NINE STAR HEGEMON BODY ART

CHAPTER 91-100

Chapter 91 KingKong Fury Ape

Within the undulating mountain range, huge trees with thick vines covering them reached for the sky, and the occasional roar of wild beasts would shake the land.

A ten-meter-tall KingKong Fury Ape emitted an angry roar that shook the forest, causing streams of leaves to tumble to the ground.

Facing the KingKong Fury Ape was a human who wasn’t even comparable to it in size.

That person was Long Chen who was currently emitting intense fluctuations that made him seem like a celestial emperor. 

This particular location was originally a forest, however, now all the huge trees within hundreds of meters had collapsed. The vegetation and rocks had been sent tumbling away, blowing open an empty land.

Long Chen had received a map from the village chief which marked the dangerous areas. This particular spot was the location of a second rank Magical Beast.

That would be the KingKong Fury Ape in front of him. Back then, the ancestors of the villagers had accidentally charged into its territory, resulting in disastrous casualties.

The villagers both hated and feared this KingKong Fury Ape. When they heard Long Chen was planning on hunting a second rank Magical Beast, it was the first thing they had thought of.

However, Long Chen had refused to have any others come with him. Even Xiao Hua wasn’t an exception. He had followed the map by himself, easily finding this place.

As expected, the KingKong Fury Ape’s awareness of its territory was extremely great. As soon as Long Chen had stepped into this region of the forest, he was found and attacked.

“ROAR!!!” The KingKong Fury Ape heavily beat its own chest with its huge fists. The next instant, it charged at Long Chen.

The KingKong Fury Ape was a Magical Beast that specialized in power. But compared to the Burst Bear, it was much more terrifying since it had reached the second rank.

Its enormous body was practically a small mountain. Its speed was also shocking, and it arrived in front of Long Chen in the blink of an eye.

Long Chen formed a fist, and the instant he did, he actually disappeared, leaving behind a wild gale.

He had already been fighting with the KingKong Fury Ape for a full hour. It truly was worthy of being a second rank Magical Beast; its power was extremely great.

According to Long Chen’s estimates, the Burst Bear he had killed before would probably not even be able to take a single blow from this KingKong Fury Ape.

Just a random blow from it had tens of tons of force behind it. If Long Chen hadn’t advanced to Blood Condensation, then just relying on his physical body, he also wouldn’t have been able to beat it.

Having fought on equal grounds for so long, now Long Chen was planning on not wasting any more time.

“Breaking Wind Fist!” Wild gales unfurled and a faint layer of light appeared on Long Chen’s fist.

His fist heavily smashed into the KingKong Fury Ape’s arm. With a muffled bang, the mountain-like KingKong Fury Ape was actually sent flying dozens of meters away, slamming into and breaking over ten huge trees behind it.

As expected, his physical body had greatly improved after advancing to Blood Condensation. Even his control of Battle Skills had improved.

The power of the Breaking Wind Fist was much greater than when he had been in the Qi Condensation realm. Adding on his physical strength, it was able to force back a second rank Magical Beast.

Long Chen himself hadn’t expected to grow so much stronger after entering the Blood Condensation realm. 

The KingKong Fury Ape was on its last legs. It emitted a loud roar and angrily glared at him.

It had been the overlord of this region for hundreds of years. This was the first time it had been provoked by a small human, and it was completely unable to accept this.

BOOM!

It smashed the land, and suddenly its black fur stood completely on end. A frightening aura came from it.

Long Chen was startled, immediately sensing the change. He hadn’t expected that this Magical Beast actually had power hidden in reserve.

It raised its fangs at Long Chen and stamped on the ground, immediately charging over like a meteorite.

Long Chen suddenly felt an intense pressure. He didn’t dare be careless. His power exploded out and he once more used the Breaking Wind Fist.

But this time Long Chen felt his body shake and he was sent flying when his fist smashed into the KingKong Fury Ape. He only managed to stabilize himself after being blown sixty meters away.

“It was actually able to attack on the same level as a Tendon Transformation expert. As expected, the body of a Magical Beast truly is frightening.”

Long Chen shook his slightly numb arm. That attack had been extraordinary just now. If he hadn’t advanced to Blood Condensation, there would have even been a chance his arm would have broken.

Although that attack hadn’t been on the same level as Marquis Ying’s attacks, it was only one level weaker. It really was true that humans at the same level as Magical Beasts were not able to fight against them.

Obviously, this KingKong Fury Ape had its own hidden trump cards. Only this was its strongest state.

It roared angrily once more and charged at Long Chen. But before Long Chen even made a move, a ray of light suddenly shot past and struck it head-on.

That ray of light had been extremely fast, and it had struck the KingKong Fury Ape before it could even react.

But that light didn’t even manage to cut through its skin before being broken.

Long Chen was slightly surprised. At some unknown time, Little Snow who had been hiding in the distance had come up and his mouth was currently open.

“A wind blade?” Long Chen had heard before that third rank and higher Magical Beasts had their own inherited Battle Skills. So it was actually true.

But the wind blade Little Snow had spat out had been pitifully weak. Of course, just how old was Little Snow? Little Snow hadn’t even truly reached the first rank yet, but was still able to launch long-distance attacks, which was shocking.

Seeing that his attack hadn’t had any effect, Little Snow prepared to attack again. But suddenly he felt himself being sent flying.

“Don’t make trouble.” Long Chen had thrown Little Snow further away. That little fellow must have thought he had been in danger and wanted to help.

But Little Snow’s little bit of attack power couldn’t even tickle the KingKong Fury Ape. He was afraid Little Snow would be hurt, so he directly threw him somewhere safer.

Looking at the KingKong Fury Ape charging at him, Long Chen coldly shouted, “Divine ring!”

Suddenly a ring of light appeared behind Long Chen. It grew to a diameter of three hundred meters. The original cyclones could no longer be seen. The thirteen cyclones had merged into one, and looking from a distance, it appeared to be a rainbow.

After the divine ring appeared, heaven and earth trembled slightly. The spiritual qi within an area of hundreds of miles flowed towards Long Chen, causing him to immediately feel invigorated, his whole body full of strength.

Long Chen had realized that after his thirteen cyclones had merged together, the effect was just like when he used to inject some of his FengFu Star’s spiritual qi into his cyclones. However, now it was constant. Their efficiency had reached a terrifying level.

At this point, the KingKong Fury Ape had already arrived in front of Long Chen. Without even thinking about it, Long Chen punched out.

BANG! An explosion shook the sky as terrifying waves of qi radiated out. Long Chen’s long hair danced and his clothes fluttered. The divine ring behind him contrasted and complimented him, making him appear like a celestial emperor disdainfully looking down on the nine heavens.

The KingKong Fury Ape’s terrifying attack was actually blocked by Long Chen completely. At this time, Long Chen felt an unprecedented strength within him.

It appeared he had still underestimated this divine ring. The divine ring formed from the superimposition of thirteen cyclones caused his strength to explode by an enormous amount. It was so great that even he felt some disbelief.

He didn’t have much understanding of the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art. It truly was a technique that was endlessly profound and would require continuous exploration. This combination of the thirteen cyclones was even more effective than when he had used his FengFu Star’s spiritual qi to empower his cyclones.

Long Chen let out an earth-shaking roar. That enormous KingKong Fury Ape was shockingly, directly thrown into the air by him.

His broadsword then arced through the air, releasing a sword-light that cut straight through its body, causing blood to fill the air.

The two pieces of its corpse fell to the ground.

“It really is worthy of being an Earth class Battle Skill. What a terrifying killing strength.”

Even such a powerful being like the KingKong Fury Ape was cleanly cut in two by the Parting Wind Slash. It seemed he had been looking down on the technique.

In reality, Long Chen was still unaware that not all Earth class Battle Skills could launch ranged attacks. On the contrary, most Battle Skills worked by being applied onto weapons.

It was only by chance that the Three Style Parting Wind was a Battle Skill that used the body’s wind attribute energy to release Sword Qi that could be used for ranged attacks.

Such Battle Skills were actually quite rare. It also required that the martial artist have wind attribute spiritual qi in order to train in it.

It wasn’t like ordinary Earth class Battle Skills that were attributeless and only required spiritual qi to be injected into the weapon.

Although such a technique was rare, it also had its own flaws. The main one was that those without wind attribute spiritual qi in their body were unable to use it.

As for Long Chen, he was just a beginner to the cultivation world and didn’t know what this ‘attribute’ meant. Just a careless test had allowed him to successfully train in it, but he had no idea about why he could use it.

If such a situation was known by Xia Changfeng, wouldn’t he be angered enough to die a second time?

“Aowu!”

Long Chen was interrupted from his thoughts by Little Snow running up to the KingKong Fury Ape’s corpse. He actually started to wildly tear at its flesh.

The KingKong Fury Ape’s physical body was extremely powerful and tough. Yet, Little Snow was still able to tear off a piece of its flesh for himself. But chewing it was extremely strenuous. 

Little Snow seemed to be similar to Wilde in that meat was the source of their strength and could allow them to get stronger. As soon as either of them saw meat, they had to eat it.

Long Chen took out a knife and cut off a few pieces for Little Snow. But Little Snow ignored that, focusing completely on tearing the KingKong Fury ape’s thigh muscles.

Long Chen helplessly cut a few strips of that part off. 

This corpse was to be offered to the forest divinity, but Long Chen presumed that a gentle woman like her wouldn’t be so stingy as to bicker about a bit of flesh.

Little Snow had traveled hundreds of miles for him. Who knew just how much he had suffered? If he didn’t let that little fellow eat his fill, Long Chen would feel even more guilty.

Once the little fellow had eaten his fill and his stomach was bulging out, he finally stopped and Long Chen tidied up the corpse, preparing to drag it along.

That was because its corpse was too big and was unable to fit in the spatial ring. The other reason was that Long Chen wanted to keep the scent of its blood outside. He continued deeper into the depths of the forest. 

Chapter 92 World Binding Blood Sacrifice

A six-meter-long Bright Colored Tiger fell to the ground with a seven-foot-long broadsword stabbed into its head.

The broadsword was yanked out of its head, bringing with it a spray of blood.

Long Chen wiped off some sweat. Looking at the several Magical Beast corpses behind him, he relaxed a great deal.

Over the past two days, Long Chen had dragged along Magical Beast corpses behind him, and as he had expected, the scent of their blood had drawn over other beasts.

Those beasts had exceptionally keen senses when it came to the scent of that blood. That scent meant a Magical Beast was injured. Magical Beasts were extremely ferocious, and oftentimes there would be intense battles over territory.

Deep within this thick forest, being injured signified that death was near. Those beasts that wouldn’t dare provoke Magical Beasts in normal times would all leap at this chance.

This tiger was already his eighth Magical Beast. Now there was a long string of Magical Beast corpses behind him.

There were tigers, leopards, and even huge lizards. They were all neatly strung together firmly by beast tendons.

Little Snow leisurely padded along by those corpses and would take frantic bites until he was completely full, then fall asleep. After a nap, he would immediately start eating again.

This long train of Magical Beasts had become a luxurious carriage with a free buffet for him.

Long Chen checked over his spoils. He currently had three second rank Magical Beasts and six peak first rank Magical Beasts. That should be enough to repay the forest god for her favor.

A single second rank Magical Beast’s flesh definitely contained more energy than even ten first rank Magical Beasts. Long Chen’s spoils had long since exceeded the forest god’s demands.

Long Chen remembered her benevolence and didn’t want to owe too much. Furthermore, when he had been resisting the heavenly punishment, it was the forest god who had helped him.

He had actually been hoping to get a bit more, but even after walking for a whole extra day, there were no more Magical Beasts that came. There didn’t seem to be anymore second rank Magical Beasts in the vicinity.

As for weaker first rank Magical Beasts, they were attracted by the blood, but they didn’t approach. Even a wounded second rank Magical Beast could easily kill them.

So despite roaming around for a whole day, he no longer made any more harvests. He switched directions to go directly to the mountain peak of the forest god.

When Long Chen arrived at that huge tree, the white-robed woman reappeared. But when she saw the long train of huge Magical Beast corpses behind him, she didn’t have too great of a reaction.

“You’ve come.”

“Yes, I’ve come to settle my debt,” smiled Long Chen.

“The remuneration you brought has exceeded our initial pledge. That’s not exactly fair to you.”

“In this world, there was never any real fairness. I’m just doing this to make myself feel better. I don’t like owing people,” said Long Chen.

She nodded. “Then I’ll thank you. The flesh you’ve brought should be enough for me to fully activate the World Binding Blood Sacrifice and break out of this space back to the Spirit World.”

That huge tree trembled slightly, and those huge corpses all disappeared in just a moment.

“Ao!” Little Snow who was originally sleeping on those corpses was suddenly awoken. He couldn’t help but go into a wild panic when he saw all those corpses had disappeared. He wanted to get one last bite in, but he only bit down on empty air. He actually started roaring at the woman angrily.

“Don’t make a fuss Little Snow.” Long Chen shouted laughingly at that little fellow to calm him down.

“Haha, you think I stole your meat?” She laughed, “It’s true you need meat to grow stronger. But I can give you something much better than meat.”

