Chapter 344: Chapter 338: Gone Mad?
"Get lost!"
Qing Lei’s voice wasn’t loud, but its icy tone made everyone around him freeze. They all turned to look at Qing Lei, who was dressed in a black martial arts uniform.
"Who is that kid? Such powerful killing intent!"
"I think he’s a team member from the Xuanling Empire, a Low-level Lower Empire."
"The Xuanling Empire? Heh, this is getting interesting."
"..."
Qing Lei didn’t hear the discussions around him. His eyes were faintly bloodshot. Qin Shou’s words had crossed a line, stirring memories hidden deep within his soul. ’I want nothing more than to rush over and slice off his head with a dagger!’
Sensing Qing Lei’s terrifying killing intent, Di Cang’s brow twitched. He barked, "Qing Lei, control your aura!"
"Ah..." Qing Lei froze. He quickly closed his eyes and slowly circulated his Cultivation Technique, coordinating it with his breathing. After a long while, he finally managed to rein in some of his killing intent.
"Haa... I’m sorry, Dean." Qing Lei said, ashamed.
Di Cang patted Qing Lei’s shoulder and sent a gentle stream of Primordial Power into his body. He sighed. "You’re furious, resentful, and aggrieved, aren’t you?"
Qing Lei didn’t speak. Feeling his killing intent rapidly diminish with Di Cang’s help, he gave a bitter smile. "Yes. Furious, resentful, aggrieved... But all I can do is endure it."
"Haha." Di Cang suddenly laughed. "In this world, power and strength are all that matter! With strength, you have the right to speak! You can trample on others’ dignity! You can bully your opponents as you please!"
As he spoke, Di Cang’s tone sharpened, his expression turning grim. His voice rose, laced with a faint trace of Primordial Power, until nearly half the Empire participants in the arena could hear him. Gradually, the surrounding chatter died down until it was completely silent.
"If you want the right to stand, you must be stronger than others! If you don’t want to be insulted, you must stomp on their heads and show them that fortunes can change! Do you know which Empire just humiliated us?!"
Influenced by Di Cang’s tone, the students shouted in unison, "The Red Sun Empire!"
"Heh, the Red Sun Empire. Just a mere Lower Upper Empire! To think they could be so arrogant! It seems they’re all a bunch of snobs who look down on everyone! What do we do with dogs that bark wildly?!"
"Break their damn legs!!"
"Well said! Dogs that bite indiscriminately must have their legs broken! I didn’t want to be so conspicuous, but since they forced our hand, we will not hold back any longer! In this Empire tournament, I want you to give it your all! Whoever stood before you and humiliated you, I want you to beat them to death! And after you’ve beaten them, however they shamed you, you shame them right back! Do you hear me?!"
Qin Yuan silently watched the unyielding old man, a trace of affection hidden for many years slowly rising within her. A small smile graced her lips as she whispered to herself, ’After so many years, the man I remember has finally returned...’
Hearing the arrogant words coming from the Xuanling Empire’s section, everyone present couldn’t help but gasp. It was audacious, absolutely audacious! Arrogant, unprecedentedly arrogant! Not even the High-class Empires, who looked down their noses at everyone, would dare say such conceited words at the Empire tournament. Yet, a Low-level Lower Empire that had always lingered at the bottom had done just that.
"The Xuanling Empire has gone mad..." The elder from the Red Sun Empire, who had just sat down, was stunned. They were indeed arrogant, but even if they had a hundred times the courage, they would never dare spout such brainless words in front of all the Empires on the continent. What was this? A declaration of war on the world? ’They’ve definitely lost their minds!’
"Heh... I suppose our Flame Dragon Dynasty is famous now." In the Cangyue Empire’s viewing seats, Liu Feiyan—who had humiliated the Xuanling Empire at the entrance of the Sacas Hotel the previous night—sneered. She looked at the Xuanling Empire as if they were complete strangers.
Beside her, a man who bore a ninety-percent resemblance to her propped his chin on his hand, his expression dark. "They have no shame. They’ve completely disgraced our Flame Dragon Dynasty!"
Liu Feiyan clenched her fists. "Brother, should we teach them a lesson?"
"Foolish!" The man Liu Feiyan called Brother suddenly snapped. "Do you think they haven’t caused enough embarrassment? You want our Cangyue Empire to be disgraced along with them?"
"Ah..." Startled by his words, Liu Feiyan’s face crumpled in grievance, her eyes welling with tears. "I was just saying... Did you have to get so angry?"
The man snorted coldly, closed his eyes, and ignored his sister’s pretense. In his heart, however, he agreed with her. ’If we meet them in the arena,’ he secretly decided, ’I’ll teach those ignorant fools a harsh lesson.’
But on second thought, the Xuanling Empire was a Low-level Lower Empire, while the Cangyue Empire was a Middle Upper Empire. With Xuanling Empire’s strength, they would likely be eliminated during the Low-class Empire battles. He probably wouldn’t even get the chance to teach them a lesson.
’Whatever,’ he thought. ’Teaching fools like them would just be dirtying my hands.’
...
Within the Flame Dragon Dynasty, the most powerful empire was none other than the Flame Dragon Empire itself. At this moment, in the Flame Dragon Empire’s seats, sat an old man in a red robe. His deep-set eyes were remarkably sharp, showing no signs of old age. Looking toward the Xuanling Empire, a smile touched the old man’s lips. He whispered to himself, ’Now *that’s* more like him.’
