Upon hearing these words, Zhuo Wulong’s gaze instantly locked onto the people from the Jinglei Sect.

Feeling his cold gaze, the Jinglei Sect members’ hearts tightened, leaping into their throats with fear.

Lei Zhen stepped forward and immediately addressed Zhuo Wulong, "I implore the Domain Alliance Master for discernment! Although Long Chen is a disciple of our Jinglei Sect, we were completely unaware of what just happened. It was his personal action and has nothing to do with our Jinglei Sect!"

Chu Lingjun and Long Xin understood that Lei Zhen had no other choice. Their only option now was to keep the Jinglei Sect from being implicated. If they were dragged into this, even a Second-class Power like the Jinglei Sect would likely face disaster.

Before Zhuo Wulong could speak, an elder from the Heavenly Demon Sect was the first to speak up. "What do you mean it has nothing to do with your Jinglei Sect? Is he a disciple of your Jinglei Sect or not?"

Seeing the Heavenly Demon Sect elder’s aggressive questioning, Lei Zhen’s eyes narrowed. He stopped trying to argue and simply responded coldly, "Yes!"

"Exactly! In that case, your Jinglei Sect must naturally take responsibility!"

With that, the Heavenly Demon Sect elder turned to the Domain Alliance Master. "Domain Alliance Master, the Jinglei Sect cannot be let off the hook for this. They must be made to pay the price!"

Upon hearing this, Zhuo Wulong glanced coldly at the members of the Jinglei Sect, and their hearts trembled.

Lei Zhen and the others exchanged looks, a resolute light flashing in their eyes. They had already made their decision. If this was unavoidable, they would have no choice but to fight to the bitter end, even if it meant the destruction of their sect.

However, before Zhuo Wulong could speak, Xu Huanhuan interjected, "This incident was caused by Long Chen, not orchestrated by the Jinglei Sect. If you punish them for it, it will be difficult for people to willingly accept the verdict. Does the Domain Alliance no longer care about its reputation?"

At these words, the murderous intent in Zhuo Wulong’s eyes slowly dissipated. He knew full well that his ability to hold this position depended on maintaining everyone’s trust. He didn’t want to sacrifice the big picture for a small gain, so he had no choice but to temporarily give up on harassing the Jinglei Sect. Just as Xu Huanhuan said, he didn’t dare risk losing the trust he had so painstakingly built just to target the Jinglei Sect.

Targeting Long Chen, however, was another matter entirely. After all, everyone had just witnessed Long Chen’s outrageous behavior in the Domain Alliance Hall. Capturing him was therefore perfectly reasonable and justified.

With this thought, the Domain Alliance Master snorted coldly, withdrew his gaze, and turned toward the direction Long Chen had fled.

Seeing the Domain Alliance Master refrain from punishing the Jinglei Sect, the elder from the Heavenly Demon Sect was extremely displeased.

Damn it! If Xu Huanhuan of the Wonderful Sound Sect hadn’t interfered, there might have been a real chance to cripple the Jinglei Sect.

Unfortunately, his attempt to fan the flames had failed. Though intensely resentful, he could only bottle up his feelings, not daring to show any hint of dissatisfaction in front of Xu Huanhuan. After all, Xu Huanhuan was the young master of the Wonderful Sound Sect. He would never dare to offend her.

When the Domain Alliance Master departed, everyone else followed suit and began the pursuit of Long Chen.

The members of the Jinglei Sect collectively sighed in relief. They were fortunate the Domain Alliance hadn’t held them accountable; otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Lei Zhen looked toward Xu Huanhuan and cupped his fists. "Thank you, Young Master Xu, for helping the Jinglei Sect out of this predicament! I, Lei Zhen, owe you a favor!"

Xu Huanhuan offered a faint smile. "Your favor means nothing to me. This has nothing to do with you. If you don’t want to die, leave here at once."

With that, Xu Huanhuan also led the Wonderful Sound Sect disciples away, heading in Long Chen’s direction.

"So many people are after Long Chen. If he can’t get away in time, he’ll be in grave danger." Chu Lingjun’s brows knitted together, her pretty face etched with deep worry.

Long Xin was so anxious she turned pale. "No! I have to go help him! Even if it means death, I want to die with him!"

Seeing this, Lei Zhen quickly intervened. "Calm down. Let’s follow them and assess the situation first. Don’t act rashly. Otherwise, not only will you fail to help Long Chen, you might bring trouble upon yourselves."

"He’s right," Lei Yujing and Lei Man said, nodding in agreement. "The enemy is strong and we are weak. We must be cautious."

Then, Lei Yujing looked at Lei Zhen. "Sect Leader, you are the head of our Jinglei Sect, and the sect needs you! It would be best if you didn’t get openly involved in this."

Lei Zhen felt a flicker of conflict, but it vanished in an instant. He said bluntly, "I’ve already said that Long Chen is a disciple of our Jinglei Sect. No matter what happens, our sect cannot abandon him."

Lei Yujing considered for a moment. "Sect Leader, I have a proposal."

Lei Zhen looked at her. "What is it?"

Lei Yujing said, "You can go and mobilize our sect’s forces. The rest of us will go ahead and check on the situation."

"That’s a good idea," Lei Man nodded. "First, it will keep you out of the public eye for now. Second, we can gather manpower to provide help if necessary."

Chu Lingjun, Long Xin, and Tang Le all looked up at Lei Zhen and nodded in unison. Seeing their agreement, Lei Zhen reminded them, "Be careful and stay safe. Don’t be reckless."

"Understood!" Lei Yujing and the others replied, then quickly headed in the direction the crowd had taken.

「Meanwhile.」

Long Chen was fleeing at top speed, not daring to stop for a moment. He could clearly sense numerous powerful auras closing in from behind.

A glance with his Divine Demon Eye made Long Chen’s brows furrow. He discovered that almost all the major powers that had participated in the Domain Alliance Grand Competition were pursuing him. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The sheer scale of the pursuit was staggering!

Long Chen knew perfectly well that the only reason so many factions were chasing him was because Zhuo Wulong had stirred them up.