It was boiling hot.
This was the only thing Long Chen felt. After he entered the black whirlpool, he felt a gush of fire grabbing him tightly. The flames at the entrance were hot too, and if he had not protected himself using Qi in time, he could have been burnt.
He felt himself swimming through the sea of fire, and it was a miserable feeling. Fortunately, the intense heat disappeared soon after, though the surrounding temperature was still high.
When his eyes sprang open, he was surprised to find himself standing on some black soil. The ground was black like burnt charcoal, similar to the soil in the Burning Heaven Mountain Range, but much harder. Long Chen stepped on it, and it felt the same as stepping on steel, despite it being soil.
What differed from the Burning Heaven Mountain Range was that the temperature here was several times higher. A regular person would find it hard to survive for more than fifteen minutes.
He noticed flames all around him when he opened his eyes. The flames were in random shapes and sizes, even presenting different colors. The most common color was red, and the flames looked like flowers blooming in the black soil. Some flames even melded into each other to form walls, blocking one’s vision and pathway.
With the flames nearly covering the ground completely, they couldn’t even find three square meters of open space, and some flames rose to heights of above two meters. Everyone had no choice but to tread very carefully. This was the Burning Heaven Secret Realm after all.
Long Chen first saw the fire, then he saw Mo Xiaolang next to him, who was equally shocked. Next, he spotted the other eight people of the Lingwu family not far away. As for the Beast Soul Palace and the Dawn Trading Alliance members, their whereabouts were unknown.
No one could orient themselves here, so for a moment, Long Chen did not know which direction he should go towards.
“Big Brother, should we be traveling with them?” Mo Xiaolang asked.
“Don’t we have enough problems already? Let’s go.” Long Chen had zero intentions of fighting alongside the Lingwu people. After answering Mo Xiaolang, he picked a direction and walked ahead.
“Stop right there!” He had just taken a few steps when the eight Lingwu youths started to surround him. Very quickly, they completely encircled Long Chen and Mo Xiaolang so they could not leave.
Out of the eight, the three people with Earth-tier Divine Weapons were the strongest, while Dongfang Tianchen and Tianxuan were at the mid Heavenly Core Realm, which was not weak. As for the ones who were at the initial Heavenly Core Realm, they were merely placeholders.
“What is the meaning of this?” Long Chen was a little taken aback that these brats dared block his way. He peered at them with interest, only to notice their cold expressions. It seemed that they had planned to surround him before they even entered the Burning Heaven Secret Realm, likely without permission from the Azure Dragon Patriarch and the rest.
“You’re asking for the meaning of this? Long Chen, don’t people call you a genius? Can’t you figure it out yourself?” said Dongfang Tianchen coldly, taking a step forward.
“I really have no clue. Unless … Are you guys thinking of attacking me? You’ve got some guts,” said Long Chen. To be honest, he truly had not expected these brats to attack as soon as they entered the Burning Heaven Secret Realm. The combat abilities of him and Mo Xiaolang were already well-known, and even late Heavenly Core Realm cultivators were no match for him, not to mention Mo Xiaolang.
“Long Chen, other people might be able to withstand the humiliation you’ve made us endure, but we cannot. The Lingwu family is the number one clan of Yuanling City, yet a stray dog like you has stepped on our heads. We have been bearing it all because we were waiting for today,” said Dongfang Tianchen coldly.
“That’s right.” Beitang Mo also took a step forward. “The Azure Dragon Halberd belongs to the Lingwu family. Only when we have killed you will Tianchen get it. Once all four of us with the four great Divine Weapons work together, Yan Danqing and Li Ziling will be no match for us. We still get the inheritance regardless, so we don’t need trash like you!”
“Even if you get the Azure Dragon Halberd, you guys won’t be able to use it.” Long Chen could not understand these idiots at all.
“You’re wrong. We can use it, and it’s all thanks to you for letting the Azure Dragon Halberd recognize you as its master,” said Dongfang Tianchen with a smirk. “I coincidentally learned that if I take the Qi belonging to the dead master of the Azure Dragon Halberd and then condense it into a Qi seed and plant it in my body, I can use the Azure Dragon Halberd for at least ten days!”
Long Chen realized that these brats had attacked without permission because they were eying the Azure Dragon Halberd. That was indeed a great idea, because if they killed Long Chen, not only could they resolve the hatred in their hearts, they could also use the combined power of the four Divine Weapons to deal with Yan Danqing and Li Ziling. Although the elders forbade them from doing this, and this was also a very risky move, they were willing to risk it all to wash away their humiliation and get the respect of their elders!
Long Chen and Mo Xiaolang locked eyes. They knew that their first battle in the Burning Heaven Secret Realm would be against the Lingwu family’s youths. Long Chen hated Beitang Mo to the bone, and he had not taken revenge for that one slap yet, so this was his chance!
