Grand Elder Feng didn't hesitate. He was a veteran of a hundred wars, and he knew a monster when he saw one.
"Die!"
Feng flicked his wrist. The air in the vault shrieked. A Wind Blade—invisible and razor-thin—slashed toward Jiang Chen's neck.
It was too fast. Even with his cultivation rocketed to Layer 5, Jiang Chen couldn't track it.
SPLAT.
Jiang Chen's head snapped back. A spray of black blood painted the jade shelves.
Elder Han let out a shaky breath of relief. "He... is he dead?"
Jiang Chen's body swayed. His neck was cut halfway through. The wind blade had severed his windpipe and notched his spine.
But he didn't fall.
Inside the wound, granulated flesh bubbled and hissed. The massive overdose of medicinal energy raging in his blood had nowhere to go. It grabbed the severed tissues and stitched them back together with violent speed.
Crunch.
Jiang Chen popped his neck back into place. The wound sealed, leaving a jagged white scar that faded in seconds.
He smiled. His mouth was full of blood.
"Is that it?" Jiang Chen rasped.
Grand Elder Feng's eyes widened. "Regeneration? He's consuming the pill energy to heal!"
"System," Jiang Chen thought, time seeming to freeze as adrenaline flooded his brain. "I have 5,200 EV. Spend it. Make me fast enough to kill them."
[Acknowledged.]
[Spending EV...]
[Agility Upgrade: 3.0 -> 10.0 (MAX for Qi Condensation)]
[Cost: 1,500 EV]
[Strength Upgrade: 8.0 -> 10.0 (MAX)]
[Cost: 500 EV]
[Skill Purchase: Phantom Step (Rank 2 Movement)]
[Cost: 1,000 EV]
[Remaining EV: 2,200]
Power.
It wasn't a rush; it was a detonation. Jiang Chen felt his muscles snap and re-knit, becoming denser than steel cables. The world around him slowed to a crawl.
"Han! Get back!" Grand Elder Feng shouted, sensing the sudden spike in the boy's aura.
Too late.
Jiang Chen vanished.
He didn't run; he flickered. [Phantom Step] left a lingering afterimage where he stood, while his real body appeared directly in front of Elder Han.
Han was paralyzed by fear. He looked into Jiang Chen's eyes—the vertical golden slits of a predator.
"You wanted to see my insides?" Jiang Chen whispered.
He thrust his hand forward. [Void Claw] engulfed his fingers in darkness.
SHLICK.
Jiang Chen's hand punched through Elder Han's chest like it was wet paper. He grabbed the beating heart.
"Now I see yours."
Jiang Chen crushed it.
Elder Han didn't even scream. He just gasped, blood bubbling from his lips, and slumped forward. The man who had tortured countless servants, who had planned to peel Jiang Chen like a fruit, died in a single heartbeat.
DING!
[Target Eliminated: Elder Han (Qi Condensation Layer 9).]
[Reward: 500 EV.]
[Threat Reduced.]
"You dare!" Grand Elder Feng roared. The air pressure in the room dropped. The old man was floating, his white hair whipping around him in a frenzy. A golden aura—Foundation Establishment Qi—exploded from his body.
This was real power. The pressure alone cracked the floor tiles.
"I will grind your bones to dust!" Feng screamed.
He raised both hands. The air in the vault twisted into a massive tornado of wind blades.
Jiang Chen looked at the dead body of Han, then at the furious Grand Elder.
[Warning: Opponent Threat Level: Fatal.]
[Host Defense (Iron Skin) cannot withstand sustained Foundation Establishment attacks.]
[Advisory: Run.]
"Agreed," Jiang Chen grunted.
He grabbed Elder Han's corpse.
"Here, catch!"
He threw the body at the Grand Elder.
Feng instinctively slashed his hand, slicing Han's corpse into three pieces with a wind blade.
In that split second of distraction, Jiang Chen turned to the wall of the vault—the outer wall of the mountain.
"Void Claw!"
He channeled all his remaining Qi into his right arm. The darkness around his hand expanded, eating the light.
BOOM!
He punched the stone wall.
The rock didn't crack; it disintegrated. The void energy ate a hole six feet wide, revealing the night sky and a drop of five thousand feet.
The cold wind rushed in.
"You won't escape!" Feng flew forward, a spear of wind forming in his hand.
Jiang Chen stood on the edge of the precipice. He looked back at the Grand Elder.
"I'll be back for you," Jiang Chen promised.
He stepped backward into the empty air.
Whoosh.
He fell.
Grand Elder Feng rushed to the hole, looking down. He saw a black shadow plummeting into the clouds, vanishing into the darkness of the mountain range below.
Feng slammed his fist against the broken wall. The entire Alchemy Peak shook.
"Find him!" Feng's voice boomed across the entire sect, waking every disciple. "Hunt him down! A demon has escaped! Reward: Ten Thousand Spirit Stones for his head!"
The Freefall
The wind roared in Jiang Chen's ears.
He was falling fast. The ground was rushing up to meet him.
"System! How do I land?!"
[Agility 10.0 allows for terminal velocity impact survival... if you aim for the trees.]
[Targeting: Black Spirit Forest Canopy.]
CRASH.
Jiang Chen hit the treetops. Branches snapped like twigs, whipping his face and tearing his skin. He smashed through the canopy, tumbling, spinning, bouncing off limbs.
THUD.
He hit the forest floor.
A crater formed in the mud.
Jiang Chen lay there, groaning. His left leg was twisted at a wrong angle. His ribs were dust.
But he was alive.
[Damage Report: Critical.]
[Regeneration: Active.]
[Energy Reserves: High (Golden Sun Pill Residue).]
Steam rose from his body as his leg snapped back into place with a sickening pop.
Jiang Chen stared up at the broken canopy, seeing the lights of the Iron Sword Sect searching the cliffs above.
He laughed. A low, painful, jagged laugh.
He had stolen the vault. He had killed his tormentor. He had escaped.
He reached into his robe. The Mask of the Faceless was still there, unbroken.
"Jiang Chen is dead," he whispered, wiping the blood from his face.
He put the mask on.
His face shifted. His jaw broadened. His scar appeared. The monstrous scales on his skin retracted, hiding beneath the illusion.
He stood up, a stranger in the dark woods.
"Now... the real cultivation begins."
[SYSTEM LOG: END OF CHAPTER 16]
Vessel: Jiang Chen
Current State: Disguised / Hunted
Location: Black Spirit Forest (Deep Zone)
[ATTRIBUTES]
Cultivation: Qi Condensation (Layer 5)
Strength: 10.0 (Realm Limit Reached)
Agility: 10.0 (Realm Limit Reached)
Constitution: 9.5
Spirit: 5.0
Evolution Points (EV): 2,700
[COMBAT ARSENAL]
Phantom Step (Rank 2 - Beginner): High-speed burst movement. immense Qi consumption.
Void Claw (Level 2): Armor/Qi piercing darkness.
Venom Heart (Level 2): Toxicity active.
Iron Skin (Intermediate): High physical resistance.
[ACTIVE EQUIPMENT]
Mask of the Faceless: Identity Concealed.