Chapter 384 - Brush With Death

“Someone conspired to murder my stepfather, so I killed him. That is a very reasonable course of action. If you want to blame someone, then blame that useless coward. He even called himself the number one disciple of the Heavenly Demon Palace! He wasn’t good enough for that,” Long Chen said in a mocking tone as he put his Star Sword away.

“Who did you call a coward?!” The Third Demon Elder lost his temper. Yang Danfeng was dead, and he had to make Long Chen pay. He was about to speak, but the First Demon Elder stopped him. The Third Demon Elder froze and followed his senior’s gaze to look at Zhao Qingyun. At this moment, Zhao Qingyun’s gaze was darker than ever.

“He’s angry?” The Third Demon Elder gasped.

“Let’s go,” the First Demon Elder said curtly, then he turned to leave. The Second Demon Elder hurried after him. Only the Third Demon Elder froze for a while, then he glared at Long Chen and left.

“Big Brother, why did you give up so easily?” asked the Third Demon Elder hurriedly after they were some distance away.

The First Demon Elder stared ahead without a word, though only the Second Demon Elder explained, “Third Brother, didn’t you hear what Zhao Qingyun said? He probably arrived long ago and maybe even witnessed our scheming. If we argue, will it be of any use? Arguing will only make him more contemptuous towards us. We are publicly going against him here, and if it wasn’t for the fact that he cares about the big picture, and that we have worked hard to manage the Heavenly Demon Palace for so many years, we probably would have been killed a long time ago.”

The Second Demon Elder’s words made the Third Demon Elder understand. His gaze darkened. “Danfeng died, and I’m not willing to accept this. Twenty years of mentorship! I prepared him as a candidate for the next Palace Lord. Gone, just like that! My heart aches!”

“What’s the use of that? Who knows what will happen, seeing as Long Chen is already this powerful? But I have a question. How did Long Chen know that something would happen to Dongfang Xuanxiao?” The Second Demon Elder was frustrated.

The First Demon Elder, who was walking ahead, answered, “There must be a mole among us who told Long Chen.”

“A mole? Who? There were only the six of us present that night. There’s no way it was one of us, and Yang Jun hates Long Chen to the bone, so that’s impossible. As for Xiao Yu ... Big Brother, are you talking about Xiao Yu?” The Second Demon Elder had a bad feeling. After the First Demon Elder’s mention, her guess was confirmed, and her expression turned sour.

“As her master, you must be familiar with Xiao Yu’s intentions. She has never liked Danfeng, and it looks like us forcing her to marry him put her in a difficult spot.” The First Demon Elder halted and looked up at the starry night outside.

“It was Xiao Yu! That brat! How dare she betray her own kin? She deserves to die! I’m going to kill her now!” The Third Demon Elder’s features contorted, and he was ready to leave.

“Stay where you are!” the First Demon Elder yelled sternly. “Third Brother, could you use your brain? You’re a grown man! Now that Danfeng is dead and Yang Jun is not performing well, Xiao Yu is our only trump card! Without her, the Demon Emperor Sword will end up in Long Chen’s hands! Not only can we not touch her, we also need to raise her well!”

“But how about revenge for Danfeng?” The Third Demon Elder did not understand.

“Who said raising her means not torturing her? It looks like that girl has feelings for Long Chen. She’s a young girl and easily gets distracted by these fake dreams. It’s time to teach Xiao Yu what is most important! Let’s go back!”

The three of them head towards Three Demons City.

Yang Danfeng’s death was a huge blow to them, but this did not mean that they would stop. Instead, they would become worse!

***

Long Chen, Zhao Qingyun, and the rest all followed Dongfang Xuanxiao to the Little Bamboo Court. Zhao Qingyun did not want news of this to spread, so Long Chen personally dealt with the body. However, it would be difficult to restore the broken bamboo in a short time.

“I pity these bamboo plants,” said Zhao Xuanming, shaking her head.

“As long as no one is hurt, all is well. Ming’er, I really thought we were dead. It’s all thanks to Chen’er ...” Dongfang Xuanxiao looked at Long Chen gratefully. He was here, unharmed, all because of Long Chen. He never thought that that outer family brat he had met on Nine Devils Mountain would grow to this level.

Even Zhao Qingyun was impressed that Long Chen could defeat Yang Danfeng. He said, “So that’s how you beat Song Zhongcheng! This is excellent. If you maintain this progress, it’s very likely you’ll get the Demon Emperor Sword!”

Long Chen’s objective was to get the Three Great Secret Scriptures and reach at least the Eighth River Stage. Now he was just one step away. After completing these steps, he would be strong enough to storm the Biyang Imperial Capital.

