by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
BOOM!
Life and death energy exploded in the void, causing the world to shake. Qu Jianying and Di Long had exchanged blows once more, causing the void to collapse.
“The two of you are both leaders of your alliances. You should take the big picture into consideration. If the two of you were to fight, it wouldn’t be good for the continent.”
Their fighting had disturbed four elders. They appeared in the air, three men and one woman. They were also Netherpassage experts.
The four of them separated Di Long and Qu Jianying. They had clearly come to mediate things.
After all, if two Netherpassage experts were to fight all-out, it was unknown how many lives would be extinguished in Clearwind City.
“Di Long, you really do think you can bully me. For the big picture, I’ve made concessions to you over and over again, but you continue to press me. Your son set down a trap to kill my two most outstanding disciples. If you don’t give me an explanation, I will immediately issue the Martial Heaven Order to have a match to the death with you! Aren’t you constantly probing my bottom line? Then have a good look at it! When I destroy your ancient family alliance, let’s see if those allies behind you will actually help you!” Qu Jianying was still enraged. The first commander and second commander’s deaths were not so easily brushed off.
Although Qu Jianying appeared tough on the outside, she had a soft spot inside, especially for her disciples. She cared deeply for them.
That was especially true of the first and second commanders. In their youth, they had had nothing to rely on and could only rely on themselves. Qu Jianying had pitied them and accepted them into the Martial Heaven Alliance.
However, their talent had then bloomed. Even Qu Jianying hadn’t expected them to have such accomplishments. As they continued to grow, Qu Jianying had even viewed them as the hope of the Martial Heaven Alliance, viewing them as her own children.
Now that the two of them had died, she felt a heart-wrenching pain, as well as shame. She should never have made concessions to the ancient family alliance, as this was what she had gotten in return.
“Alliance head Qu is just speaking words of anger. If the Martial Heaven Alliance were to go to war against the ancient family alliance, it would only benefit others. Ignoring the Corrupt path for now, the other powers on the continent would be very pleased with such a thing. Wouldn’t you then have fallen for their sinister scheme? Let’s consider the big picture,” said one of the four elders amicably.
What he said was the truth. The Martial Heaven Alliance’s power far surpassed the ancient family alliance, but if they were to fight to the death, they would take heavy losses.
With both of them weakened, ignoring what the Corrupt path would do, just Pill Valley, the ancient races, and the Xuan Beasts would start to devour their territory. This kind of war did not benefit the Martial Heaven Alliance, the ancient family alliance, or the continent.
“The big picture? Because of the big picture, I’ve been made a fool, my own disciples dying miserable deaths. You think I give a damn about your big picture?” raged Qu Jianying.
Di Long’s expression was also extremely ugly. He had completely infuriated Qu Jianying now, and that wasn’t what he wanted.
He had not expected for Qu Jianying’s two strongest commanders to die here. He was also stifling his rage.
“This trap isn’t targeted toward the Martial Heaven Alliance. Furthermore, I’m aware of my son’s intelligence. He couldn’t have come up with such a meticulous trap,” said Di Long darkly.
He understood his immature and arrogant son far too well. His intelligence was not high enough to come up with such a trap.
Di Long was not a fool, and he had also investigated the soul of one of Di Xin’s followers while fighting. He had seen what had happened and smelled the scent of a trap.
Although saying this made it sound like his son was an idiot who had been used, there was no other way to resolve this. Qu Jianying was enraged. If the Martial Heaven Alliance were to go to war with the ancient family alliance, that would be huge.
This trap made Di Long feel a sense of unease. He had been schemed against by others. No one had told him that this would happen.
That was what made him uneasy, that no one had told him about this. It was just as Qu Jianying said: if their two alliances were to go to war, would those so-called allies of his really help him, or would they just stand to the side and reap the benefits?