She waved her hand and a bright ray of light poured into Little Snow’s forehead. Shockingly, Little Snow began to slowly grow larger after being enveloped by that light.

He actually grew from being just one meter long to being close to three meters long. Little Snow now almost reached Long Chen’s shoulders.

Furthermore, Long Chen could sense a powerful aura that was only becoming stronger coming from Little Snow. 

“Second rank?!” The current aura coming from Little Snow was the aura of a second rank Magical Beast!

“I took your meat, so I’ll give you the energy to mature so that we’re even.” The woman laughed and rubbed Little Snow’s head.

That really startled Long Chen. Other than himself, Little Snow had never allowed anyone else to touch him. If Little Snow were to attack, that would definitely sour the situation.

But Little Snow was unusually calm. He seemed to actually enjoy her rubbing. Afterwards he lay on the ground and took a nap.

“I’ve completely awakened its spirit. That can count as me compensating it,” she said to Long Chen.

“Doesn’t it seem like I owe you another favor now?” Long Chen couldn’t help but shake his head, smiling bitterly.

He had thought he could completely repay his favors this time. But in the end, he owed another favor right now. However, that favor was definitely worth it.

Little Snow was a third rank Magical Beast, a Scarlet Flame Snow Wolf. His battle strength was extremely great. Now that he had already advanced to the second rank, even if he couldn’t defeat a Tendon Transformation expert, he would still be able to fight against them for a while.

Such a powerful companion could definitely provide a measure of safety for someone like him who was surrounded by danger.

“You’re too gracious. My spirit race also doesn’t like owing favors. Originally, it probably would have taken me at least a couple of hundred years before being able to return to the Spirit World. But you’ve allowed me to return home much earlier. The one who should be saying thanks is me,” she politely said. “Now I’ll be beginning the World Binding Blood Sacrifice. You should back up a bit.”

Hearing that, Long Chen hastily woke Little Snow up and rushed further away. With how solemn she was, he didn’t dare to be careless. At the same time, he was also extremely curious as to what that so-called World Binding Blood Sacrifice was.

Rumble…

Long Chen was several miles away when the rumbling began. He hastily turned to look back and jumped in shock.

The huge tree which stretched several miles into the sky had suddenly begun to explosively grow. Its enormous treetop spread, piercing through the clouds and covering half the sky.

The countless leaves completely hid the mountain peak with countless symbols shining on top of them. Divine light overflowed from them and covered the sky.

Long Chen watched with his mouth wide open. What kind of existence was this? Was it really a god? Did this world really have divinities?

If it wasn’t a god, what else could cover up the entire sky, what else had an aura that was so ancient? In front of that intimidating aura, Long Chen felt as if he wasn’t even an ant, as if he was just a speck of dust.

“It’s the forest god!” The village chief was also shocked, but the villagers recognized it to be the forest god.

Looking at the scene, all those villagers knelt on the ground and prostrated themselves towards that direction.

The forest god appeared in the sky above. She formed a strange hand seal.

“Respected ancestors, please hear your people’s call. With blood as the guide, open a path home for your people - World Binding Blood Sacrifice!”

Following her devout shout, an image made of blood appeared in the sky. By carefully looking at it, you could tell that that was the image of a leaf.

Long Chen guessed that the blood was the essence blood of the Magical Beasts she had collected over the years. But he still didn’t truly comprehend why someone as amazingly powerful as her would use human hunters to collect that blood.

With her terrifying cultivation base, no matter how strong the Magical Beast was, they would all be blown to bits just by a single breath. Was that will of resentment she had mentioned actually so terrifying?

BOOM! Heaven and earth trembled, causing Long Chen to almost fall to the ground. Raising his head, he saw that the blood image in the sky had begun to twist.

Following space’s slow warping, a huge gate fifty miles high formed. As soon as it fully formed, it began to slowly open.

The instant that door opened, Long Chen saw the world within it. That was also a world of endless trees.

But each huge tree was so tall as to prop up the heavens. There were also countless powerful beasts roaming within, each of them so large that they were comparable to mountains.

A spiritual qi that was so dense it had almost turned solid also came out of that huge door.

Just taking a slight breath, Long Chen felt his cultivation base quickly rising. It truly was too shocking.

“I’m about to leave, so thank you for your help. Expert, my spirit race looks forward to your arrival. I know that that day will not be too far off.”

The woman waved her hand to Long Chen, and the huge heaven-reaching tree slowly shrunk and entered the gate.

“This is my gift to you. The previous agreement is over, so treat it as a new promise.”

She extended a hand and a small drop of dark green blood fell towards Long Chen. Long Chen hastily reached out to receive it.

That droplet emitted an extremely dense vitality. Long Chen could sense the terrifying life energy within it.

That woman’s entire figure dimmed greatly after sending that drop out. Obviously, that drop was an extremely important thing to her.

“I can sense that you will become a peak expert in the future. My spirit race needs your help. Your body actually has- AHHH!”

Before she got halfway, she suddenly let out a terrified scream, and without even the time to say goodbye to Long Chen, she disappeared behind the huge door.

BOOM!

Seven-colored lightning abruptly appeared in the sky and smashed that huge door to pieces.

That had happened too fast, and before Long Chen could even react, the huge door had already faded away. The world on the opposite side could no longer be seen. It was as though everything had been a dream.

But the mountain the forest god had been on was now a crater. 

The forest god had left, but this place still had some remnant dense spiritual qi in the air. Long Chen quickly sat down and began to cultivate with Little Snow standing guard.

It went without saying that Long Chen’s decision was extremely smart. In just a short six hours, an explosive sound came from his body.

That explosive sound came from Long Chen’s blood. He had finally entered the first Heavenstage of Blood Condensation, becoming a true Blood Condensation expert.

Since the leftover spiritual qi from that huge door had already dissipated at this point, Long Chen no longer wasted any more time. He directly returned to the village. It was time to say farewell.

But there was still one big question that kept repeating in his mind at this time. What had the forest god meant at that last point? What had she been meaning to say before leaving in a panic?

She said his body had something on it? What could possibly cause someone as strong as her to feel so afraid?

As those questions churned in his head, he ended up getting quite close to the village when suddenly a faint scent of blood floated past his nose.

Long Chen’s expression changed and he pressed down on the ground, shooting forward like an arrow towards the village.

Chapter 93 Painful Farewell

The village was now completely surrounded by hundreds of elite, armored guards. Sharp arrows were pointed at the villagers, Xiao Hua amongst them. Their faces were pale with fright.

There were already three people lying on the ground with arrows stuck in them, their blood dyeing the ground beneath them.

“Speak, have you seen this person?” One of the middle-aged soldiers in golden armor shouted coldly, showing off a piece of paper with a drawing of a handsome youth with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. Who else could it be but Long Chen?

“We’ve already said, we’ve never seen anyone called Long Chen and we don’t know what you’re talking about. Why did you have to recklessly kill our villagers?” Xiao Hua’s face was deathly pale as she retorted angrily.

They had no idea where this group of men had come from. But they had immediately surrounded the village, and the three hunters which had just gone out were directly shot to death.

This both shocked and infuriated them. But in front of hundreds of pointed arrows, they didn’t dare make any reckless moves. Some of them were grinding their teeth, wishing to charge forward.

“Hmph, looks like you won’t cry until you see your coffins. Go slaughter those children first. Let me see if they’ll tell the truth.” That middle-aged man snorted and ordered some of his subordinates forward. They immediately pointed their arrows at the dozen children.

“Bastards, do you dare?” The village chief roared angrily and threw those children behind him.

“Kill them.” That middle-aged man’s expression was icy cold, and he didn’t even bat an eye at the elder. In his eyes, these villagers were just a bunch of weeds.

“Fine, kill us! We’re not afraid! Brother Long Chen will definitely come to kill you as revenge for us!” One of the children suddenly struggled free from one of the adults’ guard and angrily pointed at that man.

“Little kid, what nonsense are you saying?!” The village chief hastily shouted at the child to stop, but it was already too late.

That middle-aged man’s eyes brightened and he coldly sneered, “As expected, Long Chen really did come here. Kill them all. We’ll keep searching; he can’t have run far.”

Receiving that order, those troops all emotionlessly released their arrows, shooting out a rain of arrows at the villagers.

“Fuck off!” 

A harsh shout suddenly shook their eardrums and a figure rushed over like a wild gale, arriving in front of Xiao Hua and the others. With a shake of his sword, a terrifying Sword Qi ferociously fell.

The majority of those arrows were all shaken away by Long Chen. But there were still around a dozen of them that managed to slip through and hit the villagers. Pained cries rang out intermingled with the weeping of the children.

Looking at Long Chen who had suddenly descended from the sky, those elite guards were all stupefied. Even the middle-aged commander was greatly shocked.

“Zhou Weiqing, you damn bastard, all of you can go to hell!”

Long Chen’s killing intent overflowed. He recognized that middle-aged man as Zhou Weiqing, the Savage Marquis!

That bastard actually wanted to kill unarmed villagers, including the children. He was truly a bastard amongst bastards, especially in the eyes of Long Chen who had been saved by these villagers.

“Parting Wind Slice!” Long Chen’s broadsword cut across the air in front of him, and a Sword Qi invisible to the naked eye shot out like a crescent moon, immediately cutting through those stupefied troops.

That ferocious Sword Qi surged over before the troops had even reacted, immediately cutting them to pieces. Blood filled the air.

Hundreds of elite troops were killed with a single slash of Long Chen’s sword. The current Long Chen truly was just like a death god. Unending killing intent overflowed from his body.

Only the Savage Marquis managed to escape that calamity. As soon as he had seen an uninjured Long Chen appear, he knew the situation had turned sour.

The reports had stated that Long Chen was already on his last breaths. Even if he had managed to survive, he should still be heavily injured to the point where he might die at any time.

But the fourth prince had stated that if he was dead, then he wanted to see his corpse, and if he was alive, then he wanted him captured. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to set his heart at ease. He had sent warriors accustomed to pursuing and tracking as well as hunting dogs. After half a month’s chase, they had finally found this village.

They were certain Long Chen had either passed through here or was currently hiding within the village, recuperating from his wounds. So the Savage Marquis had wanted to directly kill these villagers who were hiding his existence.

And he had truly guessed right. Long Chen had shown himself. But unfortunately, the result was not what he had presumed. When a perfectly healthy Long Chen had appeared, the Savage Marquis had been scared witless.

Even back then during the Phoenix Cry Lantern Festival, Long Chen had still managed to kill Huang Chang, his name shaking the empire. On the other hand, the Savage Marquis was only at the early stage of Blood Condensation. How could he possibly be a match for Long Chen?

He had thought he would be able to capture a tiger on its deathbed, but he had miscalculated. The instant he had seen Long Chen strike, he had quickly retreated without even thinking about it. At the same time, he also took out a shield to protect himself.

By the time Long Chen’s Sword Qi had reached him, he had already fled to the edge of the attack. But even so, the shield in his hand was still broken and he spat out blood.

However, the Savage Marquis truly was an expert. He was someone who had already seen blood before. Resisting the intense pain from his stomach, he used his full strength to flee deep into the forest.

“You want to run?”

A sinister ruthlessness appeared on Long Chen’s face. Kicking up an arrow from the ground, he flung it forward.

The arrow shot through the air like lightning. The Savage Marquis, who was fleeing for his life, didn’t realize that an arrow which could take his life was right behind him.

The arrow pierced right through his armor. The force behind it had been so great that the golden armor was unable to pose even the slightest bit of resistance.

The Savage Marquis’s body was shaken by that force, and he was sent tumbling through the air into a huge tree dozens of meters away.

He violently spat out blood. That arrow had violently shaken his internal organs.

“Don’t kill him, Little Snow!” Long Chen suddenly noticed a white light dash towards Zhou Weiqing and hastily shouted out. He was leaving Zhou Weiqing alive because he still had some use for him.

Little Snow stopped when he heard Long Chen’s call. He had already arrived right at that huge tree and was motionlessly staring at the Savage Marquis.

Seeing that the Savage Marquis was under control, Long Chen quickly ran over to the villagers, bending over to examine their arrow wounds. There were three people who had been struck through the vitals and had already died. Amongst them was even a seven-year-old child.

This made Long Chen feel as though it was his own heart that was being pierced. This had been brought on by him. He was filled with hate; however, he didn’t know whether that hatred was for Marquis Ying, the fourth prince, Zhou Weiqing, or himself.

He quickly gave the injured people some medicinal pills. As long as they hadn’t died immediately, Long Chen’s medicinal pills would ensure that they would completely recover.

The other villagers also rushed to help the wounded. They also gathered up their dead, and the entire village mourned.

“I’m sorry, village chief.” Seeing the old man’s tears streaming down his face, Long Chen was filled with regret. This was his own mistake.

“Child, this isn’t your fault. Don’t feel guilty.” The old man shook his head.

But the more he was like this, the worse Long Chen felt. If it hadn’t been for him, such a calamity would definitely not have befallen the village.

