There were several other young cultivators who came together with Kong Xiang earlier, but they never spoke, so it was very easy for people to forget about them. Now that Kong Xiang was silenced by Chen Chao's remarks, there was finally a woman among them who spoke up.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Chao asked the same as before, "May I ask for your name?"
The woman took a look at Chen Chao and said indifferently, "Heaven Tree Sect, Jiang Shuchan."
Hearing this name, there was an uproar by the lakeside. The Heavenly Tree Sect was of the same lineage as the Infatuation Daoist Temple. The woman in front of them was also considered famous on the Latent Dragon List. Although she was not as famous as He Yi, she was indeed worthy of the word genius.
When she spoke, Kong Xiang had already returned to his senses and retreated behind her.
Although her words just now were somewhat exaggerating by rhetoric, in reality, there was still some truth to them. Especially the sentence: If you really have the ability, why avoid the fight? In the eyes of many, this was only natural.
Chen Chao asked, "Then do you also want to fight me?"
Chen Chao could not be bothered to pay attention to those voices and looked straight at Jiang Shuchan, wanting an answer.
Jiang Shuchan said indifferently, "Since the Myriad Willow Convention is approaching, why should I lower my status and take action now?"
There was naturally a hint of ridicule in her words too. It was just that Jiang Shuchan's voice was too dull and the meaning was too smooth. For a moment, it really made people feel that what she said was quite reasonable.
Chen Chao smiled and continued to ask, "What if I challenge you now?"
Jiang Shuchan frowned and said with a sneer, "If you want to fight me, beat him first."
She was naturally referring to the guy named Kong Xiang.
Chen Chao did not even look at Kong Xiang and just said with a smile, "To me, fighting him would be lowering my status too."
He said this casually, but the students by the lake widened their eyes. They did not expect that Chen Chao would be so impolite to a foreign cultivator and showed no fear. Kong Xiang, who was once again whipped, his expression became extremely ugly.
He was an innocent victim.
Although his words seemed rather arrogant to many people, they did make some sense too. After all, he had already defeated He Yi at the Imperial Banquet. Someone like Kong Xiang was likely inferior to him as well.
After all, he did not make it onto the Latent Dragon List.
Chen Chao continued, "I want to challenge you. If you avoid the fight, does it also mean that you don't have real skills?"
These were the words the woman had said to him earlier, and now, Chen Chao repeated them to her verbatim. Furthermore, extremely quick too. He had already put this woman on the spot and he had already done this more than once today.
This should be the third time.
However, before Jiang Shuchan could respond, Chen Chao smiled and shook his head, "But I really don't intend to fight you, because it's meaningless. Your ranking on the Latent Dragon List is worse than He Yi too. Even if I defeat you, it's still the same thing: nobody will think I'm outstanding. It will only be seen as a matter of course."
Jiang Shuchan's face stiffened, the indifference in her eyes growing thicker.
What Chen Chao said was naturally the truth.
"I know you're not very satisfied with what I said and want to refute me. But in reality, there's nothing much to say. In a few days, the Myriad Willow Convention will be taking place. At that time, we might be able to meet. It won't be too late to compete then. It's not necessary to have a private duel now."
Chen Chao smiled and said, "Why don't we make a bet? The wager is simple, let's see who gets a higher rank in the Myriad Willow Convention's martial exam."
Jiang Shuchan asked with a cold face, "What do we bet?"
Chen Chao said, "It's simple, if I win, you only need to show me respect when you see me in the future. How about that?"
Jiang Shuchan looked at Chen Chao and said indifferently, "If I win, you must kneel down and apologize to me right here!"
Chen Chao smiled and said without hesitation, "Okay, let everyone be a witness."
His response was too fast. This made Jiang Shuchan feel a bit uneasy and her expression did not look good.
However, with so many people watching, she could not say anything more.
After hearing this, the students by the lake were rather surprised. Chen Chao's requirement seemed much easier than the other party's.
But after thinking about it carefully, they also felt that Chen Chao was leaving himself a way out. After all, Jiang Shuchan was not an ordinary cultivator, but a genius on the Latent Dragon List. No matter how one looked at it, she was not what Kong Xiang could compare to.
But now that trouble was already caused, what was the point of leaving himself a way out?
Although many students could not understand Chen Chao's thoughts, they could not say much. After all, what Chen Chao had exhibited previously had already proven that he was not a simple-minded youth.
Maybe he has dug a hole for this foreign cultivator somewhere. It was just that people had not figured it out yet.
Jiang Shuchan did not say anything more and turned around to leave. But as she turned around, Chen Chao suddenly asked, "You are friends with Yan Ruoshui, right?"
His voice was sudden and the name Yan Ruoshui was unfamiliar to many people. Although they knew that Chen Chao had killed those qi refiners in Tianqing County before, no one would get to the bottom of it. They did not know the specific identities of those qi refiners either.
