by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
As long as Yu Xiaoyun had chosen to fight, Long Chen would have instantly been exposed. But Yu Xiaoyun actually hadn’t fought. Evilmoon couldn’t understand that decision.
“Tch, do you really think Yu Xiaoyun is capable of ordering around that rabble? You’re overthinking it. They are only allied together for profit. When the profit exceeds the danger, anyone would want to fight. But when the profit is equal to the danger, people hesitate, and when the danger exceeds the profit, who would still foolishly charge in? As for why I didn’t bother killing Di Feng, Xie Luo, and Yan Wei, it was to leave them the option of retreating. Di Feng is Mo Nian’s prey, while Xie Luo and Yan Wei are no longer qualified to be viewed as opponents by me. The destruction of Heavenly Fate Island has caused the best intimidation factor that I could hope for, and unless they are one hundred percent confident in killing me and the Dragonblood Legion, those people won’t attack. They know that if we escape, we’ll become their living nightmares. Having destroyed Heavenly Fate Island, I’ve already achieved my goal here. The various powers on the continent have all been hurt and are tired, while the Martial Heaven Alliance’s morale is soaring. If Yu Xiaoyun forced a fight, he would have had an eighty percent chance of failure, and there would have been no way back from that failure. I understand him, and he will only take action when he has an eighty percent chance or more of success. That’s why I’m sure that even if I had slapped him in the face, he still would have endured,” chortled Long Chen.
“I don’t believe it,” said Evilmoon.
“You don’t believe it because you don’t understand people’s hearts. Yu Xiaoyun’s ability to endure is greater than you imagine. Based on my understanding of him, he won’t bet all his chips on one thing. He definitely has backups, so he is definitely unwilling to stake everything on this gamble.” After saying that, Long Chen couldn’t bother arguing with Evilmoon because Qu Jianying and the others were coming over to him.
“Haha, little fellow, for a disciple like you to appear in my Heaven Splitting Battle Sect, I can rest in peace even if I die!” The old man laughed and slammed his hand on Long Chen’s shoulder. As a result, Long Chen paled. It felt like a million needles were stabbing his shoulder.
“You old bastard, learn how to hit lighter. After such a battle, Long Chen’s definitely injured!” raged Qu Jianying, pushing aside the old man.
The old man was immediately embarrassed. He had been witnessing Long Chen’s strong side and hadn’t thought that he was injured.
“Long Chen, you really are a dragon amongst men. No wonder Zhiqiu refuses to take up my Divine Ice Palace.” At this moment, Daoist Heavenly Feather also walked over. The neutral camp’s experts followed.
“Greetings, senior.” Long Chen hastily bowed. That was Ye Zhiqiu’s master and his senior. He couldn’t be rude. As a result of this bow, he was filled with even more pain.
“Here.” Daoist Heavenly Feather extended a hand, helping Long Chen up. The instant that she touched him, a black and white whirlpool enveloped Long Chen.
“Life and death energy, the Samsara Dao!”
Qu Jianying and the others let out startled cries. Daoist Heavenly Feather truly had reached the fourth step of Netherpassage. She could control Samsara energy. Before this, it had just been a guess.
Long Chen felt some kind of energy circulate within his body, erasing the curse of karmic luck. Once it was gone, the primal chaos space’s recovery abilities kicked in, making him feel much more comfortable.
“Many thanks, senior.”
“Don’t worry about it. All I did was wipe away the injury of the karmic luck. That’s not enough to be touched by karma as you’re relying entirely on yourself for the rest,” said Daoist Heavenly Feather. “I hope you can treat my disciple properly.”
Hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu blushed slightly. Daoist Heavenly Feather had always treated her as her own daughter, but she had refused to join the Divine Ice Palace, instead only recognizing her as a personal master, but not accepting her position. She held Daoist Heavenly Feather’s arm, not saying anything.
“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll make sure that no one can bully her, including myself.” Long Chen patted his chest.
“Good. However, Zhiqiu still has to return with me one more time. I have to pass down the rest of the Divine Ice Heavenly Scripture to her. After she learns it, she can accompany you forever instead of keeping this old woman company,” said Daoist Heavenly Feather with a faint smile.
