I Seriously Didn't Want to Be the Martial Alliance Leader

Chapter 57: Chapter 56: Am I the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch?

Chen Yuan believed that Luo the Thirteenth Lang was telling the truth.

The man was straightforward, even a bit obstinate.

Zhi Shilang actually had more than just Luo the Thirteenth Lang as an adopted son, but as the Sun-Swapping Alliance fell apart, many of them left, some even switching sides.

Only Luo the Thirteenth Lang fought to the very end for Zhi Shilang, willing to risk his life.

If he could go to such lengths for Zhi Shilang, he would surely do the same for Chen Yuan, who he now believed had saved his life.

When he said he would face death ten thousand times without regret, it wasn’t just a figure of speech or a polite courtesy; it was a promise.

"Brother Luo, we shouldn’t linger here. With Sealed Demon Valley’s collapse, many factions will surely come to investigate. It’s best we leave first."

Right now, both Chen Yuan’s and Luo the Thirteenth Lang’s Inner Strength were nearly depleted. Chen Yuan had also suffered some Qi Blood loss from overusing his Blood Fiend Power.

The commotion from Sealed Demon Valley’s collapse was quite significant. If it attracted others with malicious intent, they wouldn’t be able to handle it in their current state.

After a brief discussion, the two decided to part ways right there in Sealed Demon Valley.

Chen Yuan needed to go to Ning Province. He planned to first find a place to recuperate and absorb the Cultivation Technique from the Spiritual Jade.

Luo the Thirteenth Lang had been away for some time as well and needed to return to the Sun-Swapping Alliance in Yan Province.

"Brother Chen, the Jianghu is wide, and our paths may cross again. If you ever need anything, come find me at the Sun-Swapping Alliance in Yan Province. I will face death ten thousand times without regret for you!"

Luo the Thirteenth Lang cupped his fists in a solemn farewell.

Chen Yuan cupped his fists as well. "I have no problem asking for your help, but there’s no need for you to die. Brother Luo, be careful on your journey."

Luo the Thirteenth Lang nodded heavily, then said suddenly, "Brother Chen, we’ve been through life and death together now. Can you tell me your real name?"

"How did you know I was using a fake name?"

Chen Yuan was a bit embarrassed and quite surprised.

’When did I give myself away?’

Luo the Thirteenth Lang smiled honestly. "I’m not the brightest person, so my foster father told me to speak less, observe more, and learn to read people.

Brother Chen, you hesitated when you told me your name. It’s not possible for someone to be unfamiliar with their own name, right?

But I could tell you meant me no harm, Brother Chen. Besides, we’re Jianghu People. It’s normal to be reserved when you’re out and about."

Chen Yuan looked at Luo Lie with some surprise. He hadn’t expected Luo Lie to have this sort of great wisdom disguised as foolishness.

"My apologies, Brother Luo. My real name is Chen Yuan. I just happened to offend some powerful people in You Province, so I had to hide my identity."

Since he had been found out, Chen Yuan didn’t bother hiding it anymore.

The original plot had already proven Luo the Thirteenth Lang’s character; he was a rare, loyal, and upright man.

Befriending someone like Luo the Thirteenth Lang was much easier than dealing with hypocrites.

"I knew it! The name Chen Tian just sounded so casual."

Luo the Thirteenth Lang laughed heartily. "Brother Chen, we who roam the Jianghu have to be a bit more particular about our names.

Look, everyone calls me Luo the Thirteenth Lang. That name sounds extraordinary.

Chen Tian is too common. Since it’s a fake name anyway, you should pick something grander.

My foster father often said a man should have the ambition to reach the Nine Heavens so he can soar through the world. Why not call yourself Chen Jiutian? How grand is that!

Alright, Brother Chen, we can’t stay here. I’ll take my leave and head back to Yan Province now.

If your enemies from You Province come looking for trouble, you can come find me at the Sun-Swapping Alliance.

As long as I, Luo Lie, am there, as long as the Sun-Swapping Alliance is there, we will definitely protect you!"