Jiang Shuchan did not speak, she just paused for a moment when she turned around. She looked deeply at Chen Chao and left without saying anything more.
The other cultivators also left.
Chen Chao stood still and watched their back views.
The students by the lake were lost in thought and had not reacted yet.
Chen Chao smiled and shouted, "Still not leaving? I'm not inviting you guys for a meal!"
This woke everyone up from their thoughts and the students dispersed one after another. Some students even specially saluted Chen Chao before leaving.
It was very clear that the impression of Chen Chao in this academy would definitely change after today.
As for whether it would change again due to his defeat in the Myriad Willow Convention, there would be no way of knowing it.
Chen Chao glanced at Xie Nandu and smiled, "Shall we continue walking?"
Xie Nandu nodded.
"How did you know that she was friends with Yan Ruoshui?"
Xie Nandu was a little curious. She had previously investigated Yan Ruoshui to help Chen Chao and naturally had a deep impression of Yan Ruoshui. However, the case files did not mention that Yan Ruoshui and this Jiang Shuchan were friends. Xie Nandu naturally knew that the case files could not completely investigate Yan Ruoshui. After all, it was a little difficult for the Great Liang Dynasty to investigate foreign cultivators.
Chen Chao said, "There has to be a reason for her to come and find trouble with me. That shortie came because I defeated He Yi. This woman doesn't seem like someone who cares about that. So, I naturally have to think about where I have offended her. Of course, there are too many possibilities for this. It's also possible that she purely looks down on me. After all, foreign cultivators have always been like this; their eyes on top of their heads. But what makes me think that she is related to Yan Ruoshui is her demeanor. It's seriously too similar to that woman, it's simply carved from the same mold."
Xie Nandu asked, "Since there is enmity between you, why did you behave so generously just now?"
Their wager looked like Chen Chao had made some concessions and did not want to escalate things.
Chen Chao said indifferently, "She already couldn't stand making her bow to me, there's actually no difference from making her kneel down to me. Besides, since there's enmity between us, what's the point of humiliating her? Of course I'm killing her to eliminate future trouble."
If he could not kill her in the Divine Capital, then whatever he did would not mean much to Chen Chao.
Xie Nandu smiled and asked, "When are you planning to kill her?"
Chen Chao shook his head. It was hard to say, but it was very likely that the other party would strike first before he did.
However, he was unlikely to leave the Divine Capital during this period.
Xie Nandu asked curiously, "I still want to know, if you lose and she comes knocking on your door, will you really kneel down and kowtow to her?"
Chen Chao countered, "Do you think I would kneel down?"
Xie Nandu shook her head and said, "I can't say for sure. The timid ones will naturally kowtow, but they won't provoke her like you did today either. For the bold ones such as yourself, what excuse will you use to escape if you lose?"
Chen Chao laughed, "Don't you guys always say that I am shameless? Since I am already shameless, why would I need an excuse to cover it up?"
Xie Nandu said, "Have you ever thought that you are representing the Great Liang Dynasty to some extent?"
"If I am representing Great Liang, then isn't it even more ludicrous for me to kneel?"
Chen Chao looked at Xie Nandu as if he was not worried about such a thing happening.
Xie Nandu said seriously, "That is also a problem. If you run away, it will also bring shame to Great Liang."
Chen Chao sighed and said, "If that's the case, then I can only win."
When he said this, he seemed very relaxed and without any pressure, as if by saying that he would win, he could definitely win.
Xie Nandu smiled and said, "You should visit the Xie Family tonight."
This matter had been delayed for a long time. Before, Xie Nandu asked Chen Chao not to be in a hurry. But later, it was Chen Chao who was delayed by other matters. Now that there was nothing else, he should naturally go.
Chen Chao frowned and asked, "Am I still going alone?"
Xie Nandu shook her head and said, "I'll accompany you."
Chen Chao was a little happy, but then asked, "Will we get involved in an argument again?"
Xie Nandu smiled and said, "Not necessarily. They are not like the foreign cultivators who dare to be brazen. Otherwise, they will easily be regarded as double agents."
"In other words, it won't be a peaceful meal anyway."
Chen Chao sneered, not very satisfied. But the Xie Family had shown kindness to him, he should still go and pay his respects.
"I said it long ago, if you want to thank someone, thank me instead of them."
Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao and said, "I actually have something that I want you to help me with."
Chen Chao got serious and asked, "What is it?"
Xie Nandu's face turned slightly red, but she still seemed very nonchalant, "Tonight, you can act like you like me a bit more."
After hearing this, Chen Chao was silent for a long time and did not say anything.
"You don't want to?"
Xie Nandu raised an eyebrow and was not too satisfied with Chen Chao's response.
Chen Chao asked, "Can I hold your hand then?"
There seemed to be some anticipation in his eyes?
Xie Nandu looked at him and said, "You look very shameless."
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