The voice’s exasperation was infectious. Hu Lei’s heart twinged with regret as soon as it was pointed out.

He had indeed been too impulsive. The Violet Thunderbolt was one of his trump cards, exceptionally effective as a surprise attack during a protracted fight. Having shown it off already, he wouldn’t be able to employ it nearly as efficiently or effectively in a bout with Jiang Chen later. 

The other youth would be on his guard against it, for starters.

The thought of this prompted him to glance frustratedly at Jiang Chen.

“What can your Violet Thunderbolt do to me?” Jiang Chen smiled coolly. “Even if I stood still and took the full brunt of it, do you think it would injure me?”

This annoyed Hu Lei to no end. He raised a questioning brow. “You’re pretty ignorant to say that, kid. My Violet Thunderbolt is powerful and explosively destructive. It’s as strong as a robust attack from a peak empyrean expert!”

Jiang Chen chuckled.

 A peak empyrean expert?

So what? Just a short while ago, he had traded blows with Divine Kasyapa’s servant, the demigod First Wind.

If he wasn’t scared of taking on a demigod, why would he be concerned with a peak ninth level empyrean attack?

Moreover, his golden cicada bloodline granted him immunity to thunder and lightning, as well as poisons. The Violet Thunderbolt was unlikely to do him any harm at all.

Jiang Chen didn’t really want to be held up here by this Hu Lei. Alas, he had beaten up Gan Ning pretty severely, and the young victim was his friend. If he simply left, he might give off the impression he was scared of the Polylore genius.

Inspiration struck. “Why don’t we make a bet, Hu Lei?” he declared coolly.

“What kind of bet?” Hu Lei shot back. He believed Jiang Chen to be someone with a myriad of tricks up his sleeve. Thus, he was instinctively on his guard at the mention of a bet.

“Easy. I’ll stand here and take a hit from your Violet Thunderbolt. Then, you can stand in one place and let me hit you once. How about it?” Jiang Chen chuckled.

“Are you sure?” Hu Lei was astounded. Had the other youth suffered some sort of brain damage in his life? Would he even be alive after a thunderbolt like that?

“Absolutely.” Jiang Chen nodded, then looked around. “More and more people are gathering to watch us. I want to give you a good thrashing, but it is no doubt embarrassing to lose in front of so many prying eyes.”

Hu Lei laughed in spite of his fury. “Give me a good thrashing? Are you making things up on the spot, kid?”

He didn’t believe for a moment what Jiang Chen claimed. There had to be an ulterior motive behind this proposition. Wasn’t the Eternal genius rumored to be a master of stratagems? Was there something about this bet he hadn’t noticed?

But no amount of consideration yielded any possibilities.

Jiang Chen snickered. “What, you don’t even have enough courage to attack me? How are you prepared to meet me in the field of battle then? Is this what the strongest of Polylore are like, Hu Lei?”

Hu Lei instantly ignited. “I didn’t want to take advantage of you, kid, but if you want to commit suicide, then so be it!”

He was beyond incensed.

Gan Ning looked at Jiang Chen worriedly. “Senior brother.” He took a step forward. “His Violet Thunderbolt…”

“Don’t sweat it. If I were scared of that, I wouldn’t have said what I just did. Just take a break and watch my methods, Gan Ning,” Jiang Chen comforted him.

There was nothing more for Gan Ning to say. He knew how strong senior brother Jiang Chen was. He couldn’t quite understand the reason for his senior brother’s actions right now, but the thunderbolt may very well be trivial.

“You mentioned it’s a bet, yes?” Hu Lei interjected. “What are we betting on?”

“Anything you have in mind?” Jiang Chen retorted.

“If my Violet Thunderbolt knocks you out, you need to give me back my Whip of Violet Thunder. That, and give up all your orbs.” Hu Lei stated his conditions.

“No problem. What if you lose then?” asked an indifferent Jiang Chen.

“If there’s anything you want, just say the word.”

“Easy enough. You give me all your orbs, then apologize and offer compensation to my brother here. Oh, and do us a favor by avoiding us in the future.” Jiang Chen didn’t make unreasonable demands. “Anything you want to add?” he asked Gan Ning.

The young gentleman was grateful that his senior brother was sticking up for him. No one else would have cared, and to such a degree.

Hu Lei roared with laughter. “An equitable man, I see. But do you really think that you’ll be able to fight back after being hit by my Violet Thunderbolt?”

Jiang Chen smiled serenely. “Then your victory is guaranteed, is it not?”

“Very good. You’re looking to lose today, so don’t blame me for stepping on your head.” Hu Lei wasn’t so rigid as to refuse an advantage.

Someone overly principled might feel that winning in such a way was unfair. However, Hu Lei believed that the ends justified the means. 

As long as he won in the end, it didn’t matter how he did it.

“Step aside, Brother Gan Ning.” Jiang Chen smiled a little.

Gan Ning hadn’t quite given up yet. In his opinion, senior brother Jiang Chen was being exceedingly honorable by taking on unnecessary risk. If senior brother won, he would only gain in renown. If he were seriously hurt instead though, there would be a big problem.

This was only the first day of the trial!

Although he was secretly concerned, he didn’t dare suggest otherwise. All he could do was back far away.

“Let’s begin.” Jiang Chen stood at ease, leisurely crossing his arms in anticipation of being hit. He looked like he was relaxing, not readying for a fight.

His attitude infuriated Hu Lei.

“You’re heading to your doom, fool!” An aggravated Hu Lei gathered a Violet Thunderbolt in his hand.

“Take this!” He raised his arm, throwing an amethyst flash toward Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen deployed his God’s Eye to the maximum. He could see the trail of the radiance as clearly as the trajectory of an insect in slow motion.

“Hmm?” There was nothing within. It was a ruse!

Jiang Chen found this rather amusing. Hu Lei appeared brusque on the surface, but was actually pretty wily. This was a feint rather than an actual attack.

Because he saw the reality of the situation, he aimed to overwhelm his opponent psychologically. He walked forward rather than back as the light approached him.

Inhaling a little, he spat out a breath of true qi with a soft sound.

All the witnesses to this fight were astonished. Was Jiang Chen using a breath of air to fight against Hu Lei’s Violet Thunderbolt? Such disdain and disregard for his opponent!

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