Chapter 71 Steel Puppets!
Long Chen learned a bit more about the Dawn Trading Alliance until Liu Fengfeng decided to go cultivate.
Although he truly did not like Liu Fengfeng, he was still impressed that Liu Fengfeng could reach the Ninth Draconic Stage at such a young age.
The night passed quickly as he studied the Burning Devil Sun Fist once more. The qualifiers to enter the Lingwu family would begin soon.
Dedicated personnel came to greet the participants early in the morning. Numerous young experts at the Ninth Draconic Stage or above walked out of their rooms, eyeing one another.
Most of them were from small or mid-sized factions within Yuanling City who had been arrogant all their lives. However, now that they were in the Lingwu family’s territory, they controlled themselves well.
Long Chen spotted Huang Xiang immediately, who looked completely relaxed and nonchalant. Huang Xiang didn’t see him because he was frantically searching for someone in the group of personnel. When he finally spotted a cold-looking man who looked like a similar but more mature version of himself, he grew excited and started to approach. “Elder Brother ...”
Huang Xiang gently called when he neared the man.
The man merely nodded at him, then he looked at the group of approximately fifty people coldly. “You’re responsible for your own lives when you are competing in the qualifiers for the Lingwu family. If you have second thoughts, you may leave now. Anyone who does not wish to leave can follow me to the sparring arena.
Then he called out the few other Lingwu family members and walked in front. Huang Xiang followed him excitedly.
Long Chen and the rest also followed. They were all competitors here, so very few people were cordial enough to chat. The tension in the air was thick.
He followed them through a spiral stairway in silence.
Liu Fengfeng was walking next to him and tutted as he looked at Huang Xiang in front. “I’m done for if Huang Xiang is my opponent later. That examiner, Huang Feiyang, must be his brother. Also, he’s also one of the strongest in our group of fifty. Looks like this is it for him!”
“Is that so?”
Long Chen looked at Huang Xiang walking proudly at the front of the group. Although he didn’t show it, killing intent surged through him when he thought of the Black Scaled Dragon Horse that Lingqing had given him. If I don’t teach you a good lesson, I won’t be able to face Lingqing when I get back. I don’t care if that’s your older brother. What can he do if I defeat you legitimately in a duel?
Of course, Liu Fengfeng couldn’t hear what he was thinking. He noticed that Long Chen had remained silent after hearing Huang Xiang’s name and thought he was scared. “You don’t need to worry. You won’t even be able to pass the first round, so you won’t get the chance to face him.”
When Long Chen heard him say “first round,” he asked, “What do you know about the qualifying process?”
Liu Fengfeng looked at him like he was looking at an idiot, speechless. “You’re really ... Everyone in Yuanling City knows that there are two rounds in the Lingwu family qualifiers. Don’t you know this?”
Long Chen shook his head.
Liu Fengfeng looked at him pitifully for a long time, then he shook his head and sighed. “Whatever, I guess we have some sort of karmic tie since we were allocated to the same room. I’ll explain. There are two main rounds. The first round involves fighting steel puppets!”
“How, specifically?”
“We’ll see a place with dozens of dark tunnels later on. Every tunnel is only three meters tall and two meters wide, but more than five hundred meters long. There are many steel puppets located inside. When you enter the tunnels alone, they will attack you! But I guess you don’t know what a steel puppet is, do you?”
Long Chen replied, “I don’t. I hope you can explain, Brother Liu.”
He knew that he was at the bottom of the food chain in Yuanling City, so he had reined in the arrogance and boldness he displayed in Baiyang Town.
This was what Yang Xueqing taught him. Now, he had to keep it all in until the day he could shock everyone with his prowess. Only at that point would his real personality show.
Liu Fengfeng looked like he expected Long Chen to not know. “Basically, the steel puppets are like living things that know how to attack but do not possess intelligence. Brother Long Chen, let me give you a word of advice. If you find that you cannot defeat the steel puppets, do not venture too deep inside. At least you’ll still be able to run out. If you go more than a hundred meters deep, no one will even know if you’re dead.”
Long Chen smiled, remaining diplomatic, as he continued, “Brother Liu, how do you pass this stage, then?”
Liu Fengfeng smirked. “There might be more than fifty of us here, but after the first round, there will only be ten of us left. Why? Because after we kill the steel puppets, we take their steel hearts. The ten people with the greatest number of hearts will qualify for the next round. After many years of study, this first round is nothing to me ... Right, you don’t have a Universe Pouch, right?”