Luo the Thirteenth Lang cupped his fists and left, but Chen Yuan stood frozen on the spot, his eyes filled with utter shock.

’Chen Jiutian?’

’The mysterious Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch, Chen Jiutian, who only appears in the final Chapter of the story?’

Before this, Chen Yuan had never connected himself with the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch, Chen Jiutian.

Even choosing the fake name "Chen Tian" was a spur-of-the-moment decision; he hadn’t given it much thought.

But Luo the Thirteenth Lang’s sudden utterance of that name forced Chen Yuan to think deeper.

The original plot only had a teaser about that mysterious Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch, with no direct descriptions.

It mostly used some riddle-like, indirect descriptions to showcase this Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch’s power and prestige.

For example, the third edition’s boss, the Crimson Demon Venerable Chu Hongshang, who had killed countless people, didn’t even submit to her own Sect Leader, yet she alone yielded to Chen Jiutian.

And now, it was he who had sent Chu Hongshang to the Ten Thousand Demon Sect, where she was on the path to becoming the Crimson Demon Venerable!

One incident is a coincidence, but two incidents cannot be a coincidence.

Chen Yuan now felt as if an invisible, giant hand was steering the plot he had disrupted back to its original course, albeit through a different path.

Rubbing his head, Chen Yuan let out a sigh.

’It seems I’ve been wrong from the very beginning.’

He originally thought he had transmigrated into a minor character, a background NPC, but now it seemed things weren’t so simple.

In the original story, only Qin Yuancheng and Zhu Zhiping were explicitly mentioned as being set up and killed by Jiang Kaitai.

The background character ’Chen Yuan’, however, was never directly described.

After transmigrating, Chen Yuan had subconsciously assumed that in the original plot, ’he’ must have been killed along with the other Celestial Wolf Gang members when the Murong Family took their revenge.

But in reality, why couldn’t ’he’ have escaped?

This body’s talent far surpassed that of an ordinary Martial Artist; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a martial arts prodigy.

As long as he could escape with his life, grow stronger through trials and tribulations, and eventually become the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch who united the world and was revered by both the righteous and evil paths, it seemed plausible.

A prodigy who dies young is no prodigy at all, but one who matures could very well stand at the peak of the Jianghu.

Gently tapping his head, Chen Yuan felt his thoughts were a mess.

According to the teaser in the final Chapter, this Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch didn’t become the leader through prestige.

Instead, he carved a bloody path through the entire Martial World, forcing both the righteous and evil paths to pay homage, and the Daoist, Buddhist, and Demon Three Veins to kowtow.

He even completely overthrew the Great Xia Court, reshaping the world.

But the problem was, the teaser didn’t mention what opportunities he encountered or what treasures he obtained along the way.

So, even if Chen Yuan confirmed his identity now, it was useless.

He was still Chen Yuan, a Loose Cultivator from You Province, not Chen Jiutian, the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch who held sway over the world.

Shaking his head, Chen Yuan decided to stop thinking about these things for now. It was better to be realistic.

With his Inner Strength depleted and his Qi Blood drained, it was too dangerous to stand here dazed. The best course of action was to find a place to recover.

「One hour later, within the ruins of Sealed Demon Valley.」

The Array was shattered, the valley had collapsed, and Sealed Demon Valley, which had existed for a thousand years, was utterly destroyed today.

At this moment, amidst the dust-filled ruins, a slender and graceful figure, though disheveled, rose to her feet. It was Bai Xuewei.

Bai Xuewei’s white robes were now covered in blood and dust. She herself was grievously injured, with several bloody holes visible on her body.

At her feet lay the corpses of Zhao Xuanxin and Xie Tianyun.

Xie Tianyun’s body had been torn apart by the black spikes formed from the Corpse Tower Forest.

Zhao Xuanxin, who practiced a Buddhist Cultivation Technique, had a tough and sturdy physical body, so although it was riddled with countless bloody holes, it remained intact.

