Chapter 546: Replica

Chapter 546: Chapter 546: Replica

Long Ao said nothing.

"Qian’Er, you are being too insolent."

"Big Brother."

"Qian’Er, if you keep this up, from this day forward, I will no longer have you as a sister."

Startled, Long Qian’Er never imagined her big brother would act like this over a stranger. She didn’t dare say anything more, but she shot Long Ao a venomous glare.

Her face was filled with contempt.

Long Ao laughed helplessly to himself. Of course he wouldn’t bicker with a young girl like her, especially since he had already guessed their relationship.

And so, Long Ao followed Long Heng back to the Cloud Island Long Family.

Along the way, through his conversations with Long Heng—and with Long Qian’Er occasionally chiming in—Long Ao gained a general understanding of the situation on Cloud Island and Long Heng’s circumstances.

After hearing about Long Heng’s treatment within the Long Family, Long Ao sighed deeply again. He realized that Long Heng’s predicament was a complete copy of his own—they were practically identical.

The only difference was that Long Heng’s sudden fall from genius to trash wasn’t due to some innate factor. Instead, it was because he was struck by lightning during his Tribulation Crossing. As for why, Long Ao hadn’t yet had a chance to examine him.

After chatting along the way, Long Qian’Er’s attitude toward Long Ao had greatly improved. At the very least, she would now call him Big Brother Long Ao.

The Outer Sea was composed of countless islands.

Cloud Island was an unremarkable island among the countless isles of the Outer Sea, but the powers on it were not to be underestimated.

Cloud Island was composed of three great families: the Fourth Level Long Family, the Ye Family, and the Wang Family.

The three families formed a three-way balance of power, mutually restraining one another. For many years, they had coexisted in peace.

"Brother Long, we’ve arrived."

Watching a small island gradually appear before them, Long Ao breathed a sigh of relief. After four days of recuperation, the injuries inside his body had improved slightly, but a full recovery would still require a great deal of time.

"Long Heng, I want to ask, of the three great families, which is the strongest?"

Long Heng was inwardly astonished by the question, wondering what Long Ao could possibly want by asking. After all, in his and Long Qian’Er’s eyes, Long Ao was just a minor Martial Artist, perhaps not even as strong as them.

"Brother Long, as far as I know, the strongest among the three great families on Cloud Island are Realm Emperor Martial Artists. However, experts of that caliber are secluded within their respective families and won’t appear easily under normal circumstances."

’Realm Emperor Martial Artists?’

Long Ao was very surprised to hear that the most powerful Martial Artists on Cloud Island were at the Realm Emperor Realm. This in itself showed that Cloud Island’s overall strength was formidable. And one had to remember, Cloud Island was just one among the countless islands in the Outer Sea.

It was hard to imagine just how terrifying the combined strength of all the islands in the Outer Sea must be.

’There’s always a heaven beyond the heavens.’

If he hadn’t stumbled his way into the Outer Sea this time, Long Ao would never have known that such a powerful place existed outside of Kyushu.

As they spoke, the boat docked securely at the shore.

Long Ao, Long Heng, and Long Qian’Er all disembarked and walked toward the city on Cloud Island.

"Look, the trash of the Long Family is back."

"Xiaoli, you can never keep your mouth shut. Watch what you say; loose talk brings trouble."

"Hmph. Old Zhang, what’s there to be afraid of? I’m just stating a fact everyone on Cloud Island knows. That piece of trash has been stuck at the Venerable Realm for three whole years. At this rate..."

「Outside Yun City.」

A rather sleazy-looking man grumbled in dissatisfaction. But when he saw Long Heng’s group of three approaching slowly, he immediately shut his mouth. He may have acted tough a moment ago, but no matter what, Long Heng’s strength was undeniable.

A Venerable could easily obliterate him with a single, casual move. And even if Long Heng was the trash of the Long Family, their statuses were simply incomparable.

It was simple: even if Long Heng killed him on the spot, no one would stand up and say a word for him. Even if someone was trash, you still had to consider their power and status.

"Useless trash, nothing but garbage. If Father hadn’t forbidden me from being impulsive, I’d kill you right now."

Just as the trio was about to enter Yun City, Long Qian’Er suddenly spoke with viciousness, scaring the man so badly he nearly wet his pants.

Long Heng was good-tempered, but Long Qian’Er was notoriously fiery. To her, killing was like child’s play. As a Supreme Venerable and the number one beauty of Cloud Island, no one dared to provoke her.

Watching the three of them enter Yun City, Xiaoli was so scared he fell right on his butt. It turned out that as Long Qian’Er had passed by, she had invisibly released her terrifying Supreme Venerable aura. If Long Heng hadn’t held her back, Xiaoli believed he would have been a dead man by now.

"Xiaoli, I just told you, don’t speak carelessly! Don’t! Even if Long Heng is trash, he’s not someone you can talk about. Trouble comes from a loose tongue. I hope you can reflect on that, or else..."

Upon entering Yun City, Long Qian’Er clenched her fists tightly and cursed angrily, "That bastard, looking down on people! Big Brother, why did you stop me? I really wanted to smash that villain to death with one punch."

Smiling, Long Heng replied helplessly, "It’s not like this is the first or second day it’s happened. You can kill one of them, but can you kill everyone?"

"Big Brother, aren’t you angry at all?"

"And what good would being angry do?"

Long Heng’s voice was filled with helplessness. No matter how you looked at it, he was indeed called the trash of Cloud Island—utter and complete trash. He was once on a meteoric rise, yet he hadn’t broken through for three whole years and had been surpassed by one peer after another.

In truth, both Long Heng and Long Qian’Er knew very well that the reason everyone was so hostile toward Long Heng was simple: in the past, he had been far too dazzling.

In just twenty short years, he had reached the Venerable Tier. Who among the countless people on Cloud Island could possibly achieve such a feat?

For that very reason, Long Heng became everyone’s target. By attacking him, even if only verbally, people could derive the greatest satisfaction.

Mocking and ridiculing a former genius could satisfy a person’s ego.

Long Ao, who had remained silent, understood this situation as well. But he didn’t say a word from beginning to end, because he knew what Long Heng was thinking.

It was the same story all over again. The Long Heng of this moment was just like he himself had once been—a perfect copy.

Long Ao had already decided. Once his injuries had healed a bit more, he would help Long Heng and find out what was really going on—how a Thunder Tribulation could possibly stifle the development of a super genius.

The matter was too bizarre.

For some reason, Long Ao felt that what had happened to Long Heng was unusual, that it wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

Long Ao didn’t say anything more about it. After all, he wasn’t even certain himself, and he doubted anyone would believe him if he voiced his suspicions. Before long, the three of them arrived outside the Long Family’s main gate. As one of the three great families of Yun City, it had to be said that the Fourth Level Long Family’s estate was truly grand.