Lu Qiguang’s hair and beard bristled with anger, his robe fluttering without wind.
His withered hand suddenly reached for Lin Chen. Although there was a distance of a hundred feet, in an instant, an icy coldness enveloped Lin Chen’s entire body.
In that moment, Lin Chen felt an overwhelming chill, as if both his divine soul and physical body were frozen.
"You old scoundrel, how dare you!"
Hou Zhantian’s roar exploded like thunder, dispelling the chill around Lin Chen.
However, Hou Zhantian did not stop there, he fiercely struck towards Lu Qiguang.
Whoosh!
Before the hand could reach, the palm wind blazed like a scorching sun, golden light erupting, while Lu Qiguang showed no fear, his hands forming icy claws, reaching out in return.
At the instant when the two forces collided, the stone slabs of the Martial Arts Arena shattered inch by inch, countless fragments suspended mid-air, crushed into powder by the aftermath.
All the disciples of the Martial Academy retreated at that moment.
"Please, both of you, stop!"
Murong Song spoke up, but neither Hou Zhantian nor Lu Qiguang halted. For Hou Zhantian, Lu Qiguang’s sudden attack on Lin Chen was something he could not let go.
For Lu Qiguang, with Lu Chuanning not coming out for so long, something must have happened in the Secret Realm.
For the Han Kingdom, even Lu Chuanning was an invaluable talent, and the loss of such a talent was a significant blow to the Han Kingdom.
The chief culprit was Lin Chen.
Seeing that Hou Zhantian and Lu Qiguang were not stopping, Murong Song looked extremely grim, showcasing the helplessness of a small country.
If the Yan Kingdom had the strength of the Liang Kingdom and the Han Kingdom, how would these two dare to fight so openly here?
"This is the Yan Kingdom Royal Martial Academy, you both overstep your bounds!"
An aged voice echoed, and in the next moment, an elderly man with white hair appeared on the scene, causing the energy fluctuations across the entire square to disappear without a trace like a stone sinking into the sea.
"So powerful!"
Lin Chen looked at the old man, sensing as if he was gazing into a deep abyss, unable even to perceive this elder’s aura.
This old man must be a First-Grade Powerhouse!
At the moment the elder appeared, Hou Zhantian and Lu Qiguang also halted their actions.
"Senior Murong, it was Lu Qiguang who first attacked my Liang disciple, I demand an explanation!"
Hou Zhantian faced the old man, first bowing in respect, then speaking in a deep voice.
The elder’s gaze turned to Lu Qiguang, whose expression turned grim, yet he dared not act presumptuously in front of the elder.
"Senior Murong, I suspect that in the Secret Realm, Lu Chuanning was harmed by Lin Chen."
"Nonsense!"
Hou Zhantian immediately retorted, "Why would Lu Chuanning’s mishap be blamed on Lin Chen?"
"Who else but Lin Chen?"
"When Lin Chen came out, he didn’t even know Lu Chuanning was still inside."
"That brat was deliberately acting, thinking I couldn’t see through it?"
"Just because you say it’s acting, does that make it so?" Hou Zhantian coldly chuckled, "Didn’t someone just say, in the Martial Academy’s ranking competition, if you dare to partake, you must be prepared to face death, and if an accident leads to death, so be it."
The martial artist from the Xiang Kingdom, hearing Hou Zhantian quote his words, twitched his mouth.
He had said those words earlier only to provoke Hou Zhantian, not expecting they would be used against him.
All the martial artists present had odd expressions as they watched these two Second-Grade powerhouses bicker like market shrews.
"Cough, cough!"
The elder coughed, interrupting the argument between the two, "Since there was previous agreement, whatever the cause of Lu Chuanning’s death, it cannot be pursued further, does Junior Brother Lu agree?"
The elder’s tone was calm, his gaze at Lu Qiguang as placid as an ancient well, but Lu Qiguang knew this was the limit of what he could achieve.
