highway robbery

In front of Long Chen stood three people: two old men and one youth. The old men had white hair and beards, but they were full of vigor and did not look like they were about to kick the bucket.

As for that youth, he looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. His appearance was decent and quite clean, but his nose was pointed toward the sky, and he had an expression that looked down on everyone, as if everyone owed him money, which ruined his otherwise decent image.

"Stop."

Seeing Long Chen arrive, the youth let out a cold shout, completely disregarding the fact that Long Chen was riding on the back of Little Snow.

"Is this how you greet newcomers?" Long Chen looked at the three of them, feeling a bit strange, and asked.

"Greet newcomers? Hehe, that's right, we are here to greet newcomers. Kid, this young master doesn't want to waste words with you. Hand over your spatial ring to avoid suffering physical pain," the youth said arrogantly.

Long Chen was stunned. He had traveled for so long and was just about to reach the Xuantian Branch, only to encounter highway robbers.

"Kid, are you a fool? This young master has made himself very clear. Be quick about it, don't delay this young master's business," the youth said impatiently, seeing Long Chen dazed.

Only then did Long Chen notice that the Aura on this kid was actually at the Late Stage of the Blood Condensation Realm, and the two old men behind him were surprisingly experts at the Tendon Transformation Realm.

"Robbing a Xuantian Branch Disciple within the territory of the Xuantian Branch, you really have quite some nerve," Long Chen said, unable to help but admire them.

"Cut the crap. First, this is not yet the territory of the Xuantian Branch; it is at least a hundred miles away before entering their borders.

Second, you haven't passed the Xuantian Branch's assessment yet, so you don't count as a Xuantian Branch Disciple at all.

Third, don't mention that trashy branch. They insist on some damn registration note. Just thinking about it makes me angry. A Genius like this young master, and they actually refuse to accept me.

And a kid like you who is only at the Middle Stage of the Blood Condensation Realm actually has the qualifications to enter the Xuantian Branch. This is simply unreasonable. Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and hand over your spatial ring."

By the end, the youth's voice had turned into a roar, his face full of indignation as he pointed at Long Chen and shouted angrily.

Long Chen was taken aback, then immediately understood. This kid must have come here for the fame, and his family probably had some power; otherwise, he wouldn't have two Tendon Transformation Realm experts protecting him.

After arriving here, he realized that the Xuantian Branch required a registration note to take the assessment. Seeing the kid's indignant appearance, he was likely kicked out.

Feeling unbalanced in his heart, he actually took his anger out on people like himself who came to register. It was truly laughable.

"I deeply sympathize with Your Excellency's situation, but it is good for young people to hit a few walls. After all, you are still young, and seeing the world is much better than being a seasoned bumpkin," Long Chen said sympathetically.

"Kid, you are courting death!" The youth was furious. With a clatter, a long sword appeared in his hand, pointing straight at Long Chen.

Long Chen's expression turned cold: "Do not point that scrap metal in your hand at me. That will make me very unhappy."

"Don't think you can be arrogant just because you have a Second-Stage Demonic Beast mount. You are the bumpkin who has never seen the world!"

The youth cursed loudly, shaking the long sword in his hand as he floated toward Long Chen. Sword light scattered in all directions, and the cold air was biting. Although his cultivation was only at the Blood Condensation Realm, his Aura was so strong that it was not inferior to an average Tendon Transformation Realm expert.

Looking at this youth, Long Chen felt a slight shiver, even though he didn't put this youth in front of him in his eyes.

But he saw a problem from this youth: being able to erupt with an Aura comparable to a Tendon Transformation Realm expert while at the Blood Condensation Realm, with solid Qi and a stable Foundation, this was definitely a Genius.

Yet, such a Genius didn't even have the qualifications to enter the Xuantian Branch and was directly expelled. It showed just how strict the Xuantian Branch was in selecting Disciples.

Based on this, I'm afraid this Xuantian Branch is truly a place where hidden Dragons and crouching Tigers reside. For the first time, Long Chen felt a sense of pressure, but at the same time, he began to feel excited, looking forward even more to life after entering the Xuantian Branch.

"You still dare to be dazed? Go to hell!"

Seeing that Long Chen had no intention of making a move from beginning to end, and even seemed to be thinking about something, the youth was ignored.

This made the youth furious. Originally, he only wanted to scare Long Chen, but suddenly his long sword changed, striking straight at Long Chen's chest. Clearly, this time he wanted to severely injure Long Chen.

"Why go through all this trouble?" Long Chen sighed and said with a pitiful expression.

"Bang."

Just as the youth was about to pounce in front of Long Chen, a giant claw slapped down, heavily hitting the front of the youth, and the youth immediately flew backward like a cannonball.

"Puff."

Blood sprayed wildly in mid-air. The two old men, who had been watching their young master rob people with composure, suddenly changed their expressions and acted together to catch the youth flying back.

"You… puff."

The youth looked at Long Chen, who was sitting on Little Snow and still smiling, wanting to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, another mouthful of blood sprayed out.

"A Third-Stage Demonic Beast? You actually have a Third-Stage Demonic Beast mount?" The two old men looked at Long Chen in horror.

