Chapter 3: The Edge Appears

In the Fengming Empire, martial arts flourished and fighting was inevitable, so there was a life-and-death arena outside the imperial capital where private grievances were settled.

There, as long as both parties agreed to sign a life-and-death contract, once they entered the ring, they would not be punished under imperial law even if they killed each other.

Countless people usually gathered there to watch the excitement, and there were many spectators today as well, though the decisive battles were ending one after another.

When the two young men stepped into the ring, a commotion broke out below.

“Isn't that Long Chen?

Why is he here again?”

“Yes, he was nearly beaten to death yesterday. Why is he back again today?”

“Hmph, I suppose he doesn't want to live anymore and wants someone to beat him to death here.”

Long Tianxiao was honored as the Marquis of Zhenyuan and was known as a military god of his generation, but those who truly called him a military god were all poor people who suffered the scourge of war throughout the year.

And those in the imperial capital who were neither rich nor noble lived in an age of peace and prosperity and attached little importance to Long Tianxiao, who had been born a commoner.

Therefore, few people in the entire imperial capital would support Long Chen.

“Long Chen, why are you here again, you good-for-nothing?

Isn't this a waste of time?

Who wants to watch you compete?

Get out of here!”

“Exactly. If you want to kill yourself, find somewhere with nobody around. Nobody wants to watch a good-for-nothing. It's a complete waste of time.”

For a moment, the hundreds of spectators watching the scene could not help cursing loudly.

They were clearly utterly disgusted with Long Chen.

But in an inconspicuous corner in the distance, two veiled young women were watching the figure on the platform with rapt attention.

“Sister, is that your fiancé?

Why does he have such an ugly expression? There isn't the slightest fluctuation of energy anywhere in his body,” one girl said, somewhat disappointed.

“Hmph, wasn't it my father's idea?

Back then, he married me off out of obligation and brushed me aside.

It was truly infuriating,” the other girl said, extremely annoyed.

In the ring, Long Chen had no idea that two girls were secretly watching them. He did not react to the shouts and curses, merely looking at Li Hao indifferently.

Li Hao pointed at the agitated crowd and sneered, “See that?

You're just an unwanted piece of trash.

Wouldn't it be better for you to beat and kill people you know yourself?”

Long Chen merely looked at him indifferently and said nothing.

“Clang!”

A bell rang, signaling the beginning of the duel, its chime marking the boundary between life and death.

The previously noisy crowd fell silent at the sound of the bell.

After all, this was a life-and-death battle, and someone might die.

“Sister, your fiancé has no cultivation at all.

He's facing someone at the third heaven of Qi Condensation.

Aren't you worried?” the woman asked.

“Hmph, there's certainly something to worry about.

If he dies, so be it.

It has nothing to do with me,” the other girl muttered, but as she spoke, a strange wire net was already resting in her palm.

“Hehe, you say you don't care, but you've even prepared a weapon.

It looks as though you still care about him. But really, although his cultivation is useless, he doesn't look good either.

Otherwise, Sister, if you don't want him, leave him to me,” the woman said with a smile.

“What nonsense!

Is something like this something you can simply give away?

If you like him, wait until I've ended my marriage with him. Then do whatever you want,” the other woman said irritably.

“Hehehe.”

In the ring, Long Chen remained as calm as still water.

He seemed like a different person from the one who had gritted his teeth the day before.

“Long Chen, have you grown calm now that you're dying?

Don't worry. Considering your wager, I won't kill you today,” Li Hao said proudly.

“So much nonsense!

Hurry up and make your move. I have something else to do in a little while,” Long Chen said impatiently.

Since the audience was silent, every word Long Chen spoke reached everyone's ears, and a wave of mockery instantly erupted around the entire ring.

“Li Hao, what are you waiting for?

Hurry up and kill that bastard! He's making us sick!”

Someone recognized Li Hao and immediately shouted.

A sneer appeared on Li Hao's face, and he hesitated no longer.

All the strength of his third-heaven Qi Condensation cultivation erupted.

With a small step across the ring, he had already lunged at Long Chen and thrown a punch.

As soon as Li Hao attacked, a wave of applause erupted from the audience.

Li Hao's stance was extremely elegant and imposing.

“Good move! The Linfeng Yushu Fist!”

Someone recognized the move, but the two women in the distance secretly snorted, and a trace of mockery appeared at the corners of their mouths.

There was also a hint of mockery on Long Chen's lips. “Can such a foolish, flimsy move really be used against an enemy?”

As the punch hurtled toward his face, a powerful wind whistled, but Long Chen acted as though he had not seen it and remained motionless.

“Haha, you good-for-nothing, you can't even dodge.

Someone in the audience is mocking you.”

However, the insult had barely been shouted when Li Hao's fist stopped a few centimeters from Long Chen's face, completely still.

Those who had been jeering suddenly fell silent. They saw one of Long Chen's legs extended, the sole of his foot kicking viciously between Li Hao's legs.

Li Hao, whose face had previously radiated cheer and elegance, now turned as red as a purple eggplant.

Clearly, Long Chen's kick had made him extremely uncomfortable.

The intense pain twisted his face, and he could not move.