This man was indeed a First-Grade Martial Artist, and by no means an ordinary one.
"Fine, my Han Kingdom will accept this matter!"
Lu Qiguang shot a cold glare at Lin Chen, and with the upcoming Martial Academy competition, he intended to use the lives of Liang’s martial artists to avenge Lu Chuanning, and he couldn’t allow Lin Chen the opportunity to grow, he must be killed swiftly.
"Junior Brother Hou, regarding the harm suffered by Lin Chen, I will provide him with compensation, is this agreeable to you?"
Off to the side, Murong Song heard his third uncle’s words, and his eyes flickered with a thoughtful expression.
The conflict between the Liang Kingdom and the Han Kingdom was not something the Yan Kingdom needed to compensate for, so his third uncle must have learned of Lin Chen’s earlier feat of triggering six beams of light and wanted to take this opportunity to form goodwill with Lin Chen.
Atop the tower.
Murong Yan’s beautiful eyes held a hint of coldness, "The Han Kingdom is too overbearing, it’s fortunate Third Grandfather appeared."
"The Han Kingdom has always acted overbearingly, but in the past, because their martial artists were much stronger than their peers, they showed no need for domineering tactics."
Murong Shuang whispered, many martial artists have not perceived the Han Kingdom’s overbearing nature, for the Han Kingdom’s martial prowess overall was strong, their martial geniuses being somewhat stronger than those of the other kingdoms, leaving no need to reveal their domineering side.
Only in such a situation could the Han Kingdom’s overbearing side be witnessed.
"The Han Kingdom acts excessively, yet we are the ones providing compensation, the Han Kingdom truly is outrageous."
Murong Xin pouted, expressing her dissatisfaction with the Han Kingdom, but upon hearing this, Murong Shuang simply smiled, "Third Grandfather providing compensation to Lin Chen is akin to keeping resources within the family. Sixth Sister, don’t you think Four Elder Sister is right?"
Upon hearing this, Murong Yan’s pretty face instantly blushed with a hint of red. However, she was not the shy type and admitted generously, "Fourth Sister is right."
The scene, because of the elder’s words, also stirred a wave of discussion.
But many people, just like Murong Shuang, thought of the relationship between Lin Chen and Murong Yan.
Considering it this way, the Yan Kingdom didn’t feel entirely aggrieved, treating it as preparing a gift in advance for their Prince Consort.
"Young friend, when you have some free time, why not visit the Imperial Palace?"
The elder turned to look at Lin Chen with a very kindly smile, and the next moment, his figure once again disappeared from where he stood.
"I announce, the points competition has ended, the first place goes to the Liang Kingdom’s Canglan Martial Arts Academy, and the second place goes to the Han Kingdom’s Celestial Palace Martial Arts Academy..."
Murong Song did not delay and directly announced the results of the points competition after the elder disappeared.
"Junior Brother Lin, congratulations!"
"Junior Brother Lin, well done!"
The disciples of the Qingyun Martial Arts Academy, Lingxiao Martial Arts Academy, and Capital City Martial Arts Academy all gathered around Lin Chen, beaming with smiles.
The disciples of the other kingdoms’ martial arts academies also cast their gazes over here; the outcome of this points competition was something none of them had expected.
Three days ago in the Imperial Garden, the battle between Lin Chen and Su Zhe had made them no longer underestimate Lin Chen, considering him an opponent of equal strength.
But everything that happened today gave them a harsh slap in the face.
They had once again misjudged.
Lin Chen was not an opponent of equal strength, but someone who could rank within the top ten among all the disciples of the Nine Kingdoms.
Lin Chen’s previous performance on the testing monument only proved the strength of Lin Chen’s Divine Soul, but the strength of a Martial Artist relies not only on the Divine Soul but also on the utilization of Martial Arts Techniques and Divine Soul willpower.