“Master…” Ye Zhiqiu finally couldn’t hold back her tears.
“It’s fine. It was just a joke. Say goodbye to your boyfriend. We have to go.” Daoist Heavenly Feather wiped away her tears.
A master was like a parent. It truly was such a case. Sometimes, a master might be even more than a parent. A parent passed down their bloodline, but it was the master who passed down their life’s learning.
For a person to encounter a good master was difficult. For a master to find a good disciple was even harder. This kind of opportunity could be looked for but couldn’t be forced.
“Long Chen, I…” Ye Zhiqiu didn’t know what to say. She looked at Long Chen. She had never been good with words.
“Don’t worry, things will get better. Go with your master. I’ll come find you with senior apprentice-sister Qu later,” comforted Long Chen.
“Little brat, you’re looking for another beating?” demanded Qu Jianying.
Ye Zhiqiu left sadly, waving goodbye to Long Chen, Meng Qi, Chu Yao, Tang Wan-er, and the others. The two of them vanished.
“Little brat, if you call her senior apprentice-sister, doesn’t that mean you have to call me uncle-in-law?” The old man suddenly smacked Long Chen on the butt.
It was a very light beat, as the old man was in a good mood. He didn’t even remember to hate Qu Jianying.
“Who dares to beat my brother Long?!”
A giant bone club came swinging at the old man, eliciting startled cries.
The old man jumped in shock and hastily blocked with his cane, only to be blown into the distance.
“You dare to hit my brother Long?!” Wilde roared angrily, charging over.
Long Chen jumped, hastily holding him back and shouted, “Wilde, don’t be rude. He’s on our side!”
In his current state, Long Chen was powerless to hold Wilde back. Wilde dragged him into the distance before finally stopping. “On our side? Then why would he hit you?”
“We’re just playing around. Hurry and apologize to the old man,” said Long Chen.
“Old man, I was wrong. How about this? If you feel angry, you can beat me a couple of times too.” Wilde squatted on the ground and covered his head.
Seeing that position, Long Chen sniffed emotionally. Back in the Phoenix Cry Empire, Wilde had been like this as well, simply letting people beat him without hitting back. If anyone was angry, they could beat him to vent.
It had been many years since then, and the two of them were no longer who they were back then. But those feelings had not changed. Wilde was still that simple large fellow.
The old man came crawling out of the ground. Just now, he had been caught off guard. Wilde’s power was absolutely terrifying.
The old man had a temper, but seeing Wilde acting like a child that had made a mistake, he couldn’t bear to actually strike him.
For Long Chen to have such a brother, the old man was happy. Wilde was so powerful that he had fought with pure brute strength against the leader of the ancient races, Long Juncang, without being beaten. That kind of combat power was enough for him to be arrogant.
“Alright, I’m fine. Child, get up.” The old man helped Wilde up. Rubbing Wilde’s arm that was thicker than a normal person’s waist, the old man sighed. This Wilde was like a simple child, but he was second only to Long Chen in the Dragonblood Legion.
Seeing that the old man wasn’t angry, Bao Buping and Chang Hao had a thought and laughingly pulled Wilde over.
Bao Buping said, “Brother, our old
man has a bad temper. He might say he’s not angry but really be furious inside.”
“Then how can I make him not mad?” Wilde immediately felt bad.
“Let me tell you, what you have to do is beat him, and then he won’t be angry. In fact, he’ll be so happy that he praises you. Remember, just raise your club and beat him, ignoring whatever he says! Aiya!”
Two miserable screams rang out as a black cane smacked two buttocks. The two of them went flying into the clouds.
Chapter 1990 The Reason
“Little bastards, you want to scheme against me? Just wait until we get home! I’ll make sure flowers bloom on your butts!” snorted the old man.
Bao Buping and Chang Hao’s sinister appearances had drawn the old man’s attention, and having eavesdropped, he had heard everything that they said. He would make sure they learned what an old man’s fury was all about.
Through this mess, everyone couldn’t help laughing. The Heaven Splitting Battle Sect was truly a marvel of the cultivation world.
