Huang Shang’s Challenge

Long Chen looked up and saw a sturdy man standing in the center of the arena, cupping his hands to the crowd.

Long Chen did not recognize the man, but he looked very young. As soon as he stepped onto the stage, the entire audience erupted in cheers; it seemed he was well-connected.

Only then did Long Chen notice that the area outside the plaza was also packed with people. It turned out the first half of the Lantern Festival was only open to the young nobles, giving young men and women a chance to mingle.

The subsequent competition for the First Warrior was unrestricted and completely open. Long Chen noticed that many new people had appeared in the Empress Dowager's viewing area, and he caught a glimpse of the Marquis of the Wilds among them.

Those people were older, but their blood and Qi were surging. They were all experts in the Blood Condensation Realm, and they carried a faint Killing Intent, clearly marking them as true powerhouses.

Just as Long Chen was sizing them up, another cheer erupted. A man leaped over a zhang into the air and landed lightly on the arena stage, his movements very elegant.

"It's actually Feng Yang," Shi Feng said, looking at the man with some surprise.

"What? You know him?" Long Chen asked.

"Yes, he is the same age as me. He joined the army two years ago. Back then, he was only at the third level of the Qi Gathering Realm, but now he has actually reached the eighth level."

In just two short years, crossing five small stages was indeed shocking.

"It's nothing. After joining the army, one often executes various missions. That is a true life-and-death tempering, so this speed is normal," Long Chen nodded, looking at the man.

"This Feng Yang is quite good. Although his cultivation is not high, the trace of Killing Intent he carries is incomparable to those children raised in honey pots."

Just as Long Chen and Shi Feng were talking, Feng Yang and the other man had already started fighting, just as Long Chen had expected.

Although the previous man looked strong and had the same cultivation level as Feng Yang, his actual combat power was far inferior. In less than ten rounds, he was struck off the stage by Feng Yang's palm.

"In the martial path, higher cultivation does not always mean stronger combat power. Sometimes, a spirit of pushing forward without fear will make the opponent terrified and lose confidence, causing their combat power to drop significantly."

"Therefore, if you want to go further on the martial path, you need a heart towards martial arts, to break through thorns and brambles, and to never give up," Long Chen patted Shi Feng on the shoulder and said.

"I know, I will. I can die, but I cannot yield," Shi Feng nodded.

Long Chen smiled slightly. Shi Feng was limited by his natural talent, and his path of cultivation was rough, but if his Dao Heart was firm enough, perhaps a miracle could still occur.

"Bang!" After defeating three experts in a row, Feng Yang finally exhausted his strength. He was knocked back by a punch and had to concede.

"Long Chen, I'm going."

"Hm? So early? Can you handle the wheel battles later?" Long Chen asked, somewhat surprised.

"I treat this competition as a form of cultivation. The result is not important; what matters is that I need to firm up my heart towards martial arts," Shi Feng smiled and said.

"Good, Brother Shi, we will cheer for you here," Fatty Yu said, giving him plenty of Face. They had all been looking forward to Shi Feng taking the stage.

"Go for it," Long Chen patted Shi Feng's shoulder.

"Shi Feng has come to learn."

With Shi Feng's shout, which sounded like a thunderclap across the plaza, the entire audience erupted in cheers like a tidal wave. Clearly, Shi Feng was quite famous among the younger generation in the Imperial Capital.

The shouts from Fatty Yu and the others were drowned out by the tidal wave of cheers; they couldn't even hear themselves, and they looked at each other, extremely embarrassed.

Shi Feng had a dark complexion and a composed demeanor. Standing there, he felt like a great mountain that no one could shake.

The person facing Shi Feng was a powerhouse at the ninth level of the Qi Gathering Realm, but upon seeing Shi Feng, his heart tightened, and he was actually stunned.

"Make your move. I will only use the strength of the ninth level of Qi Condensation," Shi Feng smiled slightly.

Upon hearing this, the man couldn't help but feel angry. With so many people watching below the stage, this made it impossible for him to save Face.

"Hmph, who needs you to go easy on me?" The man snorted coldly, tapped the ground with his foot, and punched down towards Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng seemed not to see the punch at all.

"Isn't this Shi Feng too arrogant?"

"Whoosh." Just when everyone thought Shi Feng was being arrogant, the man attacking him arrived with a second punch, aiming straight for Shi Feng's lower abdomen. The first move had actually been a feint.

"Pa." A large hand blocked the man's fist, making a dull thud. Shi Feng grabbed the man's hand and exerted force.

"Get lost!"

"Whoosh." The crowd gasped as the man's body flew into the air, traveling several zhang before slamming heavily onto the ground, falling Face-first.

After landing, the man spat out the mud from his mouth, cursed a few times, turned around, and left, not even watching the rest of the competition.

"Brother Shi is mighty!" Fatty Yu and the others seized the opportunity and were the first to shout this slogan. Following their cries, a huge round of applause erupted.

This applause was mixed with the cheers of countless young girls. Long Chen smiled slightly; no wonder so many people liked to get on stage—this was the best way for male creatures to attract females.

Just then, Long Chen suddenly felt something and looked toward the viewing area on the other side, just in time to see Chu Yao's beautiful eyes staring at him.

Long Chen smiled slightly and winked. Chu Yao's pretty Face suddenly turned red, and she hurriedly lowered her head, but her beautiful eyes were full of joy.

However, neither Long Chen nor Chu Yao noticed that this small, subtle action of theirs had fallen into a pair of eyes.

