Chapter 322 - Clear Battle
Chen Chen looked at Yuan Qingtian with a strange expression, but he didn't say anything.
"Senior Brother, what are you looking at me for?"
Yuan Qingtian was curious.
After thinking about it, Chen Chen said, "I think you're right. If I end up in such a state, I won't want to live either."
Yuan Qingtian asked, "Exactly if that happens, I won't know you and Senior Sister Zhou anymore. What's the point of living then?"
Chen Chen did not continue dwelling on that matter and instead, chose to keep quiet, for fear that he would remind Yuan Qingtian of some unhappy memories.
...
A few moments later...
In a certain courtyard on the Divine Ape Mountain, Chu Xiong regained consciousness, but his eyes were out of focus, and his gaze was full of confusion as if it was his first time seeing this world.
Many people in the surroundings looked at him in agony.
After a long time, Chu Xiong suddenly said in a shaky voice, "I want to drink milk."
Although his sea of consciousness was broken, his voice was still as rough as ever.
Hence, as soon as he said that, the atmosphere in the room became awkward.
The cultivators of the Great Chu Dynasty had sullen expressions, and the cultivators of the other imperial dynasties wanted to laugh, but they didn't dare to.
Soon, someone entered to break the tension of the awkward atmosphere.
"Prince, that Zhang Ji is the proud disciple of the Seven-Slaughtering Demon Lord... He's also Chen Chen's sworn brother. His ruthlessness might be because of Chen Chen."
"Chen Chen!"
The prince of the Great Chu Dynasty took a deep breath and suppressed the anger within him.
Although Zhang Ji seemed to have been forced to do something ruthless, no one who could reach their level was a fool. After hearing about it carefully, he immediately checked all of Zhang Ji's social connections and found out more about his past performances.
Hence, they reached such a conclusion easily.
Although there was no evidence to back the conclusion up, and they could only openly accuse Zhang Ji, anyone with a discerning eye would be able to tell what happened.
"I need to pee!"
His son's rough and hoarse voice came from behind.
Hearing his words, Chu Chong barked in anger. "Inform the cultivators of the Great Chu Dynasty who are participating in the Battle of Techniques, to be ruthless to anyone from Wufeng City or the Seven Lethal Demon Clan!"
When he said that, everyone else in the surrounding fell silent.
Soon, someone suddenly entered, clad in a green robe. With a smile on his face, he looked refined, personable, and easy-going.
When Chu Chong saw him, he looked less tense and said with cupped fists, "Prime Minister Xiao, I didn't expect you would have the time to come here and see my son."
The faces of the surrounding cultivators also became much more solemn at this moment.
This refined and easy-going cultivator was none other than Prime Minister Xiao Liang, who was recognized by the human race as the best expert below the Void Refinement realm.
When Xiao Liang saw Chu Chong, he remained silent and sent him a message via his divine senses. "After the old ancestor woke up and learned about Chen Chen, he has already made up his mind..."
After saying that, he swiped his hand against his neck.
Hearing his words, Chu Chong got a little agitated, but he soon began to get worried.
"The four major clans are dead set on protecting him! If you really want to kill him, I'm afraid the four major clans won't let it go easily, especially the Jade Tripod Alchemy Clan that are in control of 80% of the elixirs used by the human race."
However, Xiao Liang shook his head slightly.
"No matter what, he has the Adversity-Overcoming Seal on his body. The ancestor has sealed himself with an extraordinary secret technique for thousands of years, all because he's waiting for someone like him."
"Now that the two races are at war, the four major clans won't really go toe-to-toe against us to the death, even if we make a move. Besides, the ancestor's strength is at the peak of the Void Refinement realm, and he is the real key to reversing the situation between the two races. In order to let him ascend to immortality smoothly in the future, sacrificing a tainted elite is nothing."
Chu Chong said after a long silence, "Prime Minister Xiao, why did you come here..."
"I need your cooperation in this matter."
...
About four hours later, the sky gradually darkened, and the cultivators of the three peaks returned to their respective residences.
The real battle would begin only tomorrow.
However, after the Battle of Techniques today, everyone had their own judgment, each as to who was stronger and who was weaker.
However, Chen Chen was in a rather foul mood.
The reason being, there were several Core Formation realm cultivators from Wufeng City who were matched with the cultivators of the Great Chu Dynasty in the last round of the day. In the end, most of them were severely wounded, and some had even had their elixir field incapacitated.
