Even a ninth level god would lose?

The threat rang unpleasantly in Han Shuang’s ears. 

Kid, way to trumpet your own horn. What are you, a godking? Are ninth level gods a joke to you?

She frowned, a little enraged. “Elder Zhen Junior, you look honest at first glance, but you’re quite the braggart!”

“Haha, do you think I’m blowing hot air?”

“Aren’t you?” retorted the annoyed Han Shuang.

“Why don’t we bet on it?” Jiang Chen’s smile was harmless, but it was a particularly irksome sight for Han Shuang.

“On what?” she asked, unwilling to back down.

“I bet you can’t walk out of my residence.” Jiang Chen smiled.

“Leave this place?” She looked around in contempt. “There’s barely any defenses. This sectmistress can casually stroll outside.”

The residence was a temporary one, so Jiang Chen hadn’t arranged for too many mechanisms. He wanted to stay inconspicuous, after all.

In any case, defenses mattered little given his current strength and the presence of the four beasts. At their level, they could sense anybody in the vicinity.

Not to mention, the Goldbiter Rats had made the place their lair. Would-be trespassers would be in for a world of hurt.

“You have nothing to lose then, no?” Jiang Chen chuckled.

“Fine, why not! What’s at stake? If I win, you’ll spill whatever you’re scheming, no lies or omissions allowed. Do you dare?” Han Shuang roared with a fierce scowl.

“Why wouldn’t I? Let’s spit on it!” Her fiery temper seemed to have infected the young lord. “What if you lose?”

“Same thing, I’ll spill the beans. May the heavens strike me dead if I hide anything!” She sounded absolutely confident in her victory.

“Great!” The young lord slapped his thigh. “It’s so decided, Sectmistress. No matter the outcome, the winner will keep quiet and protect the other’s secrets. No betrayal, no interference, and absolutely no shoving a spoke in the other’s wheel. That’s my bottom line. Are you up to it?”

Those were the very conditions Han Shuang was about to suggest.

“Great, it’s agreed! I was about to say the same thing.” The young man had incited her instinctive competitiveness.

She brimmed with palpable self-assurance. She’d gone over her plan of action many times in her mind. There was nothing that could stop her from setting foot outside.

Perhaps Elder Zhen Junior was hiding his strength, but even if he were at the ninth level, her victory would still be unquestionable!

They agreed on the terms and swore an oath to honor their pledge.

Forestalling Jiang Chen, Han Shuang smiled wickedly. “Elder Zhen, you’re the one to initiate the wager, so you’ll have to own up when you lose.”

Jiang Chen smiled. “Right back at you. Don’t renege on your words.”

“Cut the chitchat. When can we begin?” asked the sectmistress calmly.

“Right now.” Jiang Chen sounded indifferent, as if he was merely a bystander.

The sectmistress cared little about whatever he was plotting. Her figure moved, instantly turning into an afterimage shooting outside. At the same time, an item appeared in her hand.

It was a treasure in the form of a flying shuttle. It specialized against restrictions and was called the Skybreaking Spindle. It could locate the weak spots in restrictions and find a gap for its owner to escape through.

Her confidence was based on the presence of this item, but she hadn’t accounted for the possibility Jiang Chen wouldn’t use restrictions at all. Instead, he resorted to the four sacred beasts’ formation.

Currently, the beasts had deployed their domain around him. Frankly speaking, after assimilating their bloodlines, he himself could conjure a field rivaling theirs. When the two domains combined into one, even a godking would struggle to break free of its confines, to say nothing of Han Shuang.

The sectmistress quickly recognized the spatial distortion occurring all around her. The tiny residence was suddenly filled with the boundless emptiness of the universe. She found herself unable to move amidst this primordial chaos. She could no longer spot the exit. How was she supposed to leave? 

But she refused to admit defeat. The Skybreaking Spindle flew out of her hand, trying to scout out a weakness. It morphed into a dim ball of light and circled the air a couple times, but a terrifying force soon snuffed it out, as if a giant hand had come out of nowhere and snatched it away.

Han Shuang turned ashen from shock. The shuttle was the treasure she was proudest of. To think it’d be rendered useless so easily!

This was simply a nightmare.

Without her treasure’s guidance, her efforts proved futile. Her every gesture became increasingly strenuous as the restriction increased in power. Near the end, she couldn’t even take a single step forward.

Jiang Chen’s calm voice reached her ears. “Sectmistress, please forgive me this offense. Are you going to persist? Or should we sit down and have a nice chat?”

The voice made her mad and anxious at the same time.

“Kid, if you’re that strong, why don’t you simply kill me? Why leave a witness?”

She’d lashed out in anger, but the possibility was worrisome nonetheless. Elder Zhen Junior didn’t seem the type to murder her in cold blood, but circumstances did make the man.

Jiang Chen sighed softly. “I have at least a hundred ways to make you disappear without a trace. Why would I go through all this hassle?”

She’d definitely have snorted in derision a few moments ago, but he’d now established his credentials. Though still stubborn, she couldn’t help but admit it’d be a breeze for him to kill her.

“Ai. I’ve underestimated you, it seems. Fine, this is your win! Let me out, I yield!” She finally lowered her proud head.

The pressure around her lifted as soon as her voice fell. Elder Zhen Junior could control this power at will, it seemed. 

It was a horrendous realization. Was he a monster? She glared at him with a mixture of annoyance, awkwardness, and powerlessness.

“Alright, what do you want to know? Just ask, I’ll answer!” Although angry, she was a woman of her word. She knew no resistance would avail. She was clearly at his mercy.

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