“Boss, I was originally able to suppress him as we were both at the ninth Heavenstage. But somehow, he took the step to the great circle of the Divine Venerate realm. Touching upon that barrier, he obtained a trace of Eternal energy, and somehow he got a high-grade Heaven Saint divine weapon. I am truly not a match for him,” transmitted Long Ziwei helplessly to Long Chen.

“That’s not what I’m asking you. I asked if you want revenge or not?” asked Long Chen once again.

“I do. Of course, I do. That fellow intentionally humiliated me on the martial stage, and I want to cut him into a thousand pieces,” replied Long Ziwei through gritted teeth.

“Then that’s good enough.” Long Chen looked back at Long Qingyun and said, “To tell the truth, the difference between us is too great, so I cannot accept it. However, I’ll give you a chance. Long Ziwei is my little brother. If you can beat him again, I’ll agree to your challenge.”

“Him?” Long Qingyun laughed. “Are you not afraid that I’ll cripple or kill him? Or do you also feel like this dog is useless?”

“You…!” Long Ziwei instantly blew up.

However, Long Chen grabbed him and told Long Qingyun, “Good, then we’ll meet on the martial stage in six hours.”

“Alright, I’ll wait for you! We’re leaving!” declared Long Qingyun as he waved his hand. Seemingly pleased with the outcome, he brought his people away while laughing.

Only Long Chen, Long Ziwei, and Gui Jiu remained in the plaza. As for the mercenaries, they were hiding in the distance, having never seen such a terrifying thing before.

Long Chen lazily leaned back against the pile of rubble again, acting like nothing had happened.

“Boss, don’t worry, I’m going to do everything I can to defeat Long Qingyun!” Long Ziwei clenched his teeth, fueled by the indignities he had suffered at Long Qingyun’s hands.

“Your aim isn’t to beat him, but to kill him,” clarified Long Chen.

“What?!” shouted Gui Jiu. He couldn’t believe his ears.

Long Ziwei’s chances of beating Long Qingyun were already minuscule, but now Long Chen wanted Long Ziwei to kill him? That seemed impossible.

After all, there was a formation to safeguard the disciples on the martial stage, and even without it, killing an expert of Long Qingyun’s caliber was incredibly difficult unless one side held a significant power advantage, which Long Ziwei clearly lacked.

Long Ziwei was startled. His proclamation of defeating Long Qingyun was partly bravado to bolster his morale. However, Long Chen was even more exaggerated.

“Don’t doubt yourself. You must kill Long Qingyun within three moves, or you won’t be qualified to be my little brother,” warned Long Chen severely.

Long Ziwei’s jaw dropped, and Gui Jiu froze like an ice statue. How could such a thing be possible?

Long Chen pressed on, stating, “I dislike people like Long Qingyun. If I had continued ignoring him, he would have said even worse things, and I would have slaughtered him. However, you would then lose your chance at revenge. I’m giving this chance to you. You may find it hard to believe, but against someone like Long Qingyun, the majority of the seven thousand members of my Dragonblood Legion could defeat him in one-on-one combat”

“What?”

Long Ziwei and Gui Jiu stared at Long Chen in disbelief. If someone else said such a thing, they would laugh until their teeth fell out. However, it came from Long Chen’s mouth, and even then, they found it hard to believe.

“Of course, those capable of defeating Long Qingyun would likely have to sacrifice their own lives in the process. However, the captains could dispatch him effortlessly. Fourth Captain Yue Zifeng would need just a single stroke of his sword, and Long Qingyun might not even get the chance to retaliate before falling to the ground,” Long Chen explained calmly.

Long Chen looked at Long Ziwei and Gui Jiu. “Thus, let me say something very arrogant: not everyone is qualified to be my little brother.”

Long Ziwei was shaken. He believed that Long Chen wouldn’t brag like this. Actually, Long Chen was extremely low-key. The fact that he would say such a thing meant that the truth might be even more terrifying.

“Boss, I understand. I’ll recover right now and kill him for you,” declared Long Ziwei, seemingly provoked by Long Chen’s words.

“No, you can’t recover,” Long Chen replied, shaking his head.

“Eh?”

“You still have seventy percent of your combat power. I want you to kill him with this seventy percent within three moves,” said Long Chen.

“But how?!” Long Ziwei almost cried out. Wasn’t this like pushing him off a cliff intentionally?

“I will teach you a move,” said Long Chen, a smile playing on his lips.

Long Ziwei was instantly revitalized. His good fortune had come.

“You possess the inheritance of the Nine Wing Devil Dragon. It’s a very powerful inheritance, but regrettably, you don’t know how to use it. I will teach you how to harness its power correctly. With this, your attacks will become exponentially stronger—ten to even dozens of times more powerful. That’s why you need to face Long Qingyun with only seventy percent of your power, or you’d be bullying him. That would be boring,” explained Long Chen.

“Ten times? Dozens of times? Boss, please teach me!” Long Ziwei’s eyes widened in disbelief. He immediately dropped to his knees, overwhelmed by the magnitude of what Long Chen was offering.

“That’s enough. Get up and summon your nine wings again. I will teach you how to activate the core runes. You will brand a formation pattern on them…”

…

The Long clan had numerous martial stages, split into different tiers. For Heaven Ranking experts, there were eighteen martial stages available, ensuring fights could occur concurrently without delay. Each time a stage was used, it underwent maintenance for several days.

However, the matches involving the top ten experts were held on three exclusive martial stages, each surrounded by millions of seats. Interestingly, while half of the seating was completely occupied, the other remained empty.

“What’s going on? Why isn’t there anyone over there?” asked someone.

“I heard someone bought all the seats on the other side.”

“What? Who has that much money?!”

Suddenly, a surge of people flooded onto the previously empty side, sparking outrage among those who had purchased their tickets.

“What is going on? How can these ants be qualified to enter this sacred place?!”

After that, a black-robed, icy-faced man walked in, his arrival shaking their hearts.

“He’s…”

“Long Chen?”