For some unknown reason, seeing Ouyang Qiuyuâs smile made a trace of warmth appear in Long Chenâs heart. Perhaps it was because of dealing with schemes for so long, but that simple act touched him deeply.
âI donât remember making any promise to you.â Long Chen shook his head.
âOh? Youâve forgotten already? I seem to recall that back then, someone intimately called me little sister and said that if anyone bullied me, I could come and find you,â laughed Ouyang Qiuyu.
Long Chenâs arrival caused Ouyang Qiuyuâs originally chaotic mood to instantly improve a great deal. The haze over her heart finally faded.
Long Chen immediately felt awkward. Back then, he really had been an idiot. He had been tricked by Ouyang Qiuyuâs outer appearance and treated her as an ordinary disciple. He had even bragged so much.
âYou came from the Xuantian Dao Sect, right? Whatâs going on there? Shui Wuhen should have recovered by now, so why didnât she come with you?â asked Ouyang Qiuyu.
As soon as Shui Wuhen was mentioned, Long Chenâs gaze turned cold. His gaze swept over the Sea Expansion experts of the Xuantian Dao Sect, and his killing intent slowly rose once more.
âSect master, although raising this topic now is a bit unsuitable, Iâm an impatient person and I donât like to stall. Within our group are several black sheep that need to be eliminated.â
âWhat?â
When Ouyang Qiuyu heard that Shui Qingfeng had actually been so stupid as to try to kill Shui Wuhen, Ouyang Qiuyuâs expression sank to a frightening point. âHow brazen!â
âThe brazen ones arenât just those few idiots from the Shui family. The Zhou family is also quite brazen. Wouldnât you say, Zhou family head?â Long Chen turned toward a certain elder in the crowd.
That person was the new Zhou family head. He immediately shouted, âLong Chen, I admit youâre powerful, but you canât willfully slander others! As soon as you appeared, you killed our commander, but I didnât say anything. Now you want to slander me? Just what are you thinking? Why do you always have to target my Zhou family?â
The Zhou family headâs voice sounded righteous and wronged, and he spoke loudly so everyone could hear him.
âHmph, that commander was clearly garbage. His distribution of battle power was clearly unbalanced. The right wingâs enemies were strong, but he placed the majority of our power to the left? Do you think Iâm an idiot and canât see that he placed the Dragonblood Legion at the front to be sacrificial pawns?â asked Long Chen icily.
âWhat does a brat like you know of battle tactics? Youâre just shamelessly framing people! If you want to accuse someone, bring out your proof! If you donât have any proof, then just shut your mouth!â shouted the Zhou family head.
âProof? Sorry, but Iâm not a bailiff. If you want proof, well, letâs just see.â
Long Chenâs gaze locked onto the Zhou family head, and he suddenly found that he was unable to move. Long Chenâs Spiritual Strength crashed down on him like a mountain.
He felt like he had been dropped in an icehouse. He was unable to move, but it wasnât a spatial art. It was a spiritual suppression and a kind of killing intent lock.
âI ask you, was that commander intentionally harming the Dragonblood Legion!?â shouted Long Chen.
Ouyang Qiuyu was startled. She hadnât expected that it wasnât just Long Chenâs combat power that was so frightening. Even his Spiritual Strength was terrifying. This was an extremely domineering spiritual interrogation. With his Spiritual Strength locked around him, the Zhou family head couldnât lie. If he did, the slightest spiritual fluctuation from telling a lie would activate Long Chenâs killing intent and his soul would be destroyed.
â⊠Yes!â After struggling for a long time, the Zhou family head didnât have the courage to lie in the end.
âWere you the one who incited that?â Long Chenâs expression didnât change.
The Zhou family head tightly shut his mouth, his whole body trembling and sweating. He didnât dare to make a sound. He looked at Ouyang Qiuyu with a pleading expression.
âLong Chen-â Ouyang Qiuyu had just opened her mouth when Long Chen flashed into motion, pressing a finger against the Zhou family headâs forehead.
âSoulsearch!â
Everyone was horrified. Long Chen truly was brazen, to actually exceed his position and directly use a soulsearch against the Zhou family head in front of Ouyang Qiuyu. Once this soulsearch was over, wouldnât the Zhou family head be turned into an imbecile?
âYou brazen criminal, hurry and release me-!â The Zhou family headâs furious roar was cut off by a golden light. He was dead.
âWhen my boss takes action, donât make such a fuss,â shouted Guo Ran. He had been the one to kill him.
Ouyang Qiuyuâs expression changed slightly. Long Chenâs actions truly were not giving her, the sect master, face. He didnât care at all about her opinion.
Long Chen listed off eight names, all of which were the Zhou familyâs higher-ups. Those who were named immediately turned pale as paper. Guo Ran raised his finger and pointed at them. The eight of them were locked down.
