Chapter 5018 Crisis Descends?  

When Long Chen emerged from the immortal cave, his heart suddenly tightened with a vague sense of crisis.

“What’s going on? Are they making their move already?” Long Chen wondered aloud. If the Long clan was attacking him now, the Earth Cauldron would have informed him.

Moreover, this sense of crisis felt distant and indistinct, as if from a far-off place. Long Chen considered using the violet crystal heavenly eye to investigate, but he hesitated. After all, this place was within the Long clan’s territory, and some treasures shouldn’t be exposed if they didn’t have to be.

This sense of crisis wasn’t particularly strong, so Long Chen decided not to pay much attention to it. Adjusting his robes, he returned to the martial stage with the golden scepter in hand.

Once again, Long Chen’s arrival was greeted with thunderous applause. Amongst the disciples of the four divine clans, there was a noticeable shift in attitude toward him. Their disdainful gazes were replaced with newfound respect and acknowledgment of his power.

During the previous thirty-two fights, Long Chen had rarely needed to intervene, but whenever he did, his skill amazed everyone. Now, it became clear why the Long clan had entrusted him with the role of head umpire—he possessed the necessary authority and skill. Even the other referees had no choice but to admit that Long Chen was more than capable. After all, overseeing the battles between Heavenly Chosens was beyond their abilities and a single mistake could cost them dearly.

This was the power difference. In the cultivation world, the simplest way to gain other people’s acknowledgment and respect was to show them power.

As the referees announced the rules of the competition and emphasized that this was merely a friendly sparring competition, the audience felt a wave of boredom wash over them.

Once the formalities concluded, Long Chen stood on the martial stage. This time, when he activated the martial stage, the two competitors didn’t immediately attack each other. Instead, according to the conventions of the competition, they cupped their fists to Long Chen first. This surprised Long Chen slightly. Clearly, experts were always respected. As he had gained their recognition, they no longer quibbled over his cultivation base and truly viewed him as someone worthy of respect.

Seeing them treat him with respect, Long Chen nodded. “Go ahead and unleash your full power. Don’t worry about casualties. Even when a lion hunts a rabbit, it uses its full power. Holding yourself back to not injure your opponent won’t do.”

The two competitors were extremely grateful to hear that. Long Chen was clearly encouraging them to bring out all their power, assuring them that as long as he was present, no one would die.

In truth, many participants had been unable to fight freely in this competition. After all, this was a friendly competition, and accidentally killing an opponent could harm the relationship between clans.

At their level, they no longer dared to fight all-out. But now that they finally had a chance to exchange pointers with someone else on their level, they thirsted for a real battle.

With Long Chen’s promise, the competitors felt even greater gratitude and reverence. They cupped their fists to him once more before unleashing their auras. This time, their fighting style was completely different. It was no longer a simple clash of power; their techniques grew vicious and aimed to kill.

“This is a real fight!” Long Ziwei was moved by what he saw. Their attacks were now completely different from before—sharp, ferocious, and meant to kill.

Long Ziwei and the others felt their blood ignite. This was completely different from the previous battles. The fierce auras of the combatants shook people’s souls.

As the Heavenly Fate Disks behind them spun rapidly, their Doyen power rose. Both of them wielded swords, and the Sword Qi swept through the air, perfectly condensed.

The Sword Qi left white marks on the barrier and produced ear-piercing sounds. Seeing this scene, the experts present clenched their fists, captivated by the intensity of the battle.

This was a real battle, where a single mistake could lead to death. This tension and risk made the fight both tense and exhilarating. It wasn’t long before blood started dripping onto the martial stage. After all, in a real battle, injuries were very common.

However, just how terrifying was a Heavenly Chosen’s power? The difference between injury and death was oftentimes paper thin.

BOOM!

Two hours passed, and after another intense clash, the two of them separated once more. Both of them were covered in wounds, some deep enough to expose bone. One of them even had his chest pierced through. The two of them panted heavily, blood slowly dripping down their swords. They could no longer distinguish whether the blood belonged to their opponent or themselves.

Everyone was deathly silent. This bloody battle had been incredibly stimulating, leaving the audience breathless and even forgetting to clap.

“I lost.”

“I lost.”

Unexpectedly, both of them admitted defeat at the same time. They stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. This bloody battle had actually bonded them. One of them said, “Let’s leave it to the umpire to decide!”

Thunderous applause erupted. Everyone felt admiration for their power and magnanimity. In their hearts, this was the definition of a real expert.

Long Chen said, “You guys are too evenly matched. There’s no way for me to decide. Go find a place and decide by yourselves. You can see who can drink more or simply do rock-paper-scissors. Decide yourselves. As long as one of you crushes your tablet, the other will automatically advance.”

The two of them exchanged a look and smiled. They once more cupped their fists to Long Chen before leaving.

As the battle concluded, the audience was still buzzing with excitement. This had definitely been the most marvelous battle so far. While they had seen Qin Feng consecutively slay experts, most of his fights had ended in a single move. Though he was undeniably powerful, his matches lacked the thrilling complexity and offered less to learn.

In contrast, this battle provided many people with new insights and comprehension. For them, that was the most valuable takeaway.

After that, the second battle started, and the spectators were disappointed. Those two ignored Long Chen from the start, so Long Chen naturally wouldn’t care about them. He let them continue with their lackluster battle. People started yawning. After the stimulation from the last battle, the later fights felt boring in comparison.

The next day, the top sixteen appeared. Compared to the first fight, the other matches weren’t worth watching. They all concluded with the simplest clashes of brute force, lacking any finesse.

It was evident that some competitors were holding back, conserving their true power for more challenging matches. Their opponents were weak enough that there was no need to exert themselves fully.

Another three days of rest were provided. Upon returning to his residence, Long Chen didn’t immediately start training. Instead, he stealthily took out the violet crystal heavenly eye.

“Courting death!” Long Chen muttered, a touch of sinister killing intent appearing on his face as he observed the border of the Heavenly Desolation Domain.