Chapter 18 The Wild Marquis

In front of the Zhenyuan Marquis Manor, hundreds of elite soldiers surrounded the estate tightly, with a middle-aged man in silver armor sitting on horseback, looking arrogantly at Madam Long. Madam Long, pale-faced, was speaking to the man, while behind her, Bao'er and other family members looked at the armored soldiers with expressions of terror. When Long Chen appeared, the man's eyes lit up, and he coldly shouted, "Long Chen, you have severely injured Young Master Zhou Yaoyang for no reason. I am here under orders to capture you. Will you not surrender willingly?" "Clash!" Hundreds of long knives were drawn, creating a thunderous noise, and the atmosphere was filled with a murderous aura, making it hard for people to breathe. All these individuals were elite soldiers, exuding a strong stench of blood. Madam Long had never seen such a murderous scene, and her face instantly turned as pale as paper. She swayed and nearly fell, if not for Bao'er supporting her, she would not have been able to stand. Long Chen, facing the gleaming long knives, ignored them and walked to his mother's side. Seeing the fear in her eyes, his heart ached. “Mother, it’s alright, it’s just a dream. Once you wake up, everything will disappear,” Long Chen gently said, holding his mother's hand. As Long Chen spoke, a gentle soul force emanated from him, causing Madam Long's eyelids to weigh heavily, and she closed her eyes, slipping into a deep sleep. “Bao'er, Aunt Zhang, help me take Mother inside,” Long Chen said, unwilling to let his mother suffer from fear. He used his soul force to hypnotize her; otherwise, such a fright would be hard for an ordinary person like her to bear and could easily lead to illness. Bao'er received Long Chen's order and, along with Aunt Zhang, helped Madam Long inside. Long Chen instructed everyone to close the main gate. Looking at the man on horseback, sensing the faint blood energy coming from him, Long Chen's lips curled into a mocking smile: "Just a mere half-step into Blood Condensation." Seeing that Long Chen had no intention of surrendering, the man squinted his eyes and said, "Long Chen, you have committed an unforgivable crime. No one can save you now. Are you waiting for me to take action myself?" "General? You are just a mere deputy general, to put it bluntly, you are just a dog. How dare you call yourself a general? Are you trying to make me laugh?" Long Chen pointed at the man’s nose and scolded. The title of deputy general was the lowest rank among generals in the Fengming Empire, having no merit or real power, to put it simply, it was just a squad leader. However, this guy had just been promoted to deputy general and was extremely excited, frequently referring to himself as 'this general' until he became accustomed to it. Long Chen's words were like poisonous arrows, striking the man's heart and making his face turn extremely ugly. He came from a grassroots background, having endured hardships in the military for over a decade, and only now had the opportunity to potentially break through to Blood Condensation, which had led to his promotion as a deputy general. Now, what he considered his greatest honor was being trampled underfoot, causing a strong sense of killing intent to arise within him. "Long Chen, do not force me to kill you," the man gritted his teeth, his hand moving towards the sword at his waist. "If you dare to draw your sword, I will send your head rolling!" Long Chen stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the man seriously, his voice not loud and without a hint of anger, yet exuding unmatched confidence. "Seeking death!" The man roared angrily, pressing down on his horse, and like a hawk, he lunged at Long Chen with a punch. The blood energy around him surged, and a faint blood aura emerged, clearly indicating that he was using a bit of his Blood Condensation strength. Long Chen's eyes sparkled like lightning, his expression cold. He stepped forward and threw a punch. "Boom!" The two punches collided, a fierce wind blew, and a loud explosion was heard as both were pushed back several steps by the force. "Is that all you’ve got?" Long Chen sneered coldly. The man's expression changed, enraged that a so-called waste of a youth was mocking him, nearly causing him to explode with anger. "Die!" "Clash!" The long knife was drawn, a cold light slashing down towards Long Chen, the howling wind piercing through the eardrums and sending chills down people's spines. At that moment, Long Chen stepped back like a ghost, evading the man's attack by a distance of a zhang. In that retreat, he used the newly learned Wind Chasing Step. Although he was a novice, due to Long Chen's integration of the Dan Emperor's memories, he had an unparalleled understanding of the human meridian pathways. His proficiency was as good as that of someone who had practiced for decades. He stepped forward directly in front of a soldier, throwing a punch at him, causing the soldier to feel a great shock in his heart as he hurriedly raised his knife to defend. However, suddenly, his hand trembled, and the long knife disappeared. When he looked at Long Chen again, he saw Long Chen holding the long knife, fiercely slashing at the deputy general. "Swish!" The deputy general had just slashed empty, and before he could adjust, Long Chen had already retreated, seized the knife, and struck in one seamless motion. The howling wind tore through space, making him feel tremendous fear as he hurriedly gathered his strength to defend. "Boom!" After the roar, the deputy general felt an irresistible force hit him, and he was sent flying several zhang away, rolling on the ground. Just as he stabilized himself, he suddenly felt a chill at his waist and, relying on years of life-and-death experience, without thinking, he swung his long knife. Another explosion sounded, sparks flew, and a cold light shot forth, flying dozens of zhang away, embedding itself in an old tree. The deputy general had relied on astounding intuition to block Long Chen's knife, but he could not withstand Long Chen's terrifying strength, his grip shattered, and the long knife was knocked away. At this moment, the deputy general no longer held the arrogance from before, his face filled with shock and despair, for he saw a cold light approaching him like the blade of death. "No!" "Pfft!" The terrified cry echoed in the air, but the deputy general's head had already soared