Chapter 75

"Brat, prepare to die."

Ying Hou roared in anger. In mid-air, a cold light appeared, 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 pointing at his throat.

Although Long Chen had been on guard for Ying Hou’s attack, he still hadn’t expected that Ying Hou’s speed would be so terrifying. He had barely moved when he was already in front of Long Chen.

However, Long Chen had been mentally prepared. If Ying Hou wasn’t strong, how could he be listed alongside his father as one of the empire’s three greatest experts?

Seeing the sword thrust at his throat, Long Chen’s eyes remained calm. At this moment, he had let go of all his fear and entered a strange state.

Long Chen ignored Ying Hou’s sword, his power erupted, and he swung the broadsword at Ying Hou’s waist.

Although the broadsword was extremely heavy, for Long Chen, who had twelve qi vortices and a body that had become incredibly strong, it was no longer a problem.

With one swing of the sword, the wind howled. At this moment, Long Chen no longer held back, using all his strength, even the space seemed to be cut open.

Ying Hou clearly hadn’t expected Long Chen to be so fearless, clearly aiming for a mutually destructive attack.

But such a clumsy tactic immediately dismantled his offensive. The long sword in Ying Hou’s hand was only three feet and four inches long, a standard long sword.

However, the broadsword in Long Chen’s hand was seven feet long. If this attack continued, there would be only one result: his long sword would pierce Long Chen’s throat, and Long Chen’s broadsword would also slash heavily onto Ying Hou’s body.

Even with Ying Hou’s arrogance, he dared not take a direct hit from Long Chen’s sword, even if he was a Yi Jin realm expert. He had to abandon his attack, his figure paused, and he floated backward, narrowly avoiding Long Chen’s sword.

This seemingly mutually destructive attack by Long Chen actually had great depth. He believed that if he dodged Ying Hou’s initial attack, then Ying Hou’s terrifying follow-up moves would come in a continuous stream, accelerating his own defeat.

Seeing Ying Hou retreat, Long Chen roared like a thunderclap. The sweeping broadsword suddenly stopped, changing from a slash to a thrust, aiming straight for Ying Hou’s chest.

Ying Hou had just avoided Long Chen’s sword, and when he saw Long Chen change his move, his face changed slightly.

After all, the broadsword was incredibly heavy, and Ying Hou had already noticed this, so he didn’t dare to clash with Long Chen head-on.

However, Long Chen could change his move mid-swing with such a heavy broadsword, indicating that Long Chen’s strength was terrifying.

"Hmph, just brute force."

Ying Hou coldly snorted, his long sword drew an arc, and struck heavily on Long Chen’s broadsword, producing a crisp sound.

"Clang"

Sparks flew, and to Long Chen’s surprise, his full-strength attack was deflected by Ying Hou’s sword, passing by his side.

The most critical part was that due to the force of his own attack and Ying Hou’s deflection, Long Chen was involuntarily pushed forward.

"Swish"

Just as Long Chen was about to call out in distress, Ying Hou’s long sword shot out like a venomous snake, aiming directly for Long Chen’s heart.

Relying on his combat experience, Long Chen instinctively drew back his chest.

"Swish"

Ying Hou’s speed was too fast, and he directly stabbed a bloody hole in Long Chen’s chest, blood gushing out.

Fortunately, Long Chen avoided the vital heart area. However, before he could catch his breath, Ying Hou’s second sword was already at his throat.

Long Chen’s heart raced. This was a Yi Jin realm expert? Completely unmatched. In front of Ying Hou, he was like a child fighting randomly, with no ability to counterattack.

This sword was so fast that Long Chen couldn’t dodge in time. He could only watch helplessly as the sword pierced his throat.

In Long Chen’s eyes, besides the cold tip of the sword, there were also Ying Hou’s eyes filled with ridicule and resentment. Long Chen felt death was so close for the first time.

"Get out of the way!"

A roar came, and a golden light flew over, the air swirling and making a sound as it was cut.

"Boom"

Just as Ying Hou’s sword was about to pierce Long Chen’s throat, a golden battle-axe, like a giant god cleaving a mountain, fiercely chopped down at Ying Hou.

The one who acted was Ah Man. Ah Man’s reaction was a bit slow. He had just seen the two talking, and suddenly they started fighting. By the time he reacted, Long Chen was about to die, so he rushed forward with all his strength.

Ying Hou was about to kill Long Chen when he suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He sensed a fatal threat. Although he was reluctant, he had to abandon killing Long Chen, swinging his sword to strike Ah Man’s battle-axe.

After a loud explosion, Ah Man was directly pushed back several dozen feet, staring at Ying Hou in shock.

Ying Hou wasn’t faring well either. He was also pushed back more than ten feet. His previous sword strike used a clever force, deflecting most of Ah Man’s strength.

