Chapter 18

In front of the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion, hundreds of elite soldiers surrounded the entire estate, making it airtight. A middle-aged man in silver armor sat on a horse, looking arrogantly at Lady Long.

Lady Long, pale-faced, was speaking to the man. Behind her, Bao'er and the other family members looked at the soldiers in bright armor with fear.

When Long Chen appeared, the man's eyes lit up, and he shouted coldly, "Long Chen, you unjustly inflicted serious injuries on Prince Zhou Yaoyang. I am here by order to arrest you. Surrender now!"

"Clang"

Hundreds of long knives were drawn, making a loud noise. The entire scene was filled with a solemn and deadly atmosphere, making it hard to breathe.

These were all elite soldiers, exuding a heavy aura of blood. Lady Long had never seen such a deadly scene before. Her face turned as pale as paper, and she swayed, almost falling over. If not for Bao'er supporting her, she would have been unable to stand.

Long Chen ignored the gleaming long knives before him and walked to his mother. Seeing the fear in her eyes, his heart ached.

"Mother, it's nothing. It's just a dream. Everything will disappear when you wake up," Long Chen said softly, holding her hand.

With Long Chen's voice, a gentle soul force spread, making Lady Long's eyelids feel heavy. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

"Bao'er, Auntie Zhang, help my mother inside."

Long Chen couldn't bear to see his mother in fear and used soul force to put her to sleep. Otherwise, the shock would have been too much for her, a mere mortal, to bear, and she would have easily fallen ill.

Bao'er, following Long Chen's order, and Auntie Zhang, helped Lady Long inside. Long Chen had the others close the main gate.

Looking at the man on the horse, feeling the faint blood aura from him, a mocking smile appeared on Long Chen's lips.

"Just a half-step Blood Condensation realm."

Seeing that Long Chen showed no intention of surrendering and instead looked at him boldly, the man narrowed his eyes.

"Long Chen, you have committed a heinous crime. No one can protect you. Are you waiting for me to take action myself?" the man shouted coldly.

"General? You're just a minor general, a mere dog. Do you dare call yourself a general? Do you want to make me laugh?" Long Chen pointed at the man's nose and cursed.

A minor general was the lowest rank of general in the Fengming Empire, with no achievements or real power. In essence, it was just a squad leader.

But this man, upon being promoted to minor general, was extremely excited. He often referred to himself as "this general," and it had become a habit.

Now, Long Chen's words were like poisonous arrows, piercing the man's heart, making his face turn extremely ugly.

He was a commoner by birth, having endured hardships in the military for over a decade. He had finally had the opportunity to break through to the Blood Condensation realm and was promoted to a minor general.

Now, his greatest honor was being trampled upon, filling him with intense killing intent.

"Long Chen, don't force me to kill you," the man gritted his teeth, his hand reaching for the sword at his waist.

"If you dare to draw your sword, I'll make your head roll."

Long Chen stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the man seriously. His voice was calm, without a hint of anger, but it carried an overwhelming confidence.

"Looking for death."

The man roared, pressing his hand on the horse's back, leaping like an eagle, and landing a punch on Long Chen.

Blood aura swirled around him, a faint blood aura appearing, indicating that he had used a bit of Blood Condensation realm strength.

Long Chen's eyes flashed, his face turning cold. He took a step forward and punched back.

"Boom"

The two punches collided, sending shockwaves in all directions. A loud explosion echoed, and both were pushed back several steps by the force.

"Just this much, and you dare to be arrogant," Long Chen sneered.

The man's face changed. Being mocked by a boy known as a waste made him so angry that his lungs almost burst.

"Die"

"Clang"

The long knife was drawn, a cold light flashing as it slashed down at Long Chen. The whistling wind pierced the eardrums, making people shiver.

This was the moment Long Chen had been waiting for. He leaped back a丈, like a ghost, avoiding the man's attack.

He used the newly learned Wind Chasing Step. Although he was just a beginner, with the memory of the Alchemy Emperor, he was extremely proficient in the flow of human meridians, making his technique as mature as someone who had practiced for decades.

In one step, he was in front of a soldier, punching at him. The soldier was shocked and quickly raised his knife to block.

Suddenly, his hand trembled, and the long knife disappeared. When he looked at Long Chen, he was already holding the knife and slashing fiercely at the minor general.

"Swish"

The minor general, having just missed his slash, hadn't had time to adjust. Long Chen's retreat, knife seizure, and slash were seamless. The whistling wind cut through the air, making the minor general's heart race as he hurriedly defended.

"Boom"

After the explosion, the minor general felt an irresistible force, and he flew several yards away.

Just as he stabilized himself, he felt a chill at his waist. Relying on his years of experience, he swung his knife without thinking.

Another explosion, sparks flying, a cold light shot out, flying dozens of yards and embedding itself in an old tree.

The minor general, relying on his instincts, had blocked Long Chen's knife, but he couldn't resist Long Chen's terrifying strength. His tiger's mouth split, and the knife was knocked away.

At this moment, the minor general no longer had his previous arrogance, his face filled with terror. He saw a cold light approaching, like the blade of death.

