Chapter 362 - Hold Onto You

“I might not be able to kill you in one hit, but I don’t believe you can survive ten thousand hits!” Long Chen’s demonic laugh echoed across the arena, and everyone heard the sound of Yang Jun being hit by the halberd again and again.

Yang Jun was being beaten black and blue. His clothes were in tatters and his body was covered in blood.

Everyone watched, unable to hide their shock. They never would’ve thought something like this would happen.

Not only had Long Chen cultivated Traceless Demon Shadow, he was even capable of using it to this degree. His talent was unheard of.

“I yield! I give up!” Yang Jun almost cried out when he said that, and Long Chen finally stopped attacking.

He stood in front of Yang Jun and chuckled. “Yang Jun, I’m so sorry that I had to become your father today to give you a beating. If you don’t listen to me next time, I will beat you again until you shout for mercy.”

“Long Chen!” Yang Jun’s body was burning from pain, and he had lost quite a few teeth. He was wheezing from the ordeal, and his reputation was in tatters.

It was all thanks to the strength of the Heaven-tier Traceless Demon Shadow.

Heaven-tier Body Combat Techniques are indeed strong. Yang Jun couldn’t even touch me when I used it.

Yang Jun glared at Long Chen one last time. He knew he had been humiliated in the arena. His body was in pain and his mind was blank. He still couldn’t come to terms with what had happened.

He ran down the arena, leaving Long Chen alone.

Long Chen suddenly felt like he enjoyed the feeling of having everyone looking at him like this.

The Three Demon Elders looked at each other for a long time before the First Demon Elder sighed. “I have to admit, he is indeed a genius. Looks like the rumors of him killing the six commanders and destroying the dwarves were true. He is an incredible disciple. The Palace Master has found the correct disciple.”

“What should we do?” The Second Demon Elder was worried.

“What can we do? Luckily, Long Chen is only at the Sixth River Stage, and we are just about to start the tournament to see who can get the Demon Emperor Sword. As long as he doesn’t get it, everything will be fine.”

The Second Demon Elder nodded. She looked at the dazzling youth and had a feeling that Long Chen was somehow looking down on everyone here. Even though she was numerous times stronger than him, she had a feeling that Long Chen was above her, and she could only stare at him like an ant.

“I must be going blind ...” The Second Demon Elder sighed and looked towards the Third Demon Elder. He was grim and blood almost flowed out of his mouth.

“What are you thinking?” the Second Demon Elder asked.

The Third Demon Elder thought about it before whispering, “I’m trying to think of how to kill him without any repercussions.”

The First Demon Elder overheard him and quickly warned him, “No. Now is not the time. You are no longer a youth, so you should not be rash.”

“Hmph! Goodbye!” The Third Demon Elder stood up. He had been humiliated too, so he walked out of the crowd.

Zhao Qingyun looked at them and then at Long Chen. The more he looked at Long Chen, the more satisfied he was. Zhao Qingyun had been very anxious when Long Chen didn’t show up on time, but he finally sighed in relief now that everything was over. He stood up and smiled. “Everyone! The promised battle has now ended. Not only did Long Chen cultivate Traceless Demon Shadow successfully, he has also defeated the third strongest youth, Yang Jun! Everyone, please give him a round of applause!”

Zhao Qingyun was their leader, so there was no reason for the crowd not to cheer. They cheered and clapped, to the point that the entire arena was shaking. Everyone had thought Long Chen was a sham and was just boasting, but it was clear he was strong. Everyone was impressed. Those who said Long Chen was nothing prior to this felt their faces burning with embarrassment.

Wang Xing was shouting the loudest.

Thanks to this, Long Chen could finally walk proudly in the Heavenly Demon Palace. There was no longer any reason to keep a low profile.

However, there was something even more important than this battle.

“Master, I heard that there will be a training exercise involving the Pyro Passageways. When will it start?”

“The training at the Pyro Passageways? It will start in five days.” Zhao Qingyun knew what Long Chen wanted to do. It was as if Long Chen had planned this from the start.

“Am I qualified to join?” Long Chen smiled sheepishly.

