Long Chen knew that Li Ziling would not have much strength left after suppressing the Blazing Thunder Crystal Soul. If the conflict had escalated, Long Chen might have been able to kill her. However, killing her before the battle at the ancient ruins would definitely trigger retaliation from the Dawn Trading Alliance, so he didn’t touch her.
Plus, she was beautiful, so he couldn’t bear to kill her.
Long Chen was satisfied, as his objective of obtaining the Blazing Thunder Crystal Soul had been completed. He did not care if Li Ziling recognized him. So what if she did? Putting Li Xuanji’s reputation aside, Long Chen was now part of the Lingwu family, so they would protect him.
However, there was half a month left, and he was not going to return to the Lingwu family. There was a more suitable place for him to merge with the Blazing Thunder Crystal Soul and increase his combat capabilities.
Right now, the most important thing was to escape. He didn’t know how Mo Xiaolang was faring outside. The duo could not catch up to him at all at this speed, and he accelerated even more.
When he was about to emerge from the cave, Long Chen could hear cries of pain from the outside. When he rushed out, he saw a large mass of collapsed blue-armored guards, while the rest stared at an insane-looking teenager at the center of the crowd.
“Two of the five representatives have collapsed!” Long Chen gasped because he saw that Xiaolang was locked in an intense battle against three late Heavenly Core Realm cultivators while two were being treated by their guards.
Long Chen had taken about half an hour to obtain the crystal soul. This meant that Mo Xiaolang had been fighting for that long, which was very impressive.
“Xiaolang! Let’s get out of here!” Long Chen laughed as he shot out of the cave.
When Mo Xiaolang heard Long Chen’s voice, he was overjoyed. Being quicker than his opponents, he disappeared in a flash, sprinting towards Long Chen at a speed that made him almost invisible to the naked eye. This was the Illusory Divine Step that Yin Mengyao had once mentioned!
Rushing to Long Chen’s side, he asked excitedly, “Big Brother! Did you get it?”
Long Chen could sense that he was a little fatigued from such a long fight. He was fighting against five equal-level masters after all, which was difficult to achieve.
“I went in there myself, so of course I was successful! Xiaolang, I really want to thank you for your help. Without you, I never would have gotten the Blazing Thunder Crystal Soul!” Long Chen thanked him genuinely.
“Big Brother, don’t say that! We are brothers! Of course we should fight alongside each other!” Mo Xiaolang chuckled, looking both innocent and shy.
“You put it so fucking well! Let’s not waste any time! Run!”
At this moment, Li Ziling and Li Qingling had already run out, and the five representatives had learned that Long Chen had taken the crystal soul. Now a large horde of people was running madly after them.
Unfortunately, Long Chen and Mo Xiaolang were just too fast. The strongest of them all, Li Ziling, was currently in a fatigued state, so they were left in the dust.
“Damn it!” Li Ziling punched the boulder next to her, causing it to shatter!
“Give chase! I want them flayed!”
***
“Big Brother, that was so exciting!” Mo Xiaolang chuckled when they were out of danger.
“If you’re with me, excitement is guaranteed.” Long Chen was happy. He thought back to when they met at Baiyang Town. At the time, due to the gap in strength, Long Chen looked up to him. Now that the gap wasn’t so wide, he felt much better.
At this point, they were out of the Fire Thunder Mountain Range and were heading towards Fire Thunder Town, so Long Chen was somewhat relaxed.
The mouth of a valley was up ahead, and once they passed it, they would arrive at Fire Thunder Town.
Long Chen was about to run past it when a giant boulder suddenly rolled down, bringing with it a huge power that caused the ground to shake.
“Xiaolang, run!” At this critical moment, they had no choice but to separate and run to the side. The boulder brushed past them and landed on the ground, throwing pebbles and dust in all directions!
Long Chen’s chest tightened. He knew someone had ambushed them, but there was no time to guess who it was. Amidst the chaos, he activated the Dragon Soul Transformation!
Perfect, blood-red scales covered his whole body, and sharp, red spines emerged from his joints!
“Who’s there?” Long Chen sensed a black figure charging at himself amidst the cloud of dust. He hurriedly stumbled backwards to dodge that person’s attack.
When the dust settled, Long Chen’s vision cleared.
Two black-clothed people had stopped them. After they used the boulder to separate him and Mo Xiaolang, one of them attacked Mo Xiaolang fiercely while the other charged at Long Chen!
