by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
“You little fellow, how did you do this?” Li Tianxuan immediately pelted Long Chen with questions when he arrived.
“What are you talking about?” asked Long Chen.
“Don’t act dumb, when I went to the ancient races to save you, everything was already over. What I want to know is, how were you able to heavily injure a Netherpassage expert?” demanded Li Tianxuan. Even with his intelligence, he was unable to comprehend how Long Chen had been able to half destroy the ancient races in the face of a Netherpassage expert.
The news that Long Chen had slain Xiang Yunfei’s clone in the Eastern Xuan City and was being hunted down by a Netherpassage expert had quickly reached Li Tianxuan. At that time, he had been extremely worried for Long Chen.
Although Li Tianxuan knew that Long Chen was a Heaven-Defier and wouldn’t die at the hands of another person, there were no absolutes in this world. Who could guarantee that the Heavenly Daos wouldn’t use the hands of others to kill him?
By the time he received this news, Long Chen had already been being chased for a while. To catch up to them was not possible. So after thinking about it, Li Tianxuan had decided to bring the Xuantian Tower directly to the ancient races.
When the patriarch asked him why he was confident in going to the ancient races, Li Tianxuan explanation was the following: Long Chen could not defeat a Netherpassage expert, so he had only two options. One was to return to the Xuantian Dao Sect, leaving that expert unable to do anything to him.
The more brazen option was to go to the ancient races’ home and make it so the Netherpassage expert had to be worried about hitting his own people. Then, it would be easier for Long Chen to survive and cause trouble there.
The first option was the safest, but Li Tianxuan was profoundly aware of Long Chen’s character. With his temper, he would definitely make sure to launch a vicious counterattack on whoever was hunting him.
So Li Tianxuan had been confident that Long Chen would go to the territory of the ancient races and make a huge ruckus. That Netherpassage expert would be forced to hold back, giving them time to go save him.
Li Tianxuan’s intelligence had accurately predicted Long Chen’s thoughts and actions. The only area his prediction had failed was the conclusion of the events. That was because the conclusion was absolutely outrageous.
Long Chen laughed and waved his hand. He brought out the corpse of the Sword Spine Armor Dragon. This place was the Xuantian Tower’s space, and the Xuantian Tower could easily control the room to fit a giant mountain.
Li Tianxuan and the patriarch both jumped in shock. “A Sword Spine Armor Dragon!”
Long Chen gave a simple explanation of how he had encountered and subdued the Sword Spine Armor Dragon, however, he didn’t mention the original devil race.
“No wonder. The Seven Star Dragon Tortoise is known to have an unrivaled defense, but their offensive power isn’t very great. As for the Sword Spine Armor Dragon, it is famed for being a perfect punching bag with monstrous defense. When defense is up against defense, it becomes a battle of attrition.” Li Tianxuan finally understood how the ancient races had been half destroyed.
“Xuan Master, are there any movements on the Martial Heaven Continent?” Long Chen was worried about Li Tianxuan pressing him for details. Then he might have to tell the dishonorable story of his time as a bandit. So he immediately changed the subject.
“There are many movements lately, but it’s the matter of the Devil Slaughter Rankings that is the greatest. The images of you and Guo Ran fighting the devil creatures have been publicly released. Countless experts are saying that the two of you cheated, and that you didn’t rely on your personal power, so your rankings should be canceled,” sighed Li Tianxuan.
In the end, there were still some traitors in the Xuantian Dao Sect. Of the one hundred and eighty thousand disciples that had participated in the battle of the Devil Abyss, less than eighty thousand had returned. But some of those people had betrayed the sect.
The images of Guo Ran unleashing black water had been publicly released, and people said that Guo Ran was relying on nothing more than a cheat. His own power was garbage, and he wasn’t qualified to enter the top ten.
As for Long Chen taking first place, it had been done with the help of a mysterious expert from the original devil race. Although his final attack had been truly stunning, it had only had such great effect because those Life Star level devil creatures had been unable to defend. It didn’t prove that Long Chen really had the ability to kill them all, so it was also cheating.
