âLong Chen, did you do this on purpose?!â Long Chen had just squeezed his way to the front of the crowd when Lu Tianhua roared furiously at him.
All the young experts from Pill Valley that had come with him were lying on the ground, their faces beaten and bruised. One of them had even lost both his legs.
Guo Ran and the others seemed embarrassed when they saw Long Chen. Guo Ran said, âBoss, they provoked us first by insulting you over and over.â
âNonsense, we didnât do anything like that!â Those Pill Valleyâs disciples were terrified to see Long Chen. If they admitted they had said bad things about him, they might lose their lives.
Although their master was standing right beside them, he wasnât able to give them a feeling of safety. Two of them had already been killed by Long Chen right in front of him.
âDidnât you just say that the Dragonblood Legion is a pack of barbarians who have yet to become civilized? Boss is the leader of the Dragonblood Legion, and by insulting the entire Dragonblood Legion, how are you not insulting boss?â said Guo Ran.
Hearing this, then looking at the disciples on the ground, Long Chen could guess what had happened.
Guo Ran was never good at being peaceful. If he didnât act like a poser for a day, he wouldnât be able to calm down. Moreover, these disciples from Pill Valley were all incredibly arrogant and they looked down on others. It was very likely for a conflict to erupt between the former and the latter.
As for whether that conflict was started by Pill Valleyâs disciples or whether Guo Ran had intentionally baited them, that was a bit harder to say.
However, Guo Ran was definitely a wicked character. Having dared to beat them to this state, he definitely hadnât left any evidence for them to say that he had started things.
âLong Chen, if you donât give me an explanation today, I will end you!â roared Lu Tianhua. On this trip to the Eastern Wasteland, he had not only lost two of his disciples and been unable to get revenge, but his remaining disciples had also been beaten black and blue. He had completely lost all his face.
âDonât point at me with your finger.â Long Chen frowned.
âYou!â Lu Tianhua was enraged. But thinking of Long Chenâs temperament, he put away his hand, saying, âLong Chen, you must give me an explanation!â
Li Changfeng didnât have a good opportunity to interject here. He couldnât help but sigh inside. The previous trouble Long Chen had caused had just been settled through negotiations, and he had just been about to send the three of them away when they encountered Lu Tianhuaâs disciples that were beaten into this state. He had a headache now.
But he also knew that Lu Tianhua wouldnât dare to do anything to Long Chen. At most, he would get Long Chen to lower his head and apologize in order to win back some face.
Ouyang Qiuyu was clenching her teeth furiously. Things had just been settled perfectly, but then another matter erupted. She had an urge to throttle Long Chen. His ability to cause trouble was unrivaled beneath the heavens.
âWhat happened?â Long Chen ignored Lu Tianhua, asking Guo Ran about the disciples on the ground.
âThey were rude to us. At first, we just ignored them. After all, boss, you told us not to provoke others if they donât provoke us. If others provoke us, we endure a bit, and if they provoke us again, we pull them up by the roots. So when they acted all badass, we just calmly watched, solemnly studying their poser arts. Later, they felt like just bragging wasnât satisfying enough, and so they asked to exchange some pointers with us. Gu Yang told them, âWeâre not skilled in such nonsense and only skilled in killing people. Boss doesnât let us randomly bicker.â When they heard that, their faces became as long as donkeys, and they began braying insults at us. Then this brother jumped out.â
Guo Ran pointed to the fellow that only had his upper body remaining. âThey really knew how to play. Flames billowed out of their bodies, sometimes forming lotuses, sometimes forming weapons. Those big changes were truly impressive. Iâm not scholarly enough to describe it in detail, but in any case, it was incredibly amazing to watch. Boss, you know that weâre all poor villagers who have never seen the real world. Looking at their marvelous display, we naturally had to pay a fee as appreciation. Otherwise, others would look down on us. Furthermore, I can count as having some status. When I felt my pocket, I found that there were a few dozen cold coins inside. So I tossed them to the ground. Although weâre poor, we still understand rules. Considering what a marvelous show they had put on, we couldnât be stingy. If there is an appreciation to show, we should show it. Then, this fellow suddenly charged toward me, saying my conduct was an insult to him. Wilde found him displeasing to the eye, so he beat him a bit. In the end, they all came at us, wanting to beat us, and the result is what you see here,â said Guo Ran as if he had been mistreated.
Everyoneâs expressions were odd. Li Changfeng looked from the crafty Guo Ran to Long Chen and sighed inside. As expected, a master would raise the same kind of disciple. With a boss like Long Chen, all the people below him were also sure to be uncontrollable characters.
