The battle of heavenly geniuses in Clearwind City had ended with Xiang Yunfei’s defeat. Even though a Netherpassage expert of the ancient races had interfered, Long Chen had still managed to kill Xiang Yunfei. This news caused huge waves throughout the entire continent.

Xiang Yunfei had been eighth place on the Devil Slaughter Rankings, and he had won this ranking not based on his amazing area slaughter arts, but on true power. He had not relied on techniques to get his ranking, so it could be said that he was a truly terrifying existence.

He possessed a paragon art, as well as ancestral divine items, the one hundred and eight Heavenly Bone Spears. He had even summoned the power of his ancestors but had still lost to Long Chen.

This battle also slapped the faces of certain malicious people spreading rumors that Long Chen had no power and had relied entirely on cheating to get first place on the Devil Slaughter Rankings.

In reality, the Devil Slaughter Rankings were based on the number of devil creatures that could be slain, so it was mainly testing wide-area killing power. That kind of killing power wasn’t necessarily strong in one-on-one battles.

Xiang Yunfei hadn’t relied on area attacks but had still gotten eighth place. Furthermore, at that time, he hadn’t used his paragon art. He had relied entirely on his own power.

If Xiang Yunfei had used his paragon art at that time, perhaps he could have gotten first place.

However, such a figure had still died to Long Chen’s hands. That proved just how strong Long Chen was.

The entire continent was shaken. Those voices raising doubts about Long Chen were silent. Everyone’s gazes gathered on the ancient races.

Xiang Yunfei was one of the ancient races’ top geniuses, and he had been slain by Long Chen just like this. Would the ancient races declare war on the Martial Heaven Alliance?

Moreover, Long Chen hadn’t only slain Xiang Yunfei. On the same day, he had also slain Di Long’s son, infuriating the ancient races and the ancient family alliance in one go. For a while, the continent held its breath as it waited for the results.

The name of the Eastern Madman gained even greater power. Long Chen was truly worthy of this nickname. He would do anything regardless of the consequences. However, despite his craziness, he also had the brains to look for solutions to his problems.

…

Three incense sticks were inserted into the earth. There was a fresh grave here. Long Chen slowly rose from his respect toward this grave.

“If the first commander was still alive, this bow of yours would be his life’s glory,” said Ye Lingshan softly.

The first commander and second commander had been buried, and the others had already left. Long Chen had come on his own to light a stick of incense for him.

“He was worthy of it. He was a true hero.” Long Chen touched the gravestone, rubbing away some dirt that had gotten onto it.

“Sometimes I really don’t understand men. A single gaze, a single promise is enough for you guys to risk your lives? Are you fools?” asked Ye Lingshan. She placed a flower in front of the grave. However, there were already many flowers covering the ground.

“We don’t understand either, but we feel like we can trust each other. I believe that if the roles were reversed, he would do the same for me. Other than that, you should realize that this was all planned by Di Xin. Xiang Yunfei’s target was me. To put it frankly, I was the one who implicated the two of them, but he didn’t blame me for it. Even if he wanted me to destroy the entire ancient family alliance, I’d have done it,” said Long Chen.

His gaze became cold when he brought this up. Those without any respect were the most dangerous.

Because they had no respect, they had no sense of fear or danger. Because they had no sense of fear or danger, they were completely unbridled and capable of doing anything.

Di Xin was such a person. He always thought that no matter what he did, his father and mother would protect him. Even if he couldn’t beat Long Chen, he still had the support of his parents. No one could do anything to him.

So he had no consideration for the consequences of his actions. Such a person would do things normal people wouldn’t even think of doing.

If you encountered such a person, you could ignore them, viewing them as an idiot and scum of society. But if you did ignore them, they would obstinately stick to you, and as long as you relaxed the slightest bit, they would do anything to harm you.

This time, Di Ruyun had been slain, Di Xin had been eliminated, and Xiang Yunfei had been killed. However, Long Chen felt like he had implicated a pair of innocent siblings. If the first commander hadn’t died, perhaps he would have become his close brother.

