Crowded with people

To his surprise, in front of the usually quiet and deserted Marquis's mansion, a long line had formed, consisting entirely of middle-aged women in their forties and fifties.

He looked left and right, and confirmed that yes, this was indeed his home; Long Chen double-checked before walking toward the main gate.

At this moment, he saw Bao'er greeting them with a grin: "Everyone, take your time. Register first—name, height, measurements, portrait, and any special talents. It's best to note everything clearly."

"Young Miss, could you reveal what kind of daughter-in-law our Madam actually likes?" one woman asked with a fawning smile.

"Heehee, as long as she is virtuous, kind, and pretty, she'll basically pass. But if you want to know what Madam likes the most, it's best if her hips are slightly larger."

"I heard Madam say that women with big hips are the easiest to conceive. Let me tell you, our Madam has been dying to hold a grandson… Ahem, Young Master, you're back!" Bao'er was speaking with great excitement, but suddenly seeing the grim-faced Long Chen, she hurriedly stammered.

"Greetings, Young Master," those women hurriedly bowed.

Long Chen nodded, reached out to pull Bao'er into the inner courtyard, pointed at the women, and whispered angrily: "What are you all doing?"

"Young Master, yesterday at the lantern festival, you defeated the strong enemies of the Great Xia, won the title of First Warrior of Phoenix, and became the idol of countless young girls. Look, they've all come to propose marriage," Bao'er said with a laugh, covering her mouth.

"You only know how to make trouble. Where is my mother?"

"Madam is inside. Oh my, I almost forgot because you didn't mention it. Madam gave orders that as soon as you returned, you must go see her immediately," Bao'er said, slapping her forehead.

"Fine, I'm going. You'd better find a way to get rid of them. What is this supposed to be? A vegetable market?" Long Chen said impatiently.

"Heehee, I can't listen to you on this. Madam arranged for me to handle the reception, and I have to get back to work."

To his surprise, the usually obedient Bao'er ignored Long Chen and ran back to happily continue registering people.

Long Chen rolled his eyes and hurried to see his mother. Along the way, his mind was racing, trying to figure out how to fabricate a reasonable story to describe yesterday's events without worrying his mother.

But as soon as he entered his mother's room, before Long Chen could speak, his mother said with an angry look: "You brat, hurry up and get in here!"

Great, it seemed he wasn't going to have an easy time. Long Chen felt bitter, as he hadn't even come up with an excuse yet.

However, to Long Chen's surprise, Madam Long grabbed him and pointed to the portraits of beauties on the table:

"Chen'er, look, these nineteen young women were all carefully selected by me from over a hundred people."

"Whether it's their appearance, character, or background, they are all very well-matched with you. Take a look and see if you like any of them."

Seeing Long Chen still dazed, Madam Long urged: "What are you still staring for? Hurry up and look!"

"Alright… fine, I'll look."

Long Chen finally snapped back to reality and couldn't help but smile bitterly. It seemed his mother had completely forgotten about yesterday's events.

However, when he saw the portraits of the young women, Long Chen's expression turned slightly strange. At this moment, Madam Long said with a hint of pride:

"Chen'er, look, their figures are so good, especially their waists. And look at their hips—hehe, they are definitely the type that are easy to conceive with."

"If you marry them back, I tell you, within two months, they will definitely take root and sprout."

By the end, Madam Long was already overcome with joy, as if she could already see herself holding a bunch of babies in her eyes.

Drip!

Sweat instantly broke out on Long Chen's forehead.

"Mother, actually, I think this matter…" Long Chen said hurriedly.

"Stop, don't try to stall me. Before, I was worried you wouldn't find a suitable wife, but today so many have offered themselves, you are not allowed to waste them."

"I won't make it too hard for you. Today you must pick three for me. When the next batch arrives, you will pick again. Anyway, this time, at least ten, or else don't think about leaving the house in the future," Madam Long said righteously.

Long Chen's face turned green. Was this breeding cattle? But looking at his mother's serious expression, she seemed to be very earnest.

Just when Long Chen didn't know how to handle it, a rough voice came: "Brother Long!"

A tall figure rushed in and grabbed Long Chen: "Brother Long, I heard you got into a fight with someone yesterday. Why didn't you bring me along?"

Seeing A'man enter, Long Chen secretly called him a good brother; he had arrived at the perfect time.

"Mother, I still have some business to discuss with A'man. You go ahead and take your time picking. When you're done, I'll come back to take a look."

"You brat, you…"

Before Madam Long could finish, Long Chen had already pulled A'man and ran off.

"That rascal."

She muttered a low curse, but when she saw the portraits of the big-hipped and ample-breasted young women, Madam Long immediately beamed with joy, her face full of satisfaction.

"Brother Long, did you suffer any losses in the fight yesterday?" Back in Long Chen's room, A'man asked with concern.

"No. Your Brother Long is getting better at fighting. By the way, A'man, how are you coming along with the force-exertion method I taught you?" Long Chen asked.

He had taught A'man the route to circulate Spiritual Qi, but A'man's intelligence was really nothing to brag about.

If it weren't for Long Chen's powerful Soul strength, which allowed him to teach A'man step-by-step, anyone else would have either been exhausted to death or driven crazy with frustration.

