Chapter 588 – Three Duels, Two Victories

“Was the Battle Emperor really defeated by Zhao Danchen?” Long Chen asked.

The men nodded dejectedly. “Zhao Danchen was just too strong, plus the old Battle Emperor was in his senior years. He was not as strong as he once was. Although they were at the same cultivation level, he was no match for Zhao Danchen. Of course, while he hurt my clan leader, he sustained injuries too. If not, the Martial Alliance wouldn’t have sent Yang Ningfeng here as reinforcement.”

Long Chen nodded, realizing how strong Zhao Danchen was. A person who could defeat a master of the older generation in a direct fight had to be very strong. He was the only direct disciple of the Martial Overlord, who was the strongest person in the Divine Martial Empire. Perhaps he had even received all the Martial Overlord’s techniques. In a few years’ time, he would probably become the new Martial Overlord.

“The old clan leader’s injuries were very severe, so he passed away just a few days ago. The new clan leader is now Prince Lei Zhen. He’s a young prodigy with courage and a pure heart, and the Martial Alliance has a grudge against him. We are all willing to follow him though,” said the men wistfully.

What the Red Souls member had said was true. Lei Zhen really was the new leader of the Battle clan.

Long Chen wanted to talk to the men about other things, but several people were walking towards them. He looked up and saw that they were Jiang Wuya, Jian Chen, Lei Zhen, Chi Ying, and Lan Ling’er. They had parted ways at the Cloud Dream Swamp; now they were finally reunited!

“Seventh Brother!” The five of them laughed happily. When the men saw that their leader had arrived, they quickly bowed and greeted him before stepping aside.

“I’ll take Seventh Brother from here. You guys go back to observing the Martial Alliance’s movements,” instructed Lei Zhen.

The men quickly nodded and left.

It was clear that Lei Zhen had matured greatly after this major tragedy. After becoming the clan leader of the Battle clan, his every move was filled with regalness.

Everyone was happy to be reunited after being apart for a while. However, when they saw Long Chen alone, there was a hint of disappointment in their eyes.

“Seventh Brother, is Big Sister not with you?” Lei Zhen asked sadly.

“Her younger brother was caught by the Martial Alliance, so she rushed to see him,” said Long Chen.

Everyone nodded. Jiang Wuya said, “We expected Yue’er not to come because she was concerned about her brother’s safety. It’s not that she doesn’t care about us; her brother’s situation is way more dangerous than ours. We don’t blame her.”

“Second Brother, how could we? We’ve all been together for so long. We know her well! It’s fine. I will survive this ordeal with the Battle clan,” said Lei Zhen with a determined nod.

“There are many things to talk about. Let’s chat on the way back.” Jiang Wuya nodded and called for the whole group to follow him. They walked towards the depths of the forest, where the main base of the Battle clan was. When they arrived, there were many warriors guarding the area. The Battle clan clearly had far more members than the Ancient Demon Domain. With such a large clan, it was understandable that the Martial Alliance was nervous and wanted to eliminate them as soon as possible. Perhaps the Martial Alliance had always wanted to invade; they had only just gotten their chance to do it.

Since Long Yue was not here, they shifted their focus to Long Chen. After studying him, they gasped. “Long Chen, you’ve reached the Earthly Martial Realm?”

Long Chen nodded and said, “I broke through in the Divine Fire Realm. I had help from Big Sister and the Huangfu Patriarch. I’m very grateful to both of them.”

“Oh my goodness! How long were you in there? And you’ve reached the Earthly Martial Realm already? This is infuriating!” Lan Ling’er cried furiously. She was still in her male disguise, looking as beautiful as Xiaolang.

“Seventh Brother is indeed extraordinarily talented. You can’t compare him to us. Sixth Sister, just admit defeat! Haha, but, Seventh Brother, who got the Red Emperor Seal in the end?” Jiang Wuya asked solemnly.

He had heard some information himself, but he wanted Long Chen to verify it.

Long Chen told them about what had happened, though he obviously omitted the part where he took the Red Emperor Seal. From his description, everyone believed that no one had retrieved the Red Emperor Seal, let alone the mysterious gift.

“It’s the best case scenario that no one retrieved it. We’re most afraid of the Martial Alliance collecting the Five Emperor Seals. If that happens, the Martial Overlord’s power will be boosted greatly, and the whole Divine Martial Empire will have to kneel before him,” Jian Chen said.

Lei Zhen nodded. “That’s right. When we searched for the Azure Emperor Seal, we found it very quickly. Then we searched the Seven Layered Demon World for half a day to find the Black Emperor Seal, but we came out empty-handed. Now all the effort for the Red Emperor Seal was also for nothing. The Azure Emperor Seal is with us and no one has the Red Emperor Seal, so no one will be able to get all five. That’s for the best. Seventh Brother, you didn’t know the Azure Emperor Seal was with us, right?”

