Chapter 2 The Despicable Scoundrel

The medicinal liquid merged into Long Chen's abdomen, and he quickly guided it with his mind, spreading the medicinal power throughout his limbs and bones. Usually, warriors absorb medicine by integrating it into their dantian and then distributing it throughout their bodies. However, Long Chen had no spiritual root, and his dantian was empty, unable to store any energy. He could only disperse the medicinal power into every cell. Although these herbs were ordinary, after Long Chen's combination, they exhibited extremely powerful effects. As the medicinal power surged into his body, countless pores slowly opened, every cell like a suffocating person frantically absorbing the spiritual energy from heaven and earth. "Boom!" A muffled sound echoed within Long Chen's body, and the originally closed meridians were instantly opened, causing him to groan involuntarily. Others would gradually open their meridians using dantian energy, step by step, without any pain. But Long Chen was different; he needed to draw energy from the outside world, like pulling seawater into the fields, a fierce force that not everyone could withstand. "So painful, I will remember this pain," Long Chen gritted his teeth. If it weren't for someone stealing his spiritual root, why would he have to use such a crazy method? "Bang! Bang! Bang..." A series of explosive sounds echoed within Long Chen, with meridians opening one after another. Each time a meridian opened, Long Chen had to endure intense pain. When all the meridians were opened, Long Chen nearly passed out, and it took him a full hour to recover. Now that the pain had subsided, Long Chen felt that every pore in his body had opened, and with his breathing, the invisible spiritual energy from the heavens and earth was slowly being absorbed. "Very good, the meridians are opened, I can finally cultivate!" Long Chen sensed his body. With the meridians opened, he could naturally absorb the spiritual energy from the heavens and earth through his pores, nourishing his body and making it stronger. Although he had just opened the meridians, after the transformation of spiritual energy, Long Chen was filled with power. "Hoo!" He threw a punch, accompanied by a whistling wind, a smile appearing on Long Chen's face. This pain was not in vain. Ordinary people need to enter the Qi Sensing Realm before they can sense spiritual energy and then enter the Qi Gathering Realm. But Long Chen took an unconventional path, using medicinal power to open the pores and forcibly draw the power of spiritual energy from the heavens and earth to flow through his meridians, equivalent to directly entering the Qi Gathering Realm. However, this Qi Gathering Realm referred to the strength of Long Chen's body being nourished, entering the Qi Gathering Realm. Because he had no dantian, he could not condense the Qi vortex, so he was not truly in the Qi Gathering Realm. "Although I forcibly opened the meridians, without the ability to store true Qi in the dantian, I cannot sustain a fight; this is still not enough." Long Chen searched through his memories for a long time and suddenly found a unique martial arts memory among countless alchemical arts — the Nine Star Body Dominance Technique. Long Chen was pleasantly surprised that the Nine Star Body Dominance Technique was practically tailor-made for him. It was a secret skill that unlocked the hidden treasures in the human body; it did not cultivate the dantian but rather the Nine Stars. The Nine Stars were nine secret treasures within the body, and if all nine were opened, it would be equivalent to having nine dantians. Upon reaching this point, Long Chen nearly jumped up. However, when he read further, Long Chen's heart sank; the cultivation of the Nine Star Body Dominance Technique required countless Dans. Just condensing the first star — the Wind Palace Star — would consume immense energy. If relying solely on external absorption, it would take at least a hundred years to condense it. To condense the first star, it was necessary to use Dan, and it required an unbelievably large amount; otherwise, it was impossible to cultivate. But now the Long family was in dire straits, with no financial means to purchase Dans, let alone the pill he had consumed which could not be considered a Dan. "I need to find a way to earn some money," Long Chen pondered for a moment, changed his clothes, and walked out of his room. It was already past noon, yet the large侯府 (Duke's residence) had hardly any figures around, appearing extremely desolate. Long Chen's father, Duke Zhenyuan, had been stationed in the border wilderness for many years. Over these years, Long Chen and his mother had faced disdain from the people of the capital. Although they held a noble title, they still lived in poverty. The entire侯府 only had a dozen maidservants and miscellaneous workers; they could not afford more. It could be said that among all the nobles, the Long family was the most destitute, and Long Chen was the most downcast among all the young masters. The Fengming Empire had a flourishing martial culture, with everyone practicing martial arts, but Long Chen had a special physique that prevented him from practicing, making him the target of ridicule. In stark contrast, Long Chen's father, Long Tianxiao, was an extraordinary powerhouse, guarding the border wilderness. Even the brutal tribes could not invade the Fengming Empire by a step. Long Tianxiao was a legendary military god of the Fengming Empire, while Long Chen was a waste who could not even enter the Qi Sensing Realm, invoking the feeling of a tiger father with a dog son. Countless people mocked him, and Long Chen did not care. However, a few days ago, the son of the barbarian Duke, Zhou Yaoyang, mocked Long Chen for not being the child of Long Tianxiao. Long Chen was furious at the time; that was clearly insulting his mother’s loyalty. Blinded by anger, Long Chen dared to challenge him to a duel. But the other party was a strong cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Gathering, while he was an ordinary person who could not even produce a Qi sensation, which was just self-humiliation. Thus, it led to the later news of Long Chen being knocked unconscious and sent back to the Long family, making Long Chen a laughingstock in the entire capital. After leaving the侯府, Long Chen headed straight