Chapter 5295 Shoddy Acting
Everyone watched in disbelief as Jiang Yiming left. They were all too familiar with his character—he wasn’t someone to tolerate such blatant provocation from Long Chen. Yet, he had gone without a fight, leaving the crowd perplexed.
Long Chen, however, understood the situation perfectly. Jiang Yiming had only come to probe him, not to engage in an all-out battle with Tianyu City. His primary goal was to assess whether Long Chen had the power to disrupt his plans.
Despite failing to gauge Long Chen’s full strength, Jiang Yiming had seen enough. Long Chen's youthful appearance and cultivation base were real, and his powerful Blood Qi alone had made Jiang Yiming cautious. As a result, he directly brought his people away, though his departure left Tianyu City’s people uneasy. They sensed that a storm was brewing.
After this disturbance, everyone returned to Tianyu City. Chu He returned to his own residence and entered seclusion, intent on refining the precious pill Long Chen had given him. Chu He was determined to make the most of it, not wanting to waste even a trace of its medicinal effects.
Meanwhile, Long Chen found himself with some free time. Chu He had arranged for him to stay in the best cultivation room available. However, after a day of cultivation, Long Chen still couldn’t figure out the connection between his Eternal runes and his Root Qi.
Knowing that a large battle could erupt at any moment, Long Chen decided to explore the city instead of remaining in seclusion. With nothing else to do, he planned to revisit the Scripture Pavilion—not for the secret arts, but to learn more about Tianyu City’s history.
As soon as he appeared, a group of people set their sights on him. They were all young disciples—peak geniuses in Tianyu City, led by none other than Liao Yong. They quickly blocked Long Chen's path, and the commotion drew the attention of others in the area.
“Liao Yong, what are you trying to do this time?!” Several disciples shouted angrily. Liao Yang had previously provoked Long Chen, drawing their ire. The female disciples, in particular, viewed Long Chen as a younger brother in need of protection.
Seeing Liao Yong targeting Long Chen again with an entire gang of people, the female disciples were furious. This was beyond simple bullying—if Liao Yong disliked Long Chen, he could have just ignored him. Instead, he seemed intent on causing trouble.
Ignoring the protests, Liao Yong stepped forward, pointing at Long Chen. “What are you up to? First, you offend the Gold Lion race, and now you provoke the Stone Spirit race. Are you trying to bring disaster upon Tianyu City?”
“Liao Yong, stop slandering people! Long Chen is the most honored guest of Tianyu City! Do you think the patriarch would treat him so well if he were truly dangerous? Questioning him means you’re questioning the patriarch. I’ll report this to him if you don’t stop!” a female disciple named Li Yunhua shouted, stepping forward to defend Long Chen.
“Li Yunhua, stop meddling. This matter has nothing to do with you. The patriarch is in seclusion, so while he’s not here, I’m going to tear down this fellow’s mask and show his true face to everyone!” shouted Liao Yong.
“What mask?! You’re just jealous of him and want to drag him down! All of us have eyes, and we all trust Long Chen. If you want to harm him, you’ll have to go through me first!” shouted Li Yunhua.
Li Yunhua was someone with a great reputation amongst Tianyu City’s junior generation, and she often had problems with Liao Yong. Seeing him going too far, she directly stood on Long Chen’s side.
“That’s right. You have to get past us if you want to make things hard on Long Chen!” Several other disciples joined her, stepping forward to support Long Chen.
After all, quite a few of them idolized her, so the atmosphere instantly grew tense as they rallied to Long Chen’s side.
“What do you think you’re doing? Is this a rebellion? What kind of time is it for you to be fighting amongst yourselves?” A loud shout interrupted the growing confrontation. A powerful Human Emperor then landed with a crash, and Long Chen recognized the sour-faced Chi Feng approaching.
The disciples quickly greeted Chi Feng with respect, their anger subsiding. Even though Chu He had stripped him of his position as city guard, nothing had changed. Chi Feng was still the person with the greatest authority aside from Chu He.
Seizing the opportunity, Liao Yong immediately said, “City guard, this person is highly suspicious. First, he angered the Gold Lion race, and now the Stone Spirit race. He’s clearly plotting Tianyu City’s downfall!”
“How can you randomly say such a thing? Do you have any proof?” demanded Chi Feng.
“I have no direct proof, but do we really need it? City guard, I request that you capture him and do a soulsearch! Then we’ll know the truth. If I’m wrong, I’ll kowtow to him in apology,” Liao Yong suggested confidently.
Li Yunhua was furious. “That’s absurd! No one would agree to such an insult!”
A soulsearch was the greatest insult to an expert. Most of them would rather die than accept such a humiliation.
“Soulsearches aren’t conducted just because you ask,” Chi Feng said dismissively. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“If you refuse to uphold justice, then under the laws of Tianyu City, I challenge him to battle! If he wins, he can stay, and I will leave Tianyu City. If I win, he must immediately leave before he causes calamity for us! Do you dare to accept?!” shouted Liao Yong.
Chi Feng turned to Long Chen. “Do you accept?”
Long Chen almost pissed himself out of embarrassment for their terrible acting. Could it even be called acting at this point?
“Long Chen, don’t fall for this. They want to kill you. Just don’t agree, and wait for the patriarch to come out of seclusion,” said Li Yunhua immediately.
“Silence! This isn’t a place for you to speak!” Chi Feng snapped, his sudden hostility startling her into stepping back.
“Hey, after getting so old, you’re really going to shout violently at a girl? Do you have no upbringing?”
Long Chen finally stepped forward, placing himself in front of Li Yunhua. He glanced at Chi Feng and Liao Yong with a cold smile.
“You want to test my power? Alright, let’s do it!”