Chapter 4996: Umpire

“Bloodline power? You want me to turn the God Slaying Cross into a bloodline divine ability? Is that even possible? Isn’t the God Slaying Cross a top-tier divine ability of the nine star line?” asked Long Chen. He was shocked by this crazy idea.

“It’s a middle-tier divine ability. Middle, not top[1],” corrected the Earth Cauldron.

Long Chen had thought that it was a top-tier divine ability, which was why the Earth Cauldron didn’t let him train in it just yet. However, it seemed that he had misheard.

“Don’t misunderstand. The nine star line’s magical arts and divine abilities are not something you can imagine. In fact, not many experts of the nine star line could comprehend this technique,” consoled the Earth Cauldron.

“Fine, then I’ll try it. Do you have any instructions?” asked Long Chen.

“The God Slaying Cross contains the essence of heaven and earth. Since all laws and Daos are connected, using your bloodline power to execute this move will require precise control, but this shouldn’t be too difficult for you.

“The challenging part is the first step: condensing the Cross Star Rune. However, we will be calling it the Cross Blood Rune.

“Before condensing the Cross Blood Rune, you must use your essence blood to manifest the complete starry sea manifestation. This manifestation will allow you to control your essence blood and condense the Cross Blood Rune. After that, you can follow the regular method of the nine star line.

“Since you possess three kinds of essence blood, it’s best to start with your violet blood. It’s the gentlest and least likely to cause you injury,” advised the Earth Cauldron.

Long Chen nodded. With his great comprehension, he instantly grasped the crux of this problem.

As long as he grasped it, the rest was simple. After all, Long Chen had mastered many divine abilities. However, just as Long Chen was preparing to start training, the Heaven Overseer came, his expression grave.

“Long Chen, maybe you should leave. Go back to the academy and ask for reinforcements,” said the Heaven Overseer.

“What is it?” Long Chen asked, sensing the urgency in the Heaven Overseer’s voice.

“This matter has reached a critical point, and you might not be able to take the Earth Cauldron away. They seem to be wary of me and are not letting me know many things. You should go back now and call reinforcements while news of the Earth Cauldron has not leaked. If you hurry, things can still be settled peacefully,” advised the Heaven Overseer.

In truth, when Long Chen handed over the Earth Cauldron, the Heaven Overseer already felt uneasy. He knew that once the Earth Cauldron landed in the hands of the Long clan, it would be difficult to take it back. With the other three divine clans involved, the situation was growing increasingly complex and spiraling out of control.

Long Chen smiled reassuringly, “Heaven Overseer, you don’t need to worry about this. Let them do as they please. Just remember, no matter what happens between me and the Long clan, you just need to stand on the side of ‘justice’.”

Although Long Chen didn’t understand why everyone in the Long clan was so afraid of the Heaven Overseer, he didn’t need to know. Within the Long clan, only the Heaven Overseer seemed to be genuinely righteous. The only other person he could somewhat trust was Long Qianxue.

However, Long Qianxue was one of the four Heavenly Saints. No matter what happened, she would definitely stand on the side of the Long clan. As for justice? Right and wrong? Those had nothing to do with her.

“Alright. It seems you have your own plans. Fine, I won’t bother with this any longer. I came because those old fellows gave me another mission,” said the Heaven Overseer. “They wish for you to be the umpire of the competition between the elites of the four divine clans.”

“Umpire? Me?” asked Long Chen, feeling like he had misheard.

Every martial stage of the Long clan was imbued with protective formations. Moreover, this competition was a friendly exchange of pointers. It was forbidden for disciples to try to kill each other, as it would ruin their relationship. Was there a need for an umpire?

Even so, each faction wanted to win. So, once they started fighting, it was all too easy for someone to get angry. Following that anger, killing intent could easily surface. If pressed, someone really might deal a killing blow.

Thus, for this kind of competition, a group of referees were essential. If a competitor suddenly launched a killing blow, they had to be stopped immediately. After all, a formation’s ability to protect the fighters was very limited, for example, Long Qingyun’s incident.

The competition would take close to a month. With tens of thousands of disciples participating, even the Long clan’s numerous martial stages would be fully occupied.

When the competition reached the final thirty-two fighters, a powerful umpire was needed. Normally, the referee’s power would at least be at the level of a Heaven Saint.

However, all the experts in the four divine clans with heaven veins had vanished, which caused a shortage of suitable umpires. As the one responsible for organizing the competition, the Heaven Overseer went to the clan leader, who then suggested Long Chen be the umpire.

“No way. The Long clan’s disciples are all participating. They want the status and the reward. I’ve heard that everyone who gets into the top thirty-two will get a Heaven Saint divine weapon specially crafted for them. Is this why I can’t participate?” asked Long Chen irritably.

Although he had no intention of participating in such a senseless competition, the fact that the other side excluded him was annoying. They were being petty, judging him by their low standards.

Knowing Long Chen would react this way, the Heaven Overseer added, “I know you wouldn’t want to participate in this kind of competition, nor would you want to be an umpire. That’s why I’ve already discussed a reward with the clan leader.”

“What reward?” Long Chen asked suspiciously.

“You are still lacking thirteen medicinal ingredients from the mercenaries quest, correct?”

Long Chen was startled. Those thirteen medicinal ingredients were exceptionally rare. The mercenaries had practically scoured the Heavenly Desolation Domain without finding them.

Long Ziwei had mentioned that the Long clan’s treasury held two of those ingredients, but they were locked down. No one was able to exchange for them.

Long Chen was pondering how to deal with this problem when the Heaven Overseer mentioned it. Seeing the Heaven Overseer’s confident smile, Long Chen was overjoyed.

The Heaven Overseer said, “I’ve discussed it with them. Our treasury only has two of them, but if you include the other divine clans’ treasuries, we can give you all of them. As long as you agree, seven days from now, the medicinal ingredients from the three clans will arrive and be yours. So, do you want to consider it?”

“There’s no need to consider it. I agree,” Long Chen laughed. Thinking of how he was about to gather all the ingredients for the Nirvanic Charge Pill, Long Chen could barely suppress his excitement.

“If there was nothing in it for you, I wouldn’t have even mentioned it. I wouldn’t even come here if they hadn’t already agreed to this condition!” said the Heaven Overseer. “Well then, you should prepare yourself. The battles start tomorrow, and in half a month, the top thirty-two will be decided. Then it will be your turn to appear. As for the opening ceremonies and such, to make up for what the idiot Long Zaiye did, you can invite the mercenaries to watch the battles.”

Umpire? That sounds rather fun. Doesn’t that mean I can just rule against those I dislike? A sinister smile appeared on Long Chen’s face.

1. The words for middle (中) tier and top (终) tier sound the same, thus the misunderstanding. ☜

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