“Long Chen, you little bastard, you’ve slaughtered so many innocent people. Just wait! When this gate opens, you will be punished for your crimes!”

“When this gate opens, this old man swears to tear you apart and refine your soul for an eternity!”

Countless furious roars came from the other side of the gate, dripping with bloodthirst and hatred. It was as if they could not exist under the same heavens as Long Chen.

Actually, before Long Chen slaughtered those heavenly geniuses, their noisy asses had been roaring and cursing incessantly.

However, Long Chen remained focused on slaughtering people and didn’t pay them any heed. Even now, he continued to ignore their outcries.

It was clear that those slain experts were related to them; otherwise, they wouldn’t be so angry.

Now, all those experts were dead. Under Lei Linger’s enormous dome of lightning, not one of them managed to slip away, and their corpses littered the ground. In fact, if they weren’t strong enough, not even their corpses would remain.

Long Chen rested Dragonbone Evilmoon on his shoulder and walked over to the gate. The gate was sparkling, growing clearer, so he could see a lot of people on the other side.

“Strange. Wasn’t it said that only the chosen one could open this gate? But other than boss, the others are already dead. Why is this gate still opening slowly?” Xia Chen examined this giant spatial gate curiously.

Luo Changsheng and the others had dropped hints about this gate, suggesting its connection to the legendary chosen one of the nine heavens. But in truth, Long Chen and the others had never heard of such a thing.

It seemed that those who knew of this secret were anything but ordinary. Otherwise, with the High Firmament Academy’s information network, there was no way that Long Chen wouldn’t know about it.

As Long Chen approached the gate, the experts on the other side grew visibly agitated. Some even resorted to launching attacks at the gate, as if attempting to breach it or strike Long Chen from their side.

However, this gate was just like a curtain of water, and their attacks only caused some ripples in it, not budging it in the slightest.

“Do you feel good? Didn’t you always like the feeling of others hating you but unable to touch you?” laughed Dragonbone Evilmoon.

When Long Chen heard this, his anger slowly faded. Evilmoon’s words made him think of their time on the Martial Heaven Continent. Back then, he really had been like that.

However, for some reason, he felt suffocated nowadays. Against his enemies, he only thought of killing them, not angering them for fun.

“Have I grown old?” asked Long Chen as he smiled bitterly.

“Not really, but I can say that you’ve changed… so much that I find you a bit unfamiliar,” replied Evilmoon.

“The treacherous and shameless Long Chen could always find a reason to be happy no matter what kind of desperate situation he was in. But now that you’ve grown stronger, I don’t sense any of that old joy. You are no longer free and unafraid of heaven or earth. It’s like you’re walking on thin ice over an abyss, afraid of falling through at any moment.”

“Perhaps I wasn’t mature enough back then,” sighed Long Chen. He also missed his old self, but now…

“No, this has nothing to do with maturity. You’ve simply lost your old confidence. Back then, you were weak but still confident that you could protect everyone you cared about. But as you grow stronger, your fear seems to intensify. Don’t you sense the disconnect from your true self? You’re gradually becoming someone you once despised,” retorted Evilmoon.

Long Chen’s heart shook intensely as he listened closely to what Evilmoon had to say.

“There are many principles that you might understand, and you can teach others about them. However, you are unable to teach them to yourself. You’ve changed, and your brothers and lovers can all see it. However, they don’t dare to say anything because in their hearts, you are an unrivaled battle god. You are a perfect idol with no flaws. But I can tell that they are all waiting for the return of their boss!”

Long Chen’s grip tightened around Dragonbone Evilmoon’s hilt as he closed his eyes. Despite the absence of wind, his robes and hair started to billow, and an unseen aura emanated from him, gradually enveloping his surroundings.

At this time, the Dragonblood warriors were cursing back at the experts on the other side of the gate. Guo Ran in particular was cursing exceptionally intensely. Spittle was flying. But suddenly, they all shut their mouths and turned to look at Long Chen.

In that instant, it seemed as though they witnessed the convergence of two versions of Long Chen, overlapping into one. As these images merged completely, Long Chen’s aura condensed and became restrained, yet an aura of sharpness radiated from him.

The old Long Chen, once concealed like a saber within its sheath, now revealed his full sharpness, withholding nothing.

“Boss!”

The Dragonblood warriors were all overwhelmed with excitement when they looked at Long Chen, their eyes red. Even though they had reunited with their boss, they always felt like he had changed.

Now that the indomitable Long Chen appeared once again, even the air around the Dragonblood warriors started to change.

“Thank you, Evilmoon,” said Long Chen sincerely.

“Is there a need for such words between us? Come on, I’ve already been reborn, and you have stopped being a coward. Starting today, we’ll flip this world, hahaha!” Dragonbone Evilmoon laughed excitedly. It could also sense that Long Chen was back.

Long Chen smiled, observing the subtle yet profound transformation in the Dragonblood warriors. Their newfound sharpness emanated clearly, dispelling an oppressive atmosphere that they had been unaware of before. Only then did Long Chen realize just how much of an effect he had on the entire Dragonblood Legion.

At this moment, more curses were coming from the other side of the gate. Mistaking the Dragonblood Legion’s silence for weakness, they started to curse in an even uglier fashion.

All of a sudden, Long Chen plunged Dragonbone Evilmoon into the gate. To everyone's astonishment, its blade passed effortlessly through the gate.

“Scarlet Dragon Wave!”

Long Chen’s dragon blood power instantly poured into Evilmoon.