# Chapter 406: Grand Mage Long Ze
"If you honestly answer my questions, I can consider letting you live, since we are all humans."
Zhang Ruochen said this not to deceive the two Ruins Realm natives, but genuinely intended to spare them.
Why was it that only natives with cultivation above the Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection could be counted toward military merit?
It was precisely because Empress Chi Yao's will was to rule over the various Ruins Realms, not to engage in large-scale slaughter.
Zhang Ruochen also disliked genocide and ethnic cleansing. If killing could be reduced, that would naturally be the best outcome.
As long as the top-tier experts of a Ruins Realm were killed, the First Central Empire could easily take over the Ruins Realm, rule over the natives, and establish a new civilization.
Therefore, if the Ruins Realm natives were willing to voluntarily submit, some unnecessary killing could actually be avoided.
Of course, that was impossible. No one was willing to be ruled by people from another world. They would certainly fight back, launching bloody wars where the one with the bigger fist would prevail.
In fact, the natives of various Ruins Realms called the martial artists of the Kunlun Realm "demons from another realm" and would never submit to the Kunlun Realm.
The Five Elements Ruins Realm was a newly discovered Ruins Realm. The natives here did not know about other worlds, let alone that Zhang Ruochen came from another world.
"Haha!"
Hearing Zhang Ruochen's words, the two natives burst out laughing, as if they had heard the funniest joke in the world.
They were disciples of Grand Mage Long Ze. On the Five Elements Continent, it was always others who feared them. This was the first time they had encountered someone who said he would let them live.
If they hadn't seen that Zhang Ruochen could break through to the heart of Demon Ape Ridge alone, seemingly possessing some real skill, they would have thought he was seriously ill.
The man in the blue robe laughed and said, "Kid, do you really not know who we are? Do you even know where you are and who you're talking to?"
Zhang Ruochen said seriously, "I don't know. That's why I'm asking you."
"Then let me tell you now. This place is called Demon Ape Ridge, located on the border of the Gilt Federation. The master of Demon Ape Ridge is Grand Mage Long Ze. We are disciples of Grand Mage Long Ze. Even nobles of the Gilt Federation wouldn't dare to be as presumptuous as you when they see us," the blue-robed man said proudly.
Being a disciple of Grand Mage Long Ze was indeed something to be proud of.
Zhang Ruochen nodded, looking thoughtful, and asked, "In the Five Elements Ruins Realm, how many federations are there? How many people does each federation have? How large is their territory?"
The yellow-robed man finally realized that this guy was questioning them from a condescending position. How arrogant!
The yellow-robed man sneered coldly, "Kid, you really think you're some big shot. Let me see what you're made of!"
"Earth Stone Beast."
The yellow-robed man channeled a force from within his body into the crystal scepter, raised his arm, and then slammed the crystal scepter down onto the ground.
Boom! The ground cracked open with fine fissures.
Stones flew up from the cracks in the ground, collided together, and formed a six-meter-tall giant beast.
Zhang Ruochen watched very carefully. The yellow-robed man was injecting a force similar to true qi from his body into the crystal scepter, which transformed it into another kind of primal force that could mobilize the power of the "earth" attribute in the Five Elements Ruins Realm.
The cultivation methods of the Five Elements Ruins Realm were still somewhat backward, incomparable to the Kunlun Realm.
However, the yellow-robed man's strength was considerable, comparable to a martial artist at the early stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm. He was definitely a top expert in the Five Elements Ruins Realm.
"Rumble!"
The Earth Stone Beast stomped its hooves, causing the ground to shake, and charged toward Zhang Ruochen.
The yellow-robed man showed a proud expression, already imagining the scene of Zhang Ruochen being trampled into a bloody pulp by the Earth Stone Beast. How satisfying!
Zhang Ruochen didn't dodge or evade. He stood still.
Just as the stone beast rushed to within three meters of him, his right palm shot out like lightning. Bang! The giant stone beast was shattered by the palm force, breaking into pieces the size of fists.
Before the yellow-robed man could continue attacking, Zhang Ruochen moved his feet and disappeared from his spot.
"How is this possible? Where did he go?"
The yellow-robed man was greatly alarmed. He hadn't expected that young man to be so powerful, shattering the stone beast with just one palm.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen reappeared, now on the left side of the yellow-robed man.
The yellow-robed man quickly swung his crystal scepter, preparing to strike again.
Zhang Ruochen simply reached out his arm, snatched the crystal scepter away, and began to examine it by mobilizing his spiritual power.
The yellow-robed man's hands were empty. He was stunned for a moment, and before he could react, Zhang Ruochen struck out with his palm, hitting him in the chest and sending him flying.
"Pfft!"
Three of the yellow-robed man's ribs were broken. He spat blood, flew backward, crashed into the cliff wall at the valley entrance, and dislodged pieces of stone.
"How dare you injure my junior brother! Die!"