Most importantly, the appearance of an expert from the original devil race caused countless people to point out that Long Chen had to be colluding with the original devil race. Before the truth of that matter was made clear, Long Chen should have his ranking removed.
“What’s so important about the Devil Slaughter Rankings that they want to remove us?” asked Long Chen. He hadn’t considered the actual rankings to matter.
“The Devil Slaughter Rankings are far more important than you think. As for why they’re important, there are two reasons. One reason is that the heavenly geniuses who can enter the top ten will be blessed by the Devil Slaughter Divine Tablet. Based on their rankings, they will each be bestowed a portion of the Martial Heaven Continent’s karmic luck,” said Li Tianxuan.
“The Martial Heaven Continent’s karmic luck?” This was Long Chen’s first time hearing such a thing.
Li Tianxuan nodded. “The Devil Slaughter Divine Tablet was personally made by Sovereign Yun Shang. A Sovereign’s wisdom and divine abilities are not things the likes of us can comprehend. In the past, the top ten heavenly geniuses of the Devil Slaughter Rankings were bestowed with the continent’s karmic luck after obtaining the recognition of the Devil Slaughter Divine Tablet. That allowed their manifestations to fully awaken, and thanks to the favor of the Heavenly Daos, their luck would become absolutely heaven-defying. The benefits of this are far greater than you can imagine, which is also why the alliance head would order you to get into the top ten. The karmic luck you’re bestowed won’t just help you, but it will also have a secondary effect on the Martial Heaven Alliance. So getting this karmic luck isn’t just for you, but also the Xuantian Dao Sect, the Martial Heaven Alliance, and even the entire Righteous path. It is very important.”
“Aren’t the Devil Slaughter Rankings under the control of the alliance head?” asked Long Chen suddenly.
Li Tianxuan looked at Long Chen with a laughing smile. “I know you’re thinking of something wrong again. Do you really think the alliance head would allow embezzlement? Let me tell you then, the Devil Slaughter Divine Tablet isn’t under anyone’s control. The alliance head can at most communicate with it a bit. As for the rankings and the distribution of karmic luck, it is all done by the Devil Slaughter Divine Tablet, and no one can change its decisions. A Sovereign is a supreme existence whose power suppresses all. Their power transcends time. You actually thought you could cheat something that a Sovereign created?”
Li Tianxuan was practically speechless. Long Chen really had some crazy thoughts to even dare to think of something like this.
“Then are these people making such a fuss to force the alliance head to declare her position? They want her to tell this matter to the Devil Slaughter Divine Tablet so that it cancels my rankings?” asked Long Chen.
“No. The Devil Slaughter Divine Tablet was created by a Sovereign and is connected to the Heavenly Daos. It can overlook this entire world. Even how many devil creatures you killed in the Devil Abyss was accurately kept tracked by it. Who could possibly trick it? The reason they’re making so much fuss is to control public opinion. According to legends, when over half the people, or more accurately, when over half of the experts qualified to fight for the Devil Slaughter Rankings disagree with your rankings, your name will be removed from the Devil Slaughter Rankings,” said Li Tianxuan somewhat solemnly.
“What the fuck, there’s such a thing? Then aren’t I definitely doomed?”
Long Chen was speechless. What kind of crap was that? Wasn’t that the real cheating?
Pill Valley, the ancient races, the ancient family alliance, the Xuan Beasts, they all hated him. Besides, who knew how many people in the Righteous path wanted him dead. Let alone half, probably over eighty percent of the experts on the continent hated him.
These experts had to have reached the level of power allowing them to compete for the Devil Slaughter Rankings. In other words, they had to have reached the Soul Transformation realm.
It had to be known that such elite experts were all under the control of the various large powers. What made Long Chen most speechless was that the Devil Slaughter Divine Tablet counted the votes of all the intelligent lifeforms on the continent. In other words, even the Corrupt path’s voice was counted. Would the Corrupt path support him? Long Chen almost coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“Don’t be so dejected. Perhaps things will take a turn for the better when the time comes. Furthermore, no matter what, you’ve at least made your name famous,” comforted Li Tianxuan.