to the Baicao Hang in the capital, a place dealing in various precious medicinal materials. He needed to understand the market for herbs. Along the way, many people saw Long Chen coming out and couldn’t help but whisper behind his back. Long Chen had already become accustomed to this. At the same time, he secretly sneered. His father had suppressed the border wilderness, establishing unparalleled contributions for the entire Fengming Empire. But what did they get? They faced endless bullying and disdain in the capital, and he nearly got killed; was this the reward? A group of people protected by his father turned on him instead; was this the reward? Long Chen quickened his pace. Although he was not afraid of such gazes, it was still somewhat unpleasant. Just then, his path was blocked by someone. "Oh, isn't this Young Master Long Chen? I heard you were beaten to the point of not recognizing your own mother. Why are you out and about today?" A young man dressed in splendid clothes, looking about sixteen or seventeen, stood before Long Chen with two guards, a mocking expression on his face. This person was also a young master from a noble family, named Li Hao. However, his title was not high, and his status could not be compared to Long Chen's. But in the Fengming Empire, titles and status were secondary; the most important thing was strength. Li Hao was standing right in the middle of the road. If Long Chen wanted to pass, he would have to go around him. If it were the old Long Chen, he would have turned around and left, but today Long Chen looked at Li Hao, shook his head, and sighed, "People say good dogs don’t block the way; it seems you are not a good dog." "Long Chen, it seems you haven't learned your lesson last time and want to be beaten again. Are you throwing down the challenge?" Li Hao's expression changed initially, then he mocked. "So you're just a dog, and you only deserve to eat shit beside Zhou Yaoyang," Long Chen shook his head. He didn't want to waste time on such people; he needed to get down to business and walked past him. "Long Chen, you’re looking for death," Li Hao's face turned furious. He did not expect the usually timid Long Chen to be so tough, not putting him in his eyes at all, and reached out to block Long Chen. Long Chen frowned slightly, about to speak when suddenly a figure walked over, scolding Li Hao, "Li Hao, you're the one looking for death. What are you to threaten my brother?" The newcomer was a very tall young man, looking about eighteen or nineteen, but standing over nine feet tall, towering over both of them, exuding a terrifying aura. "Shi Feng, this is none of your business; you'd better not meddle," Li Hao shouted with some trepidation upon seeing Shi Feng. Shi Feng was also a young master, with a status similar to his, but Shi Feng was a powerful cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Gathering, while Li Hao was only at the third level. Moreover, Shi Feng was born with divine strength, and there were very few peers who could match him; he did not have the courage to confront Shi Feng. "Brother Long Chen, I heard you were beaten by that bastard Zhou Yaoyang. I’ll help you take revenge," Shi Feng looked at Long Chen, his expression filled with anger. Long Chen looked at this big guy in front of him, feeling a warm surge in his heart. Shi Feng was the only one in the entire capital who treated him like a brother. "It's okay; I will take care of my own revenge. You don’t need to worry," Long Chen smiled slightly and patted Shi Feng on the shoulder. Seeing Long Chen saying this, Shi Feng thought he might be feeling shy and stopped mentioning it. "Let’s go, walk around with me," Long Chen said with a smile and was about to take Shi Feng away. Li Hao saw the two ignoring him like air and became furious, shouting, "Long Chen, you bastard, if you have the guts, challenge me to a match!" Long Chen had just taken a few steps when suddenly his expression darkened, killing intent rising in his eyes as he slowly turned his head back. "You want to challenge me?" Long Chen's voice was cold, like ice shards that chilled to the bone. Li Hao couldn’t help but shiver, sensing something unusual about Long Chen today. However, he had already boasted, and if he backed down now, he would become the laughingstock of the entire capital. Moreover, he had bullied Long Chen so much in the past that he acted purely on instinct without paying any mind to the flicker of fear rising in his heart. "Yes, do you dare to accept the challenge?" Li Hao shouted. "No problem, but I want to raise the stakes," Long Chen replied after thinking for a moment. "Raise the stakes? Haha, your Long family is on the verge of bankruptcy; what do you have to bet with me? Your house, or if you lose, you’ll be my slave?" Li Hao sneered. However, he did not notice the cold smile that appeared at the corner of Long Chen's mouth, a smile laced with a hint of darkness. "Brother Shi, can I borrow your treasured blade?" Long Chen asked. "Take it," Shi Feng, although somewhat reluctant, still handed over the long blade. Long Chen nodded, secretly remembering this favor, and said to Li Hao, "This treasured blade, although not of the highest quality, is worth eight thousand gold coins. Now I’ll consider it worth five thousand gold coins. If you win, you can take the blade; if you lose, you give me five thousand gold coins. How about that?" Li Hao's heart stirred; the blade in Shi Feng's hand was forged from fine steel and crafted by a master, absolutely worth eight thousand gold coins. Now this fool Long Chen actually dared to use this as a bet; he was overjoyed. But he sarcastically said, "I wonder if you lose, whether someone will turn their back on the deal?" "Rest assured, I Shi Feng have always kept my word," Shi Feng said with a cold smile. "Alright, let’s go to the arena and sign the contract. If I don’t beat you to the ground today, I won’t be called Li Hao," Li Hao said, overjoyed and full of spirit. Long Chen's expression was calm, but a dark glint flickered in his eyes. Li Hao was just a dog by Zhou Yaoyang's side and was not worth Long Chen's attention. However, why were they targeting him so? What scheme did they have? But no matter what the scheme, there would always be a day when the truth would come to light. Long Chen and his group headed straight to an arena located outside the capital.