Li Cai suddenly knelt on the ground, so emotional that he wept. Seeing this, Long Chen was startled.

  His plan was for the act with the Unfettered Alliance’s people to completely suppress these undisciplined people. After that, he would let them see hope. It was the simple sequence of giving a taste of sweetness after a slap.

  Long Chen had seen that Li Cai’s talent was not bad at all, so he had used the threat of death to awaken his power, getting them off to a good start to raise everyone’s confidence.

  However, he hadn’t expected Li Cai to be so moved that he knelt and cried on the ground. He quickly guessed that these people’s haughty outside was covering up their weak hearts.

  “Tell me your story,” said Long Chen.

  Li Cai explained how he was a genius of the main bloodline in his family, but there was another genius within his family with an even greater background than him. The two of them would be competitors for the future position of the head of the family.

  However, Li Cai’s father suddenly died a few years ago due to an accident, resulting in the pressure falling on him from many different directions. After that, in order to protect his mother, he gave up on fighting for the position of the family head, and his cultivation was also half-crippled by this.

  Even so, they didn’t let him off and pressed him hard. Even his fiancee, who was his childhood sweetheart, was taken away.

  After years of living dejectedly with his cultivation crippled, his family sent him to the High Firmament Academy, mostly to distance him from the fighting inside the family and spare his life. They hoped that he could make some friends and gain some extra protection.

  “My father died for my family, and my fiancée went back on our promise. These facts gnaw at my heart day and night. I want to get stronger to get revenge,” cried Li Cai.

  Listening to him, none of the disciples laughed at him. Instead, they felt profound sympathy because they were in a similar situation. Despite being well-known figures within their own backgrounds, they were also failures. Facing hopeless competition, they gave up to despair.

  Just like in the secular world, there could only be one crown prince. Hence, even flesh and blood brothers would destroy each other for that spot. Whether it was in powerful families or sects or other powers, such competition was an iron rule that no one could change.

  Only through competition could the true king be chosen. Even if these silent rules were very cruel, as long as they benefited the power, there was no way around it. Competition led to progress. But whether it was positive or negative competition was difficult to control.

  “I’m about the same as Li Cai. My big brother, hehe, my biological big brother, tried to kill me. I even gave up on cultivating, but he refused to let me off,” said another disciple.

  “My third grandpa started to drive me out as soon as he took power. My branch is facing calamity…”


  “I’m a bit luckier. My mother constantly told me since I was a child that I had to learn to endure if I wanted to live longer…”


  The various resentments and helplessness of these disciples were finally spoken by them. They had been sent here because they were powerless. Despite looking impressive, it was an act as they had their own sorrows.

  “Since you’ve all been forced to this extent, why not properly cultivate and raise your blade against your enemies? Why are you just messing around here and waiting to die?” asked Long Chen.

  “Instructor Long Chen… are you really unaware? The High Firmament Academy has other disciples of our families, so every single one of our movements is under their observation. They will only let us off if we waste every single day. Otherwise, they will make sure to eliminate any possible dangers such as us,” sighed one disciple.

  “So to put it frankly, you’re all just afraid of dying, so you chose to surrender. That’s always the most foolish strategy. It will only force you to the edge of a cliff. You have left your lives in the hands of your enemies. When a person kneels for too long, their knees become rooted to the ground, and they can no longer stand. You crippled your own martial power for some temporary safety, but what about the future? Perhaps any courage you had back then has been ground away by your slacking. How many of you want to fight back? How many of you want revenge?” Long Chen curled his lips. “The ones that I killed pissed themselves out of terror. All I see in your eyes is fear and cowardice. Your bravery left you the day you started retreating. You lost your courage, and you lost your drive. Now, your desire for vengeance only lives in your dreams. But in reality, you’ve accepted your fates. In this world, the most frightening strategy is the frog being slowly boiled alive. You get used to sinking into oblivion until you die without having the slightest ability to resist.”


  The disciples of the Elite Group lowered their heads in shame. Long Chen’s words directly stabbed them where it hurt, and he was entirely correct. They were barely surviving, simply extending the time until they were killed. Moreover, their revenge existed only in their dreams while they ran from reality. They wanted revenge yet also accepted the current status quo. They had already fallen.

  “Instructor Long Chen, please save us. I know you can do it. My blood mark has appeared! My dad told me that as long as my blood mark returns, no one in the family will be a match for me! However, if those spies learn of this, they will definitely send people to kill me. They’ll murder me before I can grow. I’m not afraid of dying, but I’m unwilling to lose like this. I want them to pay for the blood they spilled,” cried Li Cai.

  Long Chen looked at Li Cai and nodded. “Not bad. Your desire for revenge is strong. However, even if you get stronger, will you be able to fight your entire family by yourself?”


  “I…” Li Cai was instantly dejected.

  Long Chen stood and looked at everyone. “Let me ask you, do you want to take back what you lost?”


  “Yes!”


  Everyone responded in unison as they found a trace of hope in Long Chen’s words. Although they still didn’t understand Long Chen, they saw a kind of unprecedented power within him.

  That power was confidence. It was as if there was nothing in this world that was hard for him. It was a strange, indescribable feeling.

  “Actually, your problems are very simple. There are thirty-six of you. Not everyone’s position is so terrible. As long as you unite, helping each person take back their original power within their families, the others will be supported by those powers. Then you help the second and the third. Like rolling a snowball, your overall power grows greater and greater. Start with the simplest problem and keep going until you can resolve the hardest one. With thirty-five different powers supporting you, will you be unable to win?” said Long Chen lightly.

  “That’s right! Why didn’t we think of that?” Someone slapped their thigh, delighted by this plan.

  “Even if you thought of it, what would be the point? Without any power, would your families support you? That’s why power is number one, and schemes are only secondary. No matter how amazing the strategy, it cannot compete with absolute power. That’s why… starting today, all of you are going to go through hellish training. Let me first say some ugly words: those who cannot endure will be killed by me. You have no other way out,” said Long Chen.

  “Instructor Long Chen, we will do our best to grasp hold of this hope! We won’t let these opportunities slip away for nothing! We’ve wasted too much time, and we don’t want to keep living like walking corpses!” shouted Li Cai.

  “Good. Then I’ll also give you a promise. If you can pass my training and are still unable to take back what’s yours, I will personally help you achieve your goal.” Long Chen smiled. His gaze when he looked at these people was no longer so loathsome.