“Grand Elder…”

The First Elder, Third Elder, Seventh Elder, and Ninth Elder instantly turned ashen.

“Hmph, a pack of treacherous bastards, do you not know what you have done?” Qu Jianying’s granduncle-master snorted. Light shone out of his eyes, and it was like he could see through the cosmos.

The Grand Elder who had become young looked completely different from his previous decrepit-self. He was like a completely different person, and his gaze was incredibly sharp.

“Grand Elder, we-!” shouted the Elders.

The First, Third, Seventh, and Ninth Elders’ bodies exploded into blood mist.

The remaining five elders were pale with terror. They didn’t know what had just happened.

“I’m sorry. I was powerless.” Qu Jianying suddenly knelt on the ground with shame.

“Why would you apologize? You’ve already done very well. It’s impossible to avoid some traitors. Now that the great era has come, it must have been hard on you with the four of us still sleeping,” said Qu Jianying’s granduncle-master. “Furthermore, it’s my fault, not yours. I never passed the Spirit Void Eyes onto you, so how could you see their thoughts? However, I didn’t expect Pill Valley to go so far. Their claws have even landed on the nine core Elders of the Martial Heaven Alliance. Well, what’s done is done. Since we’ve come out, we don’t plan on going back into seclusion. We’ll support you, so do what you want.”

“Then Long Chen’s matter…”

“That person is very dangerous. When I tried to look at him with my Spirit Void Eyes, they were almost destroyed. Fortunately, I pulled back as soon as I sensed the danger, or my life would have been in danger.”

“What?! How is that possible?!” Qu Jianying jumped in shock. Others might not know, but she was aware of her granduncle-master’s Spirit Void Eyes. They were able to see through a person’s thoughts and kill them without needing to do anything else. Back when he had been the one in control of the Martial Heaven Alliance, he had struck fear into the hearts of countless experts.

However, he was now saying that his eyes had almost been destroyed with just a test. If he hadn’t personally said it, she wouldn’t have believed it no matter what. Even now, she found it hard to believe.

“His past is a mass of primal chaos, his future is a mass of mist. I can’t see anything. If such a person was good, it would be a blessing to all life. If they were evil, it would mean the destruction of the world. It’s incredibly dangerous. The reason I tested him with words was to see if I could get him to owe a favor to the Martial Heaven Alliance. I wasn’t asking him to protect the Martial Heaven Alliance; I just don’t wish to see him destroy it.”

“Long Chen wouldn’t do such a thing. This child cares heavily about relationships,” said Qu Jianying.

“You should look beyond just the surface. People like that can easily go to extremes. In a fit of anger, he could tear down the very heavens. You have shown favor to Long Chen, so he would be willing to walk through fire for you. But what if you died? He would go crazy. If the ones to cause your death were inside the Martial Heaven Alliance, could you guarantee that he wouldn’t destroy the Martial Heaven Alliance?” asked Qu Jianying’s granduncle-master profoundly.

“But…” Qu Jianying didn’t know how to respond to that. She had never thought of that scenario.

Of the nine core Elders, four had been bought by others and without anyone being the wiser. If they had caused her death, Long Chen would definitely kill the four of them as vengeance for her. But the four of them would naturally deny his accusations, and they would summon the entire Martial Heaven Alliance to stop him.

With Long Chen’s temper and his disdain for explaining, anyone who stopped him during his vengeance would be killed. Then the Martial Heaven Alliance might really be destroyed by Long Chen’s hands. Thinking of that, cold sweat covered her back.

Compared to her granduncle-master, she was still immature. She hadn’t even thought of this scenario.

Perhaps the four of them had been bought precisely in order to lay a trap for her or for the Martial Heaven Alliance. Then their backer would be able to defeat the Martial Heaven Alliance without needing to shed a single drop of their blood. It was simple.

“Long Chen already possesses such power at the Soul Transformation realm. Once he advances to Life Star, he will be even more terrifying. Regretfully, he’s too proud and refuses to be bound by our favor. We have nothing we can do to him,” said Qu Jianying’s granduncle-master.

“Nothing can be done about it. Let’s drink.”

Another Grand Elder had already started pouring the wine jug Long Chen had given them into four small cups. However, they were unwilling to gulp such precious wine down.

Qu Jianying’s granduncle-master bitterly smiled. Although he was also a Grand Elder, the other three were his seniors. Now they were actually shamelessly drinking someone else’s wine.