Xia Changfeng's Face was livid. He suddenly whispered to someone beside him, "How did your investigation go? Did you find out his background?"

"Replying to Master, this subordinate has investigated. This kid's cultivation is strange; he never shows his true cultivation. However, his real combat power does not exceed the Early Stage of the Blood Condensation Realm," the man whispered.

If Long Chen were here, he would immediately recognize the man's accent; it was the person who had disguised himself as an assassin to ambush him when he left the house.

"Hmph, that's good. Huang Shang, I want him dead tonight. Try not to reveal too many trump cards," Xia Changfeng snorted coldly.

The Huang Shang he mentioned was his personal guard, the scarred man. A cruel smile appeared on Huang Shang's lips as he said, "Master, rest assured, he will definitely not live past tonight."

"Bang!" It had to be said that Shi Feng, having entered the Blood Condensation Realm, was unstoppable, defeating eighteen opponents in a row, causing the entire audience to boil with excitement.

The last two opponents were also experts in the Blood Condensation Realm, but in terms of combat power, they were far inferior to Shi Feng.

After all, Shi Feng had only broken through to the Blood Condensation Realm with Long Chen's help. His Realm was much more solid than others, giving him a huge advantage.

When the last Blood Condensation Realm expert was defeated, Shi Feng shouted three times on the stage, but no one came up.

According to the rules of the competition, the title of this year's Phoenix Cry First Warrior had already fallen into Shi Feng's pocket.

Amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd, Shi Feng walked to the Empress Dowager and knelt on the ground. The Empress Dowager bestowed a jade tablet upon Shi Feng and then offered a few words of encouragement.

When Shi Feng returned to the stage, the audience became even more excited. Countless young girls rushed onto the stage and placed their flower garlands on Shi Feng's head and neck.

Those garlands were handmade by each girl and served as a token of affection. Upon seeing a man they admired, they would offer it to him. If the man accepted it, it meant he accepted the girl's heart.

Each garland was embroidered with the owner's maiden name to make it easy for the recipient to find them. In the Phoenix Cry Empire, the more powerful a man was, the more wives and concubines he had. Therefore, most girls would rather marry a man with many wives and concubines as a concubine than marry a mediocre man as a principal wife.

When Shi Feng came back, his whole body was covered in garlands, with only his head visible; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to walk.

"Hahaha, Shi Feng, congratulations," Long Chen looked at this comical sight and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Wow, wow, Shi Feng, you've struck it rich this time," Monkey said with an envious look.

"What rich? Shi Feng is not a human trafficker. However, Brother Shi, you should tidy up when you go back. You have to at least pick a few wives," Fatty Yu laughed and scolded.

Those girls handing their garlands to Shi Feng meant they were willing to marry him. As long as Shi Feng nodded and gave the betrothal gifts, he could marry them, which was very convenient.

Shi Feng couldn't help but blush and said, "Shi Feng can have today all thanks to Long Chen's help. How about this, let's split these garlands."

"Pfft." Everyone, including Long Chen, burst out laughing. Only Shi Feng could come up with the idea of splitting these things.

Seeing everyone laughing, Shi Feng realized he had been foolish, and everyone couldn't help but laugh.

Originally, this year's Lantern Festival should have ended at this time. Just as everyone was preparing to disperse, Xia Changfeng suddenly smiled and said:

"This competition was truly wonderful and left one wanting more. I have a suggestion; I don't know if I should say it."

The Empress Dowager frowned slightly. There had already been enough trouble today, and she didn't want any more complications. However, Xia Changfeng was a guest, and it wouldn't be appropriate to refuse him Face, so she said, "Prince Xia, please speak freely."

"In order to add to the fun, our side would also like to send a young man to have a friendly spar with the talents of Phoenix Cry, to see who is stronger," Xia Changfeng smiled and said.

Before the Empress Dowager could speak, Wei Cang interjected, "Great Xia and Phoenix Cry are as close as family. I believe the Empress Dowager will not refuse a small friendly spar."

The Empress Dowager couldn't help but sigh. This was clearly using words to pressure her. If she didn't agree, she would offend Wei Cang.

"Then let it be as the Great Master says. Let us witness the demeanor of the men of Great Xia. I wonder who will take the stage?"

"Huang Shang, you go. Remember to hold back and don't hurt the harmony," Xia Changfeng waved his hand and said.

"Yes." Huang Shang tapped his toes on the ground, and his body was already like a large bird, tracing an arc and landing slowly on the stage.

"Huang Shang of Great Xia, I ask the heroes of Phoenix Cry for your guidance," Huang Shang cupped his hands and said.

"Are you kidding? You're so old, yet you're still pretending to be young? You're too thick-skinned," Long Chen gave Monkey a wink, and the latter immediately understood and shouted loudly.

Huang Shang smiled slightly, "Huang Shang is nineteen years old this year. I have an identification document to prove it, and everyone in the Great Xia Empire knows it."

Hearing Huang Shang say this, the whole audience was relieved. It was normal for some people to look a bit older.

"Young Master Long Chen, since I, Huang Shang, arrived in the Imperial Capital, my ears have been filled with rumors of Your Excellency. I admire you greatly. I wonder if I have the qualifications to spar with you?" Huang Shang looked at Long Chen and cupped his hands.

Huang Shang's words instantly attracted everyone's attention, and the scene immediately became like boiling water.

"Long Chen!" "Long Chen!" "Long Chen!" The shouts were louder than the waves, surging and passionate, making people's blood boil, and countless eager eyes were cast toward Long Chen.