“Long Chen, your heart is something we all understand. We’re all a family, so don’t be like this.” Xiao Hua’s comforting voice came from the side.

Long Chen took a deep breath and said to her, “Xiao Hua, I’m about to leave.”

Her body shook and she was overwhelmed with shock. “You… you want to leave us?”

Looking at her desolate expression and her uncontrollable tears, Long Chen could only quietly reply, “I’m sorry, but I must leave. You’ve seen that I have enemies. If I don’t leave, a huge disaster will befall the village.” Brushing back her hair lightly, he gently continued, “The village has already paid too high a price for me. I don’t dare to stay with you. I hope… I hope you can forgive me.”

Xiao Hua slapped away Long Chen’s hand and miserably cursed, “You bastard, you liar, I hate you!”

After saying that, she ran off to her own room and slammed the door shut.

Long Chen sighed. Looking at that tightly closed door, he didn’t say any more. Thinking back to when he had just awoken, he recalled Xiao Hua’s sweet and satisfied smile when she had said he was her man.

“Child, don’t feel too bad. If you want to leave, then leave. Remember, if you don’t like the outside world, you can always return. This place is also your home,” said the old man sincerely as he patted Long Chen’s shoulders.

“Thank you, village chief.” The village chief’s approval did make him feel a bit better.

“As for Xiao Hua, I’ll console her. Don’t worry, she is a sensible child. She’ll slowly come to understand this.”

Long Chen nodded. He took out a few medicinal pills from his spatial ring. These medicinal pills were varied in quality, but even the worst ones would still be miraculous medicines in the eyes of these hunters.

Now that the forest god had left, the village no longer had her support. They would only be able to rely on themselves in the future. Long Chen left behind large quantities of healing medicines as well as a recipe for a medicinal liquid that they could make on their own.

The village already had a couple of such recipes, but they were incomparable to Long Chen’s. Other than medicinal pills, Long Chen also wrote several experiences and insights that pertained to the Qi Condensation realm’s cultivation. He also left behind the Breaking Wind Fist, Windchasing Steps, and other techniques of that level for them.

That was in the hopes that the village would be able to nurture some experts. If the village had a couple of Blood Condensation experts, they would definitely be much safer.

He also left behind a dozen Blood Breaking Pills. As long as someone advanced to the ninth Heavenstage of Qi Condensation, they would immediately advance to Blood Condensation after taking one of them.

Using a medicinal pill to break through was likely to cause your foundation to be flawed. But even so, to these people, that was not something to complain about. Without Long Chen’s assistance, most of them would be unable to step into Blood Condensation in their whole lives.

Only by doing all of this could he feel at ease. Long Chen trusted that from today onwards, the village would only continue growing stronger. 

Now they had medicinal pills, Battle Skills, and weapons. In the future, even if they didn’t have the forest god, they would still be able to survive very well.

When they arrived at the village gate to send him off, the entire village gathered over to reluctantly say goodbye to Long Chen. There were even some children who tightly hugged his leg, not letting him leave.

This scene truly did cause Long Chen to feel sad inside, but he had to leave. The only thing he regretted was that Xiao Hua continued to stay locked in her room. It seemed she really did hate him now.

After saying goodbye, Long Chen was just about to leave.

“Wait!”

Long Chen paused and slowly turned back. Xiao Hua opened her door and ran right up next to him.

Her originally bright eyes were now red and filled with pain.

“Long Chen, I know I can’t keep you. I made this just now. I hope you can forever wear it on your body.”

After saying that, Xiao Hua took out a necklace that was made from some multi-colored rocks.

“Haha, perhaps this gift is too poor and will be laughed at.” Xiao Hua laughed mockingly at herself. But although she smiled, tears kept falling from her eyes.

“I’ll properly keep it in my care. But how about you come with me?” Long Chen couldn’t help but feel his heart ache when he looked at Xiao Hua.

Her eyes brightened for a moment, but they quickly dulled again. She shook her head, “We are people who live in different worlds. I can’t leave my family. I just hope that when you look upon this necklace in the future, you’ll remember that there was once a girl… whose heart… yearned to go hunting with you… and make babies.”

Towards the end, Xiao Hua’s voice ended up becoming choked with emotion. After forcing out those last words, she fell into Long Chen’s embrace and began to weep and bawl.

Long Chen didn’t know how he managed to leave in the end. He felt his own heart shattering. This was the first time he had experienced being so helpless. This was a helplessness that a higher cultivation base could not resolve.

Dragging the half-dead Savage Marquis, Long Chen disappeared into the depths of the forest.

Xiao Hua’s tears continued to flow as she watched that figure disappear from her view. A light breeze blew by, bringing with it the tumbling of dried leaves. The autumn wind was cold.

Chapter 94 Extreme Urgency

Once Long Chen had dragged the Savage Marquis dozens of miles away, he threw him to the ground. Zhou Weiqing was already so heavily wounded that just this little impact caused him to spit out more blood.

Having been hit by the arrow which Long Chen had thrown so powerfully, his organs had already been shaken to pieces. But as a Blood Condensation expert, the blood in his body contained a great deal of life energy, so he wouldn’t die immediately.

“Zhou Weiqing, tell me, how should I kill you?”

Long Chen looked down at this man who was once a powerful expert in his eyes, his voice filled with bone-chilling coldness.

If it had just been a personal enmity between the two of them, Long Chen wouldn’t have minded giving him a quick death. But thinking back to the corpses of those villagers and their sorrowful expressions, his hatred of this bastard exploded.

He didn’t know in just what manner he could kill Zhou Weiqing that would relieve his anger. He only coldly contemplated this, thinking of a suitable method.

“Long… Long Chen, don’t kill me! I’ll tell you all my secrets! I was also forced, so I was also helpless!”

Zhou Weiqing was as pale as a sheet of paper. He could feel his life force quickly fading. Right now, the only one that could save him was Long Chen who was a pill cultivator.

In order to save his own life, this proud and arrogant noble no longer cared about anything and even begged Long Chen for mercy.

“Does saying that have any meaning at this time? I already know that everything was planned by the fourth prince. As long as I return to the capital, everything will be revealed. There is no need for you to talk,” snorted Long Chen coldly.

“No, no, Long Chen, the situation is definitely not as simple as you think! As long as you promise to let me go, I’ll tell you something extremely urgent. It definitely won’t disappoint you!” said Zhou Weiqing hastily.

Long Chen coldly said, “Speak. If it really is helpful to me, I won’t mind leaving you alive.”

Zhou Weiqing celebrated and hastily said, “Your household has already been captured and placed into prison. They’re currently waiting to be executed.”

“What?!” 

Long Chen’s expression changed and he harshly shouted, “Bastard, you dare try to trick me?”

“No! I definitely wouldn’t dare try to trick you!”

“Once Wilde returned to the capital, he should have immediately gone to protect my family. How could they possibly be captured? Furthermore, even if Wilde didn’t inform him, how could grandmaster Yun Qi just watch without lifting a finger?” Long Chen raged.

“Wilde truly did rush to your family as soon as possible, but he wasn’t able to protect your household.”

“Why not?” Even with Long Chen’s calm, he was still panicking now.

“Cough, cough… I…” Zhou Weiqing wanted to speak but an intense bout of coughing overcame him.

Long Chen coldly snorted. Zhou Weiqing was getting smart and resorting to petty tricks. He threw down a medicinal pill. “Take it, it’ll heal your wounds.”

“Thank you, young master.”

Zhou Weiqing hastily swallowed. He had always kept an eye on Long Chen for years, and he knew that he was just like his father and would take his promises seriously.

But so far he had only agreed to let him go and hadn’t promised to heal his wounds. If Long Chen left, he wouldn’t even be able to support himself for more than a couple of hours before the spiritual qi in his blood was exhausted.

And within those few hours, he would be completely unable to walk out of this forest to find help, so he would definitely die. For him to be able to force Long Chen into giving him a medicinal pill in his state, there was no choice but to admit that Zhou Weiqing truly did have a cunning side.

“If I tell you everything, you have to keep your promise and not make things hard for me.” After taking that medicinal pill, Zhou Weiqing was surprised to see that his damaged organs were slowly healing back, meaning Long Chen’s medicinal pill truly was very effective.

But he once more repeated himself in order to be cautious. If Long Chen were to go back on his promise, it would be impossible for him to survive.

“Don’t worry, I will use the Long family’s reputation to guarantee it,” snorted Long Chen coldly.

Hearing that, Zhou Weiqing was relieved. With Long Chen’s pride, the chance of him reneging on his promise was low.

“Once Wilde returned to your home, he immediately alerted your mother. But they were unable to leave the Long household.”

“Why not?”

“Because they had all been poisoned,” answered Zhou Weiqing.

Long Chen’s expression became incredibly unsightly. “Who did that?!”

“You mother’s family did it. They’re actually spies of the fourth prince. They had always been secretly controlling the Long household. When Wilde returned, he was too weak and too hungry to fight back. As soon as he warned the Long household, they were all poisoned with an extremely undetectable poison. Normally it will conceal itself in the body. With your experience, you should also have heard of the Soul-Scattering Powder?” probed Zhou Weiqing carefully.

Long Chen’s expression became even gloomier. The fact that Zhou Weiqing had said the Soul-Scattering Powder meant that he was telling the truth.

Soul-Scattering Powder was an extremely rarely seen medicinal ingredient. Its poisonous nature wasn’t actually strong, but it could confuse a person’s spirit, causing them to enter a suspended animation state of fake death. Other than some people with strong Spiritual Strength, there were few that could block it.

And this kind of medicinal ingredient was colorless and odorless. Ordinary people were unable to recognize it. As soon as they smelled the Soul-Scattering Powder, they would immediately sink into a deep sleep.

Long Chen had never thought that the fourth prince’s schemes would be so profound. His hatred of his mother’s family also grew as he recalled their hypocritical faces. At this time, they had landed a fatal blow against his family.

Thinking of his mother, who had been captured, a burning urgency filled him. He needed to rush back to the capital immediately to save his mother.

“What happened with grandmaster Yun Qi?” Long Chen suddenly felt that something was strange. Was grandmaster Yun Qi being obstructed?

“At that time, grandmaster Yun Qi was in seclusion to refine pills. Furthermore, this matter was done extremely covertly. Grandmaster Yun Qi didn’t know of it, and once he knew, your family had already been imprisoned. At that time, he personally went to the imperial palace to demand that they release them, but the Empress Dowager showed him the photographic jade evidence of you killing the Grand Xia’s prince, and thus, grandmaster Yun Qi was also helpless,” explained Zhou Weiqing.

He had truly been too careless. Long Chen regretted his own stupidity. Obviously, that photographic jade had been brought back by Marquis Ying.

Him killing Xia Changfeng had absolutely been part of the fourth prince’s plans. Despite grandmaster Yun Qi’s illustrious status, his position was not one that could directly participate in the matters of the empire. And so he could only watch powerlessly.

“Chu Xia!” Long Chen ground his teeth angrily. It was as though he could see the fourth prince’s mocking face, and killing intent overflowed from him.

“What else is there?” Long Chen took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.

“Well, furthermore, they plan on executing them,” said Zhou Weiqing carefully. Seeing Long Chen’s frighteningly sinister expression, he was afraid he might forget himself in his anger and kill him.

“Since they haven’t captured me, they’re using my household to make up for it?” Long Chen tightly clenched his fists. The flames of fury within his eyes almost took physical shape.

“That’s most likely correct.”

“Hmph, then their goal is to draw out my father, correct?” Long Chen snorted. Although he was incredibly angry, Long Chen was still able to figure out the fourth prince’s intentions.

To the fourth prince, Long Chen was just a single chess piece. All the circumstances he had forced him into were just to draw out Long Tianxiao.

He naturally also knew that the capital was filled with crouching dragons and hidden tigers waiting for Long Tianxiao to take the bait.

Being treated as a chess piece by others was definitely a dislikable feeling. But for Chu Yao, Long Chen had been willing to play his part as a chess piece.

He hadn’t expected the fourth prince to be so ruthless. Not only had his plans involved Long Chen, but he had also implicated Long Chen’s entire household. That was something which no one would be able to endure.

“Chu Xia, wait for me! If I don’t chop off your head this time, then I won’t be Long Chen!”

Long Chen suddenly thought of something and he asked, “What’s the date of the execution?”

Zhou Weiqing was startled and replied, “Counting the days, it should the day after tomorrow.”

Hearing that, Long Chen no longer bothered with Zhou Weiqing. He called over Little Snow and started to wildly rush over to the capital.

“Ao!” Little Snow suddenly howled as they rushed.

Long Chen was slightly startled. “You want me to ride you?”

Little Snow let out a quiet roar. Not caring whether or not Long Chen wanted to, he flipped Long Chen up with his head, and Long Chen immediately felt his body become light as he was lifted up onto Little Snow’s back.

Now that the forest god had awakened Little Snow’s spirit, he was even larger than a horse. His body was over three meters long. He was no longer that adorable little fellow anymore.

“Roar!”

Long Chen smiled slightly, “Don’t worry, once I’m steadied, I won’t fall… aiya!”

