“Perhaps, they’re just leaving Xue Hai Chuan’s cultivation ground together and will go their separate ways later? Dongfang Yan Nian is famous for being afraid of his wife. Previously, he entered the Lord Battlefield with his wife. Is his wife really willing to let him enter alone?”

The middle-aged man was none other than Xue Ming Zhi, the Vice Sect Leader of the Flying Dragon Sect. He had just received the messages from the sky he had stationed outside of Xue Hai Chuan’s cultivation ground.

After a while, he sent another message.

“Follow them discreetly. See if they go their separate ways.”

Xue Ming Zhi could only hope for the best. Alas, soon after, his expression darkened again when he received news that Xue Hai Chuan and Dongfang Yan Nian stayed with Duan Ling Tian and even entered the Imperial War Realm together.

Xue Ming Zhi took a deep breath before he sent his trusted friend a message. He had hired the death warriors from this friend. He trusted his friend unconditionally because they had saved each other’s lives when they were young.

“Do they recognize Duan Ling Tian?”

“After receiving your message, I told them to get ready and keep their guards up. They’ve identified Duan Ling Tian and memorized his face,” Xue Ming Zhi’s friend said before he added, “Although they didn’t get a chance to act this time, it may not necessarily be a bad thing.”

Xue Ming Zhi calmed down. He knew his friend was trying to comfort him. After a moment, he said, “Tell them to enter the Imperial War Realm in two days. Tell them to wander around the entrance of the Lord Battlefield before they enter the battlefield. Let them look for Duan Ling Tian in there. There’s no need to bother with those from the Tai Yi Sect.”

Xue Ming Zhi was worried the two Lords of Gods, who were death warriors, would be killed by those from the Tai Yi Sect. He had spent a fortune hiring the duo, after all. Most importantly, he needed them to kill Duan Ling Tian. He could not care if they died after completing their mission.

“I understand. I’ll tell the other three Kings of God to enter the Imperial War Realm as well. The more people, the better. Who knows they might be able to catch Duan Ling Tian alone? With three of them, they should be able to deal with Duan Ling Tian. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to tell them to act if they’re confident.”

“I feel at ease with you handling the matter. Thank you,” Xue Ming Zhi said.

“Nonsense! Why are you being so polite with me?” Xue Ming Zhi’s friend said with a laugh, “I would’ve helped you get rid of him myself if he didn’t hide in the Flying Dragon Sect’s estate.”

Xue Ming Zhi smiled wryly and replied, “If he left the sect’s estate, I would’ve killed him myself as well. There’d be no need for me to hire someone else to do the job.”

…

“Brother Yan Nian, do you know them?” Duan Ling Tian asked after they entered the Imperial War Realm.

Before entering the Imperial War Realm, Duan Ling Tian could sense many people looking at him. He did not find it strange; after all, he was quite famous in the Flying Dragon Sect. However, two men stood out to him. The duo only glanced at him before they looked at Dongfang Yan Nian and whispered among themselves. It was as though they were talking about Dongfang Yan Nian.

“Oh, those two? You’ve heard about them before even if you’ve never met them,” Dongfang Yan Nian said with a smile, “Do you remember what happened two years ago when I just returned?”

“Two years ago?”

After a moment, realization dawned on Duan Ling Tian. He said, “Brother Yan Nian, you’re saying those two are the intermediate Lords of Gods who joined the sect on the same day?”

Dongfang Yan Nian nodded. “That’s right. They’ve already entered the Imperial War Realm previously. However, they only wandered Flying Dragon City and Peace City before they left.Many people thought they were cowardly and didn’t dare to enter the Lord Battlefield.” He frowned as he continued to say, slightly displeased, “I had a good impression of Yan Zhe when he told me he joined the sect because he wanted to kill the people from the Tai Yi Sect. However, how’s he going to do that if he doesn’t even dare to enter the Lord Battlefield?”

Duan Ling Tian asked curiously, “Did the sect not make it mandatory for them to enter the Lord Battlefield within a certain time frame?”

