Hu Feng was enraged. The heirs of the Gambling Heavenly Dao were never existences to be provoked. It seemed that he was bringing shame to his sect by being treated like this.

He had long since found the Xuan Beasts to be irritating. They always called the human race inferior and vile, not fit to live in this world. He had endured that, but he was no longer enduring. If he kept enduring, he would embarrass the name of the heir of the Gambling Heavenly Dao.

Originally, Hu Feng had just wanted to give a warning to the Xuan Beasts not to have such dirty mouths. He had already gotten the advantage in the fight just now, but he had pulled back just to give True Immortal Jiaoqi a chance to back out without losing face. As a result, that shameless fellow actually pushed for more, infuriating Hu Feng.

Hu Feng was angry, but so was True Immortal Jiaoqi. In the Yin Yang World, he had joined hands with Huo Lieyun and Xie Luo, but even together, they hadn’t managed to kill Long Chen. That was equivalent to a defeat.

Now that he had advanced to Life Star, he had gained control of world energy and even merged more deeply with his qilin-drake energy, with even his manifestation getting closer to awakening. He also had the nine-colored celestial horse as a steed and two powerful divine items. With these, he had wanted to sweep away his previous disgrace, killing Long Chen in front of everyone. However, he had ended up encountering Hu Feng who was extremely bizarre and difficult to deal with.

If he didn’t defeat Hu Feng, he wouldn’t be able to settle his rage, nor would he be able to face his own pride.

Geniuses all had their own pride and confidence. No one was willing to be labeled as the defeated, and that was especially true of a genius on True Immortal Jiaoqi’s level. They needed a flawless Dao-heart. He had to personally defeat Long Chen.

That was true of True Immortal Jiaoqi, as well as Pill Valley’s Huo Lieyun and the Corrupt path’s Xie Luo. The three of them were all looking for a chance to kill Long Chen.

“Then let’s fight! What’s so special about the Gambling Heavenly Dao? I’ll still kill you!” True Immortal Jiaoqi’s aura suddenly changed. His manifestation began to rumble.

“Wait a moment!”

Just as True Immortal Jiaoqi was about to attack, a figure appeared in front of him, stopping him.

“Valley master?” True Immortal Jiaoqi was startled to see that Yu Xiaoyun had personally come here. But he quickly realized it was just a clone.

Having stopped True Immortal Jiaoqi, Yu Xiaoyun turned to Hu Feng. “The Gambling Heavenly Dao has already been gone from the continent for thousands of years. Now that someone has appeared carrying on its legacy, it seems that marvelous geniuses are rising on the continent.”

“I wouldn’t dare to accept your praise,” said Hu Feng calmly.

Yu Xiaoyun smiled. “Young people need vitality and motivation. That’s the only way to bring growth to the Martial Heaven Continent. However, the current continent is filled with chaos due to Long Chen. Everyone is worried about what he will plot next to overthrow the Martial Heaven Continent. That’s why all brave warriors are answering the call in this desperate crisis, fighting to slay the devil to restore order to the continent. As the heir of the Gambling Heavenly Dao, you are also an important member of the Martial Heaven Continent. Even not viewing things from the viewpoint of the continent, I feel like when it comes to the competition between heavenly geniuses, Long Chen should be your enemy instead of a stranger you don’t care about.”

Was he really trying to pull Hu Feng into targeting Long Chen? Everyone heard the double meanings in Yu Xiaoyun’s words.

The current continent was in chaos, with Pill Valley pushing the waves. However, they pushed the responsibility onto Long Chen. As a result, countless fools who weren’t aware of the truth really believed Long Chen to be a fiend and that whoever killed Long Chen would be the savior of the continent.

Sometimes, the power of the ignorant could be extremely terrifying. Like an infection, their stupidity would run rampant throughout the world.

Other than some smarter people or people with more information who were able to retain cool heads, many people had been affected by this public opinion. Pill Valley was currently boosting their support.

They pushed Long Chen into the position of the villain, making all cultivators view him as an enemy. This truth was already almost set in stone. The stories of Long Chen’s evil deeds were rapidly spreading, and it was difficult to tell the truth from falsehood.

“Valley master’s praise is too much. The Gambling Heavenly Dao does not interfere with the rest of the world. We gamble against the heavens, not fight people. If it weren’t for this person’s words being too difficult to bear, I wouldn’t have interfered. I am not friends with Long Chen, nor am I enemies with him. I have nothing to do with his matters. The Gambling Heavenly Dao’s disciples prefer to be free and unrestrained. Valley master, this little one still has things to do, so I’ll take my leave first.”

