"AHHH!"
Zhao Wu was suddenly engulfed in flames. He miserably screamed out, as with his heavily injured body, it was impossible for him to use spiritual qi to protect his body. He could only endure the flame's roasting.
He madly struggled, but his throat was caught by Long Chen and so he could only remain within the flames. Finally, he began to feel fear.
He now realized that the moment he had insulted Long Chen, Long Chen had ceased having any intentions of letting him off. Long Chen had already decided to kill him at that time. It was laughable that he had then continuously provoked Long Chen, saying he didn't dare kill him.
Long Chen's words had been entirely correct. The famous and powerful Zhao Wu had been unable to accept being defeated by Long Chen.
And so since he couldn't beat him, he had come up with an idea to anger him to death. Thus, he had begun to insult Long Chen, thinking that he couldn't do anything to him with the monastery's rules in place.
As for whatever that Dao-heart was, Long Chen had overestimated him. He still hadn't reached the level where he knew about it.
"Stop! I admit defeat… quickly stop!" Zhao Wu cried out in fear.
That was because he was horrified to find he was already being burnt black. In just a moment, he really would be burned alive.
Long Chen wasn't releasing his full flame strength. He was no saint who would forgive anything. He would never forgive those who insulted his parents.
Although his face was calm, his heart was filled with fury. That was especially the case when it came to his mother, she was his reverse-scale. If anyone dared to touch her, they would definitely die.
And so Long Chen was using his weakest flame to roast Zhao Wu. That was in order to warn everyone not to touch upon his taboos.
"Long Chen, stop. It's not worth it for you to kill him!" Qing Yu couldn't help but shout out when she saw how grave and icy he was.
Long Chen turned to glance at her. Although she was definitely too long-winded and pesky, she truly had a good heart.
"Thank you. But those who insult my mother, no matter who, must die." Long Chen's words were extremely resolute.
"Long Chen, you fool, even if you want to kill someone, you have to look at the situation! You're ruining your future! Did you become stupid?!" Tang Wan-er was infuriated.
"Martial artists must have an unstoppable determination. No matter what obstacles block their path, they either have to step over them or smash them apart. They cannot avoid them. Otherwise, how could they maintain their resolution?
"Some obstacles can't be avoided. And if you aren't able to step over them, then you must completely smash them apart and viciously stamp them under your feet." After saying that, Long Chen's flame exploded in strength.
"NO… LONG CHEN, I'M SORRY… I BEG YOU, FORGIVE ME…!" Zhao Wu fearfully begged.
He had thought Long Chen wouldn't dare kill him, and that was why he had said such vicious things. But now when he realized he was truly facing death, he was completely terrified.
"Sorry, you're too late."
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Suddenly, his flame explosively grew to a height of dozens of meters, its heat causing even space to warp.
Then the flame's completely faded and the world returned to calm. Long Chen was still in his previous position, but Zhao Wu had disappeared.
A breeze blew by, dragging away the last bits of ashes on his hand. A generation's genius had disappeared from the world just like that.
"He died?!" People felt as if their hearts were about to stop. Long Chen had really killed Zhao Wu. Wasn't that a provocation against the Xuantian Monastery?
"It's over…" Tang Wan-er was incredibly upset. She even wanted to give Long Chen a beating. That scoundrel was usually so cunning, and yet he was such an idiot now.
Now that he had broken the monastery's rules, even she couldn't save him. Tang Wan-er couldn't bear seeing such a genius be expelled just like that.
Qing Yu was just foolishly looking at Long Chen. Even she had nothing to say at this time. Long Chen was completely obstinate. Despite clearly knowing the consequences, he had still done such a thing.
Suddenly four figures appeared. Their white robes had the insignia of the Xuantian Monastery, the same robes as the senior apprentice-brothers who had inspected their registration cards.
"Long Chen, you've killed a fellow registrant. You are expelled," one of them icily said.
The entire crowd was deathly silent. Looking from those four and back to Long Chen, they couldn't say anything.
But there was one person who was excited. That would have to be Lei Qianshang. He wanted to see whether Long Chen could still stay so unperturbed while being expelled.
"Senior apprentice-brothers, actually" Tang Wan-er wanted to go help Long Chen.
But that person waved his hand, "No need to explain anything. We're just following the monastery's rules. You don't need to waste your breath."
Tang Wan-er could only helplessly close her mouth. Her eyes reddened as she looked at Long Chen and she almost teared up.
"Long Chen, I'm sorry. If it weren't for me, perhaps it wouldn't have been like this." Tang Wan-er was somewhat choked with emotion. If it weren't for her, Long Chen wouldn't have fought with Zhao Wu, and so this would never have happened.
Putting it bluntly, Long Chen had been implicated because of her. In other words, it was her fault he had ruined his life. She felt as if a knife was stabbing her heart.
"It's not your fault. It's just my luck was bad to run into a madman." Long Chen shook his head.
But his words only made Tang Wan-er feel even worse. She wished Long Chen would curse her instead. Perhaps that would make her feel better than this.
