by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
And so Long Chen was using his weakest flame to roast Zhao Wu. That was in order to warn everyone not to touch upon his taboos.
“Long Chen, stop. It’s not worth it for you to kill him!” Qing Yu couldn’t help but shout out when she saw how grave and icy he was.
Long Chen turned to glance at her. Although she was definitely too long-winded and pesky, she truly had a good heart.
“Thank you. But those who insult my mother, no matter who, must die.” Long Chen’s words were extremely resolute.
“Long Chen, you fool, even if you want to kill someone, you have to look at the situation! You’re ruining your future! Did you become stupid?!” Tang Wan-er was infuriated.
“Martial artists must have an unstoppable determination. No matter what obstacles block their path, they either have to step over them or smash them apart. They cannot avoid them. Otherwise, how could they maintain their resolution?
“Some obstacles can’t be avoided. And if you aren’t able to step over them, then you must completely smash them apart and viciously stamp them under your feet.” After saying that, Long Chen’s flame exploded in strength.
“NO… LONG CHEN, I’M SORRY… I BEG YOU, FORGIVE ME…!” Zhao Wu fearfully begged.
He had thought Long Chen wouldn’t dare kill him, and that was why he had said such vicious things. But now when he realized he was truly facing death, he was completely terrified.
“Sorry, you’re too late.”
Suddenly, his flame explosively grew to a height of dozens of meters, its heat causing even space to warp.
Then the flames completely faded and the world returned to calm. Long Chen was still in his previous position, but Zhao Wu had disappeared.
A breeze blew by, dragging away the last bits of ashes on his hand. A generation’s genius had disappeared from the world just like that.
“He died?!” People felt as if their hearts were about to stop. Long Chen had really killed Zhao Wu. Wasn’t that a provocation against the Xuantian Monastery?
“It’s over…” Tang Wan-er was incredibly upset. She even wanted to give Long Chen a beating. That scoundrel was usually so cunning, and yet he was such an idiot now.
Now that he had broken the monastery’s rules, even she couldn’t save him. Tang Wan-er couldn’t bear seeing such a genius be expelled just like that.
Qing Yu was just foolishly looking at Long Chen. Even she had nothing to say at this time. Long Chen was completely obstinate. Despite clearly knowing the consequences, he had still done such a thing.
Suddenly four figures appeared. Their white robes had the insignia of the Xuantian Monastery, the same robes as the senior apprentice-brothers who had inspected their registration cards.
“Long Chen, you’ve killed a fellow registrant. You are expelled,” one of them icily said.
The entire crowd was deathly silent. Looking from those four and back to Long Chen, they couldn’t say anything.
But there was one person who was excited. That would have to be Lei Qianshang. He wanted to see whether Long Chen could still stay so unperturbed while being expelled.
“Senior apprentice-brothers, actually-” Tang Wan-er wanted to go help Long Chen.
But that person waved his hand, “No need to explain anything. We’re just following the monastery’s rules. You don’t need to waste your breath.”
Tang Wan-er could only helplessly close her mouth. Her eyes reddened as she looked at Long Chen and she almost teared up.
“Long Chen, I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me, perhaps it wouldn’t have been like this.” Tang Wan-er was somewhat choked with emotion. If it weren’t for her, Long Chen wouldn’t have fought with Zhao Wu, and so this would never have happened.
Putting it bluntly, Long Chen had been implicated because of her. In other words, it was her fault he had ruined his life. She felt as if a knife was stabbing her heart.
“It’s not your fault. It’s just my luck was bad to run into a madman.” Long Chen shook his head.
But his words only made Tang Wan-er feel even worse. She wished Long Chen would curse her instead. Perhaps that would make her feel better than this.
“Shut up. You’ve broken the monastery’s rules, so you’ve already lost the right to participate in this trial. Hand over your registration card. You can get lost.” One of the four with a sword on his hip frowned impatiently.
“Who do you think you are to tell me to get lost?” snorted Long Chen disdainfully.
