Long Chen hastily stopped Elder Sha upon seeing he was about to leave. He had many things he wanted to ask this Elder, but he just hadnât had an opportunity.
Elder Sha frowned slightly. âWhat things?â
âJust some matters pertaining to the Central Plains and the Xuantian Dao Sect,â said Long Chen.
âAccording to the rules, Elders truly do have the responsibility to answer pertinent questions asked by disciples. Go ahead.â Everyone was surprised that Elder Sha didnât refuse.
Those senior disciples were especially perplexed. This Elder Sha was incredibly cold. On the way here, he hadnât spoken more than three times.
But Long Chen had seen through Elder Shaâs character after a few interactions. Although Elder Shaâs cultivation base was terrifying, as a person, he was very straightforward. He did everything according to the rules. The reason he didnât speak much wasnât because he was acting arrogant. Long Chen had misjudged him previously.
Some senior disciples helped âpeelâ Wang Mang off the martial stage. They gave him medicinal pills, and he circulated his Heavenly Dao energy to heal. His body quickly inflated as he recovered.
Meng Qiâs last move had been too vicious, so for him to fully recover would take a certain amount of time. That was because Meng Qi was also a Celestial, and her attacks contained Heavenly Dao energy, which made the wound harder to heal.
Everyone hastily grouped up to listen upon hearing that Elder Sha was answering questions. They respectfully stood around him, even the senior disciples.
âGo ahead and ask them your questions first. If they canât answer, I will,â said Elder Sha, indicating Long Chen to ask the senior disciples. He didnât like talking needlessly.
âSenior apprentice-brother Long Chen, go ahead and ask anything. We definitely wonât hide anything we know,â said a senior disciple. No matter how stupid they were, they could tell Long Chen was the most terrifying existence in this group. Although he hadnât fought, considering that he dared to challenge Wang Mang to a life and death match, they all knew he was confident.
As for Wang Mang, he had used his Foundation Forging cultivation base in the end, but still been crushed. Therefore, they didnât dare to look down on Long Chen anymore. Their attitudes had completely reversed.
Hearing this senior disciple call Long Chen senior apprentice-brother made the others chortle. It was like they were the senior apprentice-brothers.
As for Elder Sha, he was indifferent. It was like he had long since known it would be like this.
âSenior apprentice-brother Long Chen, you might not know this, but other than those with official posts, we all call the stronger ones senior. It has nothing to do with cultivation base or age. With your power, there might even be some seniors who are several centuries old who will call you senior apprentice-brother, or perhaps even senior,â explained that senior disciple.
The Eastern Wastelandâs disciples couldnât help but find this rule odd. The Central Plains was truly different.
Long Chen didnât care about such trifles. He got straight to the point. âHow many days will it take us to get to the Central Plains?â
âProbably three months.â The senior disciple bitterly smiled.
âThree months?â All the newcomers were startled. Even with this flying boatâs terrifying speed, it would still take three months.
âYes, and thatâs if nothing unexpected happens. We have to go over the Martial Heaven Sea-Ring to get the Central Plains, then go through nine supreme transportation formations before arriving at the Xuantian Dao Sect.â
The newcomers took in a breath of cold air. Three months of high-speed flying, and nine supreme transportation formations. That was a bit too far, wasnât it?
It was no wonder it was said that the Eastern Wasteland, Western Desert, Southern Sea, and Northern Source were just some wild lands on the border of the continent. Now they learned that all together, they took up less than a fifth of the Martial Heaven Continent. The rest of it was the Central Plains.
âWhat is the Martial Heaven Sea-Ring?â asked Tang Wan-er curiously.
âThe Martial Heaven Sea-RingâŠâ That disciple looked toward Elder Sha.
âGo ahead. The legends say that, and no one knows if itâs true,â said Elder Sha.
âLegend says that the Martial Heaven Continent underwent a huge war in the immortal era, and through a battle of gods and devils, the entire land shattered. A ring-shaped sea formed during that time. It is said that it is the result of a bracelet smashing into the continent.â
âA bracelet? How is that possible? What bracelet would be that big?â demanded Guo Ran. That was simply unimaginable.
âItâs just what the legends say. No one knows for sure as there are no accurate records. These are just legends that canât be trusted,â said the senior disciple awkwardly. Back then, they had also scoffed upon hearing this legend.
âJust because you havenât seen something doesnât mean it doesnât exist. Legends canât be trusted, but theyâre not necessarily groundless. The reason we canât believe it is because we havenât reached that realm.â Long Chen shook his head. That was because he thought of the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
That damaged, half-dead bell was so strong that King items were like specks of dust in front of it. That had completely shocked Long Chen.
Elder Sha looked at him and nodded slightly. This thinking won him a bit of praise. To have such wisdom at such an age was rare.