"Shut up. You've broken the monastery's rules, so you've already lost the right to participate in this trial. Hand over your registration card. You can get lost." One of the four with a sword on his hip frowned impatiently.
"Who do you think you are to tell me to get lost?" snorted Long Chen disdainfully.
Long Chen's words immediately caused everyone's jaws to drop. What was Long Chen thinking? Had he really become crazy?
To dare contradict these senior apprentice-brothers, did he have a death wish? These senior apprentice-brothers were all true Tendon Transformation experts. Talking like that to them, he must really be tired of living.
That person's expression changed and he narrowed his eyes. Slowly placing his hand on his sword hilt, he sinisterly said "If you want to die, then I'll fulfill your wish. I guarantee you'll be dead within three moves."
"Even a cannon fodder dares speak so arrogantly. If I advanced to the Tendon Transformation realm I guarantee I could kill you with a single slap.
"You ended up so frustrated that you're so weak amongst your peers that you came here to show off to the weaker newcomers. Were you looking for a fair ground?" snorted Long Chen.
That person angrily raged, "You're asking for death."
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"That's enough."
Suddenly, the first person who had arrived waved his hand to stop that person. To Long Chen, he said, "Although you might be a talent, the monastery's rules cannot be changed by anyone. So please leave."
That person truly was regretful. He clearly sympathized with Long Chen so his words were still very polite.
"Senior apprentice-brother, junior wishes to know just what rule I have broken. Please tell me so that I can accept it wholeheartedly." Long Chen also returned that politeness back to him.
"Senior apprentice-brother Chang, just make him leave. There's no need to waste your time talking to such a long-winded troublemaker." That man who had been contradicted by Long Chen complained.
"Did your mom and dad never teach you not to interrupt others while they are speaking? Do you not know that that's rude?" Long Chen icily glared at him without the slightest bit of politeness.
He really was starting to be irritated with this man constantly targeting him. Those previous senior apprentice-brothers had mostly been extremely modest. How did some idiot like him pop up?
That person was just about to angrily charge forward when he was pulled back by the other two. Senior apprentice-brother Chang said to Long Chen, "According to the monastery's rules, within the trial region, the disciples taking the trial cannot maliciously take another one's life, or they will lose the right to participate in the trial."
"Senior apprentice-brother, you really explained it well." Long Chen raised his thumb.
"Stop boot-licking! Now that you can understand, hurry up and get lost!" said that previous person icily.
"Holy crap, do you know how to stay quiet?! I really am puzzled; did you just get out of a prison and your balls hurt so much that you have to butt into the conversation like this?!"
After saying that, Long Chen realized that the other senior apprentice-brothers all had strange expressions.
"Wait, did I really get it right? You really just got out of a prison?" Long Chen looked at him in disbelief.
"Bastard! Let go, I'll kill him!" That person's expression immediately became ashen and he angrily shouted.
"You two, bring junior apprentice-brother Wu to patrol a different area. Leave this place to me," ordered senior apprentice-brother Chang helplessly.
Those two nodded and brought senior apprentice-brother Wu away. As he was dragged away by the other two, he glared at Long Chen, mouthing at him to wait for him.
For a moment, everyone's expressions were extremely odd. That reverence they had had for their powerful senior apprentice-brothers had faded by quite a bit.
"Junior apprentice-brother Wu has a bad temperament and was forced into seclusion by the Elders. He only just came out yesterday… anyways, back to the topic. Long Chen, you must leave. Hopefully you won't make it hard on me. That won't be good for you."
"Senior apprentice-brother Chang, according to the monastery's rules, you cannot expel me." Long Chen shook his head.
"Oh?" Senior apprentice-brother Chang was startled.
"According to the Xuantian Monastery's trial regulations, third section, line seven: Within the trial region, disciples taking the trial cannot maliciously take other people's lives, or they will lose the right to participate in the trial.
"I trust that senior apprentice-brother Chang should be very clear about that so I won't say much. Within the section, just what does the word 'malicious' mean here? Can senior apprentice-brother Chang explain it to this junior?" asked Long Chen.
"This…" Senior apprentice-brother Chang paused for a moment. He understood Long Chen's meaning. It was Zhao Wu who had provoked him first, and also maliciously insulted him.
Everything had been his own fault. So Long Chen had his own grounds to justify his killing of him and it couldn't count as 'maliciously' killing.
"You have an argument there. But I can't handle this matter. I'll have to report it to my superiors and have them make a decision." Senior apprentice-brother Chang hesitated.
This result was something no one had expected. Tang Wan-er's eyes brightened. Seeing Long Chen return to his previous crafty, rascally self, she relaxed inside. It appeared she had underestimated this scoundrel.
At the same time, she thought of how she had actually begun to cry because of her guilt. Looking at Long Chen's back, she was both ashamed and angered. She had ended up losing face today.
"No need to report it. Zhao Wu's motive was wicked and so he has only himself to blame. No one else, including Long Chen, is at fault. The trial may continue."
An aged voice rang out from a distant location.