The sound of that bell signified that the knockout stage was over. Of over ninety million people, only ten thousand remained.
There were people cheering but some of them were also silent. A lot of people had been eliminated, so they were unable to be happy.
Every person had their own dreams. Before coming, they had all been looking forward to their future accomplishments, striving for glory for their sects, their families. But the reality was cruel. Glory belonged only to the very few.
Some people were unable to accept failure and wept on the ground. Perhaps those people were just a little bit away from passing but had ultimately still failed.
“How shameful!” Bai Xiaole couldn’t help mumbling to himself when he saw those people crying.
Long Chen shook his head and sighed. “We aren’t qualified to laugh at people who did everything they could but still failed. Reality is cruel. Crying is just a way to release their emotions, not that they’ve given up…”
Just as he said this, the closest person crying stood up in front of countless disdainful gazes and walked away.
“After getting hurt, after enduring pain, after crying, it’s time to wipe away the tears and continue onward. True men all carry their own burdens. They don’t resent fate for being unfair, they don’t blame others for being uncaring toward them. Even if this world hurts them ninety-nine times, they will still dare to embrace this world for the hundredth time, still believing that this world is beautiful and loving it. Such men are real warriors.” Long Chen looked at that person’s back. Long Chen seemed to see himself on the Martial Heaven Continent.
At that time, he had also been hurt and cried. He had been all alone within the darkness, growing up surrounded by insults and mocking. At that moment, he had also been unable to see any light but still believed that this world was full of sunlight.
The darkness in front of him was due to others blocking the sunlight. As long as he passed through the enemies before him, the dark clouds would part and he would feel the world’s warmth. The precondition was that everything would require his own work.
Long Chen’s words moved Bai Shishi and the others. His words enlightened them to another way to view the world. Hence, they looked at him more closely. The look in his eyes was like that of a transcendent sage. Even his broken-down clothes didn’t cover up that grand air.
The current Long Chen was like a completely different existence. Just before this, he had looked like a devil king that descended upon the world. The visual contrast between the two sides of the coin shook their hearts. It was both a dangerous and novel feeling that made people unable to resist being curious.
After all their time with him, they knew him to be a fearless expert who didn’t bully the weak. Sometimes he was humble and polite, sometimes he was incredibly arrogant. When he was humble, he was like a modest scholar. But when he was arrogant, he was like a local rogue. They were unable to figure out which one was his real self.
“Wow, as expected of the champion of the Dao discussion convention. All your words have length,” praised Lu Mingxuan.
“It’s depth,” corrected Bai Shishi.
“He’s a man. How can he have depth?” said Lu Mingxuan.
Bai Shishi turned red with anger and bashfulness. She just knew that this dirty girl would have dirt in her words somewhere.
Long Chen was speechless. As expected, her words always had traps. They couldn’t be jumped into without care. He had also almost corrected her but had managed to endure. In the end, it was Bai Shishi who inadvertently jumped in.
Just as Bai Shishi reached out to grab this cousin of hers, Lu Mingxuan laughed and hid behind Long Chen. She then stuck her tongue out at Bai Shishi, who immediately stopped chasing.
Everyone’s moods were good as they left. Although this was just the first step, it was still worth celebrating. After all, ninety-nine percent of people had been eliminated.
They squeezed through the crowds and entered the transportation gate, once more returning to their residence. On the way, quite a few experts glared at them hostilely and intentionally gestured insultingly at them.
Today, Long Chen ignored them. “Some people want to die. You can’t stop them no matter what you do.”
“Boss San, there’s quite a bit of information here on those who passed. I’ll give you a copy. Thank you for your Dao discussion. You fought for us youngsters to give us a fair competition.” Just at this moment, a man suddenly ran over and held out several jade tablets to Long Chen.
Bai Shishi and the others were stunned. He was directly sending these things to Long Chen for free?
It had to be known that tomorrow would be the day that they fought for the top five hundred. Anyone who had gotten into the top ten thousand would have information on them that would sell for quite a bit of money.
That man looked at Long Chen worshipfully. But Long Chen didn’t take his jade tablets. He patted him on the shoulder. “Brother, thank you, but I don’t need these things. True experts need absolute confidence in themselves. They must rely on martial power when it comes to real fights. Relying on schemes will lead you down the wrong path.”
That man stared at Long Chen for a moment before nodding. “Boss San, you are truly a hero, peerless amongst these heavenly geniuses. You disdain gathering information on others.”
Long Chen smiled slightly. He disdained being some hero, but he really was unable to bother gathering information on his enemies.
After all, this wasn’t some grand war where both sides were equally matched and that the decisive difference would be their strategy. In a one-against-one, he didn’t fear any of his competitors.
Although he didn’t accept this information, Long Chen was still grateful to that person, so he gave him a medicinal pill. That person was delighted and repeatedly thanked Long Chen before leaving.
They then returned to their residence and began meditating, entering their peak condition. The Battle God Palace’s disciples stood guard for them. After all, tomorrow would be even more difficult. Everyone had to be in top condition.
Luo Ning in particular had been injured and only had one night to recover. However, she actually fully recovered in just two hours with Long Chen’s medicinal pill. All that was left was preserving their top condition.
Long Chen returned to his room and continued studying the World Extermination Lightning Radiance. But here in Silver Moon City, he didn’t dare to unleash his lightning. He could only study it in his heart and make calculations.
Just at that moment, someone knocked on his door. “Senior apprentice-brother Long Chen, there’s someone outside asking to see you. He says he is an old friend from the Martial Heaven Continent.”
Upon hearing that, Long Chen’s heart pounded and he immediately rushed out. He saw a man with a saber on his back. When that man saw Long Chen, tears overflowed from his eyes.
“Boss, it really is you.”
