Chapter 5001 Lin Hu  

“Courting death!” shouted Long Ziwei.

Long Ziwei seethed with anger when he heard that provocation. Looking around, he saw that it came from one of the Ye clan’s disciples.

This disciple had clearly spoken loudly to ensure Long Chen heard him. Perhaps he disliked Long Chen or genuinely looked down on the mercenaries.

In truth, all these heavenly geniuses held low opinions of these mercenaries. However, due to the pressure from the Heaven Overseer, they had no choice but to allow them to watch from the spectator stands.

Despite this, if the mercenaries made any noise, these experts would immediately hurl some insults and curses. In order to watch peacefully, the mercenaries chose to remain silent.

Even in their silence, mocking and disdainful gazes persisted, particularly from the Ye, Jiang, and Zhao clans who felt unrestrained by the Long clan’s rules. They freely hurled insults.

Upon Long Chen’s arrival, the mercenaries reacted as if seeing their savior, irritating the onlookers. A member of the Ye clan directly sought to stir trouble.

“Boss.”

Qin Feng turned to Long Chen. As long as Long Chen gave the word, Qin Feng would behead that person, and anyone who dared to oppose him would be slain.

As their realm ascended, they saw more of the world’s cruelty and barbarity. In the end, moral character held little sway; only strength commanded respect and reverence.

Looking at that disciple, Long Chen sneered, “A little nine star Doyen? Your power is insignificant, yet your arrogance knows no bounds. You look down on them, don’t you? Alright, I’ll give you a chance. Challenge any one of them in a one-against-one. We’ll determine who is superior and who is inferior today. If you win, all of them will leave the spectator stands. How is that?”

Everyone was startled. The nine star Doyen from the Ye clan was undoubtedly an elite chosen for this event. However, Long Chen was asking him to challenge any random mercenary? That was looking down on him far too much. No one could fathom Long Chen’s motives as they waited for the Ye clan disciple’s response.

In response, this Doyen sneered defiantly, “They aren’t fit to challenge me. And who do you think you are? This martial stage is reserved for the participants of the competition. What right do you have to use it?”

Suddenly, a golden scepter materialized in Long Chen’s hand, emitting a dazzling golden light that astonished everyone.

“The golden scepter!”

The experts of the four clans were shocked, unable to believe their eyes. This symbol representing the absolute authority over the competition was actually in Long Chen’s hands.

Long Chen suddenly appeared on the central platform of the martial stage, which boasted hundreds of seats. Standing at the highest spot, Long Chen could survey the entire arena below.

Slowly, Long Chen took his seat, holding the golden scepter in hand as he gazed down at the numerous experts present. Observing their shocked expressions, Long Chen felt his vanity satiated.

No wonder the people in charge like to sit so high up. Looking down on people and making people look up to you isn’t a bad feeling.

Long Chen did a quick scan. The peak experts from the Ye, Zhao, Jiang, and Long clans were absent, as was Feng Fei. Clearly, the likes of them couldn’t be bothered to watch battles on this level.

The strongest experts present were mostly on Long Ziwei’s level, and there were only a few of them.

Sitting in the umpire’s seat and wielding the golden scepter, Long Chen stunned everyone, including Qin Feng and Long Ziwei. Even they hadn’t known that Long Chen was the umpire.

During the opening ceremony, all the referees had appeared except for the head umpire. At that time, the higher-ups didn’t reveal who it was, and most people couldn’t be bothered to find out. However, now that Long Chen had appeared, everyone was dumbfounded. Some even started to suspect that Long Chen had stolen the golden scepter to pose as the umpire.

“Cut the crap. Do you have the guts to challenge the mercenaries? If you don’t, then scram. If you do, hurry up and pick your target,” commanded Long Chen.

The Ye clan disciple finally recovered from his shock. He sneered, “Fine, since that’s the case, let them pick out their strongest member. If they can endure ten exchanges with me, I'll consider it their victory.”

The Ye clan disciple also had his pride. By allowing the mercenaries to choose his opponent instead and limiting the fight to ten moves, he clearly demonstrated his disdain for them.

Yu Ying and the others panicked. They knew they had to win; their honor and Long Chen’s face were on the line.

“Brother Song, why don’t you go?” suggested Yu Ying.

Just then, a hatchet-wielding man stepped forward. He said, “Let me!”

He was Lin Hu, a member of Fang Liude’s mercenary group. Although his power was slightly inferior to Brother Song’s, he understood that Brother Song was too straightforward for this kind of fight. Brother Song excelled against devil creatures and demonic beasts but lacked experience against other people.

When Lin Hu stepped forward, Long Chen smiled and waved his golden scepter. One martial stage block lit up, drawing Lin Hu and the Ye clan disciple inside.

When Long Chen was first given the scepter, the elders taught him how to use it. This scepter controlled the entire martial stage and could activate hundreds of formations. Among these formations, Long Chen only bothered to remember the one that sent people in and out, which was the one he used today.

“Lin Hu, this matter relates to my face. You must use your full power, so go all-out from the start,” transmitted Long Chen.

“Don’t worry. Even if I have to die, I will beat him,” responded Lin Hu.

Long Chen knew his position in Lin Hu’s heart. By stating that this match was related to his face, Long Chen ensured Lin Hu would give his all.

“I’ll teach you three moves. For the first move…” Long Chen said, offering quick strategic advice.

The martial stage’s light rose, and the barrier separating the two of them vanished. The Ye clan disciple raised his sword, glaring at Lin Hu.

“Peasant, come at me!” he taunted.

He was extremely prideful and didn’t bother taking the initiative to attack. Instead, he brazenly waited for his opponent to attack. This was partly to showcase the style of a noble clan disciple and partly due to his immense confidence.

Lin Hu’s arms bulged as he roared, and stars appeared behind him. There were hundreds of them, causing Lin Hu’s aura to soar. Five of the stars blazed with intense light.

“He’s already illuminated five stars? That was fast!” Long Chen smiled at the sight.

Like a tiger descending the mountain, Lin Hu[1] charged at the Ye clan disciple, his hatchet slamming down with tremendous force. Starlight gleamed on the hatchet, amplifying its power.