Chapter 449 - Martial Alliance

“Join them?” Long Chen only wanted to enter the Divine Martial Territory as soon as possible and then find the method to enter the Ancient Graveyard, as well as increase his strength. Though increasing his strength was closely related to his environment.

“Once you get to the Divine Martial Territory, you should find a place that allows you to grow stronger and gain knowledge. When you join a large faction the results will be better as you will have the help of elders of the sect. Usually, large factions have a multitude of combat techniques. A sect like the Ancient Demon Domain probably has Heaven-tier combat techniques everywhere. Techniques like Traceless Demon Shadow and the Demon Seed Planting Technique are likely simple skills there,” Zhao Qingyun said a little longingly.

“Master, I would like to increase my cultivation level through my own training. I’ve never thought about joining a sect,” said Long Chen, shaking his head.

“That’s where you’re wrong. No one can rise quickly alone. It’s the same thing here in the Imperial Capital. Right now, you’re the king in the Cangyang Kingdom, but you’ll be at the bottom of society in the Divine Martial Territory. How will you compete? Only when you’re in a sect will you have a decent chance of staying alive. You’ll find stronger techniques more easily and also get many opportunities to train. The intense competition will even speed up your progress. Just like how you progressed quickly in the Heavenly Demon Palace, right?” Zhao Qingyun explained.

“Is there a place like the Counter Essence Realm in the Ancient Demon Domain? I want to find a place with more beasts.” Long Chen told him his objective directly. He actually agreed with Zhao Qingyun, but demonic beasts were most important to him. They were the only way to guarantee fast growth for Long Chen.

“The Ancient Demon Domain rules over a territory many times the size of the Cangyang Kingdoms. It is one of the most important members of the Divine Martial Territory, so why wouldn’t there be demonic beasts inside?” Zhao Qingyun smiled, stroking his long beard.

“That’s good, then. Master, I’ll keep this token for the moment. Once I get to the Divine Martial Territory, I’ll go to the Ancient Demon Domain and try my best to enter. You mentioned the Martial Alliance just now; what is it?” he asked, puzzled.

“The Divine Martial Territory has the words ‘Divine Martial’ in its name, so its most powerful factions must be mighty. All the strongest factions form an alliance that rule over the empire, and they are called the Martial Alliance. They elect a Martial Alliance Chairman who rules over all the factions. Although the Divine Martial Territory is vast, it is under the control of the alliance, though the Ancient Demon Domain is considered an influential member,” explained Zhao Qingyun.

“Is that so?” All the factions of the Divine Martial Territory formed an alliance to present a united front towards outsiders. It seemed great, but Long Chen did not know how treacherous it would be within.

After Zhao Qingyun finished telling him about the Martial Alliance, it was time to leave. Long Chen took a deep breath, picked Xiaolang up, then turned to Zhao Qingyun and Murong Yu. “Master, Xiao Yu. I’m leaving now. Goodbye.”

Murong Yu panicked and blurted out, “Wait ...”

“What is it?” Long Chen asked hurriedly when he saw her stiff expression.

In the end, Murong Yu mustered up her courage and said, “I ... I ... Long Chen, can I say that ... I only became Empress for you ...” Her face turned red.

Long Chen was startled.

He understood what she meant. She was a prodigy as well, and she could have had her own path exploring the world too. Due to Long Chen’s nomination from before, she had agreed to tie herself to a small place like Cangyang Kingdom in order to help him manage the land. After becoming the Empress of the Cangyang Kingdom, she would have to start managing many things. She did not like doing these things, but for Long Chen, she had no regrets.

Based on this, it was clear how deep her feelings for Long Chen were.

Long Chen signed and could only say apologetically, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Murong Yu forced a smile and gathered her courage to say, “I only want to say that if you realize you cannot go on, don’t forget that there are people waiting for you in the Cangyang Kingdom.”

Looking at her sincere and emotional gaze, Long Chen’s chest tightened. After a long time, he finally came to his senses. He bit his lip and said, “I can’t comment on your decision, but I have already decided my path, and I will follow through till the end. I’m sorry ...”

“It’s okay. Go, then.” Murong Yu smiled. Her expression returned to normal.

Long Chen hesitated, then he nodded. He turned around decisively and walked towards the Universal Transporter. When he entered, the whole transporter lit up.

