Long Chen’s eyes narrowed as he looked upon this white-robed man. However, he didn’t show any great astonishment.

As soon as he had arrived, he had immediately sensed a pair of eyes focused on him. Originally, there wasn’t much hostility in them, but as he killed the Tendon Transformation experts one after another, that hostility became increasingly dense.

In the end, Long Chen could clearly sense that this person was behind the fourth prince. But for that person to be able to so easily receive one of his blows was definitely surprising.

The white-robed man’s appearance shocked everyone. Long Tianxiao hastily rushed to Long Chen’s side, gravely keeping an eye on the white-robed man.

“You’re the mastermind behind the scenes?” Long Chen asked icily.

“I suppose.”

“Were you the one who messed with my body?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know just what exactly you’re talking about, but in any case, don’t think so highly of yourself. I don’t need to scheme against a little ant.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a white light suddenly appeared over his hand. Bending a single finger and flicking it on his sword, Long Chen felt the entire broadsword shake and he was sent flying back dozens of meters before stabilizing.

Now Long Chen was greatly alarmed. That white-robed man hadn’t revealed the slightest bit of his cultivation base. By just using a single finger’s strength, his ‘attack’ was on the same level as a full force blow from a Tendon Transformation expert.

“You’re from a sect?” Long Tianxiao was completely bewildered.

“Someone about to die doesn’t need to know that much,” replied the white-robed man indifferently.

Long Tianxiao gravely looked at him. He quietly whispered to Long Chen, “Chen-er, I’ll go block him. You run as far as you can.”

Seeing that Long Chen didn’t understand, he quietly continued, “The strength of people from the sects is far from what you can imagine. Us ordinary people are completely unable to compete against them. Their combat ability is incomparably terrifying.”

Long Chen shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t do that.”

Seeing Long Tianxiao’s face sink, Long Chen didn’t wait for him to say anything before continuing, “I’ve already grown up. I have the right to make my own decisions. I don’t want to be a coward living a life worse than death.”

Long Tianxiao had been about to argue, but hearing Long Chen put it that way and looking at his unwavering determination, his words got stuck midway and he swallowed them back down.

Looking at his son, he was filled with admiration. Smiling slightly, he patted Long Chen on the shoulders. “Ok, then we father and son will fight side by side.”

The white-robed man merely watched icily without the slightest bit of impatience as the two whispered to each other. He turned to the fourth prince, “Take your people and get lost. Your life still has some value, so don’t get caught up in this and die.”

Although his words were a bit hurtful, in the fourth prince’s eyes, they rang out like heavenly salvation. He hastily retreated.

This huge matter had been completely messed up by him. He had thought that he would already be unable to live any longer, not expecting the white-robed man to let him off.

But the white-robed man also knew that this matter wasn’t the fourth prince’s fault. The fourth prince had done everything extremely meticulously. Even he deeply admired the fourth prince’s schemes.

The fourth prince’s failure this time was entirely due to luck. Their luck had been too lacking for them to run into Long Chen. But in any case, no one else could have done a better job than the fourth prince.

Although he was a bit unwilling, the white-robed man still maintained his calm. Because of Long Chen, the plans would have to change a bit.

However, as long as he killed this father-son duo, the plan could still continue. He would just need to delay for a bit longer. It wasn’t a big deal.

“Your goodbye time is up. You lowly insects can go die now!”

The white-robed man’s body teleported almost immediately to the two of them. He sent a palm crashing down upon them. There was a faint light on top of the hollow of his palm that caused space to tremble.

Long Chen’s heart shook. That was clearly an Earth class Battle Skill! But there had been no sign at all that he had been about to use it!

Experts like Xia Youyu all needed to collect some energy before using an Earth class Battle Skill, otherwise, there was no way to use that much energy.

But this person was the same as Long Chen and didn’t need to accumulate any energy at all. That was completely shocking! Long Chen quickly slashed out with his broadsword.

Long Tianxiao had long since been storing up energy for this, and he slashed out with his saber at the same time, causing his Saber Qi to soar.

BOOM! Qi waves erupted explosively. Long Chen felt an enormous force striking him and sent him flying back.

Long Tianxiao was the same, but although he was also forced back, he was much better off and didn’t get thrown back so far.

“Circulate one hundred percent of your force, but only use eighty percent. That way you have room to maneuver,” reminded Long Tianxiao.

The reason he wasn’t forced back as far wasn’t because Long Chen’s strength was inferior to his. Instead, it was actually because Long Tianxiao had reserved some of his strength during that exchange, giving him greater freedom to advance or retreat, attack or defend.

By reserving some of your strength, you would have an extra margin of safety.

If you were fighting against an enemy of the same level or perhaps an even stronger level than yourself, that little reserve might be enough to save your life.

Long Chen nodded his agreement. Having merged with a Pill Sovereign’s memories, he understood that reasoning. However, he didn’t like that kind of combat.

Battle should be a process with no return. If you always kept thinking about keeping yourself alive, how would you arouse your hidden potential?

The human body was just like a treasure trove with endless possibilities. As for how much each person could open up, that would depend on how determined and ruthless they were. That kind of ruthlessness included a ruthlessness to yourself in the face of death.

