Chapter 576: Well Prepared and Ready For Action
The difference in strength between the Divine Martial Empire and the other empires was clear just by looking at the difference in the number of Ancient Tokens.
It was accurate of Long Yue to call it the Nine Divine Empires instead of Ten Divine Empires.
Based on the number of ancient tokens, Long Chen estimated that tens of thousands of cultivators would enter the Ancient Graveyard in order to obtain the treasures. Long Chen’s goal was to travel past the Ancient Graveyard to enter the Three Emperor Territory, so he wouldn’t need to fight others that much.
Still, he would be more than happy to try his luck at contesting for treasures if his strength allowed for it. One of the Prismatic Keys was already in Long Chen’s Primordial Realm, so he would lose nothing if he tried to take the treasure of the Five Emperors.
There are five Prismatic Keys, and I just got the fifth one. Does that mean the Ancient Graveyard will be opening soon? It’s a shame that I don’t know where the Ancient Token will appear. I could’ve waited at that location until it appeared.
Long Chen pondered about what his next plans would be.
They soon reached Cloud Heaven City.
Long Chen memorized the details about the Ancient Graveyard before he accompanied Long Yue to find people from the Red Souls. They waited at a gazebo and soon, a man in black overalls appeared.“How are the others? Where are they?” Long Yue wasted no time.
The man respectfully answered, “They actually wanted to hide and wait for you here in Cloud Heaven City, but something happened a few days ago, so they rushed to where the Northern Battle clan is.”
“What’s happening there?”
“The Battle Emperor was heavily injured out of nowhere and his life is in danger. The Martial Alliance is attacking the Battle clan, so Lord Lei Zhen had to head back. The others followed him and assigned me to wait for you here.”
“The Martial Alliance must’ve injured that old man.” Long Yue frowned.
“They’re the only ones who could have injured him. It must’ve been Zhao Danchen, one of the Three Martial Emperors, who did it. Two days ago, Yang Ningfeng exited the Cloud Dream Swamp and ran towards the Battle clan. I think that the two Martial Emperors are planning to defeat the Battle clan once and for all.”
“Even though the Battle Emperor is old, he should still be strong. Zhao Danchen must’ve become stronger recently. I fear that even I cannot defeat him now …” Long Yue shook her head and sighed.
“The Battle clan is the only major faction that has yet to submit to the Martial Alliance. I fear that they will fight to the death if the Martial Alliance invades. I doubt Second Brother can stop the Martial Alliance by himself, so we should hurry and help them,” Long Chen said.
Long Yue nodded. “You are right. The Martial Alliance don’t usually act on their own, but they are dreadful when they do. If the old Battle Emperor was injured, the Battle Clan would be done under the attack of two Martial Emperors.”
They immediately set off for the Battle clan.
“Lord Long, there is one more thing. My master told me to inform you about this the moment you appeared.” The man appeared to be anxious.
“What is it?” Long Yue had a bad feeling.
“We managed to find the location of your brother, Long Chen, ten days ago. He was caught by the Martial Overlord and was imprisoned in the Nine Spirit Purgatory. We do not know if he’s alive or dead.”
“What?!” Long Yue smashed the stone table to pieces as she stood up. Her eyes exuded cold bloodlust. Long Chen had a feeling that she was enveloped in bloodlust.
“We don’t even know if he’s alive?” Long Yue clenched her fists so hard that her bones cracked. She was extremely angry because her brother was in danger. Even though she hadn’t seen him in a while, they shared the same blood.
She was angry yet silent.
“Nine Spirit Purgatory …” Long Chen had never heard of it, so he asked the man in black, “What is that place?”
“It’s one of the Martial Alliance’s Miniverses. It’s situated in Martial Overlord City, and it’s where the prisoners of the Martial Alliance are kept. No one has ever managed to escape it, so no one knows what it looks like inside. I fear that only the Martial Overlord knows … ” the man explained with trepidation.
Long Chen frowned too.
It must be fate that I have the same name as him. He’s one of the two geniuses, a Third Earthly Martial Stage expert, and he was somehow imprisoned in the Nine Spirit Purgatory? There is no way Long Yue would be calm, but I fear that they need her at the Battle clan too … She wouldn’t abandon her blood brothers and sisters, but she can’t abandon her own brother too …
Long Chen knew she was struggling.