This attempt at comfort was weak and feeble. However, it was the result of helplessness. Long Chen had too many enemies. At this time, they would definitely be against him.
“Whatever, I’m already used to my bad luck. However, that little fellow Guo Ran will probably cry. He was looking forward to the reward. He was planning on relying on that to reach the pinnacle of his life,” said Long Chen helplessly. Most likely, this would be quite a blow to Guo Ran.
His will was too weak. He probably wouldn’t be able to endure such a blow.
“Whatever, he can handle it. As for me, I can’t live off luck. Its power is the most unreliable. According to what you said, there’s another reward other than karmic luck…? Actually, I don't want to know, in any case, it has nothing to do with me,” said Long Chen irritably.
Although Long Chen said that he didn’t care, he couldn’t possibly not care. He had clearly won his ranking through his power, but others could make it not count with just a word. He really had an urge to kill.
“Don’t be too dejected. The alliance head has been constantly on the move during this time. She has a great deal of influence amongst the senior generation, so she’ll help you think of something,” said Li Tianxuan.
“You can tell the alliance head that she doesn’t have to waste the effort. My bad luck is heaven-defying, so there’s no point,” sighed Long Chen.
Long Chen was very grateful to this fiery-tempered senior who treated him so incredibly well. That was why he didn’t want her to spend so much effort for him. It would be a blow to her when things inevitably failed.
“Man proposes, but god disposes. Sometimes you still have to make an effort, even if you think it’s useless. Every little bit of effort is an increase in the odds of success. What if the one-in-ten-thousand chance actually happens?”
“Hahaha, this one-in-ten-thousand chance was well said,” laughed Long Chen. That was exactly what he was thinking. His chances were really far below one percent.
Saying goodbye to Li Tianxuan and the patriarch, Long Chen returned to Crouching Dragon Mountain. Luck was the least dependable thing. Raising power was more important. That was what was worth depending on.
Chapter 1750 Timely Long Chen
Long Chen returned to Crouching Dragon Mountain through a transportation formation. At this time, the gates to Crouching Dragon Mountain were tightly sealed, and they were covered by its personal formation to prevent others from entering.
Other than Long Chen, the rest of the Dragonblood Legion was in seclusion the entire time. No one had come out.
Long Chen had just returned when he heard a heaven-shaking roar. He saw ten thousand cold beams of light pierce into the sky. That sharpness gave even him a chill.
He saw the Dragonblood warriors wielding sharp blades. They moved like divine dragons, maintaining a grand formation that could transform with the blink of an eye. Long Chen was dazzled.
Over twelve thousand Dragonblood warriors were moving smoothly, sometimes like a wriggling dragon, sometimes like a grand god. Sometimes, they would transform to become a blooming lotus filling the air. The changes in their formations were so quick that Long Chen felt overwhelmed.
“Haha, boss has returned! Taste my blade!”
Guo Ran, who had been at the front directing everyone, was the first to see Long Chen. Without a delay, his armor lit up and he charged at Long Chen.
“What, you want to be the boss now?” laughed Long Chen. He also wanted to know how Guo Ran had improved during this time. He faced Guo Ran’s slash with a fist.
BOOM!
Long Chen was shocked. Guo Ran’s saber didn’t budge from his punch. Instead, blood trickled down his fist. Guo Ran’s saber was actually able to injure him.
The thing that shocked him the most was that power was surging out of Guo Ran’s saber in endless waves that continuously forced him back.
“Haha, boss, I am no longer the old Guo Ran! Summon your divine ring. Otherwise, if I accidentally defeat you, I’ll be embarrassed!” laughed Guo Ran. That pleased expression of his didn’t have the slightest embarrassment.
“Alright, then watch out.”
Long Chen’s divine ring appeared, and green scales covered his body. His divine ring slowly revolved, giving him endless power.
At first, Long Chen hadn’t dared to use his full power for fear of injuring Guo Ran, but he found that as he increased his power, Guo Ran’s power also rose.
