The Unfettered Alliance’s headquarters was a small pavilion that required three thousand immortal crystals per month to rent. Long Chen was sitting inside, with the Unfettered Alliance’s disciples staring at him in shock.
He had gone into seclusion for the past seven days. The last time they saw him, his mortal qi was still present, but now it was completely gone. He even had a trace of immortal spiritual qi in his body at this moment.
Long Chen was already such a handsome man that even his worn-down black robes couldn’t conceal his heroic air. But now that his mortal qi had been expelled, it was like the dust had been removed from fine jade. His entire appearance was elevated, making him appear like a crane amongst chickens.
“Hehe, brother San has grown more and more handsome. I heard that our High Firmament Academy has a number one beautiful woman and a number one beautiful man. I’ve never seen them, but I bet that the number one beautiful man doesn’t have brother San’s flavor,” giggled Zhong Ling.
Long Chen involuntarily laughed. “Why do you all seem to be in such a good mood? Do you have absolute confidence in this competition?”
“Of course! After a month of hellish training, if we still couldn’t get first place, we’d be ruining brother San’s prestige. We can’t lose Boss Long San’s face!” declared Zhong Xiu.
In this one month, Long Chen had sealed them off and given them training in a similar way that he had trained the Dragonblood Legion. Of course, he had lowered the standards as these were disciples of rich families. They couldn’t possibly be like the Dragonblood warriors who lived every moment knowing that they could lose their lives if they weren’t strong enough.
However, it had to be said that these disciples finally had some of the stuff that made true experts. There was confidence and ease in their eyes that showed their accomplishments.
Mu Qingyun’s sword was no longer hanging on her waist but on her back. Furthermore, at no time did it ever leave her body.
That wasn’t something that Long Chen had taught her. It was something she had naturally comprehended after gaining insight into the Sword Dao. She could already be said to have entered the gates to the realm of sword cultivators.
Of course, compared to Yue Zifeng, there was simply no comparison. That was because in Yue Zifeng’s heart, there was nothing else other than the sword.
“Brother San, when the competition starts, you can just sit and drink tea while we perform. We’ll beat Chu Kuang until he pisses himself! Just cheer for us.” Zhong Ling clenched her fists, seemingly already seeing their victory.
“I suddenly really envy you,” sighed Long Chen.
“What?”
“It really is nice being young. Youngsters can be naive. But me, at this age, I’m no longer qualified to be so naive.” Long Chen shook his head.
Zhong Ling and the others were still befuddled. Mu Qingyun asked, “Brother San, what are you talking about? Are we too naive? You don’t have a good opinion of our chances in the divine competition?”
“Qingyun, you are the leader. Confidence is the most basic quality, but you also must have an understanding of each side’s power. In your opinion, even without me, how high are your odds of beating the Prime Glory Alliance?” asked Long Chen.
“If it was one month ago, we would definitely be defeated. But now I’ve gained an initial understanding of the Sword Dao and also trained in the Firmament Cloud Sword Art. Although I don’t dare to say that I can definitely defeat Chu Kuang, I’m at least fifty percent confident. Even if I can’t beat him, I should only be slightly weaker. With Zhong Ling, Zhong Xiu, Li Cai, Wang Xing, Lu Wei, and the others who have been trained into first rate experts thanks to you, I feel like our chances of victory are at least over ninety percent,” said Mu Qingyun.
In this month, she felt like she had completely transformed. After comprehending the Sword Dao, her killing power was so great that it frightened her. That was why she was so confident.
Furthermore, everyone else that she had just mentioned had made exceptional gains as well. Everyone had transformed during this time. If they all went into the competition together, they were confident that they would win.
Long Chen nodded, not saying anything. Mu Qingyun then asked, “Brother San, is there a problem?”
“There’s no problem on the surface. Your estimation of both sides’ power can be considered correct. But can you forecast a bit deeper?”
“A bit deeper?” Mu Qingyun was confused. She didn’t understand what he was talking about.
“Not good!”
Suddenly, a disciple of the Unfettered Alliance came running in, covered in sweat. He looked as if the heavens were collapsing, alarming everyone.
“What’s going on?!” asked Mu Qingyun.
“Big sister Qingyun, Chu Kuang is absolutely despicable! He has drawn in outside reinforcements. The Immortal Institute’s Gu Fei, the Formation Institute’s Tang Yaochen, the Soul Institute’s Li Chengbei, and the other famous experts have all joined the Prime Glory Alliance and plan on attending this divine competition! He just handed in the list and I ran over as soon as I saw it!”
The disciple’s words were like thunder exploding beside Mu Qingyun’s ears. Everyone was dumbfounded.
“That’s against the rules!”
Li Cai shouted furiously. These people were all famous within their own respective institutes. How could they simply join the competition of the God Institute?
“I’ve asked people, and they said that they are all subordinates of the Chu family and can attend the competition under their status as followers of Chu Kuang, so it’s not against the rules. As for Gu Fei, for some reason, he actually gave up on the Immortal Institute’s competition to help Chu Kuang. It might be because he wants revenge on brother San,” said that disciple helplessly.
Everyone was shocked and enraged. One by one, they turned to look at Long Chen. On the other hand, Long Chen’s expression remained indifferent from the start.
“Brother San, what do you think?” asked Mu Qingyun.
“This chair is comfy.” Long Chen shrugged.
“Brother San… Now isn’t the time for jokes. Those fellows are all very terrifying existences,” said Mu Qingyun anxiously.
“I’m not joking. It’s better to sit in a comfy chair to think rather than hopping around like a clown. When I asked you whether or not you’ve considered looking deeper, I was referring to this. If Chu Kuang didn’t do such a thing, would he still be Chu Kuang? Let me explain it to you frankly. This divine competition has a completely different meaning from normal times,” said Long Chen, relaxing into his chair with his hands on the back of his head.
“Why is it different?” pressed Mu Qingyun.
“Because the Discipline Institute’s head judge and the Chu family are fighting. Chu Kuang can only win, or the consequences will be terrible for him. If he loses, not only will he be executed, but the Chu family’s force within the academy will be severely damaged. Although it wouldn’t be completely pulling them out by the roots, their prestige will definitely suffer. That’s why Chu Kuang will use any sinister schemes he can think of in order to win. There’s nothing surprising about this.”
Just at this moment, a bell rang out repeatedly, making Mu Qingyun and the others tense.
“The divine competition will start in two hours. All forces gather at the field!” A voice rang out through the air.
Long Chen stood and stretched. He had a relaxed and easy smile on his face.
“I wish I could be low-key, but some people always refuse to let me. But that’s fine. I should move my body a bit, or I’ll get rusty.”
