“Don’t look at me. I’m not such a sinister person. How could I do something like harming people from the same academy as me?” Long Chen shrugged, acting like the very picture of a good person who absolutely wouldn’t do something so evil.
“I really look down on you.” Luo Ning couldn’t help cursing at him. For these words to come out of Long Chen’s mouth, not even an idiot would believe them.
“If you have to look down on me, then fine. In any case, I’m a good child. I’ve never done anything bad.” Long Chen shook his head.
There were too many people here. Who knew whether or not there were spies amongst them? Such a thing could not be admitted to. That way, no one could do anything to him.
The truth was that when he had decided not to take the flame throne, which gave birth to the companion ore, he suddenly had a thought. Just because he was unwilling to destroy such a natural treasure didn’t mean that others were unwilling as well. He then thought of Chu Kuang. If Chu Kuang came again, he would very likely take this natural treasure. Then wouldn’t Long Chen have benefitted him?
If Long Chen didn’t take it but someone else took it, that would definitely irritate him. After a moment’s thought, he set up an explosive formation disc below the throne.
He knew that the throne was connected to the magma line down below. Otherwise, such a tiny place couldn’t possibly give birth to a Heavenly Flame and its companion ore. This cave was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg of the underground magma world.
Considering the heat of the lava, this explosive formation disc would stay functional for at most three days before losing effect.
This whole plan was something that Long Chen had to thank the elder in the Divine Scripture Pavilion for. People should really read more books. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known about the underground magma line nor the time limit for the formation disc’s effective power. Reading more books could only be beneficial.
He had arranged this before coming up, but he hadn’t told anyone. When he saw that Chu Kuang really was returning with others, he almost laughed. This fellow was cooperating with his plan perfectly.
The huge explosion was something that even Long Chen hadn’t expected. But that Four Peak elder had actually managed to escape after that. Now, Long Chen had a clearer understanding of the power of a Four Peak expert.
Luo Bing held Luo Ning back from continuing her line of questioning. The answer to this question was not necessarily something good to know.
After a while, Mu Qingyun activated the flying boat, and they flew over Crescent Moon Valley one time. The lava had stopped spurting, but the valley was now submerged. Smoke roiled out of the surroundings, and the immense heat set the mountains ablaze.
As the forest around this place possessed powerful life energy, the fire shouldn’t spread very far. The mountains in this mountain range that weren’t covered in lava should also be fine.
They looked at all the destruction and then at Long Chen. Although he refused to admit anything, everyone knew that he had definitely done this.
“Brother San, big sister Qingyun wants you at the front. Didn’t you want to learn how to control the flying boat?” Long Chen had his eyes closed, and his mind was in the primal chaos space, watching Huo Long absorb the power of the Heavenly Flame seed. It was then that Zhong Ling ran over to him.
“When did I… Oh, I remember.” Long Chen suddenly understood. He had never asked to learn how to control the flying boat. But the front of the flying boat was a special space that could block the sound from outside.
Long Chen then walked in. It was only Luo Bing, Luo Ning, Zhong Ling, Zhong Xiu, and Mu Qingyun here. Long Chen knew that his guess was right.
“What? Are you planning on interrogating me? Have you prepared the torture instruments? Let me tell you, I’m a real man. I’m not afraid of any torture. But if you use a honey trap, I might not be able to resist. Is that what you’re planning?” asked Long Chen solemnly.
“Nice idea. Now there are no outsiders. Tell us what happened,” said Luo Ning directly.
“Then are you saying that everyone here is an insider[1]?” asked Long Chen. His mood was excellent today, good enough for him to start joking.
“Tch, how shameless. Your ambition is quite big. Are you not afraid of dying if you dual cultivate with so many people?” demanded Luo Ning.
“What’s dual cultivation? Why would I die?” Long Chen was startled. He was unfamiliar with the concept of dual cultivation in the immortal world.
“Dual cultivation is-” Just as Luo Ning was about to explain, Luo Bing pushed her.
“Foolish girl, he’s taking advantage of you. Women can’t say such things. There’s no saving you.”
Seeing Zhong Ling, Zhong Xiu, and Mu Qingyun blushing, Long Chen had a general guess about what dual cultivation was. But there had to be some difference between that and normal matters between a man and woman, or there wouldn’t be a danger of dying.
“My primary goal was to penalize those who go to such extremes as to destroy natural wonders. I had no intention of conning anyone. Chu Kuang has done countless evil things, so that was the heavens punishing him. It had nothing to do with me…”
When Long Chen explained what happened, the five of them laughed. Chu Kuang was truly unlucky. He didn’t find who he was looking for nor the Heavenly Flame seed, but he did almost lose his life.
Those disciples that he had brought with him this time were trusted people of the Chu family. Some were directly related to the Chu family, and the others were from subordinate powers. It could be said that the Chu family truly had an enormous network within the High Firmament Academy.
For Chu Kuang to have lost so many inner academy disciples this time, he probably would have to give some explanation to the academy. This was no small matter.
Furthermore, even if the families of those who had died didn’t make a fuss, this loss was enough to keep the Chu family busy for a while. Chu Kuang might even receive a harsh punishment.
His luck was truly bad this time. An almost guaranteed plan had been ruined twice due to Long Chen, causing almost complete wipeouts for his side. He himself was badly injured. Luo Ning even guessed that Chu Kuang might just die from anger.
She sighed inside. Chu Kuang had tricked everyone with his act, but he hadn’t tricked Long Chen.
Chu Kuang was truly sinister, but he was also calculating and cautious. Unfortunately, his plans were child’s play in front of Long Chen. Long Chen had played him in the palm of his hand and had almost taken his life without even needing to use a blade. Hence, they profoundly felt just how frightening Long Chen was.
They blessed their fortune that he was a friend, not an enemy. Otherwise, they would feel like this world had turned dark.
When they returned to the High Firmament Academy, as soon as they stepped off of the flying boat, the sky suddenly darkened. Without any warning, a giant net fell upon them.
[1] This word for insider also means ‘my wife’.
