“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 anyone 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.

Without Heavenly Fate Island to consider, he had no misgivings. Ji Wuming was capable of doing anything now. If he couldn’t kill Long Chen, he would do anything he could to bring Long Chen pain. He might even charge into the Eastern Wasteland and destroy the branch sects and the Phoenix Cry Empire. He might even charge into the Grand Xia Ancient Nation.

Once a person was crazy, that was when they were the most dangerous.

As for Yu Xiaoyun, Xie Wentian, Di Long, and the others, they had their own businesses and families to take care of. They didn’t dare to act like that. But Ji Wuming did. That was the reason Yu Xiaoyun had wanted to save Ji Wuming at that time. Regretfully, he didn’t succeed.

Only then did Qu Jianying, Evilmoon, and the others understand why Long Chen had gone to such trouble.

For three days, Long Chen mostly had a bowl of wine in his hand. He drank and drank, celebrating with the disciples of the Martial Heaven Alliance. The elders kept watching, letting the disciples properly relax. They were the hope of the continent.

After three days, Long Chen looked at a person sitting by himself looking into the distance. Long Chen smiled faintly and pushed his gourd of wine toward him.

“Mo Nian, drink some more.”

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