Alchemist Guild

"Bang!" A loud explosion sounded. To everyone's astonishment, Long Chen had appeared in front of Li Hao like a ghost. This was the effect of the Gale Steps—it was extremely fast, especially the short-range burst, making it impossible to guard against.

Li Hao's claws stopped in mid-air as Long Chen's foot kicked hard between his legs. The violent force kicked him entirely into the air.

After a muffled explosion, a round object slid down Li Hao's pant leg and was flung directly into the crowd.

Wang Mang was imagining how Li Hao would torture Long Chen until he wished he were dead, but the scene before his eyes left him dumbfounded.

He completely failed to notice a grape-sized object flying straight toward his open mouth. By the time he realized it, the object had already entered his mouth.

Before he could react, the slimy thing slid down his throat into his stomach, carrying a strange, pungent odor.

"Ah!" Wang Mang finally reacted. He hurriedly stuck a finger into his throat and gagged for a long time before finally vomiting out a round object.

Zhou Yaoyang and the others beside Wang Mang also felt nauseous looking at that round object and hurriedly scattered in all directions.

"Ah…" On the arena, Li Hao clutched his crotch tightly, his face twisted in convulsions. Had he not protected his body with Spiritual Qi beforehand, he would have long since fainted from the pain.

For a moment, the entire venue fell silent. Everyone looked at Li Hao on the stage, then at the object in the distance, all wearing strange expressions.

"There, that's better. Now you won't walk crookedly in the future," Long Chen nodded and said.

"You…" Li Hao was so furious that his eyes were about to split. His only remaining treasure had been detached and had even entered Wang Mang's stomach. Now that it had been burned by stomach acid, it couldn't be used even if he retrieved it.

The previous one had been snatched away by a wild dog, and this one was ruined too. Li Hao was destined to become a eunuch who could not reproduce.

"Go to hell, you son of a bitch! Rock-Shattering Fist!"

Li Hao roared madly, forcibly circulating his Spiritual Qi to suppress the pain in his lower body, and threw a punch at Long Chen. His Aura surged, and the wind whistled.

The power belonging to the Qi Gathering Third Heaven erupted fully. He had fallen into madness and had forgotten Zhou Yaoyang's instructions, his only thought being to kill Long Chen.

Seeing the crazed Li Hao, a trace of coldness appeared in Long Chen's eyes. He let out a great shout, like a thunderclap shaking the heavens, vibrating the surroundings and making the eardrums of those nearby ring.

An invisible Aura swept out. Long Chen did not dodge at all and also threw a punch.

"Bull Strength!"

"Boom!" A loud explosion was accompanied by the sound of shattering bones. Li Hao let out a miserable scream as blood sprayed everywhere. In the horrified eyes of the crowd, one of Li Hao's arms was pulverized.

Long Chen maintained his punching posture, his eyes icy and his expression indifferent. A terrifying, murderous Aura made people's hearts tremble.

At this moment, Long Chen was like a cold-blooded god of slaughter, his body filled with cold killing intent that made people shudder.

The whole scene was dead silent. Just now, the power Long Chen had unleashed caused even Zhou Yaoyang, who was at the Qi Gathering Seventh Heaven, to feel a sense of fear.

"How is it possible? He can actually use combat skills?"

"Isn't he unable to cultivate? What is going on?"

"That gaze is so terrifying."

People couldn't help but be shocked. Those who had previously mocked Long Chen were filled with fear. Looking at Li Hao lying on the arena, they felt as if they were seeing themselves, and they couldn't help but shiver.

On the arena, one of Li Hao's arms had been shattered, blood flowing freely. Long Chen's punch had not only shattered his arm but had also injured his internal organs.

Even Long Chen himself was somewhat shocked. It seemed he had underestimated the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art. Even with an ordinary, Low Grade combat skill, under its operation, it had erupted with such terrifying power.

He walked slowly toward Li Hao. On the pin-drop quiet arena, Long Chen's footsteps were clearly audible, like a prelude to murder, stepping heavily upon everyone's hearts.

"Step… step… step…"

Li Hao's earlier anger had long since vanished. Now, his face full of fear, he watched Long Chen approach and stammered, "Don't… come over."

Li Hao wanted to retreat, but in his extreme terror, he found he couldn't muster a shred of strength. The approaching Long Chen was like a nightmare he could not escape.

"Don't… don't kill me. It was all instigated by Zhou Yaoyang," Li Hao said, his voice laced with tears.

Zhou Yaoyang's expression changed, and he couldn't help but roar, "Li Hao, what nonsense are you spouting?"

"I'm not spouting nonsense! It was you who told us to deal with Long Chen, saying you would give us benefits afterward. All of this is your fault!" Li Hao pointed at Zhou Yaoyang and hysterically cried out. In the face of death, he had forgotten everything.

"Li Hao, you are courting death!" Zhou Yaoyang's face turned livid, his eyes full of killing intent.

"Zhou Yaoyang, you bastard, you used me! Long Chen, I'll tell you, actually, Zhou Yaoyang is just a lackey. In fact…"

Suddenly, Long Chen felt a chill wash over him. He smelled the scent of death and, without a second thought, retreated violently.

However, after Long Chen retreated, nothing happened. When he looked back at Li Hao, he found that Li Hao's eyes had lost focus; he was already dead.

Long Chen's expression changed slightly. He looked into the crowd and saw a figure wearing a bamboo hat sprinting rapidly outward. With a few leaps, the figure disappeared from everyone's sight.

The sudden turn of events caused an uproar among the crowd. Clearly, that mysterious person had killed Li Hao.

"Long Chen wins!" After a brief period of chaos, the arena supervisor finally announced the final result.