Whenever cultivation was mentioned, A'man would get extremely excited: "Brother Long, I can now use the method you taught me to exert force."

"Really?" Long Chen was also overjoyed.

After thinking for a moment, he took A'man to an open space behind the mansion, pointed at a stone as tall as a person, and said: "Use your fist wind to shatter it for me."

"Alright!"

A'man agreed, sank his waist, planted his feet, and threw a punch.

"Whoosh."

A gust of wind blew past, but the stone didn't move an inch.

"That didn't work right. Let me try again," A'man said a bit awkwardly.

"Whoosh."

He threw another punch, a gust of wind blew past, but the stone still didn't move an inch.

"Strange. Let's try again."

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

Three consecutive punches later, the stone remained the same, and Long Chen's face darkened.

"A'man, is this what you meant by 'learned it'?"

"Yes. Usually, out of ten punches, at least three succeed. Why isn't it working today?" A'man said with some distress.

Hearing A'man's words, Long Chen nearly stumbled and fell. Did one have to rely on a success rate when fighting others?

Long Chen had a headache. This A'man was a classic case of someone sitting on a gold mine but still begging for food—it was truly speechless.

He pressed one hand against A'man's back and said: "Try again."

"Okay."

A'man threw another punch, but there was still no sound or effect.

"A'man, before throwing the punch, your intent must move first. First, stimulate your Dantian. Once the Dantian moves, then throw the punch."

"Remember, it is the Dantian that drives the fist, not the fist driving the Dantian," Long Chen said.

He finally caught the root of A'man's stubborn problem: A'man was throwing the punch first, then using the power of his meridians to drive the Dantian. Although this method could work…

…it resulted in the success rate A'man mentioned. For those who have cultivated for a long time, that might not be a problem, but for A'man, it was too difficult.

"Come, try again. Don't be in a rush to punch. First, circulate your Dantian. Good, the Dantian is circulating. Now, punch!"

"Boom!"

With a loud explosion, the giant stone, taller than a person and weighing nearly a thousand catties, was shattered by A'man's punch. Sand and stones flew everywhere, and the Aura was astonishing.

"Brother Long, I succeeded!"

A'man shouted with great joy.

Long Chen nodded. Although he appeared calm on the surface, he was inwardly shocked. A'man's strength had become even greater.

Just based on that one punch, A'man's strength could almost rival that of Huang Shang at the Late Stage of Blood Condensation.

Although it still couldn't compare to him using Beast Transformation, A'man had his own advantages, because A'man's punch just now had too many flaws.

Moreover, he only used a sliver of the power in his Dantian, not driving it with full force. It could be said that A'man's potential was terrifying.

"Good, try it one more time," Long Chen encouraged.

"Whoosh."

A'man threw another punch, but this one was just an empty punch again.

For a while, Long Chen looked at A'man, and A'man looked at Long Chen. The two stared at each other for a full quarter of an hour, and Long Chen remained silent.

Finally, A'man patted his head in frustration and said: "Brother Long, am I too stupid?"

"I really want to say you aren't, but I've heard that people who lie get struck by lightning, so I dare not say it," Long Chen said, looking at the sky with some concern.

"Then what should I do?" A'man asked, very dejectedly.

"Starting tomorrow, don't stay in the mansion. Go back to the ranch," Long Chen said.

"Brother Long, you… you aren't abandoning me, are you?" A'man was terrified and said with a look of horror.

Long Chen couldn't help but laugh. He patted A'man's thick shoulder and said: "What kind of joke is that? We are brothers of life and death."

"Then why send me to the ranch?" A'man asked.

"Starting tomorrow, you go to the ranch. You must solve your own meals. If you want to eat beef, kill the cow yourself."

"But there is one condition: you must use your own True Qi to kill the cow, otherwise you will have to go hungry. Go on," Long Chen said.

A'man agreed and walked out. Watching A'man's retreating figure, a trace of helplessness flashed in Long Chen's heart.

A'man's intelligence was truly worrying. Sometimes he hesitated whether to keep A'man by his side; otherwise, given his intelligence, it was just too dangerous.

A'man was an honest person—so honest that his brain couldn't turn corners—so he would never slack off on anything Long Chen ordered him to do.

Long Chen did this to get him accustomed to using Spiritual Qi; otherwise, when facing enemies in the future, if his punches still relied on probability, it would be no different from throwing his life away.

Anyway, A'man's appetite was getting larger and larger; a daily consumption of over a hundred cows was enough for his training.

This was turning appetite into strength. Once using Spiritual Qi became a habit, A'man's strength would skyrocket to a level that even Long Chen found terrifying.

After arranging things for A'man, Long Chen returned to his room. Along the way, seeing those women lining up and Bao'er still busy as a bee, Long Chen broke out in a sweat again.

He ordered his servants that he was going into seclusion, and unless it was something of earth-shattering importance, they were not to disturb him.

After resolving everything, Long Chen began his seclusion. Already at the Eighth Heaven of Qi Gathering, he needed to advance to the Nine Heavens in one go, and then directly step into the Blood Condensation realm.

Only after entering the Blood Condensation realm would he have true self-preservation strength. He did not like things being out of his control.

"Just you wait, those who have been plotting against me. Let me see your true faces."