Little Snow had already charged forward before he had finished speaking. Being caught by surprise, Long Chen was almost thrown off. He hurriedly grabbed onto Little Snow’s fur.

Only now did Long Chen experience just how terrifying the speed of a second rank Magical Beast was. The trees to either side blew by. The wild wind that whistled around made it difficult for him to even keep his eyes open.

“Good job Little Snow!” Long Chen praised Little Snow. Originally, he had been worried that he wouldn’t be able to rush back to the capital in time. But with Little Snow’s current speed, that didn’t seem to be much of a problem anymore.

His worries also dissipated slightly. Looking at the quickly retreating trees, Long Chen’s eyes flashed with a harsh intent. I’m coming. 

…

Zhou Weiqing watched as Long Chen left. He was relieved that he had managed to keep his life. At the same time though, he was also filled with hatred.

When he was young, he had been struck by Long Tianxiao’s palm and his Dantian had been shaken, causing his cultivation base to forever stop at the early stage of Blood Condensation.

Over ten years had passed, and now he had been suppressed by his son. Furthermore, he had been suppressed even more miserably. If he hadn’t begged for mercy, even his life would have been lost.

Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but grind his teeth. But then a sinister smile appeared on his mouth. Long Chen should just give up any thoughts of surviving now that he had gone to the capital.

But before he followed Long Chen back to the capital, he still had one thing he had to do. That was to completely slaughter those villagers. Long Chen had definitely left behind some medicinal pills for them.

“AH!” Zhou Weiqing screamed suddenly. An intense pain came from his arm. He looked over and saw that without realizing it, a red-colored ant had crawled up his arm and was now biting down on him.

“Heart Devouring Ant?!”

Zhou Weiqing was terrified. As soon as he recognized that small ant, it was as though he had seen a demon. That was a terrifying poisonous ant.

It was said that this kind of ant wasn’t that strong. It only had a slight poisonous nature that wasn’t life-threatening. But when they bit you, it would be incomparably painful, as if your heart and insides were being devoured.

Zhou Weiqing swatted that ant, killing it in a single blow. Just as he was about to move, his eyes were suddenly filled with terror. He didn’t know at what time, but now all the surrounding trees were covered with Heart Devouring Ants. 

He suddenly thought of the medicinal pill Long Chen had thrown to him. He remembered seeing a twinkle of ridicule in his eyes when he had given that to him.

“AHHHH!!!”

Just at this moment, thousands upon thousands of Heart Devouring Ants smelled a special smell coming from Zhou Weiqing’s body and charged over. They went all-out to devour as much of him as they could. In their eyes, his body was a huge delicacy.

His miserable screams continued endlessly. The Heart Devouring Ants’ poison wasn’t strong and wouldn’t kill him. But the intense pain would wrack his body so much that he would be unable to move.

In this world, the most painful way to die was to clearly sense endless pain and want to faint, only to have losing consciousness become a luxury that wasn’t given to you, and to have that pain continue until you were nothing more than a pile of bones.

Chapter 95 Execution Ground

The Phoenix Cry imperial capital stood there as majestic as ever, emitting an ancient air. That was something that could not be concealed despite the several wars it had experienced in the past thousand years.

But today, the imperial capital was no longer as bustling and filled with traffic as it normally was. It was filled with a foreboding air, and not a single shop opened its doors.

In just a single month’s time, the capital had completely changed. First the news of Xia Changfeng being murdered shook the entire Phoenix Cry Empire.

But even more shocking was that the person who had killed the Grand Xia’s prince was the most famous person in the capital, the junior generation’s strongest member who had risen like a shooting star, Long Chen!

When the photographic jade’s images had spread throughout the capital, everyone had been completely shocked. The image of Long Chen killing Xia Changfeng was forever stuck in their minds.

Long Chen, who was originally high-spirited and full of endless prospects, had now become the entire empire’s number one wanted criminal.

The Long household’s people had all been imprisoned in just one night. After another few days, large quantities of soldiers began to flow towards the capital.

Before anyone could even understand what was happening, four hundred thousand elite troops from the Grand Xia had encircled the city. 

Everyone had been incomparably nervous, waiting for the spark of a huge war to ignite the capital in flames. That thought caused all these people, who were used to living in peace and security, to be filled with fright.

But the lucky thing was that the battle never occurred. The fourth prince had appeared to mediate both parties. Saying that he had already captured the killer and had investigated the whole matter, he gave the Grand Xia an acceptable account.

Only then did the elite troops withdraw their siege of the capital. But they didn’t go far. They pitched camp forty miles away from the capital. If the Phoenix Cry Empire didn’t hand over acceptable terms, they definitely wouldn’t mind starting a huge war.

That foreboding air enveloped the entire capital. Although the capital had Marquis Ying and Marquis Wu leading the majority of the strongest troops in the empire, this situation had arisen so suddenly that they had been unable to collect the rest of their forces. If a battle really did start, whether they could win or not, the capital itself would definitely become a scene of disaster.

At the same time, there were also people who secretly wondered what was going on. Weren’t the Phoenix Cry Empire and the Grand Xia Empire supposed to be allies? How did they suddenly end up on opposite sides of the battlefield now?

What kind of satirical situation was this? It was always the enemies you never thought about who did the most damage. Otherwise, there was no way they would have been able to encircle their capital so easily.

Following the Long household’s capture, huge waves erupted in the empire. The first thing people thought of was the Border Suppression Marquis, who was defending the border against the barbarian tribes.

The Border Suppression Marquis had guarded the border for over ten years. He had control of fifty thousand elite troops that had fought with the barbarian tribes over and over. It could be said that his army was a true elite force.

As for the ‘elite troops’ currently residing in the capital who lived peaceful, satisfied lives the entire time and had only completed some drilling, the difference was immense, completely incomparable.

The Border Suppression Marquis’s elite troops would definitely be able to fight enemies ten times their number. After the Empress Dowager had imperially arrested the Long household, everyone wondered just how Long Tianxiao would react.

Ten days ago, sudden news had leaked that Long Chen’s murder of Xia Changfeng had been incited by the crown prince, and so even the crown prince had been arrested.

There had also been several ‘henchmen’ that had been taken in with him. Today was the day for all these ‘murderers’ to face their executions.

Outside the city walls, the martial stage that had often been used for fights, had been torn down to be replaced with a huge execution stage.

On one side of the execution stage were the Phoenix Cry Empire’s elite troops, while on the other side were the Grand Xia’s elite troops. They both watched each other from a distance with the atmosphere being incredibly tense.

The commoners of the Phoenix Cry Empire were also watching from far away. This was the most controversial and shocking matter that had occurred in the Phoenix Cry Empire in the several dozen

 years.

Not only was a noble family about to be eradicated, but the crown prince was also to be executed. There were also dozens of members of the imperial court who had been implicated. 

There were two lines of people on the execution grounds, one lined up in the back and one lined up in the front. There were dozens of people in the front row, all wearing imperial robes. They were completely bound, lying there on the ground.

Although everyone had already been prepared to see that, they were still greatly shaken. Those were the most senior ministers of the empire. Normally, just getting a glance of them was almost impossible, but today they had become prisoners.

However, the most shocking thing for everyone was the sight of the person who was bound front at the execution platform. It was crown prince Chu Yang! The current Chu Yang had long since lost his majestic and graceful poise. His hair was a mess and his eyes darted around. He was mumbling something that couldn’t be heard as he incessantly fidgeted.

Behind this group of people was another group of over twenty people. This group included maids and servants. They were actually the Long household’s people.

Mrs. Long was shackled by iron fetters. Her expression was haggard as she looked into the distance. Who knew what she was thinking.

Other than Mrs. Long, the rest of the Long household’s members couldn’t help but weep. They knew that today would be the last day of their lives. Looking at the executioners beside them, they were filled with despair.

“Ah, my Long family has truly let you down. If there is a next life, my Long family will definitely make it up to you.”

Looking at the weeping people surrounding her, Mrs. Long couldn’t help but sigh. They were all innocent, but they had been implicated by being part of the Long household.

“Madam, don’t say that. We are members of the Long household, and we will be part of the Long household even in death. We don’t regret anything,” said Bao-er firmly.

“Hmph, you want a next life? Just keep on dreaming. Your Long household really is just a group of idiots,” said a man with a long blade in his hand coldly.

Mrs. Long glared hatefully at that man, her eyes filled with poison. She wished she could tear that man apart.

“Li Feng, you bastard, even as a ghost I won’t forgive you.” Mrs. Long ground her teeth.

That person was one of the officers in charge of the execution and was her older sister’s son. Looking at him caused Mrs. Long to feel needle-like pain in her heart.

Back when her family had been ignoring her, she had been completely dejected. But then recently, when they had warmed back up to her, her mood had completely reversed. She knew they were just currying favor, but they were her family after all. She still forgave them.

But who would have thought that it would be her closest family that would force her Long household into the depths of despair? That had truly caused her to feel endless resentment.

She remembered back when Wilde had returned to the Long household. Seeing her, the first thing he had said was, “Quickly go ask for grandmaster Yun Qi’s help.” He had then fainted straight away.

When Marquis Ying had gone to chase after Long Chen into the forest, Wilde had already been completely exhausted. After just resting for a moment, he had suddenly remembered what Long Chen had told him and rushed back to the capital.

Who knew whether it was Wilde’s luck that was great or whether Marquis Ying’s subordinates were incompetent, but Wilde managed to return without any resistance.

However, he hadn’t dared to stop to eat. He had relied only on his willpower to sustain himself until he had reached the Long household. After saying a single line, he had been overcome by his exhaustion and fainted.

Wilde hadn’t noticed that at that time, Mrs. Long was in the midst of chatting with her older sister’s family. Perhaps even if he had noticed, he wouldn’t have done anything differently.

When Wilde had fainted, Mrs. Long had hastily shouted for people to help. Her older sister had immediately comforted her and called over two people who weren’t that far away.

Wilde had fainted due to hunger. In order to awaken, they had brought over several bowls of water, but Wilde still hadn’t shown any signs of awakening.

Just when Mrs. Long had felt that something wasn’t right, she suddenly smelled a certain thing and immediately lost consciousness. But right before her eyes had completely closed, she had seen her older sister’s smile that was full of ridicule.

By the time she awakened once more, the entire Long household had been thrown into a dark prison. That caused Mrs. Long to be filled with regret and hatred as well as a deep sense of self-blame.

Li Feng smiled coldly when he looked at her. “Even as a ghost, you’ll hate me? Hmph, even as ghosts you’d just be a group of idiot ghosts not worth interacting with. Ten years ago you were all also this stupid. At that time, we had already decided to part ways with you in order to avoid being implicated. And now it seems you’ve become even dumber. After just saying a few random words, you actually ended up completely trusting us. If such an idiot didn’t die, then it really would be a defiance of the heavens.”

Mrs. Long trembled in anger. Tears flowed down her face, but she didn’t say anything. This was her family?!

“You don’t need to cry. As my relative, I’ll help to end your sorrow by speeding things up a bit. You won’t feel any pain.” Li Feng gently shook his blade and continued, “But aunt, I really do need to thank you. Once I chop off your head, my career will quickly advance. Now that so many people are about to die in high positions, there are many openings for some lucrative posts. One of those spots will definitely be mine. Once I’m rich I definitely won’t forget aunt’s favor. During the New Year, I will definitely burn some paper money for you, haha.”[1]

“Li Feng, you definitely won’t die a good death!” Bao-er cursed him from the side when she saw his satisfied smile. She really couldn’t stand seeing this despicable bastard. Thinking back to when he had acted so well-behaved in front of them, his current expression made her nauseous.

“Not a good death? Hehe, that’ll be you guys! Soon your heads will fall to the ground!” Li Feng sinisterly laughed at Bao-er.

Bao-er was just about to retort when a heavy figure was thrown to the ground beside her.

“Wilde!” Mrs. Long let out a sorrowful cry.

Wilde currently looked like a hedgehog with long iron needles stabbing all over his body.

Those were torture tools called Bone Eroding Needles. There was a painful poison coated on them that could erode a person’s bones, causing the person to feel intense pain deep in their marrow.

That kind of pain was something no one could resist. Most people were unable to even bear having one of the needles being pierced into them. Even cultivators would be unable to endure more than five of them. That kind of pain was enough to kill someone.

But Wilde’s body was completely covered with that kind of needle. Wilde’s ability to resist pain was absolutely shocking. Originally, Wilde had been unconscious, but when he had been thrown on the ground, those needles had once more pricked his bones, causing him to awaken.

“Mom, you don’t need to be worried. Wilde doesn’t feel any pain.” Seeing Mrs. Long crying, Wilde tried to comfort her, even forcing out a slight smile.

But the current Wilde had lost so much weight that he was now practically skin and bones. His smile was actually extremely ugly now.

Back when Long Chen had brought Wilde back home for the first time, Long Chen had told Mrs. Long about his circumstances. He had hoped that his mother would accept him as her adopted son.

Wilde had called Mrs. Long ‘mom’ the whole time, but Mrs. Long had always felt that the appellation was a bit strange and hadn’t replied to it.

But now when Wilde called her that, she couldn't help but feel sour inside. “Wilde, mom has let you down.”

