Chapter 306: Leader

"Too... too risky!"

An elderly Military Guard spoke with a tremble; even having experienced a hundred battles, he felt Chen Yan was being too risky, practically throwing his life away.

"This... this is a Third-Rank General Star!"

"I never expected him to break the deadlock in this way, saving the prodigies of the entire Military Guard."

"I kept saying, the Military Guard prodigies were all about to be eliminated, so why were so few coming out? It turns out it was because of Chen Yan..."

"With Chen Yan being so reckless, could it be... that he won't even have time to press the forfeit button?"

Sounds of astonishment rose up one after another; no one had expected things to reach this point.

Shen Yiwei's face was twitching.

He recalled that it hadn't been long since he first met Chen Yan.

Chen Yan was already stunning the world.

"It seems he will be coming out before long."

A powerhouse from the Aristocratic Alliance spoke up with a faint smile:

"Being hunted by a Snow Wife, earning so many points is useless; he won't have time to exchange them before he's forced out, hahaha."

As the powerhouse said this, his expression instantly turned stern, and he lowered his head.

Sweat beaded on his forehead; he had been startled, so he had forgotten his surroundings and blurted out what he was thinking.

At this moment, being stared at by the higher-ups of the Military Guard, he didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

But no one denied him.

Chen Yan was indeed in danger.

"Zhang Ting, if something happens to Chen Yan, you will have to give an account!" Zong Heng hummed coldly, and the other Military Guard powerhouses also glared at Zhang Ting.

Shi Ziqin was a prodigy under Zhang Ting's command.

…………

Outside Xiaoyang City.

Within the wilderness, a young girl dressed in white walked into an ancient cave, her expression somber.

From time to time, she formed seals with one hand, and an array disk floated in her palm.

On the array disk, the events occurring on the plaza were manifested.

The fifteen-year-old girl had grown into a graceful beauty, her face seven parts similar to Chen Yan's, handsome and one-in-a-ten-thousand beautiful.

Yet Chen Yu felt a chill radiating in her heart; she waved one hand, scattering the array disk.

After scattering it, she couldn't help but condense it again, wanting to know her older brother's current situation.

But knowing was useless.

Chen Yan was too strong, strong in every aspect, leaving Chen Yu only able to see his back.

She could not help.

Within her consciousness, a woman in a red dress whispered:

"Xiaoyu, that is a Fifth-Rank Ancient God Beast; even your brother is..."

She was still trying to persuade her, but Chen Yu wanted to take the risk.

She had chosen a very difficult path.

To fight a Fifth-Rank Ancient God Beast alone!

Chen Yu was monstrous; in the eyes of the woman in the red dress, she was an epoch-making genius.

Born at any other time, Chen Yu would have become a peerless powerhouse suppressing a region, revered by countless people.

But unfortunately, this era had a prodigy who perhaps no one could surpass.

This prodigy happened to be Chen Yu's older brother.

"Your brother will be fine; your brother's value to the Xia Clan..." the woman in the red dress was still trying to persuade her.

Chen Yu was too young.

Chen Yu shook her head:

"Teacher, stop trying to persuade me. The Xia Clan is very strong, very powerful."

"But they help my brother because of his value."

Chen Yu clenched her fists; her brother had great ambitions.

She did not wish to be protected by her brother forever.

Skree!

A low beast roar resounded from within the ancient cave, and rolling malice surged forth, terrifying to the extreme.

Chen Yu took a deep breath, facing the Fifth-Rank malice head-on; her face turned incomparably pale, and tears flowed uncontrollably.

"Chen Yu, Chen Yu, Chen Yu...!"

The young girl kept whispering to herself; fear flickered in her eyes, yet her body kept moving forward.

"Brother."

Chen Yu's entire body glowed with golden light, and layers of array disks enveloped her, as beautiful as a fairy descending to the mortal world.

"I will not let you down."

She charged in.

"One day, I will make those who looked down on you and me regret it."

……………

Zhan Tu Village, wooden houses stood in rows, like ancient, ferocious beasts lurking upon the earth.

Inside a wooden house.

Shi Ziqin sat quietly, her expression calm.

"A heaven-gifted genius who can make even me feel like a monster—that is a true heaven-gifted genius."

She whispered in her heart, her pair of eyes becoming incomparably cold:

"But you chose wrong; that is your problem."

Her actions might not keep the crowd in the dark for long, but she would never regret them.

The struggle of maneuvering always requires someone to do some dark deeds.

Future history is written by the victors.

Inside the wooden house, everyone was constantly looking out; today, the Snow Wife arrived much later than last night.

Everyone knew the reason.

Jiang Yuan sat with He Youtong; He Youtong glanced at Shi Ziqin, having already learned from Jiang Yuan's mouth that it was Shi Ziqin who was secretly harming Chen Yan.

"Chen Yan seems to have learned some whereabouts of Youlan, unfortunately..." Jiang Yuan smiled faintly and shook his head, looking at He Youtong:

"Do you have any leads?"

"No." He Youtong's expression was somber.

"Then if Chen Yan is eliminated..." Jiang Yuan spoke with some hesitation.

