When Long Chen and the others left the High Firmament Academy and flew toward the gate to the ninth heaven, a thunderous commotion reached their ears from afar. Another group flew past them in a grand display, their presence commanding attention.

Their Sage King leader emanated a powerful aura filled with dense primal chaos qi, unmistakably hailing from the Sovereign Emperor Heaven.

Despite not recognizing him, Guo Ran couldn't contain his excitement and took the initiative to greet him. “Hey, brother, you’re pretty strong! Gathering so many new recruits, are you expecting a promotion of three ranks upon your return?”

Being shouted at by a youngster caused the Sage King’s expression to darken. He was about to curse, but when his gaze landed on Long Chen, he could only swallow his curses down his throat.

Although he was a Sage King, he didn’t dare to act arrogant in front of Long Chen. After all, even sixteen Sage Kings of the Lifehunter race had failed to defeat him—a fact that had spread far and wide.

Back then, quite a few people had witnessed the disturbance, so the rumors spread quickly, causing huge waves all over the place.

Although many people doubted this information, when they thought of Long Chen’s enmity with the Lifehunter race, it seemed impossible that the Lifehunter race would send actors to carry out a play with Long Chen just to increase his fame.

Thus, even Sage Kings felt wary of Long Chen now. Since Guo Ran had greeted him, this Sage King could only force out an ugly smile. After saying thanks, he immediately led his group in another direction.

Clearly, he didn’t want to travel alongside Long Chen, opting instead to skirt around him to avoid any potential confrontation. It was a classic case of evading someone he dared not provoke.

“Tch, it’s not like I’m the one trying to steal people’s disciples. Why are you running so fast?” snorted Guo Ran irritably when that old fellow ran off.

“They seem to number around seven hundred thousand, but that old fellow doesn’t seem that strong. Seems like all his talents went into his duping skills,” sneered Long Chen.

The Sage Kings who had risked their lives to come from the Sovereign Emperor Heaven had a singular objective: to recruit as many geniuses as possible to bolster the ranks of their respective factions.

“Oh, I get it!” Guo Ran suddenly said.

“Get what?” asked Bai Xiaole.

“That fellow didn’t like me because boss ruined their plans. His group would’ve been even larger if it weren’t for that,” replied Guo Ran.

Everyone quickly understood. Back then, countless heavenly geniuses had sought Long Chen’s guidance. Since joining any of these factions required a spiritual contract, many were hesitant to commit.

Long Chen advised them to postpone their decisions until they reached the Sovereign Emperor Heaven, thwarting the plans of numerous factions in the process. Many factions had been about to swoop in and take in these disciples in droves, but Long Chen's counsel disrupted their schemes. That was why they had gone to the academy to demand an explanation.

With that, Long Chen had offended almost everyone hailing from the Sovereign Emperor heaven. It was no surprise that the fellow’s gaze toward Long Chen was so odd. It was as if he hated Long Chen but didn’t dare to express it.

Long Chen and the others continued onward, maintaining a steady pace to ensure they remained in optimal condition. Long Chen had warned them of potential unforeseen events during their journey to the ninth heaven.

Originally, Bai Zhantang should have been the one to caution the group about such matters. However, observing Long Chen taking the lead, he refrained from intervening and just let Long Chen take charge.

They encountered many groups along the way. One of them numbered in the millions and was led by a Sage King who looked incredibly haughty. Despite his lofty demeanor, when he saw Long Chen’s group, he reserved his aura and took the initiative to greet Long Chen.

At first, Long Chen was a bit baffled by his friendliness, but he quickly realized that perhaps this arrogant man had managed to convince enough people to join his faction before Long Chen’s speech.

Most factions had been biding their time, simply engaging in psychological warfare and awaiting the opportune moment to cast their nets wide. Unfortunately for them, Long Chen’s interference dashed their plans, rendering their investments fruitless. As a result, this fellow ended up standing out.

Having achieved his objectives, thanks in part to Long Chen's actions, he naturally felt indebted to Long Chen. Without Long Chen's intervention, he wouldn't have garnered much attention.

Compared to his group, some groups looked rather small, consisting of only a few hundred members, while the smallest groups consisted of just over ten individuals.

When Long Chen looked over that tiny group, he judged that they all came from the Sovereign Emperor Heaven. In other words, they had risked their lives to come here only to leave with nothing.

When that group flew past, all of them were glaring at Long Chen. A woman even pointed and cursed at Long Chen.

“Bastard, what are you looking at?! Just wait until you enter the Sovereign Emperor Heaven!”

Long Chen curled his lips, not bothering to argue with a woman. However, while Long Chen could ignore her, Bai Shishi didn’t.

Bai Shishi directly slammed the air with her palm, unleashing a golden hand that slapped that woman in the face.

With a scream, that woman smashed into the ground. When she crawled back up, everyone could see a clear and deep handprint on her face, blood streaming from her split lip.

“Next time your mouth is so uncouth, I’ll rip your tongue out!” Bai Shishi's cold glare left no room for mercy. She was not one to coddle others.

That woman was enraged. Knowing that she wasn’t a match for Bai Shishi, she turned to her group’s Sage King. However, the gloomy-looking Sage King remained silent and continued to lead the way as if he hadn’t seen anything.

In the end, that woman didn’t dare to respond and dejectedly followed her group away.

“Fairy Shishi is mighty!” Long Chen gave Bai Shishi a thumbs-up.

“Hmph, a man who goes weak at the knees at the sight of a woman should learn to keep his mouth shut!” snapped Bai Shishi angrily.

Long Chen was speechless. When had he ever gone weak just because of a woman? That woman was nothing more than a three-star Heavenly Doyen—hardly worth his attention. What was most irritating was Bai Zhantang's hearty laughter off to the side.

“Boss, look…” Bai Xiaole suddenly pointed at one group.

“It’s them?” Long Chen couldn’t help frowning upon seeing them.