“Long Chen, congratulations on making your name shake the continent. In the future, I doubt there will be many people who dare to go against you.” At this time, Hu Feng came up.
“Thank you, but I sense that while I’ll have fewer battles to fight, their scale will be much greater. I wonder if brother Hu wants to join my Dragonblood Legion? If everyone was together, wouldn’t that be livelier?” Long Chen smiled.
Even Long Chen felt a sense of danger from Hu Feng, who had an indescribable air around him. Long Chen couldn’t see through him.
Evilmoon had once more told him that in this world, the only two people that it couldn’t see the golden fate lines of were Long Chen and Hu Feng.
Long Chen’s golden fate lines simply didn’t exist, so Evilmoon always said that he was a marvel that shouldn’t exist in this world.
As for Hu Feng’s golden fate lines, they would appear and then fade away, sometimes being strong and sometimes being weak. There was no way for it to get a clear reading on them. Hence, it couldn’t estimate his true power.
Hu Feng courteously said, “Brother Long, I was just a scholar who had a coincidental encounter that turned me into the heir of the Gambling Heavenly Dao. In truth, I have no aspirations. I just wish to cultivate peacefully and continue passing on the inheritance of the Gambling Heavenly Dao to future generations. As for dominating the Martial Heaven Continent, I don’t have such ambitions.”
“Brother Hu, these words of yours are off. As the chosen heir to the Gambling Heavenly Dao, you have your own important destiny. The rise and fall of the Heavenly Daos is not something people can avoid. A scholar exists to talk reason with others. But cultivation exists to smack reason into unreasonable people. Brother Hu, if you really wished to be free, you would have become an unfettered scholar immersed in literature. You wouldn’t pay any attention to outside matters. However, you chose to cultivate. Isn’t that because you were forced to? I am the same. Everyone else is the same. Everyone hopes to live with dignity and get along with everyone else so that we can live in peace. But reality is cruel. The reason I, Long Chen, have to get strong is because I have no other choice. If I wasn’t strong, I would have been killed. If you wish to live happily on your own, you will most likely be disappointed very quickly, because troubles will continuously come to find you until you are unable to handle them,” said Long Chen confidently.
Of course he was confident. Although he couldn’t get a reading on Hu Feng’s power, his years of experience allowed him to judge Hu Feng’s character. Hu Feng might talk in a refined and non-combative way while having a scholar’s lonely pride, but he was actually very righteous deep inside. Otherwise, he wouldn't have saved people that he didn’t know in the Eastern Xuan City, even clashing against True Immortal Jiaoqi.
“Many thanks for your words, but I would rather live free and unconstrained,” said Hu Feng a bit apologetically.
“That’s fine. I trust that soon there will come a day when we can fight side by side,” said Long Chen, not forcing the matter.
Hu Feng bowed slightly to Qu Jianying and the others, and left.
Watching Hu Feng leave, Qu Jianying sighed, “Whoever can obtain his help would be capable of taking over half the continent. Long Chen, work hard on pulling him in. Pill Valley is doing everything they can to get him on their side.”
“Let him be. Whether he’s a friend or foe will be decided by a single thought of his. I’m not afraid of any enemy,” said Long Chen.
“Exactly. You need this kind of heroism. Who cares about the Gambling Heavenly Dao? If he becomes an enemy, just hack him with your blade.” The old man greatly approved of this attitude.
“Hmph, what is an obstinate old man who only knows how to run head-first into a problem jumping into this conversation for?” snorted Qu Jianying.
Clearly, Qu Jianying was still deeply hurt by the old man’s anger toward her over their misunderstanding. Seeing him acting like he had completely forgotten about it, her anger flared.
Aiya!
