Long Tianxiao’s difficulties

Chen Fei was greatly startled, but seeing that there was no change to his body, a look of confusion appeared on his face.

"The Medicinal Pill I just released is called the Soul-Burning Medicinal Pill. Even if you held your breath just now, it would still have had no effect. This poisonous gas directly erodes your pores and seeps into the blood within your body. Once the poison enters your body, if you exert yourself to run or engage in fierce combat, it will accelerate your blood flow, causing the toxicity to instantly invade your Soul, and you would undoubtedly die," said Long Chen.

Chen Fei's expression changed. He had not expected the poisonous Medicinal Pill that Long Chen concocted to be so terrifying. However, since Long Chen had placed his full trust in him at this moment, he would absolutely not deceive him.

"The reason I trust you is not because of how high my intelligence is, but because I am even more confident in my Medicinal Pill. When I questioned you earlier, if you had lied, your blood would have automatically accelerated, and you would have long since died from bleeding from your seven orifices. Eat this."

After speaking, Long Chen tossed a pill to Chen Fei. Chen Fei caught it in one grab, and without a second thought, swallowed it directly.

"After consuming this Medicinal Pill, the poison in your body will be neutralized, but the effect is somewhat slow, so within three days, you cannot engage in fierce combat. Let's go, follow me back."

After Long Chen finished speaking, he walked directly toward his home. Chen Fei hurriedly followed, leaving behind a bloody scene of severed limbs on the ground.

"Bastard, you actually dared to go behind my back and kill Long Chen? Do you think I don't dare to kill you?" In a secret room, a man in white pointed at Xia Changfeng and cursed with a face full of Killing Intent.

At the same time, a terrifying Killing Intent, like a physical substance, locked onto Xia Changfeng, as if a sharp blade were pressed against his neck. It felt as if the man in white could end his lowly life with just a single thought.

"Brother Luo, listen to me. This wasn't my doing; it was my younger sister who moved my subordinates away. I really didn't know about it."

Xia Changfeng explained with a look of panic. Sweat instantly soaked his clothes. That Killing Intent was too terrifying; even he, a Blood Condensation Realm expert, could not resist it. He felt as if he were merely an ant, unable to put up any resistance.

"Do you take me for an idiot? How could your foolish sister use your guards at will without your approval? It is clearly because you saw that departure was imminent and wanted to completely eliminate this thorn in your side, Long Chen. Fortunately, Long Chen didn't die; otherwise, if this major matter had been ruined, even if you had ten lives, you wouldn't be able to withstand the wrath from above," the man in white shouted coldly.

Xia Changfeng lowered his head and did not dare to say a word. This assassination attempt on Long Chen was indeed arranged by Xia Baichi, but the man in white was right; he had lent his own guards to her.

Originally, he had thought that if Long Chen were killed, he would push the blame onto Xia Baichi. With Xia Baichi's status as an Alchemist, she should have been fine.

Back at the auction, he had borrowed quite a lot of gold coins from Xia Baichi, and this time, being pressured by Xia Baichi, he had no choice but to support her in secret.

However, what he hadn't expected was that a group of Blood Condensation Realm experts went over, and only three returned. This left him incredibly shocked, but before he could even ask for the reason, the man in white had already arrived.

"Xia Changfeng, this is the last time I will warn you. Your affairs are trivial, but if you ruin this major matter, let alone you, even your entire Great Xia Empire would not be able to bear the consequences. Go back and tell that foolish sister of yours that if she dares to act recklessly again, I will personally twist off her head. As for that old lecher Wei Cang, I don't even hold him in high regard," the man in white snorted coldly.

"Yes, yes, Changfeng will definitely discipline my younger sister well and will absolutely not cause any trouble for your Excellency," Xia Changfeng nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Long Tianxiao once declared that if anything were to happen to his wife and son, he would inevitably abandon his post and lead his army to slaughter their way into the Imperial Capital. That is the thing we fear most, do you understand?" the man in white said coldly.

"We have been testing Long Tianxiao's bottom line lately, but Long Tianxiao has never responded. However, that does not mean he doesn't care about his wife and son. Either he doesn't act, or he acts with thunderous force. He is warning you, yet you idiots can't even understand this."

"Brother Luo, this younger brother has never understood, with Brother Luo's skills, why not just directly eliminate Long Tianxiao?" Xia Changfeng asked.

"Idiot, if it could really be done openly, would there be any need to cooperate with you? Besides, Long Tianxiao is an Yijin Realm expert; how could he be so easy to kill? If a single strike doesn't succeed and the news gets out, who could bear that responsibility?" the man in white scolded.

Xia Changfeng was embarrassed by the scolding, but he didn't dare to refute it and could only endure it honestly, while his resentment toward Long Chen grew even deeper.

Xia Baichi's action this time was actually something he had very much wanted to do as well; if Long Chen didn't die, he couldn't swallow the anger in his heart.

But he hadn't expected that more than a dozen Blood Condensation Realm experts, with the advantage of a surprise attack, would still fail, and suffer such heavy losses.

Watching Xia Changfeng exit the room, the man in white sighed. This cushy job he had worked so hard to obtain would likely not be so easy to complete.