“Xiaolang, we’ll go for it! Let’s show them how powerful we are!” Long Chen took a few steps back and laughed. The crowd felt goosebumps when they heard his laugh.
“That’s right, Big Brother! We’ll fight together!” Mo Xiaolang was excited.
When they saw that the duo was not afraid of death, Dongfang Tianchen and Beitang Mo looked at each other and commanded, “Everyone else, block Mo Xiaolang off! We only need fifteen minutes to kill Long Chen!”
Then the two of them charged furiously at Long Chen while everyone else rushed at Mo Xiaolang.
“Xiaolang, don’t kill them. Give them some leeway,” Long Chen instructed secretly.
He had to kill Beitang Mo. On the other hand, due to the conflict over the Azure Dragon Halberd, the fight with Dongfang Tianchen would clearly not end until one of them died. As for the others, Long Chen had less hatred towards them.
He had already faced Beitang Mo and Dongfang Tianchen alone. His attention was attracted by Beitang Mo’s weapon. It was a huge, black ax. The handle was more than two meters long and covered with a very hard, black turtle shell. The ax’s blade looked evil, and it was as sharp as the Azure Dragon Halberd.
This was the Earth-tier Divine Weapon belonging to the Northern Black Tortoise family, the Black Tortoise Axe. All five great Divine Weapons of the Lingwu family were equal in strength, so when the ax was used, it provided the user with a boost that was similar to the Azure Dragon Halberd.
“Since you guys want the Azure Dragon Halberd so badly, I’ll let you all watch me use it.” With a flash, the Azure Dragon Halberd appeared in his hand.
The rest of the people had already surrounded Mo Xiaolang. Obeying Long Chen’s instructions, he merely toyed with them, though at superspeed. If he fought with full force, the three initial Heavenly Core Realm brats would die instantly!
Thanks to that, Long Chen could place his full focus on the two people in front of him.
“Beitang Mo, you slapped me once, so I shall give you a taste of my halberd. You may defend yourself, and if you survive it, I will show you mercy and let you live. As for you, Dongfang Tianchen, it’s alright if you want the Azure Dragon Halberd. If you survive one hit from it, I’ll give it to you!” Long Chen slashed the halberd in the air and charged at them.
“Arrogant!”
“He’s just bragging!”
Beitang Mo and Dongfang Tianchen did not care about what he had said. Long Chen wanted to determine the victor in one move, and they did not want to waste time, so they used their most powerful attacks immediately.
Holding the Black Tortoise Axe with both hands, Beitang Mo leaped into the air and swung the ax down. It was as if a huge mountain was falling, and even the air trembled. A black glint from the ax formed an arc, and a monster with a snake head and tortoise body charged at Long Chen!
“Black Tortoise Combat Technique—Black Tortoise Reveal!”
A huge surge of power exploded, one that an average late Heavenly Core Realm cultivator would find hard to achieve. Beitang Mo with the Black Tortoise Axe could definitely defeat a cultivator like Dongfang Xuanyu.
Although Dongfang Tianchen did not have the Azure Dragon Halberd, the halberd in his hand was an extraordinary one. At least it was much more powerful than the Sun Halberd that Dongfang Tianyu once used. He leaped at Long Chen, slashing his halberd. His move created countless tiny dragon images that swirled around him. With a roar, the tiny dragons, which were shaped like halberd tips, all thrust towards Long Chen!
“Azure Dragon Combat Technique, Starsweep Dragon!”
This move made Long Chen’s lips curl up into a small smile.
“Is that Starsweep Dragon? Let me show you what the true Starsweep Dragon is.” Long Chen’s tone was very calm, but when he swung his halberd in the air, the wind and clouds seemed to swirl and howl. He charged forward, and even more azure dragon images appeared around him. From an outsider’s perspective, this Starsweep Dragon was of much higher quality than Dongfang Tianchen’s rendition.
“How is that possible?” Not much time had passed since Long Chen had received the Azure Dragon Halberd, yet he was already able to use Starsweep Dragon. From this, they could see just how extraordinarily talented he was at cultivating techniques..
The immensely powerful Starsweep Dragon launched countless halberd tips at Beitang Mo and Dongfang Tianchen. The wind howled manically, and the red flames around them were extinguished by the shockwaves!
Everyone’s faces changed when they saw how powerful the attack was. The surprised Dongfang Tianchen and Beitang Mo, and they did their best to drum up all the Qi they could before the suffocating attack arrived!
We’re two mid Heavenly Core Realm cultivators! How could we be weaker than Long Chen, who is merely at the initial Heavenly Core Realm? The results of this duel are not set yet! Perhaps this brat only looks impressive, but actually has no substance! With that thought, despite the massive discomfort in their hearts, the duo held out hope.
However, when they truly collided with Long Chen, they realized that they were too naïve. Long Chen’s Starsweep Dragon held power that they could not imagine.