Long Chen’s heart skipped a beat. Before he could say anything, the old man roared, “You’re the one who expelled Long Chen for the Martial Heaven Alliance! You might have done it because of your worries for the people on the continent, but what about Long Chen and his Dragonblood Legion? They’re still children, but you treat them like this? Aren’t you worried about affecting their sharpness and their Dao-hearts? Don’t act like your big picture is what matters most all the time. All I know is that I won’t let my children suffer like that. Everyone sees what Long Chen has done for the Martial Heaven Alliance, yet this is how you treat him. If Long Chen wasn’t so hard-working, this decision of yours would have thrown the Martial Heaven Alliance into a chaos that it would never be able to recover from, yet you wish to scold me? I’m not talking to you any longer! We’re leaving!”
The old man swung his sleeve and left gloomily. Boss Bao and the others could only dejectedly follow. Bao Buping and Chang Hao made a gesture to Long Chen, indicating that when he had time, he could come to the Heaven Splitting Battle Sect to drink.
Long Chen helplessly looked from Qu Jianying to the old man, not knowing what to say.
The old man had an unyielding character, but he was also very protective. If someone dared to bully his child, he would go all-out against them.
Today had been a good day, and this rare chance for the two of them to get along had ended in shouting.
Even when Long Chen had called Qu Jianying senior apprentice-sister Qu as a joke, the old man had called himself uncle-in-law. The meaning behind that was clear. He was willing to let things go, which was extremely rare for the obstinate old man.
However, Qu Jianying had once more brought up that subject, reigniting the flames of his anger.
Even Long Chen was angry now. Why couldn’t the two of them talk properly? Did they have to hurt each other with such words? Why bother?
At this time, the neutral camp’s people also began to say goodbye. Qu Jianying had to suppress her emotions and bid them farewell.
Qi Fengxue and Qi Xuan also came over to say goodbye to Long Chen. Qi Xuan held on to Long Chen for a long time, not wanting to leave. She wanted to drag Long Chen back to the Heaven Reaching Ancient Castle as a guest.
In the end, it was Qi Fengxue who dragged her away. Tang Wan-er glared at Long Chen. She didn’t say anything, but the meaning behind that glare was clear to anyone who saw it: she would be looking for a complete explanation once everyone was gone.
Long Chen was speechless. He had been thinking of how to resolve the old man’s squabbles with Qu Jianying, when troubles appeared on his own side as well.
He also saw that Liu Ruyan was currently whispering something into Tang Wan-er’s ear. Based on her expression, it definitely wasn’t anything good. She was probably intentionally sowing dissension.
Once the neutral camp’s people began to scatter, Long Chen noticed that a certain person never appeared. Zi Yan had left without a
nyone noticing.
He had wanted to say thanks to her. If it hadn’t been for her taking action in the Yin Yang World when they were being chased down by the Blood race, they would have been in trouble. But Zi Yan had left just like this. For some reason, Long Chen felt a bit empty inside.
With everyone else gone, Qu Jianying led everyone to the Martial Heaven Alliance’s headquarters. Countless experts came out to congratulate them.
The majority of those people had just been sitting on the sidelines the entire time. Now they revealed their hypocritical smiles once more and subtly indicated that they would stand on the side of the Martial Heaven Alliance in the future.
Even some sects that had betrayed the Martial Heaven Alliance had sent a few people to test the waters.
As a result, whether it was those Righteous experts that had just watched without doing anything or those that had betrayed them, they were all shooed away.
Originally, many people within the Martial Heaven Alliance had been thinking of accepting them. Even if they couldn’t be used for anything important, it was good just to not have them stand on the side of Pill Valley. If they were forced, they would become enemies.
However, Long Chen had firmly opposed that action. The Martial Heaven Alliance had gone through a tough tribulation to remove this trash from their midst. What was left behind was something stronger. If they were to accept them back amongst them, all their pain and suffering would have been in vain.
Who would poison themselves again after cutting off the part of them that was poisoned? He told those people to scram. If they couldn’t stand together with the Martial Heaven Alliance, then they wouldn’t be protected by the Martial Heaven Alliance.
Long Chen’s decision was very domineering, but it was fully supported by Qu Jianying. After shooing those people off, the Martial Heaven Alliance celebrated for three days.
When Qu Jianying and the others asked why Long Chen had risked everything to kill Ji Wuming, his response was that Ji Wuming was the weakest in terms of combat power amongst the leaders of the major factions, but he posed the greatest danger.