by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
“Huo Wufang.”
These words came out of the Tower Ancestor’s mouth. Huo Wufang collapsed, sitting on the ground. He was filled with unwillingness and hatred.
“First place…”
Fang Chang and Chai Liehuo began to throttle Long Chen’s neck, feeling so excited that they might explode. They didn’t know just what to do to release their emotions.
“First place is Long San.”
Although there had been no suspense, hearing these words caused a heaven-shaking roar from the Fang and Chai families’ experts.
“Everyone but the top five can leave now.”
Following the tower administrator’s orders, the curtain closed on the Pill Emperor Competition.
Long Chen and the others were brought into the Seven Treasure Jewel Tower. The Tower Ancestor looked at them. “Here are the rewards.”
The tower administrator personally handed each of them a Pill Valley badge.
Long Chen saw that his name was carved onto it: Long San. The badge felt extremely heavy in his hand, and there was also a powerful aura that came from it. This was most likely something that could not be imitated.
Long Chen, Huo Wufang, and Duan Tianqiao were also given a spatial ring. Long Chen didn’t even look at it before putting it away.
As for Duan Tianqiao, when she examined what was inside, her whole body trembled. She had an expression of disbelief.
Huo Wufang also looked inside his spatial ring and became filled with delight. But then he became filled with endless fury. He had obviously thought of what kind of treasures had to be in Long San’s ring.
“Long San, you don’t want to know what your reward is?” The Tower Ancestor smiled.
“This little one comes from a small mountain village. It would be a shame if I was so shocked upon seeing it that I peed myself. That would be too embarrassing. I’ll wait until no one is watching to look inside,” laughed Long Chen.
Duan Tianqiao looked at Long San curiously. She really was unable to understand this fellow. He was actually able to resist such a strong enticement. She was definitely unable to do the same.
“Haha, that’s fine. I was looking forward to your expression of shock, but it seems there won’t be a chance now.
“Getting to business, since you’ve all obtained a Pill Valley disciple badge, you can all join Pill Valley. I will be returning to the Pill Valley later today, so you have to choose whether you want to come with me, or wait and think of another way of getting there on your own,” said the Tower Ancestor.
“Disciple wishes to leave immediately!” Duan Tianqiao was the first to speak.
This caused Huo Wufang’s expression to become slightly ugly. Having obtained the third place, Duan Tianqiao was actually planning on cutting ties with his Huo family.
“I also wish to leave with Tower Ancestor!” The other two hastily followed Duan Tianqiao’s lead.
“What about you, Long San?” asked the Tower Ancestor.
“Me? I still have some things to handle. You also know, I only just snatched… cough, I only just married my wife. As newlyweds, I want to stay for one or two months so we can get to know each other better. Is it alright for me to leave later?” asked Long Chen
“Yes. You have Pill Valley’s badge. You can use it anytime within the next ten years.
“But let me warn you, Pill Valley is located in the Central Plains, and it is very far. You’ll have to go through dozens of transportation formations, and you’ll also need to pass through the chaotic sea. It’s extremely dangerous. It’ll be much more convenient for you to leave with me,” said the Tower Ancestor.
“Disciple understands. But disciple still has to do a few things before leaving. Please forgive me,” apologized Long Chen.
In truth, he really was enticed. If he went to Pill Valley, wouldn’t he be able to get any medicinal ingredients he wanted? But what about the Dragonblood Legion? What about Tang Wan-er and Meng Qi? He couldn’t just think about himself.
“Alright. Then what about you, Huo Wufang?” asked the Tower Ancestor.
Seeing that Long Chen wasn’t immediately leaving, Huo Wufang’s eyes brightened and he hastily said, “Disciple also has some secular matters to handle first. Please forgive me.”
The Tower Ancestor smiled slightly, but that smile contained a profound meaning. “Alright, up to you. You can leave now. Remember, you have to get to Pill Valley within ten years, or your badges will become invalid.”