[1] It’s a Chinese tradition to burn paper money for your dead relatives so they have money to spend in the afterlife. 

Chapter 96 Crisis

“Wilde, mom has let you down.”

Mrs. Long was truly agonized. Wilde was a good child, and even at such a time, he still didn’t have the slightest bit of resentment against her. He was actually consoling her instead. That made her feel even more forlorn.

If it weren’t for her family’s schemes, she wouldn’t have implicated everyone. Looking at Wilde who was on his last breaths but still acted as though he were fine, she felt as if a knife was stabbing into her heart.

“Mom, don’t be afraid. Long Chen will definitely come and save us,” comforted Wilde. He did his best to sit up. That way he could alleviate some of the pressure from the needles and he could feel a bit more ‘comfortable’.

“Child, it’s been hard on you.” Each Bone Eroding Needle was a horrifying torture object, and seeing them cover his body so densely caused her to cry even harder. Just how much pain had this child suffered?

“Mom, I’m fine. That bastard Marquis Ying interrogated me, but I didn’t even know what he was talking about. In any case, I didn’t say a word, infuriating the old bastard,” laughed Wilde.

Once Marquis Ying had recovered from his wounds, he had heard that Wilde had been captured. He had immediately gone to interrogate him alone.

He was extremely curious about Wilde’s physical body. He was still in disbelief that a novice like him, who hadn’t even reached Blood Condensation, had been able to block his sword.

He wanted to know how Wilde cultivated. However, he didn’t have Long Chen’s powerful soul. He was unable to see through the situation with Wilde’s cells.

Although he did find out that Wilde’s body was extremely strange with only four meridians, he had assumed that it was the result of training in some sort of mysterious cultivation technique since childhood.

Marquis Ying naturally wouldn’t give up a chance to obtain such a mysterious cultivation technique. Even if he couldn’t cultivate it, it would definitely be a priceless treasure if he could obtain it.

But he hadn’t expected a kid like Wilde to be so tough. He didn’t say a single word, and no matter how he hit him, he didn’t make a single sound.

He had tried all sorts of torture, in the end even using the cruelest Bone Eroding Needles all over his body. But he still didn’t say a single word.

Later, Marquis Ying gradually realized that Wilde’s body’s strangeness was most likely due to his constitution.

Perhaps Wilde’s cultivation technique was something that others would be incapable of cultivating even if they had the technique! Forcefully cultivating in it would only result in death.

The real question was just what kind of existence could block the pain of the Bone Eroding Needle? Even if you could resist one needle, who could possibly take ten of them without dying? Even a Tendon Transformation expert would go crazy from the pain of ten Bone Eroding Needles.

Having understood that point, Marquis Ying no longer bothered with Wilde’s cultivation technique. He was more interested in Wilde’s physical body. He wanted to see just how many Bone Eroding Needles a person’s body could take.

And that was how Wilde had turned into a human-shaped hedgehog. That was absolutely shocking to Marquis Ying. Even being covered by the Bone Eroding Needles, he still didn’t die. His physical body was too terrifying.

It was at that time that he had been ordered to send Wilde to the execution ground, and only then did he stop his torture of Wilde.

“Hmph, I guess you are pretty difficult to deal with since you could survive that many Bone Eroding Needles. I wonder if your neck will be able to stop my blade? I truly am curious,” Li Feng said to Wilde coldly.

“You bastard, just wait! Brother Long will definitely come to save us!” Wilde retorted angrily.

“Just keep dreaming. No matter who comes, no one will be able to save you, not even God himself. Just quietly become a ghost,” sneered Li Feng coldly. He no longer bothered with them.

A disturbance arose as a party from both the Phoenix Cry Empire and the Grand Xia Empire walked out. On the side of the Phoenix Cry Empire was the Empress Dowager along with the princes and princesses, as well as the powerful chancellors.

On the side of the Grand Xia Empire was a large, tower-like man wearing yellow robes. Behind him were three armed soldiers closely following him.

Those four all emitted a terrifying pressure. Their reserved auras seemed like volcanoes that might erupt at any moment.

The person at the front was the Grand Xia’s Emperor, Xia Youyu. The three people behind him were the Grand Xia’s peak experts. This time Xia Youyu had truly brought his entire empire’s top forces here.

The two groups stopped when they were a few dozen steps from each other. The fourth prince was the first to walk out. Behind him were two people, one of which was Marquis Ying. The other one was a slightly short, bearded man with a warhammer on his back. That was the equally famous Wu Yi who was known as Marquis Wu.

Ever since the eldest prince had been removed from his position, the Empress Dowager had supported the fourth prince to become the inheritor of the empire, making him become the new crown prince. And once the fourth prince had become the crown prince, in a thunderous strike, he had immediately captured the eldest prince’s henchmen.

He also quickly ordered Marquis Wu to recall his army back to the capital to defend. They had only just managed to return when the Grand Xia’s army had arrived and encircled the capital.

The fourth prince had gone out in front of the capital and faced hundreds of thousands of the Grand Xia’s elite troops as calm as ever in order to negotiate, causing the Grand Xia’s army to pause outside the city gates, allowing the commoners to escape having their blades wreck havoc on the city.

When the commoners inside the city saw the fourth prince’s suave and elegant manner, there were none who didn’t feel admiration. That was the kind of boldness a ruler of an empire should have.

“As for brother Changfeng’s misfortune, Chu Xia is deeply apologetic. But luckily the heavens have blessed us and the criminals have already been arrested. I hope the blood of these people can comfort brother Changfeng’s soul.” The fourth prince ‘regretfully’ apologized to Xia Youyu.

Xia Youyu’s expression was a bit complicated. This man should be his sister’s son, and he was truly a bit unwilling inside.

He knew his son had died a wrongful death under the hands of this fourth prince Chu Xia. But he was unable to take revenge.

That was because there had been someone who had ordered him not to harm even a single hair on his body. The reason he had brought these troops was also because of that person’s order. This was all just a play written by Chu Xia.

“Seeing Your Majesty Youyu’s manner, which has yet to recover from the loss of your son, Chu Xia has truly sensed His Majesty’s strong paternal love for brother Changfeng. The loss of brother Changfeng at such a young age truly does cause one to sigh.” The fourth prince shook his head.

Xia Youyu narrowed his eyes, wishing he could slap this fake hypocrite. Even after killing his son, he now put on such an act. That was truly intolerable!

But he didn’t dare make a move. He knew that if he killed Chu Xia, he would definitely not have a good ending. He could only endure.

“Crown prince Chu Xia is too courteous. As long as I can kill my son’s murderer, I believe Changfeng will be able to truly rest contentedly.” Xia Youyu looked profoundly at Chu Xia. When he said ‘murderer’, a cold light flashed in his eyes.

The fourth prince ignored that gaze, lightly saying, “Rest easy Your Majesty. The killers have been captured and can’t run. But in order to maintain our two empires’ friendship, a couple of sacrifices are unavoidable. Only by giving up a few prejudices and misunderstandings can two empires’ people enjoy peace. Thinking back to the Grand Xia and Phoenix Cry’s friendship, I must say that Your Majesty’s vision truly is great. What do you say?”

Xia Youyu finally understood that this chess piece he had set up all those years ago had already escaped his chessboard and was beginning to control him instead. The fourth prince’s killing of Xia Changfeng was to tell him that this Chu Xia was no longer the old Chu Xia.

If he wanted to continue controlling him, that would be a grave mistake. Even just the slightest carelessness might even bring about his own fall.

The fourth prince’s words immediately caused him to awaken from his grief. He nodded, “Correct, peace is the dream of the people.”

“That’s entirely true. But peace must be built on a foundation of trust and equality. Those who would attempt to break our empires’ peace must die.”

He coldly smiled and looked towards the eldest prince and his people. His smile suddenly disappeared and he harshly shouted, “Chu Yang, do you admit your crimes?!”

Chu Yang, who was originally just lying there, was jolted suddenly and looked up into the sky, terrified. It seemed as if he was seeing some terrifying image, and he incessantly kowtowed.

“Guilty, I’m guilty!”

He repeated he was guilty over and over as he kowtowed, seeming to be full of remorse. But not a single person noticed that within the hair on the back of his head were three extremely thin needles.

He wasn’t the only one with needles in his head. The calm and slightly lifeless Empress Dowager also had such thin needles on the back of her head, but her hair blocked it so that no one could see.

The fourth prince looked over everyone and coldly shouted, “Our Phoenix Cry’s eldest prince tried in vain to destroy the peace between our two nations. He threatened to throw our people into an abyss of torture. Death without pardon - kill!”

Following his cold order, the head executioner’s blade fell.

Blood flew everywhere. Over ten heads fell to the ground and dyed the earth red. Of the members of the Long household in the row behind them, over half of them fainted directly.

The commoners watching from a distance closed their eyes in fright. It wasn’t that they hadn’t seen executions before, but they had never seen so many people executed for some heinous crimes.

Furthermore, those people were all the highest officials of the empire, causing many of them to not be able to bear the sight. At the same time, their respect for the fourth prince only grew.

Seeing all those people be executed, the fourth prince took a deep breath. He was too excited. He loved this feeling of control. Just a single thought on his part controlled the life and death of the people around him. That was the fascination of power.

He looked towards the pale faces of the princes, princesses, and the nobility. The fear in their eyes was exactly what he had wanted to see.

He would borrow this chance to clear out any other parties and make everyone acknowledge allegiance to him while making it so that they didn’t dare rebel against him. He would become a king who ruled through complete power. Follow me and prosper; oppose me and die.

“This is the result of disloyalty!”

The fourth prince coldly looked up from those corpses and looked at the terrified expression of Mrs. Long.

Her entire body was trembling now and she was filled with terror. She didn’t faint, but just watched woodenly instead.

“Mrs. Long, I’m sorry. Long Chen committed such a huge offense that even I am unable to protect you. Don’t blame me.”

After saying that, he regretfully waved his hand, causing a dozen executioner’s blades to be pressed against their necks.

“Bastards, you better stop for this master!”

Suddenly, a wild shout rang out and a group of people began to charge over to the execution stage.

Chapter 97 Brothers

That was a group of seven people, and they were all holding weapons tightly. The person in the front was extremely large and wielding a sword in one of his hands.

Behind him was one fat person and one thin person. The fat one was so big that people couldn’t even tell if he was walking or rolling.

As for the thin one, he was skin and bones, looking just like a chimp. They were both tightly holding their swords and following behind the person at the front.

Everyone was completely shocked to see this group appear. Looking carefully, some people couldn’t help but exclaim, “Isn’t that Shi Feng who won the competition during the Phoenix Cry Lantern Festival?”

“It really is him! There’s also the other two right behind him who I recall being very close to Long Chen!”

“Could they be thinking of stopping the execution?” said some people in disbelief. It was true that Shi Feng was a genius, most likely only second to Long Chen.

But even so, he was only someone who had just advanced to the fifth Heavenstage of Blood Condensation, and he was only leading a group of insignificant Qi Condensation brats. This was no different than sending themselves off to die.

“This is true brotherhood. I heard that Long Chen has given them many favors. They’re probably doing this to repay him. Only such people are true men.” Some people couldn’t help but sigh regretfully about their deaths, but at the same time, they were filled with respect and admiration for them.

This was basically a path of death they were walking. For them to do such a thing required more than just sheer courage.

Looking at this group of people that had suddenly appeared, Chu Xia frowned. He knew that Shi Feng and them were extremely close to Long Chen.

But he also knew that Shi Feng would be his generation’s peak expert. He had hoped that he could pull him in and groom him as one of his subordinates. That was why they hadn’t been implicated at all this time.

However, he hadn’t expected Shi Feng to be so bold and actually dare try to stop the execution with the top experts of both Phoenix Cry and the Grand Xia present. 

Before the fourth prince even said anything, there was already a group of soldiers who blocked their path.

“Those who try to block me will die!” Shi Feng shouted angrily and raised his sword. He charged forward valiantly.

“Charge! Save brother Long’s household!” Fatty Yu also followed closely behind Shi Feng. With Shi Feng in the lead, their small group charged a squad of over a hundred elite soldiers.

“If you dare keep coming forward, all of you will die!” shouted the leader of the squad coldly when he saw that Shi Feng still didn’t stop.

In truth, he was actually being kind. He hoped Shi Feng would stop while he still could. In front of this many experts, there was not even the slightest chance of them succeeding, and so he tried to give Shi Feng and the others a path to survival.

At the same time, he was also influenced by Shi Feng’s loyalty that was unbending even in the face of death. His troops, which had seen blood before, admired such a brotherly camaraderie even more than the commoners. 

Unfortunately, he was disappointed to see that Shi Feng didn’t stop at all, instead advancing even faster. 

Shi Feng raised his sword and heavily slashed it at that leader’s spear. His power exploded and that squad leader, who was also at the mid stage of Blood Condensation, was forced back a dozen steps.

That was definitely surprising. No one had expected Shi Feng to be so strong at such a young age. The squad leader quickly stabilized himself and pierced his spear at Shi Feng.

