Chapter 173 - 173: Misunderstanding

"What are you looking at? Do you want to die?" The Red robed man known as Senior Brother Ruan let out loudly as he noticed Long Chen looking at Ling.

"I was looking at your friend. I feel like she looks somewhat familiar but I might be mistaken." Long Chen smiled as he said with a thoughtful look on his face.

"You think you are in a position to know someone of her standard? You're from this lowly second rank kingdom while she is from a higher place. Keep your eyes on control or you won't know how you died" The guy snorted as he looked at Long Chen with disdain. 

"I should say the same thing to you. The backing of the Thunder Giant Sect from the North Moon Empire is not as useful as you might think. " Long Chen said with a nonchalant look on his face as he gazed at the guy.

As soon as Long Chen said the name of the sect, almost everyone present in the room gasped. Although most of the people present here didn't know of the name of the Thunder Giant Sect, they knew what it must mean for it to reside inside an Empire.

It was different for Zhiqing and Maia though. As they were a part of the Royal family, they had access to more knowledge. They knew what this name represented. The Thunder Giant Sect was not just any sect that resided in the North Moon Empire, instead, it was one of the strongest sects of the Empire. It could be said that they were one of the overlords of the North Moon Empire.

" What did you say? " Ruan roared loudly as he stood up with an angry look on his face.

"Wait, Senior Brother Ruan! Don't be impulsive " Ruan was about to walk towards Long Chen but stopped as soon as he heard the voice of his Junior Sister Meng. He sat back on his chair.

"Don't stop me, Junior Sister Meng! This man must pay for talking about our sect in that manner! He deserves to be taught a good lesson " Ruan said as he looked towards Meng.

"Did you check the cultivation of the girl sitting with him? Check it now" She said in a soft voice.

"She is a third stage Earth Realm Cultivator. So what? I can easily take on her" Ruan said after checking Mingyu's cultivation. Although he was stunned to see her high cultivation, it was still of no concern for him as he was stronger.

" It's not her I'm worried about... " Meng let out with a grave look on her face.

"You mean...? " Ruan asked with a doubtful look

"I noticed that the boy who just spoke and that girl are really close. They are probably together. And her age... She is even younger than me yet she is already at the 3rd Stage of Earth Realm! She can't be from a second rank empire... Even first rank empires can't have such people. I believe that they are from an Empire as well... That boy talked about our sect with no concern even though it was clear that he knew about our sect. I feel that they might be from a strong sect as well. We don't need to act impulsively without knowing about them. Also, there is another reason as well... '' Meng started telling her thoughts to Ruan and Ling as she whispered.

"So what? Even if they are from an Empire, I can still teach them a lesson! "Ruan let out with an unconvinced look on his face

"Just look at the boy! I can't see his cultivation and I am sure that you won't be able to see either" Meng said to Ruan.

"Yea, I can't see his cultivation…" Ruan muttered as he took a short glance at Long Chen

"He must be using an artifact to hide his Cultivation" Ruan let out with an as he looked at Meng.

"Senior brother Ruan, Did you forget that master gifted me an artifact when I became his personal disciple. It doesn't have much use in battle, but it can be used to check if someone is using an artifact to hide their cultivation and it does negate the effects of their cultivation hiding artifacts. I checked that boy.. and he isn't using an artifact... " Meng said in a serious tone.

"... And his confident tone when facing you... I am 100 percent sure that he has a stronger cultivation base than us all. The sect that groomed them must be a really strong sect. Although that may be the case, he is still trying to provoke you so that he can get a chance to retaliate without looking like a bully who used his strong cultivation unfairly. That way he will have a reason to attack you without earning people's contempt " Meng muttered in her soft voice as she informed Ruan. Long Chen could only smile as he heard her words while others were confused about what their group of three was talking about so sneakily.

"Alright... I won't get provoked by him and fall for his ruse." Ruan let you as he glanced towards Long Chen. Long Chen looked at everything with an interesting smile on his face as he heard their conversation clearly.

