Fight to the death

Long Chen did not like this kind of battle, believing that such battles had no meaning at all. If you have the energy to fight here, why not go find the Evil Path to kill?

In Long Chen's eyes, people of the Righteous Path were useless at everything else, but when it came to backstabbing, scheming, and playing dirty, they were experts.

Infighting had become their forte, but once they truly faced the violent Disciples of the Evil Path, they withered like deflated eggplants.

There was another reason, which was also the most important one: Long Chen always had a sense of crisis in his heart, and he did not want to show off too much.

He now needed to use every moment to make himself stronger to cope with the impending crisis.

As for the people before him, whether it was Elder Sun or this Jiang Yifan, it seemed they wouldn't stop until they forced him into a rage.

Long Chen did not want to engage in such meaningless battles in public, as that would expose his trump cards and attract more attention.

He did not wish to draw out more Elder Suns; he had no time to deal with these idiots. As time passed, he felt that threat drawing closer and closer.

At the same time, he remembered the words of the man in his dream who had shattered the firmament and collapsed the ages with a single punch: "Time is running out."

Therefore, Long Chen had been feeling incredibly heavy-hearted lately, but there was nothing he could do about it. However, he was certain of one thing: within the Secret Realm of Nine Li, there must be something he urgently needed.

Thus, Long Chen focused all his energy on the Secret Realm of Nine Li. Now, he cherished every breath, increasing his strength bit by bit, as this concerned his life.

These past few days, Long Chen had been cultivating the Gale Saber Technique and the Lightning Transformation Art, and just after returning, he encountered such a situation.

Originally, Long Chen didn't want to make a move; even if he let someone go up to go through the motions and then jump down to concede, it wouldn't be a problem, as they were already winning anyway.

However, this Jiang Yifan had a very sharp eye, seeing through Long Chen's weakness at a glance and targeting Tang Waner.

Although he clearly knew this was Jiang Yifan's tactic, Long Chen still couldn't help his anger rising; he knew that this Jiang Yifan was fixated on him.

If Long Chen did not accept the challenge, he would say even uglier words. Although such a person was despised, Long Chen admitted that he had succeeded; he had successfully ignited his fury.

"Battle is not child's play; one should disregard life and death. Didn't this beautiful Young Miss just do exactly that a moment ago?" Jiang Yifan snorted coldly.

"That was because your people were too despicable and shameless, bringing it upon themselves," Tang Waner said with a cold face, furious.

It was clearly one of their Dao Derivers who had used despicable means; even after losing, he still ambushed Gu Yang, and what was even more shameless was that he seized Gu Yang's most beloved weapon.

And those twin brothers were even more wicked, spouting foul language as soon as they came up, their mouths incredibly vile. If not them, who should be killed?

"The ultimate goal of battle is victory; any means are acceptable," Jiang Yifan sneered.

"You…"

Long Chen grabbed Tang Waner, shook his head, and said: "Have you forgotten our previous agreement? I am responsible for dealing with fools, and you are responsible for being beautiful. Leave such a villain to me."

Being held by Long Chen and looking at the smile on his face, Tang Waner's anger immediately vanished. She couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed; compared to Long Chen, she was too childish.

Long Chen looked at Jiang Yifan and said: "Since you want to fight, I will accompany you. However, I want to increase the stakes for this final match."

"What do you want to add?" Luo Bing said from the side.

Seeing Long Chen agree to fight Jiang Yifan, although Luo Bing tried her best to hide it, the flash of excitement in her eyes could not be concealed.

"For this final match, I will wager all the merit points I have won previously, plus one spot to enter the Secret Realm of Nine Li," Long Chen said, looking at Luo Bing.

In the crowd, Guo Ran's body trembled slightly. He knew why Long Chen had added a spot; that spot was for him.

Guo Ran was not a core-level Disciple. He was different from A Man; A Man, with the strength to single-handedly kill a Dao Deriver, had long since had a separate Nameplate applied for him by the branch.

However, he did not have the qualifications to enter the Secret Realm of Nine Li. Long Chen was forcefully opening a door for him, which made Guo Ran feel moved beyond measure.

"No problem," Luo Bing agreed immediately. She had absolute confidence in Jiang Yifan. She was desperate for this bet from Long Chen; it was the perfect opportunity to recover her merit points.

As for a core-level spot? Heh heh, do you have that ability?

"There is one more thing: if I win, you, Luo Bing, need to apologize to all the Disciples of our branch and admit that you are a pig," Long Chen said coldly.

Luo Bing's expression changed, and killing intent surged in her eyes. This was naked humiliation, a provocation against an Innate Realm expert.

"Why aren't you speaking? If you don't dare to bet, then get lost. I don't have time to play such boring games with you," Long Chen snorted coldly.

"What if you lose?" Luo Bing said, gritting her teeth.

"If I lose, all the new Disciples of our Xuantian branch will be disbanded," Long Chen said decisively.

Long Chen's words caused the hearts of people on both sides to tremble violently. Tu Fang's expression couldn't help but change slightly, but in the end, he didn't say anything.

This bet was simply too big. Disbanding all the new Disciples of a branch—this bet was too crazy.

