Chapter 963 - August Fifteenth

Another month passed while the two of them sparred. In that time, Long Chen managed to master Killing Tribulation after using it countless times and copying Ye Xuan’s movements. At the same time, he got familiar with using Fluttering Blood. He hadn't used a sword in a very long time, but he got used to the movements after months of practice.

He also learned a lot about the path of his martial arts.

Long Chen was just one step away from joining the experts at the Divine Martial Realm.

He would be able to reach the Divine Martial Realm the moment he advanced into the Ninth Heavenly Martial Stage.

He was certain that the Divine Martial Realm would change his body completely.

It was the realm where he would molt his skin and grow into something fearsome.

Long Chen looked forward to the day when he obtained the 9,999 meridians in his body.

But he was certain that he would never reach that stage if he continued sparring with Ye Xuan. Because it was a spar, there wasn’t the sense of danger in which a single false move meant death. Long Chen needed a fight like how he fought against Su Xue to advance.

Ye Xuan suggested, “I’m almost fully healed now. Why don’t we enter the Underworld Battlefield? With you and your strange technique to escape, I don’t think the assassins will be able to get me.”

Long Chen was thinking the exact same thing.

He also wanted to inspect the Underworld Blood Sea. Little Cat had told him that the entire place was a massive seal. Long Chen was certain that whatever was being sealed in the Underworld Blood Sea was very valuable if even Little Cat was interested in it.

“Sure, but let’s tell your sister first.”

“Her? Won’t she object to it?”

“No, she won’t.”

Long Chen led him to where City Lord Ye Xuan usually handled paperwork. Currently, she was busy dealing with the matters of Underworld CIty. Long Chen didn’t want to interrupt her work, so he told her what they wanted directly.

Thankfully, City Lord Ye Xuan didn’t object. She sent out Grandpa Gudu to protect them secretly. She was confident that he could protect them since he was an expert at the Third Divine Martial Stage. In reality, Grandpa Gudu had also been secretly protecting them even while they were in the City Lord’s mansion.

“Are you really fine with it, Sister?”

“Of course. Long Chen is with you after all.”

City Lord Ye Xuan chuckled when she looked at them. Long Chen was more grounded than Ye Xuan even though they were around the same age. In fact, City Lord Ye Xuan considered Long Chen to be as mentally mature as herself, so she trusted him.

Of course, she still wanted Grandpa Gudu to guard them secretly.

Grandpa Gudu was considered one of the strongest in Underworld City to begin with.

As someone at the Third Divine Martial Stage, also called the Heavenly Human Realm, he was someone who could bring out the full potential of a domain.

“When do you plan to leave?”

“Since it’s already been decided, we want to leave now if there’s nothing we need to do beforehand.”

Long Chen was someone who didn’t like to drag things on.

“Is that so?” City Lord Ye Xuan frowned a little. “August Fifteenth is just twenty days away. We will have a spectacular lantern festival here. If you go now, you might not be able to witness it.”

Ye Xuan rolled his eyes. “Tsk, who wants to play in a lousy festival like that?”

City Lord Ye Xuan pondered and thought that Ye Xuan had a point. Long Chen didn’t strike her as someone who would be interested in a festival. “Fine. Be careful alright?”

After saying goodbye, both Long Chen and Ye Xuan switched into their armor and headed towards the Underworld Soldier Camp.

While it was unlawful for them to be absent from the camp for such a long time, no one punished them. After all, who would punish them when the connection between the City Lord and General Su Mo was so well-known?

Long Chen’s Sight could see everything within a single Li, while the Divine Intuition of someone at the Third Divine Martial Stage couldn’t reach that far yet. That was how Long Chen managed to sense where Grandpa Gudu was. But in order to not upset Ye Xuan, he chose to keep it a secret.

City Lord Ye Xuan had instructed Grandpa Gudu not to interfere unless there was a serious threat to their lives, since the two of them were there to gain experience.

While Grandpa Gudu wasn’t an Underworld Soldier, he was still granted access into the Underworld Battlefield thanks to City Lord Ye Xuan.

Long Chen now had a different identity when he returned to the Underworld Army. He was no longer a nameless soldier but the renowned genius youth who became the disciple of the beautiful City Lord. He had garnered the envy of many.

But their envy was turned to respect when they saw how he had managed to defeat Su Xue, a cultivator at the Divine Martial Realm.