Bai Xuewei survived not because she was strong, but because she had launched a sneak attack on Xie Tianyun and Zhao Xuanxin at the first opportunity.

She first used a Secret Technique to absorb Xie Tianyun’s Qi Blood, then used Zhao Xuanxin as a human shield, hiding behind him.

It all happened in a flash. The two men never imagined that the woman they loved most would ambush them at a moment of life and death, and they had no time to react.

With Xie Tianyun dead, Bai Xuewei used his Qi Blood to mask her own aura, deceiving the Corpse Tower Forest.

Zhao Xuanxin, meanwhile, blocked the wave of black spikes for her. Although she was still pierced by several bloody holes, she barely managed to cling to a thread of Vitality.

Looking at the ruins of Sealed Demon Valley, a savage expression appeared on Bai Xuewei’s beautiful face.

’All that scheming, and in the end, it was all for nothing!’

Although she had indeed escaped the Three Extremes Evil Venerable, without Sealed Demon Valley, without the Demon Soldier Corpse Tower Forest, without the good reputation she had built over a thousand years, what did she have left?

Bai Xuewei had planned for so much, but she never expected her schemes to be ruined by a Jianghu Person who was supposed to have been a blood sacrifice.

She didn’t know who Chen Yuan really was, but Bai Xuewei had already etched his face into the depths of her heart.

Hate was hate, but Bai Xuewei immediately dragged her heavily injured body away in a sorry state.

With such a huge commotion, other Jianghu People were bound to come and investigate.

Sealed Demon Valley had been the death of so many Jianghu People this time. Other than Chen Yuan and Luo the Thirteenth Lang, she wasn’t sure if anyone else was alive.

In her current condition, she couldn’t search the entire valley and deliver a final blow to anyone still breathing.

If even one person survived, the truth of Sealed Demon Valley would be completely exposed to the Jianghu. At that time, as a remnant of Sealed Demon Valley, she would surely be hunted by everyone.

Bai Xuewei’s worries were not unfounded.

One hour after she left, numerous Jianghu People who had heard the commotion rushed over to investigate, including quite a few Low Tier Disciples from the Iron Armor Sect.

Seeing that Sealed Demon Valley had become a field of ruins, everyone was aghast and immediately began to search within.

The first to be dug out was Wei Guangming.

He was the strongest and had a formidable physique. Even when a thousand-jin boulder smashed down on him, he had somehow managed to withstand it.

Moreover, when the Array collapsed, although most of his Inner Strength had been drained, he still had ten or twenty percent left, so he wasn’t completely spent.

Wei Guangming looked around blankly, then his expression turned savage. He gritted his teeth, but for a moment, he didn’t know who to curse.

Chen Yuan and Luo the Thirteenth Lang killed his elite men, deliberately watched him fall into a trap, and went to take the benefits for themselves. They deserved to die!

That old bastard, the Three Extremes Evil Venerable, plotted for a thousand years to use them as sacrifices for the Demon Soldier. He deserved to die too!

The Three Sealed Demon Races pretended to be good for a thousand years, and that bitch Bai Xuewei even used herself as bait to lure them into the trap. She deserved to die most of all!

They all deserved to die! But here he was, heavily injured, with no Cultivation Technique to show for it and his elite men slaughtered. For a moment, Wei Guangming wanted to cry but had no tears left.

Besides Wei Guangming, Elder Qi’s Dao, who was next to him, was also dug out.

He was in a more miserable state, covered in blood, his face as pale as a corpse.

If he hadn’t used a secret trump card at the critical moment, he would have truly died.

One after another, a few more survivors were found in Sealed Demon Valley.

Of the thousand-plus Martial Artists who entered Sealed Demon Valley, not counting Chen Yuan and Luo the Thirteenth Lang, fewer than ten survived in the end.

In fact, they should all be thanking Chen Yuan.

If Chen Yuan hadn’t released the Demon Soldier Corpse Tower Forest at the critical moment, and had instead waited until the Three Extremes Evil Venerable could no longer hold on and it broke free on its own, they would have long since been sucked dry into husks.