Xiang Yunfei was just one of the ancient races’ geniuses. What about Pill Valley? What about the Corrupt path? What about the Xuan Beasts? What about the Bloodkill Hall? What about the ancient family alliance?

Just how many people like Xiang Yunfei would come from them in the future? How many first commanders and second commanders would they cause to die? Would those sacrifices become Long Chen’s closest friends and family?

Upon thinking of this, Long Chen’s expression darkened. He had to get stronger. He wanted absolute power so he could shake his enemies, so he could intimidate idiots like Di Xin.

“Long Chen, do you have any goals for the future?” asked Ye Lingshan to change the subject. She shivered when she saw his icy killing intent.

“Goals? Of course I have them. But what’s your goal first? Oh, the alliance head is really generous. She actually gave you her sword.”

When Long Chen turned to look at Ye Lingshan, he was shocked to notice the sword on her back. That was Qu Jianying’s sword.

That was a divine item. It was called Falling Star, the opposite of his Star Fall. It was a sword with a terrifying origin and one of the main treasures of the Martial Heaven Alliance.

Ye Lingshan had only just taken her as a master but Qu Jianying already gave her such a precious sword. It could be seen how much trust she had in Ye Lingshan, as well as how she favored her.

“Are you selling this sword? I’d like to buy it,” said Long Chen.

“Scram. If you dare to try anything, I’ll go all-out against you.” Seeing Long Chen staring at her sword, Ye Lingshan still said some angry words despite knowing he was partially joking. Her hand flew to the hilt of her sword.

Long Chen hastily raised his hands. “I was just joking, don’t take it so seriously. If we can’t do business together, then let’s just be amicable. No need to be so angry.”

“This isn’t just a sword to me. This is the favor my master bestowed upon me. This sword is a symbol of my loyalty,” said Ye Lingshan solemnly.

Ye Lingshan’s heart, which had been cold for many years, had fully melted thanks to this sword. Qu Jianying had immediately given her such a gift just because she called her master. They hadn’t even gone through any formal rites yet.

She had suffered a great deal from other people’s contempt, but no one had ever treated her like family. That unconditional trust and love had made her swear on her life to properly respect this master of hers.

So even though Long Chen was joking, this was still offensive to her. This kind of joke was unacceptable.

“Please, my guts are too small. Don’t scare the crap out of me.” Long Chen hastily waved his hands, accepting his loss. If he couldn’t even make a joke, he was no longer interested in trying.

After seeing him admit defeat, Ye Lingshan’s expression softened. “Thank you for your medicinal pill.”

“No problem. It was just thanks to my relationship with Qingqing.”

“Rogue.”

Long Chen shrugged. “What’s roguish about it? Qingqing’s such a kind and beautiful woman. Who wouldn’t like her? She’ll sooner or later find her companion.”

“Yes, she truly is the type to be liked by others. Tell me, do you like her?”

“Of course I like her.”

“Then have you thought about taking her as a wife?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“There’s no why. I like plenty of people. Am I supposed to marry them all? Something beautiful should just be peacefully appreciated, like a lotus on the riverside. If you pluck it, it will quickly wither. It is only suited to stay by the riverside, while I am fated to not be a riverside. Also, I already have several wives, and they’re difficult enough to deal with, especially a certain jealous tigress. If she knew I was picking flowers randomly, she’d skin me alive.”

Ye Lingshan laughed. She found that speaking with Long Chen was very interesting. His words were always direct and sincere.

“You really are curious. The so-called heavenly geniuses that I’ve encountered want to gather as many beautiful women as they can in their pockets, as if beautiful women are only fit for them. It’s like anything they like should be theirs,” sighed Ye Lingshan.

“I like plenty of things, not just beautiful women. I like powerful people, so am I supposed to marry them? Those four old strongest experts from the Martial Heaven Alliance, am I also supposed to marry them? Sorry, that’s not to my taste,” said Long Chen.

Ye Lingshan laughed again. Even the Grand Elders were not spared from his jokes.

“You might not be interested in us, and that’s fine. But we’re very interested in you.”

Suddenly, a voice rang out that made Long Chen and Ye Lingshan’s smile stiffen.