Chapter 5003 Great Respected Head Umpire
This referee was stronger than the average Heaven Saints. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be qualified to be a referee.
Hailing from the Ye clan, the referee couldn’t bear to see one of their disciples being beaten so badly that he was crying and begging for mercy, completely disgracing the Ye clan. Fueled by anger, he charged in with a kick so forceful that it would undoubtedly break Lin Hu’s leg if it connected.
Lin Hu jumped in terror. He had yet to fight a Heaven Saint before, so the moment he felt the immense pressure, he found himself paralyzed, unable to dodge.
Just as the referee was about to strike Lin Hu, a golden scepter smacked him in the shin. The sound of bones breaking rang out.
Crack.
At the same time as his leg broke, a powerful force knocked him off balance, sending him tumbling into the corner of the martial stage. When he crawled up, he saw Long Chen wielding the golden scepter. Shock and rage flashed across his face.
“Hmph, not bad. At least you know you are a referee. You held back with that kick, or you’d be a corpse right now,” Long Chen remarked, eyeing the referee indifferently while tapping the scepter on the ground.
“What are you up to?!” roared the referee, his anger evident.
“What am I up to? They are fighting on the martial stage. Why did you interfere? Furthermore, attacking someone immediately… Are you really impartial?” questioned Long Chen calmly.
“If I didn’t intervene, was I supposed to let him kill Ye Chen instead?! Ye Chen was going to die! Did you want me to let that happen?!” the referee retorted.
“What nonsense. Who’s about to die? Even when the outcome was clear, he remained unconvinced. To demonstrate my impartiality and fairness, I granted his wish for a rematch. Can you find any fault in my decision?” countered Long Chen, his tone unwavering.
Long Chen was still engaged in conversation with the referee when the Ye clan disciple weakly uttered, “I admit defeat. I am convinced. Elder, save me, I’m going to die…”
Long Chen gently encouraged him. “No, don’t be like that. I admired your indomitable spirit, your refusal to bend. Come, stand up. Youngster, victory is within reach. You can’t surrender now. Believe in yourself, and anything is possible. Sometimes, victory is just a hair’s breadth away. A little more effort and you could seize it.”
“No, no, I admit defeat! I am completely convinced. You demon…” The Ye clan disciple began to cry, feeling like he would really die.
This scene drew scornful looks from the mercenaries. They realized these so-called heavenly geniuses were not as formidable as they seemed. Their resolve was feeble, their spirits easily broken. Their bones were truly soft.
They knew this disciple’s life was not in danger. It might have been his first severe injury, which led him to believe he was dying.
“Alright, but you were the one who chose to give up. I didn’t force you, so don’t say I tricked you,” said Long Chen.
“I won’t… ah… quick! Get me out here… I’m really going to die!” shouted the Ye clan disciple.
All the experts present were speechless. If he truly believed he was dying, where did he find the energy to scream so loudly?
The Ye clan disciples wore grim expressions. This disciple had brought shame upon them. Suddenly, someone shouted “Ye Chen, you coward! How can you be so weak?! Did you get a backdoor entry into the elite squad? Who did you bribe?!”
The one shouting was an expert of the Ye clan. They were deeply questioning how Ye Chen had managed to secure his position among their ranks.
In truth, they were falsely accusing a good child. Ye Chen’s actual power wasn’t bad. However, they only focused on Ye Chen’s weakness, not recognizing Lin Hu’s strength.
When Lin Hu drew the power of the stars into his body, Long Chen distinctly sensed a surge of majestic energy igniting within Lin Hu. The energy released was vast, making Lin Hu slightly stronger in terms of pure attack capability.
Furthermore, Ye Chen had underestimated Lin Hu from the start and never had the opportunity to showcase his true abilities before being defeated. This misconception led others to wrongly perceive him as weak.
When Long Chen observed the person shouting, he instantly realized that this fellow was intentionally degrading Ye Chen to preserve the face of the rest of the Ye clan.
“I declare this battle over. The mercenary group’s Lin Hu wins!” Long Chen announced, waving his golden scepter to dismiss both combatants from the stage.
The mercenaries immediately unleashed heaven-shaking cheers. Lin Hu’s victory was the greatest release of their pent-up frustration and resentment.
At the same time, they also came to understand a certain principle: experts were not born that way. Even ants had a chance to defy the heavens and change their fate.
When Long Chen had spoken such words to them, the mercenaries hadn’t truly comprehended their meaning. But now, they understood.
The mercenaries heroically welcomed Lin Hu back into their ranks, their cheers echoing through the arena. In contrast, the disciples of the four divine clans wore expressions of disgust, as if they had just swallowed a fly.
Lin Hu’s victory was undeniable and completely convincing. This was not just a slap in the face to the Ye clan but also a blow to the pride of all four divine clans.
Back then, the mercenaries were ants in the eyes of the four divine clans. But now, those same mercenaries had suddenly become an existence that could stand alongside heavenly geniuses. The divine clan disciples found it difficult to accept this reality.
If they accepted this reality, it meant acknowledging that they were no different from the inferior ants they had always looked down upon, which meant their so-called pride and superiority were non-existent.
“There’s still one hour until the competition starts. It’s forbidden to make a ruckus!” shouted a referee.
The cheers of the mercenaries finally came to a stop as this was indeed the rule. The inside of the competition field had to be quiet. Long Chen also couldn’t say anything about it.
The referee whose leg Long Chen had broken returned to the referee platform. Long Chen had only given him a light punishment, so he could recover quickly.
Long Chen also returned to this seat. However, the moment he sat down, an elder below him stood up.
“Long Chen, you—”
“Oh? What did you just call me? I think I misheard. Can you repeat it?” asked Long Chen. He then glanced downward, waving the golden scepter in his hand flashily.
The elder helplessly said, “Umpire…”
“Oh? Just umpire?” asked Long Chen.
“Head Umpire…”
“Are you not going to give me a prefix to show your respect?” reminded Long Chen.
Suppressing his rage, the elder said, “Great respected Head Umpire!”
Long Chen nodded in approval. As if teaching a child, he prompted, “That’s right. But your tone and expression aren’t right. Try it again!”
The elder almost spat out blood.