The Xuantian Dao Sect’s plaza was filled with one hundred and eighty thousand inner sect disciples. These disciples were all Soul Transformation experts.

Even the weakest amongst them were rank seven Celestials. Within the entire Eastern Xuan Region, there was no force as great as them. The Xuantian Dao Sect was no longer the old Xuantian Dao Sect. It had reached an unprecedented level of strength and now had the potential to be an overlord-level existence.

If even half of these disciples could reach the Life Star realm, then the Xuantian Dao Sect’s position would be unshakable. It would be enough to stand on the same level as Pill Valley, the ancient races, or the ancient family alliance as a whole.

That was why those powers were doing their best to suppress the Xuantian Dao Sect’s growth. Not only did the Xuantian Dao Sect now have a Netherpassage expert, but it also had countless geniuses soaring. That made them very uneasy.

However, today the atmosphere was tense. They were about to enter the Devil Abyss and face a fierce battle with the devil creatures from another world. This would be a true life and death battle. Although they were experts, none of them could say for sure whether they would return alive.

However, they were profoundly aware that experts had to experience treading the line between life and death. Only by undergoing the baptism of blood and fire would they become true experts. That was the essence of cultivation that they had felt from each of the Dragonblood warriors.

Every cultivator thirsted to grow stronger. However, there were no shortcuts. If they wanted to get stronger, they had to have the courage to face death.

Fortunately, they had Long Chen. His existence was extremely comforting. Having such a peerless expert gave them endless drive. They also felt a thirst to fight alongside him.

They saw that every warrior of the Dragonblood Legion was calm without the slightest nervousness. It was as if they didn’t view the upcoming life and death battle as anything important. That kind of heroism formed an echo within them.

Li Tianxuan stood in front of the Xuantian Tower. “I won’t say too much. This is a battle to protect humanity, your family, and the Martial Heaven Continent. Each of you is a warrior of the Martial Heaven Continent. This is a responsibility that cannot be shirked, and it is also the duty of a disciple of the Xuantian Dao Sect. I know that in this battle, some people will forever rest within the Devil Abyss, but your names will be engraved in the memory of the continent. Once you return alive, you will be true brave warriors of the continent. You’ll leave behind your own page on history. I wish you good luck!”

“Fight for the Martial Heaven Continent, fight for the Xuantian Dao Sect!”

“Fight for the Martial Heaven Continent, fight for the Xuantian Dao Sect!”

“Fight for the Martial Heaven Continent, fight for the Xuantian Dao Sect!”

The Xuantian Dao Sect’s disciples cheered. In that instant, they felt like they had received a divine mission. That feeling made them forget the fear in their hearts. Their eyes became sharper.

“Long Chen, you are the commander for this battle. Come and say a few words!” said Li Tianxuan.

“Me? There’s nothing to say. It’s about time, so let’s move out. My brothers are already getting impatient!” laughed Long Chen.

A few chuckles rang out in the crowd. In this kind of heavy atmosphere, perhaps only Long Chen would dare to say such a thing. The tense atmosphere lightened slightly.

“Alright, then move out,” ordered Li Tianxuan helplessly.

The transportation formation was activated, and Long Chen and his group vanished. There were too many people here, and although the transportation formations had been built much larger in the reconstruction, the fact they were Soul Transformation experts limited the number that could be transported at one time. At most, only five thousand could be transported at a time.

Long Chen’s group was the first to be transported. Just to be safe, the strongest group was taking the lead.

One batch after another vanished. In the end, all the disciples in the plaza vanished.

“That little fellow Long Chen, I was so worried that I even further encouraged them, and he didn’t even say a word,” said Li Tianxuan a bit irritably as he looked at the empty plaza.

If he had wanted to, Li Tianxuan definitely could have said some better words. However, thinking of how he was in front of a conner grandmaster like Long Chen, he had felt that his attempt might make Long Chen laugh at him, so he had left this opportunity to Long Chen, but he hadn’t expected Long Chen to actually not say anything.

“Long Chen has his own methods. Furthermore, with his charisma, he has no need for such things. I’ve found that the current world is no longer something you or I can control. In fact, even the Xuantian Dao Sect is growing out of our control. This is a new era, and they are the true main characters. We are just some supporting actors,” said the patriarch from behind Li Tianxuan. He looked up at the sky emotionally.

Long Chen’s photographic jades had deeply affected him. A Soul Transformation expert had actually managed to kill a Netherpassage expert’s clone. Long Chen could only be a monster.

However, now it was unknown how many monsters just as powerful as Long Chen were hidden on the Martial Heaven Continent. That was what made the patriarch sigh emotionally.

“Being a supporting actor isn’t bad either. We get to watch from a spectator’s viewpoint and enjoy the sight of heavenly geniuses rising together. This is also a blessing. I look forward to seeing how Long Chen and the others do on the Devil Slaughter Rankings.”