Long Chen and Huo Wufang left the Seven Treasure Jewel Tower together. Huo Wufang suddenly sneered, “Long San, just wait!”
“Idiot, who has time to wait for you?”
Long Chen was too lazy to bother with him. He saw Fang Chang, Chai Liehuo, as well as Hua Biluo waiting for him. Tossing out a final insult, he rushed over there.
“Haha, Long San, congratulations on getting first place!” Chai Liehuo was the first to extend his arms and go toward Long Chen, wanting to give him a fierce hug.
Long Chen also laughed and spread his arms. But he dodged Chai Liehuo and actually hugged the laughing Hua Biluo. Hua Biluo immediately blushed.
“Fuck, Long San, you little brat!” raged Chai Liehuo.
The four of them laughed and returned to the Fang Manor. They had only just entered when Long Chen was called over to Fang Mingyuan.
“Well done, Long Chen.” Within a private room, Chai Gaoyang praised Long Chen. Long Chen’s display had truly been too shocking today.
“Are there any movements from the Huo family?” asked Long Chen.
“Hehe, what movements could they make? As soon as they announced that you took first place, over half of the Huo family’s guests immediately left.
“The era of their Huo family being number one has passed, and it will never return. Some people have already seen some clues and begun to drift apart from the Huo family, taking the attitude of spectators. In just this short time, the Huo family has become much lonelier. There are even some small powers that have already joined sides with my Fang family.
“Those opportunists are useless, but even some of the loyal dogs of the Huo family have begun to sway. That’s the real prize.” Fang Mingyuan smiled.
“Do you think the Huo family will be driven to a desperate action?” asked Long Chen.
“Most definitely. Their Huo family won’t just wait for their death. But now, they won’t have much manpower for anything. Don’t worry, our two families aren’t weak, or how could we have defended against the Huo family? It’s just that we don’t easily reveal our fangs,” consoled Chai Gaoyang.
“Then I’m relieved. I’m going to rest and drink with the other two junior masters.” Long Chen smiled.
“Haha, go. You should celebrate.” Fang Mingyuan smiled.
But when Long Chen left, his smile disappeared. “Are we really going to do this?”
Chai Gaoyang said, “Of course. The Huo family’s destruction is set in stone now. Furthermore, we’ll pull them up by their roots.”
“I was talking about…” Fang Mingyuan felt a bit distressed.
“Don’t worry. As long as we keep the information airtight, who will know? Those who want to accomplish big things can’t be so overcautious,” said Chai Gaoyang.
After a long moment, Fang Mingyuan finally sighed. “Fine. Since you’re so in favor of this, I’ll listen to you. It’s time to be ruthless.”
Chapter 692 Surprise Attack
BOOM!
Within a private room, despite doing his absolute best, Long Chen was still unable to control the terrifying energy soaring out of him.
The walls of the room were now covered in cracks. With just a bit more power, the entire room would collapse.
“All I did was condense the embryonic state, and I only used an ordinary middle grade Palace Enlightenment Pill, but it already caused such a ruckus. As expected, each star of the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art is more terrifying than the last.”
Long Chen was extremely shocked. He had only just refi
ned his first furnace of Enlightenment Palace Pills after celebrating with Fang Chang and Chai Liehuo.
Because it was his first time refining it, he had actually ended up refining one middle grade pill. Refining such a low grade pill was extremely rare for Long Chen.
But low grade pills had their own benefits sometimes. Long Chen had consumed it to find a path to the position of the Enlightenment Palace Star.
Now he found that the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art’s first four stars were located at the hands and feet. The Enlightenment Palace Star was located at the center of the left hand.
Just now, Long Chen had done his best, but the slightest bit of his energy had leaked out, almost collapsing the room he was in.
Long Chen was ecstatic. The Enlightenment Palace Star was truly terrifying. If it had this much power even before the embryonic form was completely condensed, just how strong would it be once it was fully condensed?
