BANG!

Xia Changfeng slammed his hand onto a table, completely shattering it. His expression was extremely malevolent now as he ground his teeth.

“Long Chen, Long Chen, if I don’t tear your body into a thousand pieces, then I wouldn’t be Xia Changfeng!”

The Lantern Festival had been a complete and utter failure for him. He had lost a powerful subordinate in Huang Chang, making him incessantly furious.

It had turned out completely different from what he had planned. Not only had he failed to kill Long Chen, but he had also lost Huang Chang, and Wei Cang had had to hand over his precious beast flame.

This competition’s greatest winner had actually been Long Chen. Xia Changfeng’s lungs were about to burst from anger.

Within the same room as him was a young man in his twenties. Acting as if he didn’t even notice Xia Changfeng’s anger, he leisurely drank a cup of tea to the side.

Xia Changfeng’s anger had been mostly vented after breaking the table, and he gradually calmed down. He respectfully said to that person, “Brother Luo, Long Chen is too overbearing. I hope that brother Luo can help me relieve some of my anger.”

That white-robed man who had been called brother Luo lightly put down his cup and indifferently said, “Changfeng, you really have disappointed me. Just a woman has caused you to lose your calm. That Long Chen is just an ant. You have to remember why we’ve come to Phoenix Cry this time. If such a small trivial matter ends up delaying the major event, don’t even think about escaping your punishment. Do you understand?”

After saying this, his expression sunk, showing how displeased he was with Xia Changfeng’s performance.

Being reminded about their goal in coming here, sweat rolled down Xia Changfeng’s forehead.

“Many thanks for the reminder brother Luo. Changfeng understands his wrong.” Xia Changfeng hastily bowed.

Seeing Xia Changfeng’s apology, the white-robed man smiled slightly. “Before we accomplish that matter, waiting patiently is the most important thing. Must you squabble over temporary losses? Moreover, we’ve already spent many years preparing. In the end, that third princess will be yours. Think about it; seeing that kid Long Chen work bitterly for a long time just to still fail at the end, wouldn’t that the most refreshing?”

Xia Changfeng’s eyes brightened, and his anger was immediately relieved. “It really is brother Luo whose vision is far-reaching. I am ashamed.”

“You mixed up your priorities. Although, to tell the truth, that Chu Yao really is as beautiful as a goddess and irresistible. Chu Yao’s maidenhood will be yours. But once you obtain that beautiful woman, can you also let your big brother have a taste?” The white-robed man looked at Xia Changfeng and smiled.

Xia Changfeng’s expression changed slightly, but he immediately covered it up and did his absolute best to be indifferent. He smiled, “Changfeng doesn’t really care about such a beauty. Once the matter is over, brother Luo will, of course, have his share.”

“Changfeng, you aren’t feeling unwell inside, are you?” The white-robed man lifted his teacup and blew on it.

“How could that be possible? Brother Luo is from the sect, and this little brother is still hoping to have brother Luo’s guidance in the future,” said Xia Changfeng hastily.

“Good, that is how a man should act. Take what comes magnanimously. Otherwise, how will you ever accomplish big things? Don’t worry; as long as this matter is handled properly, you will definitely be able to become an outer disciple.”

“Then, many thanks brother Luo.” Xia Changfeng was ecstatic at that. That unhappiness he had felt just now vanished into smoke.

The white-robed man nodded. “But you must handle this with utmost care. If even the slightest whiff of it comes out, not only will the benefits fly away, but the punishment we’ll get is not something either of us can survive.”

“Don’t worry brother Luo, I’ve been extremely focused on it and will definitely handle it properly.” Xia Changfeng patted his chest.

“Then, that’s good. My identity can’t be found out, so you can only call me out at the end. Proceed with the plan faster and set up everything as early as possible. The less movements you make, the better. And it would be best for it to be handled without spilling any blood.”

“Most of the plan has already been set in order. The entire Phoenix Cry Empire is basically within our control. There’s just one big problem: the Border Suppression Marquis, Long Tianxiao. He still won’t surrender and is unmoved by force or persuasion. It really is a headache. He controls almost a third of the forces within the empire, and if we can’t resolve this problem, it might have an effect on our plan,” said Xia Changfeng.

“Long Tianxiao? Long Chen? How are they related?”

“They’re father and son.”

“Idiot, he’s the Border Suppression Marquis’s son? Then just treat him as a kind of trump card, a trump card that controls the Border Suppression Marquis! And you actually wanted to kill him?” The white-robed man abruptly became furious.

Xia Changfeng was at a loss. He also knew that Long Chen could be a kind of trump card for them, but he was unable to bear Long Chen’s flirtation with Chu Yao.

“You almost ruined things! Don’t touch Long Chen for now. Go find all the information about him and his family for me.”

“Yes.”

Xia Changfeng left. Once he left, the white-robed man coldly spat out, “What an idiot.”

…

When Long Chen arrived at the alchemist guild, the alchemists who previously were unfamiliar with him all respectfully bowed.

Long Chen’s display of alchemy yesterday had already become common knowledge within the capital. Despite his opponent essentially cheating, he still managed to win a complete victory, awing them.