Long Chen’s words immediately caused everyone’s jaws to drop. What was Long Chen thinking? Had he really become crazy?
To dare contradict these senior apprentice-brothers, did he have a death wish? These senior apprentice-brothers were all true Tendon Transformation experts. Talking like that to them, he must really be tired of living.
That person’s expression changed and he narrowed his eyes. Slowly placing his hand on his sword hilt, he sinisterly said “If you want to die, then I’ll fulfill your wish. I guarantee you’ll be dead within three moves.”
“Even cannon fodder dares speak so arrogantly. If I advanced to the Tendon Transformation realm I guarantee I could kill you with a single slap.
“You ended up so frustrated that you’re so weak amongst your peers that you came here to show off to the weaker newcomers. Were you looking for a fairground?” snorted Long Chen.
That person angrily raged, “You’re asking for death.”
“That’s enough.”
Suddenly, the first person who had arrived waved his hand to stop that person. To Long Chen, he said, “Although you might be a talent, the monastery’s rules cannot be changed by anyone. So please leave.”
That person truly was regretful. He clearly sympathized with Long Chen so his words were still very polite.
“Senior apprentice-brother, junior wishes to know just what rule I have broken. Please tell me so that I can accept it wholeheartedly.” Long Chen also returned that politeness back to him.
“Senior apprentice-brother Chang, just make him leave. There’s no need to waste your time talking to such a long-winded troublemaker.” That man who had been contradicted by Long Chen complained.
“Did your mom and dad never teach you not to interrupt others while they are speaking? Do you not know that that’s rude?” Long Chen icily glared at him without the slightest bit of politeness.
He really was starting to be irritated with this man constantly targeting him. Those previous senior apprentice-brothers had mostly been extremely modest. How did some idiot like him pop up?
That person was just about to angrily charge forward when he was pulled back by the other two. Senior apprentice-brother Chang said to Long Chen, “According to the monastery’s rules, within the trial region, the disciples taking the trial cannot maliciously take another one’s life, or they will lose the right to participate in the trial.”
“Senior apprentice-brother, you really explained it well.” Long Chen raised his thumb.
“Stop boot-licking! Now that you can understand, hurry up and get lost!” said that previous person icily.
“Holy crap, do you know how to stay quiet?! I really am puzzled; did you just get out of a prison and your balls hurt so much that you have to butt into the conversation like this?!”
After saying that, Long Chen realized that the other senior apprentice-brothers all had strange expressions.
“Wait, did I really get it right? You really just got out of a prison?” Long Chen looked at him in disbelief.
“Bastard! Let go, I’ll kill him!” That person’s expression immediately became ashen and he angrily shouted.
“You two, bring junior apprentice-brother Wu to patrol a different area. Leave this place to me,” ordered senior apprentice-brother Chang helplessly.
Those two nodded and brought senior apprentice-brother Wu away. As he was dragged away by the other two, he glared at Long Chen, mouthing at him to wait for him.
For a moment, everyone’s expressions were extremely o
dd. The reverence they had had for their powerful senior apprentice-brothers had faded by quite a bit.
“Junior apprentice-brother Wu has a bad temperament and was forced into seclusion by the Elders. He only just came out yesterday… anyways, back to the topic. Long Chen, you must leave. Hopefully you won’t make it hard on me. That won’t be good for you.”
“Senior apprentice-brother Chang, according to the monastery’s rules, you cannot expel me.” Long Chen shook his head.
“Oh?” Senior apprentice-brother Chang was startled.
“According to the Xuantian Monastery’s trial regulations, third section, line seven: Within the trial region, disciples taking the trial cannot maliciously take other people’s lives, or they will lose the right to participate in the trial.
“I trust that senior apprentice-brother Chang should be very clear about that so I won’t say much. Within the section, just what does the word ‘malicious’ mean here? Can senior apprentice-brother Chang explain it to this junior?” asked Long Chen.