Long Chen quickly controlled the medicinal energy, sending it into his left hand. At the same time, he circulated the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art. He felt his hand heat up, and a cyclone slowly formed in his hand.
“This is the feeling.” This feeling was extremely familiar. Because he couldn’t cause such a huge ruckus, he could only allow the medicinal energy to enter slowly.
Despite being incredibly careful, the cyclone caused space to shudder. The bricks on the ceiling began to fall.
The fallen bricks revealed a bare steel wall. This room was not just sealed off from the rest of the world, but it was also extremely sturdy.
These steel walls were almost thirty meters thick. The actual room only had an area of three hundred square meters. In other words, the walls were even thicker than the room was wide.
Even if you were to scream and shout in here, the outside world wouldn’t be able to hear anything. But intense trembling would definitely be sensed.
So Long Chen had to control his energy. The cyclone in his hand slowly grew as he sent the medicinal energy there.
When the first furnace of pills was all completely consumed, Long Chen found that the cyclone had only grown ever so slightly. He sighed.
For the previous Life Fate Star, one furnace of pills had essentially maxed out the cyclone. Only at that point would a small dot form at the heart of the cyclone.
That dot was the star’s core. That was the true start of the star condensation.
The next steps were to fully condense the star and then undergo the nine star transformations. Only then would it reach its perfect state.
He once more took out a furnace of pills. These pills hadn’t been refined by him, but by Huo Long.
Huo Long was extremely smart. As long as Long Chen refined a pill once, it would remember the entire process and be able to refine it as well. It knew exactly when to increase the flame, weaken the flame, when to pull back the flame, and when to fully release the flame.
However, Huo Long’s pills weren’t as high quality as Long Chen’s personally refined pills. After all, it didn’t possess Long Chen’s Spiritual Strength, and so it couldn’t pour in soul energy into the pill to increase the pill’s spirituality.
But Huo Long’s skill was extremely steady. Each time, it would manage to refine nine pills, each with one ring. It made no mistakes.
Huo Long was truly an outstanding assistance to Long Chen. It was simply regretful that Huo Long didn’t possess its own Spiritual Strength, or it would be able to refine even higher grade pills.
But this still saved Long Chen a great deal of time. He directly consumed over a hundred pills. Even Huo Long’s fast refining speed couldn’t keep up with Long Chen’s rapid consumption.
“Really? It only grew by this much?!” Long Chen was a bit shocked. Over a hundred pills had entered his stomach, but that cyclone was still only the size of a bean. The only comfort was that it was at least many times larger than it had been at first.
According to his experience, the cyclone would only reach saturation when it reached three feet in size. Only then would it give birth to the core of the star.
“Damnit, the Enlightenment Palace Star’s consumption is too terrifying. Just condensing the cyclone will probably require tens of thousands of Enlightenment Palace Pills…”
“Oh?” Long Chen suddenly noticed a layer of translucent material on his arm. He lightly pulled and found that a whole layer of his skin came off.
“I’m shedding?”
Long Chen was dumbfounded. He found that his body had started to shed its skin. He hastily looked inside himself, and his heart shook. He saw that each one of his cells was growing and giving birth to new cells. The old cells were being expelled outside his body.
His entire body was undergoing a transformation. Long Chen was bewildered. Was this what it meant to shed one’s mortal body?
What Long Chen seemed to be shedding looked similar to skin, but in reality, it was his old cells. The skin was just the carrier of the discharge.
“I feel like my whole body is full of energy.” Long Chen calmly watched as new cells formed. His old cells were gradually replaced. Feeling his whole body brimming with energy, he had an urge to punch the wall just to release it.
An hour later, Long Chen finally stopped shedding. He felt refreshed and in high spirits. He suddenly thought of something and hastily crushed a medicinal pill, wiping its powder over his face.
He found that after his shedding, he had returned to his original appearance. He had to fix his face again.