"No"

"Puff"

The terrified voice still echoed in the air, but the minor general's head was already flying high, his face full of shock and unwillingness.

Just before his soul fell into darkness, he suddenly remembered what Long Chen had said: "If you dare to draw your knife, I'll make your head roll."

He finally believed that Long Chen wasn't bluffing, but it was too late.

"Plop"

The headless body fell to the ground, the head rolling far away after several flips.

For a moment, the soldiers were all stunned. Their leader was lying dead in the street, and they couldn't hold their weapons steady.

They had seen blood before, but not like today. Long Chen remained calm throughout, not even blinking, which was more terrifying than anger.

"Long Chen, you dare to kill my beloved general. Do you think I won't destroy your Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion?"

Suddenly, a voice roared from a distance. A middle-aged man with a stern face, accompanied by dozens of strong men, walked over.

"Finally willing to come out?"

Long Chen sneered inwardly. When he arrived, he had used his divine sense to scan the surroundings and found someone hiding in the distance.

"Barbarian Marquis, truly worthy of your title. Your unreasonable nature is well-deserved."

Long Chen leaned lazily against the stone lion in front of his house, speaking casually.

"Long Chen, today in the Literary Hall, you offended the Seventh Prince and seriously injured my son. Now you've killed my beloved general. Today, even if you talk your way out, you won't escape your crimes. I don't think anyone can save you," the Barbarian Marquis roared.

Looking at this marquis, who was once on par with his father, a mocking smile appeared on Long Chen's lips. With your trashy skills, you could be on par with my father? I spit!

"Zhou Chengqing, are you getting dumber with age? Do I, Long Chen, need someone to save me? What an idiot."

Long Chen took out a jade token from his pocket and said, "Open your dog eyes, and your nose and ass eyes, and look clearly. What is this?"

The Barbarian Marquis, Zhou Chengqing, looked at the jade token with a carved alchemy furnace and was shocked.

"How is this possible? How can you have an Alchemy Apprentice token? This must be fake!" Zhou Chengqing roared.

"Idiot, you really are old. With your four small and one big eyes, you can't see clearly. I'll do you a favor and let you see clearly." Long Chen threw the jade token to Zhou Chengqing.

Zhou Chengqing caught the jade token and examined it carefully, his face turning pale with shock. As a marquis, how could he not recognize the identity token of the Alchemy Association?

But recognizing it made his face change even more. The signature on the back of the token was none other than Yun Qi, the master of the Fengming Empire. Anyone with a face in the empire would recognize this master.

Even the emperors of past generations treated the Alchemy Association president with respect, showing how revered the Alchemy Association was in the empire.

Without the support of the Alchemy Association, a country would be devoured by other empires in no time. The Alchemy Association was the empire's patron.

"Zhou Chengqing, do you see clearly now? Can you return the token to me?" Long Chen looked at the stunned Barbarian Marquis and sneered.

The Barbarian Marquis's face turned ugly. He wanted to crush the jade token and arrest Long Chen, but he didn't dare.

Although he didn't know how Long Chen obtained the token, having it proved that Long Chen was a member of the Alchemy Association, a person above the law of the empire. He had no right to handle him.

Taking the jade token from the Barbarian Marquis, who looked like he had lost his mother, Long Chen suddenly turned serious and shouted, "Zhou Chengqing, your minor general surrounded my house, wielding a knife. If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll apply to the Alchemy Association for sanctions against the Fengming Empire tomorrow."

Zhou Chengqing's face changed. The sanctions of the Alchemy Association were terrifying. They would refuse to supply the empire with elixirs for a period, which would be a death sentence for the empire.

"This matter, I was unaware of beforehand. It was all that boy's own decision. I will investigate and give you an explanation soon," the Barbarian Marquis had to swallow his anger due to Long Chen's special status.

Damn, how shameless. Eating your own shit with a straight face, Long Chen admired the Barbarian Marquis for the first time.

No wonder he was still at the Blood Condensation realm after being a Blood Condensation realm expert for over a decade. It seemed he had been practicing how to eat shit all these years.

"You can investigate however you want. By the time I wake up tomorrow, my front door must be clean. Otherwise... you know the consequences."

Long Chen coldly snorted, not wanting to waste more words on this shameless old fox. He returned to the mansion and slammed the door shut.

He was really angry today. In the morning at the Literary Hall, at noon at Luoxia Mountain, and now at his front door, fighting three times in one day was really tiring, though the one at noon was a bit more pleasant.

After Long Chen disappeared, the Barbarian Marquis's face turned green. His plan had backfired, and he had only caused trouble.

"My lord, what should we do?"

"Do? Do your sister! Clean this place up. Even if you have to lick the blood off the ground, do it."

The Barbarian Marquis, with a belly full of anger, finally found a place to vent. After a tirade, he left, leaving a stunned group behind.

"Damn, how did that brat become a member of the Alchemy Association? This is trouble."

The Barbarian Marquis muttered, pondered for a moment, and, seeing no one around, walked towards the palace.