Chapter 425 - No One Can Stop Me

Long Chen’s words struck Ling Xi’s soul like a heavy hammer. She was at a loss for words, so she stared at Long Chen in a daze. He was breathing heavily, and his eyes were turning red. There was stubbornness and refusal to surrender in his eyes, and that gaze made Ling Xi completely lost. She didn’t understand how she had ended up with such a stubborn man. There was not a hint of surrender from his eyes to his bones. He had always determined the outcome of his fights. That was why he always won and his enemies always died.

Right now, there was only one final person in the Cangyang Kingdom fit to be his enemy: the Sword Emperor.

Long Chen had risen to his current position one step at a time. Although he looked weak, no one had been able to stop him.

Emotion drowned Ling Xi completely. She suddenly felt so loved. Perhaps other people would think that Long Chen was just too ambitious, or that he simply did not know how vast the world was, but Ling Xi had an unwavering belief in him. If he said he would do it, then he would. If he didn’t, then there would be only one possibility. It meant he was dead.

“Xiao Xi, do you know what this means? It means that no matter what happens, I will work hard to catch up to you. You are my woman right now. You will be my woman forever. So, do you think you can get away from me?”

Ling Xi’s mouth was agape, but she could not say a single word.

“You don’t have to say anything else. I have already made my decision. I must go to the Biyang Imperial Capital and I must fight the Sword Emperor. I must get the Nine Heavens Immortal Fruit and you must regain your body. If I really am unlucky and your family arrives to take you away, please tell me where you live. I will kill my way there even if I need to kill every god and demon who stands in my way. I will do this until I can hold your hands in mine!”

Long Chen made this solemn declaration while looking up at the heavens.

The determination in his eyes was deeply etched in her heart. She initially thought that if she told Long Chen about this, he would choose to give up, but it looked like she did not understand him at all. Ling Xi suddenly understood many things now. She also knew that he had always been stubborn, and if he had made a decision, he would never change his mind.

Therefore, no matter what she said, Long Chen would storm the Biyang Imperial Capital and retrieve the Nine Heavens Immortal Fruit in order to fulfill the dream he had for half a year.

In order to retrieve the Nine Heavens Immortal Fruit, Long Chen had left Yuanling City and fought for almost half a year. They had reached the final obstacle, yet Ling Xi had hit him with a brutal revelation. It was indeed a huge blow to Long Chen, but he did not retreat. He was only sad for a while, then he reset his goal again.

In the face of brutal reality, he was a cockroach that refused to die. That was the mindset that had allowed him to get this far.

Xiaolang was watching their conversation in silence. When Long Chen uttered the last word of his declaration, he beamed with a proud smile. He was bursting with pride for his big brother!

His declaration did not mean that he wasn’t in pain. Talk was easy, but he needed to work ten thousand times harder. If Ling Xi really was taken away, he swore he would find her and gain her family’s approval with his own abilities. But to complete this, he would have to cross rivers and mountains, and even kill tens of thousands of masters. He was sure that he would have thousands of brushes with death in order to even catch a glimpse of his goal!

The most likely outcome was that he would die in an obscure corner of the world and become a withered skeleton, then he and Ling Xi would never meet again. That was fate. Sometimes, fate was cruel. Very few people could change their fate.

Long Chen was clear that his future efforts would all be for the solemn vow that he made today. The very, very long path ahead was now fixed.

He had been working hard for the Nine Heavens Immortal Fruit, but once he got his hands on it, he would lose the beautiful dream of traveling the world with Ling Xi. He had no choice but to accept this path, one that would be very lonely. He would have to work hard towards a future that was likely impossible, all for the day he could meet her again. Then he would hug her and feel the warmth of her body, and the feeling of two hearts touching each other.

This was fate.

Long Chen knew that since he had made the vow, he would have to struggle against fate. But he did not complain, nor did he regret it.

He could definitely choose to follow Ling Xi’s suggestion, and then he would be able to stay by her side forever without effort. However, that meant that he had surrendered to fate, and surrender was not part of his personality. He had always chosen the path against fate.

