Chapter 140: Wu Xingyan Came Chasing After Them

Long Sihai’s expression darkened. Even now, he still mistakenly believed that Chu Tian and Wu Xingyan were working together.

He had no idea that this was a scheme devised by the Situ family against the Long family. Their sole aim was to sow discord between the Long family and the various clans of Tianmen City, thereby weakening the Long family’s strength.

The members of the Long family already understood this perfectly. Only Long Sihai, who had just arrived, remained completely in the dark.

In a fit of rage, he struck out, sending a palm toward Chu Tian.

Boom!

The arena shattered inch by inch. Apart from the marble beneath Long Sihai’s feet, which remained intact, the entire platform was reduced to rubble in an instant.

In that moment, Chu Tian’s pupils contracted.

The power behind that palm was overwhelming. This was the true might of a Martial Saint’s full-force attack!

With Chu Tian’s current strength, it was impossible for him to withstand it head-on.

The next second, he leaped backward, retreating at full speed.

He could not use the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art to block the attack, because its ability to absorb true energy had its limits.

An attack as powerful as Long Sihai’s was far beyond what the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art could endure. If Chu Tian forcibly absorbed such tremendous force, his body would explode from within.

“Grandfather, stop!”

Long Tianjiao hurriedly cried out, but her voice seemed utterly insignificant amid the deafening roar of the arena collapsing.

Even so, Long Sihai pressed down with his palm once more. The terrifying force instantly descended, its direction of impact shifting in the process.

Boom!

The entire foundation of the arena sank. The platform, originally standing half a zhang above the ground, was now level with it.

Except for the marble beneath Long Sihai’s feet, which remained undamaged, the arena spanning dozens of zhang had been reduced to dust.

Chu Tian landed outside the arena’s boundaries, his face still bearing a trace of lingering shock.

At last, he had fully recognized the gap between himself and a Martial Saint.

Long Sihai’s strength was simply terrifying. Although Situ Wudi was not as powerful as Long Sihai, the difference between them could not have been very great.

In other words, if the Situ family had truly disregarded all rules, Situ Wudi would have had the opportunity to kill Chu Tian earlier.

For Chu Tian to seek revenge against the Situ family would be nothing short of wishful thinking.

No wonder Wei Yuansheng and Wu Tai of the Ancient Martial Arts Administration had both urged him not to act rashly in pursuit of revenge.

Chu Tian truly did not yet possess the strength to avenge himself.

“Grandfather, you cannot hurt Chu Tian. He was not the one who abducted me!”

Long Tianjiao’s body blurred into a streak of afterimage, and in an instant she stood before Chu Tian, releasing the full strength of a Transformation Realm Grandmaster.

Everyone’s expression changed, particularly those familiar with Long Tianjiao. They stared at her in stunned disbelief.

No one had expected her cultivation to advance so rapidly.

She had clearly still been at the Internal Force level before. How had she broken through to the Transformation Realm Grandmaster overnight?

“That boy wasn’t the one who abducted you?”

Long Sihai frowned, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes.

“Father, the letter delivered to the Long family was forged by the Situ family. They merely wanted to drive a wedge between us and Chu Tian, using the conflict to weaken the Long family.”

Long Jianfei hurried over and spoke up to defend Chu Tian as well.

If Long Tianjiao alone had made such a claim, it might not have been credible. It could have been that she was deliberately protecting Chu Tian.

But now that Long Jianfei had spoken, the matter was essentially settled.

Once he understood what had happened, Long Sihai paid no further attention to Chu Tian. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the members of the Situ family.

“Situ Wudi, I never expected you to emerge from seclusion this year. I thought you had died twenty years ago!”

Long Sihai’s expression darkened, his gaze like a bolt of lightning as it locked onto Situ Wudi.

“Patriarch Long, I never expected you to still be alive either.”

Situ Wudi’s meaningful reply amounted to an admission of everything.

The Situ family had indeed colluded with Wu Xingyan, intending to use him to eliminate Long Sihai.

But Wu Xingyan had clearly failed. Long Sihai had emerged unscathed.

According to their original plan, even if Wu Xingyan could not kill Long Sihai, he should at least have been able to restrain him for a time, giving the Situ family an opportunity.

Once the Situ family became the leader of the alliance in the North-South Contest, even if Long Sihai survived, he would have been powerless to change the outcome.

Yet Situ Wudi had never imagined that Chu Tian would interfere in this year’s North-South Contest.

In the end, the struggle among the great clans had instead given Chu Tian an opportunity, allowing him to take the position of alliance leader.

The three great clans had gained nothing, while Chu Tian alone had reaped the rewards.

“Situ Wudi, you went to such lengths and committed so many acts for no other reason than to claim the alliance leader’s seat.”

“But you never imagined that after all your efforts, you would merely end up preparing the way for someone else.”

“In the end, the position of alliance leader still does not belong to the Situ family!”

Long Sihai’s expression darkened, his eyes filled with mockery.

“And what of it? The Situ family did not become the leader of the North-South Contest. Do you think the Long family gained any advantage?”

Situ Wudi retorted sharply, refusing to give an inch.

“Father!”

At those words, a trace of shame crossed Long Jianfei’s face.

After all, the Long family had surrendered the position of alliance leader to Chu Tian without fighting a single battle.

“It does not matter. It is better for the position to fall to Chu Tian than to the Situ family.”

“This boy saved Tianjiao, which means the Long family owes him a favor. I have no objection to supporting him with all our strength and helping him become alliance leader.”

Long Sihai waved a hand, publicly expressing his support for Chu Tian without the slightest intention of blaming his son, Long Jianfei.

Hearing this, Long Jianfei breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, his father had not blamed him. Otherwise, he truly would not have known what to do.

Just then, another deep and powerful voice came from the distance, drawing nearer until it resounded throughout the arena.

“Long Sihai, come out and fight me!”

Wu Xingyan’s voice came from outside the grounds. Though he was several hundred meters away, his voice shook the entire arena and reached every person’s ears with perfect clarity.

Everyone immediately turned their gaze toward the arena’s exterior.

Separated from it by the towering walls, they naturally could not see Wu Xingyan’s figure, nor even determine who the speaker was.

But those familiar with Wu Xingyan knew exactly who he was.

“Wu Xingyan is still alive?”

Liu Qingxue stared in shock. She had known nothing of Wu Xingyan’s survival; Long Tianjiao had not yet had the chance to tell her.

At that moment, no one present was more astonished than Liu Qingxue.

“Why has Wu Xingyan come here?”

Chu Tian frowned as well. On Mount Tai Chi, he had destroyed Wu Xingyan’s physical body only through sheer luck.

Now that Wu Xingyan had appeared in person, Chu Tian had no confidence that he could deal with him.

“Stay here. I will go settle a minor nuisance.”

With that, Long Sihai shot into the air and flew straight out of the arena.

The crowd exchanged uneasy glances.

Wu Xingyan’s strength was formidable. Even without Long Tianjiao as a source of leverage, could Long Sihai truly defeat him?