Upon hearing this, Long Biao''s expression became even more disdainful. "A remote backwater, what''s a poor rtive''s household going to produce in terms of genius?"


    The upper echelons of the family have truly lost their minds, he thought. They don''t trust the geniuses within our own family but instead pin their hopes on outsiders. He couldn''tprehend it.


    "And besides, in a fair and justpetition, you go outside and bring in external help? Isn''t that shameless? Isn''t that cheating? I''m not stooping to that level."


    "Can they really do that? Are you sure we can bring in outside help for this kind ofpetition? Isn''t that just cheating? That''s way too dishonest!"


    Long Biao''s eyes widened in disbelief as he asked.


    "Heh!" Long Qian chuckled smugly. "You young ones don''t know this, but the Far West Long n is actually a split-off from the Western Long n."


    "Two hundred years ago, the number of Gu cultivators in our n had swelled to its peak. But don''t think that more Gu cultivators in a family is necessarily better."


    "Sure, having more Gu cultivators increases the potential for war, but every situation has its limits. The more people there are, the more resources they consume. Sooner orter, the burden will exceed what the family can bear."


    "At that time, the Long n faced just such a situation. There were too many Gu cultivators, and the n''s resources were no longer sufficient to go around.""In those days, resources were scarce, and everyone had to make do with less. This led to skyrocketing prices within the n, and tensions grew increasingly severe."


    "If resources were distributed equally, no one would ever be a Gu King. But if they were concentrated on a few, those left out would certainly not ept it quietly, and it would cause trouble."


    "As internal conflicts escted, the only options were to either start a war to divert the tensions or to split the family."


    "The family voted and ultimately decided to split."


    "But all the fertilends had long been taken. Those who split off could only head to remote areas to clear newnd or use force to upy a small area."


    "No one wanted to develop in barrennds, so the family used strong-arm tactics to force arge group of people out."


    "And those who were forced out back then are the ancestors of today''s Far West Long n."


    "Of course, those sent to barrennds harbored resentment. Add to that the great distance between the two locations—crossing the dangerous Ten Thousand Great Mountains or taking a long detour by sea—made travel very difficult."


    "After two hundred years, the two sides gradually lost contact, effectively bing two separate forces. It wasn''t until recently, when the old hatred had faded, that they reestablished rtions."


    "So strictly speaking, the Far West Long n is part of our Western Long n. We share the same bloodline, and their names are still on our family genealogy. Doesn''t that make us the same force?"


    "Did our n break the rules? If you don''t believe me, check the genealogy or even do a blood test. Who said we brought in outside help? We just found a few long-lost blood rtives and brought them back to the family. What''s wrong with that? Heh!"


    Long Qian revealed a sly smile, looking quite shameless.


    Long Ruoxue covered her face. She couldn''t bear to watch; it was so shameless. Was it really okay to bully the Bai n like this? She silently mourned for the Bai n in her heart.


    If the Bai n knew that the Long n was nning to bring in external help, who knows what kind of expression they would make? It would probably be quite a sight!


    "Are you really that confident in the geniuses of the Far West Long n? Are you so sure that a genius from a poor ce can be stronger than our own family''s geniuses? The upper echelons of the family reallyck confidence in their own geniuses," Long Biao sneered again.


    "The so-called geniuses in our n are all arrogant fools like you, with no sense of reality. How could the family have confidence?"


    Long Qian nced at him impatiently before continuing, "Don''t underestimate those who split off from the n. Over the past two hundred years, they''ve developed very well, with their power growing steadily, producing many experts and geniuses."


    "ording to the n''s observations, the Far West Long n has at least four geniuses who could rece the four weakest candidates in our n, with at least four others pending."


    "In other words, in this uing genius tournament between our n and the Bai n, at least half of our participants will be from the Far West Long n. With the strongest geniuses from both ns united, our chances of victory are greatly increased."


    "I''m even considering bringing in more external help to rece you because you just don''t inspire confidence."


    Long Qian looked at him with a doubtful expression, as if he wasn''t joking.


    Long Biao scoffed, his face full of defiance. He had made up his mind that when they arrived, he would challenge the strongest genius of the Far West Long n to prove that the family''s decision was wrong.


    "Don''t look so defiant. Based on the information we have, the Far West Long n has two geniuses who are unbeatable in their realm, far surpassing any of our family''s geniuses. The toughest opponents from the Bai n will have to be handled by these two. You all should just focus on the weakest ones!"


    Long Qian could see what Long Biao was thinking and decided to add fuel to the fire to provoke him further.


    In his view, Long Biao had grown up in toofortable an environment, which had led to his arrogant and conceited nature. A defeat might do him good, tempering his arrogance and possibly correcting his inted ego.


    ...


    The ship flew rapidly through the sky until it neared a mountain range rich in spiritual energy, where it finally began to slow down. After flying for a while longer, it slowly descended vertically near a cluster of buildings.


    It seemed that the people inside had already received the news, as arge group came out to greet them with smiles on their faces.


