Chapter 192: Daggers drawn
Now was not the time to have a feud. Raining Sword sect had come to an agreement to co-operate with Zhentian sect against Qiansi sect.
Tibetan Fire Sect and Knife cut sect could cause some trouble since their agreement with Zhentian sect seemed more of pretence, so Zhentian sect could only trust Allure sect and Hanbing sect to truly co-operate with them.
The disciples of Raining Sword sect had already entered the Imperial Martial Arena, so Baiyun Zhong didn't stay out any longer and entered the martial arena soon.
Two rows of royal guards wearing black armors stood at the gates of the Imperial Martial Arena. Their faces were expressionless as they remained standing there motionless like wooden stakes. However, each one of them was quite powerful, having a cultivation level of not less than Zhenling fourth layer!
These guards were actually the personal guards of Prince Chu Chao Sheng and were called the 'black armed force'. All these guards were extremely loyal to Chu Chao Sheng and were the backbone of Imperial Chu Clan's power.
However, Imperial Chu Clan had its own secret forces too, and even the powerful Long Clan had no idea of Prince Chu Chao Sheng's hidden cards.
As soon as they reached near the black armored guards, all the people suddenly found themselves suppressed by a very strong aura, which almost made them gasp for breath!
The black armoured guards didn't only have a high cultivation level; they had killed numerous enemies of Imperial Chu Clan. Naturally, each guard possessed an indomitable aura.
"Fierce!"
Long Yu entered the Imperial Martial Arena along with Baiyun Zhong. The guards stayed motionless, as if they were not human beings but some statues made of iron.
Although Long Yu had recently killed Wang Yuanchen and his old bodyguard, who were Zhenling fifth layer martial experts, neither of them was as powerful as the black armored guards.
Long Yu observed that if he was to fight two of these guards simultaneously, he might not be able to hit either of them back.
Just by sensing their aura, one could easily deduce that each of the guards was as powerful as two martial artists.
Suddenly, an angry shout was heard by everyone.
"Zhentian disciples, stop right there!"
With this shout, a bald man arrived in front of Baiyun Zhong and blocked his path. The man was wearing a red silk robe with a flame pattern embroidered on it and was leading a group of red-robed disciples.
Judging from the appearance, Long Yu knew that this man belonged to Tibetan Fire sect and was there to cause trouble.
Long Yu had killed a Zhenling third layer Elder of the Tibetan Fire sect, so naturally they would snap back at him.
Undoubtedly, their target was none other than Long Yu!
"Huo Haishan, what do you seek?"
Baiyun Zhong was not at all deterred by the bald man; he gently stroked his beard and maintained his poise, "As the sovereign of Tibetan Fire sect, don't you think it's highly inappropriate of you to block my way?"
"What's inappropriate in it?"
The bald man, clad in red silk robe, was Huo Haishan of Tibetan Fire sect and was a very short-tempered man. He quickly had a glance of all the disciples of Zhentian sect, and his gaze finally stopped at Long Yu.
"Hand over that boy to me and the Tibetan Fire sect will keep its end of the agreement. But if you refuse, neither the Tibetan fire sect nor Prince Chu Chao Sheng would ever aid your Zhentian sect!"
Huo Haishan roared angrily.
"He wants Long Yu!"
Several disciples of Zhentian sect whispered amongst themselves as they looked towards Long Yu.
It was well known to everyone that Long Yu had killed Huo Haishan's son. Naturally, Huo Haishan couldn't let the matter pass and wanted revenge.
"Had it been about any other boy from any other sect, you would've easily gotten what you want. But Long Yu is a part of our Zhentian sect. You will have to pass through me if you want to get to him."
Baiyun Zhong looked coldly at Huo Haishan. He was not at all afraid of that bald man.
Long Yu had grown to be so powerful that he was only second to Yu Qianning. If Zhentian sect lost Long Yu, would the alliance with Tibetan Fire sect actually be of any use?
According to the agreement with Chu Chao Sheng, if none of the contestants from the six sects managed to enter the final round, they all would have to surrender their core laws to Qiansi sect.
Zhentian sect needed to keep Long Yu safe, even if his safety came at the cost of enmity with Tibetan Fire sect!
"Baiyun Zhong, you are not being yourself. Are you really willing to fight me for this trivial boy?"
Huo Haishan asked angrily.
"Huo Haishan, are you out of your senses?"
Baiyun Zhong laughed and said, "It was your son who created trouble every now and then and even tried to kill Long Yu. On the other hand, Long Yu only did what he needed to do for his survival. Now you're here, trying to avenge your son's death. Instead of teaching him martial skills, you should've first taught your son not to bully others!"
"You...!"
Baiyun Zhong's words made Huo Haishan's anger shoot up immediately. Although he wanted to say something, he couldn't find any words out of anger and kept staring at Baiyun Zhong with his fiery eyes.
"You want to save him, fine! Just wait and watch. You're going to regret your decision soon!"
With these words, Huo Haishan turned around to leave.
"We just entered the Imperial Martial Arena and trouble ensued in the form of Tibetan Fire sect. God knows what will happen when the rules of the seven sects' competition are declared and the competition actually starts!"
Long Yu thought to himself.
He was about to know what was going to happen next as it was time for the seven sects' competition to begin. He didn't say anything and followed Baiyun Zhong to the seats for spectators. Soon, he settled in after finding seats for himself and Bu Xing.
However, Liu Yuan, who had been accompanying Long Yu till now, didn't sit with Long Yu among the disciples of Zhentian sect. She joined the disciples of her Allure sect instead.
