It’s your own fault

"Ah…"

Zhao Wu, engulfed in flames, let out a shrill scream. Now severely injured, he was unable to circulate his Spiritual Qi to protect his body and could only let the flames scorch him.

He struggled frantically, but with his neck held firmly in Long Chen's grip, he could only submit to being roasted by the flames. Finally, fear took hold of him.

He understood now. From the moment he used his words to insult Long Chen, Long Chen had never intended to let him go. The intent to kill had been set long ago, yet he had ridiculously kept provoking Long Chen, thinking Long Chen wouldn't dare to kill him.

Long Chen was right. Having grown up pampered like the moon surrounded by stars, Zhao Wu was the center of attention wherever he went. Now that he had lost to Long Chen, he couldn't accept the reality.

So, operating on the logic of "if I can't beat you, I'll annoy you to death," he had started verbally abusing Long Chen, thinking that due to the rules of the branch, the other party couldn't do anything to him.

As for things like the Dao Heart, Long Chen had overestimated him; he hadn't reached that Realm yet and had no idea what that even was.

"Stop… I admit defeat… hurry and stop!" Zhao Wu screamed in terror.

Because he discovered in horror that his skin had already been scorched, and in another moment, he would be roasted alive.

Long Chen's flame power was not being output at full force. Long Chen was no Saint; he couldn't just let things go, and for someone who insulted his parents, he could not forgive them.

Although his expression was calm, he was extremely furious inside, especially regarding his mother—she was his absolute inverse scale; whoever dared to touch it must die.

Therefore, Long Chen only used the lowest-level flames to burn Zhao Wu's body, simply to warn others not to touch his inverse scale again.

"Long Chen, stop. If you kill him, the loss will outweigh the gain," Qing Yu said, looking at the cold-faced Long Chen.

Long Chen turned his head and glanced at Qing Yu. Although this woman was too talkative, she was still kind-hearted.

"Thank you, but for anyone who dares to insult my mother, no matter who they are, they must die." Long Chen's words were spoken with great determination.

"Long Chen, you idiot! Even if you want to kill someone, you have to look at the occasion. You're burying your own bright future like this; are you stupid?" Tang Waner couldn't help but stomp her feet in anger.

"A Martial Artist needs to have a determined heart to press forward. Any obstacle standing in front of you must either be crossed or shattered directly—you simply cannot avoid it. Otherwise, how can one maintain the Aura of pressing forward?

Some obstacles are destined to be impossible to cross, so just smash them to pieces and trample them ruthlessly underfoot." After Long Chen finished speaking, his flame power surged.

"No… Long Chen, I was wrong… please, let me go…" Zhao Wu pleaded, his eyes full of fear.

He had previously thought that Long Chen wouldn't dare to kill him, which was why he said those harsh words, but now that he was truly facing death, he was afraid.

"Sorry, it's too late."

"Whoosh."

Suddenly, the radiance surged. The terrifying flames shot up over a dozen zhang high, and the sky itself seemed to twist from the heat.

All of a sudden, the flames vanished, and the world returned to calm. Long Chen maintained his previous posture, but the Zhao Wu in his hand had disappeared.

A gust of wind blew by, scattering the last traces of ash from Long Chen's hand. A generation's Genius had thus completely vanished from the world.

"Dead?"

People felt as if their hearts had stopped beating. Long Chen had actually killed Zhao Wu. Was this a provocation against the Xuantian Branch?

"It's over."

Tang Waner wore an expression of extreme annoyance. She wanted nothing more than to beat Long Chen up. This bastard was usually so cunning; how did he become so stupid at a time like this?

Having broken the branch's rules, no one could save him. Watching a Genius about to be expelled, a wave of sadness washed over Tang Waner's heart.

Qing Yu stared blankly at Long Chen, unable to say a word for a long time. She hadn't expected Long Chen to be so stubborn, doing this even while knowing the consequences.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

Suddenly, four figures appeared. They were wearing white robes with the Xuantian Branch's emblem embroidered on the chest, dressed in the same attire as the Senior Brothers who had checked their registration slips earlier.

"Long Chen, you killed an applicant. Now, you are expelled," one person said coldly, looking at Long Chen.

The whole place fell silent. Everyone looked at the four men, then at Long Chen, and couldn't help but sigh.

However, Lei Qianshang watched Long Chen with interest. He really wanted to know if Long Chen's expression would remain calm when he was expelled.

"Senior Brothers, actually…" Tang Waner spoke up, wanting to plead for Long Chen.

That person waved his hand and shook his head: "No need to explain. We are just following the branch rules; don't waste your breath."

Tang Waner could only shut her mouth helplessly. Her beautiful eyes fixed on Long Chen, her eyes turning red and her nose feeling slightly sore.

"Long Chen, I'm sorry. If it weren't for me, perhaps this wouldn't have happened."

Tang Waner said, somewhat choked up. After all, if it weren't for her, Long Chen wouldn't have clashed with Zhao Wu, and there wouldn't be this outcome.

To put it bluntly, Long Chen was implicated by her. Because of a single thought of hers, Long Chen's entire life was ruined. Tang Waner felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife.

"This isn't your fault; I just had bad luck running into a madman," Long Chen shook his head.

But the moment Long Chen said that, it made Tang Waner feel even worse. She would have preferred it if Long Chen had cursed at her; that might have made her feel better.