He could tell that Long Chen wasn’t from Yuanling City. Small town folk usually didn’t know what a Universe Pouch was, so Liu Fengfeng feigned a conflicted expression and said, “Without a Universe Pouch, you won’t be able to take more than a few hearts with you. But this is a good thing. You should go back home and reach the Ninth Draconic Stage after this and then head to Yuandi City. You’ll have a higher chance then.”
By now, Long Chen had gotten most of the information he wanted. He despised the condescension in this guy but was too lazy to argue, so he walked silently.
Liu Fengfeng thought Long Chen was sad based on his reaction, and so he shook his head and shifted his attention to the rest of the participants, studying them. “The quality of the participants in this round is very high. Other than you, there aren’t any ripe tomatoes soft enough to squish ...”
Amidst Liu Fengfeng’s condescension, the group soon arrived at the place he had mentioned.
A small hill sat before Long Chen with tens of tunnels at its foot. Each tunnel was locked up with an iron door, but they were opened when they arrived.
The Lingwu family members leading the group climbed up a tall boulder, one of them being Huang Xiang’s elder brother, Huang Feiyang.
Long Chen eyed Huang Feiyang carefully and noticed that he was a calm, cold man of few words but with a terrifying gaze. He was likely a vicious character. Anyone who offended him probably wouldn’t have a good life after.
But I can’t not avenge Blackie ...
Another young expert cultivator of the Lingwu family swept his gaze over the crowd, sending chills straight into Long Chen’s heart. “Everyone. I’m sure everyone is familiar with the rules of the Lingwu family. The examination rules of the Turquoise family also follow the Lingwu family’s rules. There are steel puppets in these tunnels, and all you need to do is enter. Whoever passes through these tunnels and obtains enough steel hearts will qualify for the next round!
“But I must remind you all that once you enter these tunnels, death is a possibility. Every one of you must be prepared to die. Now, I won’t waste anymore time. Since all of you are here, you no longer have a chance to back out. Everyone, enter now and we will wait for you on the other side!”
Long Chen eyed these people coldly and thought, These youths aren’t very old either, but they seem to be at least at the Human Core Realm. Huang Feiyang is already at the Incomplete Human Core Realm, so I’m sure the others are at least the same ... This is just one of the halls of the Turquoise family. Looks like prodigies at this level are common here ...”
“Long Chen, you have something far greater than all of them. With enough time, you will quickly be able to surpass them. Just like right now. You only need to improve a bit more, then use the Ascension Fruit to catch up,” Ling Xi said into his ear.
He was currently being led towards one of the tunnels. As all of the fifty-plus people were directed to their own tunnels, anxiety filled the air. Most of them felt their scalps go numb when they heard the shrill sound of metal rubbing against metal.
Long Chen didn’t know where the know-it-all Liu Fengfeng had been allocated to, but he suddenly sensed a burning glare directed at himself. He turned and saw that Huang Xiang, who was nearby, had already noticed him.
Huang Xiang was prepared to show off his combat abilities until he suddenly spotted Long Chen not far away. He gasped in surprise, though he thought he was mistaken.
But when Long Chen turned around, he confirmed that it was indeed Long Chen, and he relaxed. So, it really is that brat. He was the one who made me lose face in Yuanyang City. All I could do was kill his horse because the Lingwu family’s qualifiers were starting soon. I can’t believe he’s here too. Now I have no choice but to kill you along the way. You have no one to blame but your bad luck ...
When Huang Xiang thought of how he’d be able to show Long Chen who the stronger one truly was in the second round, he grew restless. I think my elder brother is the one allocating the opponents for the second round. He can match me with you, and you’ll be so dead!
Huang Xiang was secretly feeling smug.
Due to the qualifiers being so close, he was forced to let Long Chen go the last time they met. He had been very uncomfortable with this over the past few days.
If he didn’t teach Long Chen a lesson, he would never be able to resolve the torn emotions within him. Now that Long Chen was here, it was good for him to unravel this knot in him, and he was overjoyed. But I wonder, will the brat even pass the first round? Whatever, if he dies in there, he deserves it. I, Huang Xiang, will not hold a grudge against a dead person.
Long Chen put his guard on when he saw Huang Chen’s changing expressions, finally turning into a malicious sneer. What kind of plan is he cooking?
Unable to figure it out, Long Chen did not dwell on the matter. The most important thing was to pass the first round. If he had to fight Huang Xiang in the next round ...
I will incapacitate that bastard.
Huang Feiyang took one glance at Huang Xuang, gave a small smile, then announced, “Open the iron doors! The first round begins!”
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