But he was still pushed back, and his arm felt numb. He was inwardly shocked; Ah Man was almost like a human beast.

Long Chen had just saved his life and stood next to Ah Man, whispering a few words, then said, "Ah Man, this guy is very strong. We have to fight to the death."

"Fight to the death?"

Ying Hou shook his slightly numb arm and sneered, "What are you going to fight with? Just your shallow skills and brute strength?"

"You are indeed powerful, but in front of a Yi Jin realm expert, you have no chance at all."

Long Chen waved his long sword, pointing it at Ying Hou, and said, "Whether we have a chance or not, we have to try to find out."

Ying Hou didn’t seem eager to kill them. He tapped his sword on the ground like a cane and said calmly,

"Although I can’t see your cultivation, you have no trace of blood qi, which means you are only at the Qi Gathering stage.

As a gift to your father, I will show you the gap between you and me.

At the Qi Gathering stage, you absorb the essence of heaven and earth to nourish your body, storing the energy of heaven and earth for your own use, cultivating qi.

At the Blood Condensation stage, you purify your blood with the essence of heaven and earth, making your body’s energy even stronger, cultivating strength.

Qi and strength complement each other, allowing you to burst with great power, but this power is merely additive.

At the Yi Jin stage, strength nourishes the tendons, and qi nourishes the spirit. Strength and qi reach a perfect harmony, just like the common saying of strength and qi.

However, the combined power of qi and strength at the Yi Jin stage is not additive but multiplicative. If the power at the Blood Condensation stage is ten plus ten, then at the Yi Jin stage, it is ten times ten."

Long Chen’s heart was shaken. He knew Ying Hou wouldn’t be so kind as to explain these things to him.

He was telling him the gap in strength between them, making him give up resistance and fall into complete despair.

Although he knew Ying Hou was doing this on purpose, he couldn’t help but be shocked. If what he said was true, he had no chance at all.

Moreover, aside from strength, just Ying Hou’s strange movements and lightning-fast speed made him tremble with fear.

This was a dead end. No wonder the Fourth Prince dared to scheme against him. He would kill Xia Changfeng, and then be killed by Ying Hou, everything would return to peace, a deep and intricate plan.

Ah Man clearly didn’t think as much as Long Chen. He just stared at Ying Hou with wide eyes and asked, "Brother Long, what is he talking about? What’s this addition and multiplication? What’s Qi Gathering and Blood Condensation? What are those things?"

"Never mind what he says, remember what I just told you," Long Chen whispered, while remaining on guard against Ying Hou.

Ying Hou looked at Long Chen calmly, "What? You still want to struggle at this moment? Do you doubt what I, Lord Ying, say?"

"Buzz"

Long Chen shook his broadsword, making a sound, and pointed at Ying Hou, sneering, "You have a Shadow Jade on your chest. You want to record my last moments and show them to my father, to strike him, right?"

Previously, due to the tension, Long Chen only now noticed the strange jade pendant on Ying Hou’s chest.

The jade pendant had many curved patterns. Although Long Chen hadn’t studied inscription techniques, he had heard of Shadow Jade.

Activating the runes on the Shadow Jade could record a period of imagery, and Long Chen clearly guessed Ying Hou’s intentions.

"Ha, I didn’t expect you to recognize it. How boring," Ying Hou lightly touched the Shadow Jade on his chest and said,

"Yes, I plan to give him your head first, then show him your dying struggle, to vent my years of pent-up hatred."

Long Chen laughed loudly, "Dirty trick, you despicable man, a half-man, half-woman. You’re only fit for such underhanded tactics. My father could cut off your finger, and today I will cut off your head."

Suddenly, Long Chen stomped his foot, the ground shaking, and he rushed at Ying Hou like a whirlwind, slashing his sword.

"Hmph, ignorant child, today I will show you the terror of the combination of strength and qi."

Ying Hou coldly snorted, and his body moved without wind. Suddenly, the veins on his exposed skin slowly bulged, like small snakes moving under his skin.

This was a characteristic of the Yi Jin stage. When Ying Hou’s body was covered with bulging veins, his entire aura exploded, terrifying energy spreading like flames, distorting the space around him.

Seeing this, Long Chen gritted his teeth. No matter how strong Ying Hou was, he had to fight, or he would die without dignity.

He was afraid of death. If he died, what would happen to his mother? What about Chu Yao? What about his promise to Meng Qi?

He couldn’t die. Only by fighting to the death did he have a slim chance of survival. He had to fight, concentrating all his strength on the broadsword.

When Long Chen forgot his fear and bravely faced death, the Fengfu Star under his feet began to slowly rotate without his prompting.

However, it only rotated halfway before it slowly returned to stillness, as if lacking some power.

"Kill!"

Long Chen roared, his sword slicing through the air, his strength concentrated in his arms, his entire body radiating an unstoppable aura, and he slashed down with his sword.