âLong Chen, we can discuss this matter later. Right nowâŠâ Ouyang Qiuyu couldnât help but open her mouth. Now wasnât the time to continuously kill their own Sea Expansion experts. It would affect their army.
âGuo Ran, help them out.â Long Chen seemed to not hear Ouyang Qiuyu.
âOkay.â Guo Ran pointed his finger. A golden ray shot out and killed one of the Zhou familyâs experts.
âSect master, save us-!â
Miserable cries rang out as Guo Ran continued pointing. Arrows shot out too quickly and at too close of a distance for them to do anything but die.
âLong Chen, I order you to stop!â shouted Ouyang Qiuyu furiously.
âWhy should I stop?!â Long Chen suddenly turned to look at her. He looked like a furious lion, his killing intent soaring into the sky. âThey wanted to kill my brothers, so why canât I kill them? Do I really have to wait until they actually do kill my brothers so I can kill them in revenge? Who came up with that dogsh*t logic? Donât try giving me some garbage about taking my time and how I can settle the bill later, or how I need to get proof. I donât care about any of that. Anyone who dares to touch my brothers all have to die! Every single one of them!â
Long Chen thought of Little Snowâs death. His fury and killing intent were about to erupt out of his control. His final words echoed through the air.
Even someone with Ouyang Qiuyuâs cultivation base felt her head ringing from Long Chenâs voice. But even more terrifying, Long Chenâs eyes were completely red. He looked like a bloodthirsty devil who might start killing people at any moment. This was Ouyang Qiuyuâs first time seeing Long Chen so furious, and her own fury vanished without a trace.
âThe reason I traveled so far wasnât because I care so much about the Xuantian Dao Sect, but because my brothers are here, and because my big sister is here. For them, I can put my life on the line. But as for the dogsh*t rules you higher-ups like to play, Iâve had enough. Donât talk to me about background or influence. Anyone who dares to scheme against my people will have my butcherâs knife chop off their heads.â
Long Chenâs voice shook everyoneâs hearts. In that instant, it felt like all their lives were in his hands, as if a single thought from him could kill them all. He was too terrifying.
Eight of the Zhou familyâs experts had been killed. After completing the mission Long Chen had given him, Guo Ran casually walked back behind him.
âYou donât feel any ties to the Xuantian Dao Sect?â Ouyang Qiuyu sighed with disappointment. As the head of that family, she viewed each disciple as her own child. Long Chenâs words were hurtful.
âI donât like the Xuantian Dao Sectâs atmosphere. The internal strife and despicable schemes continue in an unending stream. Just now, all I did was kill a few of the vermin targeting me. But in reality, the Xuantian Dao Sect is infested with more vermin, vermin that hinders the sectâs proper development. Iâm sure youâre even clearer about that than me.
âI want to love the Xuantian Dao Sect, but in front of the endless schemes that want me dead, I donât know just how Iâm supposed to love it!â said Long Chen.
The higher-ups all felt ashamed. Yes, it was true that all their energy was focused on internal strife.
But there was no way around that. If they didnât, they would have to leave or die. No matter what they wanted to do for the sect, they would have to go through many twists and turns.
Countless people were worried that you would soar like a shooting star above them, and so they would heavily suppress you. As you constantly worked your way through that, you would constantly run into blockades.
Cooking a good bowl of porridge wasnât easy, but ruining it was. All it required was a single log of stool to destroy your work of several years or even decades.
After trying for so long, everyone had given up. Instead, they held their own logs of stool and their sights on other peopleâs bowls of porridge. It began an unending, vicious cycle.
Many people understood this principle, but they were unable to do anything about it. These had become unspoken rules, and they had to follow them. This was what it meant by the law could not condemn everyone. It wasnât as if they could kick out every single one of them. Wouldnât the sect be disbanded then?
Although they were all just holding logs of stool to target others, at least on the surface, it would appear like the sect was flourishing. This was the case for the majority of sects.
âAlthough I donât have any good feelings toward the sect, my brothers and sisters are here. They are the people I love, so Iâve come,â continued Long Chen.
âI donât care about the problems with the sectâs system, nor do I care about your hopelessly tangled relationships. How other people want to fight against each other means nothing to me. However, donât provoke me.â Long Chen glared at the Xuantian Dao Sectâs higher-ups. This was a warning.
Originally, Ouyang Qiuyu had thought that Long Chen was saying these heartless words because he was planning on leaving the Xuantian Dao Sect. But now he had clearly expressed himself. Although he didnât like the Xuantian Dao Sect, he wouldnât leave the sect. That relieved her.
At the same time, she was also extremely ashamed. She was the highest leader of the Xuantian Dao Sect, but she had never been able to steel herself to completely cleanse the sect. If she had been ruthless back then, then the Xuantian Dao Sect might not be in its current form.
âLong Chen, what are you planning to do now?â asked Ouyang Qiuyu.
âSect master, do you want to play it big?â Long Chen stared at the distant spatial portal, his eyes icy-cold.