Chapter 914 – Thousand-Sergeant

“How dare you stop me! Do you want to lose your job as a Hundred-Sergeant already?” Song Yuchun struggled with all his might but could not escape the Ninth Heavenly Martial Stage expert’s grip.

“Young Master, even if your grandfather were here, he would not dare let you cause trouble either because General Su Mo is very likely watching us secretly. This is for your own good. Also, as for whether I can be a Hundred-Sergeant or not, it depends on my own capability and war contributions. It’s unrelated to your grandfather.”

The Hundred-Sergeant’s words and fierce expression stunned Song Yuchun. He had long heard that the Underworld Army was a strict militaristic organization, unlike his family’s place, where they could do whatever they wanted as long as they were from a wealthy background. Now, even a tiny Hundred-Sergeant could discipline him.

“Also, I have another idea for you, Young Master. Isn’t Thousand-Sergeant Song Yang one of the examiners? You can rely on his power to teach this guy a lesson once you get inside, right?”

“Alright!” Song Yuchun waved his large sleeve, glared venomously at Long Chen, then sashayed into the Ghost Arena.

Long Chen observed the whole incident.

“Thank you,” said Long Chen to the Hundred-Sergeant while registering.

The Hundred-Sergeant lowered his head and said to Long Chen after examining him, “If you want my advice, don’t go in. I can see that you’re smart and have great potential. You’re only at the Fourth Heavenly Martial Stage, but you can fight at a much higher level—that’s why I’m giving you this advice. Wait a few years and you won’t meet people like Song Yuchun. And you’ll have a huge chance.”

“I am very confident now.” Long Chen grinned, which showed his great confidence.

“Hmm?” The Hundred-Sergeant realized he might have underestimated Long Chen. From Long Chen’s smile and words, he had a feeling that this was a very mature teenager who would not do something impulsive and risk his life.

After completing his registration, he received a unique number and walked into the Ghost Arena. Many people were stunned that Long Chen could enter, and they found him very mysterious.

Many others also successfully registered and entered the arena with him. These youths were all nervous, but their faces were also filled with hope. Becoming an Underworld Soldier was their dream. After Long Chen saw these youths, he felt like he was the strange one.

Although I’m surely younger than them, why do I feel so old?

Long Chen was speechless.

Perhaps he had experienced too much, and he no longer placed emphasis on dreams. What urged him on was responsibility. His responsibility towards his father, and his responsibility for Ling Xi’s love, and also his responsibility for his brother, Mo Xiaolang. These were responsibilities that pushed him forward, not dreams.

It was as if he never had a dream that belonged to himself.

The Ghost Arena was a gigantic building. After he entered the tall and wide entrance, it was dark inside. The sounds of footsteps echoed across the whole space, and they walked until they saw light ahead. After emerging into the light, Long Chen realized it was just a small door on the inside of the arena.

Many Underworld Soldiers stood at the entrance.

“Newbies! Find yourselves a seat anywhere and sit down. Once everyone has entered, the tryouts will truly begin.”

Following the Underworld Soldiers’ instructions, Long Chen sat down on a wooden chair not far away. There were more than ten thousand seats, and they circled around a fighting pit below. The pit was a flat and wide patch of black ground with many beast footprints and evidence of past duels. A pungent, bloody scent emitted from the soil, and although the blood had dried up, it was obvious that there was previously a large pool of blood there.

This meant that many people or beasts had died there.

The air was filled with the scent of killing.

One by one, the candidates exited from the small door and took a seat around the fighting pit. There were more than ten thousand seats, but only a few hundred people were here so far. No one trusted each other, so everyone sat sparsely; there was no one within ten meters of Long Chen.

Long Chen had registered relatively early.

The cut-off time for registration was noon, so the tryouts would likely start then.

The Ghost Arena was a place for fighting beasts. It was a method of training for the Underworld Soldiers and even common cultivators. Long Chen could feel vibrations from the ground, which showed that there were many beasts reared within the arena.