Lost in thought, the old man seemed to recall the prideful young man who had stood before him all those years ago...
"I, from the Xuanling Empire, a Middle Upper Empire, hereby challenge the Flame Dragon Empire, an Upper High-level Empire! Do you dare to accept?!"
"Will both sides please take their positions and state their names!"
"Xuanling Empire, Holy Hall Squad, Captain Di Cang!"
"Flame Dragon Empire, Flame Dragon Squad, Captain Chi Muya..."
Two youths. One was unyielding and proud; the other was relaxed and carefree. The final battle held no suspense...
"The winner is the Flame Dragon Empire, an Upper High-level Empire! The Xuanling Empire’s challenge has failed!"
"You? You want to challenge the Flame Dragon Empire? Don’t make me laugh. If you’re weak, then you should stay down on the ground where you belong! Only the strong have the right to be arrogant! And clearly, you. are. not."
Those were the words the old man had said to Di Cang back then. And this red-robed elder was none other than the Chi Muya of the past!
"Mu Ya, is this Xuanling Empire really a subordinate Empire of our Flame Dragon Dynasty?!"
Beside Mu Ya stood a burly, middle-aged man dressed in a Red Gold Dragon Robe. He had a stern, square-jawed face that commanded authority without anger, and a full, reddish beard that made his expression seem even more fiery.
"This is absurd! Where am I supposed to put my face?!"
With a furious shout, the middle-aged man’s chest heaved violently. If one looked closely, they could see the very space around him distorting from the impact of a scorching Primordial Power aura. This man was none other than the current ruler of the Flame Dragon Dynasty, Long Yuan.
Seeing this, Mu Ya quickly tried to placate him. "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. They were likely provoked. They’re just a Low-level Lower Empire, not worth risking your royal health over."
Long Yuan snorted coldly, suppressing his anger. He declared, "When this tournament is over, it will be time to expunge the Xuanling Empire from the records. I, Long Yuan, cannot afford such disgrace!"
Mu Ya could only sigh at this. ’Di Cang, oh, Di Cang,’ he thought. ’One may be forgiven for a disaster sent from heaven, but not for one of their own making. Unless you can achieve a result in this tournament great enough to offset your blunder, no one can save you.’
"Hmm... it seems an unprecedented situation has arisen in this Empire tournament." In the special viewing seats, a white-haired old man with a rosy complexion suddenly opened his squinted eyes, glanced toward the Xuanling Empire’s location, and spoke leisurely.
A gray-robed elder of a similar age, also leaning back in a floating chair with his hands tucked in his sleeves, smiled kindly. "Hoho... it does seem different from previous years. What’s this little Empire called... the Xuanling Empire. Jun Wu, which Dynasty do they belong to?"
The person called Jun Wu was a woman with glasses. She was mature and elegant, possessing a noble grace that ordinary people couldn’t comprehend. She had short, ear-length hair and wore a pair of sparkling, translucent pendant earrings. At that moment, she was holding an Elemental Power Pen, writing furiously on a piece of paper. Her ample bosom was pressed against the floating table before her, creating a deep valley that, once seen, was impossible to look away from.
Hearing the elder’s call, Jun Wu pushed the frame of her glasses up her nose with a slender, jade-like finger and said flatly, "The Xuanling Empire, a Low-level Lower Empire, subordinate to the Flame Dragon Empire. The group leader is Di Cang. He once led the Xuanling Empire to the rank of Middle Upper Level, but after failing a challenge against the Flame Dragon Empire, he lost all motivation and has been absent from the Empire tournament ever since. The Xuanling Empire gradually faded from public view as a result. Old coot, your lecherous eyes have been staring at my chest for seven seconds. If you don’t move them, I’m reducing this month’s supply of Illusory God Smoke Bags by ten."
The old man hastily averted his gaze and gave a dry cough. "Jun Wu, you see, I’ve always thought of you as a granddaughter. Please don’t reduce the Illusory God Smoke Bags."
"I’m reducing it by fifteen bags."
"Alright, alright! I was wrong! Ten bags it is, ten bags..."
"Hmph. Such an indecent old man," Jun Wu snorted, then went back to recording with the Elemental Power Pen in her hand.
Seeing the gray-robed elder get shut down, the white-haired elder beside him burst out laughing. "Dilaka, oh, Dilaka! To think you’d be so thoroughly handled by that girl Jun Wu. If anyone else found out, you’d become the main topic of their gossip behind your back! Haha..."
The gray-robed elder, Dilaka, pursed his lips. "Don’t talk about me. Aren’t you, Shan Qiuhen, just as thoroughly handled by your own granddaughter?"
"Tsk, tsk. Old Di, what’s the point of bringing that up? Let’s watch the tournament. It looks like it’s about to start."
"You two old coots. If people knew the Grand Elder and Second Elder of Holy Tomb Mountain acted like this, I’d like to see how you’d ever show your faces in public again!" Jun Wu said suddenly, without even looking up from her writing.
Shan Qiuhen’s and Dilaka’s old faces flushed red simultaneously. They quickly turned their attention to the arena stage. A tall woman was now standing there. Seen from behind, she wore a pale green, vintage-style long dress, her long hair flowing freely. She seemed to be conveying something to the crowd with a bright smile, her hands gesturing gracefully from time to time, like a nimble sprite in the wind. Just from her back, one could tell she was an absolute, peerless beauty...
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