“I didn’t,” said Long Chen, shaking his head, though he had already guessed it. He did not want to talk about the Five Emperor Seals for the moment, but that did not mean he did not see them as his brothers.

The most urgent task at hand was to help the Battle clan survive this ordeal.

Lan Ling’er looked behind Long Chen and asked with hearts in her eyes, “Right, Seventh Brother, why haven’t you introduced this pretty little brother to us?”

Long Chen grinned and pulled Xiaolang forward. “Have you forgotten? You’ve met him before. His name is Mo Xiaolang.”

Xiaolang?

They had a vague impression of this name.

Lei Zhen studied him for a while. Since he had grown up with demonic beasts, he was the first to realize it and cried out with great surprise, “Seventh Brother, this is ... A King-tier demonic beast? How could I forget a beast I’ve met?! Why is his demonic aura so faint?”

When he mentioned it, Jian Chen and Lan Ling’er both recalled the black demonic beast that Long Chen rode. Lan Ling’er’s jaw dropped and she cried, “Wow, is this that black demonic wolf? Why is he so pretty after taking a human form? And how could a beast have this much capacity for growth? He grew from the Heaven-tier to the King-tier!”

Lei Zhen explained, “Many powerful beasts do not possess great power at birth. This demonic wolf is clearly a mutated beast. We might not know what tier he belongs to, so he will be whatever tier he happens to reach when he matures. As he grows older, he will become stronger.”

Everyone nodded.

Long Chen knew that the Sun Devouring Wolf was not considered a very powerful beast in a normal sense. Xiaolang had reached the King-tier because he had an impressive ability to absorb power.

After getting to know Xiaolang, they asked a few more questions. Long Chen turned his attention to the current state of the Battle clan. He could tell that although they did not express it clearly, there was a hint of worry on their faces when his siblings spoke.

Especially Lei Zhen, who was likely very worried right now.

They had all hoped that Long Yue would come. Without her, it would be difficult to fight two Martial Emperors. The future of the Battle clan was bleak. Lei Zhen had only just become the clan leader, but he was already facing great pressure.

Long Chen asked, “What is the situation with the Battle clan now? Now that I have reached the Earthly Martial Realm, I might be able to help.”

Lei Zhen shook his head without a word while Jiang Wuya chuckled bitterly and said, “You can let me explain it. The current state is, frankly, terrible.”

“Why do you say so?” asked Long Chen.

“A few days ago, when the old Battle Emperor passed away, Lei Zhen dealt with the funeral rites and became the clan leader, taking over this huge responsibility. The Martial Alliance’s Zhao Danchen and Yang Ningfeng have arrived and may invade at any moment. If they force their way through, we will be no match for them. However, they are not planning to invade for the moment.”

“Why not?” asked Long Chen.

“Although the Martial Alliance is powerful, the Battle clan has been cornered and has nothing left to lose. Fighting an opponent with nothing to lose will result in great losses on their side. They are forced to think about the potential losses. Previously, they subdued the Ancient Demon Domain and Huangfu family by force, forcing them to pledge loyalty and become alliance members. However, this method is useless for the Battle clan because the men here value freedom and would never bend the knee to anyone. They would rather fight to their deaths instead of submitting to them! The Martial Alliance does not know the Battle clan well; they are even working hard to make the Battle clan submit right now. If they fail, they will resort to military might and destroy the whole clan.”

Long Chen finally understood. In short, the Battle clan was a thorn in the Martial Alliance’s flesh. If the clan was not killed off entirely, every Battle clan member would be a potential threat in the future. That was why they had to attempt to force the Battle clan into submission.

“Yesterday, Martial Emperor Yang Ningfeng came to make a bet with us,” Jiang Wuya said solemnly.

“What bet?” Long Chen asked curiously.

“He asked for three duels to determine the outcome. One First Earthly Martial Stage, one Second Earthly Martial Stage, and one Third Earthly Martial Stage duel. Each side will send their strongest cultivator at each stage to duel. If we win two duels, the Martial Alliance will get out and not invade us for a hundred years. If we lose, the Battle clan will have to submit to the Martial Alliance,” said Jiang Wuya.

Three battles in between the strongest First and Second Earthly Martial Stage fighters from both sides. But what about the Third Earthly Martial Stage?

Long Chen asked hurriedly, “I thought we didn’t have any Third Earthly Martial Stage cultivators on our side?”

Before Jiang Wuya replied, Lan Ling’er said, “Those Martial Alliance bastards! They’re bullying us! They said, ‘we have Third Earthly Martial Stage cultivators on our side, but if you guys don’t have one, you can send a First Passage Stage guy as replacement!’ Damn it! We haven’t even started the fight and they’re already fated to win! How could this be fair?”