“Long Chen, do you think I’m stupid?” Ye Lingshan had a bitter smile.

“No, you’re not stupid. You’re just a tiny bit foolish,” comforted Long Chen.

“Scoundrel, how could you say such a thing?” Chu Yao pushed Long Chen.

“Hehe, it was just a joke,” said Long Chen.

Ye Lingshan shook her head. “I feel very foolish, especially compared to you. It feels like it was a miracle I could live until today.” Long Chen said there was a crisis, but she didn’t see anything.

“Long Chen, don’t keep us in suspense. I also don’t see the danger you’re talking about. Tell us,” urged Chu Yao.

Long Chen cleared his throat. “Actually, you’ve also seen it, but you aren’t thinking far enough. The current Righteous path has a portion leaning toward Pill Valley. You saw it in the battle. There were no other experts from the Righteous path. They were all on Pill Valley’s side. That means that the people of the Martial Heaven Alliance had been cleared before we arrived. In other words, they were either scared away by the other experts there or killed. That’s why the remaining people were all our enemies. The Righteous path, the Corrupt path, the ancient races, the ancient family alliance, the Xuan Beasts, the Bloodkill Hall, they’ve all banded together. It’s a kind of hidden scheme or perhaps even an open scheme. Pill Valley has essentially expressed its attitude. It wants to gather all the powers on the continent to target the Martial Heaven Alliance. The people that have not joined Pill Valley’s side become isolated forces. If they are allowed to be picked off bit by bit, it will be a fatal blow to the Martial Heaven Alliance. The ones still standing on the sidelines will all end up throwing themselves on Pill Valley’s mercy. Even the powers belonging to the Martial Heaven Alliance will be rattled. You saw the situation there. All those people were from different forces, yet they didn’t attack each other. They only targeted those Righteous experts who didn’t submit to their side. Now you should understand the crisis.”

Only then did Ye Lingshan and Chu Yao realize just how serious things were. Just how were the Martial Heaven Alliance’s experts supposed to handle so many powerful enemies?

If when the Yin Yang World closed, the majority of the Martial Heaven Alliance’s experts had died, it would definitely be the final nail in the coffin for the Martial Heaven Alliance.

“Then what should we do?!” asked Ye Lingshan hastily.

“Not us. It’s what you should do,” said Long Chen. “You are the future leader of the Martial Heaven Alliance. At this time, it’s up to you to decide the fate of the Martial Heaven Alliance. The alliance head has already left that authority to you.”

Long Chen pointed to the sword on her back. That was the significance behind Qu Jianying giving it to her.

“But I can’t handle something like that!” Ye Lingshan’s voice quivered. She had always been a solitary figure.

“Alright, since you’re too foolish, I’ll explain it to you another way. I ask you, if the Martial Heaven Alliance was about to be destroyed, would you be willing to sacrifice your life to win a chance for the Martial Heaven Alliance?” asked Long Chen bluntly. His bluntness caused Chu Yao to glare at him. His words were hurtful.

“Of course, I would be willing,” said Ye Lingshan without any hesitation.

Long Chen nodded. “Good. Then you can start risking your life now.”

“How? Against who?” asked Ye Lingshan.

“Of course, not against me. Go fight your enemies. If there are no enemies before you, then go find them. This is the best era and the worst era. The Martial Heaven Alliance’s opportunity lies in this moment,” said Long Chen.

Chu Yao suddenly clapped her hands together, exclaiming, “I understand. Long Chen is saying that since the Martial Heaven Alliance is in a time of great crisis. The ones harboring sinister intentions have already joined Pill valley. There is another portion that is still standing to the side, so those that can still stand together with the Martial Heaven Alliance are essentially all loyal. It’s like this tribulation is a giant wave washing away the sand, leaving only the gold. Long Chen is saying that you should gather the bits of gold together and have them become the Martial Heaven Alliance’s solid backing. With the crisis upon us, you should step forward and lead the people loyal to you. Show yourself fighting bravely on the front lines, show yourself uniting the Righteous path. Make a rallying call and strike back. I’m sure many experts of the Righteous path have suffered quite a bit of bullying. If you call out to them, they will naturally answer. Only once everyone is united can they fight back. This is a rare opportunity.”

Born in the imperial palace, Chu Yao was naturally more familiar with the art of war. She understood Long Chen’s words quicker.

“But… will I really be able to do that?” Ye Lingshan still lacked confidence.