But the shocking thing was that Guo Ran and the others were so strong. Those Pill Valleyâs disciples were all rank four Celestials and had all reached the late Sea Expansion realm. Yet, they had still been beaten so miserably.
In truth, they were simply unaware that these Pill Valleyâs disciples all lived like princes and had always been flattered by others. Their strength in relation to their cultivation base was greatly lacking.
As for the Dragonblood Legion, having followed Long Chen for so long, they were all vicious people who had killed their way out of piles of corpses. Although they normally didnât give off much of a dangerous feeling, when they fought, everyone would tremble at their killing intent. To Guo Ran and the others, the Pill Valleyâs disciples were nothing more than fat sheep in fancy clothes, impressive-looking but useless.
âBut then you shouldnât have been so vicious to your opponents!â Lu Tianhua still twisted the truth to suit him.
Long Chenâs expression suddenly sank, and he scolded Guo Ran. âHow could you cause such trouble!?â
This caused Guo Ran and the others to jump in surprise. They didnât know why Long Chen would suddenly get so angry. Had they done something wrong?
Long Chen raged, âWhat have I taught you all this time? Our Xuantian Dao Sect is the leader of the Eastern Wastelandâs Righteous path! We have to be an example for all! But look at what youâve all done! Tell me, donât you think itâs embarrassing? Were all my teachings just wind through your ears?â
Long Chenâs scolding caused Lu Tianhuaâs expression to improve slightly. This could count as lowering his head to Pill Valley. In the end, youngsters losing in a little scuffle didnât affect Pill Valleyâs prestige. The only reason why Lu Tianhua was so furious was because he had been stifling a belly full of rage all this time.
Although Li Changfeng had represented Long Chen to apologize to them all and had also given them some compensation, he was still irritated.
He had lost two of his beloved apprentices instead of gaining what he had wanted, causing him to lose all his face. However, he was also helpless to do anything about it. That rage had been brewing this entire time.
Then when he walked out and saw that the rest of his disciples had been beaten so badly, well, anyone would find it unbearable. But now that Long Chen was scolding Guo Ran and the others, his expression became a bit better.
Lu Tianhua knew to get going while the getting was good. He was just about to have Li Changfeng state their punishment, which would be no more than a single cane, but Long Chenâs next words made him almost pass out.
âGuo Ran, youâve got a big brain. But why canât you remember anything useful? You think with your current ability, you can become a spendthrift? Do you remember how hard we had to work for just a few points in the 108th monastery? Tch, you threw out dozens of gold coins in one go? How generous! Do you know how hard we have to work to get that much money? I always tell you to be frugal. Money is always the most important thing for any power! Guo Ran, although youâre my best brother, youâve committed an unforgivable mistake. Donât blame me for being merciless.â Long Chen clenched his teeth.
âNo, boss, please! Please, give me another chance!â A horrified expression crept over Guo Ranâs face, and he knelt on the ground next to Long Chen, holding his leg, wailing.
Everyone was startled. What was Long Chen about to do? To cause Guo Ran to be so terrified, was he going to kill him? Or was he going to expel him from the Dragonblood Legion?
The others didnât understand, but the Dragonblood Legion did. All of them knew what was happening, and Meng Qi sighed deeply, shaking her head. On the other hand, Tang Wan-er was stifling her laughter.
âIâve decided.â Long Chen hardened his heart.
âBoss, no! Iâm begging you, on account of how long weâve been together, how much loyalty Iâve shown you, please donât! Look, Iâll take back the money right now! Here, Iâll give it all to you. Please boss, just pretend this never happened!â Guo Ran picked up all the gold coins and offered them to Long Chen with both hands raised, pitifully staring at him.
Looking at the tears in Guo Ranâs eyes and how pitiful he looked, everyone felt emotional.
As for Long Chen, he almost kicked him away in fury. It was just a play, so was there any need to act so over the top? He almost coughed up blood from watching.
Long Chen didnât dare to look at him as this bastardâs expression was too powerful. He was afraid heâd laugh. Looking into the distance, he indifferently shook his head. âRules are rules. No one can change them, including myself. So I have to do this.â
Everyone held their breath.
Long Chen grabbed Guo Ranâs neck, shouting, âIâm going to garnish one year of your salary! Donât you like showing off? Donât you like being generous with your money? Well, for the next year, donât even think of getting a single copper coin from me!â
As his words resounded throughout the plaza, everyone turned into stone statues.