<h4>Chapter 594 – Soul of the Battle n</h4>


    Old Vulture was quiet for a moment, then he shook his head and said, “Ming’er, you don’t understand my intentions. I know Lei Zhen’s temper well. He is forcing the whole Battle n towards death. I must stop him so that the Battle n has a chance to live! Lei Zhen is no longer suitable to be the n leader. I have already spoken to Zhao Danchen—the next n leader will be you, Lei Ming!”


    Lei Ming trembled. Being made n leader was a huge temptation to him.


    “Father, please borate on your n,” Lei Ming said respectfully, bowing.


    “Our side must win two rounds to win the bet. However, Zhao Danchen has told me that the Battle n will never win. And if the Battle n loses, with Lei Zhen’s personality, he will surely lead the whole n to fight to their deaths. But take a look at the Martial Alliance! The Battle n is not fit even to carry the shoes of the Martial Alliance. When that happens, the entire n will surely die. Not just Lei Zhen, but even we will be the criminals who wronged generations of n members!”


    Lei Ming nodded and said, “I understand, Father. This means that as long as Lei Zhen dies the Battle n loses the bet, with me as the new n leader and you being the only Second Earthly Martial Stage cultivator here, we will submit to the Martial Alliance. That way, you, me, and the Battle n will continue to exist perpetually!”


    Old Vulture’s gaze traveled from outside the window to Lei Ming, whom he studied for a while, then he said, “Little brat, you’ve be much smarter. You’re right. When Lei Zhen dies, his friends will likely leave, and we’ll have fewer people causing problems. Then our mission to keep the n alive will seed. You must remember that because we are protecting the n, we are in the right. Lei Zhen and the others are the criminals!”


    Was that really the case? Lei Ming’s heart was confused too. He knew that he and his father were the only ones in the Battle n who didn’t see death asing home. The others could not wait to die and bring the Martial Alliance down with them.


    “Father, if we do this, will the n members think that we are cowards? That we are being spineless, and we would have embarrassed our ancestors?” Lei Ming asked carefully.


    Old Vulture chuckled coldly and said, “They’re idiots, so let them say what they want. We were the ones who kept them alive. One or two years down the line, they will eventually fall to their knees in front of us, praising our noble act! Therefore, Lei Zhen is an obstacle to the livelihood of the n. He must die!”


    When he said the word “die,” cracking sounds came from Old Vulture’s fist.


    “Father, Zhao Danchen didn’t get to kill Lei Zhen today. What do we do now?” Lei Ming asked anxiously.


    Old Vulture let out chillingugh that even sent chills down Lei Ming’s spine.


    “Tomorrow. Tomorrow, Lei Zhen will enter the Lightning Pool, which is in the forbidden area. No one else will be able to enter, and the only person nearby will be the escort who led him to the entrance. I will not apany him tomorrow, and when they ask about it, you will tell them that I am cultivating to prepare for the final fight. Then I will slip into the forbidden area on my own. When Lei Zhen passes by, I will kill him! Afterwards, you and the rest of the people will rush in, and you will put the me on Zhao Danchen!” Old Vulture exined slowly, though he grew more emotional towards the end.


    Lei Ming took a deep breath and nodded. “Father, this is the perfect n! When Lei Zhen dies, the n will have to choose a new n leader. With you present, I will surely be the most suitable candidate. And when Lei Zhen’s friends see that Lei Zhen has died, they will surely leave the Battle n to fight the Martial Alliance! Then we will swoop in! The Dragon n will never be a match for the Martial Alliance. And when the three duels happen and the Battle n loses to the Martial Alliance, we will fulfill the promise and pledge our loyalty to the Martial Alliance. When that happens, the Martial Alliance will surely reward us generously!”


    Lei Ming burst intoughter.


    “You fool!” Old Vulture suddenly pped him across the face.


    “Father, why?” Lei Ming was stunned.


    “What do you mean by ‘the Martial Alliance will surely reward us generously?’ You must remember that we are not doing this for our own selfish benefit! We’re doing this because we don’t want to see Lei Zhen destroy the umted effort the n has put in over thousands of years! Our ancestors will cheer us on!” cried Old Vulture with a wild look in his eyes.


    “Yes ... Yes ...” Lei Ming nodded quickly.


    <i>Will the ancestors really cheer us on? </i>He wanted to ask this question very badly


    If all the Battle n’s warriors be servants to the Martial Alliance, would that really be better than death? If that happened, the Battle n would end up like the Wind God Sect or worse, because they did not have a Third Earthly Martial Stage master protecting them.


    These questions were buried in Lei Ming’s heart.


