by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
Long Chen was dragged over to the inner sect plaza by Meng Qi. Arriving there, he saw over two hundred thousand inner sect disciples drilling formations, and a Foundation Forging disciple was giving out orders for them.
Seeing that person, Long Chen frowned. He had seen that person before. He had been with Gao Xianyang back then.
“Long Chen, you’re late! What are you still waiting for? Hurry up and return to your faction!” ordered the Foundation Forging disciple.
“Brother Long!”
“Boss.”
Two people in the crowd immediately let out loud cries upon seeing Long Chen.
The two of them were Wilde and Yue Zifeng. They were both emotional to see him.
“Shut up! You still don’t know the slightest thing about proper conduct? Do you realize we’re in the midst of drills?” roared the Foundation Forging disciple.
Long Chen ignored him. Standing outside the formation, with his hands clasped behind his back, he coldly looked over the Dragonblood Legion.
That action infuriated the Foundation Forging disciple even more, and he shouted, “Long Chen, are you deaf?! I ordered you to return to your faction!”
“If you keep making such a racket, I’ll kill you.”
Long Chen glanced icily at the Foundation Forging disciple. He was no longer the old him. He had no fear for a mere rank five Foundation Forging Celestial.
Long Chen overlooked the Dragonblood Legion. “Who told you to do drills?”
“It was…” Guo Ran was stunned.
“Was it me?” asked Long Chen.
“No.”
“If it wasn’t, then why did you come here? Why drill such a dogshit formation? Are you trying to make your enemies laugh themselves to death? Furthermore, you’re all warriors of the Dragonblood Legion. Other than me, no one has the qualifications to order you to do anything. Tell me, when will you grow some brains instead of being treated like dogs for other people’s amusement?” scolded Long Chen.
Guo Ran didn’t make a sound. When he had received orders from the senior disciples to participate in drills with all the inner sect disciples, he hadn’t even thought about it before bringing everyone.
“Long Chen, you’re courting death!” roared the Foundation Forging disciple. Long Chen was actually looking down on him.
“Kill him.” Long Chen snorted. As a result, in front of all the inner sect disciples’ stunned gazes, the Dragonblood Legion’s warriors charged at the Foundation Forging disciple.
The first thing to arrive was a cold ray of Sword Qi. It was incomparably fast. Wherever it passed, it felt as if heaven and earth were being sliced apart.
The Foundation Forging disciple was horrified. He hadn’t expected this many people to attack him just because of Long Chen’s word. Furthermore, this sword attack was especially appalling.
He took out a huge shield. The shield’s runes lit up, unleashing a light barrier. A thick aura came from it that made it obvious that its defensive power was immense.
But once that Sword Qi arrived, blood splashed from his chest. The Sword Qi had gone through the shield and injured him.
Only after he was injured did half of the shield he was holding fall to the ground.
Everyone sucked in a cold gasp of air. That powerful shield had actually been cut through by Yue Zifeng’s Sword Qi.
Furthermore, that cut was completely flat and smooth. His sword attack shocked them all. Without that shield, the Foundation Forging disciple would probably have been cut in two.
“You’re all courting death! Tiger Whistling Qi Grand Art!”
The Foundation Forging disciple’s Heavenly Dao runes appeared, and a faint tiger whistle rang through the air.
Light circulated around him, and the pressure of a Foundation Forging expert appeared. People seemed to be able to see a roaring tiger in his runes.
“Die!”
But that Foundation Forging disciple had just unleashed his aura when a huge bone club swung over.
BOOM!
Wilde, who was in his Barbarian Blood Bronze Body, smashed his club at the Foundation Forging disciple. Despite doing his best to resist, he was still sent flying.
That club was too vicious. Just the whistling sound of it swinging through the air made people feel a stinging pain in their ears. As for the smashing sound, it resounded heavily in their eardrums, and they were unable to hear anything else for a while.
This one attack stupefied everyone, and they looked in horror at the thirty-meter Wilde. They had never seen such a giant.
