Chapter 7 Practicing Battle Techniques

“Slap” A loud slap resonated through the air, striking the black-faced man fiercely, interrupting his words. The powerful force sent him flying, and several long teeth rolled onto the ground. “Sorry, my hand was itchy.” Long Chen looked at the dazed black-faced man with a hint of apology and spoke politely. The slap echoed loudly, reverberating through every corner of the Battle Skill Pavilion. The people who were hurriedly flipping through battle skills paused, their faces filled with shock as they turned to look in this direction. “Who dares to be impudent in the Battle Skill Pavilion?” Suddenly, a cold voice rang out. A man in black appeared in the Battle Skill Pavilion, his expression stern as he gazed at Long Chen and the black-faced man. As soon as the man appeared, a surge of blood energy erupted around him, pressing down like a towering mountain, making it difficult to breathe. Long Chen couldn't help but squint slightly. “A Blood Condensation Realm expert.” He didn't expect that a Blood Condensation Realm expert was hidden here. But considering this was the Battle Skill Pavilion, it made sense that a strong figure was guarding it. The Battle Skill Pavilion was a weapons prohibition area. Fighting here would result in confinement; this rule was known to everyone. “Now, explain what happened.” The Blood Condensation Realm expert barked angrily. “You should ask him.” Long Chen showed no fear, slightly shrugging his shoulders and replying innocently. The black-faced man was furious. Clearly, he was the one who got slapped, so why was he being questioned? “Sir…” “Sir” Just then, Zhou Yaoyang, who had been hiding in the distance, rushed over to the Blood Condensation expert and said, “It’s like this. Wang Mang suddenly felt an unbearable itch on his face and slapped himself; it wasn't an act of violence. Please, Sir, see clearly.” The black-faced man, Wang Mang, looked astonished, wanting to say something, but when he saw Li Hao in the distance signaling him desperately, he swallowed his words. “You must be the son of the Savage Marquis, right?” The man glanced at Zhou Yaoyang and asked. “Exactly,” Zhou Yaoyang hurriedly replied. The man nodded and looked at Wang Mang on the ground. “If your face itches, just scratch it. Acting like this makes it seem like your teeth are itching. I don’t want to see this kind of thing again. Clean up the mess you left behind.” After the man finished speaking, he turned and left, leaving the crowd in disbelief. They never expected that Zhou Yaoyang would actually help Long Chen. “Heh heh, did you hear that? At your age, how can you just mess around? Clean up the mess you made,” Long Chen chuckled, as if he had anticipated this scene, and turned away to continue selecting battle skills leisurely. “Damn it.” Wang Mang glared at Long Chen’s arrogant figure, his eyes blazing with anger; he felt humiliated by that slap. “Wang Mang, hold on a bit. If you accuse Long Chen of hitting you, he will be confined for a month. After a month, he will come out unscathed. But if you swallow your pride, Li Hao will help you reclaim your dignity tomorrow. So you must endure,” Zhou Yaoyang advised. Wang Mang nodded; he knew about the duel between Li Hao and Long Chen. However, he had always bullied Long Chen and hadn’t considered the consequences, thinking it was just a game. Today, he had gone too far, receiving a humiliating slap without a place to complain — a classic case of biting off more than he could chew. The others hurried to pick up the scattered teeth and wipe away the blood on the ground. Zhou Yaoyang suddenly said, “Your face isn’t too swollen. It seems like Long Chen's strength isn’t very great. But why did he knock out so many of your teeth?” The others were also puzzled, as logically speaking, only extreme strength could knock out such sturdy teeth. “Who knows, it’s really strange,” Wang Mang replied, looking frustrated. What he didn't know was that Long Chen excelled in alchemy and had a profound understanding of human anatomy. The slap earlier was executed with skill, shaking his dental structure and causing half of his teeth to be dislodged. Long Chen's move was quite ruthless; teeth are hard to regrow, unlike other injuries that can be treated with medicine. From now on, Wang Mang would only be able to eat with half a mouthful of teeth. After Wang Mang's example, everyone became much more cautious, and no one dared to provoke Long Chen again. Long Chen remained leisurely, carefully browsing the texts here. The battle skill techniques could only be read here and could not be taken away. “Bull Strength Technique” It was a battle skill. In this world, all battle skills were categorized into three tiers: Heaven, Earth, and Human. All the techniques and battle skills displayed here were all of the Human tier lower grade, the lowest quality battle skills. However, even though they were of the lowest tier, they were still quite precious. Even a noble scion needed a Blood Condensation Realm expert to supervise while reading, which shows how much importance the Fengming Empire placed on battle skills. “Although it’s a lower grade technique, the spiritual energy operation route is clear and effective. A good find.” Long Chen nodded after finishing reading the battle skill. This battle skill was suitable for him, especially since he was already familiar with the meridians throughout his body, allowing him to quickly master it. After carefully reviewing it again, his powerful soul energy greatly aided his memory, making it easy for him to memorize. After fully committing the Bull Strength Technique to memory, he returned it to its place and noticed another auxiliary battle skill — Wind Chase Steps. Wind Chase Steps was a footwork technique that directed spiritual energy along special meridians, focusing on the feet, which could enhance one’s speed and explosive power. Whether for long-distance running or short-range dodging, it was highly effective. “Very good, another practical tool.” Long Chen smiled slightly and quickly memorized the spiritual energy operation