"Have you made your choice?"
Ian Song looked at Neil Snow and asked calmly.
At this, Neil Snow steeled himself and shouted fiercely, "You Human traitor—if you have the guts, just kill me!"
"Fine, I'll oblige you!"
Ian Song smiled, raised his hand, and pointed a finger straight at Neil Snow's brow.
Instantly, Neil Snow's pupils contracted, terror flashed across his face, and he felt a sudden pang of regret.
Just then, a voice rang out: "Stop!"
At the same moment, a figure flashed into Cloud-Heaven Pavilion and struck at Ian Song's back with a palm.
"Bastard! How dare you sneak attack my boss—die!"
Drake Liu roared in fury and swung his fist at the figure, but before he could land the blow, the figure was already sent flying out of Cloud-Heaven Pavilion, crashed down outside, and spat out a mouthful of blood, collapsing in a heap.
As for Neil Snow, a bloody hole had appeared in his brow, and all the vitality in his body was rapidly fading away. In an instant, he collapsed to the ground as a lifeless corpse.
"Cough, cough!"
Jian Chen coughed up blood as he struggled to his feet, glaring at Ian Song inside Cloud-Heaven Pavilion. He asked coldly, "Why did you kill Neil Snow?"
Jian Chen, ranked first on the Hatchling Dragon Ranking, hails from Dragon-Sword Manor and is the current Sword Heir of the manor. He is personally close to Neil Snow, and today had just arrived in the Imperial Capital to attend the banquet at Cloud-Heaven Pavilion at Neil's invitation.
He hadn't expected to arrive only to find his friend in mortal danger, so he intervened without hesitation.
What he hadn't anticipated was that his opponent was far too powerful—not only did he fail to save Neil Snow, he was instead severely injured himself.
"Because I felt like it."
Ian Song shrugged indifferently.
"Very well!"
Jian Chen nodded slowly. Then, with a sound like a dragon's roar, his hand produced a two-meter-long snow-white divine sword.
"That's the Snow-Dragon Sword! One of the three divine swords of Dragon-Sword Manor!"
Inside Cloud-Heaven Pavilion, a young prodigy exclaimed in shock.
"Could he be Jian Chen, number one on the Hatchling Dragon Ranking?" another prodigy shouted excitedly.
Although Jian Chen is ranked first on the Hatchling Dragon Ranking, he keeps a very low profile. Plus, Dragon-Sword Manor is located in the far north of the Central Domain, so few people have ever seen his true face.
It's said Jian Chen's sword arts are so stunning that they move heaven and ghosts to tears. Now, with the Snow-Dragon Sword in hand, he's even more formidable. I wonder if he can kill that Evan Chu and avenge Neil Snow!
A prodigy muttered quietly.
Hearing this, the dozen or so prodigies who had come with Neil Snow all looked on with renewed hope.
"Jian Chen, please grant me your guidance!"
Jian Chen slowly raised the Snow-Dragon Sword, activating a secret technique to temporarily suppress his injuries, and called out to Ian Song.
"So you're Jian Chen from the Hatchling Dragon Ranking. I'm Evan Chu!"