Long Chen hadn’t expected the Deputy Elder to suddenly ask him such a question. It was incomprehensible, feeling to be both a random and a serious question.

“In my heart, the most important thing is my family,” said Long Chen.

“Oh? And what is this family of yours?” asked the Deputy Elder.

“My father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters,” said Long Chen.

“Then if there was a conflict between them, and you could only stand on one side, how would you choose?” The Deputy Elder finally turned to look at Long Chen.

“Such a thing cannot occur.”

“Why not? Things are always changing. Who can guarantee what might happen in the future? If they end up fighting like water and fire, how would you choose?” asked the Deputy Elder once more with a smile.

Long Chen also smiled. “It is impossible. Even if anything might happen in the future, our hearts won’t change. My family is tied to me. As long as I don’t die, those ties will not be destroyed. That is why I am sure that such a conflict will not occur, because I am me.”

“Hahaha, a nice phrase. You are you. Those words are truly arrogant. I remember someone else who said such things, but regretfully…” The Deputy Elder sighed.

Long Chen’s heart started pounding hard. He asked, “Regretfully what? Did that person end up in a bad place?”

The Deputy Elder shook his head. “We’ve gone off topic. It’s just that you really give off a similar feeling to him. We should get back to reality. This time, you did very well. However, your moves… can you not be more… aboveboard?”

The Deputy Elder looked at Long Chen with a mixed expression. His original goal was for Long Chen to display superior strategy and tactics to prove that he was capable of leading an army. However, Long Chen had instead used little tricks to con someone. That wasn’t honorable. A victory was a victory, but it would definitely be denounced by others. It wouldn’t be able to convince them of his skills.

Long Chen shook his head. “My father taught me that the battlefield is not for games. All techniques and tricks are allowed as long as they lead to victory. To win with the fewest sacrifices is the true way of a commander. Those who sacrifice their people are second rate. True experts have a group of brothers around them to share their victory. They aren’t aloof people who enjoy the glory won from their brothers’ blood. Those people are trash.”

The Deputy Elder was moved. “Your father’s words are quite correct.”

Hearing the Deputy Elder praise his father felt better to Long Chen than being praised himself. Long Tianxiao had been his idol from childhood. In his heart. Long Tianxiao was a hero on the same level as a Sovereign.

Although Long Tianxiao’s cultivation base wasn’t high, he had his own comprehension. In the Wine God Palace, his insight and wisdom had always been something that Long Chen admired.

“Many thanks for senior’s praise. My father has been a great influence on me, and I would never dare to forget one bit of his teachings.”

“A lion of a father will not raise a dog of a son. For a little marquis from the secular world to raise a genius capable of shaking heaven and earth is surprising. Although it was naturally thanks to your own effort, I believe that your father’s influence cannot be overstated. No wonder I hear that you rarely encountered bottlenecks on your cultivation path. Your heart has long since entered the realm of Netherpassage,” praised the Deputy Elder.

“Yes. My father is not a true cultivator, but his wisdom has greatly aided me. Even after I stepped into the cultivation world, I have to listen to his teachings,” said Long Chen humbly.

“I have heard rumors that your parents did not birth you. With their aptitude, it would be impossible to give birth to a genius like you. But those people don’t know that while natural talent is important, the quality of the heart is even more important. Talent can be made up for, and a person’s heart can create miracles. There have been such cases throughout history. I’m amazed to see one of them in person,” said the Deputy Elder. However, in that moment, Long Chen felt a strange sensation as if some energy was peering into his body.

It had come. Long Chen knew that the Deputy Elder was testing him. After all, his origins were truly suspicious. A dragon could only be born from a dragon. A marquis in the secular world with a cultivation base only in the Tendon Transformation realm and a secular woman with no understanding of talent could not possibly give birth to a genius like Long Chen.

As his cultivation base grew, more people were suspicious of his origins. Things could not be as simple as they appeared. But they could only guess, as there was no proof.

