Chapter 14 Seventh Prince

The newcomer was a young boy, appearing to be around fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in a luxurious yellow robe and wearing a golden crown atop his head. "I pay my respects to the Seventh Prince!" As soon as the boy arrived, everyone hurriedly knelt and paid their respects, even Shi Feng unwillingly knelt down. The boy, named Chu Feng, was the seventh and youngest son of the current Emperor Chu Tianku of the Fengming Empire. It was said that when Chu Feng was just born, Chu Tianku had already entered closed-door cultivation and had yet to emerge, so Chu Feng had never seen what his own father looked like. As for Chu Feng, Long Chen had heard quite a bit about him, knowing that he was born of the Western Palace Empress and had been pampered since childhood, behaving arrogantly and domineeringly. Apart from the Crown Prince, he hardly feared anyone, never expecting him to come here today. However, seeing Zhou Yaoyang beside him, Long Chen's heart immediately became clear; it was likely aimed at him. According to the etiquette between rulers and subjects, all heirs must bow to the princes, and with Fatty and Shi Feng all kneeling on the ground, they could not avoid it unless they broke through to the Blood Condensation Realm. Long Chen curled his lips; a second-generation heir wants me, Long Chen, to kneel for you? Apart from my parents, there is no one worth my Long Chen kneeling to, not even born yet. The Seventh Prince Chu Feng glanced at everyone and suddenly saw Long Chen sitting there boldly like a crane among chickens, and his face darkened. "You audacious Long Chen, the Seventh Prince is here, how dare you not kneel and pay your respects? Are you trying to rebel?" Next to the Seventh Prince, Zhou Yaoyang and the others didn't expect Long Chen to be so bold, daring to openly oppose the Seventh Prince. Wang Mang, who had been severely slapped by Long Chen before, was overjoyed at this sight, fearing that Long Chen would react, he hurriedly shouted, trying to put a big hat on Long Chen first. The others were also taken aback, especially Fatty and the others, who were sweating profusely. The conflicts among heirs were merely small skirmishes. However, offending the Seventh Prince could easily lead to losing one's head, not to mention that Long Chen's actions at this moment were clearly rebellious. A hint of excitement appeared in Zhou Yaoyang's eyes; he had a bit of a relationship with the Seventh Prince and often accompanied this useless prince in food and fun. Today, he suddenly had a whim to bring the Seventh Prince here, hoping to suppress Long Chen, after all, Long Chen had gained great fame in the Imperial City after defeating Li Hao last time. However, Zhou Yaoyang and the others had received a heavy slap in the face because they had almost bet all their wealth on Li Hao. Now their group was living tightly, and the days of revelry were gone forever. What he didn't expect was that things turned out to be even simpler than he imagined; he didn't have to provoke, Long Chen had already ignited the Seventh Prince's fury. Listening to Wang Mang's bluster, Long Chen revealed a hint of disdain at the corner of his mouth, smiling slightly and asking, "Wang Mang, how does Li Hao's egg taste? Seeing your celestial palace is full and your cheeks are plump, it seems that egg is quite nourishing." Wang Mang's face immediately changed, his stomach churning as if a great wave was crashing. The events from last time had left him with significant aftereffects. Now, every time he ate, he would think of that day, reflexively vomiting. He could eat nothing now, having lost a considerable amount of weight, far from Long Chen's remarks of his "celestial palace being full and cheeks rosy," he looked like a zombie. Wang Mang's face turned purple with anger, but he dared not say a word, desperately suppressing the upheaval in his stomach, fearing that he would vomit if he opened his mouth. "Long Chen, you a mere heir with no official rank or achievements, how dare you not kneel before this prince?" The Seventh Prince pointed angrily at Long Chen. The Seventh Prince, used to being arrogant, even the other princes and princesses were unwilling to provoke him. Today, seeing such a lowly heir daring to disregard him, he was infuriated. Looking at the childish face of the boy, Long Chen calmly said, "You are still a child, I won't hold it against you; go back where you came from." "What?" In an instant, everyone’s expressions changed; was Long Chen looking for death? How could he dare say such things? If he had merely skipped the bowing, he might have been punished for a few days or beaten, but now Long Chen’s words were clearly rebellious, carrying a death sentence—was Long Chen insane? "You… seeking death! Seize him!" The Seventh Prince shouted angrily at the people beside him. Those were Zhou Yaoyang's companions, hearing the Seventh Prince's command, they were overjoyed and rushed towards Long Chen without a second thought. If it were any other time, they might have hesitated, but with the Seventh Prince's order, they no longer held back, knowing that with this backing, even if they killed Long Chen, they wouldn't bear any responsibility. "Bang!" As they pounced, Long Chen kicked the table in front of him, a table made of ancient wood over a thousand years old, sturdy as iron and incredibly heavy, was kicked away by Long Chen, heading straight for the crowd. Zhou Yaoyang was the first to bear the brunt; seeing the table flying towards him, he shouted and channeled all his strength, smashing his fist onto the table. With a loud bang, the solid table was shattered by Zhou Yaoyang's punch, proving he was indeed a strong practitioner at the Seventh Layer of Qi Gathering, his momentum was quite intimidating. However, after shattering the table, his movement instinctively halted. At