“Everyone, let’s not randomly guess. This is no scheme or trap. Mister Di Xin invited me to Clearwind City, saying that Long Chen had gone there. Considering my enmity with him, I decided to come to challenge him. But as soon as I saw mister Di Xin, I also saw Di Ruyun say a few flirtatious words to that woman. Unexpectedly, she immediately became hostile and challenged Di Ruyun to a deathmatch. She couldn’t even handle a few jokes and then killed herself. As a result, her big brother tried to take vengeance for her, but he was a joke. The human race is so laughable and weak. Unable to defeat Di Ruyun, the big brother committed suicide as well. The human race really is skilled in this.” Xiang Yunfei, who hadn’t spoken this entire time, suddenly opened his mouth.
This explanation made everyone present think that this might be a coincidence because no trap could be so perfect.
However, Qu Jianying and Di Long did not think like that. They both smelled something that they didn’t like. They already had suspicions about the person who had planned this. To make a trap so perfect, perhaps the only possibility was Heavenly Fate Island.
“Long Chen, you came for me, so if you have any guts, you’ll release Di Xin and have a real fight against me.” Xiang Yunfei pointed the bone spear in his hand at Long Chen.
After having Long Chen ignore him multiple times, Xiang Yunfei was humiliated. Even a normal person wouldn’t be able to endure such a thing, let alone an expert of his level. If he didn’t find a way to beat Long Chen, he would become a laughingstock.
Long Chen ignored Xiang Yunfei. He was looking at the sky. It was unknown what he was thinking.
“Long Chen, release my son! If you release him, I can let this matter go. Otherwise…” Di Xin’s mother shouted angrily upon seeing Long Chen not reply.
“Ahh!”
Before she was even done speaking, Di Xin’s other arm separated from his body. It was torn off by Long Chen.
“You still have three chances left to threaten me,” said Long Chen indifferently.
Three chances? Everyone quickly understood. Long Chen was talking about Di Xin’s two legs and his head. His ruthlessness gave them chills.
“You…!” Di Xin’s mother trembled with rage. She was less than three hundred meters from Long Chen, but she didn’t dare to attack. She didn’t have a life and death domain as powerful as Di Long, and couldn’t make it so that he couldn’t move.
If she tried to attack, Long Chen would definitely be able to kill Di Xin. She was caught between a rock and a hard place. She clenched her teeth, looking like she wanted to bite Long Chen to death.
“Xiang Yunfei, your enmity with Long Chen can be resolved later. Let’s deal with the important things first. Everyone, you have your own heads, so don’t fall for other people’s traps,” advised the old woman.
“That’s right, this matter is clear. As for the one behind the scenes controlling things, I’m sure everyone already has their own thoughts as to who that is. If you allow this conflict to grow, you’ll have really fallen for this trap. These children are innocent and are merely being used. There’s no need to meaninglessly increase the number of sacrifices,” advised another elder. His status was not low, and amongst these four Netherpassage experts, he was the leader. Furthermore, his words were very reasonable.
Qu Jianying didn’t reply. Instead, she looked at Long Chen. Following that, everyone’s gazes concentrated on him.
Chapter 1777 He Is Still A Child
Qu Jianying wished to kill Di Long right now. Unfortunately as long as her brain was funct
ional, she wouldn’t do something so foolish.
Clearly, Di Xin had been used by someone else. That fool’s idiocy had forced these two huge powers to an extremely dangerous precipice.
Qu Jianying was filled with hatred, but her mind told her that she couldn’t continue like this. If they fought, they would fall into the enemies’ trap, and it wouldn’t be a situation that they could recover from.
However, she was also unwilling to just swallow this. Her head felt a bit messy, so she turned to Long Chen, leaving this decision to him.
This action caused all the experts’ gazes to fall on Long Chen.
“Long Chen.” Di Xin’s mother once more opened her mouth.
“You shut up!” A furious roar rang out.
This roar didn’t come from Long Chen but from Di Long. He bitterly hated this wife of his. His genius son had been raised into an idiot by her, and she didn’t even realize that it was her fault.
