Chapter 6 Reclaiming the Interest

Long Chen looked towards the newcomer, and his eyes couldn't help but grow cold. A group of people surrounded a man as if they were stars encircling the moon. This man had a face like a jade crown, stood tall and straight, and was extremely handsome. The newcomer was none other than Zhou Yaoyang, the son of the Barbarian Lord, who had once brutally beaten Long Chen in the arena, nearly killing him and throwing him off the stage. Zhou Yaoyang was the legitimate son of the Barbarian Lord and was among the top existences among the various sons, thus very popular. As soon as Zhou Yaoyang entered, he spotted Long Chen and his group, smiled slightly, and walked over to Long Chen, saying, "I sincerely apologize for the last time; I didn't expect to beat you so badly that you wouldn't even recognize your own mother." There was no hint of apology on his face, and his words were filled with disdain, as if he were a high and mighty emperor looking down upon Long Chen. "It's fine, soon I will beat you so badly that you won't even recognize your own grandmother," Long Chen replied with a faint smile, but he was secretly furious. When he had woken up that day, only his mother and that old Master Pharmacist had been there. This statement must have been leaked by that old man. Zhou Yaoyang's words were equivalent to telling Long Chen that the old man was one of them, and although Long Chen's injuries looked severe, they were not fatal. Even the injury at the back of his head, while bloody, was not serious. There was no need to use such high-grade Dan to heal himself; this group of people was clearly trying to scare his mother and had drained her savings. Not killing him while trying to weaken his family's finances would only add to their woes; there must be a hidden conspiracy behind this. "Long Chen, you’re seeking death. You seem to have forgotten the pain after healing; do you want to be beaten half to death by Brother Yaoyang again?" "Exactly. A useless trash who can't cultivate dares to speak so arrogantly; it's truly seeking death." "Idiot! How can such a fool be considered a son like us? It’s simply an insult to us!" Before Zhou Yaoyang could speak, his companions had already begun to point at Long Chen and curse loudly, spitting as they spoke. "Long Chen, although you and I are both sons, one is in the sky while the other is on the ground. You’re just a small ant, looking up at me. Therefore, even if I bully you, you can only endure it; otherwise, the consequences will be like last time, beaten like a dead dog," Zhou Yaoyang said, pointing a finger at Long Chen's nose. "Clap!" Long Chen smiled slightly and suddenly reached out his hand, catching Zhou Yaoyang's finger tightly before anyone could react. With a slight exertion, a crisp sound echoed. Zhou Yaoyang let out a cry of agony as a wave of intense pain swept through his entire body. With his fingers connected to his heart, he bent down uncontrollably as Long Chen twisted his finger. Although he was a strong cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Condensation, as long as he hadn’t entered the Blood Condensation realm, his physical strength was only marginally stronger than that of an ordinary person. Moreover, as the incident occurred suddenly, he didn’t have the time to gather his energy for defense. Once his vital points were restrained, he was no different from an ordinary person. Long Chen looked down at Zhou Yaoyang, whose face was almost distorted in pain, and asked with some confusion, "High and mighty? Looking down? Are you talking about yourself?" The sudden turn of events shocked everyone, and at this moment, Zhou Yaoyang was in so much pain he couldn't speak. Only then did the others react and rush towards Long Chen. "Bastard, let go of Brother Yaoyang!" "Whoever dares to come closer, I'll crush them!" Zhou Yaoyang's companions, seeing him attacked by Long Chen, shouted as they rushed forward. Just as Long Chen was about to make a move, a tall figure suddenly appeared beside him and bellowed at the group, like thunder, causing everyone’s eardrums to ring. When they saw who had arrived, Long Chen's mouth curled into a smile; it was none other than Shi Feng. The few sons who had originally wanted to charge in immediately stopped in their tracks at Shi Feng's appearance. Shi Feng was proud and didn't like to form cliques, but he was the strongest among all the sons, and with his tall and imposing figure, he instantly intimidated them. For a moment, everyone fell into silence, and the only sound in the Literary Hall was Zhou Yaoyang's groans of pain. "What are you doing?" A sudden angry shout came from an old man who walked in, causing everyone to stiffen and look at him. The old man was a lecturer in the Literary Hall, a scholar who was said to be honest and upright, stern in demeanor and commanding respect. "Fighting in the Literary Hall is punishable by a month of detention according to the law. Do you want to give it a try?" the old man said with a cold snort. Long Chen's eyes turned as he quickly released Zhou Yaoyang's already distorted finger and hurriedly smiled at the old man, saying, "Sir, you’ve misunderstood. We weren't fighting just now; we were conducting a test." "Oh? A test? What kind of test?" The old man clearly wasn't easily fooled, staring coldly at Long Chen. "We were testing how long a single finger could hold out against an attack from five fingers. Through this test, we reached a conclusion: the power of unity is unassailable. A single finger, no matter how strong, is still isolated, and its strength can be exhausted; only with the support of companions can one gain continuous energy, becoming more resilient and enduring. In this test, both Zhou Yaoyang and I gained insight and understanding of power, which will greatly assist us in our future cultivation. As they say, we greatly benefited, right, Brother Zhou?" Long Chen said, looking meaningfully at Zhou Yaoyang. Zhou Yaoyang was so angry he nearly fainted, but clearly, he had to swallow this bitter loss, or else if he denied it, both he and Long Chen would be detained. Even as sons, they couldn’t break the rules of the Literary Hall. "Yes," Zhou Yaoyang tried to keep his voice calm, but after the intense pain, his voice was hoarse, sounding like scraping iron. The old man looked at Long Chen, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes, and nodded, saying, "Since that’s the case, I won’t hold it against you. Just remember not to cause trouble here in the future." Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but secretly sigh at Long Chen's good fortune. The old man clearly saw through Long Chen's fabrications but still let them off the hook. "You wait!" Zhou Yaoyang gritted his teeth and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear. Long Chen's grip had been too ruthless; not only had he twisted his finger, but he had also used some technique to bind the meridians in his finger, causing it to cramp. Otherwise, Zhou Yaoyang wouldn’t be in such a pathetic state without any ability to resist. "Brother Zhou is always welcome to continue testing with me whenever you like," Long Chen said with a polite smile. The little brat, today was just the collection of some interest; the good show was still to come. With over two hundred sons sitting quietly, the old man nodded in satisfaction and began to lecture with a series of complex phrases, causing everyone to feel drowsy but too afraid to sleep. Although the old man had no cultivation, the entire academy was dictated by him; if he got angry and expelled them, then the afternoon’s martial arts collection would be out of the question. It was like having two eggs, one rotten and one good, but to get the good one, they had to eat the rotten one first. The old man spoke of various historical anecdotes, knowledge about governing a nation, agriculture, forestry, fishing, and animal husbandry, which even Long Chen found almost unbearable. However, the few from the fat group listened intently, as they could not cultivate and were relying on their knowledge to secure some official positions in the future. After enduring the painful torment, they finally made it to noon, and after lunch, everyone flocked towards the Battle Skill Pavilion. Even those who could not cultivate, like Yu Fatty and the others, ran over, hoping to try their luck with the numerous techniques and martial skills inside the pavilion. The Battle Skill Pavilion had three floors, but only the bottom floor was open to all the sons. Although it was only one floor, all seventeen bookshelves were filled with various battle skills and techniques, dazzling the eyes of those who looked. "Brother Yaoyang, I’ve already issued a life-and-death challenge to Long Chen. This time, I must kill him and give you a sense of relief!" Li Hao, not knowing when, had stealthily run to Zhou Yaoyang's side, respectfully saying. At this moment, Zhou Yaoyang had already stopped the pain in his finger, but the joint was dislocated, and the meridians were crumpled; he would need Master Pharmacist to help him treat it. "Now is not the time to kill him; otherwise, I would have killed him last time," Zhou Yaoyang shook his head and suddenly asked, "By the way, how did you get defeated by him last time?" "Well, sigh! I was careless and ended up giving Long Chen a chance. Damn it, it really infuriates me that I was beaten by this useless trash!" Li Hao said angrily. His previous defeat had greatly diminished his reputation, and some people had been spreading rumors behind his back, driving him almost mad. He always believed that the last time was a small oversight, so he had developed a murderous intent towards Long Chen this time. "Long Chen absolutely cannot die, at least not now. You must not spoil my plans," Zhou Yaoyang was afraid Li Hao wouldn't understand his meaning, so he deliberately repeated it. "Then what should we do? Just let him go like this?" Li Hao said reluctantly. Zhou Yaoyang glanced at his twisted finger, gritting his teeth and said, "Although we can't kill him, we can still take a piece or two from him." Li Hao's eyes brightened at the words and excitedly said, "Good, this time I want to kick his eggs! By the way, I also want one of his eyes; damn it, his gaze really annoys me!" Zhou Yaoyang and Li Hao exchanged a knowing smile, but they didn’t notice that Long Chen, who was pretending to examine the bookshelf, also smiled. However, that smile was colder than theirs, like a leopard watching two sheep whispering to each other. Long Chen's position allowed his soul power to detect the movements of the two, and while he couldn't hear what they were saying, he could guess their intentions by reading their lips. Seeing them casually browsing the books, Long Chen was too lazy to bother with them and began to search for his own target. In his memory, aside from the Nine Star Overlord Body Technique, almost all the knowledge was about alchemy. He now urgently needed to master a battle skill. Long Chen focused on a battle skill and was just about to reach for it when a dark-skinned man suddenly snatched it away. "Sorry, this son has taken a liking to it." The man didn’t even look at Long Chen as he flipped through the book. Long Chen frowned slightly; this was clearly intentional, but he didn't lose his temper and switched to another shelf. Just as he spotted a palm technique and was about to make a move, that dark-skinned man was already waiting at the side and snatched it away again. "Sorry, this…" "Clap!" A loud slap landed heavily on the man's dark face, interrupting his words and sending him flying with tremendous force.