    Looking at the excited old man, Lei Ming clenched his fists tightly and told himself, <i>He’s my father and he has lived a longer life than me! He surely knows a lot more than I do, so doing as he says must be right!</i>


    ***


    Dawn came quickly.


    Long Chen had spent the entire night cultivating. After many rounds of practice, Long Chen was much more familiar with the Soul Dispersing w and the Willow Step. After familiarizing himself with them, he started to continue cultivating the Second Earthly Martial Stage.


    He practiced ording to the Earthly Martial Fist Manual, trying toprehend the punching technique of the Second Earthly Martial Stage. After Long Yue and Huangfu Fengchen helped him enter the Earthly Martial Realm, progressing further was much easier. Due to the heaven meridian point and his other qualities, cultivation was easier for Long Chen in the Martial Realm.


    “The pulse of the earthes in one wave after another. Reaching the Second Earthly Martial Stage requires one to fit two pulses of the earth in an attack. In that case, one attack would actually contain two attacks, making it much stronger ...”


    Long Chen still could not break through thisst obstacle.


    As for the cultivation of essence, Long Chen had consumed the beast blood of the ck Water Viper right after his breakthrough. After using Blood Transmutation, the blood had turned into his essence and was being stored in his Martial Veins and Martial Meridians.


    He had enough essence to break through to the Second Earthly Martial Stage, but heckedprehension of the theory.


    This was not something easily achieved overnight, so Long Chen was not impatient. He slowly halted his punches and then opened the door. Xiang rarely entered the Primordial Realm these days, and when Long Chen was cultivating, he also studied his own attack techniques. He was much more hardworking than before.


    Long Chen opened the door because Lei Zhen and the rest had passed the front of his room. Everyone else had arrived too, and when they saw Long Chene out, they quickly called him over.


    “The Lightning Pool is in the forbidden area, which you guys can’t enter. If you all really want to send me off, you can send me off at the entrance,” said Lei Zhen.


    The Running Thunder de was a de technique only the n leader could cultivate, and it had to be done in the Lightning Pool. However, the Lightning Pool was dangerous, and someone had to stand guard outside the entrance. If the cultivator inside was in trouble, at least someone would be alerted.


    “The lightning also has a paralyzing effect. If I am unable to withstand it and cannot get myself out, it doesn’t matter whether you’re allowed inside or not— just carry me out of there! If I’m left in there for too long, I’ll die, haha ...” Lei Zhen said with a grin.


    Everyone gave a rare chuckle. Jian Chen thensaid, “Second Brother Jiang also needs to cultivate for theing battle. Let me guard the entrance, then. If you can’t withstand the lightning, just call for me.”


    “Thank you, Third Brother,” Lei Zhen said gratefully.


    Everyone soon arrived in front of the forbidden area. It was actually a deep valley surrounded by a dense forest. There was strict security around this area. Long Chen even discovered naturally formed seals that could not be broken unless the cultivator was past a certain level.


    Entering the Lightning Pool was a solemn ritual to the Battle n. Lei Zhen had long prepared the altar and incense to pray to the ancestors before entering.


    All the significant n members had to attend this important ritual, so the other seven Battle Kings had arrived to kneel and pray to the ancestors. When it all ended, Lei Zhen asked Lei Ming, “Brother Lei Ming, why isn’t Old Vulture here today?”


    Lei Ming took half a step back, unable to hide the strange look on his face. But he quickly hid it, took a deep breath, and said, “My Father is worried about the bet and is focused on cultivation now, hoping to help the n when the timees. That’s why he’s not here.”


    Lei Zhen froze and said, “This is an urgent time, so I’m not going to press further regarding Old Vulture’s absence. However, remember to tell him that all cultivators at the Earthly Martial Realm must be present during the next ancestral prayer.”


    Lei Ming nodded and said, “Alright, I understand.”


    Lei Zhen did not think much about it and turned to the Dragon n. “Everyone other than Third Brother may leave. I’m going in.”


    Jiang Wuya nodded. “We’ll head back after you enter.”


    Lei Zhen smiled. Everyone watched as he entered the deep valley. When hepletely disappeared, the Dragon n members and the Battle Kings prepared to leave.


    Long Chen noticed a small detail. He had been watching Lei Ming while they watched Lei Zhen leave. When Lei Zhen disappeared, there was a malicious look on his face.


    Yesterday, Long Chen had sensed that Old Vulture’s reaction had been strange. Today, when Lei Ming talked about Old Vulture, Long Chen had paid attention too. Due to yesterday’s suspicions, he naturally felt that Lei Ming’s response was strange. When he saw Lei Ming’s expression plus his exnation that Old Vulture was absent because he was cultivating, Long Chen felt like there was something wrong.