Long Chen smiled slightly. On the road here, he felt that if he rode a Third-Stage Demonic Beast into the Xuantian Branch, it would be too ostentatious, so he had Little Snow conceal its Aura and used medicine to dye the patch of red fur on Little Snow's head white. Without this obvious sign, very few people could recognize Little Snow's true form.

In the eyes of others, although Little Snow was huge, it was only a Second-Stage Demonic Beast. As a result, the moment Little Snow made a move, it exposed its cultivation.

The violent Aura of the Third-Stage Demonic Beast made the two old men tremble, and at the same time, they secretly complained in their hearts.

This time, they had kicked an iron plate. They had originally come with the young master to register, arriving in high spirits, only to leave in a dejected manner. Let alone the youth, even the two of them felt extremely frustrated.

So when the youth suggested robbing passing Disciples, they agreed. On one hand, it was to relieve the young master's depression; on the other hand, they also wanted to see how strong the branch's registrants were and why their young master was turned away.

They had just encountered a weak-looking youth, and were full of joy, ready to let their young master bully someone else, but it turned into this situation.

"You know what to do now, right?" Long Chen looked at the three of them indifferently, implying something.

"Young hero, we have offended you today. We will leave now."

One old man said hurriedly, and after speaking, he gave a wink to the other old man, meaning that they had lost today and should leave quickly.

However, the other old man was a bit hesitant. He looked at Long Chen coldly and suddenly said: "Kid, you want to hide your little tricks from me? Although you have a Third-Stage Demonic Beast mount, there are two of us. As long as we restrain your dog, you are a piece of trash. It's ridiculous that you dare to bluff me."

Long Chen frowned, looking at the old man who analyzed it so logically and asked: "Then what do you mean?"

"Kid, I won't speak in riddles. My young master doesn't care about things from poor ghosts like you; he just wants some fun.

Now that your Demonic Beast has injured the young master, you would normally be unable to escape death. However, this is the border of the Xuantian Branch, and we don't want to kill anyone.

But while the death penalty can be avoided, the living penalty cannot. You obediently hand over your spatial ring, kowtow and apologize to my young master, and let our young master beat you up to vent his anger, and that will be enough."

The old man suddenly pointed at Little Snow and said: "This beast injured my young master; it must die."

Long Chen looked at the gesturing old man with an expression as if looking at an idiot, shook his head, and said: "As expected of a bumpkin, did you eat too much brain-dead medicine? You still don't understand my meaning until now? Is your brain filled with manure?"

"Impudent brat!"

Seeing that Long Chen ignored his goodwill, the old man was furious. His entire body's Aura erupted, and a powerful Qi locked onto Long Chen.

Long Chen seemed not to notice, just looking at him indifferently. Now, after this period of cultivation, Long Chen had advanced from the original Fourth Heaven of the Blood Condensation Realm to the Sixth Heaven of the Blood Condensation Realm.

Perhaps it was because of practicing the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art, every time he advanced, Long Chen could feel his body undergoing earth-shaking changes.

Along with the strengthening of his Physical Body, Long Chen's self-confidence became stronger and stronger. This was not arrogance, but a kind of invincible Dao Heart, not changing color when the sky collapses, and not changing expression in life or death.

When Long Chen first saw the three of them, he instinctively had a sense, and had a preliminary estimate of their cultivation and combat power.

The combat power of those two Tendon Transformation Realm old men was similar to Xia Youyu during the battle in the Imperial Capital. At that time, Long Chen didn't take him to heart, let alone now?

The moment the old man erupted with his Aura, he immediately felt a bit strange. Long Chen was clearly right there, allowing his Aura to lock onto him.

But when his Aura locked onto Long Chen, Long Chen seemed to become illusory again. It seemed locked, yet it seemed not locked.

"Whoosh."

The old man stepped on his feet, leaving a trail of phantom images, and had already floated above Long Chen's head, slapping down at Long Chen with one palm.

"Arrogant brat, today the old man will teach you how to respect your elders."

"Slap."

A mocking smile appeared on the corner of Long Chen's mouth. He also reached out and slapped. The two large hands met in the air, emitting a loud explosion, and the air waves rolled.

But what shocked everyone was that, facing the strike of a Tendon Transformation Realm expert, Long Chen's body didn't even sway.

"For an old idiot like you, I really can't see what makes you worthy of my, Long Chen's, respect."

Suddenly, he increased the strength in his hand. The old man's expression changed drastically. He felt his palm being grabbed by Long Chen, like an iron hoop. His palm was in severe pain and almost broke.

"Get lost!"

Long Chen gave a shout, and with a force of his arm, the old man immediately traced an arc and was thrown out by Long Chen like a sandbag.

"Bang bang bang bang… puff."

Continuous explosions sounded. The power of Long Chen's throw was unusually large. The old man flew out over a hundred feet, breaking several large trees in succession, and finally hit a rock before stopping his body, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

For a moment, the scene became extremely quiet. The youth, who had been seriously injured, also seemed to have forgotten his injuries, looking at Long Chen on Little Snow's back with a shocked face.

"Do you know what to do now?"

Long Chen looked at them, a shy smile appearing on his face, but with a trace of cunning deep in his eyes.