Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)
chapter-972

Long Chen hastily stopped Elder Sha upon seeing he was about to leave. He had many things he wanted to ask this Elder, but he just hadn’t had an opportunity.

Elder Sha frowned slightly. “What things?”

“Just some matters pertaining to the Central Plains and the Xuantian Dao Sect,” said Long Chen.

“According to the rules, Elders truly do have the responsibility to answer pertinent questions asked by disciples. Go ahead.” Everyone was surprised that Elder Sha didn’t refuse.

But Long Chen had seen through Elder Sha’s character after a few interactions. Although Elder Sha’s cultivation base was terrifying, as a person, he was very straightforward. He did everything according to the rules. The reason he didn’t speak much wasn’t because he was acting arrogant. Long Chen had misjudged him previously.

Some senior disciples helped ‘peel’ Wang Mang off the martial stage. They gave him medicinal pills, and he circulated his Heavenly Dao energy to heal. His body quickly inflated as he recovered.

Meng Qi’s last move had been too vicious, so for him to fully recover would take a certain amount of time. That was because Meng Qi was also a Celestial, and her attacks contained Heavenly Dao energy, which made the wound harder to heal.

Everyone hastily grouped up to listen upon hearing that Elder Sha was answering questions. They respectfully stood around him, even the senior disciples.

“Go ahead and ask them your questions first. If they can’t answer, I will,” said Elder Sha, indicating Long Chen to ask the senior disciples. He didn’t like talking needlessly.

“Senior apprentice-brother Long Chen, go ahead and ask anything. We definitely won’t hide anything we know,” said a senior disciple. No matter how stupid they were, they could tell Long Chen was the most terrifying existence in this group. Although he hadn’t fought, considering that he dared to challenge Wang Mang to a life and death match, they all knew he was confident.

Hearing this senior disciple call Long Chen senior apprentice-brother made the others chortle. It was like they were the senior apprentice-brothers.

As for Elder Sha, he was indifferent. It was like he had long since known it would be like this.

“Senior apprentice-brother Long Chen, you might not know this, but other than those with official posts, we all call the stronger ones senior. It has nothing to do with cultivation base or age. With your power, there might even be some seniors who are several centuries old who will call you senior apprentice-brother, or perhaps even senior,” explained that senior disciple.

The Eastern Wasteland’s disciples couldn’t help but find this rule odd. The Central Plains was truly different.

Long Chen didn’t care about such trifles. He got straight to the point. “How many days will it take us to get to the Central Plains?”

“Probably three months.” The senior disciple bitterly smiled.

“Three months?” All the newcomers were startled. Even with this flying boat’s terrifying speed, it would still take three months.

“Yes, and that’s if nothing unexpected happens. We have to go over the Martial Heaven Sea-Ring to get the Central Plains, then go through nine supreme transportation formations before arriving at the Xuantian Dao Sect.”

The newcomers took in a breath of cold air. Three months of high-speed flying, and nine supreme transportation formations. That was a bit too far, wasn’t it?

It was no wonder it was said that the Eastern Wasteland, Western Desert, Southern Sea, and Northern Source were just some wild lands on the border of the continent. Now they learned that all together, they took up less than a fifth of the Martial Heaven Continent. The rest of it was the Central Plains.

“What is the Martial Heaven Sea-Ring?” asked Tang Wan-er curiously.

“The Martial Heaven Sea-Ring…” That disciple looked toward Elder Sha.

“Go ahead. The legends say that, and no one knows if it’s true,” said Elder Sha.

“Legend says that the Martial Heaven Continent underwent a huge war in the immortal era, and through a battle of gods and devils, the entire land shattered. A ring-shaped sea formed during that time. It is said that it is the result of a bracelet smashing into the continent.”

“A bracelet? How is that possible? What bracelet would be that big?” demanded Guo Ran. That was simply unimaginable.

“It’s just what the legends say. No one knows for sure as there are no accurate records. These are just legends that can’t be trusted,” said the senior disciple awkwardly. Back then, they had also scoffed upon hearing this legend.

“Just because you haven’t seen something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Legends can’t be trusted, but they’re not necessarily groundless. The reason we can’t believe it is because we haven’t reached that realm.” Long Chen shook his head. That was because he thought of the Eastern Wasteland Bell.

That damaged, half-dead bell was so strong that King items were like specks of dust in front of it. That had completely shocked Long Chen.

Elder Sha looked at him and nodded slightly. This thinking won him a bit of praise. To have such wisdom at such an age was rare.