That startled him. He was already using eighty percent of his power. This was already the most power he had used when fighting Xiang Yunfei, but Guo Ran was still able to fight evenly against him.
“Nice, you have some power. Then I won’t stand on courtesy.” Long Chen was about to unleash his full power, and while Guo Ran didn’t say anything, the distant Dragonblood warriors suddenly started letting out shouts.
“Stop, quickly!”
Only then did Long Chen notice that those Dragonblood warriors were pale and covered in sweat.
He immediately understood. “You actually managed to transfer energy through space?”
At this time, he noticed that everyone’s armor was glowing ever so slightly. It was very subtle. In an intense battle where everyone was fighting, it definitely wouldn’t be noticed.
“Amazing. Even I was fooled. Well done.” Long Chen laughed delightedly.
He really had fallen for it, thinking that Guo Ran had somehow managed to come up with some crazy idea and make something capable of storing energy and supporting him in battle.
Long Chen hadn’t expected that Guo Ran had been silently borrowing the power of the entire Dragonblood Legion. Long Chen hadn’t sensed it at all.
“Haha, boss, how is it? Your brothers haven’t been training for nothing during this time,” laughed Guo Ran, insufferably arrogant. That pleased expression made others have an urge to slap him.
However, Long Chen had no choice but to admit that the Dragonblood Legion’s combat power had indeed gone through a heaven-toppling transformation.
“It’s just regretful that our brothers have been training for the better part of a day and exhausted a large amount of their energy, or today I could have properly exchanged a few blows with boss.” Guo Ran rubbed his fists.
In front of Long Chen, Guo Ran was never able to conceal what he had developed. He always had to show him the new things he had come up with. He couldn’t endure not showing him.
“Boss!”
Xia Chen also walked over and greeted Long Chen. At first, this kind of address had sounded a bit forced, but after being with everyone else for longer, he now called Long Chen boss very smoothly.
“It’s been hard on you.” Long Chen patted Xia Chen on the shoulder. He knew Xia Chen was a very prideful person.
A large part of the reason why he was working so hard to train the Dragonblood Legion was due to his pride. He wanted to prove his power, to prove that after he joined the Dragonblood L
egion, the Dragonblood Legion’s power would completely transform.
How could Long Chen not see through that thought? It was just that Xia Chen’s talent was even greater than he had expected. The battle formations he had just witnessed were absolutely astounding.
If the current Dragonblood Legion were to face the Devil Abyss’s eruption again, then even without Long Chen, they would be able to easily slaughter those devil creatures. That was the difference.
“Actually, the connecting runes that Guo Ran and I designed have many flaws. During the energy transfer, a great deal is wasted. Actually, the majority of the energy is wasted. As for Guo Ran’s armor, although it was reforged with a new formation embedded within, the amount of energy it can endure is limited. So there is even more energy wasted there as well when our brothers’ energy is transferred to him,” said Xia Chen apologetically. Clearly, this was a problem that had been troubling him the entire time. He hadn’t been able to solve it.
“Just being able to connect everyone into a formation is already amazing. At the very least, it’ll increase the power of the Dragonblood Cross Slash by ten times,” said Guo Ran.
After being together for so long, Guo Ran had understood Xia Chen’s nature. He was a very serious person who didn’t like the slightest flaws in what he did.
However, just raising the Dragonblood Legion’s power to this extent was enough for everyone to prostrate themselves before him. It had won him all their respect.
“There’s probably no way to avoid some energy waste during the transfer process, unless you can do it like Chu Yao and have our spirits connect. The Wood Spirit Union is capable of perfectly transferring energy, but it’s impossible for everyone’s spiritual fluctuations to be so close…” Long Chen smiled comfortingly. He was already very satisfied with Xia Chen. Formation cultivators were truly terrifying.
“Wood Spirit Union? Sharing souls? Ah, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that!” Xia Chen suddenly let out a startled cry.
“What? You want to…?” Guo Ran also thought of something.
