Chapter 3

While Long Chen was in a daze, the mysterious Dragon Jade suddenly burst forth with a powerful true energy, appearing in his dantian.

"Where did this true energy come from? Could it be that the Dragon Jade absorbed it from my father?!"

Long Chen was merely at the peak of the Body Tempering stage. Such a large amount of true energy exceeded his control, and the surging energy radiated from his limbs and bones, causing the surrounding dust to fly up!

A wave of heat surged in his chest and abdomen, and Long Chen let out a painful cry, clenching his teeth tightly. At this moment, he was already drenched in sweat!

The true energy in his dantian was violently churning, looking as if it could explode at any moment. If this continued, he would surely die from an internal explosion. Thinking of his body being reduced to nothing, Long Chen's eyes turned bloodshot.

"I'm not someone who dies so easily! Dragon Vein? Break through!"

After Body Tempering, the next stage is the Dragon Vein realm, where a martial artist's dantian generates true energy. When the true energy reaches a sufficient amount, it can be gathered to form a divine dragon, breaking through the first Dragon Vein. At this moment, the true energy in Long Chen's dantian was more than enough!

"Break!"

Biting his teeth, sweat dripping to the ground, he let out a roar. Under his powerful will, the true energy in his dantian suddenly transformed into a dragon, roaring as it charged forward without hesitation toward the Dragon Vein. With a loud boom, the Dragon Vein was shattered by the powerful true energy, and countless streams of true energy surged into the Dragon Vein like a flood. The originally closed Dragon Vein gradually widened under the impact, and the true energy, resembling a divine dragon, grew even more powerful during the process!

Pop!

After a moment, the first Dragon Vein was suddenly connected. The true energy, like a dragon, cycled through the Dragon Vein several times before returning to the dantian. However, the true energy that returned to the dantian was still restless, and the powerful energy made Long Chen feel extremely uncomfortable!

"The first Dragon Vein is connected, and I have achieved the first level of the Dragon Vein realm! However, the true energy in my dantian has grown significantly, and I think I should try to reach the second level of the Dragon Vein realm today!"

He knew that breaking through the first Dragon Vein had been almost effortless. With such a good momentum, he couldn't let it go. In front of his father's grave, he gritted his teeth and charged toward the second Dragon Vein.

The difficulty of breaking through the second Dragon Vein and the amount of true energy required were several times greater than the first, and so on. This showed how difficult it was to advance in the Dragon Vein realm. The strong people of Baiyang Town, even with their entire clan's resources, found it hard to cultivate a martial artist beyond the Dragon Vein realm!

The true energy, like a dragon, surged forward. Today, he was determined to break through, even if it meant risking his life. Biting his teeth, the vast true energy advanced layer by layer in the Dragon Vein. Breaking through the second Dragon Vein was much harder, and if he failed, he would have to start over!

After a moment, Long Chen had only connected about ten inches of the Dragon Vein, and by then, he was already exhausted. But thinking of his father's words and the tears in his eyes before he died, Long Chen felt that the pain and hardships he was enduring were nothing!

"That dead man wanted me to become a strong person, and I have already agreed. With my character, I will fulfill my promise to you, even if it costs my life. Today, I will break through the second Dragon Vein and make you look at me with new eyes!"

At the same time, he thought of the people from the Yang family who had bullied him and those who had mocked him.

"Fine, I'm not a cruel person. If I manage to surpass you, I will bully you back!"

Pop!

After an hour, the second Dragon Vein was finally broken through. The vast true energy surged through the two Dragon Veins, nourishing his body. More true energy gathered in the dantian, using it as a base.

As the true energy flowed through his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, Long Chen felt an unprecedented clarity. Although it was night, he could see much farther and hear the sounds of insects and birds much more clearly than before.

Entering the Dragon Vein realm felt like a transformation. Now, he was as light as a swallow but possessed the strength of a thousand pounds.

Long Chen stood up, feeling the abundant power in his body, and a smile appeared on his face.

At this moment, he was already a second-level Dragon Vein realm martial artist. Using true energy, he could probably break the nearby tree with a single punch.

From today on, he would finally be considered a true martial artist!

Looking at Long Qinglan's tombstone, Long Chen bowed several times.

"My achievements tonight all come from you. I used to hate you for not giving me anything, but now I admit I was wrong. You were a good father."

Standing up, Long Chen drove the carriage back to Baiyang Town.

"That's not right..."

Long Chen frowned.

"This mysterious Dragon Jade was originally in my father's dantian. I thought its appearance in my mind was an accident, but now I think my father probably knew it would happen, which is why he was confident in urging me to take the Dragon Jade. This Dragon Jade is so mysterious, and my father's words were also very strange, mentioning the Dragon Sacrifice Continent and super dominators. Could my father have some background?"

"That's right, before my father came to Baiyang Town, no one knew anything about him..."

Long Chen frowned and said, "Most importantly, my father must have recognized what the Dragon Jade was, but he died after it drained all his true energy. Now it has been passed to me, and there are many mysteries surrounding this. What is the reason?"