At this time, Wilde was holding his bone club with an uncomprehending expression. Due to how much power he had used in that last attack, the only thing remaining of his bone club was the lower half. The rest of it had shattered.
As for the Foundation Forging disciple, he was even more miserable. Not only had his Heavenly Dao runes disappeared, but his body below his waist had also disappeared. His face was pale as paper and filled with terror.
Just now, if he hadn’t instinctively sensed the danger and raised his body, he would be dead already.
“Damn, Wilde actually knows how to use his energy now!”
Long Chen was delighted. When Wilde had attacked just now, Long Chen had clearly sensed his aura rapidly circulating. It wasn’t like before where he would strike with just pure power. For Wilde to be able to use such a technique with his intelligence, it was practically heaven-defying.
“A group of people courting death. I suppose none of you wish to live any longer!”
Right at this moment, a group of people appeared, and the person at the front was the senior generation’s heavenly genius, Gao Xianyang. As soon as he appeared, a terrifying pressure descended on everyone, shaking their hearts.
“If we don’t wish to live any longer, are you capable of helping us?” Long Chen indifferently asked. He walked to the front of the Dragonblood Legion, coldly facing Gao Xianyang.
The power distribution was already very obvious. The majority of the previous generation’s disciples had all joined the Law Enforcement Hall.
Even if Long Chen acted obedient, they would still make things hard on him. It was better to counterattack.
“Since you want to die, I will help you!” snorted Gao Xianyang. He raised his hand, but suddenly, another group of people appeared.
“Gao Xianyang, are you bullying the new disciples again? Is that the only ability you have?”
It was another group of Foundation Forging disciples. They were led by Su Mo and Mu Qingxuan, while the one speaking was Su Mo.
Su Mo and Mu Qingxuan were part of the Elder Hall’s power. They were enemies with Gao Xianyang and the others. Seeing them, Long Chen suddenly felt like this situation wasn’t as simple as he had thought. He was once more being used.
This was no coincidence. His suspicions were confirmed when the Elder Hall and Law Enforcement Hall’s Elders also appeared.
Following that, Liu Cang and Luo Fan also arrived. It seemed that Long Chen’s every action was within Liu Cang’s expectations. He supposed he had to admire that.
“Long Chen, you’ve disturbed the order of the sect, interrupted the drills, and shown no respect for your senior apprentice-brother. Do you accept your sins?” What others hadn’t expected was that the one making things hard for Long Chen was the Elder Hall Master.
How could Long Chen not understand his intentions? He directly said, “I am unconvinced by this exercise. I won’t watch as an idiot drills my brothers into trash so that they’ll die once they’re sent to the battlefield.”
“What nonsense! Working together with support disciples is mutually beneficial. If you cooperate well, it will multiply your combat strength and reduce your casualties. How are they being sent into the battlefield to die?” raged the Elder Hall Master.
Luo Fan couldn’t help being dumbfounded. Originally, he had thought he would have to have another verbal battle with the Elder Hall Master. But now the Elder Hall Master was saying everything he want
ed to say. He didn’t understand.
Long Chen couldn’t help but smile. Liu Cang had already paved a path for Long Chen with his words just now. He said, “You’re right, if they cooperate well, it will multiply our combat strength and reduce casualties. But arranging an idiot commander will only reduce our combat strength and multiply our casualties. I won’t bother with the others, but every member of the Dragonblood Legion is my brother or sister. I won’t allow them to be killed because of an idiot.”
For Long Chen to repeatedly call him an idiot infuriated the Foundation Forging disciple that had been drilling everyone. He was currently healing with the help of an Elder, but his injuries were too heavy. He couldn’t grow back half his body in such a short time.
He roared, “Who are you calling an idiot?! This formation was personally decided on by the Hall Master!”
“Sorry, then I was wrong. It’s not that you’re an idiot, but that your Hall Master is an idiot. If this kind of foolish formation was created by someone with a brain, then I really have to admire that someone,” said Long Chen.
