Chapter 598: The Showdown
Long Chen suddenly cut him off and said, “Everyone, I have another idea for the duel.”
The crowd froze and Lei Zhen asked, “What is it?”
Long Chen pulled Xiaolang over and said, “The bet is between experts of both sides. Although Xiaolang is a demonic beast, he is also considered an expert from our side. He is currently a Category One King-tier demonic beast. If he participates, I am confident that he will win!”
Jian Chen and Lei Zhen were the only members of the group who had witnessed Xiaolang in battle before. When they were battling the Void Martial Saint, the most important component was actually his Nine Devils Ancestral Fire. It was also what chased Zhao Danchen away last night.
On top of that, Long Chen was endorsing him. That was why they did not doubt Xiaolang’s strength. However, they did not understand why Long Chen did not want to participate in the duel.
“Seventh Brother, why can’t you participate in the duel? Although Xiaolang is very strong, and we believe you, we feel that it will be an even more solid win if you go,” said Jiang Wuya.
“Didn’t Yang Ningfeng say we can send anyone for the third match because we have no Third Earthly Martial Stage people? I would like to participate in that duel. If Xiaolang or Second Brother don’t succeed, I would like to go for the final round!”
Long Chen did not beat around the bush and directly told them his intentions.When he finished, everyone was impressed by his courage. They looked at each other and in the end, Jiang Wuya said, “Seventh Brother, do you know how big the gap is between us and someone at the Third Earthly Martial Stage? Yang Ningfeng, the person who made the bet, will be the one fighting. He is Martial Emperor Yang Ningfeng, and you witnessed his capabilities at the Cloud Dream Swamp, right?”
“I have, and that is why I would like to go for the final match!” Long Chen said with determination. There was endless confidence in his tone.
Everyone could see his determination when he answered.
“If you are confident Xiaolang can win the first match, I think this is worth trying,” said Jiang Wuya.
Everyone agreed.
“Don’t worry, everyone. It will be a simple matter for Xiaolang to win. Please believe me,” said Long Chen.
He was not exaggerating. Not only did Xiaolang have the super-powerful Nine Devils Ancestral Fire, he had also cultivated divine combat techniques. No human or beast in his tier was his match!
With Long Chen’s insistence, it had been decided. The three people who would participate would be Mo Xiaolang, Jiang Wuya, and Long Chen!
Long Chen would face Yang Ningfeng, a Martial Emperor-level master who was the former Great Priest of the Wind God Sect!
When everything was arranged, Lei Zhen buried Old Vulture in secret. This matter could not get out before the duel. As for Lei Ming, Lei Zhen could only lock him up for the moment.
The battle had yet to begin, but the Battle clan had already lost two great contributors. However, they had gained something new with the discovery of Long Chen’s terrifying combat abilities.
The insignificant Seventh Brother had suddenly become the center of attention!
Initially, Long Chen was supposed to escort the Battle clan’s children, but because he was going to participate in the duel, the task was assigned to Chi Ying.
The Battle clan gradually completed their preparations for the day of the duels.
During these few days, Long Chen fully immersed himself in cultivation to reach the Second Earthly Martial Stage. He let go of everything else and fully focused on progressing. Initially, he had planned to reach the Second Earthly Martial Stage before the duel.
However, the difficulty of his goal far surpassed his expectations. It felt like a mountain in front of him, so close that he could almost touch it, but no matter how close he got, it felt so far away.
What will the pulse of the second stage feel like? Within his room, Long Chen stepped on the ground with bare feet as he performed the Second Earthly Martial Stage’s fist technique. He had long grown familiar with the fist technique, and he had prepared his mind. The last step was comprehension.
On the last day, Long Chen still had yet to comprehend the Second Earthly Martial Stage.
I thought I could reach the Second Earthly Martial Stage before the duel with Yang Ningfeng, but I failed … Long Chen was slightly anxious and sad.
He still did not understand how inhuman he was. He had only been attempting to reach the Second Earthly Martial Stage for a few weeks, yet he felt like his progress was too slow. Would the people stuck at the First Earthly Martial Stage for several years balk at his thoughts?
Long Chen possessed mysterious treasures and he had seen more than most of the people in the Divine Martial Empire. That was why he did not feel like it was important. In reality, his cultivation speed was unheard of in the Divine Martial Empire!
How would he complete the last step?
Long Chen still could not grasp the essence of it.
But the time of the duels had arrived.