"Is she there Ling from the Xuan Kingdom? " As Long Chen saw them ignoring him, he asked the girl known as Meng.

" What has this got to do with you?" Before Meng could reply, Ruan let out with when annoyed look on his face.

"Senior Brother Ruan, Calm down. Our first priority is to know what they're here for and to complete our mission faster if they are here for the same thing" Meng whispered in his ears.

"Yes, she is the Ling from the Xuan Kingdom. Do you know my Junior sister? " Meng asked as she smiled and shifted his attention between Long and Long Chen.

" Yes, I heard some things and saw some paintings of her on my journey to the Xuan Kingdom recently" Long Chen let out with a smile.

"Oh? and what were the things that you heard?" Meng asked as she looked interested.

"Just a rumor that she is engaged to a nobody. I always felt that it was such a pity for a girl who was picked up to be a part of Thunder Giant Sect to be in an arranged marriage." Long Chen chuckled as he let out.

"I used to be engaged... but I have long ago canceled that engagement," Ling said as soon as Long Chen finished his sentence.

"Oh? That's good. I personally dislike arranged marriage as well." Long Chen smiled as he sipped his drink.

"May I ask what you two are doing in such a small kingdom?" Meng interrupted their conversation as she glanced at Long Chen. 

"We're just here to gain some experience and to travel places that we haven't seen before. What about you? What brought you here? Did you find a treasure map or something?* Long Chen let out casually.

As soon as the words escaped his mouth, Meng, Ling, and Ruan all three grew stunned as their expressions turned serious. They quickly recovered their expression bit Long Chen had received his answer by then.

"We were here with Ling for the selection competition of Xuan Kingdoms that her father invited us all to witness. We thought it might be a good opportunity for us to get some fresh air and travel to the nearby kingdoms as well." Meng quickly recovered her composer as she informed him.

" Oh right… that competition. I heard about it. It sounds pretty interesting, I might be there too" Long Chen let out with a smile on his face.

"Which Empire are you from?" Meng suddenly asked Long Chen.

"Me? I'm not from an Empire. I'm from a small place that isn't worth mentioning" Long Chen smiled as he vaguely answered. He wanted to make themselves seem like cultivators from an Empire as well and only through mystery was it easier for him to do without trapping himself in the latter stages.

"So you want to keep it a secret... it's alright" Meng said as she didn't believe a word he said.

"I can't stop you from thinking what you want" Long Chen chuckled as he sipped his drink he was served.

"Are those three your friends? They look quite normal compared to you two." Meng asked as she looked at Zhiqing, Maia, and Yao.

"Just met them. They looked like interesting people so I joined for their company, but now I am finding you people more interesting" Long Chen replied with a smile

"Us? I think it's Ling you find more interesting. Sorry, but you can't join us even if you want to... unless you tell us your real identity" Meng said with a laugh as she winked at Long Chen.

"Me? I'm Long Chen and this is my best friend Mingyu. Is that good enough?" Long Chen inquired with a smile as he introduced himself.

"I'm not asking about your names. There are many people and clans inside this continent with the Long as their name. Some of them are weak while some are strong. I'm curious about the Empire you hail from and the Sect that you're a part of… It must be a good one" Meng again asked from Long Chen.

"I hail from a place far far away so you don't have to worry about my influence reaching to the North Moon Empire." Long Chen said as he looked at Meng with an amused smile on his face.

"You might be misunderstanding me. We're not worried about your influence. we're only curious about your background" Meng replied back.

" As I said, I'm a nobody. Here in search for some adventure" Long Chen answered her. 

"So you are after adventure, not the rewards? " Meng already again.

" Yup, if you have an adventure for me, I might even help you out…" Long Chen casually let out. 

"We are done here. It was nice meeting you but we must leave now. I'll tell you if I find out about any adventure." Meng smiled though inside she was slightly worried as she stood up. She looked towards Ruan as she secretly gestured to him. Ruan and Ling stood up as well. They followed her and left.