Chapter 13

**Boom**

A muffled sound echoed as the alchemy furnace trembled, then settled into stillness. Lifting the lid, Long Chen saw nine perfectly formed pills, each plump and full, lying before his eyes.

A rich fragrance of the pills wafted over, invigorating his senses, and a smug smile spread across Long Chen’s face.

Reaching out, he picked up one of the pills. It was smooth and round, with a faint luster and delicate patterns on its surface.

"Although the pill patterns are faint and the color is not vibrant enough, the pill has lost some of its spiritual essence, but it can勉强 be considered a mid-grade pill," he thought to himself.

This was the first mid-grade pill Long Chen had refined. Refining pills to a higher grade required a combination of the alchemy furnace, the alchemy fire, and soul power, among other factors, all of which were essential.

Currently, Long Chen’s soul power was not an issue, but the alchemy furnace was far too inferior, and the alchemy fire... was even worse.

Using a common first-grade alchemy furnace and the poorest alchemy fire to refine a mid-grade pill, in the entire alchemy world, perhaps only Long Chen, who had the soul of a Pill Emperor, could achieve this.

He had refined over twenty batches of pills, producing more than a hundred low-grade Fengfu Pills, which now lay quietly in his ring.

During the process, Long Chen had secretly inquired about the situation outside. With Li Hao killed, no one would think to look for Long Chen.

The imperial capital had posted a reward notice to capture the killer of Li Hao, but it was all show, and the matter quickly died down.

Long Chen sneered inwardly. Even if it was a show, shouldn’t it be done properly? Are you treating me like a fool?

A prince was killed under mysterious circumstances, and the matter was left unresolved, which was too blatant!

Although he understood the situation, Long Chen did not dare to act rashly. Without absolute strength, he had to protect himself.

His father was stationed in the wilderness, and he had no idea what the situation was there. According to the conventions of the Phoenix Cry Empire, all generals and their families were not allowed to leave the capital, essentially to keep them in check.

Long Chen knew nothing about his father’s situation, only that since he was young, his father had never been by his side.

As he grew older, the once bustling mansion gradually became quiet, and the number of visitors during holidays dwindled.

In recent years, the Long family had declined, and their status in the capital had diminished. Long Chen had become a target for ridicule by his peers.

The Marquis of Zhenyuan remained silent about the matter, and Long Chen felt some resentment towards his father, but he was sternly reprimanded by his mother.

After waking up this time, Long Chen finally realized that he had been too naive before.

His father’s repeated refusals to return to the capital must have had a reason, not just because of the war with the barbarians.

Even if it was just once or twice, the repeated refusals over the years had caused many nobles in the capital to become dissatisfied with Long Tianxiao.

Rumors spread in secret, suggesting that Long Tianxiao was plotting rebellion, but no matter how these rumors spread, Long Tianxiao never responded.

Three years ago, the royal family stopped summoning Long Tianxiao, and the Long family’s situation worsened.

First, their stipend was cut off, leaving the Long family in a difficult financial situation. Then, the princes began to provoke Long Chen.

Especially after Long Chen was injured, the old man had swindled a large sum of money from the Long family, which finally made Long Chen realize the gravity of the situation.

They were being slowly forced into a corner, with the ultimate goal of making Long Tianxiao submit, but Long Chen had no idea what the underlying secrets were.

However, one thing was certain: there was someone behind the scenes, a very powerful person, who was in conflict with his father.

"Let it be for now. A hungry wolf will eventually show its fangs. I need to focus on improving my strength," Long Chen thought.

He briefly instructed Bao’er and then began his seclusion. With the initial formation of the Fengfu Star, the process became simpler. He just needed to continuously absorb the power of the pills.

The Fengfu Star under his feet grew rapidly as it absorbed the power of the Fengfu Pills.

After seven days, Long Chen consumed the pills like a meal, and the Fengfu Star, initially the size of a soybean, grew to the size of a longan, as if a new space had been created under his feet.

After the Fengfu Star reached the size of a longan, its shape no longer changed. As it continued to absorb power, countless fine patterns appeared on its surface, and it began to rotate slowly.

**Boom**

A loud explosion echoed as the last mid-grade Fengfu Pill was absorbed. The Fengfu Star, which had been lifeless, finally stirred and began to absorb external spiritual energy.

"Yay, I finally succeeded!"

Long Chen shouted, feeling the rotation of the Fengfu Star under his feet, filled with power.

"However, this is just the initial formation. According to my memory, each star must undergo nine transformations to be considered complete. My Fengfu Star is just formed, and if I follow the outside world’s standards, I’m not sure if it counts as the first level of Qi Gathering."

**Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh**

He threw three punches in quick succession, the whistling wind almost deafening, and the walls trembled, almost collapsing.

Without using any spiritual energy, just the strength of his body, he had such power.

Long Chen was overjoyed. Although the process was tough and slow, the power was truly formidable.

Just at the first level, he was now much stronger than when he had punched the stone roller that day.

"Hehe, at this rate, I’ll soon be able to find my future wife," Long Chen chuckled, thinking of Meng Qi’s face, his heart filled with passion.

But thinking of that Qi Shi, Long Chen sneered. The next time I see you, I’ll beat you so hard you’ll know why flowers are so red.

Suddenly, Long Chen slapped his forehead. He had been so focused on cultivation that he had forgotten today was the day to go to the Imperial Academy.

Seeing the sky was just beginning to brighten, he quickly changed into a new set of clothes and rushed to the Imperial Academy, his face filled with joy the whole way.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that his Fengfu Star could store a large amount of spiritual energy, which would solve the problem of running out of spiritual energy during alchemy.

