They were both equally matched in speed, and engaged in a cat and mouse pursuit around a remote valley. Since Jiang Chen wanted to test his opponent’s limits, he coolly refrained from using his other techniques. It was purely a contest of agility.


    What exactly is his background? Suspicion and shock struck Jiang Chen. He couldn’t recall there being such a person in the thousand-plus candidates entering the ckwraith Mountains.


    His foe was firmly enshrouded by a ck cloak which added to his mysteriousness. One could only be certain that he wasn’t one of the candidates.


    Are there other factions in the ckwraith Mountains? A chill travelled down Jiang Chen’s spine. Who can he possibly be?


    He could sense that his foe had yet to step into empyrean realm, which made him even more suspicious. He should’ve been able to dominate all foes beneath empyrean realm, yet this mysterious cloaked person was able to go toe-to-toe against him with raw talent alone.


    Judging by the opponent’s speed, this was definitely no ordinary foe. Speed was an indication of one’s skill after all.


    The cloaked man didn’t fare any better than Jiang Chen. He was also extremely taken aback He was a young genius from one of the eight aristocratic houses and top five among the thirty or so young aristocratic geniuses.


    He wouldn’t have been surprised if his opponent had been one of his peers, but the person in front of him was clearly a candidate from Winterdraw Ind!


    This was simply stunning. Him and his peers were some of the most talented youths in Myriad Abyss Ind.


    They’de to Winterdraw purely to mess around. It was a game; the Winterdraw candidates were merely prey waiting to be ughtered. They’d hadn’t taken this seriously from the start. However, Jiang Chen’s performancepletely flipped the cloaked man’s prejudices around.


    To think that there’s a genius of this caliber in a backwater like the Rejuvenation Isles!


    He’d found the Goldensable Fleeceflower earlier than Jiang Chen, but because of the various hazards surrounding it, he stepped aside toe up with a n.


    Unfortunately for him, Jiang Chen suddenly appeared out of nowhere and reached the Fleeceflower first. He waspletely taken aback and wanted to intercept, but had failed. This led to a chase, whereupon he finally realized that he was facing an extremely strong foe.


    Time passed quickly while the pursuit was on. Night went by in the blink of an eye.


    Night time in the ckwraith Mountains was extremely frightening. But visually speaking, it was no different from day to Jiang Chen because he cultivated the God’s Eye. The cloaked man didn’t seem to fear the darkness either and wasn’t affected by it.


    The chase had been going on from dusk until dawn, yet Jiang Chen was wholly unaffected by fatigue. However, after an entire night of cat and mouse, he realized that speed might not be enough to shake off his pursuer.


    Thus, he slowed his footsteps and gradually decreased his speed. The two had entered a dense and overgrown rainforest. The cloaked men followed suit and slowed down as well.


    Jiang Chen came to a screeching halt, turned, and red at the cloaked man with wrathful eyes. They were a few hundred meters apart, but he could clearly see the frightening power concealed behind the cloaked figure’s dark and sinister eyes.


    “I assume you’re not one from Winterdraw Ind?” Jiang Chen asked ndly.


    “Have you decided to stop running?” the cloaked man replied coldly.


    Jiang Chen shrugged. “Do you really think that I was running away?”


    “Enough of your nonsense. Hand over the Goldensable Fleeceflower!” There was no emotion in the cloaked man’s tones. He was as cold as a sharp de.


    “You recognize the spirit herb?” Jiang Chen was a little taken aback.


    “You have two choices. Hand it over willingly, or I’ll take it from your dead body.” The cloaked man answered in a sinister tone.


    Jiang Chen burst intoughter. “I’ll give you two choices as well! Take off your cloak, or I’ll tear it off myself after I kill you!”


    The cloaked man had shown a lot of potential, but that alone wasn’t enough to scare Jiang Chen.


    The man threw a sharp and malicious re at Jiang Chen. “Idiot trash! Do you know who you’re talking to?”


