“Your token?”

Long Chen felt delighted, but he kept an apathetic appearance as he extended his hand. The leader of this group then handed over a palm-sized item to him.

It was an official tablet with strange runes that resonated with the aura of its owner. This was clearly an identification tablet unique to this person.

Furthermore, this tablet had its own life. Seeing this, Long Chen almost cursed. This tablet was tied to its master. If Long Chen killed him, this tablet would lose effect.

“The rest of you…”

Long Chen waved his hand toward the others, but for some reason, their expressions instantly changed.

Long Chen struck first, killing three of them. He then knocked out the one who had given him his tablet.

“These crafty bastards!” Long Chen cursed. If he acted just the slightest bit off, these people instantly recognized something. “I can’t keep going like this. There’s not enough time.”

Long Chen checked the time. Guo Ran had sent word that the number of people entering the Cloud Rubbing Fantasy Sea was starting to dwindle.

After knocking this person unconscious, Long Chen fed him two medicinal pills to sedate him. He also used a formation disc to cover himself and then headed straight toward the island.

“I wonder if they’ll test the tablet once I arrive? If they do, I’ll be exposed.” This time, Long Chen had no confidence.

“What are you dawdling for? The meeting is about to start!” Just as Long Chen was carefully figuring out the way the Lifehunter race moved, a figure appeared before him and scolded him.

“Fantasy Sea-”

“Stop wasting time. Life tablet.” That person directly extended his hand.

Long Chen was baffled. He took out the tablet, but that person already snatched it before he was even done handing it over.

The situation isn’t quite like what I predicted… thought Long Chen.

“Hurry up. Late fools won’t be given extra time. All latecomers will be punished later,” urged that person as he formed hand seals.

The next moment, space twisted around Long Chen. As the mist grew denser, Long Chen could sense a barrier opening, allowing him in.

“I sensed several others back there who weren’t as fast as me… Do you think we should wait…?” probed Long Chen.

“Wait for what? You’re already as slow as a turtle. If they’re even slower than you, they aren’t qualified to attend. Hmph, some blind people always think they can slack off just because they have a little bit of power. One of them even led an attack on the High Firmament Academy! Now, the higher-ups cursed and dealt out punishment for everyone. Those idiots can just fuck off!” cursed that fellow.

Long Chen realized that the Lifehunter race hadn’t orchestrated the assault on the High Firmament Academy. Instead, an individual had acted independently, taking matters into their own hands. Long Chen had thought that they were trying to probe him, but it turned out that even the Lifehunter race was enraged by this.

From this person’s anger, Long Chen knew that their failure had implicated him. Hence, Long Chen hastily said, “Those fellows are far too brazen!”

As soon as Long Chen said this, he instantly had a bad feeling. That person looked at him in astonishment. “You didn’t know about it?”

Long Chen cursed himself for not knowing how to talk. Acting calm, he answered, “I didn’t receive word on our side. It’s normal.”

That person suddenly clapped his own forehead and returned Long Chen’s tablet, mumbling, “I forgot that you’re from the Blood Assassination Hall. The failures of the Soul Assassination Hall have nothing to do with you, so of course you wouldn’t know.”

Long Chen had no idea what the Blood Assassination Hall and Soul Assassination Hall were, but as long as this person wasn’t suspicious, he could keep going.

“How unlucky. It’s not like you did anything wrong, but you were still implicated.” Long Chen sighed sympathetically.

“Exactly! Ugh, it’s not worth talking about. For me, the assistant hall master, to be reduced to an attendant, it’s fucking…”

“Ah, so you’re the assistant hall master! My apologies!” Long Chen cupped his fists.

Seeing Long Chen’s gesture, that person was so moved that he almost teared up. He patted Long Chen’s shoulder and said, “Thank you, brother. You’ve made me feel much better about this, but my title as the assistant hall master shouldn’t be mentioned again.”

It seemed that their higher-ups had reprimanded this fellow harshly. No wonder he was so angry. Long Chen quickly said, “Assistant hall master, they’re not treating you well. It’s not like you were the one to do it. I’m sure that once this is over, you’ll get your position back. After all, talented people are always in high demand.”

That person’s resentment gradually faded away. However, all of a sudden, he slapped his leg. “Fuck, what are we just standing here talking for? The meeting’s going to start! Hurry, if the gates close, we’ll be doomed!”

That person brought Long Chen rushing forward. Very quickly, four of the Lifehunter race’s experts appeared in their way.

“Hand over your life tablets for inspection!”

“Fuck off! Do you not recognize who I am?!” roared the former assistant hall master.

“Sorry, but rules are rules. We canno—” said one of them.

“Zhao Xing, do you think you are that talented? Are you sure I’ve fallen to the point that I can be bullied by you? Do you not fear the day I reclaim my rightful position and put you in your place?” shouted that person.

No one knew whether it was due to his former high status or the authoritative tone he wielded, but those fellows quickly opened a path for him and Long Chen.

As a result, Long Chen benefited, easily slipping through this pass. Long Chen almost hugged this fellow in joy.

“Hmph, they really don’t want to give me face. Now that I’ve fallen, they want to bully me.” After passing this checkpoint, he seemed to view Long Chen as one of his people. “Brother, maybe you don’t know, but those people used to be my subordinates. If I wasn’t hard on them, they would think that they could take advantage of me. If they delayed us, it could jeopardize any chance I have of reclaiming my former position. They would then align themselves with my rivals and take the credit for blocking me out.”

Long Chen was surprised. It seemed that the interior of the Lifehunter race was also full of intense competition.

“Ah, I’ve been rude. I haven’t introduced myself. I am Qian Feng. What about you?” asked that person.

“I’m called Long San. They all call me Boss Long San,” replied Long Chen.

“Boss Long San? It seems that you are no ordinary figure!”

“Hehe, I’m not doing too bad and have some connections. When this is over, I’ll see if I can pull on some of those connections to get you back your position,” said Long Chen mysteriously. When it came to bragging, Long Chen had never submitted to anyone.

Qian Feng vaguely felt that the person before him was rather special. Observing Long Chen’s composed demeanor, he couldn’t help but feel reassured. In an instant, Long Chen's stature in Qian Feng's mind soared.

Regardless of whether Long Chen could help him get back his title, getting to know such a person was definitely a good thing. If he wasn’t doing well on his side, he would have a backup plan.

As a result, Qian Feng truly viewed Long Chen as his trusted ally. Long Chen humbly admitted that he didn’t have much ability himself, attributing his success to the support of certain people. He clarified that he was simply curious about this meeting, so he came over. He then asked Qian Feng to explain things to him.

Qian Feng patted his chest and guaranteed that it was no problem. As they were speaking, they soon arrived at an island packed with people. Upon their arrival, someone shouted at them. “Are you two idiots? What are you doing, arriving so late?”