Chapter 450: I Would Rather Kill the Wrong Guy Than Let Him Go
Chapter 450: I Would Rather Kill the Wrong Guy Than Let Him Go
Long Chen looked up with wide eyes, looking around the Divine Martial Territory for the first time.
First, the sky. It was different from the sapphire skies of the Cangyang Kingdom. Here, the sky was a heavy, deathly gray that made the atmosphere strangely suffocating. Long Chen was situated in a wide field, which was flat and desolate with barely a few weeds. The soil was gray-black, dried, cracked, and infertile. The soil felt loose beneath his feet.
This vast piece of land was the Divine Martial Territory.
After surveying the environment around him, he looked at the people. Half of them had come here from other places as well, while the other half were dressed in a similar fashion to the person with the whip. They were people of the Martial Alliance with the soul-trembling “wu” character on their chests.
Long Chen’s brows were furrowed. From the cold and arrogant attitudes on these Martial Alliance people’s faces, they were likely not polite towards outsiders like himself. That whip was a clear example.
A deafening voice boomed in Long Chen’s ears. “Get in line! Stand to the left if you have the Martial Alliance’s gold identity token! If this is your first time in the Martial Alliance and don’t have a gold identity token, stand to the right! Everyone, get in line now or you’ll be killed without hesitation!”
Long Chen frowned.
That person’s attitude was terrible. However, not only were there many of them, but their cultivation levels were also high. It would not be easy to defeat them. Long Chen knew this was not the time to cause conflict, so he followed their instructions and stood in the line on the right. Most of the people who had come from the universal transporter stood on the left side while only a small portion stood on the right.
The people from the Martial Alliance stood next to the two lines, watching them closely. The crowd was scared of their cold, stern gazes and their auras, so they did not dare to disobey.
Long Chen looked at the people on the left. At the front of the line, there were several wide, rectangular stone tables with several high-level cultivators sitting on the opposite side, inspecting the people who had exited the transporter. The visitors behaved in an orderly manner. They each took out a golden token from their Universe Pouches, showed the people from the Martial Alliance, then they left safely.The people in Long Chen’s line were more indignant because this was their first time in the Divine Martial Territory, and they were often people of high status in their own places of origin. They did not even know what the Martial Alliance was. In contrast, the people of the Martial Alliance looked at this crowd with contempt and mocking smirks.
Perhaps in their eyes, we are merely ignorant country bumpkins. The strong eats the weak. This is the law no matter where we go. Long Chensighed in his heart.
Due to Zhao Qingyun’s information, he was aware of how powerful the Martial Alliance was and knew that he should follow the rules. He often offended people in the Cangyang Kingdom, but after Ling Xi left, he became more reserved. He would not offend people he couldn’t afford to offend.
Of course, Long Chen always held the principle of not provoking people who did not offend him first. If someone provoked him first, he would still unleash a storm of revenge.
More and more people exited the Universe Transporter while Long Chen moved up the line. As he observed them, he learned their procedures. The Martial Alliance was first checking their identities, then creating new golden identity tokens for newcomers like Long Chen.
Those people could only leave once they had gotten their golden identity tokens.
Long Chen was in awe. He knew that the Martial Alliance’s objective here was to put their stamp on these newcomers, making them part of the alliance. The point of the other line was not to check their identities, but to confirm if they had identity tokens.
Long Chen guessed that everyone in the Divine Martial Territory had a golden identity token from the Martial Alliance. He quickly spotted the “wu” character in a dramatic calligraphy font carved on one face of the token, while the person’s name was carved on the other side. After the newcomers gave their names, their names would be carved.
Due to this process, Long Chen’s line progressed more slowly.
When Long Chen was almost at the front of the line, he could faintly hear that when the newcomer’s name was given, they would also record their cultivation level, country of origin, and other personal information. Long Chen was startled because this meant that all the newcomers’ data would be in the Martial Alliance’s hands. It was very clear that the Martial Alliance’s rule was much tighter than that of the imperial family over the Cangyang Kingdom.
At the very least, if Long Chen killed the head of the Martial Alliance, he would not be able to rule the Martial Alliance.
Of course, that was just a thought experiment.
“Fat Cat, do you know what the approximate cultivation levels of these people are?” At this moment, Long Chen could only ask Little Cat for help.
“Haha. Are you asking me a question? But it doesn’t seem like it.” Little Cat pretended not to know the answer.
“Alright, Master Cat. Don’t waste my time. Spit it out,” said Long Chen.