Hu Feng tactfully declined Yu Xiaoyun’s suggestion. Or perhaps it should be said he had bluntly refused his invitation. Clearly, Yu Xiaoyun had been trying to pull him into their camp.

Yu Xiaoyun seemed to have expected this refusal, and he indifferently smiled. “People have their own wills. Things can’t be forced. But I trust that when the calamity descends and all lives are in trouble, you won’t stand by the side.”

Hu Feng replied with a smile that said nothing. Cupping his fists, he said, “Goodbye.”

Hu Feng walked away. The die behind him once more began to slowly spin, and he vanished from sight.

“Valley master, why didn’t you let me kill him?” demanded True Immortal Jiaoqi.

“The Gambling Heavenly Dao’s disciples aren’t so easy to kill. Trust me, his power is definitely not weaker than Long Chen’s. It might even be greater. The name of the fifty-fifty win isn’t for nothing. Let alone you, even if my true body came, I might not be able to hold him against his will. That’s the power of the Gambling Heavenly Dao,” said Yu Xioayun.

“I-”

“You don’t believe it? Then let me put it this way. You might be able to defeat him, but you have no chance of killing him. He would get away, and then you would have pushed him to Long Chen’s side. It’s not worth it to provoke such a terrifying enemy with limitless potential.”

“Then what are we supposed to do? Just let Long Chen keep getting away?!”

“Be patient. Time will let you slowly obtain many things. You’re only a bit off from fully awakening your manifestation. That's the more pressing thing. As for Long Chen? Don’t worry, he and his Dragonblood Legion will become your stepping stones in the end,” said Yu Xiaoyun, before vanishing.

Although he was very unwilling, True Immortal Jiaoqi didn’t dare to talk back. He endured his fury. Shouting an order at the nine-colored celestial horse, he flew away in the Qilin Battle Carriage, vanishing from sight. Even once he was gone, the world continued to rumble for a long time.

The news of this battle quickly spread throughout the world. The heir of the Gambling Heavenly Dao had finally fought in public, and his fighting style was shocking. He had actually managed to suppress True Immortal Jiaoqi.

However, they had both just been probing each other, and the decisive fight had been interrupted by Yu Xiaoyun. No one could really say which of the two was stronger.

People finally had some understanding of the heir of the Gambling Heavenly Dao. He was another peak expert who was definitely on the same level as Long Chen, Mo Nian, Di Feng, Xie Luo, and True Immortal Jiaoqi.

As for Huo Lieyun, many people had already kicked him from those rankings because he had been defeated by Long Chen in the Life Star realm, and his physical body had been destroyed. Everyone knew that he would no longer be able to exist in the world of heavenly geniuses.

This battle had ended with no victor, but Hu Feng’s name gradually grew even more resounding on the Martial Heaven Continent.

…

Long Chen didn’t know that True Immortal Jiaoqi had appeared right after he had left, nor did he know about his fight with Hu Feng.

He was currently sitting on top of a cliff, with Evilmoon stabbed into the stone beside him. He was calmly looking at the surging river down below. It was unknown what he was thinking.

“If you want to say something, then say it. You’ve been sitting here for six hours.” Finally, Evilmoon broke the silence.

Long Chen’s killing intent had vanished after leaving the Eastern Xuan City. He had gone silent, not saying a single thing the whole time.

“Evilmoon, tell me the truth. Am I very strange?”

Evilmoon was silent for a moment before saying, “I felt like you were very strange at first, but I got used to it, or maybe I also turned strange.”

Long Chen shook his head. “Actually, I feel like I’m really two people.”

“You… how did you know?”

“Because there is another set of memories deep within my soul, constantly influencing me.” Long Chen looked into the distance, not noticing Evilmoon’s tone. “Actually, I was just some run-down noble son, not much different from a commoner on the streets. I never thought to be a hero or some savior of the world. I just wanted to live a peaceful life, carefree and without worries, growing old in the wilderness. I’m actually very lazy and evil. I like to con people, I like to scheme, but I also have another set of thoughts deep within my soul influencing me. It’s forcing me to face my difficulties like an idiot, making me jump into fire and blades. I can no longer tell if it’s that other will influencing me or if I was always like this before.”

“Perhaps you have a split personality. Many lifeforms have that, especially your human race. It’s not so strange. So tell me, if you clearly know that you’re going to die by going, will you still go?” asked Evilmoon.

“I’m going. If I didn’t go, I wouldn’t be Long Chen.” Long Chen looked down at the surging river, his voice set.