Suddenly, Blood Qi exploded from Shi Feng’s body. His mid Blood Condensation aura immediately erupted and his sword slashed down once more.

That squad leader’s arm turned numb and his hand split open. His spear was sent flying dozens of meters away, and it continued to tremble incessantly even as it pierced the ground.

He was completely astonished. Seeing Shi Feng continuing forward, he realized that he would be unable to resist in the slightest and he helplessly closed his eyes in the face of death.

However, that expected sword blow never fell. Instead, he felt himself being kicked tumbling into the distance. Although he appeared like a miserable figure, he wasn’t really harmed.

In just two moves, Shi Feng had defeated their strongest member. Those troops behind him couldn’t help but become panicked. Seeing Shi Feng charging forward, they hastily raised their spears to block him.

But those soldiers were only ordinary troops. Some of the weaker ones had yet to even enter Qi Condensation. It was impossible for them to block Shi Feng, and they were all sent flying.

When Chu Xia saw that Shi Feng was so shockingly powerful, he frowned and waved his hand. “Stop them! Remember to capture Shi Feng alive!”

The fourth prince’s order caused three small squadrons to completely surround Shi Feng’s group. Three mid Blood Condensation troops advanced forward to block him together.

Shi Feng seemed possessed by a god of war. His sword danced through the air, and even one against three, he still didn’t fall into a disadvantage. However, he was unable to advance any further.

Fatty Yu and the others had been surrounded by the troops. They did not possess Shi Feng’s combat abilities, and the strongest amongst them was only at the sixth Heavenstage of Qi Condensation.

Most importantly, they had all been advancing by relying on their passion. In reality, their combat experience was essentially zero. As soon as they made contact, one of them was immediately heavily injured by a spear.

Fatty Yu had only just blocked a spear when a second had already reached his armpit, giving him a great fright.

But that spear was sliced in two by Shi Feng who had been keeping an eye on them. Pushing back his opponents, he had returned to save fatty Yu’s life.

However, because he had been distracted, the spear of one of the squad leaders brushed across his shoulder, and blood slowly flowed out.

“Brothers, don’t be afraid! Even if we die, twenty years from now, we’ll still be remembered as heroes! Long Chen treats us as his brothers, and we can’t let his household die in before our eyes. Today, we choose death! If there is a next life, let us continue being brothers!”

Shi Feng knew that today was already hopeless. This result was something he had long since known would happen.

Originally, they were a group of nine people that followed Long Chen. They had already obtained favors from Long Chen, going from unwanted characters in the background to their families’ most important members.

All of that had been given to them by Long Chen. It was Long Chen that had changed their destinies.

So, when the Long household ended up in a crisis, even though they knew their deaths would be certain, they had still come. They would use their passion as evidence of their camaraderie.

Two of their original group of nine had fled when seeing those troops. Their eyes were filled with shame and remorse.

They had once been a member of them, but they hadn’t had the courage to come. When Shi Feng had brought up going to stop the execution, they had chosen to remain silent.

But Shi Feng hadn’t become angry and he didn’t resent them. Instead, he told them to remember their brothers, and when they had time, to come to their graves to burn some incense and pour some alcohol for them.

Xia Youyu saw that Shi Feng possessed a great potential and lightly said, “Just now there was a person who said that those who would destroy the peace between our two empires could not be pardoned. It seems prince Chu Xia is still a bit soft-hearted. I’ll help you out. Ha Qi, go kill those troublemakers.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

One of the people behind him immediately floated over to Shi Feng like a wisp of smoke.

Chu Xia’s expression changed slightly. He knew Xia Youyu had seen through his intentions of recruiting Shi Feng. He was doing this as a bit of revenge for his son. However, Chu Xia didn’t move to stop this.

He now realized that Shi Feng was an extremely unbending person. The odds of Chu Xia being able to convert him into one of his subordinates was not high. And so he didn’t say a single thing in objection.

Ha Qi’s speed was extremely great, practically inconceivable. He traversed a distance of hundreds of meters in just a couple of blinks. Arriving beside Shi Feng, he sent a palm forward.

Shi Feng, who was originally fighting three squad leaders, suddenly felt a shiver run through his body. A terrifying aura completely locked onto him.

The four of them were astonished and stopped fighting immediately. A terrifying palm wind descended, and they quickly blocked it.

BANG! 

Shi Feng had been the first to realize something was wrong. He wasn’t like those three who stupidly stood still to block it, but instead quickly retreated.

However, he was still scraped by that palm wind and he became like a kite whose string had been cut, tumbling back dozens of meters and spitting out blood.

Now looking back to that spot, those three squad leaders, who had been fighting with him, were now unrecognizable as their corpses lay on the ground. Their bones had all been shattered and their auras had disappeared.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I guess that was a bit too strong.” Ha Qi smiled slightly. However, that apology of his was not the least bit apologetic.

The battle completely stopped. All of them were stupefied by this sudden change. Looking at those corpses that didn’t even have a human form anymore, everyone was silent for a long time.

Those were their squad leaders at the mid Blood Condensation realm! All three of them had been killed by a single palm; how could that not be appalling?

“A Tendon Transformation expert!”

Finally, someone let out an alarmed cry. Only a Tendon Transformation expert could so easily kill the three of them.

“You…” Chu Xia’s expression sank. How could he possibly not realize that Xia Youyu had done this on purpose to embarrass him?

“Ah, what an unexpected mishap. After all, a Tendon Transformation expert is also human, and fists do not have eyes. No one can guarantee anything in the midst of battle. I think that prince Chu Xia should be able to understand this. What do you think?” smiled Xia Youyu.

He had purposely told Ha Qi to do this. He wanted to tell this nephew of his that although he had that person’s support, he wouldn’t be able to support him for a lifetime. So he should be more reserved and not so excessive.

How could the fourth prince not understand Xia Youyu’s meaning? He was full of fury, but he didn’t make a move. Instead, he was recording this hatred in his heart.

After Shi Feng spat out a mouthful of blood, he slowly stood back up. Even in the face of a Tendon Transformation expert, he didn’t have the slightest intention of retreating.

“Shi Feng, quickly run! Don’t sacrifice your life in vain!” Mrs. Long couldn’t bear to see him send himself to die for nothing.

Shi Feng didn’t reply. In fact, none of the others replied either. Other than one person that was too heavily wounded, the others all stood behind Shi Feng, facing off against Ha Qi together.

A cruel smile appeared on Ha Qi’s face. “Excellent, you guys really are smart. Dying one by one really is worse than dying altogether. I’ll help finish all of you off quickly!”

Ha Qi laughed coldly and stamped his foot. Veins appeared on his fist as though vines were under his skin. He smashed his fist into Shi Feng.

Many of the Phoenix Cry Empire’s people, whether it was soldiers or commoners, couldn’t watch as Shi Feng and the rest were smashed into pulp, and so they all closed their eyes.

Suddenly, the sound of a sword being unsheathed rang through the air. A cold light flashed in the air as a sword slashed down upon Ha Qi.

Chapter 98 Chu Yao Takes Action

Ha Qi’s fist had just been about to smash them into pulp when he felt his heart tighten. With his experience, a grave sense of danger filled him

He forcibly changed the direction of his fist to punch to the left.

BANG! Ha Qi’s fist blocked the sword, but the powerful force behind the sword still forced him back several steps, shocking him.

Hastily stabilizing himself, he saw a young woman in long robes. Her hair was in a high bun, her phoenix eyes contained true power, and the edge of her sword rippled like water. She possessed an unspeakable grandeur.

“Third princess?!” Shi Feng and the others let out a startled cry. That sword-bearing woman was Phoenix Cry’s third princess, Chu Yao.

“You guys be careful and don’t be reckless. We have to stall until Long Chen returns,” whispered Chu Yao to them quietly.

Shi Feng slowly nodded. Two of them bent down to help their companion who had been heavily wounded. The right side of his stomach had been impaled by a spear, and he was already on his last breaths.

Shi Feng quickly took out a medicinal pill and gave it to him. Although this wouldn’t let him recover, it would be able to keep him alive for a while longer so that he wouldn’t immediately die.

Although everyone had already made their resolve regarding their deaths, naturally if they didn’t have to die, they wouldn’t want to. Seeing that Chu Yao was actually able to force back a Tendon Transformation expert, a slight hope ignited inside them.

Chu Yao’s appearance shocked everyone, including Xia Youyu and Chu Xia. They were all looking at her in disbelief.

Xia Youyu immediately thought of something and said with complete shock, “You’ve broken the Nine Dragon Sealing Field?”

Chu Yao tightened her grip on her sword and pointed it at Xia Youyu. “You contemptible bastards, today I’ll make you pay for your sins!”

Although she didn’t know what the Nine Dragon Sealing Field was, it was obvious that he was talking about the nine foreign spiritual qi seeds that had been in her Dantian.

If it hadn’t been for Long Chen, her life would have become incomparably tragic. She would have become a tool used by others without even her knowledge. Thinking of that, her fury blazed.

“Hmph, looking at your aura, you’ve only just broken through to Tendon Transformation. You probably can’t even properly control your own strength, yet you dare make such wild ravings? Ha Qi, capture her,” ordered Xia Youyu with a sneer.

The fourth prince was also looking at Chu Yao in shock. Her appearance caused his confidence to be shaken slightly. He was starting to feel a bit uneasy.

Long Chen’s face appeared in his mind. Even up until this day, he had yet to receive any further news of Long Chen. He was just like a permanent thorn in his side, and now that Chu Yao had appeared, that thorn became even bigger.

“Hmph, let me test Phoenix Cry’s princess.” Ha Qi laughed. Veins popped up all over his body, and his terrifying aura advanced another level as he punched out.

Before he had even arrived, just the wind from his fist caused her hair and clothes to blow back. Ha Qi had now clearly exploded with his true Tendon Transformation power.

Chu Yao didn’t face Ha Qi’s fist head-on. Instead, she was sliding her feet to dodge and stabbing her sword towards his throat.

Ha Qi laughed coldly and didn’t dodge. A light-yellow light appeared on his other hand and he swatted away Chu Yao’s sword.

Chu Yao felt a huge force send her flying, and she also felt intense pain from her hand.

Xia Youyu was completely correct. Chu Yao had only just advanced into the Tendon Transformation realm, and furthermore, her advancement had been done in secret since she hadn’t dared to let anyone else find out.

And she was also helpless that after advancing, she hadn’t had any chance to test her strength. So her control over her own power was limited.

Now that she was facing a Tendon Transformation expert who had already experienced hundreds of battles, she immediately fell into a disadvantage. That was especially true since she had almost zero combat experience.

“Hmph, an empty realm is all you have. Give me your life!” Ha Qi sneered. Without giving a damn about her gender, he sent a punch smashing at her.

Just as Chu Yao was preparing to forcefully block it, a red ball of light suddenly flew over and collided with his punch.

BOOM! Ha Qi felt as if his fist had been enveloped by lava and was immediately forced back.

“Being so ruthless to a young woman, don’t you feel ashamed?” An aged voice rang out as a figure appeared in front of everyone.

“Grandmaster Yun Qi?” Chu Yao couldn’t help but celebrate that grandmaster Yun Qi had finally come out at this critical moment.

“Yun Qi, as an alchemist guild chairman, in compliance with the alchemist treaty, you cannot meddle in secular matters. Are you not afraid of the guild’s punishment?” shouted Xia Youyu coldly.

“You are correct; a guild chairman cannot participate in worldly matters.” Grandmaster Yun Qi laughed slightly and suddenly turned his head. “Sun Nian!”

“Present.” In a distant crowd was a middle-aged man in Pill Apprentice robes who hastily walked out and respectfully bowed.

Grandmaster Yun Qi waved his hand, sending something flying over. When Sun Nian saw what that was, his expression immediately changed.

“Sun Nian, I hand the guild signboard to you. You are the new guild chairman,” said grandmaster Yun Qi.

“Guild chairman...” Sun Nian was completely shocked.

Grandmaster Yun Qi cut him off. “I am no longer the guild chairman. Our guild’s rules cannot be ignored. If you still think of me as the guild chairman, then you cannot stop me from removing myself as guild chairman.”

Sun Nian looked at the guild signboard in his hand and didn’t know what to do. But he realized that a major event was about to occur.

“Now I am no longer a member of the alchemist guild and have the qualifications to participate in secular matters,” said grandmaster Yun Qi lightly.

No one would have imagined that grandmaster Yun Qi would actually remove himself from the guild for the Long household. Without his status as a guild chairman, then even if someone killed him, no one would be able to investigate it.

“That is true. I’ve waited a long time for this day. Yun Qi, as expected, you haven’t let me down.”

Two people walked out from the crowd, and when people saw one of them in particular, many let out startled cries. 

“Wei Cang!”

That was grandmaster Wei Cang who was equally famous as grandmaster Yun Qi. Everyone could tell that there was intense hatred between the two of them from the time they had exchanged blows at the Phoenix Cry Lantern Festival.

But both of them had kept things in reserve back then. It was practically just a symbolic fight without any display of their true strength.