If she further antagonized Long Chen, considering his fearless nature, who could guarantee what he would do?
At this time, the head elder gently said, “Long Chen, you are an overlord in your own right. Even at such a young age, you swept through the Eastern Xuan Region. In the junior generation, no one can contend against you. Most recently, even with countless other geniuses competing, you managed to win first place on the Devil Slaughter Rankings, winning karmic luck for the Righteous path. You are an intelligent person, and you can also see that this is simply a trap. You know their goal.”
“Whether it’s a trap has nothing to do with me. As for their goal, I don’t care.” Long Chen shook his head.
“However, you can’t possibly not care about the millions and millions of lives within the ancient family alliance and the Martial Heaven Alliance. If these two powers were to clash, how many innocent people would lose their lives? As a member of the Righteous path, you have your own responsibility and mission. You cannot decide things based on your temper.”
“Hahaha!” Long Chen suddenly laughed disdainfully.
“Why laugh?” The elder did not get angry. However, the other Netherpassage experts’ expressions sank slightly, dissatisfied with Long Chen’s arrogance.
After all, they were Netherpassage experts, people who were on the same level as the patriarchs of the large sects. Just speaking with a Soul Transformation disciple was a loss of status on their part.
As for Long Chen’s attitude, it was clear that he didn’t care about their status. However, it also wasn’t a convenient situation for them to say anything.
“A family had nine sons. The hardworking one died first because he worked himself to death. The lazy one lived long due to his laziness. The smart one was tired due to his intelligence. The ignorant one was leisurely due to his…” Long Chen began to recite a common story said in the Phoenix Cry Empire. It was something a wise man had written.
Its meaning was that there were nine sons in a prosperous family. There was a smart one, a dumb one, a hardworking one, and a lazy one. As a result, of the outstanding ones, the hardest working one died of exhaustion, and the smartest one grew ill from taking on so much and died.
The sensible ones constantly had to look after their brothers that weren’t sensible, and their dejection eventually led to illness that caused their deaths.
Once they were dead, the remaining ones, who had grown dependent on them, lost their ability to survive on their own. As a result, all nine died.
It was an exaggerated story, but it did contain wisdom. In real life, those who were most outstanding had to endure greater pressure, and it resulted in them suffering more.
As for those who caused trouble, their parents had to pamper them and pay special attention to them. It was like the strong had to let others take advantage of them until they died from it. That was a morbid logic.
Now Long Chen was bringing up this story from the secular world here. It formed a resonance with many people, and they understood what he was saying: just how much had our alliance leader suffered because she was smart enough to care about the big picture?
As for Di Long, he was also the leader of his alliance, so why should he get to be willful and stupid while Qu Jianying suffered? This was trouble that he had provoked, so he had to pay for it.
Everyone was silent. Long Chen’s words contained great power.
“I understand what you mean, but sometimes the process isn’t important. Instead, a peaceful conclusion is what matters. Isn’t that all we want in the end? Exercising forbearance and yielding is sometimes the wisest decision that can win you the most things,” said the elder.
“The conclusion? Senior, have you seen the conclusion? Have you managed to see the future of the continent? You’re right, the process isn’t important. What’s important is the result. But before the result appears, who can say whether an action is right or wrong? If you really could see the conclusion, you’d have probably long since ascended instead of staying in this world,” said Long Chen.
“What nonsense, senior Dong Ming is speaking to you out of the kindness of his heart, telling you not to go too far. Pay attention to your status!” Finally, one of the other Netherpassage elders could not bear with Long Chen’s attitude.
“So, unable to defeat someone in logic, you use your seniority to suppress them. Because your seniority is greater, your words are then the correct ones? Whoever’s cultivation base is the strongest has the authority to speak? If that’s the case, then why bother? Let’s just fight. After living so many years, it seems maggots have infested your brain.” Long Chen’s angrily laughed. This kind of person was precisely the kind he looked down upon the most.
“You little bastard!” That Netherpassage elder was about to attack when he was held back by the leader.
“Long Chen, now is not the time to get hot-headed...”
“My head is not hot. This idiot Di Xin is just an ant in my eyes and isn’t qualified to affect my emotions. I’m only killing him because of a promise to the first commander, a promise that only men would understand. His beloved sister was worth ten times his own life, but he was unable to avenge her, so he entrusted this to me. To tell the truth, I’m glad the alliance head hasn’t decided to concede again. If she had, I would be leaving the Martial Heaven Alliance. Today, no one can stop me from killing Di Xin. Even if I had to toss my life away here, I would kill him to accomplish what the first commander entrusted me with.”
His words shook people’s hearts. He seemed like a god as he stood there, filled with unstoppable determination. The heavens could crumble, the earth could shatter, but his determination would not waver. His determination would not be the slightest bit shaken even if blood soaked this land and bones rained from the sky.
“Senior apprentice-brother Long Chen…” Qingqing held the first and second commanders’ corpses, her tears once more streaming. No wonder the first commander had trusted Long Chen so much. Perhaps only men could understand this kind of trust.
The two of them hadn’t even known each other. With just one look, because of just one promise, Long Chen was willing to go to the ends of the earth.
“Long Chen…” Beside Qingqing was Ye Lingshan. She bit her lip, also crying. This was obstinate, something an ordinary person could not understand, but it was moving.
Everyone was silent, their hearts shaking. Today’s men had fallen in terms of honor, but Long Chen had not. Because of one promise, he was willing to become enemies with multiple Netherpassage experts. This was a real expert, a real hero.
“As expected, the same character as the old man.”
Qu Jianying cursed inside as she stared at Long Chen. She felt profoundly helpless over this character of his. She was never able to be like that.
She was the leader of the Martial Heaven Alliance and had to do what was best for the Martial Heaven Alliance. A favor, an emotional tie would only affect her decisions minutely.
That was why Qu Jianying was unable to be as willful as she wished to be. A single bad mistake
on her part could cost countless lives. She couldn’t bear something like that.
“Long Chen, you have to be clear. There are two kinds of duty in this world. This promise of yours is a small one, but you have a much greater responsibility to this world and its billions of lives. That’s true righteousness, so don’t make this conflict worse. You’ve already killed Di Ruyun and crippled Di Xin. You’ve already avenged the two of them. Why must you kill Di Xin and worsen things?” asked the elder.
However, as he was advising him, Qu Jianying’s expression changed slightly. This elder voice was heavy and gentle as he spoke. He was using the life and death energy of a Netherpassage expert in a hypnotic manner.
This hypnotic art was something that Netherpassage experts used when teaching their disciples. It contained their understanding of life and death, as well as Heavenly Dao energy. It formed a resonance with the people hearing it, making them approve of their words.
Qu Jianying was about to speak when the other elders looked at her profoundly.
“Alliance head, that Di Xin’s status is special. He can be crippled, but he definitely cannot be allowed to be killed. You understand,” said one of the elders coldly to Qu Jianying.
Qu Jianying looked at Long Chen, struggling. Long Chen’s expression was currently softening. Clearly, he was affected by the elder’s voice. Her thoughts were in a mess, and she didn’t know what she should do.
She truly did want to be willful and get her vengeance. But if she did choose to be willful, the pain and suffering of this decision would be something others were forced to bear.
“Long Chen, a person should take the long view. Do things to get better. In the future, the Martial Heaven Alliance and the ancient family alliance can be united against the Corrupt path. There won’t be any more enmity between the two sides. Releasing Di Xin is releasing all the enmity between them. Your own life will become much easier,” continued the elder.
“That’s right. Di Xin is still a child, so release him.” Suddenly, Di Xin’s mother also spoke. The elders’ expressions changed, but fortunately, she was also using the same hypnotic art.