that moment, Wang Mang, who had been beside him, had already leapt over Zhou Yaoyang and became the first “brave warrior” to rush at Long Chen. Long Chen looked at Wang Mang, who was gritting his teeth and charging at him, with a look of disdain and a quirky smile as he waved his hand. "Slap!" So fast it was unbelievable, before everyone could see Long Chen's action, there was a loud bang as Long Chen's hand landed firmly on Wang Mang's face. Wang Mang was directly slapped away, soaring through the air in a beautiful parabolic arc, heading off into the distance. The most shocking part was that during his flight, a dozen teeth scattered elegantly. Bang! Wang Mang's body crashed into the wall, his eyes rolled back and he fainted immediately, but his still gaping mouth clearly indicated to the world that he had become a "backer" and "toothless" person. At that moment, Zhou Yaoyang, who had just charged over, was startled to see Wang Mang being slapped away. Though Wang Mang’s cultivation wasn't high, being so casually knocked away made him feel very uneasy. However, this was not the time to retreat; Zhou Yaoyang shouted and unleashed an aura belonging to the Seventh Layer of Qi Gathering, his whole body radiating spiritual energy. "Six Yang Fist!" With Zhou Yaoyang's shout, he swung his fist, and a faint blue hue appeared around his fist, a unique phenomenon of battle techniques. The Six Yang Fist was one of Zhou Yaoyang's trump cards, practiced for a long time, with a punch possessing a thousand jin of power, unstoppable. "Slap!" Long Chen did not hesitate at all and slapped down on Zhou Yaoyang's fist; their fists collided and a loud explosion rang out. However, what left everyone stunned was that Zhou Yaoyang's formidable punch was casually received by Long Chen. "How is this possible?" Zhou Yaoyang was taken aback; he felt as if his punch had struck a mountain, a dull pain echoed in his chest. On the opposite side, Long Chen didn't even flicker an eyelash, a fierce grin appearing at the corner of his mouth: "Zhou Yaoyang, it's my turn now." Zhou Yaoyang suddenly felt a chill run through his scalp, he felt as if a primal beast was staring at him, his heart raced, and he hurriedly tried to retreat. But he couldn't achieve that; Long Chen's large hand had firmly grasped his fist, no matter how he struggled, it felt like a dragonfly shaking a pillar, utterly immovable. Zhou Yaoyang was terrified; what kind of strength was this? Long Chen was like a humanoid monster, his cultivation hidden, relying solely on brute strength to keep him firmly suppressed. "Hoo!" However, Zhou Yaoyang was also a powerful individual, having followed his father's subordinates and slain magical beasts; he was no stranger to bloodshed. Remaining calm in danger, seeing that he couldn't break free from Long Chen's grip, he raised his right foot and aimed for Long Chen's abdomen. This was a simple and effective move to save himself when attacking the enemy, but Long Chen didn't even glance at Zhou Yaoyang's foot, using one hand to push against it. "Rise!" Long Chen shouted, like thunder shaking the heavens, causing everyone's eardrums to ache. With Long Chen's shout, Zhou Yaoyang was lifted into the air. In the eyes of everyone, shocked to the core, Long Chen lifted Zhou Yaoyang and fiercely hurled him down to the ground. "Bang!" With a loud bang, the entire ground shook, accompanied by the sound of countless bones cracking, sending chills down everyone's spine. "Puh… Puh… Puh!" Zhou Yaoyang, who was slammed down, spat out three mouthfuls of fresh blood, mixed with countless internal organ fragments, people clearly noticed he had swollen up quite a bit; no, it should be said he had flattened out, his volume unchanged, but his area looked much larger. Looking at Zhou Yaoyang, who was continuously coughing up blood, and then at the solid ground beneath him, which had cracked from the impact, everyone collectively inhaled sharply. Looking at Zhou Yaoyang, who was struggling to breathe, Long Chen felt a huge relief; he had been holding this breath for a long time. Over the years, the person he hated most was Zhou Yaoyang; he was like an omnipresent nightmare, constantly tormenting Long Chen. At that moment, the entire hall was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, including the Seventh Prince, everyone was stunned, even those heirs who were preparing to charge in all swallowed hard, their bodies trembling involuntarily. Yet Long Chen maintained a calm demeanor throughout, but the more tranquil he appeared, the more terrifying he became, like an unfeeling god of death. Long Chen glanced at Zhou Yaoyang, smiled, and looked at the distant Seventh Prince, slowly walking towards him. The Seventh Prince, who had always been pampered, was used to bullying others but had no experience being bullied. Seeing Long Chen approach with a wicked smile, his face turned pale. "What do you want? Don't come closer!" The Seventh Prince's voice trembled; he seemed to feel the chilling murderous intent emanating from Long Chen's eyes, as if a butcher’s knife was resting on his throat, ready to take his life with just a thought from Long Chen. Long Chen remained silent, his face still wearing that terrifying smile, slowly approaching the Seventh Prince. Everyone was stunned; what was Long Chen planning? Did he really want to kill the Seventh Prince? "N-no… don’t come closer!" The Seventh Prince kept retreating, but at this point, he had backed into a corner with no way out. Looking at Long Chen drawing nearer, terror filled the Seventh Prince's eyes; he seemed to smell the scent of death. "You shouldn't have pushed me; don't blame me," Long Chen shook his head with pity, slowly reaching into his robes, and suddenly, a large hand shot towards his face. "No…" The Seventh Prince let out a shrill scream, echoing throughout the entire literary hall.