<h4>Chapter 417 - Battling Lin Zichen</h4>


    This was the first time the people of Ginger City had heard Long Chen’s name. News of what he had done had not reached them because they were too far from Biyang Imperial Capital. However, he would be forever in their memories from this day onwards, along with the three thousand Ghost Riders and Eight Generals that had stunned them speechless.


    The Imperial Capital’s Pretorial Guards and Royal Guards werepeting factions, but when the sixmanders of the Royal Guard died, the Pretorial Guards grieved for their deaths like the fox grieving the rabbit’s death[1]. Not only had the legendary Long Chen returned, he had done so in a terrifying style by first sneaking into the Counter Essence Realm, killing the Sword Demon, and stealing Heaven-tier spiritual herbs. Afterwards, he had slipped into the pce and lured Lin Zichen here. How many people in the world would dare to do the same?


    The Eight Generals were especially shocked. They all looked at each other.


    “Big Brother, what should we do?” one of them asked.


    “If Long Chen can kill Lord Sword Demon, then he must be at least as strong as the Fourth Prince. Let’s hurry over to the First Prince’s side and protect him for now. Initially, I thought the First Prince was going to lose his footing forever, but it looks like there’s still hope for him!” said Qian Jiang, the Eighth River Stage general, solemnly.


    “How is that possible? The Fourth Prince killed a Category Nine Earth-tier demonic beast so easily just now! Not even ten Long Chens would be his match!” someone said the moment Qian Jiang finished.


    “I don’t believe he can win either. The Fourth Prince is a legend! My father says that he’ll reach the Sword Emperor’s level in less than five years!”


    “Now is not the time to argue. Let’s go back first, seeing as they haven’t fought yet!” said Qian Jiang hurriedly. There was no time to dawdle.


    After the Ghost Riders returned to Ginger City, only Long Chen and Lin Zichen remained on the vast battlefield. Everyone stood on the city wall to watch the fight between the two most talented youths of the Cangyang Kingdom.


    This was a duel of the highest level, and Long Chen was facing his most powerful enemy to date. Lin Zichen knew Heaven-tier bodybat techniques, wielded the Imperial Sword, and was familiar with the Imperial Sword Combat Technique. This meant his strength was simr to Long Chen’s!


    Everyone watched from the edge of their seats!


    Their auras intensified quickly. Long Chen was currently at the Eighth River Stage, so his aura was weaker than Lin Zichen’s for now.


    “Eighth River Stage... You don’t know how weak you are,” Lin Zichen sneered. The Qi of a Ninth River Stage cultivator erupted from his body, and a st of energy shot out towards Long Chen. All the soil and dried blood on the ground were sted away.


    Long Chen did not speak. He activated his Dragon Soul Transformation, and the blood-red dragon scales and sharp bony spikes that covered his body made him look like a humanoidbat machine. His aura strengthened continuously, and the surrounding soil exploded. The energy that shot up into the sky was as strong as Lin Zichen’s!


    “So much Qi! Have you reached the Ninth River Stage?” Lin Zichen furrowed his brows when he sensed the immense auraing from Long Chen. However, this did not startle him, because Long Chen’s cultivation level had always been hard to pinpoint, sometimes high and sometimes low. When they previously met in front of Demon Emperor Mountain, Long Chen had disyed strength sufficient to fight Lin Zichen.


    “Even though you have as much Qi as me, as a Sword Warrior, I can triple my Qi! Long Chen, your Qi reserve is nothingpared to mine!” Lin Zichen eximed, hisughter reaching everyone’s ears.


    The spectators didn’t even blink as they listened to the conversation, deeply afraid that they would lose one detail of this historical event.


    “Long Chen has about as much Qi as Lin Zichen. Does that mean he has always been at the Ninth River Stage? He’s very good at keeping it hidden! But Lin Zichen is a very talented Sword Warrior, and the Sword Soul within the Imperial Sword allows him to triple his strength. How could Long Chen be a match for him?” To be honest, Lin Batian really hoped Long Chen would kill Lin Zichen so that he could secure the Cangyang Kingdom’s throne.


    Of course, that was provided Long Chen did not kill him.


    Everyone looked towards Long Chen, wondering how he would respond to Lin Zichen’s remark.


    “Are you saying that I have less Qi than you?” Long Chen chuckled coldly, then he raised his arm. “Demon Seed nting Technique, activate ...” Long Chen activated the second stage of the Demon Seed nting Technique, so his Qi skyrocketed and surpassed Lin Zichen to reach four times its original amount. He was now much stronger!


    “What?! The second stage of the Demon Seed nting Technique?!” Lin Zichen was truly shocked now. He had his ways to suppress Long Chen even if he was at the Ninth River Stage, but after Long Chen used the Demon Seed nting Technique, Lin Zichen was no longer a match for him.


    Lin Zichen had never been surpassed by anyone in his life. Now that he was suddenly weaker than Long Chen, it made him very irritated.


