The chain seal had protected Jiang Chen’s consciousness more than once. Since he started pursuing dao, many enemies had tried to destroy his mind. However, they’d all failed because of the seal. It had safeguarded Jiang Chen from outside forces every time and dispelled the attacks.

It was his last line of defense, and the one that was the strongest and most deeply concealed. His other techniques were visible once used, but not the chain seal. It could only be detected if someone invaded his consciousness.

The flag

. Jiang Chen immediately noticed that the real eccentricity wasn’t the beast, but the flag in the man’s hand.

On the surface, the flag seemed to be what was directing the beast, but it was more likely a weapon that attacked the mind. Perhaps it was a treasure that could absorb one’s soul.

It dawned on him what the enemy was planning.

What a sly fox. The beast is a smokescreen. If my consciousness wasn’t as sensitive and my observation skills not as keen, I’d be in big trouble.

Once he was aware of the real threat, the defense of his chain seal became stronger.

No matter how browncloak brandished the flag and adjusted his moves, the mental attack failed to penetrate Jiang Chen’s consciousness, leaving only slight ripples in its wake.

If Jiang Chen’s consciousness was a vast ocean, the attack was akin to casting a pebble into the boundless water. It might leave a trace on the surface, but it’d never create a wave, let alone a tsunami.

Hmph, so he 

is 

good at something. Anyone else would likely fall victim to the unpredictable attack.

Jiang Chen was still reeling from the last move. The chain seal had saved him again. If not for the seal, he didn’t know how many times he would’ve suffered at the hands of his enemies.

It further hardened his resolve to fully understand it.

Browncloak was highly agitated. He’d tapped into the full power of the technique. No matter how he adjusted the flag, the invisible attacks on the soul failed to even shake the young man’s consciousness.

Impossible! Is this kid even human? Just a wave of the flag can destroy a soul. Seven waves means that he should’ve been annihilated without a doubt. Unless his consciousness is more powerful than mine and has an instinctive defense mechanism, his mind should’ve collapsed without warning… why is this happening??

Browncloak was reaching his limit and beginning to doubt the principles of life.

Jiang Chen could feel his agitation. The more agitated his enemy was, the more forceful he became. Emitting dragon roars, he stared at the beast trapped by the golden bell and raised the Holy Dragon Bow.

“This is the end for your demonic beast!”

The arrow was loosed as soon as he finished talking.

Caught by the bell, the beast was as good as a practice target. The Holy Dragon Bow possessed a domineering strength, and it was even more powerful after Jiang Chen’s breakthroughs.

Wham!

A blinding aureate ray sank into the beast. 

Its body seemed to crack in the next moment. From the cracks, countless beams of golden light shot out.

Boom!

Golden light burst out of the beast’s body.

Jiang Chen took a closer look at the remains. Instead of flesh and blood, there was a pile of torn, black cloth. The beast was a creation of the black flag’s secret art rather than a real creature.

Recoil from the destruction of the beast snapped onto browncloak. It slammed into his consciousness and made his head ring. His blood boiled violently, and he almost fell to the ground.

The dark energy surrounding the flag faded somewhat.

Jiang Chen cackled. “You’ve been the one attacking. Now let me show you what I’ve got!”

With a flourish of a hand seal, the Heavenly Chalice Sword Formation split the air. Numerous swords rained down on browncloak like meteorites.

His eyes wide, browncloak made the flag disappear with a wave. Settling into a stance with his hands, his cloak spread to cover his entire body. It morphed into armor, reflecting blinding light and providing full protection for its user.

The flying swords hit the brown armor with ear-piercing collisions, but was unable to penetrate the defense. They returned to Jiang Chen after their failure. It would seem that the Heavenly Chalice Sword Formation wasn’t enough to break through the cloak.

Jiang Chen clucked his tongue curiously. “What a powerful cloak.” 

He shifted his gaze to the other cloaked men. 

So all four of the cloaks are impenetrable armor sets rather than regular clothing?

 He rather admired the four men’s master by now. With subordinates as mighty as they were, the master must be even more so.

When his counterattack failed to score any hits, Jiang Chen did the honorable thing and halted his actions. He looked at the man with a supercilious smile.

“Two more moves,” Jiang Chen reminded leisurely.

Complicated emotions washed over browncloak. If not for the cloak covering his face, others would have seen how stunned he was.

The last attack had been his most powerful and was stronger than all his other techniques. Yet the young man remained wholly unscathed. This was despair-inducing!

He’d met his fair share of mighty foes. Only a god could possess such defensive power.

Browncloak’s shoulders slumped dejectedly. Could Jiang Chen be a god? Was the young man hiding his real power?

He knew it couldn’t be true, but the young man’s quasi-divine level defenses made him helpless.

Two more moves. Was there a need to continue? His hopes had just been snuffed out. It’d be a pointless struggle to try anything else. At this point, he couldn’t possibly keep shamelessly pressing on.

He exchanged a glance with his companions, silently telling them that he’d done his best. They weren’t any less shocked than he was.

That last attack was something they could all do, but none of them had mastered it to browncloak’s level. If even he couldn’t hurt the young man, there was nothing they could do to defeat him.

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