For the Deputy Elder to bring up something like this meant that he was probing him. Long Chen shook his head. “In truth, my talent was mediocre. I was born premature and weak. It wasn’t easy just to survive. As a child, I was plagued with illness and bullied. But at the very least, that tempered my will. My lucky break came in the Jiuli secret realm where I coincidentally obtained a bead that changed my life. That heavenly bead changed my constitution, completely changing my fate. However, without my father’s teachings, the sudden increase in power very likely would have made me lose myself, so his wisdom has immensely benefited me.”

After finishing, Long Chen clearly felt that strange sensation fade. The Deputy Elder had clearly been wanting to see if Long Chen was lying. With his cultivation base, sensing Long Chen’s spiritual fluctuations, the quickening of his blood, the rhythm of his breathing, and other factors was easy. Theoretically, Long Chen shouldn’t have been able to sense this probe, but the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art was extremely sensitive to such things.

Perhaps the Deputy Elder had concluded that Long Chen wasn’t lying, so he retracted his probing. “You are correct. Talent can be changed, but the right mindset is difficult to cultivate. As your cultivation base grows, the yardstick upon which you judge the world changes. You find errors in your past judgments. Theories and conclusions are constantly being overthrown in the cultivation world as a result. The more you learn, the less you know,” said the Deputy Elder.

“Senior is wise,” praised Long Chen. Ignoring whether the Deputy Elder was a friend or foe, this viewpoint was truly admirable.

The Deputy Elder laughed, “At such a young age, you possess such a cultivation base and yet are not consumed by arrogance. That is also admirable.”

“I have no other choice. Without a powerful backer, I can’t be arrogant. Otherwise, I might also be consumed,” said Long Chen humbly.

The Deputy Elder smiled. “Let us speak of the Star Field Divine World. The connection has been formed and a path can be opened in three days. The Long family promised that you would be able to bring the entire Dragonblood Legion inside, however, things have changed.”

Long Chen’s expression instantly sank. What was going on? Was the Long family going back on their word?

“Don’t misunderstand. The Dragonblood Legion will still be allowed in,” said the Deputy Elder hastily.

“Then what changed?”

“Originally, just creating a path to the Star Field Divine World was very difficult. However, perhaps it is because of the dark era coming, but the spatial walls have started to weaken. It was much easier to create the connection this time. We have found that we no longer need to limit the number of people entering. That is why I must apologize to you,” said the Deputy Elder.

Originally, the plan was that a single sect or power could have at most five hundred spots to enter the Star Field Divine World. That was why people had been jealous that the entire Dragonblood Legion could enter.

That matter had caused quite the fuss even within the divine families. Several meetings had been held, with the Ye family in particular opposing this plan.

However, now there was no need to limit people. This accident caught them off guard. For the Long family, it meant that asking Long Chen to guard against the Yin Yang World on his own for three days had been for nothing. Even if he hadn’t, he still would have gotten the award that they had promised him.

That truly felt like a scam, but this was something that they hadn’t expected. Hence, Long Chen could only helplessly accept. “Fine, I’ll just treat it as the heavens playing a joke on me.”

“It really is a bad joke. But no one could have predicted this. Since this matter was started by the Long family, we are going to give you a crystal card with three hundred thousand points on it. You can go to the treasury to buy what you want. It can count as a bit of compensation.” The Deputy Elder handed Long Chen a crystal card.

“It was an accident. How could I accept?” Although that was what came out of Long Chen’s mouth, the crystal card had entered his pocket.

Three hundred thousand points. That was a shocking amount. It just so happened that Long Chen was interested in what the divine families had.

“You can go now. The Star Field Divine World has its own dangers. You’ll definitely find things that can help you in the treasury,” said the Deputy Elder.

Long Chen nodded and left. One of the Long family’s disciples guided him, and he entered a transportation formation.

After the transportation formation activated and he walked out, he just so happened to see a group of people walking by. Seeing one of them, with almost no hesitation at all, Long Chen raised his hand and slapped him.

“Did I say you could not wear a hat?”