    “It looks like you’ve received the Demon Seed nting Technique after entering the Heavenly Demon Pce. Based on your cultivation level, you must be the Heavenly Demon Pce’s number one disciple, right? I heard that the Heavenly Demon Pce has the Demon Emperor Sword, a weapon as strong as my Imperial Sword. I wonder, were you qualified to receive it?” Lin Zichen asked, as if challenging him.


    He assumed Long Chen was considered an outsider since he hadn’t spent much time in the Heavenly Demon Pce. It was already impressive that he had received the Demon Seed nting Technique, but the Demon Emperor Sword was a treasure that was given to the Pce Lord, so there was no chance he could’ve gotten his hands on it.


    However, Lin Zichen was dead wrong. After he took the Imperial Sword out his Universe Pouch, a ck divine sword that was identical to the Imperial Sword appeared in Long Chen’s hand. He raised the Demon Emperor Sword and pointed it at Lin Zichen with a smirk. “Apologies. You didn’t expect this. I used the Demon Emperor Sword to break the Sword Demon’s Nine Heavens Sword and kill him!”


    When the Imperial Sword appeared, it was impressive. But when Long Chen took out the Demon Emperor Sword, the Imperial Sword was no longer the number one divine weapon of the Cangyang Kingdom. Lin Batian and the others could tell that the divine sword in Long Chen’s hand, which was identical in appearance, was as strong as the Imperial Sword too!


    Lin Zichen had initially thought that he could kill Long Chen with ease, but when Long Chen pulled out the Demon Emperor Sword, Lin Zichen’s eyes grew thick with worry.


    Ninth River Stage. Demon Seed nting Technique. Demon Emperor Sword. All of this signaled that Long Chen had received the highest level of inheritance from the Heavenly Demon Pce to be the first person on his level in history.


    Lin Zichen never thought that he would meet such a person. He had always stood on the peak of the mountain. Now, without him noticing, there was someone standing next to him. How could he get used to this?


    A strong killing intent rose through Lin Zichen. Putting Long Chen’s intent to kill him aside, Long Chen was at a level that made him nervous. If he did not kill Long Chen now, who knew what would happen in a few years’ time? He could really be killed then!


    Lin Zichen raised the Imperial Sword slowly.


    This was the moment everyone had been waiting for. Seeing as they were about to fight, everyone craned their necks to watch. The most nervous person was Lin Batian.


    <i>That’s impressive! That must be the Heavenly Demon Pce’s legendary Demon Emperor Sword in his hand! If I’m right, he’s the heir to the Heavenly Demon Pce. This is a duel between the two strongest youths of the Cangyang Kingdom’s two strongest factions!</i>


    Lin Batian was filled with emotion.


    Long Chen had waited a long time for this moment!


    In fact, he had entered the Heavenly Demon Pce and cultivated fervently all for this moment! The moment to kill Lin Zichen!


    <i>Rumble!</i>


    The whole battlefield trembled even though they had just started the fight. Yellow sand flew in the air. The corpses of demonic beasts and cultivators were thrown back in all directions by the strong gust of wind, which howled and whistled through the battlefield.


    <i>ng!</i>


    The deafening sound of a collision rang out. After so many years, the two strongest weapons of Cangyang Kingdom shed for the first time. There was a blinding ray of light, and both Lin Zichen and Long Chen moved backwards. In the next breath, both of them moved in a sh and began utilizing their powerful attacks!


    At first, no one could see much, as they could not tell the fighters apart when they looked at the flickering silhouettes moving at high speed. All they could see was a ck sword and a golden sword flying across the battlefield!


    “Imperial Sword Qi!”


    There was a strong <i>whoosh</i>, and the attack that Lin Zichen had used against the Dark Moon Tiger shot directly at Long Chen. The Imperial Sword Qi cut a deep ditch through the ground. Everyone’s hearts were in their throats when they saw the fierce attack, because Long Chen was exposed and directly in its path.


    “Traceless Demon Shadow!”


    Long Chen, who was already a blurry silhouette, turned into an invisible shadow. The Imperial Sword Qi did not strike him at all, charging ahead until it dispersed far away. Everyone saw a blurry shadow spinning and charging towards Lin Zichen, and des of Sword Qi appeared out of thin air. They were as strong as his Imperial Sword Qi, and their target was Lin Zichen!


    “Heaven-tier bodybat technique, Traceless Demon Shadow?” Lin Zichen was shocked once more. He had a feeling that Long Chen could use Traceless Demon Shadow too, but now he actually had. Plus, when he used it, he seemed as familiar as Lin Zichen was with the Divine Nine Pce Step!


    Long Chen had already mastered two of the Heavenly Demon Pce’s Three Great Secret Scriptures. Did he also know the third one?


    Lin Zichen’s expression was as dark as it could be!


    1. TL Note: Fox grieving for the rabbit’s death (idiom): the fox and the rabbit arerades in this context because their enemy is the hunter. When the hunter kills the rabbit, the fox grieves. Used to describe alliance members grieving when tragedy strikes one of them ?