    Jiang Chen answered ndly. “The only trash here is you. Why do I need to know who you are? A coward hiding behind a cloak is unworthy.”


    Killing intent shed across the cloaked man’s eyes as a sinister cackle burst out of him. “So be it. Time to surrender yourself to fate. Genius of Winterdraw Ind, I’ll show you just how insignificant and weak you really are!”


    Radiance suddenly exploded from an upraised arm. An enormous sword could vaguely be seen within the light. His right arm had turned into a razor-sharp sword!


    Jiang Chen was mildly surprised. This was no ordinary divine art. The cloaked man had refined his arm with true sword intent, melding sword and arm into one.


    “Choose. Do you wish to be shredded or cut into pieces?” The cloaked man cackled. He raised his arm, ring the blinding light once more. Frighteningly lethal arcs of sword light criss-crossed through the air.


    Turning one’s arm into a sword made handling it infinitely easier. It was much better than a traditional sword in terms of speed and maneuverability.


    Sword intent hurtled in like a tornado.


    Jiang Chen didn’t dare take the attack lightly. In terms of martial technique, the mysterious ck-cloaked man was no weaker than the empyrean masters he’d faced before. He shifted, evading the iing attack with his advantageous position in the sky.


    At the same time, he summoned the golden maic mountain and tossed it into the air. The mountain spontaneously expanded and levitated above their heads. Powerful maic power came pouring out.


    Jiang Chen quickly followed up with chained hand seals, summoning a violent maic storm into the air. It was so fierce that it seemed it could swallow thend whole.


    The cloaked man was slightly taken aback as well. His sword technique was extremely powerful and agile. He’d in many formidable foes with it. However, the technique he was so proud of had mostly been absorbed by the golden maic mountain and maic storm.


    With a sharp inhale, he stared warily at the maic mountain. The treasure was releasing maic power and absorbing his sword light!


    “Tsk tsk. I didn’t think that Winterdraw would have someone of your caliber. The treasures you possess and the techniques you cultivate don’t look like they’re from this backwater. Are you really from the ind?” The cloaked man’s suspicion had been roused.


    Jiang Chen smiled coldly. “How about you?”


    The cloaked man smiled sinisterly without admitting or denying anything. “As expected. You’re not from this ind are you? Do you really believe that a mere maic storm will be enough to stop me? You’re too naive!”


    He sneered and raised his right arm once more. The enormous sword turned blurry and slowly disappeared from sight. He then pped, slowly drawing his hands apart to reveal something in between his palms.


    It was a tongue of me about the size of a bean. It didn’t seem like much, but the cloaked man waspletely focused on it. He leered viciously, casting Jiang Chen a cold re.


    The me expanded exponentially with a shake of his hands. It turned into a ball of raging fire with the blink of an eye, which then transmuted into blinding green runes.


    “Despair! The Nether mes will turn your very soul into ash!” He crossed his arms with fists tightly clenched. When he opened his arms once more, his hands were arrayed in a strange hand seal that looked like a lotus.


    As though plucking a flower, he extended one finger and sent his harvest, the ball of Nether mes, hurling towards Jiang Chen.


    Jiang Chen sucked in a mouthful of air. The Nether mes was definitely an extremely powerful heavenly me! Moreover, his opponent had refined it to the point where it could be manipted at will. A gentle touch was all it took to perfectly materialize it. The easy style marked the air of a grand master.


    Jiang Chen held his breath. He knew that he’d encountered a truly powerful foe. His opponent didn’t just possess great talent and potential, but powerful equipment and killer trump cards as well. He had to take this seriously.


    He made a gesture with his own hands and conjured dozens of fire and ice lotuses. They had been significantly upgraded as well.


    The fire lotuses were voracious eaters. They hadpletely blossomed and pulled greedily on the ball of me. The ice lotuses arrayed themselves in front of Jiang Chen. A transparent wall of ice loomed like an ice mountain, protecting him from all harm.