“That’s definitely him. As for whether he’s as strong as we’ve heard, we don’t know.”

Long Chen was a fresh and curious topic to the people of the Five Elements Alliance. The ten participants from the Five Elements Alliance glared at their opponents like tigers. In terms of numbers, they had already won.

The Gold clan was the leader of the Five Elements Alliance. They were the only clan with a Second Heavenly Martial Stage cultivator, though he was an old man. This old man, known as Ancestor Jin, looked in Bai Lan’s direction and said in a low voice, “Brother Bai Lan, we have not met in many years, but you still look good.”

Bai Lan smiled and replied, “It is the same for you, Brother Jin. The older you get, the more carefree you are.”

Ancestor Jin chuckled and glanced at Long Chen. “Brother Bai Lan, your luck is excellent, as always. It just looks like the descendants of the Demon clan aren’t working as hard as before, seeing as you need to use an outsider to fill the gap. If the Demon clan lacks people to participate in the competition, you could ask the Five Elements Alliance. We have many children fighting tooth and nail just to get a spot.”

After Ancestral Jin’s initial small talk, he switched abruptly to an insult and laughed mockingly.

Bai Lan’s expression did not change. He pushed Long Chen forward solemnly and said, “Brother Jin, you are mistaken. This is my son-in-law, Long Chen. As for his capabilities … Brother Jin, you’ll know very soon. When he was at the Fifth Earthly Martial Stage, he took some clan’s Profound Golden Soul, you know.”

The Profound Golden Soul was a famous treasure that belonged to the Gold clan. When they combined the Profound Golden Soul and their Golden Eye of Annihilation, they could multiply their strength by several times. But that important treasure had been taken by Long Chen. They could not even begin to describe their heartache. After Bai Lan mentioned it so happily, the expressions of the Gold clan’s team immediately darkened.

Ancestor Jin initially wanted to mock Bai Lan, but he had ended up being mocked himself. Having lost face, he huffed angrily and said, “That little thief is only holding on to the Profound Golden Soul for now. In a few days, it will return to the hands of the Gold clan. If you don’t believe me, you may ask the two prodigies of the Gold clan! One is my direct disciple—Jin Ling!”

After he spoke, a young man appeared to stand next to Ancestor Jin in a flash. His body type was similar to Ancestor Jin’s—both were thin with bronze skin and one-inch-long hair that stood on their heads like steel needles. His eyes shone brightly like the stars in the sky.

The Gold clan was famed for their body-tempering techniques. Most of the men of their clan were more muscular than the Thunder clansmen. However, this young man named Jin Lin was not. His gaze was ice-cold, like a piece of metal. No emotions could be seen in his gaze.

That brat is at the Ninth Earthly Martial Stage. As the direct disciple of Ancestor Jin, he surely has many tricks up his sleeve too. He also has a bloody aura, so he probably has killed at least as many people as I have. This makes him slightly scarier than Wu Guangyu. Although Wu Guangyu is very talented, he doesn’t have as much battle experience as I do. In terms of self-discipline, Wu Guangyu is not as resilient as Jin Ling,

Long Chen thought to himself.

Ancestor Jin clearly meant that he wanted Long Chen and Jin Ling to be enemies. However, Jin Ling took one glance at Long Chen, then said to Ancestor Jin, “Master, he is not my rival. My rival is in the Divine clan.”

Then he took a few steps back and stood behind Ancestor Jin. He hung his head and did not speak.

“What do I do now? My disciple doesn’t even see your son-in-law as his rival. This child has always been rebellious, and he never liked to lie. I can’t control him at all,” the old man said mockingly.

Long Chen and Bai Lan looked at each other and smiled, ignoring the old idiot.

It was fine to be old, but he did not have to talk so much. It was as if he was afraid that other people would not see him.

Jin Ling was indeed a cold-blooded killer. Long Chen did not mind not being taken seriously. He was participating in the competition to do Bai Lan a favor for his hospitality, to kill Wu Guangyu as revenge, and because he wanted to enter the Five Emperors’ Secret Realm.

Both he and Jin Ling’s targets were clearly Wu Guangyu, the one who was widely accepted as the strongest among them.

Wu Guangyu was initially on the same level as Jin Ling, but he had received the Azure Lotus Lord’s inheritance. With the advanced Emperor-tier superweapon, the Azure Lotus Sword, he was peerless in his generation.

The three factions merely looked at each other, not exchanging many words. However, the tension in the air was getting thicker. Long Chen retreated to the center of the group and waited for the time to pass. When Lei Wen and Lei Wu saw that Long Chen had closed his eyes and looked calm, they asked hurriedly, “Brother Long Chen, aren’t you nervous?”