At the very last moment, when he turned around, he saw that Murong Yu was already leaning on Zhao Qingyun’s shoulder. Her tears were falling like rain.

Long Chen gritted his teeth and closed his eyes.

He knew that he could not accept her love. That was why he had to be cruel.

When the light disappeared, Long Chen also disappeared from the valley.

The new journey would start now.

***

When a person entered a miniverse from the outside world, their consciousness would fade momentarily, though they would quickly recover. However, using a Universal Transporter to travel was even more terrifying.

Long Chen felt like he was dreaming. He was floating in an endless black tunnel, and he felt many black objects fly past him. All he could see was darkness.

When he entered the Universal Transporter, he had put Xiaolang away in the Primordial Realm to save Heavenly Passage Pills. That was why he was going through it alone, unable to see the stars, moon, and sun, and unable to see the rest of the world. Everything was strangely blurry.

Thankfully, nothing strange happened to his body.

On the way to the Snowpeak Mountains, Zhao Qingyun had taught him how to use Heavenly Passage Pills to activate the Universal Transporter. Long Chen alone had exhausted thirty pills. This meant that he only had seventy Heavenly Passage Pills remaining, which was only enough for him to reach the First Passage Stage.

This teleportation felt like a dream. He did not know how much time had passed; it could have been a moment or an eternity. After some time, Long Chen finally discovered a white dot of light ahead in the infinite darkness.

The white light expanded, and he caught an ancient scent from it. It had to be the Divine Martial Territory. The Divine Martial Territory was one of the ten great empires in the Ten Thousand Nations Territory that ruled over thousands of kingdoms like the Cangyang Kingdom. It was a terrifying presence.

The ancient scent filled Long Chen’s heart with reverence.

From this moment onwards, my new journey begins. I hope I get to see everyone in the Cangyang Kingdom again one day.

Long Chen

signed in his heart. He could not really bear to part with his family, stepfather, and even that woman, Liu Lan. Also, that silly Murong Yu. He would miss them all. He felt like it was a difficult decision to cut them off.

A man must be firm with his decisions. I am now walking on the path I chose, so I shall march on! Glory is forged from one’s own blood and sweat!

With that thought, Long Chen could not help but feel a surge of pride.

Divine Martial Territory, we’re coming!

The “we” here referred to him, Xiaolang, and the new addition, the funny Fat Cat, also known as the legendary Reincarnation Beast.

The white dot ahead instantly expanded and swallowed him whole. He felt a refreshing feeling, as if all restrictions on his body had been lifted. Long Chen sensed that he was already standing on solid ground.

He felt alive.

Long Chen sighed in relief. He had finally completed the journey through the Universal Transporter and exited that damned black tunnel. It was really refreshing to be in the outside world again.

But he had no time to enjoy the refreshing sensation, because he was startled by strong Qi coming from all around him. Having just emerged from the transporter, he felt like his surroundings were oddly crowded with countless powerful Qi sources. He looked out and saw that the transporter was packed with people. There were many people standing around him too, and their cultivation levels were high!

His Ninth River Stage cultivation seemed so average here ...

Long Chen drew in a sharp breath and swallowed the curses on the tip of his tongue. Other people were also speechless as they looked at the huge crowd, unable to react.

“Fuck! Are you all pigs? Get the hell out of there! There are more people that need to exit the transporter!” yelled a shrill voice. A red whip cracked through the crowd, which hit two people who cried out in pain.

“Hurry up!”

Long Chen did not know what was going on. The crowd soon started to move, and when they left the transporter, Long Chen finally saw the person wielding the red whip clearly. He was a middle-aged man with a full face of stubble wearing golden robes. He looked magnificent, and his most eye-catching feature was the dramatic embroidery of the character “武” on his chest![1]

Long Chen felt a strong blast of aura after just one glance at the character. He was privately startled.

Even a character on his clothes was enough to startle me. The Divine Martial Territory really is terrifying ... Since their clothes show the “wu” character, then these people must be from the Martial Alliance. Why are they standing guard next to the Universal Transporter?

Long Chen suddenly realized he knew nothing about this place.

1. Note: 武 = Pronunciation: Wu = Definition: Martial arts / Military ☜