However, Lin Chen being able to kill Lu Chuanning in the Thousand Illusion Secret Realm proved Lin Chen’s strength.
Lu Chuanning’s strength, among the current batch of academy disciples, was definitely within the top six, and the reason why everyone only ranked Lin Chen in the top ten was because they had not witnessed how Lin Chen had killed Lu Chuanning.
They had seen how terrifying the soul items in the Thousand Illusion Secret Realm were; perhaps Lu Chuanning, while defending against the soul items, was ambushed by Lin Chen. If that were the case, Lin Chen’s strength would naturally be lower than they expected.
Because of these factors, everyone estimated Lin Chen’s strength to be within the top ten.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the second round of elimination in the academy ranking competition will commence tomorrow. Today’s event concludes here."
After Murong Song announced the conclusion, the disciples from each kingdom’s martial arts academy all headed back to their respective areas while still discussing along the way. Only the Han Kingdom’s martial artists maintained icy expressions, emanating a chilling aura, and left silently under Lu Qiguang’s lead.
"Let’s go, we’ll discuss more after returning."
Hou Zhantian said with a satisfied smile, nodding towards Lin Chen, as he led the excited disciples back to their living area.
At the other courtyard.
Hou Zhantian and Chen Shan were listening to Lin Chen recount the events that happened in the Thousand Illusion Secret Realm.
"No wonder Lu Qiguang was so confident; it turns out he had set up backup plans in advance."
After listening to Lin Chen’s account, a cold smile appeared on Hou Zhantian’s face.
Lin Chen took out the Treasure Pagoda he was holding, and with his Divine Thought, made the pagoda gradually enlarge.
Hou Zhantian examined the pagoda for a while and said with a smile, "If I’m not mistaken, this pagoda should be a spirit soldier that specifically protects the Divine Soul. Such spirit soldiers are extremely rare, each one is priceless. This time, the Han Kingdom has suffered a heavy loss."
Beside him, Chen Shan also stroked his beard and said, "I fear that Lu Qiguang’s anger largely stems from this very pagoda."
Even as a Third-Grade martial artist, he did not have a single spirit soldier capable of defending against Divine Soul attacks.
"But precisely for this reason, it’s likely that in the upcoming elimination rounds, the Han Kingdom will try every possible means to target you, Lin Chen."
With a thoughtful expression, Hou Zhantian pondered briefly before speaking, "Lin Chen, have you ever considered withdrawing from the upcoming elimination rounds?"
"Withdraw from the elimination rounds?"
Lin Chen hadn’t expected the dean to suggest that he withdraw from the upcoming battles.
"Now, the Han Kingdom martial artists probably see you as a thorn in their side. At that time, they will undoubtedly go to great lengths to target you. Moreover, from your performance today, Lu Qiguang will surely deduce that your Divine Soul far surpasses that of ordinary martial artists and will set traps specifically for you."
"Senior Brother Hou, is it really that serious?"
Chen Shan hesitated, because if Lin Chen did not participate in the subsequent elimination rounds, it would be hard for Canglan Martial Arts Academy, with only Li Yuan and a few other disciples, to make it into the top ten.
"The situation may be even more severe than I imagined. Earlier, Lu Qiguang had murderous intentions."
As a Second-Grade martial artist, Hou Zhantian could perceive the killing intent Lu Qiguang had released towards Lin Chen at that moment.
If I hadn’t intervened, Lu Qiguang might have directly killed Lin Chen.
Hearing this from the dean, Lin Chen’s expression also turned serious. He somewhat understood his predicament.
Perhaps in the eyes of Bian Xinjie and the others, killing me is more important than the academy rankings.
Rankings can be lost, but I must die.
"Dean, I..."
Just as Lin Chen was about to speak, Hou Zhantian raised his hand to stop him, and Lin Chen immediately realized, quickly stashing the pagoda away.
"Is Brother Hou here?"
Outside the courtyard door came the voice of Murong Song.

Comments

Loading...