So it wasn’t that he didn’t understand the principle, but that he had even greater ambitions. After seeing the forest god open that spatial door, Long Chen had seen a vision of a vaster world. His heart was already floating into that distance.

He had to continue getting stronger. Only by becoming strong enough could he ensure his own dignity and life, and only then could he chase after the things he desired.

“None of your preparations will be of any use.”

The white-robed man snorted coldly as he looked icily at the two of them. He was just like an emperor disdainfully looking down on ants.

“Killing you should be useful enough.” Long Chen stood and pointed his broadsword at him. Torrential battle intent soared from him. He knew that this white-robed man was extremely terrifying. He was the most powerful opponent he had met up until now.

But the stronger his opponent was, the calmer Long Chen became. He really had to be thankful for his previous life and death battles.

Otherwise, in this battle, as soon as he became afraid, his combat ability would sharply drop. Someone who was afraid couldn’t even release eighty percent of their combat potential. They would only become the prey and be mercilessly slaughtered.

In front of this incredibly powerful enemy, Long Chen was still filled with battle intent. It seemed that his self-confidence hadn’t been shaken in the slightest because of the enemy’s strength.

Long Tianxiao was filled with pride and gratification. At the same time, he was also filled with guilt and regret. The greatest regret in his life was that he hadn’t been able to accompany his child as he grew up.

“Even an ant dares to boast? You little brat who hasn’t seen the real world. Today, I’ll let you see what it means to be separated by a true difference in level.”

BOOM! A terrifying aura exploded from the white-robed man’s body. The violent energy swept out in every direction, directly engulfing Long Chen and Long Tianxiao. They immediately felt as if a huge mountain was crushing them, and even breathing became difficult.

“What a powerful spiritual pressure!” Long Chen’s heart shook. This was the pressure formed by releasing one’s spiritual qi into the surrounding space.

In other words, it meant the white-robed man’s spiritual qi had already been compressed to a certain peak. Compared to other people’s spiritual qi, their spiritual qi was sloppy mud while his was heavy rock.

But the most shocking thing to Long Chen was that the white-robed man’s aura was still at the late Tendon Transformation realm!

But even those who were at the same Tendon Transformation realm as him, whether it was Marquis Ying or Xia Youyu, were all nothing in front of that boundless aura.

“Did you think that just by killing a few degenerate weaklings, you could truly battle across realms? Today I’ll let you see that the barrier between realms is not something a couple of ants like you can even imagine.”

He coldly laughed and a sword appeared in his hand. As soon as that sword appeared, Sword Qi fell from the heavens. A powerful torrent came slashing down on Long Chen and Long Tianxiao.

Long Chen knew that this was the true battle. No longer holding anything in reserve, he raised his broadsword and flame leaped on top of it.

When Long Chen’s broadsword collided with the white-robed man’s sword, an intense ringing exploded out. Long Chen felt his insides quivering as he was sent flying back.

But just before that, Long Chen saw that the Pill Flame, which had been on his broadsword, had rushed directly towards that white-robed man.

Just as everyone thought that he would become just like Xia Youyu and be engulfed in a raging inferno…

He coldly smiled and raised his left hand. A transparent white curtain appeared in front of his body like a shield and completely stopped that Pill Flame which could even melt iron.

“What?!” Long Chen’s expression changed. That white-robed man’s strength had far exceeded his expectations. Plus, his control over spiritual qi was absolutely terrifying.

He knew that this should be a special technique he had cultivated. Was that how profound sect disciples were? That was an absolutely amazing technique.

In comparison to the white-robed man, Long Chen’s techniques and Battle Skills were far too crude.

Long Chen had just attacked when three saber images appeared in the sky. Those saber images were several meters long and combined into one, releasing an incomparable killing intent. “Tri-Saber Soul Reap!”

“That’s rumored to be Long Tianxiao’s strongest attack! I haven’t heard of a single person being able to block it.”

“I wonder if he can win…”

The commoners of the capital were all watching from a distance. Due to the distance being too great, they weren’t able to see everything. But that white-robed man’s incredible strength was extremely eye-catching.

Such huge matters that shook the Phoenix Cry Empire couldn’t possibly be kept private from their eyes. The fourth prince not only didn’t bother trying to block them, he purposely left some open spaces for the commoners to watch from. He wanted to borrow this opportunity to intimidate everyone.

And so these commoners had seen everything. Martial arts were in their golden age in the Phoenix Cry Empire, and the strong were worshipped.

Now that they were watching Long Chen and Long Tianxiao fight so valiantly against the odds, they couldn’t help but feel admiration for them. That was especially true for Long Chen who had consecutively killed Tendon Transformation experts, one of them the ruler of an empire. Just what kind of awe-inspiring might was that?

Many people hoped for the father-son duo to obtain victory in the end. Having such a hero run the empire would allow the empire to quickly grow stronger.

But seeing Long Tianxiao’s attack, the white-robed man sneered in ridicule.

“I dislike having ants bare their claws at me.”

The longsword in his hand slowly rose.

A booming ringing came from the longsword. Dazzling rays of light shot into the sky like bolts of lightning, blinding people’s eyes. Terrifying light slashed down at Long Tianxiao.