularity, but everyone said they had not seen the second miss for a long time. Jiang Chen was quite frustrated, wondering if she was thinking about Yang Guo all day.

After staying at the inn for a few days, Jiang Chen wandered the streets daily but found nothing. One day, as he passed a street-side teahouse, he felt thirsty and went in for a cup of tea. Coincidentally, he overheard a conversation between a few travelers.

"Old Yang, I heard your neighbor Old Wang died?"

"Alas, that's true. Old Wang, our neighbor, was a hardworking man. He barely supported his family of seven by gathering herbs. Who would have thought that a few days ago, he and some other herb gatherers went to gather herbs outside the city, and they encountered a strange snake in a valley. Several of them died!"

"Ah! What kind of snake was it, so vicious?"

"I don't know. The herb gatherers said they didn't see it clearly. The snake was very fast, like a golden thread, and it seemed to have a horn on its head. In short, it was very powerful!"

"Outside the city, in a valley, a golden-threaded, horned strange snake. Oh, I almost forgot that there's such a good place near Xiangyang!" The speaker was casual, but the listener was intent. Jiang Chen's eyes lit up. Seeing the travelers about to leave, he quickly moved to block their path...