Although Long Chen did not kill Li Hao, he had defeated him, and killing him would have been as easy as turning over his hand, so ruling Long Chen as the winner was beyond reproach.

With Long Chen's victory, countless people couldn't help but sigh. This result had caused them to lose everything.

But a few dozen people couldn't help but cheer wildly; they had bet on Long Chen to win. Fatty Yu and the others were howling like wolves.

No one paid any more attention to Li Hao lying on the arena. The arena authorities would naturally notify his family to come and collect the body.

Duels on the Life-Death Arena were protected by the laws of the Empire; no one was allowed to seek private revenge. Li Hao was merely a concubine's son, and his status was not particularly high. If he died, he died; it wouldn't cause much of a stir. This was the ferocity of the Phoenix Empire.

Long Chen came down from the stage and was welcomed like a hero by Fatty Yu and the others. Shi Feng gave Long Chen a fierce hug.

"Good lad, when did you become so ferocious? You didn't even tell me earlier. I was down there, and my heart was about to jump out," Shi Feng complained a little.

"Brother Long, oh no, Boss Long, from now on we're following you. You have to look out for us!" Fatty Yu and the others said, their eyes shining.

Long Chen laughed and said, "No problem. Let's go, let's go collect our winnings."

The group cheered, and under the envious gazes of countless people, Long Chen withdrew a full three million gold coins.

When the crystal card holding three million gold coins was placed in Long Chen's hand, Long Chen was even more excited than he had been when killing Li Hao.

He knew Li Hao was just a small fry. Now, what Li Hao had revealed before his death made him even more vigilant.

Originally, he had thought that him being bullied was just due to the disagreements between the older generation, but it seemed it was not a simple contest of strength, and he was merely a pawn.

He was just a trashy youth, and his family was dirt poor. To go to such lengths to deal with him, it was clearly aimed at his father.

"It seems very complicated."

However, looking at the three million gold coins in his hand, Long Chen couldn't help but feel immense confidence again. Could this be the legendary "having money makes one bold"?

After leaving with the others, Long Chen found a teahouse. After everyone celebrated wildly, Long Chen returned all the principal capital to everyone.

However, he kept the winnings. Long Chen gave everyone a promise that made them incredibly excited: everyone's future cultivation would be taken care of by Long Chen.

Fatty Yu and the others were ecstatic. They were all people who couldn't cultivate. If anyone else had said this, they wouldn't have believed it.

But Long Chen had originally been the same as them, yet now, he had killed Li Hao in one move. How real was that?

Hearing Long Chen say this, everyone was overjoyed. However, Long Chen told them to keep it a secret, and everyone nodded frantically.

Long Chen spoke so solemnly, and since it concerned everyone's future, and was even as important as their lives, they dared not take it lightly.

After Fatty Yu and the others left, Long Chen chatted with Shi Feng for a while. Shi Feng was a Genius, having the best Aptitude among the young nobles. He was already at the Qi Gathering Eighth Heaven and could step into the Nine Heavens at any time. Entering the Blood Condensation realm before the age of twenty should be no problem.

Through two observations, Shi Feng was definitely a person worth trusting. After asking about Shi Feng's current cultivation status, Long Chen parted ways with Shi Feng and headed straight for the Alchemist Guild.

The Alchemist Guild was located in the southernmost part of the Imperial Capital and was the most sacred place in the entire Imperial Capital. Even the Imperial family dared not be rude to the people of the Alchemist Guild.

It was said that the Alchemist Guild spanned the whole world, and this guild in the Imperial Capital was merely one of them.

Long Chen had come this time because he needed to take an exam for an Alchemist qualification certificate. After all, having a certificate would make it very convenient for him whether he was buying medicine or traveling through the Jianghu in the future.

No matter where it was, an Alchemist was a very scarce profession. With this certificate, Long Chen's status would be different. Even the Phoenix Empire would have to weigh things carefully if they wanted to move against him.

Most importantly, with this qualification certificate, he could buy rare medicinal herbs from the Alchemist Guild at extremely favorable prices, which could save a huge amount of money.

The Alchemist Guild covered only a dozen mu of land, but it was several dozen zhang high, very magnificent, making people feel awe.

Upon entering the main hall, two maids received Long Chen. When they heard that Long Chen had come to take the exam for Alchemist qualification, they couldn't help but be shocked.

Because Long Chen looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, and there was no fluctuation of cultivation on his body, but the two still brought Long Chen into the alchemy hall.

When Long Chen arrived, more than a dozen men in the hall were urging their pill flames, looking like they were refining medicine.

"Huh, why is it you?" Just as Long Chen arrived, an old man took a look with some surprise and couldn't help but ask.

Upon seeing the man, Long Chen was secretly furious. That old man was the very same black-hearted old man who had treated him; when there was clearly nothing wrong with him, the old man had insisted he might have amnesia and swindled away his mother's jewelry.

"I am here to take the Alchemist exam," Long Chen suppressed the anger in his heart; he would settle accounts with this old man later.

"Exam? Alchemist?" The old man looked Long Chen up and down. "It seems your injuries from last time haven't fully healed yet. You'd better go back and recuperate."

Long Chen frowned slightly and said, "I am indeed here for the exam."

The old man's face sank. "I don't have time to waste on a brat like you. Get lost quickly, or I'll have the guards throw you out."

Long Chen couldn't help but be secretly angry. Looking at the old man, he shouted, "If your ears are stuffed with green mold, I'll tell you one more time: I am here to take the Alchemist exam!"

By the end, Long Chen's voice had become a roar, spreading throughout the entire Alchemist Guild.

"Who is making such a loud noise here?" Suddenly, an old man with a refined face walked over with a displeased expression. Long Chen rolled his eyes, a mischievous smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.