The Rise of Dragon Son-in-Law
Chapter 225 - 221: Apply Pressure

Chapter 225: Chapter 221: Apply Pressure

On the stage, the battle raged on and grew increasingly ferocious.

Every eye was fixed on the duel between Martial Arts Grandmasters, fearing to miss the slightest detail.

Many in the Martial Arts community watched with reverence, hoping to glean some insight.

However, the speed of a Grandmaster Level contest was swift, and most of the moves appeared simple and unadorned.

It was indeed difficult to perceive any subtleties.

Long Chen could discern some of the intricacies, but their Martial Arts had little use for him.

The path Long Chen walked, though it was Martial Arts, transcended Martial Arts.

"Long Chen, who do you think will win?"

Yang Su asked softly.

Long Chen shook his head and said, "These two are nearly equal in strength and their Inner Strength is almost the same, it comes down to who makes the first mistake.

Looking at it, Hua Qingfeng appears much more composed, if I had to say, I think Hua Qingfeng’s chances of winning are a bit higher."

"Your reasoning makes sense, on the Martial King List, Hua Qingfeng is third and Zhan Taidao is fifth. Between us though, I feel, Zhan Taidao is more of a challenger. So this battle isn’t just about the position of Alliance Hierarch, it’s also about the ranking. If Elder Hua Qingfeng loses, then his ranking would change, replaced by Zhan Taidao,"

Yang Su said in a low voice.

"Regardless of who wins, neither of them is easy to deal with."

Long Chen said.

"That’s a given," Yang Su said. "No matter who becomes Alliance Hierarch, it’s not necessarily beneficial for us."

As they conversed in whispers, the struggle between the two Grandmasters on stage escalated quickly, heating up swiftly, then just as rapidly came to an end. Without a move made, separated by several meters, they suddenly looked at each other and smiled.

Following that, Zhan Taidao clasped his fists and laughed, "Brother Hua truly deserves to be the third on the Martial King List. I, being ranked fifth, am still one step behind. This battle is yours. Under your leadership, the Martial Alliance will surely prosper, leading the Martial Arts of the south to its peak."

"Not at all," Hua Qingfeng said with a smile as he sheathed his sword. "Brother Zhan, the Martial Alliance can’t do without you. With you here, the Martial Alliance can only grow stronger."

"Haha, then let’s work together to strengthen the Martial Alliance."

Zhan Taidao said with a laugh, approaching Hua Qingfeng and extending his hand for a handshake.

"Brother Zhan, I hope that in the future, the Martial Alliance can really accomplish something great."

Hua Qingfeng said with a smile, extending his hand.

At the moment their hands clasped, Hua Qingfeng’s expression suddenly changed drastically.

Splutter.

Immediately after, Hua Qingfeng spat out a mouthful of blood, which was black.

"Brother Hua, what’s happened to you?"

Zhan Taidao’s face changed dramatically, he hastily supported Hua Qingfeng.

"You... you..."

Hua Qingfeng opened his mouth, trying to say something.

But without uttering a word, he suddenly passed away.

This scene shocked everyone, causing their faces to change dramatically.

A Martial Arts Grandmaster, third on the Martial King List, had just died.

How did he die?

Many rushed onto the stage immediately, gathering around Hua Qingfeng.

Looking at Hua Qingfeng, who had already passed away, many sighed.

Long Chen also climbed onto the stage, pushed through the crowd, and crouched next to Hua Qingfeng.

After a close examination, Long Chen immediately ascertained the cause of Hua Qingfeng’s death.

He had been struck by a fierce poison, deadly upon entering the bloodstream.

The poison had been administered only moments before.

Since Hua Qingfeng had been dueling Zhan Taidao all along, the poisoner was obviously none other than Zhan Taidao.

Zhan Taidao, for the sake of securing the position of Alliance Hierarch, did not hesitate to use a vile trick to kill Hua Qingfeng.

Long Chen recalled the entire sequence, especially Zhan Taidao’s initiative in shaking hands with Hua Qingfeng.

The deadly poison had erupted in that instant.

It was only in that moment—when Hua Qingfeng was completely unguarded—that Zhan Taidao’s treacherous plan succeeded.

Long Chen turned his head, looking at the tearful Zhan Taidao with an extremely cold gaze.

This old man was indeed not a pushover.

"Brother Hua, without you, how can the Martial Alliance grow strong? How could you suddenly depart, leaving behind such a mess—who can clean it up?"

Zhan Taidao cried out in anguish, his expression was one of heart-wrenching sorrow that moved those around him.

"Senior Zhan Tai, since Senior Hua is no longer with us, and although it’s incredibly painful for us, someone must step up to clean up the mess—and you certainly have the qualifications to lead the Martial Alliance. Please, Senior Zhan Tai, take control of the situation."

