Chapter 74

*Puff*

*Bang*

Two sounds rang out almost simultaneously, blood splattered, a head rolled, and a figure was kicked flying.

Xia Changfeng’s final kick before death gathered all his life’s strength, and Long Chen was directly kicked dozens of feet away, rolling another four or five yards before stopping.

Looking at the blood on his long sword and the distant Xia Changfeng, whose head had been separated from his body, Long Chen took a deep breath.

Xia Changfeng had hidden his true strength too deeply, and Long Chen felt a great unease, always sensing that something would go wrong.

The Blood Luo Palm was definitely not Xia Changfeng’s strongest move. It was just that he had bad luck, and Long Chen seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Long Chen’s cultivation was not rooted in his dantian but hidden in the Fengfu Star, so he had no reservations about that kick. He was willing to suffer mutual destruction to kill him.

He had a very strange feeling, a vague sense of threat that always surrounded him, an indescribable feeling.

He feared that Xia Changfeng had even more terrifying means and would not let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip away.

Xia Changfeng thus became a confused ghost, but his final kick, which gathered his lifetime of cultivation, struck Long Chen’s abdomen with terrifying force, causing him to spew blood and his internal organs to shake violently, nearly bursting.

He hastily swallowed a Cleansing Pill to suppress the injury, feeling secretly fortunate that Xia Changfeng was so powerful.

If it had been a fair fight, whether he could defeat him was uncertain. Even if he did, he would have to pay a significant price, certainly not as easily as now, showing how important luck was.

Taking a deep breath, the blood poison on his hand was suppressed by the medicine, gradually returning to its normal color.

The pills Long Chen kept were all life-saving, all of the highest quality, and recovery was very fast—this was the capital of a pill cultivator.

Walking to Xia Changfeng’s corpse, he removed the spatial ring from his hand, but now was not the time to check the spoils.

Without even looking at the head that refused to close its eyes, Long Chen rushed toward where Ah Man was fighting.

Ah Man was now shouting wildly, his giant axe whistling through the air, growing braver with each strike. The axe moved freely, without any fixed pattern, yet its power was astonishing.

Wang Mang, who had originally held his sword in one hand, was now using both hands to wield a broadsword, his face full of shock as he fought Ah Man head-on.

Seeing this, Long Chen sighed. It seemed that Xia Changfeng was destined to die. Wang Mang, a terrifyingly powerful expert, had lost his head and was competing in strength with Ah Man.

If it came to real strength, he could easily defeat Ah Man with a bit of skill, but the mind of a strength-type warrior was often incomprehensible.

*Boom*

Another explosion, and Wang Mang, who seemed to have boundless strength, was finally overpowered by Ah Man and sent flying.

Wang Mang no longer had his initial fury, his face now full of shock. He had defeated countless strong enemies with divine power, but today he had lost completely in terms of strength, suffering a total defeat.

*Puff*

As Wang Mang stared at Ah Man with a complex expression, he did not realize that a figure had appeared behind him, and a silent long sword had sliced across his neck.

Wang Mang suddenly felt himself rising, but his first reaction was that he had not jumped. When he saw his body still on the ground, his mind fell into darkness.

Ah Man suddenly saw Wang Mang’s head cut off by Long Chen, and a look of fear appeared in his eyes.

*Clang*

Ah Man’s mountain-splitting battle axe fell to the ground.

Seeing Ah Man’s face of fear as he looked at Wang Mang’s corpse, Long Chen knew that this was Ah Man’s first time seeing someone killed, and this reaction was normal.

“Ah Man, this is the cruelty of reality. If we want to live, they must die,” Long Chen sighed.

“Brother Long, I’m fine,” Ah Man shook his head. “If Brother Long thinks they should die, they must die.”

Long Chen smiled bitterly. It was pointless to reason with Ah Man, but Ah Man’s trust in him was very touching.

“Let’s leave quickly…”

Just as Long Chen was about to leave with Ah Man, he felt something was off. Suddenly, his body tensed, as if being watched by a prehistoric beast. A strong sense of death instantly enveloped him, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Turning his head slowly, he saw a figure standing on a cliff dozens of yards away, calmly looking at him.

Seeing this person, Long Chen’s pupils suddenly constricted. He finally understood that his fear did not come from Xia Changfeng but from this person.

*Clap, clap, clap*

The person clapped his hands lightly, his face full of admiration. “To kill two Blood Condensation Realm experts, one of whom is at the peak, with only Qi Gathering cultivation… I must say, Long Chen, you are indeed a genius, worthy of being Long Tianxiao’s son.”

His voice was filled with a soft, sinister tone, the unique voice of Ying Hou. He stood on the cliff, looking down at Long Chen like a demonic leopard eyeing its prey.

Long Chen’s heart tightened. No wonder he had felt uneasy all along; he had been targeted by this person.

Clearly, Ying Hou had been there for a long time but had remained hidden until Long Chen killed Xia Changfeng.