“Senior apprentice-brother Long Chen is right. The Martial Heaven Continent’s five great divine items have also never been seen, but who dares to say that they really don’t exist? Originally, the Martial Heaven Continent’s five parts were around the same size. But once the Martial Heaven Sea-Ring formed, the entire continent’s terrain changed. The Eastern Wasteland, Western Desert, Southern Sea, and Northern Source became much smaller. Gradually, those four regions became wild lands of no interest to anyone.

“And thus, the Central Plains became the true cultivation land of the Martial Heaven Continent. The cultivators there are as numerous as grains of sand in a desert. Originally, the four regions had their own unique Dao paths, but when the ring-shaped sea formed around the Central Plains, those four regions lost a great deal of their core. What remains currently is just some bits and pieces, and the true inheritances… Well, you understand,” said that disciple awkwardly.

Everyone understood. That mysterious bracelet, which might not even exist, had caused a ring-shaped sea to form around the Central Plains. It had caused the most damage to the other four regions, causing a place like the Eastern Wasteland to be nothing more than a savage, uncivilized land.

“The Central Plains has millions and millions of sects, but our Xuantian Dao Sect is well-known even within it. It is on the same level as the Heaven Splitting Divine Sect and Heaven Suppressing Magical Sect. They are called the three great heavenly sects,” said the disciple proudly. Being able to wear the Xuantian Dao Sect’s robes was clearly something to be proud of.

“Are the three great heavenly sects able to dominate the Central Plains?” asked Guo Ran.

“Uh… probably… no, definitely not,” said the disciple.

“Brother, the Central Plains is so large that you probably won’t understand. Even we, who have stayed in the Xuantian Dao Sect for a decade, after perusing countless tomes, only understand the slightest bits about the Central Plains as a whole,” said another senior disciple.

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to argue. It’s just that you were making the Xuantian Dao Sect sound so amazing, so I thought that by wearing the same robes, I’d be something like a ruler of the world,” said Guo Ran with no shame.

The senior disciples relaxed a great deal. Previously, they had felt these fellows in front of them to be fierce monsters, but now they found that they really were quite easy to talk to.

“All that can be said is that the Xuantian Dao Sect can count as above average in the entire Central Plains. Practically everyone in the cultivation world has heard of it. Once you reach the Xuantian Dao Sect, I guarantee you’ll be stupefied by the sect’s grandness. It’s just that…”

“Just what?” asked Guo Ran.

“It’s just that this time, the Eastern Wasteland only sent over a pitiful number of disciples. It’s the last place amongst the four regions. I remember in the last generation, there were over twenty thousand, but this time…” said a senior disciple curiously.

The truth was that while the Remote Heaven Gang was powerful and dared to challenge the branch Xuantian Dao Sect, they were unable to stop other sects from sending their disciples over. Every ten years, when the Xuantian Dao Sect was sending disciples over to the Central Plains, there would be a grand celebration.

The head sect didn’t really care that much about the branch sects as they were just some minor bases. Even disciples that weren’t part of those branch sects could use the opportunity once every ten years to try and join the head sect.

This was the Xuantian Dao Sect’s confidence. They weren’t worried about people with evil intent. They were sure that once these disciples arrived in the Central Plains, they would change. Their original intentions would be gone.

In the eyes of the head sect, the struggles in the other four regions were insignificant, not worth a second thought. It was like children playing house.

“In truth, I’m also very curious,” said Elder Sha.

Long Chen was startled. “Did you not ask sect master Ouyang Qiuyu?”

“It wasn’t in accordance with the rules. Since it is not within the scope of my responsibility, it wasn’t convenient to ask,” said Elder Sha.

Long Chen almost laughed. This Elder Sha really was hidebound by convention. He would rather keep his questions inside than ask. He could be counted as a marvel.

“Senior apprentice-brother Long Chen, why are there so few disciples from the Eastern Wasteland this time?” asked a senior disciple curiously.

“Oh… um....” Long Chen immediately felt awkward. The answer wasn’t really convenient to say.

The other Dragonblood warriors also had awkward expressions, causing the senior disciples to look at each other. Just what was going on?”

“What is there to be embarrassed about? Weren’t they just slaughtered by us? It’s not embarrassing, so why bother hiding it,” said Guo Ran unashamedly.

“What?!”

All the senior disciples were dumbfounded, unable to believe their ears. But Guo Ran was already telling them a story about how Long Chen had led them to dominate the Eastern Wasteland.

“No wonder they sent me this time. I’m from the Sect Protection Pavilion. Originally, I wasn’t supposed to be in charge of this matter.” Elder Sha came to a sudden comprehension upon hearing how Li Changfeng had brought Lu Minghan away.

“Wang Mang, you should have heard of this matter. Go ahead, tell us!” Long Chen coldly stared at Wang Mang, who was in the midst of recovering from his heavy injuries.