“This…” Senior apprentice-brother Chang paused for a moment. He understood Long Chen’s meaning. It was Zhao Wu who had provoked him first, and also maliciously insulted him.
Everything had been his own fault. So Long Chen had his own grounds to justify his killing of him and it couldn’t count as ‘maliciously’ killing.
“You have an argument there. But I can’t handle this matter. I’ll have to report it to my superiors and have them make a decision.” Senior apprentice-brother Chang hesitated.
This result was something no one had expected. Tang Wan-er’s eyes brightened. Seeing Long Chen return to his previous crafty, rascally self, she relaxed inside. It appeared she had underestimated this scoundrel.
At the same time, she thought of how she had actually begun to cry because of her guilt. Looking at Long Chen’s back, she was both ashamed and angered. She had ended up losing face today.
“No need to report it. Zhao Wu’s motive was wicked and so he has only himself to blame. No one else, including Long Chen, is at fault. The trial may continue.”
An aged voice rang out from a distant location.
Chapter 144 Fanning the Flames
That aged voice caused everyone to blink in surprise. Then a storm of commotion immediately erupted.
“They’re letting Long Chen off just like that?!”
No one could understand that. Although Long Chen might have a somewhat reasonable argument, how could he just be let off just like that?!
“That’s not fair!” One of Lei Qianshang’s people indignantly spoke out. Obviously, he was disappointed that the monastery hadn’t expelled Long Chen.
“Idiot, didn’t senior apprentice-brother Wan already explain that there is no such thing as fairness within the monastery? The majority of the monastery’s rules all favor the strong. Did you plug your ears and not hear?” Someone immediately retorted from Tang Wan-er’s faction. Obviously, that person considered Long Chen one of them.
Previously, they hadn’t had enough people present. Furthermore, Lei Qianshang’s side had possessed a powerful expert like Zhao Wu who had suppressed them, causing them to feel some anger inside. But then Long Chen had shown everyone he was a powerful expert in his own right. He was immediately treated as one of them. After all, the strong were always popular and welcomed.
Although what that person said wasn’t polite, it was definitely a fact that the monastery’s rules favored the strong. And once everyone thought of that, it immediately resolved that matter.
If they wanted to talk about absolute fairness, then Lei Qianshang, Tang Wan-er, and the others would all have to receive the same treatment as them. That wouldn’t be fair to them as monster-class geniuses.
“Yes, disciple understands.”
Senior apprentice-brother Chang respectfully bowed toward a distant mountain peak. He then smiled slightly at Long Chen. “Congratulations, you can continue participating in the trial. But next time take care. Wandering on the edge of the rules might be exciting, but one failure will be irrecoverable.”
This was a warning he gave him in goodwill. Although Long Chen had managed to wiggle out through a technicality, that kind of conduct was extremely dangerous. If he had been judged guilty, he would have lost all his future prospects, and that would definitely not have been worth it.
“Junior brother will engrave senior apprentice-brother Chang’s priceless words into my heart. This time junior brother was impulsive. Killing people is after all a low-class method. It’s not something a smart person would do.” Long Chen’s earnest words caused an admiring smile to appear on senior apprentice-brother Chang. Only a powerful expert who didn’t become arrogant could go further on his path.
“So next time when I run into such a situation, I definitely won’t kill him, but instead make him suffer a life worse than death. That way I can resolve my enmity without touching the monastery’s rules. That’s what a smart person would do.” Long Chen acted as if he had come to a sudden comprehension.
Senior apprentice-brother Chang stiffened, but he then shook his head. “You guys continue your trial. In any case, everything is up to yourselves.”
After saying that, he disappeared from the valley, leaving behind only the two factions.
Now that senior apprentice-brother Chang had left, Long Chen turned to look back at everyone who was staring at him. Tang Wan-er’s side was clearly much more amicable to him, while Lei Qianshang’s side was filled with hostility. But within that hostility was also a trace of fear.