After taking out some treasures to help them heal their injuries, Chen Chen silently left the compound.
As soon as he walked out, a magnificent voice rang in his ears.
"Kid, what are you worried about? If you're not comfortable with this, I'll teach Chu Chong of the Great Chu Dynasty a lesson for you tomorrow. I may not be able to beat Xiao Liang and that Saintess, but I should have no problems dealing with Chu Chong. After all, he doesn't have an innate spirit body."
Chen Chen did not turn around and instead, sighed and said, "Old Zhou, it would be nice if I were as simple-minded as you."
"Damn it! That's bullshit! What do you mean simple-minded? As diabolic cultivators, we just want to follow our hearts. How can you call that being simple-minded?"
Zhou Renlong flew into a rage and retorted loudly.
Chen Chen did not reply but instead, looked at the moon in the sky, seemingly thinking about something.
...
The next day at dawn, the Battle of Techniques began once again.
This time, Chen Chen and Xia Xishuang arrived at the third mountain peak. Compared to the ring for the Nascent Soul realm cultivators, the ring for the Essence Soul realm was much larger. There was only one, and many arrays had been set up there.
Otherwise, the mountain would probably be destroyed.
A group of Essence Soul realm powerhouses in the distance had already gotten into position. Upon sight of her disciple, the Saintess of the Haoran Sword Clan smiled gently.
Soon...
A Void Spirit Clan cultivator whose cultivation level was in the late-stage Essence Soul realm smilingly said, "Fellow Daoists, why aren't you making a move yet? Do you want me to come in first place among the Essence Soul realm experts?"
It would be meaningless to continue going on. If we let those juniors see this, they'll think that we Essence Soul realm cultivators are wishy-washy."
As soon as he said that, Chu Chong took the lead to step onto the stage before saying calmly, "I'm here to teach you how to do it."
Seeing this, the late-stage Essence Soul realm cultivator stepped down from the stage quietly to show that he had conceded defeat.
Those peak Essence Soul realm powerhouses had all become elites. No one went on the stage yesterday and everyone was thinking that they could hide their trump cards while watching others' means.
He had guarded the ring yesterday but today, a peak Essence Soul realm expert came up immediately. In that case, there was no need to continue fighting.
Seeing how sensible they were, Chu Chong closed his eyes quietly and waited for the others to go up and fight.
However, in less than a second, Zhou Renlong stepped onto the stage with a menacing smile.
"Chu Chong! I've abhorred you for a long time!"
Faced with Zhou Renlong's provocation, Chu Chong said coldly, "What a poor cultivator. Even if he gets to reach the peak of the Essence Soul realm by chance, he won't be presentable."
As soon as they spoke, there was huge tension.
The surrounding Essence Soul realm experts had all heard about what happened the day before and were aware of the source of their feud. Hence, they didn't say anything to help.
Soon, the two were fighting intensely in the ring.
Chen Chen secretly sneered as he watched.
Chu Chong was too arrogant. In the beginning, he wanted to test the waters, but Zhou Renlong came up aggressively and got the upper hand in a short while.
Next, there was a string of continuous attacks, and Chu Chong had no choice but to put up a defense with no means to retaliate.
If that went out, Chu Chong would definitely die.
Chen Chen clearly saw the gradual changes in Chu Chong's expressions, and at this point, he had already turned pale.
He reckoned that Chu Chong probably didn't expect Zhou Renlong, a cultivator from a small vassal state, would actually dare to hit him, a relative of the royals.
...
Not far away, Xiao Liang looked at this scene with a gloomy face, and could not help but secretly call him a wastrel.
His plan was well thought out, and yet, something went wrong as soon as they started.
With this in mind, he helplessly looked at the fancily-dressed Void Refinement realm cultivator with an ambiguous gaze.
The eyes of the Void Refinement realm cultivator who was maintaining order widened slightly as he seemed to be wanting to observe them carefully. However, in fact, in that moment, he sent a divine sense deterrent to Zhou Renlong who was in the ring!
As long as he shocked and deterred Zhou Renlong for a moment, the situation on the field could be reversed.
However, to his surprise, just as the divine sense deterrent was about to hit Zhou Renlong, it suddenly disappeared without a trace.
That made his expression change drastically as he subconsciously scanned the surroundings of the ring.
The cultivators looked normal, and only Chen Chen was staring at him coldly.