Also, Ye Xuan was standing beside Long Chen. Who would dare to attack him now?

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The two of them entered the camp relatively easily since it wasn’t Song Yang’s men who were guarding the gates. They headed towards the entrance of the Underworld Battlefield with no obstructions. In fact, a lot of people greeted them.

Both Long Chen and Ye Xuan were technically the lowest-ranking soldiers, but their strength and statuses made it so that even regular Hundred-Sergeants didn’t dare to chastise them.

The Hundred-Sergeants of the Pavilion of Life and Death had long heard about the news of the tournament.

They all thought they were dreaming when they learned that the newbie Long Chen had defeated an expert like Su Xue. But now, Long Chen walking in with Ye Xuan confirmed that they weren’t dreaming.

“Young Master Ye Xuan, and... Long Chen. Are you heading to the Underworld Battlefield?”

Long Chen nodded.

Several Hundred-Sergeants took out the book and greeted them profusely.

Long Chen teased them. “You won’t strike my name with red ink again if I don’t come out within a few months, right?”

“No, of course not!”

The Hundred-Sergeants chuckled in embarrassment. That was indeed their mistake in the past. Usually, people like Long Chen wouldn’t survive in the Underworld Battlefield for so long, but Long Chen wasn’t a regular soldier.

After sighing, both Long Chen and Ye Xuan stepped into the Underworld Battlefield.

News of their arrival reached General Su Mo almost instantly.

Su Xue barged into the room with excitement.

“General Su Mo, we finally found Long Chen and Ye Xuan outside again!”

“Oh?”

“The two of them just entered the Underworld Battlefield. This is a good chance! Hurry up and send the assassins to kill them, especially Long Chen! Even though Gudu Jun is secretly protecting them, he alone cannot stop you and the five other Underworld Overlords. It should be easy to kill them!”

Su Xue hated Long Chen a lot. He had destroyed her confidence, so she wanted him dead!

General Su Mo glared at her and said in a cold voice, “Are you stupid? This is not the time to kill them. I tried to kill Ye Xuan twice and failed. If something happens to them now, or if we fail to capture Gudu Jun, then everything I’ve done for the past hundreds of years will be for nothing.”

Su Mo sat back down and grunted. “So not only must we not touch them at all, we must also treat them well. Nothing must happen to them! City Lord Ye Xuan did not give the Red Lotus Jade pendant to Ye Xuan, so we still have a good chance of obtaining it. There’s roughly twenty days before the festival starts. Now that they are gone, the chances of me feeding City Lord Ye Xuan the National Beauty Pill has increased drastically. This time, both the Red Lotus Jade Pendant and Killing Tribulation are mine.”

Su Mo was excited when he thought about his plan.

“This is a chance gifted by the heavens.”

Su Xue nodded.

She had to admit that she had been rash.

“You are young, so there’s still much for you to learn. Don’t be hasty.”

Su Mo was in a good mood, so he didn’t admonish her.

He then stood up. “I will go find City Lord Ye Xuan tonight to talk to her about the festival. Since there won’t be anyone there to interfere, I can make her happy and the plan will work on August fifteenth. At that point, we can remove the insignificant Long Chen and Ye Xuan from this place for good.”

Su Xue had to admit that Su Mo was right and was impressed by his experience.

***

Divine Martial Realm cultivators rarely stayed near the entrance of the Underworld Battlefield. They would head to the Underworld Blood Sea immediately since that was where the strongest cultivators and Underworld Beasts resided.

Long Chen suddenly remembered Xiaolang when he saw an Underworld Beast.

He had to admit that it was almost comical to think that he was now stronger than the six demons after one year. Long Chen was certain that it would be difficult for him to find Xiaolang now, but he wasn’t worried. He was certain that the Desolate Royal Territory would be a good place for Xiaolang to grow, so he could always find him later.

Long Chen decided to find Ling Xi first since it had been a few years since he heard any news from her. He was worried.

He would never stop after swearing that he would meet her again one more time.

As he slowly made progress towards the Divine Martial Realm, he realized that he was getting closer and closer to catching up to her.

He swore that he would take her into his embrace once again.

Ye Xuan noticed that Long Chen was deep in thought as they traveled and teased him.

“Brother Chen, what are you thinking about? A woman? I hope you are not trying to make a move on my sister. She’s pretty, strong, and has a high position, but a master and a disciple should never fall in love.”