Lei Qianshang was also staring at Long Chen, his eyes filled with a gloomy chill. His battle intent was soaring, and he might charge out to attack him at any moment.
“Tch, you blue-haired gorilla, can you not stare at me with such worshipful eyes? I, Long Chen, don’t like taking in any junior brothers, so give up on that dream.
“Furthermore, with that appearance of yours that even your grandparents couldn’t love, are you really chasing after our beautiful fairy sister Wan-er? You really are a horse who doesn’t even know his face is long; do you know how to feel a sense of shame?
“And have you never heard that animals of the same species should stick together? I’ve always wondered whether the workers of the monastery are really even taking their work seriously for them to have accepted an ugly gorilla like yourself,” insulted Long Chen.
Hearing him insult Lei Qianshang like this, the entire crowd was alarmed. Just what were Long Chen’s guts made out of?
He had only just managed to escape from being expelled from the monastery, but he now acted as if nothing had happened and was provoking a monster-class existence.
Both faction’s people all looked toward Lei Qianshang. His face had turned dark from rage.
Lei Qianshang’s skin had never been pale, so with his darkened expression, everyone suddenly saw that Long Chen’s vision truly had been correct; the current Lei Qianshang truly did look like a gorilla.
“Long Chen, don’t make trouble.” Tang Wan-er was actually already laughing inside, but she still kept herself composed on the outside as she quickly chided Long Chen.
She was afraid Lei Qianshang’s fury would explode out. Although Long Chen had displayed an extremely great strength just now, that didn’t mean he could stand shoulder to shoulder with a monster-class genius.
“Sister Wan-er, you don’t need to persuade me. I’m just taking your place to feel… wronged.” Long Chen used his sleeve to cover his face and put on a huge act of trying to hold back his sobs.
“You are all definitely monster-class existences. But four of you are human, so why did they have to add a gorilla amongst you? Isn’t that a complete curse against you guys?
“That’s especially the case for you and sister Zhiqiu. You are both fairies who have descended amongst us mere mortals. For this fellow to be considered one of you is practically a blasphemy!
“Sister Wan-er, you are the goddess of our hearts, grand and sacred. We definitely can’t allow o
thers tarnish your image; am I right everyone?!”
As he spoke, his voice became impassioned, filled with righteous indignation. His last, infectious words were shouted to Tang Wan-er’s people.
The majority of them were men. They had long since formed a sense of admiration for Tang Wan-er, considering her a heavenly existence. But they had never dared say anything.
Long Chen’s current words immediately resonated with them. Hearing his words, they all passionately shouted together:
“Yes, we won’t let anyone tarnish sister’s image!”
Long Chen laughed inside. He had to complete his act. With red eyes, he loudly shouted, “Sister, look! In us brothers’ hearts, you are our goddess, our religion!
“We won’t let anyone blaspheme you! But look, what does this gorilla do?! He doesn’t have the slightest understanding of what it means to be gentle with a beautiful woman! He actually dares fight against you!
“Your dirty gorilla claws have already committed a sin against the very heavens! We will never forgive you!”
Long Chen pointed to Lei Qianshang’s faction. “As for you small monkeys following this gorilla to make trouble, your sins also cannot be forgiven!
“Brothers, what are you still waiting for? Raise your fists and defend our holy goddess! Use your passion to display your sincerity to our goddess!
“We will heroically drive these monkeys out of our sight. Brothers, charge!”
By the time he finished speaking, Long Chen had already begun to charge toward Lei Qianshang’s faction. Those people were still in a daze when Long Chen arrived in front of them. A single fist smashed into one dazed youth.
When Tang Wan-er’s people saw Long Chen’s punch, their passions were completely ignited and they charged forward.
“We pledge our lives to defend sister Wan-er’s purity and defeat the gorilla!”
Who knew whether it was because of Long Chen’s words or whether they had always possessed such a desire, but as soon as one person shouted out, everyone repeated their battle cry: