— Martial Exchange Grand Stage —

Wei Chen overlooked the stadium. The people had all descended into chaos, each of them trying to evacuate as quickly as possible. Everyone knew that if the Murong Clan main battleship arrived, this place would be the first stop it would visit.

He then looked back toward the direction where the Azure River Capital City should be. The city was not far from here. With the speed of a battleship and its ability to reduce travel distance through powerful arrays, it would take less than half a day for the Murong Clan battleship to reach it.

Wei Chen guessed that if those bastards from the Murong Clan arrived here and found no one, they would immediately launch a retaliatory attack on the nearest city, which was none other than the Azure River Capital City.

Hua Zuixian's face was dark. He was strong, that was certain, but he alone could not prevail against the entire Murong Clan army.

"Everyone," Hua Zuixian said as he looked at the people from the Immortal Dream Garden. "Please evacuate. I will stay here and use my life to pay for my mistake. I hope they will be satisfied with my life alone and return to their clan." His voice was filled with determination.

"Uncle Hua…" Dream Butterfly said reluctantly. She had only known Hua Zuixian for a short time, yet she felt as if he were a close relative. Around him, she felt a long lost sense of safety, as though she had returned to her youth when she still lived with her mother and father, before her nightmare began.

"Why is it all doom and gloom all of a sudden? Even if the Murong Clan comes, do you think they can fight all of us?" Wei Chen asked, a confident smile still hanging on his lips.

"Lord Wei…" Hope lit up in Dream Butterfly's eyes. In her naive thoughts, her lord Wei could overcome anything.

Seeing the hope in Dream Butterfly's eyes, Hua Zuixian let out a long sigh. He did not want to crush the girl's hope, but for her safety, he had to speak.

"Little Butterfly," he said. "You do not understand the implications and the strength of the forces on this continent. You may not know this, but no force wants to fight the Murong Clan. Aside from the Murong Clan's own strength, their battle formations and battleships are said to be unrivaled on the continent."

"The Murong Clan inherited the battleship blueprints from the golden age, taken from the secret vault of the former Azure Dragon Dynasty. Their battleships can easily tear through sect defensive formations."

"The cost of fighting against the Murong Clan is far too high. No one wants to see half their sect destroyed by the first strike of a Murong Clan battleship annihilation cannon,"

"To fight against the Murong Clan army and their battleships, we would need at least three powerful forces within the Azure River Province to band together in defense. Each of them has their own agenda, so no sect would come forward to oppose them," Hua Zuixian concluded.

Wei Chen listened to Hua Zuixian's explanation, but he was unimpressed. He spoke in response.

"No offense, but let me ask you this." Wei Chen paused and looked deeply into Hua Zuixian's eyes.

"Even if you sacrifice yourself, do you really think those bastards from the Murong Clan would stop at your life? Do you think they would obediently crawl back to their holes and leave us alone?" Wei Chen said with open contempt toward the Murong Clan. He did not even bother cutting the live feed.

"Come on, all of us know very well how they love to act tough and domineering. If we do not beat the crap out of them until they are half dead, they will never recognize their mistakes."

"To tell you the truth, that dead young master was in the wrong. He strutted in here as if he owned the place and tried to kill someone under your protection, hoping to walk away scot free just because his father was some big d*ck. Come on, if any average dude did that, they would be beaten to death the moment they dared to raise a fuss."

Wei Chen showed zero respect for the Murong Clan as he continued, gesturing for Hua Zuixian and for the audience watching through the screen to pay attention.

"One should not act like a prick and expect zero consequences. Even if they are deranged, consequences will always come. Those who get hit by their own consequences and then scream innocence or continue to act high and mighty are all idiots. This should be…"

He paused, his gesture clearly signaling that what he was about to say was important.

"Common sense," Wei Chen concluded.

…

At the Murong Clan, Murong Xuanji's face darkened as Wei Chen openly mocked his clan, his dead son, and even himself.

"Wei Chen!" Murong Xuanji spat out the name through gritted teeth. In his mind, he had already sentenced Wei Chen to death more than a thousand times.

"What are you doing!? Hurry up! All warriors, we are going to burn down the Azure River Province! Bring all of our warriors and our three battleships!" Murong Xuanji commanded his right-hand man.

"But Patriarch, if we bring out three battleships, the council will not think that we are going there just to take revenge for the young master. They will think this is an act of war, and they will…" The butler tried to offer advice but was cut off midway.

"Let them come! Besides, His Majesty the Divine Vermilion Bird Emperor is also considering taking the Primordial Secret Realm within the Azure River Province. We are merely helping His Majesty. If we can seize control of that Primordial Secret Realm, His Majesty will surely send reinforcements to support us!" Murong Xuanji reasoned.

Hearing this, the butler could not help but nod and cup his fist. "At once, Patriarch. I will hurry everyone!" the butler said before quickly leaving to carry out the command.

…

At the stadium, Hua Zuixian looked at Wei Chen as if he were looking at an alien. Yes, he understood what Wei Chen was talking about and even agreed with it in his heart, but to actually act on it?

How could he fight against them? He alone could not stand against the Murong Clan, and the factions within the Azure River Province were not unified. There was no hope of resisting the invasion of the Murong Clan.

But something told him that the strange man in front of him had a way to resolve this. Even so, the moment that thought arose, Hua Zuixian hesitated.

It was the only explanation that made sense for why this man was fearless, but still…

"Do you have a way to fight them?" Hua Zuixian asked.

"Of course, I do have a way." Wei Chen nodded and continued. "But first, I need you to help me do something." After saying this, Wei Chen cut the feed.

The screen suddenly went black, and Wei Chen's chibi version bowed toward the audience. Behind him was a text that said:

"We have some technical difficulties. The broadcast will continue after we resolve it. Please be patient."

The audience looked on in exasperation. What kind of technical difficulty was this? Was it not you who cut the feed? And what about us? Besides you, lonely as you are, is there anyone else even helping you?

…

After listening to Wei Chen, Hua Zuixian nodded and promised to help him with the task. This time, he needed to believe in Wei Chen. Besides, even if Wei Chen's plan did not work out, by following it he could at least bring Dream Butterfly away from the soon to be battlefield, such as the Azure River Capital City.

After Wei Chen confirmed that Hua Zuixian had brought the Immortal Dream Garden's flying ark to the destination he specified, Wei Chen took out his U-Phone and dialed a certain number.

"Yes? Jian Heng here. What do you need, Brother Wei?" Jian Heng's voice rang out from the phone.

Wei Chen still wore a confident smile.

"Vice Sect Leader Jian, if I say that I have a way to break your sweetheart out of her eternal ice, what would you offer in exchange?" Wei Chen asked.

Jian Heng fell silent for a moment, as if he could not believe what he had just heard. Then, a moment later, his determined voice came from the other side.

"If you truly have a way, other than betraying the favor of the sect leader from the upper realm who helped me, I will do anything. Even if it is beyond my power, I will still do it," Jian Heng said with a heavy heart.

Hearing this, Wei Chen's confident smile widened. "Relax, Vice Sect Leader Jian. I will not ask you for that. I only need you to do something for me, and it is tied to the safety of the province."

"If that is the case, then speak, and I shall do it," Jian Heng said with determination.

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