He had been so angry just now that he nearly killed Xia Changfeng, but he couldn't do that. This plan had been in motion for many years, and he had originally come here to sit back and reap the rewards.

As it turned out, the people here seemed to have stiff brains, making him so angry he wanted to kill someone, yet he had a belly full of rage with no outlet.

It was inconvenient for him to show his face, and he still needed to cooperate with the Great Xia Empire. A cold, stern look appeared on the man in white's face: "If you ruin this matter for me, then all of you can go and die!"

It was already late at night when Long Chen returned home. In Long Chen's room, he carefully examined Chen Fei and was surprised to discover that the aura on Chen Fei was extremely obscure; even face-to-face, it was difficult to sense his presence.

"The Cultivation Technique this humble one practices is special, and I have some insights into the art of breath concealment, so the Young Master need not be surprised."

Although Chen Fei spoke modestly, deep in his eyes, there was a trace of extreme arrogance, clearly indicating he was extremely confident in his breath concealment art.

Long Chen nodded. This Chen Fei indeed had something unique; he hadn't discovered his tracks for such a long time.

If it hadn't been for today, when his longsword was shattered and he was momentarily at a disadvantage, and Chen Fei had revealed a trace of his aura, he would absolutely not have been able to discover Chen Fei.

Revealing a trace of aura at that moment clearly meant he was about to make a move, and at that time, he did not feel any hostility, which meant that Chen Fei wanted to save him.

Therefore, Long Chen had guessed at the time that Chen Fei likely harbored no ill will toward him, but for the sake of safety, he still used his poisonous Medicinal Pill.

The current Long family is teetering on the brink of collapse and could be overturned at any moment; he dared not be careless in the slightest, and he dared not gamble with the lives of the Long family members.

"How is it on my father's side?" Taking a deep breath, Long Chen still asked this question; he very much wanted to know his father's recent situation.

It had been too long, and his memories of his father had begun to blur, but in his childhood, his father's kindness was buried deep in his heart.

"The Marquis is doing well, but in recent years, the battles with the Barbarians have become increasingly intense, and the Empire has long stopped providing supplies to the Marquis. The original army of 500,000 is now less than 200,000. If it weren't for the surrounding commoners, who, grateful for the Marquis's kindness, sent their children to join the army and also provided large amounts of grain and grass, we would have long been unable to hold on." When speaking to this point, a trace of anger flashed in Chen Fei's eyes, and his voice became low.

The Empire's attitude toward the Marquis of Zhenyuan chilled their hearts; if not for looking at the earnest gazes of so many commoners, they would have long since left.

The so-called Barbarians were not a single race, but a general term for some savage tribes. They were born in the wilderness, utilizing the cruel living environment, and lived by hunting and gathering. Long-term survival in harsh conditions had trained them to have extremely powerful physiques and astonishing combat capabilities.

As they grew stronger, their range of living expanded further and further. Later, they discovered the Phoenix Empire here, which had abundant produce; plundering it was easier and safer than their laborious hunting.

The reason they were called Barbarians was because their living habits differed greatly from normal people; they slept in the same bed as a family, regardless of generation or gender, they could engage in intercourse, which was extremely chaotic.

Except for their own clansmen, all other races were regarded as prey and could be slaughtered at will. Even if they captured Phoenix commoners, the men were directly killed and stored as food, while the women were used for lustful pleasure, and after death, they still became food.

The Phoenix commoners both hated and feared them. After being plundered by them so much, the Barbarians became stronger and stronger. Only then did the Phoenix Empire react and begin to counterattack.

However, the number of Barbarians was extremely large, they came and went like the wind, and had no fixed abode. Unlike the Phoenix commoners, who had places to dwell, they simply could not find their lair, and could only passively defend.

Ever since Long Tianxiao arrived, he had repeatedly slaughtered Barbarian raiders, staining the yellow sand with blood, and intimidated the Barbarians, allowing the border commoners to rest and recuperate. Long Tianxiao even became the God of War in the hearts of the commoners.

Later, Long Tianxiao's army repeatedly engaged in battles with the Barbarians, was often ambushed, and suffered great consumption, yet received no supplies, causing the number of troops to decrease rapidly.

The surrounding commoners all supported them with their full strength. Those who had people contributed people, sending their own children to join the army; those who had strength contributed strength, sending the extra food and supplies from their homes to the Zhenyuan Army.

However, these supplies were still far from enough. During times when there were no major battles, the army would also help the commoners with farming to provide more supplies.

Therefore, the border troops and civilians were like one family. Thinking of those expectant gazes, Chen Fei's eyes turned a bit red; even if they were to die, they absolutely could not let those commoners be harmed.

Hearing everything Chen Fei recounted, Long Chen finally understood his father's hidden hardship—on one side were his own wife and son, and on the other were millions of innocent commoners.

If it had been Long Chen, he also would have found it difficult to choose. The resentment he previously held toward Long Tianxiao vanished without a trace, and at the same time, endless pride rose in his heart. The greatest of heroes act for the country and for the people; this is the true hero.

"Chen Fei, go back to my father's side," Long Chen thought for a moment, then looked at Chen Fei and said.

Chen Fei's expression changed: "This is absolutely impossible."