When Long Chen agreed to be an umpire, someone immediately sent him a golden scepter. This was a symbol of the head umpire.

“Wow, they really are extravagant. Are they really giving me a Heaven Saint divine weapon?” asked Long Chen as he acted surprised.

The elder handing him the scepter was taken aback and said, “This is a symbol of the umpire. It’s only lent to you temporarily. When the battles are over, you must return it.”

Long Chen naturally knew this. He was just joking. Accustomed to wielding a saber, he had no interest in something as golden and shiny as the scepter, even if they did give it to him.

The scepter was adorned with carved wings and dragon marks. The dragon marks symbolized authority, while the wings represented peace. With this scepter, Long Chen held supreme authority among the referees as the head umpire.

Alongside the scepter, they presented him with a special set of robes and a headband. However, Long Chen told them to take these things away, deeming them ridiculous.

Feeling helpless, the elders could only retrieve the excess items, leaving Long Chen with the golden scepter and the specific tablet of the head umpire. With these, he gained the authority to enter any martial stage, monitor fights for cheating, and judge the fairness of other referees.

At this moment, Qin Feng came over. He had been busy these past few days, as had Long Ziwei and Gui Jiu.

“Boss, you wanted to see me?” Qin Feng asked, noticing the golden scepter and the distinctive tablet on Long Chen’s waist. He seemed bewildered.

“The competition among the elites of the four divine clans is about to start. Don’t be in a rush to leave just yet. Let’s watch,” said Long Chen.

“But I’m worried the academy will…”

“Don’t worry. The right time has yet to come. You still have plenty of time,” replied Long Chen.

According to the Earth Cauldron, the optimal moment for undergoing tribulation was still some time away. The various major factions had yet to make a move.

Furthermore, if the time for their tribulations was about to come, the four divine clans wouldn’t be holding this competition. They had surely meticulously calculated the timing.

Even after the competition concluded, there would still be ample time to return to the academy. With this calculation in mind, they had plenty of time. There was no need to rush as they had been doing.

Observing battles at this level would prove highly beneficial, especially for the mercenaries who had not experienced much of the broader world.

Long Chen planned for them to settle in the High Firmament Academy, where their potential could quickly flourish. They already had the foundational skills to become experts, and watching these battles would further stimulate their instincts.

Qin Feng was also excited to hear this. In truth, he had heard from Long Ziwei that the scale of this competition would be unprecedented and spectacular. His only concern had been that watching the battles might distract them from important matters.

Long Chen instructed them to slow down their preparations to move and invited all the mercenaries to come and watch the competition. While they wouldn't participate directly, they could spectate from the outer stands. This was a level of treatment they had never expected.

In truth, Long Chen wanted them in the inner stands, but there was limited space there. If he were to bring them all, the Long clan’s outer disciples would have nowhere to stand. Therefore, he had no choice but to settle for the outer spectator stands.

As for the opening ceremony, Long Chen didn’t bother attending it. The four clan leaders had made a brief appearance, delivering encouraging words and introducing their peak experts for everyone to see.

Theoretically, as the umpire, Long Chen should have been present, but Long Chen dismissed these social niceties. The Heaven Overseer also agreed that it was wise for Long Chen to avoid unnecessary confrontations.

As a result, when Long Chen opted out, the Heaven Overseer didn’t force him. However, as the umpire, Long Chen couldn’t stay in his temporary residence. Instead, he was provided with a special immortal cave. This immortal cave was located in one of the Long clan’s large mountains, designated specifically for the referees.

All the referees had to either be on the martial stage or in this immortal cave. They were not allowed to communicate with anyone else during the competitions. Any violation of this rule would result in immediate dismissal from their referee role.

Although Long Chen didn’t care about this requirement, he was happy to have time to himself. This residence had much better amenities, including a special cultivation room made specially for a heaven vein expert.

Most importantly, it had three outer and inner barriers with many guards surrounding them. No unauthorized entry was permitted, ensuring the integrity and fairness of the competition were upheld to the highest standards.

Within the immortal cave, Long Chen activated the three barriers. This way, no one would be able to disturb him. As for what was happening outside, he left Qin Feng in charge of all of it.

Starry sea materialized behind Long Chen, its stars swirling and emitting a misty violet qi. This was Long Chen’s manifestation, the Starry Sea Births Violet Qi. Even without the activation of the Seven Star Battle Armor, Long Chen’s astral energy was still very strong.

Long Chen tried drawing his violet blood’s energy into his starry sea, and it went smoothly. Indeed, his violet blood was the gentlest of the three bloodlines he possessed.

It was just like a selfless mother, giving everything Long Chen wanted. At this moment, Long Chen thought of his mother and felt melancholic.

Taking a deep breath, he calmed his emotions. After all, his father was searching for his mother. With his father’s power and intelligence, he would definitely find her.

As Long Chen directed his violet bloodline energy into the starry sea manifestation, the violet qi within it responded, allowing the energy to flow seamlessly into the starry sea. Long Chen was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly it went, finding it almost unbelievably easy.

The Earth Cauldron had simply told Long Chen to use his violet blood to link with his starry sea manifestation, offering no further guidance. Clearly, it had to have known that this would happen.

As Long Chen’s violet blood merged into his starry sea, the sea started to tremble. The violet blood and violet qi fused, forming intricate blood runes that flowed into the stars. However, as these blood runes entered the stars, they were crushed.

Undeterred, more blood runes followed, and the shattered ones transformed into countless tiny runes. Like ants, these runes merged and collaborated, creating a pathway for the blood runes to traverse.

More blood runes continued to explode and extend the path, causing the path to grow longer.

Finally, a star accepted a blood rune into its core. The entire starry sea trembled with anticipation. Soon, blood runes appeared in every single star.

“Success!”