Chapter 239 True Pride



"Do you think that's all he has? My Three Mountains Seal has the power of a mid-stage Violet Palace cultivator. He took a direct hit from it. And yet, he is moving around already. Do you think you would be able to beat him without using all your tricks?" Jiang Chen sneered at Lu Tianxin.

"And you, did you forget our motive?" Jiang Chen turned towards Wu Dongmin angrily. "We need to kill him. Not injure or drive him away. We need to kill him. Only then all our plans could come true. This is not the place for you to hone your fighting skills."

"Do you think only you are improving? Don't make me laugh. Compared to his progress, yours is at a snail's pace. By the time, you progress enough to make an actual difference in the fight, he would have killed us all multiple times," Jiang Chen poured cold water on Wu Dongmin.

"And you, you think you are so powerful eh?" Jiang Chen mocked Lu Tianxin. "Are you kidding? It is clear that he is so far above our league. With both of you combined and fighting together for so long, he has yet to even unsheathe his sword."

"You have already used your signature techniques. What about him? Did you see him use any other technique other than what he used to deal with others? In his eyes, we and them aren't that different," Jiang Chen didn't leave any face for Lu Tianxin either.

The faces of the duo became purple from embarrassment. Looking at their angry but embarrassed expression, Jiang Chen realized that he too had lost his temper. Taking a deep breath, Jiang Chen spoke again.

"Forget about everything. All our plans rest on killing him. It is time we stop holding back our trump cards. We need to kill him and do it as soon as possible. Who knows if he might reach a breakthrough while battling? He is already hard to deal with, we can't allow any chances," Jiang Chen said in a somber tone.

Hearing Jiang Chen's words, the anger and embarrassment in the hearts of the duo dissipated. They were elites for a reason. They knew when to put emotions in the front when to swallow things and work for the common good. Soon Lu Tianxin and Wu Dongmin regained their demeanor. They both looked at each other and nodded at Jiang Chen.

"Then, be ready. We will give our all. Just remember, if we can't defeat him, none of us will be able to leave here alive. So, don't hold back anything," Jiang Chen said solemnly and looked into the distance.

Exactly at that moment, Duncan rose to his feet with bloody wounds all over his body.

His entire body looked heavily injured. He was bleeding from several places. His breathing was ragged. He couldn't even stand properly for the first few moments. But, as time passed, Duncan's posture straightened and he began to stand tall.

Even though he looked heavily injured on the outside, Duncan knew his body well. Due to him protecting his vitals at the last moment, he was able to minimize the injuries he sustained. Most injuries he had were superficial in nature.

It was just that the seal really did a number on his inner organs with its suppression effect. The reversing of the blood flow almost caused him severe damage. Luckily, he was able to prevent it from spreading. Moreover, his heart wasn't a usual heart in the first place.

Spitting out a glob of blood from his mouth, Duncan started chuckling.

Duncan felt he deserved this beating. He had become too cocky and arrogant as of late. If not for this beating, he would have continued being arrogant even after this fight. It was good to sober up quickly.

These were the elites of various sects. Just because he could kill them easily didn't mean they were defenseless. If he had used his sword at the earliest opportunity and killed these imbeciles by now, they wouldn't have been able to hurt him like this.

But, what did he do?

He let his ego make decisions. He wanted to show off. He wanted to act domineering and arrogant. As a result, he hadn't even unsheathed his sword. He had wanted to win this fight with a technique that he had only been practicing for a week.

How arrogant of him!

No wonder, he almost lost his life.

Duncan decided to use this incident as a lesson and take every fight he came across after this seriously. What about pride and other such stuff? Compared to living, they didn't amount to much. He didn't want to lose his life because he let his pride get in the way of a sure victory.

Pride was good. But, too much of it was a danger as well. Duncan realized it at that moment. Thinking about how this sorry state of his was his own making, Duncan couldn't help but chuckle at himself.

On the other hand, those who had just watched Duncan take on a sneak attack that was more powerful than any of the attacks that were delivered head-on and sent smashing into the distance felt a chill in their hearts hearing Duncan chuckle.

They just watched this man be smashed into the distance with no defense by a powerful weapon. They saw how much damage his body had suffered. They saw how hard it was for him to stand up initially after the attack. And yet, they were hearing this madman chuckling as if everything was fine.

None of them could maintain a smile when they thought about this. Uneasiness grew in their hearts as they watched Duncan walk step by step towards the trio in a calm manner. Only those who were very observant noticed that this time Duncan's hand was on his sword as he approached the trio.

The mere change of where he placed his hands let his opponents know that their enemy was going to be serious from now on. They couldn't help but gulp loudly and look at each other in askance.

Just now, they decided to kill this man while he was still playing around with them. However, before they could implement it, their opponent had turned serious and is walking towards them with a purpose in mind.

Duncan's eyes were like burning torches at this moment. There was a brimming sense of malevolence all over his body. A bloodthirsty aura started emerging as Duncan came near to the trio. The trio didn't miss any of this. Their expressions turned grave.

"Again"

Duncan didn't shout. He didn't roar. He didn't even try to project his voice. He looked at the trio and calmly, but assertively said that word. The moment Duncan delivered that word, the trio seemed confused initially, but the next moment their faces turned white.

Whether they turned white in anger or fear, Duncan didn't care. He stared at the trio without blinking. His hand was on his sword. He wanted to have another go at the seal. But, this time he wanted to see if his sword could withstand it.

A small part of Duncan felt insulted by the fact that these imbeciles whom he had looked down upon earlier managed to hurt him to this extent. He couldn't stomach it. He wanted to prove to himself that it was only because he was arrogant and not careful that he got injured.

And it was true as well.

He completely lost track of the third opponent while he was immersed in trying to contend with the other two. He wanted to defeat the two so badly with an inferior martial arts technique to prove his superiority that he didn't even care to think about the third person he was supposed to be watching out for.

He knew from earlier that Jiang Chen was the sneakiest of the lot. He knew from earlier that Jiang Chen was the one who was the most dangerous of the trio. His instincts had told him that. He had even tried to take him out first.

But, somehow, he forgot about such a big threat in his pursuit to prove his strength. That was unacceptable to Duncan. That was sheer idiocy. That was not something he should have done. So, he paid the price for it.

Now that he paid the price, he wanted to see if his sword could handle the attack that made him bleed. Duncan had absolute confidence in his sword. He didn't think even a magic weapon with such attack power wielded by a Spirit Sea realm cultivator could beat it. The sword was where his true pride lay.

So, he wanted another go at the seal. This time, with his trusty sword in his hand.

On the other hand, Jiang Chen was the one who was affected by Duncan's calm demand for a rehash of his sneak attack. Looking at the confidence exuding from his eyes, Jiang Chen felt suffocated for no reason. He almost didn't want to believe what he was seeing.

This person was a madman. No one got injured this heavily and walks up to the attacker and demands for a repeat. Jiang Chen gnashed his teeth and looked at the confident Duncan in disbelief. He wanted to know what gave this madman the confidence to demand a repeat.

That's when he realized what Duncan's hands on his sword meant.

*****

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