“Aren’t you unafraid of dying? So why be afraid of failing? Lingshan, leaders aren’t born but made. When senior Qu Jianying led the Righteous path back in the day, she slaughtered the Corrupt path, terrifying them. At that time, she wasn’t much older than you, and her cultivation base wasn’t higher. To be a leader, you need courage and resolve. What is confidence? It’s something piled up bit by bit. Right now, you need to accumulate the experience of succeeding once. Don’t go looking for more treasures. Starting now, gather the Righteous experts. Save them from being besieged from all sides. Start rolling the snowball now, and it will grow bigger and bigger. If you want to be a successful leader, you need a particular charisma. One of the most charismatic things a leader can do is to risk their own life for their people. That will make others willing to entrust their lives to you,” encouraged Long Chen.

After hearing this, Ye Lingshan’s blood began to heat up. Scene after scene appeared in her mind. In those scenes, she was leading countless Righteous experts against their enemies in battle. Blood dyed her robes as she fought valiantly.

“Thank you, Long Chen. I understand. I won’t disappoint my master. Although I still feel like you are better than me, I will definitely do my best. Even if I have to lose my life, I’ll live up to the sword on my back.” Ye Lingshan suddenly stood. She seemed like a completely different person.

Long Chen smiled. “We’re different. You walk the King Dao, I walk the Hegemon Dao. There’s a fundamental difference between them. Before this, you had to put your life on the line just to survive. Starting today, you will put your life on the line for others. You will find that there’s an immense difference between them. Only when they’re protecting something dear to them can someone unleash their greatest power.”

Ye Lingshan bowed slightly. “Many thanks. I’ll leave right now.”

“Wait. I’ll go with you,” said Chu Yao suddenly.

Long Chen was startled. Could it be that his words had been so persuasive that even Chu Yao wanted to go? That wasn’t in his plans.

“Big sister, you…?” Ye Lingshan was also startled.

Chu Yao smiled. “Ruyan needs to focus on refining the divine elixir. Without her, I would be at a disadvantage against people on the level of the Bloodkill Hall’s divine emissaries. I would rather go with you while Ruyan stays in seclusion. With two people, it won’t be so lonely.”

Ye Lingshan was naturally delighted. Chu Yao was a terrifying wood cultivator, perfect for controlling the rhythm of a battle. With Chu Yao’s defense and Ye Lingshan’s offense together, the two of them wouldn’t fear anyone.

“Many thanks!” Ye Lingshan happily pulled Chu Yao away. As for Liu Ruyan, she was now in seclusion in Chu Yao’s spiritual space.

“Long Chen, don’t get into too much trouble!” Chu Yao’s voice rang out from a distance. There was a faint laughter along with it.

Long Chen had an urge to cry. Originally, he had been wanting to stimulate Ye Lingshan’s will, having her take this opportunity to become the leader of the Righteous path. However, even Chu Yao had been seduced by his words.

“Fine, I’ll do my best.” Long Chen bitterly smiled. If Chu Yao was with him, then with her Wood Spirit Union, he would have an ocean’s worth of spiritual yuan to use. Wouldn’t he be able to dominate his enemies then? However, that was all a dream now.

When he thought about it, he supposed that this was good as well. With Ye Lingshan and Chu Yao together, they had top offense and top defense. Ye Lingshan even had a paragon art. Even if they encountered people like True Immortal Jiaoqi or Xie Luo, they wouldn’t be in danger.

Long Chen examined the copper plate in his spiritual space. After being nourished by his soul for a while, there was the slightest fluctuation coming from it, putting him at ease.

The Eastern Wasteland Bell was the leader of the five supreme divine items. For it to recover its original divine might, it would need to regather its fragments. This piece in his hands was very important.

It was just that he had no idea where the Eastern Wasteland Bell was. Back when it was leaving, it said that it was going to regather its body.

Even after so many years, there wasn’t the slightest news about it. Hence, Long Chen had no idea how much it had managed to regather.

He then turned to look at Evilmoon. It was still in seclusion, and Long Chen could not communicate with it using his divine sense. He would be unable to activate its divine power during this time.

Long Chen stood and patted off some dust. He was about to leave when an arrow of light suddenly pierced into the clouds in the distance. Divine light exploded, blowing away the clouds.

“This aura… it’s him.”

Long Chen’s expression changed. He hastily rushed over in that direction.

Rumbling rang out, and divine light exploded. Saber-images and sword qi raged through the air. There were actually multiple people activating the power of their divine items in a crazy battle.

“Mo Nian, I bet you never thought such a day would come for you! With death at hand, have you ever thought of digging your own grave?”

Long Chen rushed over and saw over a hundred people crazily attacking a cloaked man.

Upon seeing that man with his face that still had a bit of baby fat, Long Chen smiled. Even after all these years, it seemed that this fellow had yet to change.