"Eliminated is eliminated; he only cared about winning the favor of Honorable Chen, not sharing information with us."

He Youtong gave a low snort:

"Without him, I will definitely still obtain Youlan."

Beside her, Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow:

"That shouldn't be the case, why would Chen Yan need to curry favor with Honorable Chen?

He is a Third-Rank General Star; at most, he is cooperating with you all, and his future achievements will definitely not be below those of Chen Xiyuan."

He Youtong frowned:

"Him?"

She only felt it was laughable.

Chen Yan, who was expected and valued by the Military Martial Guards and the Great Xia Imperial Clan, had long since had his consciousness affected by Chen Xiyuan's Crystal of Malice from the very beginning.

Jiang Yuan narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing He Youtong:

"What is wrong with him?"

He Youtong's expression turned cold:

"It is none of your business, don't ask too much."

Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow and said no more, but in his heart, he was pondering something.

Yet it was precisely at this moment.

Boom, boom, boom!!!

The roaring sound of low-altitude flight resounded from outside the house.

Someone walked to the window to look, suddenly astonished:

"The Military Martial Guards... the Military Martial Guards have returned!"

His voice rang out, and everyone was shocked; they walked to the window and indeed saw hundreds or thousands of Military Martial Guard heaven-gifted geniuses breaking through the darkness and rushing into the various wooden houses.

Shi Ziqin's expression changed instantly.

Someone appeared outside the wooden house and roared:

"Shi Ziqin, you will die at the hands of us Military Martial people sooner or later!"

"Shi Ziqin, you beast!"

"Hahahaha, I'm back, you didn't expect that, did you!"

Sounds of angry cursing resounded.

Almost everyone was berating Shi Ziqin.

Suddenly, many people inside the wooden house looked at Shi Ziqin.

Shi Ziqin's expression also became extremely ugly.

Someone went to find out the situation.

Soon, the news was brought back.

Chen Yan was surrounded by ancient beasts, but for the sake of the Military Martial Guards, he still risked his life to lure the Snow Wife away, resolving the crisis for the Military Martial Guard heaven-gifted geniuses.

But Chen Yan himself had fallen into a greater crisis.

Perhaps he had already been eliminated.

Suddenly, the expressions of everyone in the wooden house changed, and many sighed with emotion.

"It's fucking ridiculous; some people can put themselves in danger for the sake of others, while others spend every day and night thinking about harming their own people."

Someone laughed loudly, tears almost coming to their eyes.

Many people looked over; the speaker was a heaven-gifted genius from the Martial Suppression Division.

Even a heaven-gifted genius from the Martial Suppression Division could not stand it anymore.

Everyone sighed, feeling angry in their hearts as well.

Who wouldn't want a teammate like Chen Yan?

Who wants to stay with a conspirator like Shi Ziqin every day?

"Chen Yan once said, to judge him, one must first be a human being oneself; unfortunately, some things are not human."

Someone else laughed loudly, clearly moved by Chen Yan's affair, and was very angry.

"Who are you talking about?!" Shi Ziqin shouted lowly, erupting with mental power.

"I said trash!"

That person glared at Shi Ziqin:

"You can look down on my strength, but don't look down on my dignity, because you have none!"

Shi Ziqin gritted her teeth, her mental energy erupted, and an array disk appeared, suppressing toward that person.

Crack!

This array disk was pinched out by someone with one hand; the one who acted was Jiang Yuan.

"Oh my..." Jiang Yuan smiled faintly:

"Why does an outsider like me have to resolve matters within your Martial Suppression Division?"

Shi Ziqin gave Jiang Yuan a cold look.

Instead, the person who had been saved by Jiang Yuan shouted in a low voice:

"The Aristocratic Family Alliance is the same; a bunch of animals know what the higher-ups mean, yet they still insist on cozying up to them—their desire to destroy me never dies!"

Jiang Yuan pursed his lips:

"I didn't do anything, did I?"

"Not doing anything doesn't mean you're innocent!" that person shouted in a low voice:

"The country is about to fall, and you lot are like insects wanting to gnaw away at it—no, you are already gnawing away at it.

Inaction is the greatest sin."

Jiang Yuan didn't speak anymore; he glanced around and simply closed his eyes to rest.

However, the sound of discussion inside the wooden house kept rising.

"Everyone, we cannot continue to fight amongst ourselves; there is no time left."

"Chen Yan helped the Aristocratic Family Alliance and the Military Martial Guards during the alliance assessment; everyone has seen it, so don't lead yourselves astray."

"The higher-ups want to fight because they want to see the scene of the country's destruction, but what are we fighting for?

Once the Great Xia falls, we will all be fish on the chopping block!"

People kept saying.

This year's infighting reached its peak; some were afraid, some were panicked.

At this moment, some were willing to sacrifice themselves, which was admirable and moving.

The sound of discussion inside the wooden house grew louder and louder.

Like a surging river, it rolled ever larger.

Some proposed to save Chen Yan, but others opposed it, as their own strength was too low.

Some felt helpless, saying the world always belongs to the ultimate monsters.