Just after fixing that, a red button on the wall began to repeatedly blink. It was the alarm.
This was an alarm connected to every training room in the Fang family. It meant something big was happening outside. Long Chen hastily ran out.
As soon as he came out, he saw that the entire Fang family was in a panic. Countless black-robed men had snuck their way into the Fang family under the cover of the night. They killed anyone they saw.
Right in front of him, a Bone Forging expert from the Fang family was cut down. His head rolled to Long Chen’s feet.
The killer was just about to attack Long Chen when he saw who he was. His pupils shrank and he hastily turned to flee. But Long Chen didn’t give him any chance.
A slap fell on his face. Long Chen’s goal had been to slap him unconscious and then undergo a soulsearch to see where these people had come from.
But his slap had been too powerful. This person’s head exploded like a watermelon. Long Chen was stunned to see that he had slapped him dead.
“My strength has risen too much. I’m unable to control my power perfectly for now.”
Long Chen rushed directly out of his small courtyard. When Long Chen’s divine sense swept through the Fang family, he saw there were thousands of experts attacking.
Each one of them was wearing black robes and a veil over their faces. Wherever they went, blood followed as they slaughtered the Fang family’s people. Screams of pain and panic resounded.
“Where are the Fang and Chai families’ experts?!”
Long Chen didn’t understand, but now wasn’t the time to think so much. He found that his courtyard had already been surrounded, and dozens of people were currently attacking Hua Biluo.
Hua Biluo was surrounded by flying petals, and her sword was streaked with blood as she desperately fought. These people were all Xiantian experts, and Hua Biluo had not revealed the fact that she was a Celestial. That was something Long Chen had told her to do.
Being surrounded by this many people, Hua Biluo was naturally struggling. Her sword shone with a brilliant light as she only defended. She was doing her best to stall.
Suddenly, a huge flame arrow pierced through her enemies and exploded. Dozens of Xiantian experts were instantly incinerated, relieving Hua Biluo of her desperate situation.
Seeing that Long Chen had arrived, Hua Biluo sighed with relief. The survivors all scattered upon seeing Long Chen.
“Haha, Long San, we’ve been waiting a long time!”
A cold s
hout rang out and a figure appeared. Although he also wore a veil over his face, his eyes completely revealed his identity.
One eye was black, while the other was white. It was too obvious. It also made the overall situation apparent: these people had been sent by the Huo family. The Huo family had actually gone all-out before the Fang and Chai families could attack them.
Following the first Corrupt Celestial, many more Celestials also arrived. They had obviously been lying in wait just for this.
“Run!”
Long Chen suddenly shouted and pulled away Hua Biluo. Using the Netherworld Ghost Steps, he was just like a phantom as he rushed away.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Long Chen had only just begun to run when his heart tightened. Pulling Hua Biluo, he dodged to the side.
BOOM!
A black light shot past Long Chen. This was the same move that had killed the Celestial back then. This black light was extremely strange, and anyone touched by it would die.
After dodging, Long Chen continued fleeing. He was incomparably quick, appearing many miles away in an instant.
“Chase! We have to kill Long San!”
The Corrupt Celestial shouted and shot after Long Chen. The other Celestials also followed.
As soon as the Celestials left, several powerful auras rose within the Fang family. Sea Expansion experts had taken action.
As Long Chen rushed away, he kept feeling like something was wrong. But as for what exactly, he couldn’t pinpoint it. He just felt like this matter was odd.
This was Pill Yang City. There were many commoners living here. If there really was a huge battle here, it would definitely implicate countless innocents.
Although he was not a friend to these people, Long Chen was unable to completely ignore the value of a person’s life. He was intentionally dragging these experts into the wilderness before fighting.
“You bastard Long San! You actually tricked me! You’re clearly using the Netherworld Ghost Steps!” roared the Corrupt Celestial who had previously questioned Long Chen.