They were aware that Long Chen had offended many people here. Not only had he taken the Gold clan’s Profound Golden Soul, he had also offended the Divine Wind Faction. Therefore, he should have been very nervous. Even they were nervous when faced with such a grand competition.

Long Chen smiled and said, “The worst thing that could happen is death. What’s there to be afraid of? Even if I die, I’ll drag a few down with me.”

Although he spoke carefreely, the brothers felt chills.

Lei Wen was stunned, then he smiled and said, “You’re a brave one, brother. You’re a role model for us. If we meet each other in the ruins, we must take care of each other. It would be ideal if the four of us could get together. We would be able to take on anyone who came at us.”

“I’m sure we will be able to do that,” Long Chen said with a smile.

They could not kill anyone in the battle tomorrow anyway. Long Chen had the Soul Swallowing Gaze, so other people would not be able to find him. For the first round, all he would need to do was take a casual stroll. Once ten people had been eliminated, he would advance to the next round. However, Suxue and the Thunder clan brothers would be there as well, so he naturally could not leave them be. He would need to act accordingly during critical moments.

“Alright, then it’s a promise between the four of us,” said Lei Wen.

Time passed slowly, but the attendees present were people with extraordinary patience, so they did not think it was inconvenient.

“The Long-Bearded Guest should be arriving in about two hours. He will distribute the Divine Space Talismans to all of us, and then we’ll be able to enter,” said the beautiful Suxue softly by Long Chen’s ear.

“Are Divine Space Talismans precious?”

“Of course. Only the Three Royal Territories have specialized talisman masters. Talisman masters are the only ones who can carve the runes on the talisman. The talismans in the Ten Thousand Nations Territory came from the Three Royal Territories, though our people can imitate and re-create some of the simpler ones. The Divine Space Talisman has life-preserving properties that only the people from the Three Royal Territories can reproduce, making it very valuable. If the Nine Great Clans hadn’t paid the Long-Bearded Guest a hefty sum, he would not have been willing to use them,” explained Suxue.

“If a person with a Divine Space Talisman gets hurt beyond their body’s limits, the talisman will burn up automatically. How interesting. Can Heavenly Martial Realm cultivators use them?”

Long Chen knew that the stronger the cultivator, the more important their life was. If they could use Divine Space Talismans, wouldn’t all the masters try to get as many talismans as possible so that they could be immortal?

“Of course not. Only cultivators at the Ninth Earthly Martial Stage and below can use them. Powerful Heavenly Martial Realm masters can destroy Divine Space Talismans in one strike, then hurt the wearer,” said Suxue.

Balance was in everything, and the Divine Space Talisman was no exception.

Long Chen had only encountered one being who was not restricted by any laws—the Sun Devouring Wolf!

In theory, Mo Xiaolang could consume infinite treasures. The more he consumed, the stronger he would get!

Every time he consumed a new treasure, he would start to level up.

After chatting with Suxue for a while, a cultivator wearing cotton clothing slowly made his way over from afar. Everyone looked at him expectantly. He was also an old man, and he looked very ordinary. His hair and eyebrows were gray-white, but the most eye-catching part about him was his long, gray beard, which was more than half a meter long. It was combed so that it was neater than his hair, and it looked shiny and healthy. When paired with his round and reddened face, as well as his bright smile, he looked like a person filled with joy.

“Haha! I apologize for the long wait. Those women’s hips were just so damn good that they left my back sore, so I had to walk slowly. That’s why my travels were delayed. None of that was my fault! If you want to blame someone, blame those damn bitches for being sluts,” the old man known as the Long-Bearded Guest said.

Everyone’s faces darkened. The Long-Bearded Guest was well known in the Ten Thousand Nations Territory. He was a hidden master who loved to enjoy worldly pleasures. He had a straightforward personality, loved wine and women, and he was still as sprightly as a tiger at his age. People admired him for it.

“Brother Bai, you’re still very handsome! Brother Jin, you’re still as regal as before! And the lady of the Wu family! You’re getting more and more attractive! Does the Divine clan need a slave? Can I volunteer? I’d be willing to die just to have a chance to serve Lady Wu.”

The moment he arrived, the Long-Bearded Guest started talking nonstop. In the end, he studied the Divine clan’s matriarch, Wu Lian, with a burning gaze.

“Senior Long-Beard, if you are willing to be an honored guest of the Divine clan, I am sure there will be many beautiful girls—other than myself—waiting to entertain you,” Wu Lian said mildly.

“Really?” The Long-Bearded Guest’s eyes lit up. He said, “But I don’t think they’re interesting. Lady Wu, you’re the only one in the world who can mesmerize me.”

Being Wu Lian’s son, Wu Guangyu couldn’t stand listening to this conversation. He yelled, “You old bastard! Watch your mouth! Look at yourself! You’re a toad wanting to eat swan meat!”