I’ll let this go for the moment. If Xiaolang and Second Brother win their duels, I won’t even need to fight, he thought in an attempt to comfort himself.
There was half a day left, so there was not enough time for him to cultivate more. Long Chen led Xiaolang to the ancestral mausoleum of the Battle clan. Today, the masters of the Martial Alliance would come to this place to begin the duels!
Before that, Lei Zhen had completed all the preparations for the clan to fight the Martial Alliance in the ultimate war. They were in a dense forest, which was an advantageous battlefield for the Battle clan. Although they had fewer fighters, the Martial Alliance would have to pay a hefty price to kill them all when they were spread out in the forest!
The Battle clan was both courageous and vicious, and it was made up of warriors. This was why Yang Ningfeng wanted them to submit in a manner that did not require military force. Of course, he had no idea that Lei Zhen was prepared to fight to the death if they lost.
Since Lei Zhen was no longer worried about cultivating, he was able to make sure everything was in order. Every Battle clan member was filled with courage and passion. The only thing left to do was wait for the final battle.
Just as Lei Zhen had said, they were born to fight. Death was not suffering—death was glory to them!
When Long Chen arrived in front of the ancestral mausoleum, the rest were already prepared. Only experts at the Earthly Martial Realm were qualified to be here today. The Nine Fang Warriors, who were the elites of the clan, were all proficient in battle and were very familiar with the terrain, so Lei Zhen did not want them to die here.
The ancient mausoleum was located in a mountain, and it was also a forbidden area to them.
In front of it was a large, empty patch of land. The Battle clan members stood in front of their ancestors as they awaited the arrival of the Martial Alliance. This was the final battle for glory; the livelihood of the clan depended on this!
Even Long Chen felt a weight on his shoulders when he saw the hope in everyone’s eyes, let alone Mo Xiaolang and Jiang Wuya, who would be fighting the main duels. In fact, their battles were the most crucial part. Long Chen’s part was only the final struggle for life!
There was not much of a problem with Xiaolang, but Long Chen was worried about Jiang Wuya. There were indeed Second Earthly Martial Stage cultivators who were even scarier than Jiang Wuya in the Martial Alliance. It was difficult to say who had the absolute advantage; Jiang Wuya’s victory was not certain!
“How have your preparations gone?” asked Lei Zhen when he saw Long Chen and Mo Xiaolang.
“Don’t worry. We’ll do our best,” Long Chen answered with a nod.
“Just do your best. Whether we live or die depends on the heavens …” Lei Zhen chuckled bitterly. It was the key moment that would determine the fate of the clan, so the mood was heavy and tinged with anxiety.
However, when everyone noticed that they were surrounded by brothers who would fight side-by-side with them, passion filled their hearts!
“Let’s not sulk so much! The Martial Alliance will look down on us! Brothers, if we die today, we will drag a few of them down with us!” Jiang Wuya laughed loudly.
Everyone smiled, in full agreement.
The Battle clan members smiled gratefully at Jiang Wuya and the others.
They all stood together, and time passed slowly. It was almost the agreed time.
They had agreed to duel at noon!
Long Chen looked up and saw that the sun was already at the center of the sky.
Blood rushed through every warrior’s heart!
“The time has come! They’re here!” someone said. Everyone looked up and saw that beneath the blinding sunlight, a group of golden-robed men were flying above the dense forest. Their clothes fluttered loudly in the wind as they flew towards them!
The two people leading them were Zhao Danchen, the one Long Chen had previously encountered, and Yang Ningfeng!
Behind them were at least four Martial Saints and around ten Martial Kings. In terms of strength, they were superior to Long Chen’s side, especially with two Martial Emperors! And one of them was the legendary Zhao Danchen!
Previously, although Zhao Danchen had only casually used his Golden Eye of Annihilation, Long Chen knew exactly how terrifying his abilities were!
As for Yang Ningfeng, he was a person who could compete with Long Yue and was the former Great Priest of the Wind God Sect. How simple could a person like that be?
And the four Martial Saints and ten-plus Martial Kings …
If they fought here, the Battle clan would not end up on top.
The Battle clan members felt immense pressure.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A cloud of dust flew in all directions when the Martial Alliance group landed on the yellow soil fifty meters away.
Beneath the sunlight, every Martial Alliance cultivator had a smile on his face. Zhao Danchen was in front, and he walked past Yang Ningfeng to the very front of the group, studying the Battle clan members. He said with a grin, “Cowards of the Battle clan! I can’t believe you guys actually dared to fight us!”