A young man knelt on one knee, his demeanor respectful.

"Please, Senior Zhan Tai, take control of the situation."

Immediately, others echoed the sentiment.

Soon, everyone agreed that Zhan Taidao should become the Alliance Hierarch.

But Zhan Taidao waved his hand and said solemnly, "Haven’t any of you noticed that Brother Hua was poisoned to death? This poison acts as soon as it comes in contact with the blood; it’s extremely ruthless. The real culprit is definitely still among us. We must find and expose them."

"Senior Zhan Tai is absolutely right. I also believe Senior Hua was poisoned."

"We must catch the murderer."

"To dare poison someone on such an occasion... that’s audacious to the extreme."

The crowd was incensed, everyone’s fists clenched in anger.

Zhan Taidao took a deep breath, his gaze slowly shifting before settling on Long Chen.

Everyone followed Zhan Taidao’s gaze and was momentarily stunned.

Could Long Chen be the murderer?

Zhan Taidao crouched down for a while before finally saying, "Long Chen, you’re not a member of the Martial Alliance, and you’re the only one here with a motive to kill."

"Oh?"

Long Chen laughed.

This is unbelievable—how could it even be twisted to fall on him? Zhan Taidao was indeed cunning, with a skin thicker than city walls.

"Oh, what? I won’t spell out what the motive for murder is; everyone understands what I mean."

Zhan Taidao asked sternly, "Tell us, how did you poison Senior Hua?"

"So it was Long Chen."

"I also think he’s the most suspicious."

"Not just him—the Yang Family surely played a part too."

For a moment, hostile gazes engulfed Long Chen and the Yang Family members.

Yang Su’s expression turned grave as he spoke loudly, "It can’t be Long Chen; he hasn’t had any contact with Senior Hua, and he hadn’t even met him before tonight."

"Ms. Yang, that’s a rather naive thing to say. Money talks, after all. Murder doesn’t always require one’s own hands, nor an actual meeting, right?"

Zhan Taidao’s face was expressionless.

"You..."

Yang Su’s face paled with anger, "It’s a pretext for framing, a charge seeking a word."

"This is not about framing without cause, everyone understands. Long Chen, if you’re a man, then bravely admit it. If you do, I will commend you for your forthrightness."

Zhan Taidao raised his voice a notch.

Long Chen smiled lightly and said directly, "That’s right, I did it. Now, I will share my unique moves with everyone here. If you’re interested, take good note of them, they might be useful in the future. After my fight with Hua Qingfeng, when victory had not yet been clearly determined, I conceded and then lavishly praised him to lower his guard. Next, I pretended to go shake his hand to support his rise to the position of Alliance Hierarch, reducing his vigilance to a minimum. Then, in the moment of the handshake, I pierced his acupoint with a golden needle, allowing the poison to spread instantly. No matter how strong his True Qi, it would be too late to counteract it. Everyone, how’s that for a strategy?"

"Utter nonsense; when did you ever fight Hua Qingfeng? You..."

Zhan Taidao had just begun to retort when he immediately realized what was happening.

Long Chen wasn’t speaking about himself; he was clearly referring to Zhan Taidao.

The others understood as well, and a buzz of discussion arose, all eyes turning to Zhan Taidao.

Zhan Taidao was taken aback before he exclaimed loudly, "Everyone, don’t be fooled by his nonsense. He sees that he’s been exposed and tries to cast aspersions to frame me. But we, men and women of the Martial Alliance, stand united. If you can’t even trust me, then I have nothing more to say and am willing to withdraw from the Martial Alliance unconditionally. Let’s relinquish this Hierarch position; it’s not worth it if it leads to accusations of me poisoning Hua Qingfeng to seize it. I, Zhan Taidao, have a reputation in the Martial Arts world that I cannot tarnish."

"Senior Zhan Tai has a point; I believe that you are not that kind of person."

"I believe in you too, Senior."

"Senior, it definitely wasn’t you who’s the murderer, but there must be someone else. Long Chen indeed didn’t have any contact with Senior Hua. Senior Hua disappeared for quite some time and only appeared in Qianzhou last night, and I was the one who met him. I can vouch for that,"

a man said seriously.

His words seemed to speak fair justice.

But fair justice was something Zhan Taidao didn’t want to hear.

"I must tell you all seriously that you need to understand who your friends are. When you speak and act, don’t do so blindly. This Long Chen is not our friend. I suggest that we detain him; we must get to the bottom of this and not let Senior Hua die in vain."

Zhan Taidao spoke with righteous indignation, continuously pressuring Long Chen.