Chapter 590: Zhao Danchen
Long Chen had the habit of often using the Soul Swallowing Gaze. While he was practicing the Willow Step in his room, he occasionally saw Lei Zhen walk past his house.
The future of his whole clan was now in his hands alone. It was a huge weight on his shoulders, and although Lei Zhen presented as a strong person, he was suffering privately and felt bleak.
The Battle clan had to win the bet in ten days, and he was going to be one of the fighters. The agreement was that if they did not win two rounds, the Battle clan would submit to the Martial Alliance. The Martial Alliance believed that the Battle clan was going to hold up their end of the bet. Their goal was to subdue the Battle clan without any effort spent. In reality, to the Battle clan, that would be the beginning of the true war for their lives.
If they lost the bet, then they would fight for their lives.
Fighting for their lives would ignite the passion in their blood. Lei Zhen knew that without an absolutely powerful master in the Battle clan, they were fated to lose the war. There was basically no chance of surviving this.
When the Martial Alliance made their quick rise to power in the Divine Martial Empire, the Battle clan knew that this day would come.
The Battle clan had existed for countless years. They were different from the Ancient Demon Domain and Huangfu family, because they had an unwillingness to submit. The other two powers would never be able to compare in terms of spirit. If it came down to a true battle for the clan’s survival, neither of those forces would be a match for the Battle clan.
Although raw power was important on the journey of the Martial Dao, one’s mindset, determination, and even faith were just as important. The undying stubbornness of the Battle clan had become their faith.
That was why this man, Lei Zhen, was carrying such a huge weight on his shoulders.Long Chen opened the door and came out with Xiaolang. Xiaolang had always been quiet, so he did not say much.
When Lei Zhen saw that it was Long Chen, he squeezed a smile with great difficulty and said, “Seventh Brother, why are you out here?”
Long Chen went to his side, studied Lei Zhen for a while, and then said, “I can see that you’re thinking about many things, Fourth Brother. Let’s take a walk and talk about it.”
Lei Zhen froze for a second, then he nodded. “Mhm, alright …”
They walked towards the outside of the forest.
“Seventh Brother, you guys don’t actually need to get involved in this mess. It looks like the Battle clan can’t avoid this tragedy; I don’t want you guys to be dragged into it too. I’ve tried to convince Second and Third Brother to leave, but unfortunately, they won’t listen. Now you’re here too. Seventh Brother, you’re still young. Don’t kill your future because of me, your useless Fourth Brother …”
As he spoke, Lei Zhen gave a resigned, bitter smile.
Long Chen’s heart sank.
Experiencing life and death together—that was what the rest of the Dragon clan was doing. Therefore, Long Chen could do the same! They were the ones who had rescued him from the Ancient Demon Domain. And without their protection, Long Chen never would’ve gotten the Red Emperor Seal and Prismatic Key. He would not even have reached the Earthly Martial Realm! These were all the things they had done for him as brothers!
Now his brother was in danger, so how could he not help?
Looking at Lei Zhen’s depressed expression, a rage towards the Martial Alliance rose in his heart. He slapped Lei Zhen’s shoulder and said in a low voice, “Fourth Brother, don’t try to convince me to leave either. I’ll never go! You and the Martial Alliance bear a deep hatred and enmity towards each other, which means the same for me and the Martial Alliance! If the Martial Alliance dares to touch the Battle clan, I will do my best to kill as many of them as I can!”
Long Chen’s insistence moved Lei Zhen. He knew that this Seventh Brother of his was an even more stubborn character that would be even harder to convince.
“Alright, just promise me that you will protect your life. That is the number one priority,” Lei Zhen said tiredly, shaking his head.
Over the past few days, the muscular and courageous-looking Lei Zhen had aged by several years.
Along the way, many other muscular men greeted them. The greetings of the Battle clan were clean but filled with power. Their eyes were filled with admiration when they looked at Lei Zhen.
It was nighttime, so the old, weak, and young were all asleep. Only the strong men were patrolling the area. The clan was in mortal danger, so they did not dare let their guards down.
Long Chen wanted to talk about something else when the forest suddenly opened up into a jagged hill. This hill was not tall, and boulders were strewn about. Long Chen and Lei Zhen quickly reached the top and looked down at the forest, which was shrouded in white mist. The corners of Lei Zhen’s eyes grew misty too, and he opened his arms wide. He said with great sorrow in his voice, “The Battle clan has lived on this piece of land for five thousand and three hundred years. In ten days’ time, it will be ravaged by the fires of battle, and it will die in my, Lei Zhen’s, hands. I, Lei Zhen, will have wronged thousands of generations of ancestors!”
