Falling into despair

The kick Xia Changfeng delivered before he died gathered the strength of his entire life. Long Chen was sent flying over ten zhang directly, then rolled wretchedly on the ground for another four or five zhang before stopping.

Looking at the blood on the long saber in his hand and Xia Changfeng, whose corpse and head were already separated in the distance, Long Chen took a deep breath.

This Xia Changfeng had hidden himself too deeply. He felt great unease in his heart, always feeling as if something was about to happen.

That Blood Rakshasa Palm was definitely not Xia Changfeng's strongest move; it was just that he was unlucky and was caught by Long Chen in such a once-in-a-lifetime Opportunity.

The foundation of Long Chen's cultivation was not in his Dantian, but hidden within his Fengfu Star. Therefore, for that kick, Long Chen had no scruples, willing to risk mutual destruction to kill him.

He had a very strange feeling in his heart, a vague sense of threat that constantly lingered around him; it was an indescribable feeling.

He was afraid that Xia Changfeng had more terrifying methods, so once he caught this once-in-a-lifetime Opportunity, he naturally would not let it go.

Xia Changfeng thus became a confused ghost. However, the kick he delivered before dying was the culmination of his life's cultivation. Kicking Long Chen in the lower abdomen, the terrifying force caused Long Chen to spray blood wildly, his five viscera shaking violently, almost shattering.

He hurriedly swallowed a Viscera-Moistening Medicinal Pill to suppress his injuries, while secretly feeling fortunate in his heart that this Xia Changfeng was very powerful.

If it were based on true strength, it was hard to say whether he could take him down. Even if he did, he would likely have to pay a significant price; it would definitely not be as easy as it was now, showing just how important luck was.

Taking a deep breath, the blood poison on his hand had already been suppressed by the medicinal power and was slowly returning to its normal color.

The Medicinal Pill Long Chen kept by his side were all life-saving pills, all of High Grade level, which recovered very quickly. This was the capital of a Pill Cultivator.

Walking to the side of Xia Changfeng's corpse, he took off the spatial ring worn on his hand, though now was not the time to check his gains.

Without even looking at that head with eyes wide open in death, Long Chen rushed directly in the direction where A Man was fighting.

Now, A Man was shouting with abandon, the giant axe in his hand whistling with wind, actually becoming braver the more he fought. The giant axe swept back and forth, without any moves or forms, yet its power was astonishingly great.

Wang Mang, who had originally held his sword with one hand, was now holding his broadsword with both hands, his face full of horror as he clashed head-on with A Man.

Seeing this, Long Chen sighed in his heart. It seemed it was fated that Xia Changfeng should die. That Wang Mang was clearly a master with terrifying strength, yet he had a hot head and tried to compete with A Man in strength.

If it came to true strength, as long as he used a little technique, he could easily defeat A Man. However, the brains of strength-based warriors were perhaps just that hard to understand.

"Boom!"

With another explosive sound, Wang Mang was ultimately unable to withstand A Man, who seemed to possess infinite strength, and was sent flying by an axe strike.

Wang Mang no longer had his initial fury; at this moment, his face was filled with horror. He had defeated countless strong enemies relying on his Divine Power, but today, he had completely lost in terms of strength, suffering a crushing defeat.

"Pfft!"

Just as Wang Mang was staring at A Man with a complex expression, he did not know that a figure had appeared behind him, and a silent long saber slashed across his neck.

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

A Man suddenly saw Wang Mang's head severed by Long Chen's saber, and a look of fear appeared in his eyes.

"Clang!"

The mountain-cleaving battle axe in A Man's hand dropped to the ground.

Watching A Man look at Wang Mang's corpse with a face full of fear, Long Chen knew that this was the first time A Man had seen someone killed; this reaction was very normal.

"A Man, this is the cruelty of reality. If we want to live, they must die." Long Chen sighed and said.

"Brother Long, I'm fine." A Man shook his head and said, "As long as Brother Long thinks they deserve to die, they must deserve to die."

Long Chen gave a bitter smile; reasoning with A Man was impossible, but this trust A Man had in him still moved him deeply.

"Let's leave quickly…"

Just as Long Chen was about to take A Man and leave, he felt something was a bit off today. Suddenly, his whole body tightened, as if he had been targeted by an ancient primordial beast. A strong aura of death instantly enveloped him, and Long Chen felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Slowly turning his head, he saw a person standing on a cliff dozens of zhang high in the distance, looking at Long Chen indifferently.

Seeing that person appear, Long Chen's pupils suddenly constricted. He finally understood that the source of his fear was not from Xia Changfeng, but from this person.

"Clap, clap, clap."

The person extended his hands and gently clapped, saying with an admiring face, "With a Qi Gathering cultivation, you have continuously killed experts of the Blood Condensation Realm, and among them was even a Peak Blood Condensation stage expert. Hehe, I have to say, Long Chen, you are indeed a Genius, worthy of being Long Tianxiao's son."

The voice was full of a feminine and soft aura; that was the unique voice of Marquis Ying. At this moment, he was standing on the cliff, looking down at Long Chen, just like a demonic leopard looking at its prey.

Long Chen's heart tightened. No wonder he had been feeling palpitating with fear; it turned out he had been targeted by him.

Clearly, Marquis Ying had arrived long ago but had been hiding in the shadows, and only appeared after he had killed Xia Changfeng.

"Conspiracy."

Long Chen immediately thought of this word. Marquis Ying had come to kill him.

"Is the Fourth Prince the one who sent you?" Long Chen raised his foot and hooked the broadsword on the ground into his hand. That was Wang Mang's weapon; this heavy weapon could give him a trace of security.