“Of course. You’ve defeated Yang Jun, so you are now the third strongest youth. You are more than qualified to enter the Pyro Passageway. We decided on the ten who would enter beforehand, but since you have met the requirement, we will have eleven participants!” Zhao Qingyun announced.

That way, the tenth person wouldn’t resent Long Chen for disqualifying them.

“Thank you, Master!” Long Chen was happy. The Pyro Passageways training exercise was not only the competition for the Demon Seed Planting Technique, the treasures in there would help Xiaolang grow. Long Chen knew that it would be heaven for Xiaolang. Since he was only at the Category Five Earth-tier, entering the passageways would increase his strength drastically.

“Master, can I bring my demonic beast in there? It’s been with me throughout my travels, and I’m afraid that it would harm others without my supervision.”

“Of course.” Zhao Qingyun was so happy that he would agree to any request Long Chen made.

“How about this? The exercise will start soon, and you still don’t know anything about the rules. Xiao Yu, if you have the time, please fill Long Chen in.”

Long Chen would be all alone during the training exercise as the other ten youths were all disciples of the Three Demon Elders. Zhao Qingyun was worried that Long Chen would be surrounded on all sides, but then he remembered Murong Yu. She was one of the friendlier disciples, and she didn’t have strong feelings for anyone. She was also quite powerful. If Long Chen could forge a good relationship with Murong Yu, she could help him inside the Pyro Passageways.

Murong Yu never thought Zhao Qingyun would call on her, so she was stunned. She had just been warned by her master, so she looked at her. But even the Second Demon Elder didn’t dare to defy the Palace Master, so Murong Yu nodded. “Palace Master, I will do my best.”

Zhao Qingyun nodded with satisfaction before he looked around. “Everything has been settled today, so everyone can go back now. Those who are joining the training exercise, please prepare yourselves in the next five days. When I open the passageways, it will be up to you to obtain the Demon Seed Planting Technique.”

“Yes, Palace Master!”

Due to Long Chen, Zhao Qingyun’s reputation had improved. Everyone had always thought that the Palace Master didn’t have a good eye for picking out disciples, but now their thinking had changed.

The crowd soon scattered. Except for Murong Yu, everyone from the Three Demon Elders’ factions left.

Long Chen failed to notice that Yang Danfeng’s eyes were grim when he left. Yang Danfeng had been looking for someone in the crowd before finally finding the skinny youth. He slowly tailed the youth as everyone dispersed.

Long Chen was oblivious to that.

“Long Chen, Xiao Yu is at the Eighth River Stage, and she’s kind too. You can talk to her casually, and she should be able to help you in the Pyro Passageways,” Zhao Qingyun reminded Long Chen before leaving with Dongfang Xuanxiao.

Only Long Chen and the veiled Murong Yu were left at the scene.

“Looks like my master is hoping that you will protect me during the training session. I guess I’ll have to hold onto you tightly, then.” Long Chen smiled ... bitterly.

“Hold?” Murong Yu was a bit angry. She knew Long Chen didn’t mean that, but she still felt that it was an odd statement. She also remembered what the Three Demon Elders had warned her about.

“Long Chen, I will only talk to you about the rules. I will leave afterwards, so listen carefully.”

“Alright.” Long Chen nodded.

“The Pyro Passageways are a large cave system with flowing lava. There are two things hidden within the lava: Fire Essences and demonic beasts called Ember Beasts. They are usually Category Six Earth-tiers, and you can find them guarding the Fire Essences. Usually, you defeat them and then collect the Fire Essences they’re guarding. The rules are as follows: those who obtain the most Fire Essences wins. This time I will be fighting against Yang Danfeng, while you will be competing with the others. If you come out with the highest number of Fire Essences, your reward will be the first stage of the Demon Seed Planting Technique.”

“Is it that simple?”

“How else do you think it would be?”

“What if I obtain more Fire Essences than you and Yang Danfeng?”

“I don’t know. You should ask the Palace Master about that. But don’t think too much about it. Both me and Yang Danfeng have been there twice, so we know the place inside and out. It’s impossible for you to surpass us.”