Crash! He fell to his knees and hit his forehead hard on a rock. Crack! The rock shattered and left a trace of blood on Lei Zhen’s forehead.
“Fourth Brother, don’t say that. The results have not been determined yet.” Long Chen felt suffocated and quickly pulled Lei Zhen up. Lei Zhen gently pushed him away.
“If the Battle clan dies, I won’t be able to live either! As the clan leader, I must be at the very front of the front lines! I will trade my blood for the Martial Alliance’s blood! The Battle clan will never surrender! We will fight to our deaths! Those stronger than us will step on our bodies, but never our spirits!”
There was another crash, and he slammed his forehead on the ground once more. After three kowtows in a row, flesh and blood blurred on his forehead.
Of course, with Lei Zhen’s regenerative abilities, it would heal quickly.
Then he stared to the east with great sorrow. It was late at night, so the sky was filled with stars. Lei Zhen put his palms together in a prayer pose and closed his eyes, singing a folk song. It was clearly a folk song of the Battle clan, likely in their ancestral language. Long Chen did not understand what he was singing, but the tone of the song made him think that it was about the willingness to die, the refusal to surrender, the courage in war, and massacre!
Looking at the man before him, Long Chen clenched his fists tight. Although the feelings of brotherhood between them were not as deep as what he and Xiaolang shared, Long Chen felt that he would never regret it if he lost his life fighting for this man.
Of course, that would be if he managed to save the Battle clan.
Refusal to surrender. This idea aligned with Long Chen’s spirit, and it was something Long Chen had always chased. During this journey, he had never bowed down to anyone. If he had surrendered in front of a huge obstacle such as Ling Xi’s family, would he still be on this path?
After a long time, Lei Zhen stood up and smiled at Long Chen, embarrassed. “Seventh Brother, I apologize for this.”
“Fourth Brother, you are a true man. You have my genuine respect,” Long Chen said seriously.
Lei Zhen nodded and said, “Let’s go. I have finished venting, so it’s time to go back. The huge Battle clan needs my supervision.”
Long Chen and Lei Zhen prepared to leave. Suddenly, a very creepy laugh came from behind them. Their hair stood on end and they quickly turned around. Xiaolang did not speak, but two balls of flames appeared in his eyes. The black flames were the Nine Devils Ancestral Fire.
Long Chen looked at the man, who was the source of the laughter.
It was a young man wearing long, golden robes that fell loosely around him, shining luxuriously. His long hair fell behind him, and what made him look strange was that both his long hair and eyes were pure golden, making him look very shiny. Such a strange-looking person was surely no ordinary man.
He looked at the two of them with a smile on his face, like he was looking at prey.
It was Long Chen’s first time meeting a person with golden hair and eyes. When he used the Dragon Soul Transformation, his eyes turned blood-red. If this person looked like that without any transformation, it meant he was part of some special bloodline.
Lei Zhen’s gaze changed when he saw the young man. He took several steps back, pulled Long Chen behind him, and said, “Zhao Danchen, your injuries have healed?!”
Long Chen froze. So that was why he felt like this young man was strong! He was one of the legendary top two prodigies of the Divine Martial Empire, Zhao Danchen!
Zhao Danchen was about twenty years old and he was one of the three Martial Emperors of the Martial Alliance! He was at the Third Earthly Martial Stage, meaning he was extremely powerful! Zhao Danchen’s surname was not originally Zhao. Like Jian Chen, he had climbed the ranks through the Martial Alliance’s training process. Due to his outstanding performance, when he reached the Third Earthly Martial Stage and became a Martial Emperor, Martial Overlord Zhao Wuji took him in as a stepson and gave him the surname Zhao!
Reaching Long Yue’s level at such a young age showed that Zhao Danchen was no ordinary person. Huangfu Fengchen, Long Yue, the other Martial Emperors, and the Demon Emperor were all in their thirties when they reached the Third Earthly Martial Stage. If Zhao Danchen continued to grow at this rate, it was possible for him to reach the Fourth or Fifth Earthly Martial Stage!
Long Chen had heard that he was injured when he fought the Battle Emperor. It had only been a few days, but he had already recovered.
When Long Chen met the young man face to face, he sensed exactly how terrifying he was. Those golden eyes were filled with a suffocating power. Their eyes only met for a moment, but he felt like a whole mountain was pressing on him.
Normal people would instinctively dodge Zhao Danchen’s gaze, but Long Chen did not. His heart had a strong refusal to admit defeat, which came from the Ancient Bloodsoul Dragon. With such determination in his heart, how would he ever bow down to this person?
What was Zhao Danchen doing here?
Long Chen and Lei Zhen did not know, but his appearance did not bode well for them.