high, his face filled with horror and unwillingness. Before his soul fell into darkness, he suddenly remembered what Long Chen had said earlier: "If you dare to draw your sword, I will send your head rolling!" Now he finally believed that Long Chen was not just scaring him; he was speaking the truth. Unfortunately, he realized it too late. "Thud!" The headless corpse collapsed on the ground, the severed head rolling for a long distance before finally falling. In an instant, the soldiers were all dumbfounded, their leader was lying dead on the street, and everyone’s weapons trembled in their hands. They had seen blood before, but they had never witnessed such a scene today. From start to finish, Long Chen remained calm, not even twitching an eyelid, and this calmness was far more terrifying than any gritted teeth. "Long Chen, you dare kill my beloved general? Do you believe I will destroy your Zhenyuan Marquis Manor?" Suddenly, a furious shout came from afar, and a stern-looking middle-aged man approached, accompanied by dozens of powerful figures. "Finally willing to come out?" Long Chen sneered inwardly. When he first arrived, he had scanned the surroundings with his divine sense and noticed someone lurking in the distance, watching. "Barbarian Marquis, you truly live up to your name, with such unreasonable behavior, it's no wonder you were conferred as a Marquis," Long Chen lazily leaned against the stone lion at his front door, speaking languidly. "Long Chen, today at the Literary Hall, you offended the Seventh Prince and severely injured my son, and now you have killed my beloved general. Hmph! Even if you are eloquent today, you will not escape your crimes. Let’s see who can save you," the Barbarian Marquis shouted angrily. Looking at this Marquis, who was once on par with his father, Long Chen's lips curled into a mocking smile. With your pathetic little tricks, you think you can be compared to my father? Pah! "Zhou Chengqing, are you becoming more and more confused? Do I, Long Chen, still need anyone to save me? You really are an idiot!" Long Chen casually pulled out a jade token from his pocket and pointed it at him, saying, "Open your dog eyes, and also your nostrils, and even the eye in your ass, and see clearly what this is!" The Barbarian Marquis Zhou Chengqing looked at the jade token engraved with the image of a Dan furnace, and his face was filled with shock. "How is this possible? How can you possess a Dan Master token? This must be fake!" Zhou Chengqing shouted angrily. "Idiot, it seems you are really getting old. You can't even see with your five eyes. Let me do you a favor and show you clearly," Long Chen said, tossing the jade token to Zhou Chengqing. Zhou Chengqing reached out to catch the jade token, examining it closely. Eventually, his face turned pale with shock. As a Marquis, how could he not recognize the identity token of the Alchemist Guild? But it was precisely because he recognized it that his expression changed drastically. The signatory on the back of the token was none other than Yun Qi, the Alchemist Guild of the Fengming Empire. Anyone of note would surely know that master, right? Even the emperors of past dynasties had to pay their respects to the president of the Alchemist Guild, showcasing the Guild's lofty status within the Empire. If a country does not have the support of the Alchemist Guild, it won’t be long before it gets devoured by other empires. One could say that the Alchemist Guild is the sustenance of the empire. "Zhou Chengqing, do you understand now? Can I have the token back?" Long Chen looked at the Barbarian Marquis, who was in a daze, and laughed coldly. Zhou Chengqing's face turned ugly. He wanted to crush the jade token and capture Long Chen, but he didn’t dare. Although he didn’t know how Long Chen obtained the token, with the token, it proved that Long Chen was affiliated with the Alchemist Guild, which placed him above the laws of the empire, and he had no right to deal with him. Taking the jade token that Zhou Chengqing handed over as if he had lost his mother, Long Chen suddenly hardened his face and said coldly, "Zhou Chengqing, your deputy general has surrounded a Dan Master’s residence and drawn his sword to harm others. If you do not give me an explanation today, I will apply to the Alchemist Guild for sanctions against the Fengming Empire tomorrow." Zhou Chengqing's face changed drastically. The sanctions from the Alchemist Guild were terrifying; they would refuse to supply Dan to the empire for a period of time, which would be tantamount to taking the empire's life! "I was not aware of this matter beforehand. It was entirely that brat acting on his own. I will investigate the matter and will quickly give the Young Master an explanation," Zhou Chengqing had no choice but to swallow his anger given Long Chen's special status. Damn it, how shameless can you be? You can eat back the shit you just made without changing your expression. For the first time, Long Chen admired this Barbarian Marquis. No wonder he was a Blood Condensation Realm expert more than ten years ago, yet he was still in the same realm now. It turns out all these years, he practiced how to eat shit. "How you investigate is your business. Before I get up tomorrow, I want my front door to be spotless. Otherwise... you know how serious the consequences can be," Long Chen snorted coldly, too lazy to talk nonsense with this shameless old fox. He dropped a line and directly returned to the manor, slamming the door shut. He was immensely frustrated today, having been in three fights in one day: one at the Literary Hall in the morning, one at Luoxia Mountain at noon, and now one at his doorstep. It was truly tiring. However, the one at noon was quite thrilling. After Long Chen vanished, the Barbarian Marquis's face turned ashen. He had expected to achieve something but ended up in a mess instead. "Marquis, what should we do?" "Do? Do your sister! Quickly clean this place up. The blood on the ground must be licked clean, even if you have to use your tongue!" The Barbarian Marquis, who had been holding in his anger with no outlet, finally found a place to vent. After cursing loudly, he left a group of dumbfounded people behind and walked away alone. "Damn it, how could that little beast become a member of the Alchemist Guild? This is troublesome!" The Barbarian Marquis muttered to himself, contemplating for a moment before heading towards the palace.