Give me air

"Long Chen, how are you?" Tang Wan'er asked with a face full of concern, a hint of guilt appearing in her beautiful eyes.

She had been careless just now, allowing Lei Qianshang to seize an opening; once again, she had ended up implicating Long Chen.

"Goddess, you're showing so much concern for me. Does this mean you've started to see me in a different light?" Long Chen looked at Tang Wan'er with a grin, winking and speaking with mischievous intent.

Seeing Long Chen's expression, the trace of guilt in Tang Wan'er's heart vanished instantly.

The Long Chen from before—the one with pride reaching the clouds and heroic spirit filling the sky—must have been possessed by a ghost. This rogue-like fellow before her was the true person.

"You bastard, are you looking for death?" Tang Wan'er's eyes flashed with anger as she glared at Long Chen.

"Hehe, that's more like it. I still prefer how you look right now," Long Chen said with a chuckle.

"You really are a glutton for punishment. Here I am trying to speak nicely to you… Bastard, who wants you to like me? How dare you take advantage of me!" Tang Wan'er finally reacted, grabbing Long Chen by the collar in a rage.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Goddess, this is bad for your image! The brothers are all watching. We were just fighting to the death for you, and now you're turning around to kill the donkey once the grinding is done? Treating a hero so roughly, aren't you afraid of chilling the brothers' hearts?" Long Chen said with a face full of grievance.

Tang Wan'er's face flushed crimson. Only then did she notice the people around them staring at her in shock, and she hurriedly let go of Long Chen.

"Ahem, I've seen everyone's performance today. Once I secure the Core Disciple position, I definitely won't forget your contributions."

"Alright, everyone can disperse now. Although you've all collected enough jade plaques, there are many Opportunities within this trial ground. Everyone should go try their luck. Time is precious, so don't delay."

After Tang Wan'er finished speaking, everyone cheered. Through this battle, they had proven their loyalty to her. Now that their goal was achieved, they scattered one after another.

In the end, only Qing Yu, Tang Wan'er, and Long Chen remained. Qing Yu carefully dug out the Nine-Leaf Orchid and handed it to Tang Wan'er.

Tang Wan'er looked at the Nine-Leaf Orchid, unable to put it down. Her beautiful eyes curved into crescents, and she was extremely happy.

"Sister Qing Yu, you should go too and try your luck," Tang Wan'er said as she put away the Nine-Leaf Orchid.

If Qing Yu left, wouldn't he have to face Tang Wan'er alone? Long Chen was startled and hurriedly said, "Sister Qing Yu, you can't leave!"

Qing Yu was just about to depart when she paused, startled. "What? Is something wrong?"

"Ahem, your little brother is currently heavily injured. I hope Sister can stay by my side to look after me for a bit. After all, I'm… well, more familiar with Sister Qing Yu, right?"

Long Chen looked at Qing Yu with burning eyes, hoping she would agree immediately. He was truly afraid of being alone with Tang Wan'er.

Although Tang Wan'er appeared gentle and lovely, matching her name, Long Chen always felt that this girl was very dangerous.

Qing Yu didn't know what Long Chen was thinking and felt his words made sense. She nodded and was about to speak when Tang Wan'er suddenly cut in:

"Sister Qing Yu, no matter how you look at it, Long Chen was injured because of me. Even if there's 'caring' to be done, it should be by me. Otherwise, I truly wouldn't feel at ease," Tang Wan'er said softly, wearing an expression of deep guilt.

Qing Yu nodded and said, "Wan'er, you've finally grown up and learned how to take care of others. This is a good thing. For us cultivators, the most important thing is to repay kindness. When receiving a drop of water…"

"Ah, Sister Qing Yu, look, Long Chen is injured. He needs a quiet place to heal. Why don't you go ahead and get busy first?" Tang Wan'er said with a slight smile.

"Alright, you two be careful as well."

Qing Yu nodded, completely ignoring Long Chen's resentful gaze, and finally disappeared at the end of the valley. For a moment, the entire valley was empty save for the two of them. A mountain breeze blew past, making Long Chen feel a chill deep in his heart.

Tang Wan'er looked at Long Chen, a smile appearing on her pretty face like a blooming flower. She didn't say a word, just staring at him like that.

"Uh, beautiful, could you not scare me like this? I feel a chill in my bones," Long Chen said, feeling a bit unnerved by her stare.

Logically speaking, being stared at by a beauty—especially one with world-toppling looks—should be a form of happiness.

But when that beauty is looking at you with ill intent, it's not happiness, but a form of torture.

"You're so bold, so why would you feel a chill?" Tang Wan'er said with a beaming smile, taking two steps forward to get even closer to Long Chen.

Long Chen couldn't help but take a step back, saying in shock, "What do you want to do? I'm telling you, even if you get my body, you won't get my heart!"

"You bastard!"

Tang Wan'er could no longer restrain herself. She grabbed Long Chen's collar and fumed, "What kind of person do you think I, Tang Wan'er, am? Would I ever fall for a rogue bastard like you? What 'body', what 'heart'? How can you be so thick-skinned!"

While being held by Tang Wan'er, Long Chen looked at her face so close to his. Though it was filled with anger, her porcelain skin was flushed with a healthy pink, like a ripe peach that made one want to take a bite.