“Conspiracy”

Long Chen immediately thought of this word. Ying Hou was there to kill him.

“Was it the Fourth Prince who sent you?” Long Chen kicked the broadsword on the ground into his hand. It was Wang Mang’s weapon, and this heavy weapon gave him a sense of security.

Ying Hou was taken aback, then smiled faintly. “What do you think?”

Long Chen shook his head and sighed. “I, Long Chen, thought I was smart, but I fell for the Fourth Prince’s scheme without realizing it. What a well-laid plan.”

“Why are you so sure I was sent by the Fourth Prince and not acting on my own?” Ying Hou stared at Long Chen.

“Because you wouldn’t hold a grudge over a minor incident. That’s not like you. Patience is your strength; otherwise, you would have been killed by my father long ago.” Long Chen’s tone was firm.

Rapidly, scenes flashed through his mind. Through his conversation with Ying Hou, he confirmed that it was the Fourth Prince who wanted to kill him.

If the Fourth Prince had been targeting the Long family from the beginning, he had laid many foundations to make Long Chen assassinate Xia Changfeng.

First, at the end of the auction, he deliberately let the hooded man who killed Li Hao appear, making sure Long Chen recognized him.

The hooded man was ostensibly a servant of the First Prince but was actually the Fourth Prince’s man. The Fourth Prince’s purpose was to shift Long Chen’s hatred to the First Prince.

When Long Chen visited Chu Yao, the Fourth Prince deliberately helped and admitted to investigating the Long family, but remained tight-lipped, subtly hinting that the mastermind was the First Prince.

This was to confuse Long Chen, making him believe the First Prince was the true mastermind and mislead his focus.

Initially, Long Chen was half-skeptical, but the Fourth Prince then revealed Xia Changfeng’s departure time and route, leading Long Chen to think further.

At the time, Long Chen had weighed the possibility that it was a plot to use him as a pawn, but for Chu Yao, he would jump even if he knew it was a trap.

If the Fourth Prince betrayed him, he could join the Alchemist Guild and seek Master Yun Qi’s protection, and no one would dare touch him.

However, Long Chen did not think the Fourth Prince was so foolish, as it would openly push him to the enemy. A smart person wouldn’t do that.

But now, with Ying Hou’s appearance, Long Chen realized he had underestimated the Fourth Prince’s schemes.

Although somewhat disheartened, Long Chen had to admit he had been deceived. The power had clouded his judgment, leading him into a desperate situation.

“Long Chen, looking at you now, I see the young Long Tianxiao, full of vigor and intelligence.

When I was defeated by your father, it was considered the greatest disgrace of my life, but I never had the chance to take revenge.

Now, I can challenge Long Tianxiao openly, but before I do, I need a gift to present.

What do you think his expression will be when I present his son’s head to him? I believe it will be quite spectacular.” Ying Hou smiled, but his smile was chilling.

“I think it’s a disgrace to your name to be mentioned alongside my father. You lack the confidence to defeat my father, so you resort to such a despicable scheme.

In front of my father, you are always a failure, and now you don’t even have the right to challenge him.” Long Chen shook his head, his face full of pity.

Ying Hou’s calm expression finally changed, becoming extremely fierce. Clearly, Long Chen’s words had struck a deep wound.

Ying Hou had achieved great success at a young age and was highly talented, but he was born at the wrong time, with Long Tianxiao in his generation.

He had challenged Long Tianxiao several times, all ending in failure. The last time, he even lost a finger to Long Tianxiao.

Since then, Ying Hou had devoted himself to cultivation, becoming more and more sinister. Although he later advanced to the Muscle Transformation Realm and became one of the three great powers of Fengming, he always remembered his defeat at Long Tianxiao’s hands.

Unfortunately, after reaching the peak of the middle stage of the Muscle Transformation Realm, he found that his missing finger prevented him from advancing to the later stage, deepening his hatred for Long Tianxiao.

By chance, he obtained the Muscle Regeneration Pill, regenerating his finger and finally breaking through to the seventh level of the Muscle Transformation Realm, entering the later stage.

Now, Ying Hou was full of vigor, determined to kill Long Tianxiao and avenge his past disgrace.

However, even though he had advanced to the later stage of the Muscle Transformation Realm, Long Tianxiao had become his heart demon, and he had no confidence in defeating him.

But today, he had the chance to kill Long Chen. Using Long Chen’s head to enrage Long Tianxiao would increase his chances of victory.

Now that Long Chen had exposed his purpose, he was enraged, like a hypocrite whose mask had been torn off. Killing intent filled Ying Hou’s eyes.

“Did I hit a nerve? Feeling ashamed? Why don’t you just crash into the cliff and end it all?” Long Chen taunted.

Although his words were light, he gripped the broadsword tighter, his qi slowly circulating, his body tense.

“Little brat, die!”

Ying Hou roared, a cold light appearing in mid-air like a bolt of lightning. By the time Long Chen realized it, he was horrified to find that Ying Hou’s long sword was already at his throat.