Chapter 3 The Initial Emergence of Brilliance

In the Phoenix Ming Empire, martial arts were prevalent, and conflicts were inevitable. Thus, outside the imperial capital, there was a Deathmatch Platform, a place for settling personal grievances. Here, as long as both parties agreed and signed a life-and-death contract, once they stepped onto the arena, even killing the opponent would not incur the empire's legal sanctions. On ordinary days, countless spectators gathered here, and today was no exception. However, after several duels concluded, there was a stir when two young men stepped onto the stage. "Isn't that Long Chen? Why is he here again?" one spectator exclaimed. "Yeah, he almost got killed yesterday; why is he back today?" another responded. "Hmph, he probably doesn't want to live anymore and wants to be beaten to death here," someone scoffed. Long Tianxiao, known as the Lord of Zhenyuan, was called a military god, but those who truly referred to him as such were the impoverished commoners who had suffered from war for years. In the imperial capital, those who were either rich or noble did not regard Long Tianxiao—born of commoner stock—with any respect, and thus, very few people in the capital held Long Chen in high esteem. "Long Chen, you useless waste, why are you here again? Isn’t this just wasting everyone’s time? Who wants to watch you duel? Hurry and get lost!" someone shouted from the crowd. "Exactly! If you want to commit suicide, at least do it somewhere private. No one wants to waste time watching a waste like you!" another voice chimed in. In an instant, hundreds of spectators began to loudly curse, clearly expressing their disdain for Long Chen. However, in an inconspicuous corner, two veiled young women focused intently on the figure on the platform. "Sister, is that your fiancé? He looks quite weak, with no fluctuations in aura at all," one girl remarked, somewhat disappointed. "Hmph, it’s all because of Father’s meddling. He arranged our marriage back then, and it’s infuriating!" the other girl replied angrily. On the arena, Long Chen was completely unaware that he was being scrutinized by the two young women. He showed no reaction to the insults from the crowd, merely gazing calmly at Li Hao. Li Hao pointed at the commotion in the crowd and said with a cold smile, "Do you see? You’re an unwanted waste. If you’re sensible, just go die already!" Long Chen simply looked at him quietly, not saying a word. "DONG!" The sound of a bell resonated, signaling the start of the duel. Once the bell tolled, life and death hung in the balance. The previously noisy crowd fell silent; after all, this was a life-and-death battle, and one might lose their life at any moment. "Sister, your fiancé has no cultivation at all! He’s facing someone at the third level of Qi Gathering! Aren’t you worried?" the girl asked. "Hmph, what’s there to worry about? If he dies, so be it. It’s none of my business," the other girl replied lightly. However, as she spoke, a strange silk mesh appeared in her palm. "Hehe, you say you don’t care, yet you’ve even prepared a weapon. Looks like you do care about him! But let’s not lie; despite his weak cultivation, he is quite handsome. Why don’t you just let him go and let me have him?" the girl said with a grin. "Nonsense! Can such matters be taken lightly? If you like him, you can wait until I break off the engagement!" the other girl retorted angrily. "Hehe." On the arena, Long Chen remained calm as water, a stark contrast to the furious person he was yesterday. "Long Chen, is it that facing death has made you calm? Don’t worry, since it’s your wager, I won’t kill you today," Li Hao said smugly. "Quit talking nonsense and just make your move! I have things to do later!" Long Chen said, a bit impatiently. Since the whole place was quiet, Long Chen’s words reached everyone’s ears clearly, causing an uproar of laughter from the spectators below. "Li Hao, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and kill this bastard! It’s disgusting to watch!" someone recognized Li Hao and shouted. A cold smile appeared on Li Hao’s face as he stopped hesitating. His strength at the third level of Qi Gathering erupted fully. With a leap from the platform, he attacked Long Chen with a punch. As soon as Li Hao made his move, the crowd burst into cheers. His stance was very graceful and handsome. "What a move, Windy Jade Tree Fist!" someone recognized the technique. However, the two girls watching from a distance spat disdainfully, a smirk on their lips. Long Chen also wore a smirk: Such a flawed and idiotic move can be used against an opponent? As a punch came crashing toward his face, the gust of wind howled, but Long Chen remained unfazed, motionless. "Haha, this waste can’t even dodge!" someone mocked from below. However, just as the ridicule left their lips, Li Hao’s fist stopped three inches from Long Chen’s face, unmoving. The crowd that had been jeering suddenly fell silent, realizing that Long Chen had extended a leg, his foot fiercely kicking between Li Hao's legs. The once proud and dashing Li Hao’s face turned purple, clearly uncomfortable from Long Chen's kick. The intense pain twisted his face, leaving him unable to move. While he couldn’t move, Long Chen could. In that moment of pause, Long Chen grabbed Li Hao’s hair and forcefully pulled it back while driving his knee forward. "Bang! Bang! Bang!" Long Chen’s