“Being called ‘Master Cat’ isn’t bad at all. Not bad, not bad. We can continue to use it. Hmm … These brats are around the First and Second Passage Stages. Only a few of them are at the Second Passage Stage of the Heavenly Passage Realm. That’s so weak …” said Little Cat smugly.
Long Chen was a little speechless.
He had no idea that everyone he ran into the moment he arrived in the Divine Martial Territory would be psychos at the Heavenly Passage Realm. There were over two hundred of them! How terrifying would it be if they all went to the Cangyang Kingdom?
While Long Chen was still in shock, a commotion arose ahead. Someone shouted gruffly, “What? I need to tell you my cultivation level too? Why? Is the Divine Martial Territory really a place like that? Who the hell are you guys?”
Long Chen looked up. At the front of the line, a tall, muscular man was arguing with the Martial Alliance people. He did not want to cooperate at all.
Long Chen shook his head, because he knew this man would not meet a good end. If the man was truly a master, then it would’ve been alright for him to withhold his cultivation level. Unfortunately, he could not read the room. This place belonged to the Divine Martial Territory, and the Martial Alliance was an extremely powerful organization. If he was not strong enough to fight the Martial Alliance, then disobeying was a death wish.
As expected, after he shouted, a few young men from the Martial Alliance looked at each other and chuckled coldly. Afterwards, several experts charged at him together. In the blink of an eye, the man, who was merely at the Ninth River Stage, spat out blood and died. His internal organs had shattered.
“You. Take him away and dispose of him.” This instruction came from a stern-looking middle-aged man at the stone table. He exuded a more powerful aura than the other people, so he was one of the Second Passage Stage cultivators that Little Cat had spotted. This meant that he was stronger than the Sword Emperor.
Under his command, the man’s body was taken away. The standard procedures continued running, though after that tragedy, everyone fell into terrified silence as they obediently divulged very personal information.
The Martial Alliance people who had just killed the man started to chat. “These country bumpkins cannot be saved! Every day, we have to kill more than ten stupid ones just like that guy. I don’t even know how many idiots I have killed over the years. Maybe more than a thousand? Haha …”
“I’m in awe at how stupid these people are. How the hell did they cultivate to that level? Did they not think to learn a bit about the Divine Martial Territory before coming here? At least learn who the boss here is!”
Long Chen was shocked as he listened to the hushed discussion.
Very soon, it was his turn. He walked up to the stone table. The few people who made the records did not look at him. With their heads still lowered, they asked, “State your name, cultivation level, and country of origin. And the objective of your visit to the Divine Martial Territory. Quickly!”
Long Chen said directly, “My name is Long Chen. I am at the Ninth River Stage. I’m from the Cangyang Kingdom, one of the kingdoms pledged to the Divine Martial Territory. As for visiting objectives … I came to the Divine Martial Territory mainly to train and increase my strength.”
His answers were short and civil. He knew that the people who answered all the questions in one go quickly completed the token-making process. The people who were slow and hesitant were sure to suffer.
“Long Chen … Ninth River Stage …” the people muttered to themselves. The golden identity tokens were made quickly, so Long Chen heaved a sigh of relief. After he received the token, he would be able to catch his breath and learn what the Divine Martial Territory was all about.
After he signed in relief, the muscular middle-aged man who had given the kill order for the previous man suddenly looked up at Long Chen with a strange light in his eyes. “Are you sure your name is Long Chen? ‘Long’ as in the dragon? ‘Chen’ as in the constellations?”[1]
Long Chen froze, then nodded and said, “That’s right. May I ask if you have an order for me, Sir?”
The middle-aged man broke into a grin. “Alright. You’re Long Chen. I’d rather kill the wrong guy than let this chance go. Guards! Off with his head, then take it back to let someone check if he really is Long Chen.”
His tone was impassive, but Long Chen was in shock.
Why would he need to be killed because his name was Long Chen? What was going on?
Long Chen sensed that it was likely a mistake. Perhaps someone named Long Chen had offended the Martial Alliance, so he explained hurriedly, “Sir, this is my first time in the Divine Martial Territory. I don’t understand what is going on. Perhaps it was someone else with the same name who offended the Martial Alliance?”
The middle-aged man did not even listen. He waved and said, “Are you all deaf? Chop his head off and then check. See if he really is that Long Chen!”
1. Note: Long Chen (龙辰) => 龙(Long) = dragon; 星辰(Xing Chen) = constellation. ☜
Doge & Chacha's Thoughts
That guy is a menace