Marquis Ying was stunned, then smiled indifferently, "What do you think?"

Long Chen shook his head and sighed, "I, Long Chen, considered myself smart, yet I unknowingly fell into the Fourth Prince's trap. What a calculation!"

"Why are you so sure that I was sent by the Fourth Prince, and not my own idea?" Marquis Ying stared at Long Chen and said.

"Because you wouldn't be angry at me over that little matter from last time. If you were, you wouldn't be Marquis Ying. Forbearance is your strong suit, otherwise you would have been slaughtered by my father long ago." Long Chen said with a firm tone.

At the same time, scenes flashed rapidly through his mind. Through the conversation with Marquis Ying, he confirmed that it was the Fourth Prince who wanted to kill him.

If one assumed from the beginning that the Fourth Prince was dealing with people from the Long family, then for this attempt to make him assassinate Xia Changfeng, the Fourth Prince had laid heavy groundwork.

First, at the end of the auction, he deliberately let that man in the bamboo hat who killed Li Hao appear, which was actually to make him recognize him.

That man in the bamboo hat should have appeared to be the First Prince's guard on the surface, but in reality, he was the Fourth Prince's man. The Fourth Prince's purpose in doing this was to transfer Long Chen's hatred to the First Prince.

And when he went to visit Chu Yao, he deliberately acted helpful, then admitted he had investigated matters regarding the Long family, but kept his mouth shut, yet vaguely revealed that the person behind the scenes was the First Prince.

The purpose of doing this was to confuse Long Chen, letting Long Chen think that the First Prince was the true mastermind, misleading Long Chen's line of sight.

Originally, Long Chen was only half-believing, but then the Fourth Prince pointed out the time and route of Xia Changfeng's departure, immediately leading Long Chen's train of thought away.

At that time, Long Chen had also weighed the options; this might be a strategy of using a knife to kill someone, but for Chu Yao's sake, even if he knew it was a conspiracy, he had to jump into it.

If the Fourth Prince betrayed him, at worst he could just directly join the Alchemist Guild and seek the protection of Great Master Yun Qi; no one would dare do anything to him.

However, Long Chen did not think the Fourth Prince was so stupid. Doing so would be equivalent to openly pushing himself toward hostility; a smart person wouldn't do that.

But now, with the appearance of Marquis Ying, Long Chen felt that he had thought too simply before; clearly, he had underestimated the Fourth Prince's methods.

Although a bit frustrated, Long Chen had to admit that he had been tricked. It was powerful strength that had clouded his mind, and now it had left him in a desperate situation.

"Long Chen, seeing you now, I seem to see the Long Tianxiao of the past, equally high-spirited, equally intelligent and wise."

"Back then, I was defeated by your father's hands, which was regarded as the greatest humiliation of my life. However, for so many years, I have never had the chance to take revenge."

"Now it's good; I can openly challenge Long Tianxiao. However, before I go, I need to prepare a welcoming gift first."

"You say, if I take his son's head and present it to him, what kind of expression will he have? Hehe, I believe that will definitely be very spectacular," Marquis Ying said with a smile, but his smile was filled with a chilling coldness.

"I think, for you to be mentioned in the same breath as my father is a humiliation to him. You have no confidence in defeating my father, so you came up with such a sinister trick."

"In front of my father, you will always be a loser. You don't even have the qualifications to challenge him now." Long Chen shook his head and said with a look of pity.

Marquis Ying's lukewarm expression finally changed, becoming incomparably ferocious. Clearly, Long Chen's words had pricked the pain in his heart.

Marquis Ying was successful in his youth and had extremely high talent, but he was born at the wrong time; in his generation, there appeared a Long Tianxiao.

He had challenged Long Tianxiao several times, all ending in failure. The last time, he was even slashed by Long Tianxiao, losing a finger.

Since then, Marquis Ying began to cultivate and train in seclusion, and he also began to become gloomy. Although he later also promoted to the Tendon Tempering Realm and became one of the three strongest in Fengming, he always remembered the crushing defeat under Long Tianxiao in his heart.

However, after he entered the Peak Middle Stage of the Tendon Tempering Realm, he discovered that with his missing finger, he could not enter the Late Stage of the Tendon Tempering Realm, and he hated Long Tianxiao to the bone even more.

Now, by chance, after obtaining the Flesh-Regenerating and Bone-Building Pill, he grew back a complete finger and finally broke through to the seventh level of the Tendon Tempering Realm, stepping into the Late Stage of the Tendon Tempering Realm.

At this moment, Marquis Ying was high-spirited, deciding that this time he must kill Long Tianxiao to wash away his past humiliation.

However, although he had promoted to the Late Stage of the Tendon Tempering Realm, Long Tianxiao had already become his Heart Demon. Regarding defeating Long Tianxiao, he did not have the confidence of a sure victory.

But today, there was an Opportunity to kill Long Chen. If he used Long Chen's head to enrage Long Tianxiao, it would invisibly increase his chances of winning.

Now that Long Chen had spoken out his purpose in one word, he could not help but be enraged from embarrassment, just like a hypocrite whose mask had been ruthlessly torn off by someone. Killing intent overflowed from Marquis Ying's eyes.

"How is it? Did I hit a sore spot? Are you feeling ashamed? Then just go smash your head on the cliff and die; it can end everything." Long Chen advised.

Although he said it lightly, he gripped the broadsword in his hand even tighter. At the same time, his Qi cyclone slowly circulated, his whole body tense.

"Little beast, die!"

Marquis Ying shouted angrily. A cold light appeared in mid-air, like a flash of lightning. When Long Chen realized it, he was horrified to discover that the long sword in Marquis Ying's hand was already pointing at his throat.