“Little sixth, even at such an age, you’re so inflexible. Why be such a worry-wart? That Long Chen is fundamentally not an existence that should exist in this world. Who could guarantee anything about his fate? Don’t bother yourself with trying, and come drink. When we have time, we should go drink some more at that old wine ghost’s place,” said another Grand Elder impatiently. He actually called Qu Jianying’s granduncle-master as little sixth.

“Your third uncle is correct. People about to die should fulfill their duty instead of being meddlesome. With the great era here, the world is about to completely change. As to whether it ends in destruction or rebirth, it’s up to fate. Whether or not we gave that treasure wouldn’t change things. Let’s hurry up and drink some wine,” said another Grand Elder.

“That’s good too. Jianying, you can leave. As for that treasure, let us think on it first,” said Qu Jianying granduncle-master.

“Yes. Disciple will take her leave.” Qu Jianying left with the five elders who were still terrified. They finally realized that four of the people they called brothers had actually had their loyalties bought.

“Alliance head, we…”

Upon returning to the Martial Heaven Palace, the five of them immediately knelt on the ground. They knew that they had made a huge mistake. They had been encouraged by others to go against her, causing them to awaken the Grand Elders.

Although the four of them had been slain, the five of them still had responsibility for this matter. They were completely ashamed inside and were waiting for Qu Jianying to give them their punishment.

Qu Jianying waved her hand. “Even I was fooled, so what qualifications do I have to punish you? Go and do what you’re supposed to be doing. Speaking of which, send two people to keep an eye on Long Chen. Don’t let him cause a disaster.”

“Many thanks!”

The five of them were incredibly grateful to Qu Jianying while also hating themselves for their foolishness. How could someone as noble as Qu Jianying really help a cheater? They were filled with shame and guilt.

However, due to their shame and guilt, they ended up forgetting about Qu Jianying’s final instruction. Due to that tiny slip up, later… a huge matter erupted.

…

Long Chen knew that the Grand Elders wanted him to go, as some words weren’t suitable for him to hear.

However, he would definitely not have expected that as soon as he left, four of the core Elders would be slain.

Returning to the plaza, Long Chen saw that the majority of the disciples had yet to scatter. Seeing him return, they immediately surrounded him.

“Senior apprentice-brother Long Chen, since this is your first time coming to the Central Xuan Region, I’ll be your guide,” said a sweet but brazen woman.

“Wow! How could I refuse the company of such a beauty?” Long Chen smiled.

“Senior apprentice-brother Long Chen, you’re lying. Each of those beautiful women of yours is a peerless fairy whose beauty is unmatched.” That woman laughed. Although she wasn’t a beauty who could topple a nation, she was still very beautiful. Two small dimples appeared on her face whenever she smiled, which made her look very cute.

Long Chen laughed, “Dreams are good to have because what if you manage to pull one off? You might not be that beautiful now, but I trust with your talent and willpower, you will sooner or later become a peerless beauty.”

“Liar, looks are innate. How could they be changed with effort?” That maiden laughed, knowing that Long Chen was teasing her.

In their view, Long Chen was completely different from other so-called peerless experts. Other experts would have to make it known that they were peerless experts as if they were afraid others wouldn’t know. They always had to make a ruckus wherever they went, acting arrogant and coldly to others. But Long Chen hadn’t put on any arrogant airs like them. He had even explained his Dao and shown his skills to them.

“Qingqing, you accompany senior apprentice-brother Long Chen. Everyone else, don’t cause any trouble. Senior apprentice-brother Long Chen likes to be low-key, so he won’t like it if all of you go with him.” Meng Fei also returned upon seeing Long Chen and gave orders to the disciples that were surging toward Long Chen.

Those disciples were all disappointed, but they obediently followed the third commander’s instructions. If tens of thousands of people were to stroll around with Long Chen, that would really be exaggerated.

Long Chen could only say, “If it would make everyone happy, we can stroll around together. There’s nothing inconvenient about it. I’m sure the third commander is even more familiar with this place, so we can go together.”

“No, I won’t be going. I don’t like going out that much. Qingqing was born here in Clearwind City, and she also grew up here. She’s more familiar with this place than anyone else, or she wouldn’t have asked you.” The third commander shook his head. He didn’t like the way he looked, and he didn’t like the strange looks he got when he went out. With his temper, he knew he might start a fight with just that.

Long Chen also saw that, so he said goodbye to everyone else as he left with Qingqing.