Xue Hai Chuan, who was silent until now, said, “Of course, there’s such a rule. Kings of Gods have to enter the King Battlefield within two years while Lords of Gods have five years. Those who don’t abide by the rules will be expelled from the sect. The sect has no use for people who are too afraid to enter the battlefields, after all. Oh, that’s right. The new recruits also have to pay with divine rocks or divine crystals as a form of guarantee. If they break the rules, the sect will keep the divine rocks and divine crystals. These rules are all made clear to them before they joined the sect.”

Duan Ling Tian nodded. It made sense for the Flying Dragon Sect to come up with such rules to prevent people from messing around.

Duan Ling Tian felt completely at ease now that he was with two White Dragon Elders. They could easily escape from Underworld Elders if the situation called for it. In fact, even if they encountered a few Underworld Elders at the same time, with Xue Hai Chuan and Dongfang Yan Nian, he was confident all three of them would be able to kill the Underworld Elders if he revealed his trump cards. Naturally, revealing his trump cards was the last resort. Although he got along with the duo very well and trusted them, he did not know if greed would overwhelm him. There were many cases when even blood brothers killed each other because of greed, let alone Duan Ling Tian who had no blood relations with the duo.

“Let’s go.”

The trio had already obtained their identity tokens previously so they directly entered the Lord Battlefield.

At the same time, those who saw the trio began to spread the news. It did not take long before everyone in Flying Dragon City knew that Duan Ling Tian had entered the Lord Battlefield with two White Dragon Elders.

“Duan Ling Tian, Elder Xue, and Elder Dongfang entered the Lord Battlefield together… I wonder if they’re planning something big?”

“Even Underworld Elders will have a tough time escaping death if they run into the trio.”

“Duan Ling Tian hasn’t been seen for two years. Did he come out this time to fight Ximen Long Xiang?”

…

Many members of the Flying Dragon Sect thought that the trio was planning something big on the Lord Battlefield when they saw the trio entering the Lord Battlefield together. However, when the news spread to Tai Yi Sect, they came to a different conclusion.

“After two years, Duan Ling Tian returned to the Lord Battlefield with two White Dragon Elders protecting him? Ximen Long Xiang entered the Lord Battlefield and killed four rudimentary Lords of Gods. Do you think Duan Ling Tian is afraid of running into Ximen Long Xiang so he found two White Dragon Elders to protect him?”

“I didn’t think much about it. However, now that you said it, I think you’re right.”

“Duan Ling Tian is a coward, after all. Previously, he wandered the Lord Battlefield so bravely, but now, he’s afraid.”

“Perhaps, after witnessing the strength of our two inner elders in the past, he became frightened and cautious?”

“The Flying Dragon Sect has been comparing Duan Ling Tian to Senior Brother Ximen. If you ask me, I don’t think he’s worthy to be compared to Senior Brother Ximen!”

“Isn’t that obvious? Senior Brother Ximen will never ask two Underworld Elders to accompany him on the Lord Battlefield.”

The Tai Yi Sect members spoke as though they knew what was going on. They were convinced that they were right.

Soon enough, words of their slander spread to the people of Flying Dragon Sect.

With that, members of the Flying Dragon Sect and Tai Yi Sect would often argue in Peace City about this matter.

“Duan Ling Tian killed 100 Kings of Gods and entered the Lord Battlefield as soon as he broke through. He even killed two of your inner elders. And yet, you think he’s weaker than Ximen Long Xiang?”

“It’s no secret that Senior Brother Duan is good friends with both Elder Xue and Elder Dongfang. What’s so strange about them entering the Lord Battlefield together?”

“That’s right! Senior Brother Duan’s strength is likely comparable to a White Dragon Elders. Otherwise, the White Dragon Elders wouldn’t have entered the Lord Battlefield with him!”

“Tai Yi Sect, you better warn your members! If they run into Senior Brother Duan, Elder Xue, and Elder Dongfang, they’ll definitely die!”