route and specific activation method described within. “Time’s up! All noble scions, put down the manuals in your hands. Anyone caught hiding them will be executed without mercy!” At that moment, the Blood Condensation Realm expert appeared, his cold voice echoing in everyone’s ears. Everyone hurriedly set down their manuals. Some people shook their heads reluctantly; the Fengming Empire managed battle skills very strictly. They only had half a day each month to study here. Many people needed months to thoroughly study a single battle skill, but although they felt dissatisfied, no one dared to complain. Long Chen was slightly stunned, not expecting time to pass so quickly. However, if others knew that he had memorized two battle skills in just over two hours, they would likely be shocked. Many records in battle skills were obscure and difficult to understand, especially concerning some terms related to the operation of spiritual energy and the flow of qi through meridians, which could easily befuddle someone, requiring simultaneous study and practice of spiritual energy to verify. After leaving the Academy, Long Chen greeted the fat guy and others, then whispered a few words to Shi Feng. Shi Feng's face first showed surprise, but he quickly suppressed his emotions. The astonishment in his eyes was still hard to hide. Upon returning home, Long Chen saw that the house, which had been destroyed, had already been cleaned up. However, it was no longer livable. Fortunately, there were many houses in the family, and they had freed up a room for him. He first went to his mother’s room to reassure her. The events of the past few days had left Madam Long restless. Ever since Long Chen awakened, he seemed to have changed completely, making her feel a bit strange. However, it was fortunate that Long Chen had now adjusted, spending some time talking with his mother, which put her at ease. However, he didn’t mention anything about his life-and-death duel with Li Hao. After returning from his mother's side, Long Chen locked his room and directly consumed the second Wind Mansion Pill. As the second Wind Mansion Pill was refined, the Wind Mansion Star beneath his feet grew slightly stronger. With the growth of the Wind Mansion Star, it could now store more spiritual energy, akin to a dantian. However, this Wind Mansion Star was still just a rudimentary form; to fully develop it, countless Wind Mansion Pills were needed for supplementation. This was also why Long Chen had been shocked when he first learned about the cultivation method of the Nine Star Body Technique. Now, after consuming two Wind Mansion Pills valued at hundreds of thousands of gold coins, the Wind Mansion Star was still a rudimentary form, and he didn’t know how far he was from the three true stages of forming, gathering, and transforming the star. He also had no idea what the legendary Nine Transformations of Star Transformation entailed. This Wind Mansion Star was simply a bottomless pit. However, Long Chen knew that the Nine Star Body Technique was his only path; otherwise, he would live a mundane life, unable even to achieve that, becoming mere prey for others to slaughter. After spending two hours refining the Wind Mansion Pill, the Wind Mansion Star had grown slightly, and the spiritual energy he could operate had also increased. It was now past midnight, and Long Chen quietly left his room and went to the woodshed. Taking a deep breath, he began to slowly practice the Bull Strength Technique. For someone like Long Chen, who had a thorough understanding of his own meridians, a low-grade Human technique was something that could be learned instantly, with no pressure at all. Approaching a stone mill, which was a tool for threshing rice and weighed over a thousand pounds, he embraced it with both hands and exerted his arms. “Lift!” The massive stone mill responded and began to rise. Long Chen carefully sensed it and felt he should still have some strength left. Currently, his power should be around fifteen hundred pounds. It is worth noting that before being defeated by Zhou Yaoyang, his strength was only one hundred fifty pounds, and now it had surged tenfold. “Very good. Just based on my current strength, I’m already comparable to those at the fifth layer of Qi Gathering.” Long Chen felt a surge of excitement within, and he looked forward to the Nine Star Body Technique even more. Just having condensed a rudimentary form had brought about such a significant enhancement. He wondered what level he would reach once he truly condensed the Wind Mansion Star? After hesitating for a moment, he couldn’t suppress his excitement. He lowered his waist, sat in a horse stance, and slowly channeled his energy, letting a scorching power flow through his meridians into his fists. “Bull Strength Fist!” “Bang!” Long Chen’s fist smashed into the stone mill ahead, producing a loud explosion. The massive stone mill was sent flying, crashing hard against the wall ahead, causing the entire wall to collapse. Long Chen was momentarily stunned. What immense power! He had only intended to test its might, but he didn’t expect to cause such a huge commotion. Looking outside, he noticed many rooms in the manor had their lights turned on, instantly realizing that his actions had alarmed everyone. He hurriedly turned and snuck back to his room, collapsing onto his bed. Yet, he felt so excited that he could hardly contain himself. “Nine Star Body Technique, what level of technique are you? If all nine stars gather, what kind of power will that be?” That night, Long Chen was engulfed in endless excitement, unable to fall asleep until the next day when the sun cast its first rays into the room, he slowly opened his eyes. “Heh heh, you want the parts from my body? That’s a lofty ideal, but it seems you won’t be able to achieve it, right?” After getting up and finishing his morning routine, he overheard the servants discussing the strange events that had occurred in the woodshed last night. Facing the rising sun, a saying floated into Long Chen’s mind: “Today is a good day; everything I wish for will come true.”