However, what they both did not know was how much suffering they would have to endure in order to end up together. No one could control their fate. Even the strongest people still had to die in the hands of fate.

A strong gust of wind blew.

Long Chen took a deep breath. The path ahead did not look good. He felt like a huge boulder was pressing on his heart, but he did not give up. He gazed towards the Imperial Capital, smoothened his clothing, then said gently to Xiaolang, “Let’s go. It’s our final battle in the Cangyang Kingdom. Xiaolang, he’s also your enemy, so let’s fight him together today.”

Xiaolang finally stood up and morphed into his gigantic form. His spirits were lifted as he gazed at Long Chen with a burning fire in his eyes. Then he let out a ground-shaking howl at the skies.

“Brother Chen, Xiaolang says that no matter what happens, he will fight by your side till the end!”

“That’s good. Let’s go. Let’s fight for our beautiful future!” Long Chen let out a laugh. His laugh lightened the mood and invigorated their battle spirits. As the wind blew, the trio embarked on their journey towards the capital.

Long Chen knew that their target was already waiting for him.

It had been two long months.

This final battle would surely be a colorful one.

***

There had been an odd change to the mood in the Imperial Capital since Lin Zichen’s death. Everyone sensed that a storm was coming.

News of Long Chen’s incident had spread across the whole capital, so every random person not only knew Long Chen’s name, they could also describe in detail how he had infiltrated the palace and how he had killed Lin Zichen in front of Ginger City.

He had killed the most favored prodigy of the Cangyang Kingdom, which caused a larger commotion than when he previously fled the kingdom. He was a dark horse that seemed to have materialized from nothing and taken the final victory. This grabbed almost everyone’s attention in the capital.

Long Chen’s final declaration had made the whole capital erupt. Everyone knew that after he killed Lin Zichen, he would return to the capital and embark on a final battle against the number one master of the Cangyang Kingdom! The abrupt appearance of this young man startled all the higher-ranked people of the kingdom.

To them, Long Chen had long been a top-tier master. At this point, he was probably only ranked just beneath the Sword Emperor and the Heavenly Demon Lord.

Of course, everyone now also knew of his identity.

Ever since he used the Demon Emperor Sword and the Three Great Secret Scriptures, there was no question that he had pledged himself to the Heavenly Demon Palace and was going to become the next Lord of the Heavenly Demon Palace. The battle between Lin Zichen and Long Chen was actually a fight between the two major factions of the Cangyang Kingdom. As a result, Lin Zichen’s death pressured the imperial family greatly.

This meant that if Long Chen remained alive, the imperial family would completely lose to the Heavenly Demon Palace in the near future. The Emperor’s seat would also be taken by them, and the royals would face the threat of being completely annihilated.

The capital seemed to be holding its breath for the storm.

The First Prince had brought back news that Long Chen would challenge the Sword Emperor, but he did not say when. Two months of anxious waiting had passed. During this time, the gossip did not lessen, but rather intensified.

There was a discussion in a small teahouse.

“Brother Zhang, why are you here drinking tea today? Aren’t you usually locked up at home cultivating?” asked a middle-aged man with a grin.

“To hell with that! I couldn’t calm my mind, so I came to the teahouse to listen for more information. Is the Heavenly Demon Palace’s Long Chen coming today?” the man asked softly.

“There isn’t any commotion, so I don’t think so?” answered the middle-aged man, furrowing his brows.

“The whole capital is talking about Long Chen’s challenge. I wonder if he’ll actually come. It’s been two months. Brother Chen, you don’t think he simply made an empty promise, do you?”

“I don’t think so. I hear that he’s coming to avenge a brother of his. I think it’s almost time. I hear that the Imperial Capital has made sufficient preparations. I’ll only consider it an empty promise if he doesn’t show up in another month!”

“His Majesty the Sword Emperor’s son was killed, so why didn’t he storm the Heavenly Demon Palace?” asked the man.

“I don’t know either. He’s probably waiting for Long Chen to come. I hear that based on Long Chen’s personality, if he said it, he will definitely do it. It should be almost time, so let’s wait and watch!”