“They probably won’t tell anyone about what happened tonight, so you guys shouldn’t either. As for Yang Danfeng, just say he’s gone missing.” To be honest, Zhao Qingyun was extremely furious; if Long Chen had not killed Yang Danfeng, he might have done it himself. He was a lion in the Heavenly Demon Palace, and he did not care when the tiny cats and dogs caused trouble. However, when they targeted his family, how could he not be furious?

If he had not considered the overall situation of the Heavenly Demon Palace, he would have beaten the three Demon Elders up. He refused to believe that the three Demon Elders were not involved in such a vicious scheme!

“Chen’er, Yang Danfeng and I had no grudges. Why would he want to attack us?” asked Dongfang Xuanxiao.

Long Chen chuckled bitterly and said, “Stepfather, it was my fault. I snatched the second stage of the Demon Seed Planting Technique from Yang Danfeng, and he couldn’t target me, so he decided to kill you to vent his anger.”

“It’s not that simple.” Zhao Qingyun shook his head. “I think this was decided by the three Demon Elders. They are probably worried about the Demon Emperor Sword, so they want to distract you, Long Chen, before the fight for the sword begins. When you weakened, you would lose to their disciples during the fight. The Demon Emperor Sword is just too important to the Heavenly Demon Palace, and seeing as you’ve only recently arrived, it’s normal for them to see you as an outsider.”

“That’s probably the case. However, this is a low blow. They did not show you any respect at all, Master,” said Long Chen with a nod.

“If they took a risk like that, they probably intended for one of their own disciples to become the next Palace Lord,” Zhao Qingyun said with a tired smile.

“The next Palace Lord? Aren’t you still alive and healthy?” Long Chen asked with a grin.

“Even the strongest person gets old. I will need to give this position away eventually. You don’t know this, but we have a rule in the Heavenly Demon Palace: anyone who gets the Three Great Secret Scriptures, cultivates all of them, and successfully controls the Demon Emperor Sword will become the next Heavenly Demon Lord. Long Chen, based on the speed of your cultivation, you’ll be able to learn the Demon Emperor Sword Technique. What you lack is the Demon Emperor Sword. That’s why they’re afraid of you!”

“Huh?” Long Chen froze. To be honest, he had no intention of becoming the Heavenly Demon Lord.

“Of course, if you’re unwilling, no one will force you. However, as the Palace Lord, you’d be ranked above millions of people. I have direct control over three districts in the capital. The only person who ranks higher than the Heavenly Demon Lord is the king of the imperial family. As a Palace Lord, you could have ten thousand Heavenly Demon disciples at your disposal, as well as more than a hundred thousand disciples from other outer clans spread across the whole Cangyang Kingdom. You would directly control a small portion of crucial resources in the Cangyang Kingdom, and one day, you could even lead the Heavenly Demon Palace to overthrow the imperial family. Would you be willing to take a position like that?”

Long Chen could tell that despite Zhao Qingyun’s nonchalance, he really wanted Long Chen to be the next Palace Lord, seeing as he was his disciple, and he both liked and admired this youngster.

“Right, Chen’er, you can pave the way in the future. With you protecting us, the two of us will live comfortably here, and no one will bully us. Isn’t that right?” Xuanming cracked a rare joke.

Only Dongfang Xuanxiao did not speak, because he knew Long Chen best.

As expected, Long Chen smiled and said, “Master, I promise you that the top-ranked imperials, including the Sword Emperor, Sword Devil, and Lin Zichen, will all be killed by me. As for whether they are overthrown—that depends on your strategy afterwards. As for the position of the Palace Lord ... Do you think I’d be willing to stay here?”

Long Chen looked at Zhao Qingyun with a knowing look.

Zhao Qingyun suddenly laughed. “Haha, I knew you had sky-high ambitions, and that this position wouldn’t impress you. That’s a good thing though, and I won’t force you.” He too knew Long Chen well, and based on the speed he was growing, his future was limitless. The mere position of Heavenly Demon Lord was not his finishing line. All he needed was time.

Dongfang Xuanxiao was laughing too because this was what he had guessed.

“Today, we don’t need to talk about our master-disciple relationship. We are three men, one old, one middle-aged, and one young without any blood relations, yet we can all sit here together and call each other father and son. This is the best luck. To celebrate Xuanxiao surviving this ordeal, all three of us must drink tonight! Ming’er, prepare the wine!”

“Father-in-law, I think I’ll do it. Ming’er is pregnant; she should get some rest,” said Dongfang Xuanxiao hurriedly.

“No way. How could I miss such a joyous celebration?” Xuanming smiled mischievously and winked at Dongfang Xuanxiao.

“You’re going to be someone’s mom, and you’re still acting cute!” Xuanxiao cracked a rare joke.

“You’re so mean!” Xuanming punched his shoulder a few times sweetly.

Long Chen was suddenly touched by this scene.

He knew that he had to guard this warmth for the rest of his life.