movements were pleasing to the eye, distinct, and rhythmic, providing a strong visual impact and a clear sense of tempo. The sound of bones cracking was jarring as Li Hao endured three consecutive heavy strikes, his nose broken and face bloodied, losing consciousness altogether. In an instant, the entire venue fell silent, no one expecting a third-level Qi Gathering expert to be defeated so swiftly by a waste with zero cultivation. Moreover, he was defeated in the cleanest and most straightforward manner possible. The outcome was like a resounding slap to the faces of the raucous crowd. Even the two young women secretly observing from afar looked shocked. Li Hao was nothing in front of them, easily dealt with. But Long Chen was different; throughout, he hadn’t used even a hint of spiritual energy, defeating Li Hao purely with mundane techniques. "Long Chen wins!" A voice from the crowd came forth, belonging to an elder who officiated the arena, responsible for recording and announcing the results. Long Chen’s chest rose and fell sharply. He exerted great willpower to suppress the killing intent within. Now was not the time to kill. However, after being suppressed for so long, it was hard to rein it back in. To outsiders, it appeared as if Long Chen was excited, his limbs weak and breathing heavily. Long Chen stepped down from the platform, walked to the elder, retrieved his wagered longsword, and received a crystal card worth five thousand gold coins. The rules here dictated that all bets must be handed to the referee before the match to ensure fairness, thus eliminating the possibility of withdrawal. After getting the precious sword, Long Chen directly returned it to Shi Feng, placing the crystal card into his pocket, feeling a surge of excitement. Although five thousand gold coins was not much, it could alleviate some immediate needs. The Dragon family had been withholding their salary for a long time, and now they were truly on the brink of starvation. Under the gaze of countless onlookers, the two slowly departed. The two young women followed suit, disappearing after Long Chen. News of Long Chen defeating Li Hao spread throughout the entire imperial capital as if it had grown legs, leaving countless people baffled. How could a waste who couldn’t cultivate suddenly become so formidable? However, countless witnesses had seen it with their own eyes, and news of Li Hao being carried back to his home spread, leading many to struggle with acceptance. After Long Chen left with Shi Feng, he initially intended to divide the spoils with Shi Feng, but Shi Feng refused adamantly, eventually making an excuse about having things to attend to and leaving first, not even asking why Long Chen had suddenly grown stronger. Remembering this favor, Long Chen headed straight to the Herb Hall. Once inside, he requested a catalog of the medicinal materials available. It clearly listed the names and prices of various herbs. Long Chen noted that he had seen most of the materials needed to refine the Wind Mansion Dan, and fortunately, the ingredients were not particularly rare. However, seeing the prices made Long Chen’s heart bleed. His gold coins were only enough to buy three sets of materials. But he couldn’t buy all the materials; he also needed to purchase a cauldron for alchemy and some other spare medicinal materials. The amount of gold coins he had was simply a drop in the bucket. But he had no choice but to buy. Gritting his teeth, Long Chen spent one thousand two hundred gold coins to buy the lowest quality bronze cauldron. He also bought a set of materials for refining the Wind Mansion Dan and a large quantity of materials for refining the Qi Recovery Powder. When Long Chen came out of the Herb Hall, he had only five hundred gold coins left on his crystal card. Upon returning home, Long Chen rushed straight to his room, locked the door tightly, and had Bao'er inform everyone not to disturb him. He knew his mother would find out about his dueling again and, fearing she would worry, he deliberately had Bao'er block her. After all, he had nothing much to worry about, and she shouldn’t be too concerned. Now, every second counted. He had to quickly raise his strength. The predicament of the Dragon family was not as simple as it appeared on the surface; Long Chen sensed a sense of crisis. "Huh!" Long Chen circulated his spiritual energy, a ball of flame appearing in his palm. This was the Dan Fire condensed by an alchemist. However, seeing that flame, Long Chen couldn’t help but smile wryly; it was too weak. Dan Fire is the spiritual fire condensed from one’s own spiritual energy through a unique operating method, but the Dan Fire Long Chen had condensed was at a very low temperature, only slightly stronger than ordinary fire. Moreover, Long Chen discovered that without the support of a dantian, his Dan Fire could last less than a quarter of an hour, far from enough time to refine pills. Long Chen chuckled bitterly. Fortunately, he had a backup plan. Long Chen did not refine pills immediately; instead, he placed the materials for Qi Recovery Powder into the cauldron one by one for extraction. However, he did not use Dan Fire, but rather the fire from wood. Once all the materials were refined, a whole jar of Qi Recovery Liquid appeared beside Long Chen. After resting for a bit, Long Chen took a deep breath: it was time to officially start refining the Wind Mansion Dan.