Luo Fan’s expression sank. He was just about to speak when an icy voice rang out. “Then what do you need for you to be convinced?”
Chapter 1082 Formation
“Tower Department Head!”
All the Elders and disciples hastily bowed. However, the Tower Department Head didn’t reveal himself. Only his voice rang out in the air.
“I’m already convinced. A grand formation containing over two hundred thousand people that doesn’t care about each person’s individual combat strengths or their attributes, one that doesn’t differentiate offense or defense, has absolutely no use.
“Well, if you’re fighting smart opponents, then there’s a chance they might laugh themselves to death. But right now, we’re drilling against infernal devil beasts. Isn’t this just sending people to their deaths?
“Furthermore, a grand formation involving over two hundred thousand people would require several months of training just to grasp the basics, let alone using the formation to its advantages. Do we have that time?
“So I just can’t comprehend how an amateur who doesn’t know a thing about this possibly has the qualifications to interfere with such an important matter. Is this to intentionally harm the disciples? Disciple would like to ask the Tower Department Head for an explanation,” said Long Chen.
The Elder Hall Master smiled. If this wasn’t the wrong time, he would give Long Chen’s a thumbs-up. He was truly smart to immediately see through the clues to figure out what was going on.
In truth, Long Chen was unaware that in the Infernal Devil Abyss’s battlefield, whichever department had the most contributions would become the leader of the battlefield.
The Law Enforcement Hall’s Foundation Forging disciples were led by Gao Xianyang, and due to the Law Enforcement Hall’s immense wealth, they had quite a few powerful disciples.
Those disciples ended up being the main force on the battlefield, and so the battlefield’s tactics were arranged by them.
Originally, there should have been no problem. But this year, the Infernal Devil Abyss’s devil beasts had suddenly erupted, and there was no way for them to give the new disciples too much time to adapt. And so they were rushing along to get the disciples familiar with cooperating with each other.
However, the Law Enforcement Hall had no experience in that regard. The Elder Hall had been in charge before and were the true professionals, but the Law Enforcement Hall didn’t want to ask them for their advice. They directly dredged up a huge formation diagram, and this was the result.
The Elder Hall Master and its Elders were all anxious about that. This was completely unacceptable, and far too many disciples would be sacrificed like this. The Elders had asked their Hall Master what to do, but the Elder Hall Master had merely smiled and told them not to panic. There were still a few more days left, and he was waiting for something.
And Long Chen quickly came out of seclusion. The Elder Hall Master knew that his opportunity had come, and he had arranged this situation. Disturbing the Tower Department Head was also within his expectations, because he had long since made his preparations.
Long Chen didn’t disappoint him. Using the quickest, most direct and effective method, Long Chen got his results, and those were even better than what the Elder Hall Master had anticipated. In fact, he hadn’t even had to do anything. Everything was done perfectly by Long Chen.
“Starting today, the drilling of the new disciples will be left to the Elder Hall. The Law Enforcement Hall doesn’t need to participate. This isn’t your speciality,” said the Tower Department Head after a moment’s hesitation.
“Tower Department Head, according to the rule-!” Luo Fan was panicked now. This was equivalent to giving the authority to the Elder Hall. Then the Law Enforcement Hall’s influence over the new disciples would grow weaker and weaker.
“Rules are dead, while people are alive. Do you want to sacrifice the lives of our disciples because of a rule? There’s a good saying: if you have no ability, don’t act like you do. Long Chen is correct, this kind of idiotic formation is something even I would be amazed by if it was made by someone with a brain. There’s no room for discussion; starting now, the drilling of the new disciples is completely left up to the Elder Hall.” The Tower Department Head’s voice turned cold. His mood was clearly starting to drop.
Luo Fan was ashen with rage, but he didn’t say anything more. After viciously glaring at the Elder Hall Master for a moment and then icily glaring at Long Chen, he left.