"So much nonsense. You've violated the academy rules and have been disqualified from the assessment. Hand over your Nameplate and get lost," a man with a long sword hanging at his waist frowned and said impatiently.

"What kind of thing are you to be qualified to tell me to get lost?" Long Chen sneered, pointing at the man with disdain.

Long Chen's words made everyone's jaws drop. What was Long Chen trying to do? Had he gone mad too?

Daring to talk back to a Senior Brother like that, did he not want to live? One had to know that these Senior Brothers were all true experts in the Yi Jin Realm. Saying that was practically asking for death.

Long Chen's words caused the man's expression to change. His eyes narrowed as he stared coldly at Long Chen, one hand slowly pressing against his sword hilt, and he said sinisterly: "If you want to die, I'll grant your wish. I'll take your life within three moves."

"Just cannon fodder, yet you dare to spout such arrogant words. If I had advanced to the Yi Jin Realm, I could slap you to death with one palm.

You suffered enough humiliation in the previous batch and now you come to us newcomers to show off your might? Is this to find some balance?" Long Chen scoffed.

The man was furious: "You are courting death!"

"Enough!"

Suddenly, the first person who had appeared waved his hand to stop the man and said to Long Chen: "Although you are a character, unfortunately, the branch's rules cannot be changed by anyone. So, I'm sorry, please leave."

The man looked at Long Chen with a regretful expression. Clearly, he sympathized with Long Chen and his words remained polite.

"Senior Brother, this Junior Brother would like to know which academy rule I violated. Please point it out, Senior Brother, so that this Junior Brother can be convinced," Long Chen said very politely to this man.

"So long-winded. Senior Brother Chang, just drive him away. Why waste breath on a person like this?" The man who had been talked back to by Long Chen said with some dissatisfaction.

"Didn't your parents teach you not to interrupt others when they are speaking? Don't you know that such behavior is very impolite?" Long Chen looked at the man coldly and said quite bluntly.

He realized that this idiot was always targeting him, and he couldn't help but feel a bit of fire in his heart. Most of the Senior Brothers he had met before were gentle; why did such a blockhead pop up?

The man was furious and about to rush up, but was held back by the other two. Senior Brother Chang looked at Long Chen and said: "According to the academy rules, within the assessment map, assessment Disciples are not allowed to maliciously take each other's lives, otherwise, the assessment qualification will be canceled."

"Senior Brother, what you said is perfect," Long Chen gave a thumbs up and praised.

"Stop the flattery. Now you're convinced, right? You can get lost," the man from before said coldly.

"Where the conversation goes, you interject; where the fart goes, you bare your teeth—is that what they say about people like you? I'm just curious, were you just released from prison, and were so pent up that you love to interrupt so much?" Long Chen looked at the man with a conflicted expression.

However, after Long Chen finished speaking, he noticed that several people, including Senior Brother Chang, had strange expressions on their faces.

"No way, were you really just released from prison?" Long Chen asked, looking at the man in disbelief.

"Bastard! Let go of me, I'm going to beat this bastard to death!" The man's face instantly turned livid, and he cursed in uncontrollable rage.

"You two take Junior Brother Wu to patrol elsewhere; just leave this to me," Senior Brother Chang said helplessly.

The two nodded and forcibly dragged that Junior Brother Wu away. Although Junior Brother Wu was being held by the two, he still glared at Long Chen and kept claiming he would make Long Chen wait.

For a moment, everyone present had a strange expression. The awe they had felt for these strong Senior Brothers had faded quite a bit.

"Junior Brother Wu has a hot temper; he was just confined by an Elder and only came out yesterday… Ahem, let's get back to business. Long Chen, you must leave. I hope you don't make things difficult for me, or it won't look good for anyone," Senior Brother Chang advised.

"Senior Brother Chang, according to the branch's rules, you cannot expel me," Long Chen shook his head and said.

"Eh?" Senior Brother Chang was stunned.

"According to the Xuantian Branch's Assessment Regulations, Article 3, Clause 7: Within the assessment map, assessment Disciples are not allowed to maliciously take each other's lives, otherwise, the assessment qualification will be canceled.

I believe Senior Brother Chang should be very clear about this, so I won't say much more. I don't know if you've noticed, but in this clause, there is the word 'maliciously'. What does it mean? I wonder if Senior Brother Chang can enlighten this Junior Brother?" Long Chen said.

"This…"

Senior Brother Chang was also slightly taken aback, then immediately understood what Long Chen meant. Long Chen meant that Zhao Wu had provoked him first and insulted him maliciously afterward.

Everything was self-inflicted, and Long Chen had a valid reason for killing him, so it could not be considered a malicious killing.

"This seems to have some logic, but I can't make the decision on this. I need to report it and ask those above to make the final determination," Senior Brother Chang hesitated for a moment before saying.

This result was unexpected by everyone present. Tang Waner's beautiful eyes lit up, and seeing Long Chen return to his rogue, cunning appearance, she couldn't help but feel relieved. It seemed she had underestimated this bastard.

At the same time, remembering that she had actually shed tears out of guilt just now, she felt both ashamed and angry. Looking at Long Chen's back, she had lost face today.

"No need to report it. Zhao Wu had malicious intentions and it was entirely self-inflicted; it has nothing to do with others. Long Chen is innocent, continue the assessment."

A hoarse voice came from far away.