He was but sixteen years old when he acquired the rank of a Pill Apprentice, and now he was essentially a Pill Adept. His future would be limitless. Even if they couldn’t curry favor with him, they still couldn’t leave him a bad impression.

Long Chen was still a bit unused to his sudden rise. Making some inquiries, he learned that Yun Qi was currently in his own room, and he went straight there.

“Enter.”

Just as he was about to knock, Yun Qi’s old voice rang out.

Entering, he saw Yun Qi sitting lotus-style. In front of him was a bowl of water, but the water was as black as ink and even emitted a fishy odor.

“Wei Cang’s Yin Fiend Palm has become much more powerful. But it is a heretical technique and is unable to become a great technique.” Yun Qi disdainfully looked at the bowl of black water.

“Grandmaster, is your hand okay?”

Yun Qi had received Wei Cang’s palm that day, and that palm had contained a Yin Fiend’s poison.

“After a night’s work, it’s basically fine now,” smiled Yun Qi.

“It took a whole night?” Long Chen was startled. Grandmaster Yun Qi had profound skill and power. Even with his powerful Pill Flame, he had needed a whole night to purify it?

“You don’t need to be surprised. Wei Cang’s Yin Fiend Palm is extremely sinister and has a resistance to Pill Flame. Although it took a night to purify the poison, Wei Cang will require a whole month to once more accumulate that level of toxicity again, and that is why I said it was a heretic technique that couldn’t become a great technique,” explained grandmaster Yun Qi.

Only now did Long Chen realize that Wei Cang probably had a limited accomplishment with his Pill Flame compared to other Pill Masters, so he had cultivated a sinister poison Battle Skill like the Yin Fiend Palm, using it to restrain other Pill Masters.

For a Pill Master like him to not focus on his own body’s flame and instead go cultivate a poisonous palm, it was no wonder grandmaster Yun Qi turned his nose up at him.

“Your wounds have healed?” Grandmaster Yun Qi was slightly surprised.

“Hehe, this kid’s skin is tough and the meat is thick. Just one night’s rest and I’m fine,” laughed Long Chen.

Grandmaster Yun Qi looked him up and down and sighed, “Originally, I had hoped that you could focus wholeheartedly on pills. With your spiritual talent, you will be able to walk ever further than me on the pill path. But after yesterday’s battle, I’ve changed my thinking. A martial genius who can battle those in higher realms than him is too rare. It really is a mess.”

“Hehe, don’t worry, grandmaster. I won’t give up either path.” Long Chen truly was speaking the truth.

That was because his Nine Star Hegemon Body Art was complemented by his accomplishments in alchemy. Without his alchemy, he wouldn’t have even been able to condense his FengFu Star, let alone cultivate.

As for the second star, third star, and so on, they all required medicinal pills to condense. Even just the simplest FengFu Star had used up countless medicinal pills.

According to his memories, each following star’s condensation would require an even greater amount of resources than the last. It was a number that was simply impossible to calculate.

Although he didn’t know the exact number, he knew that to condense his FengFu Star, he had consumed hundreds of medicinal pills.

But although the cost was high, the benefits were also correspondingly high. Otherwise, a trash like him who didn’t even have a Spirit Root couldn’t even dream of standing out, let alone battle across realms.

“Dual pill martial cultivation isn’t completely unheard of, but usually, the gains are not worth the losses. Splitting your attention into two paths requires twice the effort for half the gains. Historically, dual pill martial cultivators all wasted their time and in the end, accomplished nothing, filling them with regret in their final days.” Yun Qi shook his head.

Grandmaster Yun Qi wasn’t wrong. No matter how talented you were, without one hundred percent of your effort focused, you would just end up living a mediocre life.

As for dual pill martial cultivation, it split your time and energy. Countless people had left bitter lessons to later generations, saying that it was a failed path they couldn’t return from.

But Long Chen had displayed great talent whether it was in terms of the pill path or the martial path. His talent was absolutely shocking, and even Pill Master Yun Qi didn’t feel that Long Chen should give up on the martial path.

If you chose pill cultivation, all your spiritual qi would be transformed to flame, and you would only be able to use one attribute of Battle Skills.

Although they had great power, if they met someone with the subduing water-attribute Battle Skills, they basically could only run.

But Pill Masters were extremely respected, so why would they go battle with others? Others would all want to get a favor from them, so how many would offend them?

Although Pill Masters didn’t necessarily have a frightening battle power, you couldn’t forget that each Pill Master had an extremely large support. All sects needed to form good relations with pill cultivators so they could obtain the medicinal pills they needed.

If a pill cultivator went out, even if he was only a Pill Apprentice, there would be countless powers fighting over that person.

That was why grandmaster Yun Qi had said ‘it was a mess’. But Long Chen wasn’t at a loss at all; he had already planned to advance forward on both.

“I come over today to thank grandmaster for his assistance yesterday.” Long Chen was actually very grateful for his assistance and support.

“Haha, that’s just a small matter. You also let me relieve quite a bit of anger yesterday, so I should be the one thanking you.”

Grandmaster Yun Qi laughed and gave Long Chen a praying mat. Letting him sit on it, he said, “Do you want to know why Wei Cang and I are like fire and water to each other?”