Is this an assassination attempt? Long Chen squinted, his mind racing. The Dawn Trading Alliance was the only enemy in Fire Thunder Town, and it was impossible for them to have sent someone else so quickly. This meant that these two were from Yuanling City. There was only one person in Yuanling City who knew that he was here—Dongfang Xuanyu!
“Dongfang Xuanyu sent you two here, right?” Long Chen didn’t counter his enemy’s attacks immediately, but first dodged them.
When he spoke, his opponent was startled, but they continued attacking without a word. But their response was enough of an answer for Long Chen.
Based on their attacks, Long Chen guessed that they were at the late Heavenly Core Realm. There was only a limited number of cultivators of this level in the Lingwu family, so when Long Chen looked at their body shapes, he had his guesses.
“Chu Tianxiong and Jin Luan! Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you just because you’re clad in armor? Isn’t that too naïve of you?” Long Chen suddenly laughed while they fought.
“Long Chen, I must admit that you are indeed very smart. But smart people are usually the first to die!” The black-clothed person fighting Long Chen finally spoke up. As expected, it was Chu Tianxiong. Jin Luan was the one fighting Mo Xiaolang.
Chu Tianxiong did not panic or hold back despite Long Chen exposing him. Instead, his attacks grew more fervent. He used the Chu family combat techniques paired with his late Heavenly Core Realm Qi, which were countless times stronger than Chu Yunxi’s attacks!
“Brother Chu, kill Long Chen quickly!” Jin Luan yelled pathetically. He had underestimated Mo Xiaolang’s strength, so he had been fighting a losing battle since the beginning. The only way for him to escape was if Chu Tianxiong followed their plan, which was to kill Long Chen immediately and come help him!
The plan was perfect, but could Chu Tianxiong kill Long Chen in time?
Long Chen instantly guessed their plan. The Azure Dragon Halberd instantly appeared in his hand, and he swung it at his foe. The image of a dragon appeared, bringing with it a powerful momentum. Before the halberd landed, dust was already flying from the vibrations!
“The Azure Dragon Halberd? It’s impressive indeed! However, Long Chen, you killed my grandson. No matter what happens, you will pay for it today!” Although their faces were covered, Long Chen knew that Chu Tianxiong’s face had turned green.
“Cataclysmic Wind Finger!” The wind howled as he sent a finger seal at Long Chen’s Azure Dragon Halberd!
Chu Tianxiong was the Grand Elder of an outer family after all, and he had clearly mastered the Cataclysmic Wind Finger. It withstood Long Chen’s Split Yellow River.
“You think you can kill me with such a weak attack?” Long Chen chuckled coldly. If he could defeat Dongfang Xuanyu, who had cultivated an Earth-tier combat technique, Chu Tianxiong would be easy!
He turned his halberd, and a dragon image appeared, shooting right at Chu Tianxiong!
“Azure Dragon Combat Technique, Shattered Skies!”
The Shattered Skies attack was more vicious than Split Yellow River. The Cataclysmic Wind Finger was Chu Tianxiong’s most powerful technique, so he had no answer for Shattered Skies. Chu Tianxiong squinted as he looked at Long Chen’s attack flying towards himself.
It’s no wonder Madam Xuanyu said I am no longer a match for him. It’s indeed true. It looks like I must use the thing she gave me!
When Long Chen used Shattered Skies, Chu Tianxiong did not panic. He retreated as fast as he could and pulled out an object.
There were several yellow talisman papers in his hand. They were covered in fire-red characters, and upon closer inspection, the characters were emitting flames!
“Firestorm Talisman?” Long Chen knew what they were since he had been in the Lingwu family for some time. They were worth much more than Thunder Talismans, as they were one level higher.
Chu Tianxiong had several Firestorm Talismans in hand. When they were used together, their effects would not increase proportionally, but exponentially. That was why Long Chen was startled when he saw Chu Tianxiong take them out!
He had almost been reduced to black charcoal due to Chu Yunxi’s Thunder Talisman a while back. Long Chen remembered that Chu Yunxi had received it from Dongfang Tianyu. Therefore, it was clear that Dongfang Xuanyu was the one who had provided the Firestorm Talismans!
Long Chen was speechless. The same thing had happened to him twice, yet he still had no defenses. Dongfang Xuanyu knew that he was stronger, yet she had sent Chu Tianxiong and Jin Luan here to their deaths. How was it possible that they wouldn’t have a final trick up their sleeves?
Also, when Long Chen defeated Dongfang Xuanyu, she never used any talismans. This meant that she had prepared them specifically to kill Long Chen!
“Die!” Chu Tianxiong roared.