There were also fighting mech beasts created by Mech Priests, which were as strong as real beasts and could even use attacks similar to combat techniques. The Underworld Army had many Mech Priests.

Participants could choose their own opponents. On the whole, feral beasts were fiercer, and while mech beasts had strong combat abilities, they were more robotic.

A participant required approval from four examiners in order to succeed.

The tryouts would likely last several days as thousands of participants would have to complete their duels. The fact that the Underworld Army could use thousands of feral beasts or mech beasts for this showed how wealthy of an organization it was.

The Underworld Army conducted entrance tests once a month, and it was not considered a grand event. That was why the hosts were only four First Divine Martial Stage cultivators.

Long Chen looked up at the top seats of the arena. Underworld Soldiers filled that space, and they were standing around four large chairs that were arranged in a row right in front of the pit. Sitting in those seats would allow the people to see every detail of the fight in the pit.

The four examiners would likely sit there.

The position of seats made them feel like the leaders of the place, and they intimidated the others.

It was not time yet. Long Chen grew bored, so he closed his eyes and rested.

Entering the Ghost Arena was not an easy feat. As time passed, more and more people streamed in. Almost half the ten thousand seats were filled. It was a particularly popular test session this time with five thousand participants.

Long Chen was grateful he was not one of the first to enter, or he would have had to wait much longer.

As the crowd grew, the noise grew too. There were strict, militaristic rules in place, so the examinees did not dare talk much, but due to the size of the crowd, even whispered conversations combined into loud noise.

They were all talking about the entrance test.

“I heard that all four of today’s examiners are quite strict. Each of them is very nit-picky, and even when someone performs perfectly, they will pick out a flaw to eliminate them. The crowd is insane today too—five thousand people came to test. They’re only looking for a hundred. Doesn’t that mean that if you can’t kill your opponent in one second, you won’t stand a chance to enter?”

“Don’t worry too much. Out of five thousand, the four of them are choosing the most outstanding hundred. I believe that I have this capability. If someone as strong as me doesn’t get in, there must be something going on behind the scenes. I could just go to another city and try out again.”

All sorts of conversations filled Long Chen’s ears.

“Indeed, Thousand-Sergeant Song Yang will be here. He’s at the First Divine Martial Stage.”

Song Yuchun and Song Yang were surely related.

It looks like my performance has to be outstanding today, or I won’t get in. I must be so good that they have nothing to say.

Long Chen privately made his decision.

Only one hundred of the five thousand participants could enter, and these people had to suit the four examiners’ tastes too. It would be very difficult, and even Long Chen was not confident.

Noon soon arrived.

A handsome teenager, accompanied by several Underworld Soldiers, entered the arena.

“Look, it’s Ye Xuan!”

“He could have entered the Underworld Army directly. I can’t believe he’s also here for the tryouts.”

“Yeah. I don’t know what he’s thinking. He is at the Divine Martial Realm, so why is he here to take away a spot from us?”

“He wants to prove that he joined the Underworld Army through his own strength, not connections. He’s not like some people, who force themselves inside just because they have relatives on the inside. Those people will die in the army from the grueling competition.”

“After you said that, I’ve become impressed by Ye Xuan.”

“He’s handsome and young, and even has a wealthy background. He has great strength and potential too. Ye Xuan is just perfect. I wish I was him.”

“Yeah, and he has such a perfect sister ...”

Under gazes of admiration, Ye Xuan chose a random seat and sat down. He did not talk and only looked at the pit below calmly.

His calmness did not show that he had experienced a murder attempt last night.

I wonder who tried to kill him last night.

Long Chen took a glance at him.

An old man in normal Underworld Armor sat down next to Ye Xuan. The old man was a little strange to Long Chen, who studied him for a while. This man was likely at the Divine Martial Realm, above the First Divine Martial Stage.

Long Chen was able to confirm this by comparing Ye Xuan and the old man.

This old man is surely a high-level figure in the Underworld Army who came to watch. Probably a Ten-Thousand Sergeant who leads ten thousand soldiers.

Ten thousand experts above the Seventh Heavenly Martial Stage could do many things.