During the battle with Li Hao, Long Chen had used the powerful technique, Bull Strength, which almost drained all his spiritual energy. Now, he no longer had to worry about that problem.

Sensing the spiritual energy in the Fengfu Star, he estimated it was enough to use Bull Strength at least a dozen times. This was the difference of truly entering the Fengfu Star stage.

Most importantly, as his cultivation increased, his physical strength also grew rapidly. Although he hadn’t tested it, he knew it must be terrifyingly strong.

Excited, he approached the entrance of the Imperial Academy. Entering the gate, he headed straight for the Literary Hall as usual.

As soon as he entered the Literary Hall, the once noisy hall fell silent at his arrival.

Li Hao’s death had left many people in shock. The battle that day, which almost all the princes had witnessed, showed Long Chen’s dominant punch, and those who had often mocked him were now filled with fear.

"Ha, Brother Long!"

Yu Fatso and the others were overjoyed to see Long Chen and quickly surrounded him.

"Brother Long, you look more spirited than ever!"

"Brother Long, please sit down!"

"Brother Long, have some tea!"

"Brother Long, let me give you a back massage!"

Long Chen laughed and scolded, "Cut the nonsense. Get me something to eat; I haven’t had breakfast yet."

He found a corner to sit, and Yu Fatso quickly brought over some pastries. The others watched him eagerly.

Long Chen was indeed hungry. He had been eating pills for the past few days and was almost sick of it. Grabbing the pastries, he began to eat ravenously.

Just as he started eating, Shi Feng arrived, and Long Chen waved him over.

Shi Feng walked up to Long Chen, who handed him a jade bottle. "Take it. Soon, you’ll become a new Blood Condensation Realm expert."

Long Chen’s voice was low, but Yu Fatso and the others heard clearly, all of them stunned speechless.

Shi Feng was also shocked. He quickly opened the jade bottle, and a rich fragrance of the pill wafted out. Inside lay a round pill.

"What is this?"

Long Chen smiled and said, "Condensation Pill."

Others might not know what a Condensation Pill was, but as an Eighth Qi Gathering Realm expert, Shi Feng knew it was a treasure that Eighth Qi Gathering Realm experts coveted.

The Condensation Pill was specifically for advancing from the Qi Gathering Realm to the Blood Condensation Realm, containing a large amount of energy to help one break through quickly.

Most importantly, the Condensation Pill only targeted the Qi Gathering stage and had no impact on future cultivation.

However, the Condensation Pill was extremely difficult to refine, with a high failure rate, especially during the final stage of pill formation, which was a nightmare for alchemists.

A regular Condensation Pill cost over a million gold coins and was often unavailable even if one could afford it.

A million gold coins was an unreachable sum for Shi Feng, who had never dared to dream of it.

"Long Chen, this...?"

"Stop the formalities. Take it. I never hesitated when I took things from you. Don’t be so feminine," Long Chen interrupted with a wave of his hand.

Shi Feng nodded. At this moment, any words would be pretentious. He forced down his excitement and said, "Alright, I’ll take it as soon as I reach the Ninth Qi Gathering Realm."

"No need. Didn’t you see the pattern on it? Take it as soon as you get home, and you’ll advance to the Blood Condensation Realm quickly," Long Chen smiled.

Shi Feng then noticed a faint pattern on the pill, almost shouting in shock. This was a mid-grade pill, which was several times more valuable.

"Put it away. Among brothers, we don’t need formalities," Long Chen said.

Shi Feng’s eyes welled up as he carefully stored the pill. The brotherly bond from Long Chen was more touching than the pill itself.

"Brother Long!"

"Grandpa Long!"

"Great-great-grandpa Long!"

"..."

Yu Fatso and the others, though they didn’t know what a Condensation Pill was, knew that pills were treasures. They stared at Long Chen like hungry wolves, their eyes wide with greed.

Long Chen, feeling goosebumps, quickly stopped them. "Don’t worry. I’ve already said I’ll take care of you guys."

The reason they couldn’t cultivate was because their spirit roots were too weak to sense true qi.

Others might not be able to help, but who was Long Chen? With the memory of a Pill Emperor, if he couldn’t solve this, he wouldn’t be called a Pill Emperor.

"Here, each of you gets a bottle. Take three drops daily, abstain from meat, alcohol, and lust. You’ll see results in seven days and enter the Qi Sensing stage within half a month. How long it takes to reach Qi Gathering depends on your effort," Long Chen said, throwing each of them a bottle filled with a liquid he had prepared.

The liquid wasn’t precious, but it could勉强 improve their spirit roots, though the improvement was limited. It would allow them to enter the Qi Gathering stage, and with good luck, they might reach the Blood Condensation stage, but no further.

For Yu Fatso and the others, this was already an unimaginable treasure. They looked at the bottles nervously, eager to take a drop right away.

"Brother Long, if we can cultivate, will it be a disadvantage to you?" Yu Fatso, though fat, was not stupid, and he was the first to raise the concern.

If Long Chen could truly help them, it might bring trouble to him, especially if someone with ill intentions noticed.

Yu Fatso’s meaning was whether they should keep it a secret, but Long Chen laughed. "No problem. These pills are from Master Yun Qi. If anyone wants them, they can ask Master Yun Qi."

"Master Yun Qi?"

They were all shocked, about to ask if Long Chen was joking, when footsteps approached, and they turned to see a look of panic on their faces.