âSenior apprentice-brother Long Chen is right. The Martial Heaven Continentâs five great divine items have also never been seen, but who dares to say that they really donât exist? Originally, the Martial Heaven Continentâs five parts were around the same size. But once the Martial Heaven Sea-Ring formed, the entire continentâs terrain changed. The Eastern Wasteland, Western Desert, Southern Sea, and Northern Source became much smaller. Gradually, those four regions became wild lands of no interest to anyone.
âAnd thus, the Central Plains became the true cultivation land of the Martial Heaven Continent. The cultivators there are as numerous as grains of sand in a desert. Originally, the four regions had their own unique Dao paths, but when the ring-shaped sea formed around the Central Plains, those four regions lost a great deal of their core. What remains currently is just some bits and pieces, and the true inheritances⊠Well, you understand,â said that disciple awkwardly.
Everyone understood. That mysterious bracelet, which might not even exist, had caused a ring-shaped sea to form around the Central Plains. It had caused the most damage to the other four regions, causing a place like the Eastern Wasteland to be nothing more than a savage, uncivilized land.
âThe Central Plains has millions and millions of sects, but our Xuantian Dao Sect is well-known even within it. It is on the same level as the Heaven Splitting Divine Sect and Heaven Suppressing Magical Sect. They are called the three great heavenly sects,â said the disciple proudly. Being able to wear the Xuantian Dao Sectâs robes was clearly something to be proud of.
âAre the three great heavenly sects able to dominate the Central Plains?â asked Guo Ran.
âUh⊠probably⊠no, definitely not,â said the disciple.
âBrother, the Central Plains is so large that you probably wonât understand. Even we, who have stayed in the Xuantian Dao Sect for a decade, after perusing countless tomes, only understand the slightest bits about the Central Plains as a whole,â said another senior disciple.
âSorry, I wasnât trying to argue. Itâs just that you were making the Xuantian Dao Sect sound so amazing, so I thought that by wearing the same robes, Iâd be something like a ruler of the world,â said Guo Ran with no shame.
The senior disciples relaxed a great deal. Previously, they had felt these fellows in front of them to be fierce monsters, but now they found that they really were quite easy to talk to.
âAll that can be said is that the Xuantian Dao Sect can count as above average in the entire Central Plains. Practically everyone in the cultivation world has heard of it. Once you reach the Xuantian Dao Sect, I guarantee youâll be stupefied by the sectâs grandness. Itâs just thatâŠâ
âJust what?â asked Guo Ran.
âItâs just that this time, the Eastern Wasteland only sent over a pitiful number of disciples. Itâs the last place amongst the four regions. I remember in the last generation, there were over twenty thousand, but this timeâŠâ said a senior disciple curiously.
The truth was that while the Remote Heaven Gang was powerful and dared to challenge the branch Xuantian Dao Sect, they were unable to stop other sects from sending their disciples over. Every ten years, when the Xuantian Dao Sect was sending disciples over to the Central Plains, there would be a grand celebration.
The head sect didnât really care that much about the branch sects as they were just some minor bases. Even disciples that werenât part of those branch sects could use the opportunity once every ten years to try and join the head sect.
This was the Xuantian Dao Sectâs confidence. They werenât worried about people with evil intent. They were sure that once these disciples arrived in the Central Plains, they would change. Their original intentions would be gone.
In the eyes of the head sect, the struggles in the other four regions were insignificant, not worth a second thought. It was like children playing house.
âIn truth, Iâm also very curious,â said Elder Sha.
Long Chen was startled. âDid you not ask sect master Ouyang Qiuyu?â
âIt wasnât in accordance with the rules. Since it is not within the scope of my responsibility, it wasnât convenient to ask,â said Elder Sha.
Long Chen almost laughed. This Elder Sha really was hidebound by convention. He would rather keep his questions inside than ask. He could be counted as a marvel.
âSenior apprentice-brother Long Chen, why are there so few disciples from the Eastern Wasteland this time?â asked a senior disciple curiously.
âOh⊠umâŠâ Long Chen immediately felt awkward. The answer wasnât really convenient to say.
The other Dragonblood warriors also had awkward expressions, causing the senior disciples to look at each other. Just what was going on?â
âWhat is there to be embarrassed about? Werenât they just slaughtered by us? Itâs not embarrassing, so why bother hiding it,â said Guo Ran unashamedly.
âWhat?!â
All the senior disciples were dumbfounded, unable to believe their ears. But Guo Ran was already telling them a story about how Long Chen had led them to dominate the Eastern Wasteland.
âNo wonder they sent me this time. Iâm from the Sect Protection Pavilion. Originally, I wasnât supposed to be in charge of this matter.â Elder Sha came to a sudden comprehension upon hearing how Li Changfeng had brought Lu Minghan away.
âWang Mang, you should have heard of this matter. Go ahead, tell us!â Long Chen coldly stared at Wang Mang, who was in the midst of recovering from his heavy injuries.