"Hahahaha, good, I agree to your terms," a cold and sharp glint appeared in Luo Bing's eyes. "But can your words represent all the Disciples? Are those Disciples so obedient to you?"

"Long Chen is our boss. If he told us to die, we would do it without hesitation, let alone disband. Old Hag, you don't need to worry about that," Guo Ran sneered.

"Old Hag, you don't need to worry about that."

After Guo Ran finished speaking, all the Disciples of the branch, whether new Disciples or Senior Brothers, shouted together.

Luo Bing was so angry her face turned purple; she hated others calling her an Old Hag the most. "Fine, fine, fine, I agree. Let's draw up a Life-and-Death Contract."

The so-called Life-and-Death Contract was just evidence to prove that both parties were dueling voluntarily, without anyone forcing them, and that life and death had nothing to do with others.

Although Luo Bing was furious, she was not a fool. If Jiang Yifan killed Long Chen later and Tu Fang reported this to the branch, she, Luo Bing, would definitely have to take full responsibility.

Although they were under the guise of an exchange, one was ranked thirty-sixth, and the other was ranked one-hundred-eighth. As long as one wasn't blind, one could see the trickery involved.

At that time, if investigated, even her Sect Leader brother wouldn't be able to protect her. However, if the two signed a Life-and-Death Contract, it would be completely different; that would be a personal act and unrelated to the branch.

Life-and-Death Contracts were ready-made. People who were fond of fighting and brawling would always carry one or two copies to show their bravery and fearlessness.

Jiang Yifan took the two Life-and-Death Contracts, wrote his name on them, and threw them to Long Chen: "It's your turn. Cherish it well; this will be the last time you sign your name."

Long Chen took the Life-and-Death Contracts, signed his name on them as well, and shook his head: "Blind self-confidence is very dangerous."

Of the two scrolls of the Life-and-Death Contract, Tu Fang kept one, and the other was naturally given to Luo Bing. This way, everyone had a copy of the Life-and-Death Contract signed by both, and no one could fake it.

However, after obtaining the Life-and-Death Contract, for some reason, Luo Bing felt a trace of unease. That unease stemmed from Tu Fang's expression.

Because although Tu Fang's expression was somewhat complicated, he didn't seem too worried. Could this Long Chen really be a Supreme-level expert? But why didn't he possess that kind of will?

However, Luo Bing immediately calmed down. Even if Long Chen was a Supreme-level expert, so what? He was only at the Peak of Blood Condensation, while Jiang Yifan's cultivation was already at the Sixth Heaven of Tendon Tempering.

The two were separated by an entire major Realm and six minor Realms; killing Long Chen was not a difficult task.

Originally, Luo Bing did not intend to kill Long Chen; she just wanted to greatly humiliate the 108th branch, injure or cripple some Disciples, and slap their faces hard.

To warn them, to dampen the "arrogant" aura of the 108th branch, and to tell them that some people were not to be offended by them.

Originally, this idea was good, but unfortunately, it was very difficult to implement. After nine matches, they had only won two.

At the very beginning, Luo Bing had asked the Disciples to use Image-Recording Jades to record the entire scene, so that they could claim credit from the 1st branch later.

But if she handed the current footage to the 1st branch, they would have nowhere to put their faces. Was this slapping someone else's face, or was it delivering their own faces to be slapped?

Seeing that this plan was about to fall through completely, during the later Dao Deriver-level battles, Luo Bing instructed the Disciples to kill without mercy, preferably crippling Tang Waner, so she would have an explanation when she returned.

However, Tang Waner wasn't crippled, but a pair on her own side was, which made Luo Bing so angry she wanted to kill.

Therefore, for the final match, she had to give the 1st branch an explanation. Wasn't Long Chen hailed as some kind of Supreme-level Genius?

Regardless of whether it was true or not, as long as Long Chen was killed, she would insist that he was a Supreme-level Genius.

By then, relying on this matter, she would definitely be able to build a good relationship with the 1st branch, and the benefits in the future would be numerous, and her mission would be fulfilled.

Therefore, no matter what, Long Chen had to die; otherwise, when she returned, not only would she be unable to explain it to the Sect Leader, but she would also be unable to explain it to the 1st branch.

Jiang Yifan and Long Chen stood on the arena. The entire venue was silent, and an aura of slaughter permeated the air, making it difficult for people to breathe.

"Today, you will surely die," Jiang Yifan said.

Long Chen shook his head and said: "I learned fortune-telling when I was young. Your name is inauspicious. Your name is Jiang Yifan; it sounds like 'Jiang Yi Fan' (easy to capsize on the river). On a river, only a boat can easily capsize, and once a boat capsizes, it's done for. So, the one who will die is you."

"Hmph, nonsense! That still cannot change your fate of dying on the stage today," Jiang Yifan snorted coldly.

Long Chen said indifferently: "I, Long Chen, have never liked causing trouble, but I have never been afraid of trouble either."

"I don't like killing, and I hate it even more when people try to kill me. But what I cannot tolerate most is when someone targets the people around me."

"If someone does that, it is equivalent to touching my reverse scale. Once I set my sights on them, it is never-ending until death."

"Then let it be never-ending until death."

Jiang Yifan shouted loudly. Suddenly, space vibrated, and a vast aura, like a tidal wave, spread in all directions.