Jiang Chen didn’t fear Mad Fiend even in close-quarters combat, but among the myriad of techniques he’d mastered, the melee ones were the least advanced.

On the other hand, Mad Fiend most preferred fighting in close distance. However, he was prevented from tapping into his full power because of Jiang Chen’s golden bell.

Their fight was caught in a gridlock.

Mad Fiend couldn’t break out of the golden bell’s restraint, and Jiang Chen couldn’t find an opening to attack with his Holy Dragon Bow. After being refined, the bell’s power was no joke.

Even the old man’s golden staff couldn’t break the bell’s restraint, which made him antsy. 

“Are you going to fight me properly, kid? Or are you just gonna rely on your damn bell?”

Jiang Chen smiled faintly. “In the martial dao world, all cultivators have their strengths. I have many means of attack against you. Why would I choose the one you prefer?”

The old man cried in anger, “Don’t forget that I’m the defender of the fourth palace! I get to decide whether you pass!”

Jiang Chen chuckled. “I’ll find a way.”

“Hmph, dream on!” The old man brandished his staff. “You’re never going to leave this palace without defeating me!”

The old man was rather put out. He wanted the challenger to meet him head-on and fight him in close quarters without abandon.

In truth, Jiang Chen wasn’t opposed to that, but he could tell the old man’s staff was not to be underestimated. He had a good number of fine weapons in his own possession, but none could rival the staff.

That was why he wasn’t willing to play the old man’s game.

Although he’d acquired some demigod level weapons some time ago from the empyrean experts he’d killed, none of them had caught his eye. He’d either given them away, or put them aside without refining them.

In the martial dao world, instant connection was important for picking both weapons and cultivation methods. Anything he didn’t take an instant liking to weren’t meant for him.

Of all the demigod and empyrean weapons he’d acquired, the golden bell was the only one that caught his fancy. The others, he wasn’t interested in at all.

Therefore, he hadn’t upgraded any weapons other than the ones he’d been using since he was at emperor realm and great emperor, such as the Pentecolor Divine Swords.

The swords had been a gift from Emperor Peafowl. When he was at great emperor, they were the finest weapons he could get his hands on, and they were still useful at initial empyrean realm. However, after reaching intermediate empyrean or later, advanced empyrean, the swords wouldn’t be powerful enough.

Jiang Chen had also refined a few swords for the Heavenly Chalice Sword Formation.

They were of good quality, but their full power could only be reached in concert with the formation, as that was how they’d been designed. Used in a one-on-one fight, the swords fell short. To put it simply, they were specialized for group attack rather than single-target attack.

He had some other weapons like the nameless sword, but due to his rapid progress, he really didn’t have any weapons that could go toe-to-toe with the golden staff at the moment.

The Holy Dragon Bow ranked as high as the staff, but it was a ranged weapon and not suitable for melee battle.

Ah, that reminded him.

The bow was just one of the items he’d acquired from the ancient Primosanct Sect. There was another item he’d gotten - a giant writing brush called True Spirit Post.

It was the perfect item to create glyphs and formations with. He hadn’t had the chance to use it yet. It seemed to be a great weapon as well. According to the Primosanct Sect’s records, the brush could be used as a spear.

Jiang Chen looked at the insistently blabbering old man and laughed. “Senior, you’re just trying to talk me into fighting you in close quarters. It’s unbecoming of a senior to use your power to bully others.”

“Me? Bully you?” The old man glared at him. “Watch your tongue, kid. If I’d wanted to take advantage of you, I would’ve fought you with my full strength. Do you think you’d have the slightest hope of passing the challenge then?”

The old man was naturally much more powerful than he’d let on.

He was here because of an oath he sworn to the master of the Veluriyam Pagoda. He had to fight the challenger at the challenger’s level rather than his own peak strength, unless the challenger was as powerful as he was.

He couldn’t go back on his oath.

Jiang Chen chuckled. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what do you mean?” the old man asked in an irritated tone.

“Your staff, of course. I don’t have a weapon that’s as good as yours, which puts me at a disadvantage. How am I supposed to fight you? You have your staff. I have my golden bell for defense and my bow for offense. I’ve simply been fighting you with my advantages.”

“You don’t have a good weapon?” The old man paused. He’d actually never considered the possibility before.

He might be unhinged, but he was proud and a man of his word. He didn’t want to be thought of as a bully taking advantage of a young man. “Hmph, what do you want then? Are we to fight without weapons?”

Jiang Chen shrugged. “I’m game if that’s the case.”

“A physical brawl?” muttered the old man. “That’s so primitive. It’s as crude as the way regular villagers fight. What’s the fun in that?”

“Then we can only use all the techniques available to us and see who wins.”

“If you don’t have a weapon, kid, I can give you one,” the old man suddenly suggested.

Jiang Chen didn’t know how good the weapon gifted by the old man would be. He shook his head. “It seems that you want us to fight with weapons. Well, I do have one, but I haven’t refined it before. I need some time to get familiar with it.”

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