Which was why he decided on a bold plan. “Big Sister, if you need to rescue your brother, get some information from the Martial Alliance first. Save him if you can. I will go to where the Battle clan is. I am improving rapidly, so I should be able to beat foes at the Second Earthly Martial Stage.”
On one side were her blood siblings and on the other was her brother. Long Yue was conflicted.
But she sighed in exasperation when she heard Long Chen’s plan. “Long Chen, I’ve owed my little brother too much ever since I was young. I have to rescue him now. Please apologize to our brothers and sisters on my behalf. I will rush over there as soon as possible.”
Long Chen understood what she was going through. Bonds between family members could never be severed. He nodded. “Go now. I will handle the issue with the Battle clan.”
Long Yue had a good understanding of Long Chen’s strength and knew that he was trustworthy. “Don’t be rash and don’t die. Survive and live so that you can fight back another day.”
Long Chen nodded.
The big picture was the priority here.
Since they had decided on their course of action, Long Yue wasted no time and dismissed the man in black. She then reached into her Universe Pouch, took out a golden book, and passed it to Long Chen. Long Chen saw an engraving of a Red Dragon on the cover of the book. The claws were its most prominent feature.
“This is the Long’s family secret technique, the Soul Dispersing Dragon Claw. It’s an intermediate King-tier martial technique. Since you have the same surname, you should also be part of our family. I will pass it to you today and you can pass it to your descendants one day. Do not give it to outsiders,” Long Yue warned sternly. She was treating Long Chen as if he was her true brother.
Long Chen was conflicted. He was certain that he did not belong to her family, but then he thought that he really needed the martial technique. He wouldn’t leak it to outsiders, so he agreed.
“Then let’s separate now.” Long Yue watched Long Chen put the book away and leave.
The two of them went their separate ways.
After saying goodbye, Long Chen made his way to the Northern Battle clan. Since Xiaolang was still sleeping, he didn’t have a ride. But since Long Chen was at the Earthly Martial Realm now, he could slowly absorb the Earthly Qi and transform it into Dragon Soul Essence. That way, his speed would be on par with a demonic beast at the Category Eight Heaven-tier.
While traveling, Long Chen also immersed himself in the feeling of connecting with the earth. He was doing two things at the same time. One of them was cultivating the Earthly Martial Realm Fist. He needed to learn the second stage to advance into the Second Earthly Martial Stage. Thanks to his experience, he was learning it at an incredible speed.
His heaven meridian was located in his sea of consciousness and his Martial Soul was a dragon! There was no way his comprehension was weak with such talent!
Long Chen only took a few days to understand the theory behind the second stage of the Earthly Martial Realm Fist. Now he only needed to practice it in order to advance into the Second Earthly Martial Stage successfully.
As for how long it would take, that depended on how quickly he could understand the essence of it.
He cultivated as he traveled.
Even though he could choose to fly, Long Chen chose to run on land to feel the energy and pulse of the earth. It was also the source of his strength.
The second thing he was cultivating was the Soul Dispersing Dragon Claw. An intermediate King-tier martial technique was naturally hard to learn. It was complex and grand, though thankfully, Long Chen had a similar fighting style to Long Yue, so it would compliment him well.
Soul Dispersing.
This was the first time Long Chen had tried to cultivate a claw technique, but he understood how well it suited him. He was not an Armament Warrior, so weapons did not suit him well. After transforming, his main weapons had to be his fists, seals, fingers, and claws.
His claws were extremely sturdy, but he had never used them. The Soul Dispersing Dragon Claw would release his potential.
The claws were the hardest part of his body when he transformed.
Long Chen already had an elementary King-tier Body Tempering technique. He didn’t have the Demonic Illusion anymore, and the Heaven Sword Array was too weak for him now.
The Soul Dispersing Dragon Claw had come at the right time.
Especially since it would be enhanced by the Golden Crow’s soul remnants.
Long Chen remained transformed as he cultivated the technique. That way, he could feel how strong and deadly the technique was.
It was a technique that excelled at close-quarters combat.
It was also the perfect technique for Long Chen after he reached the Earthly Martial Realm.
He ran through desolate places while he made his way to the Battle clan. He was like a caveman running without shoes as he cultivated the Earthly Martial Realm Fist and the Soul Dispersing Dragon Claw from time to time.
His talent was unmatched thanks to being a Dragon Warrior.
He had no problem with understanding the difficult words written in the book.