Others were saying that the power of the masses is the most magnificent power.

Some were willing to be a single spark, but others scolded that standing out now was just looking for death and had no meaning.

The discussions about the country, the future, the Ancient Divine Beasts, the sins, and Chen Yan grew more and more frequent.

It wasn't just this wooden house; other wooden houses were also resounding with roars.

Shi Ziqin's expression became increasingly ugly.

The prodigies of the Aristocratic Family Alliance and the Martial Suppression Division were actually arguing endlessly because of a Military Martial General Star.

This is something only a leader would have.

These discussions—Yu Changsheng hadn't obtained them after so many years, and Zhang Luobai hadn't obtained them after accumulating for over twenty years.

But Chen Yan, someone who had only been in Xiaoyang for such a short time, had obtained them.

Effortlessly, he had obtained them in just a few events.

Hateful!

Shi Ziqin shouted in her heart; Chen Yan had become a threat equal to Shen Yiwei in her mind.

Her heart surged; Chen Yan was a great enemy!

A greater threat than Shen Yiwei!

He was the second Lu Xunyang in the hearts of these people.

Fortunately!

Shi Ziqin felt lucky in her heart; fortunately, Chen Yan was finished, had sacrificed himself, and was about to be completely eliminated.

He Youtong's expression also became serious.

She keenly sensed what exactly the events happening here represented.

The people here would definitely produce strong individuals in the future, but they had already started to identify with Chen Yan from now on.

She suddenly felt a bit worried that Honorable Chen hadn't actually handled Chen Yan at all.

Everything Chen Yan had done all along was convincing.

She felt a bit afraid.

But she also breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Yan being eliminated was definitely a good thing.

【Youlan】 She could go find it, but if Chen Yan continued to develop, Honorable Chen wouldn't be able to control him.

The other party clearly hated her; if Honorable Chen were to harm her in order to favor Chen Yan, it wasn't impossible.

He Youtong gritted her teeth.

Beside her, Jiang Yuan was calm, as if he were undisturbed.

Time passed slowly.

Roar!

A low and manic roar interrupted everyone's screaming.

Inside the wooden house, some examinees stood up in utter astonishment and ran toward the window.

Shi Ziqin sneered repeatedly.

Xue Qi has come; Chen Yan is likely...

"Chen Yan!!!"

Someone suddenly let out a low roar.

"Hahaha!!!"

"Good, good, good!!!"

"It's here, so strong, not bad, it's here!"

Sounds of loud laughter and shock erupted.

Shi Ziqin's expression changed wildly; she shoved past He Youtong, who was blocking her path, stood before the window, and looked outside.

In the dark void, one golden and one dark orb of light were in pursuit.

Chen Yan was covered in blood, having lost an entire arm; blood poured like a waterfall, and hideous, terrifying wounds covered his entire body.

With injuries like these, an ordinary person would have died long ago, and even if they hadn't, it would be absolutely impossible to move like this.

Boom!

Xue Qi threw a punch, the massive fist imprint grazing Chen Yan's body as it landed, extremely perilously.

"Charge!"

A military prodigy roared lowly, instantly rushing out of the wooden house and unleashing a blood-Qi martial technique at Xue Qi.

"Charge!"

"Kill!!!"

"Stop Xue Qi!!!"

Figure after figure rushed out, erupting with all their combat power.

Boom, boom, boom!!!

Sharp whistling sounds, the roaring of blood-Qi, and the rolling of force intertwined together.

Attack after attack, incomparably terrifying, erupted in the sky.

Inside the wooden house.

A Martial Suppression Division prodigy wanted to rush out but locked eyes with Shi Ziqin's cold, sharp gaze.

"Shi Ziqin!" that person shouted lowly:

"I said, you have no right to disdain my dignity!"

He stepped out fiercely, his full force erupting, transforming into a giant bird with wings spread as he charged out in an instant.

Figure after figure rushed out, their combat power stacking, causing ripples in the space.

Boom, boom, boom!

Brilliant radiance exploded on Xue Qi's body, and the sky was struck with one blazing orb of light after another.

Even the purple-red sky was illuminated.

Chen Yan, drenched in blood and severely wounded, took advantage of the crowd's bombardment to land on the ground and rush toward the nearest wooden house.

Roar!

Xue Qi intercepted all the attacks alone, carrying peerless might to block Chen Yan.

The crowd was horrified; Xue Qi was too strong.

How on earth had Chen Yan survived under Xue Qi's hands for so long?

Many girls' faces were blanched with terror.

"Chen Yan, Chen Yan..."

A girl named Lu Linqian called out Chen Yan's name, tears falling down.

Chen Yan flew toward the surrounding wooden houses, constantly searching for a chance of survival.

He was too heavily injured; the more critical the moment, the harder it was to find a path to life.

One path of survival after another was blocked by Xue Qi.

Everyone's minds trembled; Xue Qi intended to completely cut off Chen Yan's path to survival.

Until finally, Chen Yan flew toward the wooden house where Shi Ziqin was located.

PS: There is one more chapter, to be posted on time at midnight to maintain perfect attendance.