Furthermore, waves of a young girl's fragrance drifted into Long Chen's nose. Such an atmosphere made it far too easy for one's thoughts to wander. Even with Long Chen's strong willpower, he couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Bastard, you're actually looking at me with those lecherous eyes! Believe it or not, I'll gouge them out!" Seeing the strange look in Long Chen's eyes, Tang Wan'er shouted in shame and anger.

Hearing this, Long Chen quickly closed his eyes. His mind was a mess right now. He would rather fight Lei Qianshang than face Tang Wan'er.

"Bastard, you're closing your eyes? Are you trying to provoke me? You won't even look at me?" Tang Wan'er continued relentlessly.

Long Chen couldn't help but roll his eyes internally. This woman was a devil. Compared to her, Chu Yao and Meng Qi were far too gentle. He felt a wave of nostalgia.

"That day was clearly your fault, yet you dared to call me shameless. In all my years, that was the first time someone insulted me. Tell me, aren't you a bastard?" Tang Wan'er said, incensed as she recalled that day.

*Pfft!*

Long Chen, who had remained silent, suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, splattering it all over Tang Wan'er. She froze, noticing the unhealthy paleness on Long Chen's face.

Only then did she remember that Long Chen had been hit by Lei Qianshang's sneak attack and had been planted with a Lightning Seed, suffering a heavy injury.

"I'm sorry, I forgot you were hurt," Tang Wan'er said in a panic. She gently supported Long Chen and helped him sit down against a rock.

Long Chen had indeed been hit by Lei Qianshang's attack. That power of lightning was extremely sinister, attaching itself inside Long Chen's body like oil mixed into flour, making it very difficult to remove.

This was why it was called a Lightning Seed; it was like a seed planted in another's body, constantly destroying their bodily functions and causing endless pain.

Furthermore, Lei Qianshang clearly knew how powerful Long Chen was. The lightning power he injected was entirely his Origin energy. While it wouldn't kill Long Chen, it was enough to make him suffer months of torture, unable to cultivate.

However, he had underestimated Long Chen's body. At that time, if Long Chen had been willing, he could have instantly dispelled it by summoning the full form of the Fengfu Battle Body.

But Long Chen hadn't done that because Lei Qianshang's attack had made him think of a problem: the Heavenly Tribulation he had experienced for the first time.

During that tribulation, the Spirit Realm expert had said it was only a tribulation against Long Chen's will. Yet, even that had nearly turned Long Chen into charcoal.

Long Chen estimated that such tribulations would definitely happen again, becoming more frequent and powerful in the future.

The lightning power within Lei Qianshang's body gave him an idea for a way to resist the Heavenly Tribulation: first, he had to increase his immunity to lightning.

It was a crude method: constantly being hit by lightning attacks to let his body gradually adapt and develop resistance.

This led him to target Lei Qianshang. Since the guy disliked him anyway, he might as well keep him as an enemy; he wouldn't have to worry about lacking a sparring partner in the future.

When Lei Qianshang attacked him earlier and planted the lightning power, Long Chen suddenly saw a possibility. He chose not to block or dodge, letting the lightning power drive straight in.

Not only did Long Chen not expel the lightning power, but to prevent it from escaping, he closed off all his meridians, locking it firmly within his body.

However, Long Chen wasn't Lei Qianshang after all. This was his first time dealing with lightning, and dealing with it internally was extremely taxing.

While bickering with Tang Wan'er just now, he couldn't concentrate on fighting the lightning. As a result, it damaged his internal organs, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Hearing Tang Wan'er suddenly become gentle, Long Chen's heart stirred. He simply allowed the lightning power to run wild in his body, making his aura even more chaotic.

"Miss Wan'er, I'm truly… sorry. I was born a bastard. I hope you can forgive my rudeness."

"Actually, in my heart, you are a holy goddess who cannot be desecrated. I feel like I'm not going to make it. I hope you can forgive me so I can depart in peace." Long Chen's aura grew erratic, and his eyes began to glaze over.

Tang Wan'er was startled. At first, she thought Long Chen was playing around, but upon probing with her Soul power, she was horrified to find that Long Chen's organs were actually starting to fail. That couldn't be faked. She panicked instantly.

"Long Chen, you'll be fine! I have high-grade Medicinal Pills here. I'll give them to you to swallow." Tang Wan'er hurriedly took out a pill from her spatial ring.

Long Chen shook his head and said weakly, "It's no use. You should be able to sense it. The lightning power has already filled every single meridian in my body."

"How did it come to this? That bastard Lei Qianshang is too cruel!" Tang Wan'er said through gritted teeth. She also saw Long Chen's condition, and her heart sank.

Lightning power invading the organs wasn't a huge issue; one only needed to mobilize Spiritual Qi to slowly expel it. But entering the meridians was like billions of steel needles being inserted into them, destroying their structure. Even if the person survived, they would be crippled.

If Lei Qianshang heard Tang Wan'er's words, he would have spat blood in anger. Even if he were ten thousand times stronger, he couldn't possibly distribute lightning power so evenly into someone else's meridians.

That was because Long Chen hadn't defended at all and had even used his own power to guide Lei Qianshang's energy. To put it bluntly, it was a collaborative effort between the two.

*Cough, cough, cough…* Long Chen coughed violently, his face flushed as if his end were near. He seemed to have difficulty breathing and wanted to say something but couldn't.

Long Chen pointed to his mouth, looking at Tang Wan'er with a face full of entreaty. Tang Wan'er's mouth dropped open in disbelief as she said:

"You want me to give you my breath?"