Now hearing what grandmaster Wei Cang said, it seemed grandmaster Yun Qi’s appearance today was entirely within his expectations. Perhaps a truly great battle would be fought today.

“Who’s the other old guy?” 

“I know! That’s Wang Luyang, another Pill Master.” That was a person who had attended the Huayun Pavilion’s auction, and so he recognized him.

During the auction, Wang Luyang had been low-key all the way until the final Flesh Bone Restoration Pills appeared. Only then did he shock everyone, leaving behind a deep impression.

The fact that he was standing together with Wei Cang today was rather interesting.

Despite seeing Wei Cang appear, no change appeared on grandmaster Yun Qi’s face. He glanced at Wang Luyang. “Have you thought this through?”

Wang Luyang smiled slightly. “Actually, I don’t want to become enemies with grandmaster Yun Qi, but I couldn’t help but accept brother Wei’s kindness. So, I can only offend you.”

“Stop with the crap Yun Qi. Hand over that thing, otherwise, I’ll send you to hell right now,” said Wei Cang icily. “Now that you’ve separated from the alchemist guild, you no longer have a support to rely on. I don’t need to have any misgivings about killing you.”

Grandmaster Yun Qi looked at the fourth prince with a complicated expression. “Fourth prince truly is a dragon amongst men. Your scheming truly causes me to admire you.”

The fourth prince smiled slightly. “Grandmaster’s praise makes this youngster blush.”

“Since fourth prince is so proficient in scheming, I wonder if he has heard of a certain expression?” Grandmaster Yun Qi asked lightly.

“What expression? Please give me some pointers senior.”

“Man proposes but God disposes.” Grandmaster Yun Qi smiled slightly.

The fourth prince narrowed his eyes. He didn’t know why, but hearing that caused his heart to jump a bit.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Fourth prince is smart, so how could you not even understand such a common proverb? Or are you afraid to admit that you know what it means?” asked Yun Qi.

The fourth prince’s expression changed slightly. His scheme had definitely been completely flawless, but unforeseen incidents continued to pop up.

The first mishap was that Marquis Ying had failed to kill Long Chen. Although Marquis Ying had said that Long Chen was already heavily wounded and was most likely unable to survive, he still continued to feel that Long Chen wouldn’t die so easily, and so he had sent the Savage Marquis to search for him.

The second mishap was that Chu Yao had managed to silently resolve the Nine Dragon Sealing Field in her body and broken through to the Tendon Transformation realm.

Although she had only just broken through and wasn’t worth fearing yet, it was still something unexpected. That caused him to feel as if the situation wasn’t as sure as he had thought.

And now grandmaster Yun Qi was still as calm as ever despite knowing he had stepped in a deathtrap. That caused him to feel even more uneasy, and he even felt a bit of fear.

He had been born to be just a chess piece. Then finally, he managed to escape that chess board. Now that it was his turn to control the board, he definitely didn’t want his own chess pieces to be escaping from him.

“Your plans are laughable. Just for some resources, you wasted so much time. So stupid.” Grandmaster Yun Qi shook his head.

That truly made the fourth prince’s expression change greatly. He looked at grandmaster Yun Qi in disbelief. “You actually knew?”

Grandmaster Yun Qi smiled slightly, but he didn’t respond.

The fourth prince glanced over at the distant crowds and immediately calmed himself down. He coldly laughed, “In the face of death, it seems you’ve taken to spouting nonsense. Grandmaster Wei Cang, what are you still waiting for?”

Wei Cang smiled. “Well, he’s an old friend I’ve kept up with for dozens of years. Before I send this friend on his way, I have to give him some time to say his final words first. Well, it looks like he’s finished anyway, so I’ll get going.”

Flames completely wrapped around Wei Cang’s body. A blazing spear appeared in his hands, and he was practically just a human-shaped blaze as he charged at Yun Qi, bringing with him a terrifyingly high temperature.

Wang Luyang also summoned flame armor and a sword. They pincered Yun Qi on both sides.

That terrifyingly high temperature caused space to distort. The heat made the air ripple around them, making them practically illusionary.

Suddenly, Yun Qi’s eyes brightened and he actually smiled. The person who he had been waiting for had finally arrived. It was time to resolve his grudges.

BOOM! Yun Qi’s arms shook and a terrifying red blaze arose. Rolling waves of heat spread in every direction, roasting Wei Cang.

“Wei Cang, give me your life!”

Chapter 99 Phoenix Cry's Strongest Man

The always calm and indifferent grandmaster Yun Qi suddenly erupted. A blazing flame spear three meters long appeared in his hands. It contained an endless destructive will that wished to exterminate the land and slash apart the heavens.

The weapons in their hands weren’t really weapons, but Pill Flame that had been compressed to the peak and taken shape outside of their body. They were also called flame weapons.

That was a Pill Cultivator’s life flame. It was the condensation of all their lifetime’s effort. Its destructive power was unparalleled. It was said that if it was refined to the absolute highest realm, then it would be able to burn the heavens and vaporize the seas.

The first reaction of Wei Cang and Wang Luyang was a complete shock. Their blazing weapons hastily went to block the attack.

When their three flame weapons collided, everyone saw a bright light explode in front of them that made them blind. Only then did they hear an incredible explosion, and waves of heat caused them to feel as if they were in a furnace.

Shi Feng and the others’ expressions changed greatly. They were the closest to this battle, just thirty or so meters away. Even just the aftershocks from that battle would be able to completely roast them.

But even though they wanted to retreat, it was already too late. It was at that time that a sword stabbed into the ground in front of them.

Shi Feng and the others immediately saw the sky darken and a wave of earth completely covered them.

When Shi Feng finally managed to dig his way out of that boiling earth, he noticed that everything in a radius of three hundred meters had already turned into scorched land that was emitting scalding steam as well as an unpleasant smell.

“You guys retreat. Don’t get involved anymore.”

Chu Yao’s voice rang in their ears. It was she who had saved them just now. She was unable to block that kind of heat, and so she had quick-wittedly raised the earth to protect Shi Feng and the others.

With a heavy layer of earth covering them, they had managed to survive that first attack. Otherwise, even if they didn’t die, they would still have been heavily injured.

Shi Feng’s group quickly retreated. Just a few hundred meters behind them was the execution stage. But they didn’t dare go over there right now. That was because there were executioners there, and they were afraid the fourth prince would suddenly order the executions of the entire Long household if they were hasty.

No matter how fast they were, they would be unable to save them from those executioners or even flee themselves. And so they couldn’t blindly rush over there.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM! Explosive ringing continued as waves of blazing heat spread. Ordinary people could only see a sky full of flames and were unable to see what was happening within that blaze.

Only Blood Condensation experts with their powerful eyesight could see those three human-shaped flames that were continuously colliding. 

“So last time you were hiding your true strength!” After exchanging several blows, Wei Cang and Wang Luyang had been repeatedly forced back. Wei Cang’s expression sank as he finally realized the truth.

“No need for useless words. Today, the worthless lives of you two will completely end,” shouted Yun Qi coldly. His entire spiritual qi was pushed to the max as his attacks became even more ruthless and sharper, forcing the two of them to repeatedly retreat.

Everyone was completely stupefied. This was a fight between Pill Masters? It was practically a battle between flame gods. Other experts were unable to even approach, let alone participate in the fight.

Before they would even be able to attack, they would already be roasted into coal. Pill cultivators truly were terrifying and completely unstoppable.

Grandmaster Yun Qi was able to force them back repeatedly while fighting one on two. Although Wang Luyang and Wei Cang were both Pill Masters, in terms of their Pill Flame, they were obviously inferior to grandmaster Yun Qi and not just by a bit. Both of them couldn’t help but be alarmed.

At the same time as he was filled with shock, Wei Cang also couldn’t help but thank his luck. He hadn’t expected Yun Qi to have hidden himself so deeply. If it had been one on one, the results would have been disastrous for himself.

The power of their three Pill Flames was extremely great. Despite exchanging over thirty consecutive blows, their auras didn’t show the slightest signs of becoming exhausted. Although Wei Cang and Wang Luyang were at a disadvantage, the fight was still at a stalemate for a while.

“Little girl, this time there will be no one to save you. Die!”

Ha Qi suddenly laughed sinisterly and charged at Chu Yao who was watching the fight from a distance. If Yun Qi had not interfered before, he would have already killed her.

Now seeing that there was no one else in his way, he immediately charged at her.

But he had only just moved when he sensed a strange stream of air. Relying on his life and death experiences, he immediately stopped.

A cold light shot past him with a splash of blood. That was an arrow that had brushed against his nose. If Ha Qi had been even the slightest bit slower in reacting, his head would have been pierced.

“Can my Long family’s daughter-in-law be bullied by the likes of you?”

A deep and resounding voice spread throughout the entire battlefield. It shook everyone’s hearts, as the voice contained an extreme contempt and killing intent.

Everyone was completely shocked. They had been completely focused on Yun Qi’s battle, but at some point, three more figures had appeared on the battlefield.

The person at the front was a tall man with a lion’s nose, a wide mouth, and sword-like eyebrows. He appeared incredibly powerful. His cheeks were so sharp that they seemed to have been carved with a knife, and an icy killing intent soared from him.

“Long Tianxiao!”

That was one of three top experts of the empire, the Border Suppression Marquis Long Tianxiao who was praised as the strongest man in all of Phoenix Cry!

Whether it was the troops on the side of Phoenix Cry or the Grand Xia, everyone’s hearts were jumping wildly. They were completely pressured just by his imposing manner.

He had almost killed a Tendon Transformation expert with just a single arrow. Just what kind of strength was that? His title of military god was definitely not meaningless.

Only after people exclaimed did Chu Yao realize that this was Long Chen’s father. But for Long Tianxiao to address her as ‘daughter-in-law’ made her face completely red. However, a warm feeling filled her heart as well.

He drew back his bow again, and another arrow shot out like lightning straight towards the execution stage. The arrow reached them practically as soon as it left the string.

What awed everyone was that after that one arrow was shot out, all the executioners standing behind Mrs. Long and the others all toppled to the ground. Only then did people realize that a small hole had appeared on each of their foreheads.

The entire field was deathly silent. Long Tianxiao’s archery skill was too amazing for them to even comprehend. With just a single arrow, he killed over twenty people who were all standing in different places.

“He truly is worthy of being called the strongest man of Phoenix Cry. That explosive arrow technique has practically reached the realm of perfection,” praised Xia Youyu.

Only Tendon Transformation experts were able to see through the profundities of Long Tianxiao’s arrow just now. In reality, Long Tianxiao had used his spiritual qi to break down the arrow the moment it left the bowstring.

Once the arrow was shot forward, it scattered into pieces to become over twenty thinner arrows that killed those executioners.

But although they could comprehend this, there was no one else that was capable of such a thing other than Long Tianxiao. His arrows were enough to strike fear in the hearts of the barbarian tribes. Who knew just how many of their experts had fallen to him?

It was rumored that this archery skill had been created by Long Tianxiao. Today, everyone learned the terror behind that one arrow.

Since Long Tianxiao’s arrow had killed all the executioners, Chu Yao, Shi Feng, and the others all rushed over to Mrs. Long and the rest of the Long household’s side. They untied their bindings and brought them to stand behind Long Tianxiao.

Long Tianxiao slowly turned around and looked at his haggard wife. He quietly whispered, “Sorry, I’ve caused you to suffer.”

Mrs. Long shook her head. “It’s us who have burdened you. It’s just that I don’t know… Chen-er, he…”

She couldn’t continue. If even they had ended up like this, then Long Chen’s situation was probably even worse.

“Don’t worry, Chen-er will be fine. How could my, Long Tianxiao’s, son be defeated so easily?” He comforted his wife.

He then turned to look at Chu Yao and nodded in satisfaction. “But that kid really does have good eyesight. He brought such a good daughter-in-law back to my Long family.”

Chu Yao immediately blushed and her voice was minute as she said, “Chu Yao greets uncle Long.”

Long Tianxiao laughed heartily. Then turning to Shi Feng, he patted him on the shoulders. “Well done.”

Being praised by the strongest person in Phoenix Cry filled Shi Feng with excitement. Just what kind of honor was that? Fatty Yu and the others also looked up to Long Tianxiao with worship.

Even in front of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both empires, Long Tianxiao still acted normally, as if not even placing them in his eyes. He took action to kill without the slightest misgivings. Just what kind of boldness was that?

But when Long Tianxiao looked at the half-unconscious Wilde, his expression sank.

“Husband, are Wilde’s wounds urgent?” Mrs. Long trembled.

Long Tianxiao didn’t reply. Instead, he told Chu Yao and the others to take care of everyone. He then turned to Yun Qi who was fighting fiercely and nodded.

Within Long Chen’s letters was a detailed description of the current situation in the capital. It was even more detailed than his own reports.

“Long Tianxiao, your son Long Chen committed a capital offense, and for both empires-”

Long Tianxiao waved his hand to cut off the fourth prince. “You don’t need to make your fake hypocritical speech. I, Long Tianxiao, don’t like plotting, but that doesn’t mean I am a fool. So what if you set up some traps? I’ve still come. If you want to kill my Long household’s people, then just come. Let me see just how many of your lives will remain afterwards.”