He could not move, but Long Chen could. The instant he stopped, Long Chen grabbed Li Hao's hair with both hands and pushed him backward while delivering powerful knee strikes.

“Bang, bang, bang!”

Long Chen's movements were pleasing to watch, with clear transitions, movements, and sounds that delivered an extraordinarily powerful visual impact and a lively rhythm.

There was a cracking sound that made people's teeth ache.

Li Hao was struck hard three times in succession.

The bridge of his nose collapsed and twisted, his face was covered in blood, and he fainted.

For a moment, the entire place fell silent.

Nobody had expected such a powerful man at the third heaven of Qi Condensation to be defeated so quickly by a good-for-nothing without the slightest trace of cultivation.

The defeat was so clean and decisive that the result struck the clamoring crowd like a slap across the face, shocking everyone.

Even the two girls secretly watching the fight from a distance looked shocked.

Li Hao was nothing before them, yet he had killed them with a simple gesture.

But Long Chen was different.

From beginning to end, he had not used a single trace of spiritual energy.

He had defeated Li Hao entirely through a lethal style of fighting.

“Long Chen wins!” announced

an old man's voice from below the platform. He worked at the arena and was responsible for recording and announcing the fights.

Long Chen's chest rose and fell sharply several times as he did his utmost to suppress the killing intent in his heart.

Now was not the time to kill.

It was simply that his emotions had been suppressed for too long and had suddenly erupted, making them difficult to contain.

To outside observers, Long Chen appeared restless and short of breath.

He

stepped down from the platform, went over to the old man, retrieved the longsword he had wagered, and received a crystal card containing five thousand gold coins.

The rule here was that wagers had to be handed to the referee before a fight to ensure fairness, which also prevented anyone from backing out.

After taking the sword, Long Chen handed it straight back to Shi Feng and tucked the crystal card into his clothes, unable to help feeling a little excited.

Although five thousand gold coins was not much, it could meet some urgent needs.

The Long family's salary had not been deducted from this for a long time.

At present, the Long family truly could not be held responsible.

Under countless gazes, the two slowly departed, and the two maids also disappeared after seeing Long Chen leave.

News of Long Chen's defeat of Li Hao spread through the imperial capital like lightning, bewildering countless people.

How could a good-for-nothing who could not practice martial arts suddenly become powerful?

But countless people had witnessed it, and word that Li Hao had been carried home also spread.

For a while, many people found it rather hard to believe.

After Long Chen and Shi Feng left, Long Chen wanted to share the spoils with Shi Feng, but Shi Feng refused to accept them.

In the end, he pretended to have something to do and headed back first.

He did not even ask why Long Chen had suddenly become stronger.

Keeping that kindness in mind, Long Chen went straight to Baicao Hall.

After entering Baicao Hall, Long Chen asked for a catalog of medicinal ingredients.

The names and prices of the various medicinal ingredients were clearly listed, and Long Chen saw that most of the ingredients needed to refine Fengfu Powder were there.

Fortunately, those ingredients were not particularly rare.

However, when he saw the prices, Long Chen's heart bled, for his gold coins were only enough to buy three portions of each ingredient.

Even then, he could not buy everything. He also needed a three-legged alchemy furnace and some additional medicinal ingredients.

The few gold coins he had were merely a drop in the ocean.

But he would get nowhere if he did not buy them.

Gritting his teeth, Long Chen spent 1,200 gold coins on a bronze cauldron of the lowest quality.

He also bought another portion of ingredients for refining Fengfu Powder and, at the same time, a large quantity of Huiqi Powder.

When Long Chen left Baicao Hall, only five hundred gold coins remained on his crystal card.

When he got home, Long Chen went straight to his room and locked the door, telling Bao'er to let everyone know not to disturb him.

He knew his mother would certainly hear that he had gone to compete again and feared she would worry, so he deliberately asked Bao'er to keep her from coming in.

In any case, it had nothing to do with him, so his mother should not worry too much.

Now he was fighting for every second and needed to improve his strength quickly.

The Long family's current predicament was not as simple as it appeared.

Long Chen sensed an approaching crisis.

“Whoosh!”

Spiritual energy pulsed through Long Chen's body, and a flame appeared in his palm.

It was the pill flame condensed by an alchemist.

However, when he saw the flame, Long Chen did not know whether to laugh or cry.

The flame was far too weak.

Pill flame was a spiritual-energy flame that an alchemist condensed using his own spiritual energy and a unique method of circulating it.

However, the temperature of the pill flame Long Chen had condensed was extremely low, scarcely stronger than an ordinary flame.

Moreover, Long Chen discovered that without the support of a dantian, his pill flame would not last even fifteen minutes, nowhere near long enough to refine pills.

Long Chen smiled bitterly, but fortunately, he had set aside a fallback.

Long Chen did not refine the pill yet.

First, he placed the medicinal ingredients for Huiqi Powder into the cauldron and refined them one by one.

However, he used a wood fire rather than his pill flame.

After all the medicinal ingredients had been refined, a full bottle of the prepared Huiqi medicinal liquid sat beside Long Chen. After resting briefly, he took a deep breath:

It was time to officially begin refining the Fengfu Pill.