The contingent of the all-women Allure sect was clad in beautiful uniforms. Several Elders of the sect had accompanied the disciples to the Imperial Martial Arena.
Long Yu noticed that when Liu Yuan went away to join her fellow disciples, she went straight to a woman clad in a red dress. This woman seemed to be leading the other disciples of Allure sect.
As for the other disciples, several of them looked hatefully towards Liu Yuan!
Especially the girl clad in white dress who caught Long Yu's attention because of the spiteful way she was staring at Liu Yuan.
"She is Bai Linsha, the first core disciple of Allure sect. She was the centre of all the attention until Liu Yuan surpassed her strength."
Bu Xing told Long Yu as he continued looking at the girl, "No doubt, she hates Liu Yuan now."
Long Yu nodded as he understood the situation.
He immediately looked around and observed the current situation of the Imperial Martial Arena.
The Imperial Martial Arena was the largest martial arena in the entire Tang kingdom. It had sixteen sitting areas, out of which seven were assigned to the seven great sects.
Among the remaining nine sitting areas, four were assigned to the four great aristocratic families of the Tang kingdom, while the last five ones were assigned to Zhenling realm martial artists, who wished to watch the matches.
Long Yu's keen observation skills soon detected a strong killing intention directed towards him.
"Imperial Wang Clan's Wang Jue!"
Long Yu found the source of this intense killing intent to be a middle aged man clad in a golden silk robe, seated among the people of the four aristocratic families. This man was staring at him disdainfully.
"I see, he's wondering whether I killed Wang Yuanchen..."
Long Yu sneered. Wang Jue could only guess what happened to his son since Long Yu had left no evidence behind after killing Wang Yuanchen. Lack of evidence meant Wang Jue couldn't attack Long Yu during the course of the seven sects' competition.
Even if Wang Jue wanted to catch Long Yu and interrogate him, he would have to face Baiyun Zhong first.
Although Wang Jue could defeat Baiyun Zhong, now was not the time to create any nuisance. He was the head of the Imperial Wang family; he had to maintain certain decorum.
He could surely avenge his son later.
After Long Yu and the other disciples of Zhentian sect arrived at the Imperial Martial Arena, the entire environment became too tense. Most of the people present there bore enmity towards Long Yu due to some reason or the other.
For example, across the arena, the sovereign of Knife Cut sect, Chu Shanwu, was spitefully looking at Long Yu and Baiyun Zhong.
Earlier, Elder Wu Li of Knife Cut sect had been killed by Baiyun Zhong. Although the Knife Cut sect couldn't otherwise take revenge, the seven sects' competition was a perfect opportunity for them to fulfil their wishes!
In addition to the Knife Cut sect, Luo Clan and Yuchi Clan had also sworn enmity to Long Yu.
The two young masters of these clans, Luo Zixing and Yuchi Tao, weren't on friendly terms with Long Yu. Although Yuchi Tao hadn't faced any humiliation at the hands of Long Yu, Luo Zixing had been struck on his face using his own whip by Long Yu!
If Long Yu met any accident during this seven sects' competition, Luo Clan and Yuchi Clan wouldn't spare a single chance to exact revenge from him.
As Long Yu looked on, his gaze fell upon the disciples of Qiansi sect.
Yu Qianning was clad in a yellow feather dress and was standing near the sitting area allotted to the Qiansi sect. Her imposing aura clearly indicated that she had already stepped into Zhenling fifth layer!
"Zhenling fifth layer! She is more formidable than ever!"
Long Yu thought as he continued looking at Yu Qianning. Soon afterwards, Yu Qianning met his gaze and looked at him contemptuously.
Right by Yu Qianning's side sat a serene, elegant-looking woman who looked quite similar to Yu Qianning.
"That must be Yu Qianning's mother, Yu Ruyan."
Long Yu thought to himself.
Yu Ruyan was in love with Long Yu's father. However, later she was seduced by Prince Chu Chao Sheng, which led to the birth of Yu Qianning, who had now become Chu Chao Sheng's ultimate weapon against the other sects.
Perhaps Yu Ruyan had forgotten about Long Zaitian after all these years, but watching Long Yu sitting across the arena made Yu Ruyan uneasy.
Within a few moments, her complexion changed from being serene to being ghastly!
As for the Hanbing sect, although they were aware of the fact that Long Yu had killed Hua Qing, Hua Yun and Hua Buxie, they didn't seem to be much bothered about it.
On the contrary, after entering the Imperial Martial Arena, the sovereign of the Hanbing sect, Tang Qin, had greeted Baiyun Zhong with a friendly smile.
Tang Qin was wearing a blue cotton dress and was about thirty years of age. However, she wasn't weak at all and had a cultivation level similar to that of Baiyun Zhong.
Both Tang Qin and Baiyun Zhong had suffered losses at the hands of Chu Chao Sheng and Qiansi sect, and both had tried to reason with Qiansi sect which ended up in the agreement of surrendering their core principles should any of them lose the seven sects competition.
This had developed a friendly relationship between Tang Qin and Baiyun Zhong.
Clearly, Hanbing sect was one of the most important allies of Zhentian sect in this year's seven sects' competition.
These two sects were the only ones who were taking their agreement and alliance seriously. The others were merely pretending to be a part of the alliance, waiting for the most opportune moment to harm Baiyun Zhong or Long Yu.
Just then, Long Yu noticed a sudden commotion inside the arena. People were whispering amongst themselves. The Prince was arriving.
"Chu Chao Sheng!"
Long Yu immediately turned around and fixed his gaze on the entrance gate of the Imperial Martial Arena.
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