The blue-robed man gripped his crystal scepter with both hands and struck it against the ground. With the scepter as the center, a blue light surged outward in all directions.
"Hundred-Year Thorn Vine."
Whoosh! From the ground on both sides of the blue-robed man, two black vines, each a meter thick, shot up into the sky.
The two vines transformed into two thorn-covered dragon-like vines, winding toward Zhang Ruochen.
"Wood attribute power."
Zhang Ruochen channeled true qi into the meridians of both hands, extended his arms, and struck out with the little fingers of his left and right hands simultaneously.
"Whoosh!"
Two sword waves, carrying powerful sword qi, shredded the two black vines into wood chips.
Then, with one hand holding the crystal scepter, Zhang Ruochen struck out with his other palm from a distance. True qi condensed into a giant palm print, hitting the blue-robed man's chest and sending him flying as well, severely injured.
The yellow-robed man and the blue-robed man lay on the ground, unable to stand up, filled with terror. Apart from their master, Grand Mage Long Ze, this was the first time they had encountered such a powerful enemy.
And he was so young! He hadn't even used a crystal scepter and was already this formidable.
If he used a crystal scepter, how terrifying would he be?
"So the crystal scepter is just used to transform power and communicate with the five elemental laws of the Five Elements Ruins Realm."
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his spiritual power, shook his head slightly, lost interest, and threw the crystal scepter to the ground.
A crystal scepter, priceless on the Five Elements Continent, was nothing more than a seventh-rank True Martial Treasure in Zhang Ruochen's eyes.
"Such formidable strength, easily defeating my two proud disciples. May I ask who you are, sir?"
An old, hoarse voice came from the deep valley filled with miasma.
Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands behind his back, looking toward the valley, and said, "Are you Grand Mage Long Ze? Why play tricks? Why not come out and show yourself?"
"Hehe! Young man, your strength is indeed impressive, but you are too arrogant. Let me show you that there is always a sky beyond the sky and people beyond the people."
"Whoosh!"
A black shadow shot up from the ground like a streak of light, landing on the top of the cliff on the left side of the valley.
It was an old man in a black robe, with only a pair of withered arms exposed, yellowish-brown and covered in wrinkles.
In his right hand, he held a crystal scepter, with a skull embedded in the top.
Zhang Ruochen could clearly sense that the skull contained a vast, cold, yin force, causing his skin to tighten slightly as he felt a chill.
As Grand Mage Long Ze raised his crystal scepter, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth trembled violently. The cold, yin force grew even stronger.
A fierce wind howled through the forest.
Snowflakes drifted down from the sky.
Grand Mage Long Ze's voice was hoarse, like a vengeful spirit howling, as he uttered four words: "Mysterious Extreme Ice Dragon."
The crystal scepter pointed forward.
"Whoosh!"
Streams of cold air converged, emitting dragon roars, and formed a giant ice crystal dragon. The dragon's head, body, scales, and claws gradually materialized.
Seeing such a shocking sight, the blue-robed man and the yellow-robed man, who had been severely injured by Zhang Ruochen, crawled up from the ground, knelt down, and kowtowed to Grand Mage Long Ze repeatedly, as if worshipping a deity.
With such power, what else could it be but divine?
"Grand Mage Long Ze, boundless in divine power. On the Five Elements Continent, who can rival him?"
The two men admired Grand Mage Long Ze to the extreme. In their eyes, Grand Mage Long Ze was synonymous with invincibility.
Grand Mage Long Ze's strength was indeed formidable, surpassing many martial artists at the Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Perfection.
However, he had not reached the Fish-Dragon Realm level. His overall strength was still slightly inferior to the weakest martial artist on the Heavenly Ranking.
"I'll use him to practice."
Zhang Ruochen decided not to use his spiritual power or martial soul power first, but to test his own strength through battle. He wondered if he could contend with a strongman like Grand Mage Long Ze.
"Thousand-Zhang Prairie Fire."
Zhang Ruochen released the Azure Void True Qi from his body, instantly triggering a heavenly anomaly.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth transformed into flames, forming clusters of blue flames suspended in the void.
The area within a thousand zhang turned into a fiery furnace, instantly burning grass and trees to ash. The cold air condensed by Grand Mage Long Ze continuously dissipated under the impact of the "Thousand-Zhang Prairie Fire."
The yellow-robed man and the blue-robed man had already fled a thousand zhang away, trembling all over, terrified that such a young man possessed such terrifying power.
Grand Mage Long Ze also showed surprise and said, "Could you be the millennium prodigy cultivated by the Sacred Flame Hall?"
According to legend, the Sacred Flame Hall had produced a once-in-a-millennium genius who, at a young age, had already cultivated the "Sacred Flame Sutra" to the seventh level.
Grand Mage Long Ze hadn't believed it before, but seeing Zhang Ruochen, he became somewhat convinced, thinking that Zhang Ruochen was that prodigy from the Sacred Flame Hall.