His consciousness returned to his mind, and the mysterious Dragon Jade still floated quietly. No matter how many times he thought about it, he couldn't understand why it was there.

The mind is a place of consciousness, and if he told others that a physical object could enter his mind, no one would believe such a fantastic story.

This showed how mysterious the Dragon Jade was.

However, at this moment, Long Chen discovered that the Dragon Jade was still sending true energy to his dantian, though not in such large amounts as before.

Long Chen was overjoyed.

"My true energy is constantly increasing, and I believe it surpasses their cultivation speed. At this rate, catching up to others shouldn't be difficult."

What was once an ordinary life now had hope.

Looking at Baiyang Town in the distance, Long Chen thought of Long Qinglan's instructions.

"The family meeting, the outstanding disciples of the Yang family are all top geniuses. Even Yang Zhan is far beyond me, let alone others. My father wants me to win the championship and obtain the Dragon Seal, which is as difficult as climbing to the sky... Is being a Dragon Martial Artist really that important?"

Returning to Baiyang Town, it was already late at night.

Long Chen did not live in the Yang family compound but bought a small building on the east side of the town, living alone. He had been bullied by many small people since he was young, but he hadn't offended many big people, so although he lived alone, he had never encountered any accidents.

Returning home as usual, Long Chen washed up and came to his bed, but suddenly his gaze turned cold.

"The bedding has been disturbed. Could it be that I was robbed?"

Long Chen checked with suspicion but found nothing missing.

"It must be Xiao Huang who entered my room. But wasn't he enjoying himself at the Jade Emerald Tower tonight? Could he have returned early because he was exhausted? What a useless guy!"

This wasn't the first time he had brought his personal servant to do such things. Long Chen chuckled and lay down on the bed. With so many big events today, breaking through two Dragon Veins and reaching the second level of the Dragon Vein realm, he was in high spirits and found it hard to sleep.

It was already past the third watch, the time when most people were sound asleep. As a martial artist, Long Chen's senses were much stronger, and he faintly felt someone approaching his house.

He quickly activated the mechanism under the bed, entering the basement, while the bed returned to its original state.

Through the tiny gaps in the floor, Long Chen quietly observed the upper room.

After a few breaths, two men in black, with their faces covered, entered his room. Seeing the raised bedding, one of them immediately slashed at the bed with a knife. With a loud bang, the bed was cut in half.

"Huh? That waste of space isn't here? Didn't we see him enter just now?"

"He must have noticed our presence and fled!"

"Hmph, he can escape today but not tomorrow. We'll come back tomorrow, and with our abilities, dealing with this rich brat will be easy."

The two men quickly left.

Although he had reached the second level of the Dragon Vein realm, there were still many people in Baiyang Town who were stronger than him. Long Chen didn't dare to be careless. The two men who tried to assassinate him had a dangerous aura, and if he fought them, he wouldn't have a good outcome.

"Fortunately, I was smart enough to install a mechanism in the bed. Otherwise, I would have lost my head tonight."

A cold look flashed in his eyes.

"Someone in Baiyang Town sent experts to assassinate me? I'm just a small character, do I deserve such a grand operation?"

Thinking about this, Long Chen frowned again. He thought of everyone he knew but couldn't figure out who would hire experts to assassinate him.

The people of the Yang family had ostracized him, but they hadn't reached the point of hiring experts to kill him.

"There must be some conspiracy I don't know about. Fine, I'll move back to the Yang family tomorrow. First, it will ensure my safety, and second, now that I have reached the second level of the Dragon Vein realm, I need a combat technique. The Yang family has the Martial Scripture Hall, and as a member of the Yang family, I should be able to get a share."

"A good combat technique can multiply one's attack power several times..."

He had seen the Yang family members use combat techniques before, and their power was truly formidable!

In the Yang family, Long Chen still had a place to live, though he hadn't stayed there for a long time. As soon as it was light, he packed his few belongings and returned to the Yang family.

The Yang family compound was extremely large, and no one cared whether Long Chen returned or not.

After tidying up his living space, Long Chen consolidated his cultivation. After a night, his true energy had grown even more, and he believed that in the near future, he could advance to the third level of the Dragon Vein realm.

Of course, the most important thing now was to go to the Martial Scripture Hall and obtain a combat technique.

According to the Yang family's rules, any member who reached the first level of the Dragon Vein realm had the right to choose a combat technique from the Martial Scripture Hall, and Long Chen now met this requirement.

On the way, the cold looks from the maids and guards were something Long Chen was used to. He ignored the whispers and remembered the path to the Martial Scripture Hall, which he had only seen once as a child.

The Martial Scripture Hall was a forbidden area of the Yang family, and only members of the Yang family could enter. The maids, servants, and guards couldn't even approach it. Long Chen saw a stone gate deep in the forest, and inside the gate was a tall tower, which was the Yang family's Martial Scripture Hall.

Before he reached the stone gate, someone stopped Long Chen.

It