    Long Wanli Spoke First with a Beaming Smile


    Long Wanli was the first to speak, smiling broadly, "So it''s Brother Qian visiting! It''s been years since west met, and I hadn''t expected that you would now hold such a high position as one of the Five Elders of your n, and even be a renowned formation master in the Western Lands. Time truly flies."


    Long Qian also smiled and responded politely, "That doesn''tpare to you. You are now the head of your entire n, a position far superior to mine."


    "The fact that your n is flourishing under your leadership speaks volumes about your abilities. I am far from being your equal."


    "Let''s not dwell on the past. I am here today because I have an important request."


    "My n is preparing to hold a Genius Tournament with the Bai n to decide the ownership of a mineral vein. Each side will field twelve geniuses, three from each stage: early, middle,te, and peak Marrow Cleansing."


    "Although my n doesn''tck geniuses, we want to ensure our victory. Therefore, I havee to request the help of a few of your n''s geniuses."


    "As long as your n''s geniuses can secure the victory for us in the tournament, our n will surely reward you with precious treasures."


    Upon hearing this, Long Wanli and the elders behind him finally understood the purpose of Long Qian''s visit. After exchanging nces, Long Wanli smiled and said, "You truly came at the perfect time."


    "Today happens to be the day of our n''s tournament, where all our geniuses gather topete in the arena. The tournament has just begun, so you can watch and assess the talents of our n, making it easier to select whom you need."


    "Please,e inside. Let''s go in and talk. We shouldn''t keep those geniuses waiting."


    Long Wanli made way, gesturing with a weing hand.


    "Hahaha!" Long Qianughed heartily, "It seems our two ns share the same timing for our tournaments. I nned my visit precisely for this reason."


    "I''ll take this opportunity to see firsthand the depth of your n''s talents. Although we''ve done some research, what''s written on paper can''tpare to seeing it with our own eyes."


    Long Qian chuckled and stepped forward, with Long Ruoxue and Long Biao immediately following behind. However, Long Biao still walked with his head held high, maintaining an arrogant demeanor.


    "That''s right, seeing is believing. It''s only proper to inspect things personally. Someone, quickly prepare seats on the high tform!"


    With a group of people surrounding him, Long Qian slowly made his way to the high tform overlooking the tournament arena. Long Wanli arranged for him to sit beside him. As for the two juniors he brought along, they could only stand behind him. Even though they were guests, their status was still too different to be treated as equals.


    The n elders sat on either side of the two, with no change in their seating arrangement, except that an additional chair was ced between them.


    As the two entered and took their seats, their conversation never ceased, with smiles and polite exchanges flowing constantly.


    At this point, Long Qian finally directed his attention to the geniuses on the arena below, which was the main purpose of his visit. The n tournament was the ultimate test of a genius''s strength, and those who earned rankings here were considered the most outstanding geniuses in the entire n.


    At that moment, the two figures on the arena turned out to be Long Yan and Long Bao, a pair of rivals. One was tall and thin, the other short and fat, and they were fiercely battling it out with earth masters d in metallic insect armor.


    It was a battle of Gu against Gu and man against man. On one side of the arena, the Gu insect were engaged in chaoticbat, while on the other side, it was a showdown between the two men.


    However, in the Gu insect battle, Long Yan had a significant advantage, while in the physical fight, Long Bao was clearly dominating.


    Long Bao was simply too massive; getting hit by him was excruciating. Long Yan''s face was pale, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t budge this mountain of a man. At this point, he could only dodge and evade, barely holding on.


    But this didn''t mean he was at a disadvantage overall. In Gu cultivation, the battle isn''t just between people but also between the Gu. And in the Gu insect battlefield, he currently held a considerable upper hand.


    His strategy was to stall, dying until his Gu secured victory, so they could then assist him in subduing this fat giant.


    However, Long Bao wasn''t foolish. He knew his weaknesses and that dragging the fight out would only be to his detriment. Thus, he increased his attack speed, aiming to defeat his opponent as quickly as possible before the Gu battle was decided. If the fight dragged on, he knew he would be the one to lose.


    Long Yan tried every possible method to dy time, even using verbal distractions, leaving no stone unturned.


    Meanwhile, Long Bao did everything he could to end the fight quickly, his attacks growing faster and faster. Their fighting styles wereplete opposites, with each other''s weaknesses counterbncing the other''s strengths. This made the oue of the battle highly uncertain, and it was hard to say who would ultimately win.


    The spectators around the arena were thoroughly entertained, cheering and shouting encouragement. The close and unpredictable nature of the match made it all the more thrilling.


    Watching the battle below, Long Qian''s eyes lit up. Although these two weren''t the top-tier fighters, they were definitely capable of recing the two candidates already chosen by the n.


    Long Qian had a keen eye. Nearly everyone who entered the ancient tomb back then had perished, with only a handful surviving. These two were among the rare survivors.


    For someone to survive such a deadly scenario, they had to have some real skills. It was just that their talent had been overshadowed by the monstrous abilities of Long Ziyan, which was why they weren''t well-known.