His unconcealable killing intent shook all the disciples’ hearts. All of them could see that he had been on the verge of exploding.
Following him, Gao Xianyang also left. But before leaving, he cast a profound glance at Long Chen.
“The drills are over for today. We’ll continue tomorrow morning,” announced Li Changfeng.
“Well done, Long Chen.” Once all the disciples were gone, when it was only Su Mo, Mu Qingxuan, and a few others from the Elder Hall left, Su Mo gave Long Chen a thumbs-up.
“Hehe, it was all thanks to the Elder Hall Master’s arrangements,” said Long Chen.
The Elder Hall Master shook his head. “You little fellow, are you complaining about being used as a weapon?”
“I’m not complaining, but if such a thing happens again, can you warn me first? I’ll be able to handle it even better, and I’ll be more confident.” Long Chen smiled.
“Alright, let’s return to the Elder Hall. We need to have a discussion.”
Within the Elder Hall, there were only a few core Elders, the Hall Master, Long Chen, Su Mo, and Mu Qingxuan. This was Long Chen’s first time attending such a gathering.
“Su Mo, this is Long Chen’s first time. Explain the situation within the Infernal Devil Abyss,” said the Hall Master.
Su Mo said, “Alright. Currently, the situation in the Infernal Devil Abyss is very ominous. There are too many devil beasts, and although we’ve just forced back a wave, according to the information from the scouts, the next wave will come quickly, and it will probably have even larger numbers.
“With that trend in mind, the number of Foundation Forging disciples we have is a bit lacking. The accident last time that you encountered on the battlefield was truly because of that disciple’s carelessness, but another factor was that no one could have predicted that so many ninth rank devil beasts would suddenly appear. By the time they reacted, it was too late.
“So this time, the new disciples won’t be able to hide in the back. You’ll also have to appear on the frontlines. Although it hasn’t reached the point that we need you to charge into them, in order to distribute our combat power, the new disciples will also be guarding a defensive region.
“Even though there will be Foundation Forging disciples in front of you slaughtering the devil beasts, making the number of devil beasts that reach you much lower, ninth rank devil beasts will still frequently come at you.
“This time, you’ll have to be properly prepared. The support disciples have also been mobilized just to help handle this high-level battle. However, you don’t need to be too worried either. If the devil beasts are truly too strong this time, the sect will have you retreat and activate the stronghold to kill them.”
Long Chen nodded. As expected, the senior disciples at the front had it tough, and they needed the new disciples to participate as well.
“Long Chen, do you have any opinions?” asked Mu Qingxuan.
“No, no opinions. In any case, the only thing to do is to kill!” Long Chen shook his head.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m asking you if you have any battle tactics,” said Mu Qingxuan.
“When it comes to battle tactics, I only have some for my Dragonblood Legion. I have nothing for the other factions. I’m confident in my people; they are definitely the ones with the greatest combat power amongst the new disciples.
“So I don’t want you to insert a bunch of random people into my faction. At most, give me twenty or thirty healing disciples,” said Long Chen.
Within the Infernal Devil Abyss, being injured was the most dangerous thing. The devil beasts’ attacks all possessed some kind of special dark energy that greatly diminished the effectiveness of the Heavenly Dao Recovery. So healing experts were vital.
“I was originally thinking of having you lead the six factions. But it seems you have no interest in that,” said Liu Cang.
“It’s not that I have no interest, but that I don’t have the ability. Fan Song and Hu Guishan hate me to the core, so I can’t lead them. I’m not afraid of anything except being stabbed in the back at a critical moment. Then I’d go crazy and kill people.
“My guess is that if I became their leader, they would agree on the surface and then not put in any effort. In fact, they might intentionally block us. That won’t just harm others, but they will also harm the Dragonblood Legion. So I don’t want to be some leader. I just want to look after my Dragonblood Legion. Rather than having some untrustworthy battle comrades, I’d prefer to fight alone,” said Long Chen.