Buzz.

A huge stone tablet suddenly appeared on the plaza. It was three hundred meters tall and glossy like a mirror. It didn’t look particularly conspicuous.

It wasn’t a true stone tablet but a projection. Once the Devil Abyss’s eruption started, it would display the rankings of the disciples’ kill points. However, the Devil Slaughter Rankings only showed the top ten thousand disciples.

If you wanted to appear on the rankings, you would have to work hard to get into the top ten thousand. Before entering the Devil Abyss, each disciple had extracted a drop of their purest essence blood and placed it onto a special jade plate. Those jade plates had been issued from the Martial Heaven Alliance.

The jade plates were connected to the Devil Slaughter Rankings. They were what recorded how many devil creatures a person killed. It was shockingly accurate.

Rumor was that the divine tablet recording the Devil Slaughter Rankings was personally made by the first generation Sovereign, Yun Shang. It had the blessing of a Sovereign, so it couldn’t be mistaken.

It was the only divine item left behind by a Sovereign on this continent. The only regretful thing was that it was only used to count points. It had no offensive or defensive power on its own.

The projection of it was now established. However, there were no names on it yet. The battle had yet to truly start.

The entire Xuantian Dao Sect essentially closed down. All the disciples and Elders came to the plaza to watch the projection. They were calmly waiting to see the names appear on it.

It wasn’t just the Xuantian Dao Sect. All sects belonging to the Martial Heaven Alliance and ancient family alliance were capable of summoning this projection. Countless eyes were staring at it now. This was a chance to witness the rise of heavenly geniuses. Which monsters would fight to the front of the pack?

…

This was a dark and gloomy world, looking like it was always dusk. There was no sunlight. The ground was an unending barren land of mountains.

The smell of blood hung in the air. It was unknown just how many lives had been lost on this battlefield. Some were from the devil race, some were the Martial Heaven Continent’s brave warriors. It was possible to see broken skeletons scattered about. Some were as large as a mountain. Despite having died who knew how many years ago, those bones still emitted immense pressure.

Long Chen led the Xuantian Dao Sect’s army forward. This was the channel the Xuantian Dao Sect protected, and up ahead was the main channel of the entire Eastern Xuan Region.

This time, the Xuantian Dao Sect was about to block the entire Eastern Xuan Region’s devil creatures. They had to advance to the end of the channel.

“Long Chen, do you want to make any deployment arrangements? I’m noticing quite a few nervous disciples,” whispered Hua Shiyu.

The space here felt very oppressive. Furthermore, there were broken skeletons everywhere. These disciples might be powerful, but many were lacking battle experience. For some, this was their first time stepping foot on such a terrifying battlefield. Their tense nerves sharply lowered their confidence.

If Long Chen could say some words of encouragement now or arrange for them to busy themselves with something, it would improve their morale a bit.

“I’ll tell you the truth. You definitely can’t tell this to them…” said Long Chen gravely.

“What is it?” Hua Shiyu jumped in fright upon seeing his expression.

“In truth… I’m also incredibly nervous.” Long Chen clutched his stomach pitifully.

“Stop messing around!” raged Hua Shiyu, angrily punching him. Just how many heaven-shaking things had Long Chen done in the past? Not even a ghost would believe he was really nervous.

Fortunately, Meng Qi and the others were very familiar with Hua Shiyu, so they simply laughed and watched.

“I really am nervous. I’m afraid,” said Long Chen innocently.

“What are you afraid of? I don’t believe you.”

“I’m afraid there aren’t enough devil creatures for me to get in the top ten. If I don’t get in the top ten, the alliance head will punish me. Tell me, how can I not be afraid?”

Long Chen’s voice wasn’t loud, but it wasn’t too quiet either. Quite a few people heard it. Guo Ran laughed, “Boss, don’t worry, you just sit and drink tea. I’ll take first place for you.”

“That would depend on your abilities. However, I’m not holding back this time. The devil creatures have something I need, so I’ll be killing them,” said Liu Ruyan coldly before waiting for Long Chen to reply.

“I’m also going for first!” declared Tang Wan-er. She had long since been waiting for a chance to test her power and have her own name shake the continent. In truth, Tang Wan-er was extremely competitive.

“It seems I have no affinity with the Devil Slaughter Rankings.” Gu Yang scowled. Guo Ran, Liu Ruyan, and Tang Wan-er all had terrifying massive area attacks. With his single spear, it would take him years to catch up to them.

Their relaxed aura infected the other disciples. The pressure weighing on them lightened.

They had just reached the end of the Eastern Xuan Region’s channel when the world began to fiercely tremble. Ferocious roaring rang out. From the front, an endless tide of black figures charged over.

Gulping sounds came from the Xuantian Dao Sect’s disciples. The life and death battle had finally started.