Long Tianxiao’s words were said extremely emotionlessly, but they still somehow seemed to drip with blood. His meaning was clear; he wasn’t suicidal in coming here to their trap, but if he did die, he would bring them down with him.

As for exactly who would be brought down with him and how many people, that was something people could only wonder.

Every person there felt a cold chill run down their backs. Even the heat coming from that battle far away was unable to stop that chilliness.

Long Tianxiao stood alone against layers of troops, giving off a feeling that he could not be shaken.

Mrs. Long was filled with warmth when she looked upon that familiar back. Twenty years ago, she was precisely attracted by his imposing manner that looked down upon the whole world.

Looking at him, she also thought of a slim figure. Although he wasn’t so muscular, he had once also said that he would become like his father, a true hero.

Seeing that Long Tianxiao was able to rely just on his imposing manner to completely pressure everyone, Marquis Ying’s eyes were filled with jealousy and hate.

Unsheathing his sword, Marquis Ying charged over, his sword pointed at Long Tianxiao. “Long Tianxiao, today my sword will repay that grudge of my finger from all those years ago!”

Long Tianxiao cast a glance at Marquis Ying and indifferently said, “Who are you again?”

Chapter 100 Everything Hanging By a Thread

Who are you again?”

Marquis Ying almost burst from anger. Long Tianxiao actually acted as if he didn’t recognize him?! That was the greatest possible insult and humiliation for him!

He had challenged Long Tianxiao several times back in the day, all of them resulting in his loss. In the last one, Long Tianxiao had severed one of his fingers, which was the greatest disgrace of his entire life.

At this time, Marquis Ying had already obtained the Flesh Bone Restoration Pill and grown back that finger. That had returned his tendons to a perfect state, and he had advanced from the sixth Heavenstage to the seventh Heavenstage of Tendon Transformation, stepping into the late stage.

Although it was just one Heavenstage’s difference, that was also the large step between the mid and late stage. Now that he had advanced to the late stage, his combat ability had soared, and he was now completely confident and prepared to challenge Long Tianxiao again.

Before he had had the chance to challenge him, he had received the order to go kill Long Chen on that day. The result of which was that he had been continuously thwarted by Long Chen, almost losing his life in the end. That had greatly shaken his confidence.

And now from just one sentence from Long Tianxiao, his anger completely burst and he was unable to endure it any longer. With an angry roar, he charged at Long Tianxiao.

The two of them had been separated by almost three hundred meters, but Marquis Ying closed the gap in just three steps.

On his first step, veins popped up all over his body and terrifying energy exploded from him. On the second step, he raised his sword up high, his qi pouring into the sword and the wind whistling around it.

On his third step, he suddenly sped up. His mind, spirit, and qi all merged together as his sword fell, perfectly raising his power to its absolute pinnacle.

It could be said that although Marquis Ying was infuriated, it went without saying that he was a true expert. That was something that even the Tendon Transformation experts of the Grand Xia had to admit.

Seeing Marquis Ying charge over, Long Tianxiao merely shook his head. “Even after ten years, you still haven’t grown the slightest bit. You want to defeat me with just yourself?”

A saber had appeared in Long Tianxiao’s hand all of a sudden. When he unsheathed it, its cold light shone everywhere.

But just when everyone thought Long Tianxiao would send a slash out to block, he instead took a single step back. That one step placed him three meters away.

Marquis Ying almost spat out blood. His striking point was originally perfect. But now his full force blow had nowhere to release its power. It was as though he had used his full power in an attempt to cut apart a rock, only to have that rock become a soft piece of tofu. That kind of feeling of using the wrong amount of power was extremely uncomfortable.

Marquis Ying’s sword landed on nothing but air. Knowing the situation had taken a turn for the worse, he was about to switch moves when Long Tianxiao stepped in, slashing with his saber. Saber images appeared throughout the air.

BOOM! But Marquis Ying was still a Tendon Transformation expert. In that extremely unfavorable position, he was still able to forcibly use his qi to take on Long Tianxiao’s blade.

Marquis Ying was like a skipping stone as he tumbled dozens of meters away before stopping.

As soon as he stabilized, he immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. That sudden blow and block had shaken his internal organs, causing him to be injured.

Everyone was astonished. Marquis Ying, who was also one of the three peak experts of Phoenix Cry, was unable to completely block even a single slash of Long Tianxiao’s.

Xia Youyu and the others might also be surprised, but they weren’t too shocked. Long Tianxiao’s attack just now had been set up almost perfectly.

He had exquisitely found the perfect moment between the moment when Marquis Ying had used up his force on nothing but had yet to gather his energy again. Attacking at that moment had caused Marquis Ying to suffer a loss.

That didn’t mean that Marquis Ying’s cultivation base was inferior to Long Tianxiao’s, but that Marquis Ying’s combat ability was far too lacking in comparison.

Marquis Ying had stayed in seclusion training for the last couple of years. Whenever he met anyone, it would always be someone weaker and he would forcibly suppress them. He would first lock his enemies in place before sending out a powerful blow.

But today he had been enraged and forgotten that Long Tianxiao was also a late Tendon Transformation expert. His realm was actually greater than his own, so how could it be possible for him to lock him in place? And so that was why he had suffered so greatly.

“Ying Zhao, you’re going to use only this level of strength to fight against me?” Long Tianxiao shook his head indifferently.

Marquis Ying’s face turned ashen from rage. He had been careless and caught unprepared. Although the injury wasn’t anything major, it definitely had impacted his confidence and spirit. For a moment, all he could do was grind his teeth in anger.

“The Border Suppression Marquis Long Tianxiao has rebelled. All troops are ordered to work together to capture this rebel!” the fourth prince ordered coldly.

Following the fourth prince’s cry, there were immediately dozens of squads that charged over. Those people were obviously his trusted agents who listened to his orders without the slightest hesitation.

As for the other officers who were still shaken by the situation, when they saw that there were already people charging over, they also stopped hesitating. One by one, they all began to charge over at Long Tianxiao.

“Phoenix Cry brothers, we all grew up together on this land. I don’t want to see my brothers’ blood. Don’t force me!” Long Tianxiao’s shout rang out.

His shout was backed up by his spiritual qi and shook the entire sky. There were immediately several people who paused.

They were all army men, and Long Tianxiao was their idol. Just how many people wanted to be like him and be called a military god?

But now they were supposed to point their weapons at this idol. That caused many soldiers to be at a loss.

“Don’t listen to his misleading lies! As long as you kill a single traitor, no matter their status, you will immediately receive one million gold coins and be promoted three nobility ranks!” cried the fourth prince.

Hearing that, some of those hesitating soldiers immediately gave up their internal struggle and charged forward, brandishing their weapons.

Ever since the day they had joined the army, they had been repeatedly taught that soldiers didn’t need to think. All they needed to do was to follow orders.

And with such a huge enticement, those people all followed their instincts. But they didn’t have any intentions of attacking Long Tianxiao. After all, that was an impossible-to-complete mission.

Luckily, other than Long Tianxiao, there were also over twenty random members of his household. Killing one of them would be too simple. A million gold coins and a three rank promotion in nobility rank were temptations few could resist.

Seeing the tide-like army rushing over, Long Tianxiao sighed. “Have free rein to kill them.”

The other two people who had come with Long Tianxiao nodded. Placing Mrs. Long and the others between them, they raised their swords towards the charging army.

Sword-light flashed. Limbs flew everywhere, and a rain of blood fell.

“What?!”

“They’re Tendon Transformation experts!”

The fourth prince’s expression changed. The two people that Long Tianxiao had brought were also Tendon Transformation experts! That was completely out of his expectations.

He had long since investigated Long Tianxiao’s bottom line strength perfectly. How could there suddenly be two new Tendon Transformation experts?!

But what he didn’t know was that that was Long Chen’s contribution. The Breaking Barrier Pills, which Long Chen had sent back with Chen Fei, had resulted in three people successfully advancing to the Tendon Transformation realm.

The remaining people hadn’t broken through, but they could already sense the barrier much clearer now. It shouldn’t be long before they could also break through.

That had absolutely delighted Long Tianxiao. From Long Chen’s letter, he learned that the undercurrents in the imperial capital were about to reach a critical moment at any time and that he should make his preparations.

After just considering it for a moment, Long Tianxiao collected his whole force stealthily and approached the barbarian tribes. But he had been surprised to see that the barbarians tribes had also been collecting in order to prepare for a huge battle.

However, since he had noticed this, he had immediately brought those three Tendon Transformation experts to the huge barbarian army that numbered in the hundreds of thousands. With four Tendon Transformation experts attacking, plus the fact they were launching a sneak attack, the barbarian army suffered a huge loss. The majority of their army was killed, and the rest fled deep into the mountains. Although there was no way to chase, it was enough to intimidate them from ever coming back again.

That was the greatest victory ever gained over the barbarian army. Having massacred hundreds of thousands of barbarians, everyone was fired up.

As soon as he had won this victory, he had received news from the capital that the Long household was to be executed.

After thinking it over for a moment, Long Tianxiao still decided to leave behind one Tendon Transformation expert as a guard and brought the other two rushing back to the capital in order to save them.

If he ended up bringing away all the experts, then on the off-chance that the barbarian tribes once more gathered together, the border might really not be able to defend without a single Tendon Transformation expert guarding it.

That was why Long Tianxiao had only brought two of them. Although the two had only just broken through to the Tendon Transformation realm, they were people who had fought alongside Long Tianxiao for many years and their battle experience was extremely great. Their combat strength was such that those so-called ‘elite troops’ of the capital were just a bunch of slow-moving ants that could be swatted away with their eyes closed.

Those two Tendon Transformation experts took the vanguard, slaughtering the charging army. Chu Yao and Shi Feng guarded the rear. If any fish managed to slip through their net, they would be able to easily kill them.

As for fatty Yu, Shou Hou, and the others, they were standing right alongside Mrs. Long and the others as guards. However, there was basically no chance for them to do anything as of yet.

As for Long Tianxiao, he was now surrounded by three Tendon Transformation experts. They were Marquis Ying, Marquis Wu, and a Tendon Transformation expert from the Grand Xia.

The first Tendon Transformation expert, who had been shot through the nose by Long Tianxiao’s arrow, had returned to his own camp in order to recuperate.

That was because without his nose, his senses were greatly affected. It was not just his sense of smell; the distraction of the loss of his nose slowed down all his other senses as well. On the battlefield, that handicap could easily result in Long Tianxiao killing him in a single blow. Tendon Transformation experts were an extremely precious military strength that no one would easily sacrifice.

But no one had expected just how overwhelming Long Tianxiao was. Even one against three, he was still beating them. That Grand Xia expert was almost cut in half by his blade. He had only been saved luckily by Marquis Wu.

Even one against three, he was still as valiant as ever, forcing back his opponents and making them fear for their lives. That caused everyone to recognize that the only one worthy of being Phoenix Cry’s strongest man was Long Tianxiao.

As for grandmaster Yun Qi’s battle with Wei Cang and Wang Luyang, that was also nearing its climax. It was becoming more and more intense and dangerous. But they were far away from this battlefield, and their ripples didn’t reach that far.

The most dangerous spot still had to be Mrs. Long’s side. The imperial capital’s soldiers seemed to have become insane. They charged forward, unafraid of death, for that reward. They were hopeful that as long as they managed to kill a single person from the Long household, their careers would soar higher than ever.

Despite the two Tendon Transformation experts fighting as hard as they could, despite the mountains of corpses that littered the ground, the locust-like army was still unstoppable. Fatty Yu and the others also had to start fighting with their lives on the lines. Danger sprang up from all sides, and they were gradually becoming unable to hang on.

As for Marquis Ying’s group of three, no matter how hard they fought, they were still powerless to deal with Long Tianxiao. Marquis Ying couldn’t help being shaken, and a spear suddenly appeared in his hand.

That spear was shot out just like a shooting star towards Mrs. Long’s group, its power completely unblockable.

“Long Tianxiao, first I’ll kill your wife and let you also taste the flavor of resentment!” Hatred and resentment twisted Marquis Ying’s face.

Long Tianxiao hadn’t expected Marquis Ying to suddenly make such a dirty attack. Those two Tendon Transformation experts were completely caught up with trying to block the huge army, and the others were all surrounded. No one else had noticed that spear yet.

And even if someone did notice it, it would be useless. In front of a Tendon Transformation expert’s attack, there was basically no one who could block it in the Blood Condensation realm.

Chu Yao was the first member on that side to notice the spear. Her expression greatly changed. It was already too late to push Mrs. Long aside. She directly rushed in front of her, actually using her own body to take that spear.

“NO!” Long Tianxiao roared. That spear contained a Tendon Transformation expert’s full force. It was something that the physical body could not possibly block. Both of them would be killed!

BANG! 

A ray of black light flashed. That spear was turned into powder by a terrifying force. When the smoke and ashes scattered, a pitch-black broadsword appeared in front of everyone’s eyes.

That black broadsword was in the hands of a youth. His robes fluttered and his long hair danced.

“I guess this counts as making it on time.”