New goals

Long Chen smiled slightly, gently reached out to hold Mengqi's jade hand, and placed the marriage agreement into her palm.

Upon touching those jade hands as white as frost and snow, Long Chen couldn't help but feel a stir in his heart, and it took a great effort for him to calm down.

"Take it. You are a kind-hearted girl. Although things have turned out this way, I don't hate you at all," Long Chen said softly, looking at Mengqi's flawless jade face.

With one hand held by Long Chen, Mengqi's delicate body trembled. She instinctively wanted to pull her hand back, but she couldn't bear to.

Long Chen's words caused Mengqi's heart to ache. Tears fell from her beautiful eyes, and she choked out, "Long Chen, I'm sorry…"

"As expected of a kind-hearted girl. It's time to strike while the iron is hot."

Long Chen felt a surge of joy, but his expression remained gentle, like an older brother. He reached out and gently wiped the tears from the corners of Mengqi's eyes.

He used all his willpower to keep from being lost in that perfect jade face; Mengqi's charm was truly astonishing.

If it weren't for Long Chen's incomparably powerful Soul Power, his breathing would have quickened and his heart would be pounding like thunder by now. However, he needed to continue his efforts.

He smiled slightly and said, "Mengqi, don't blame yourself for this. If you want to blame someone, blame my old man and your old man. Their relationship is so good, why don't they get married themselves instead of forcing us?"

Mengqi, who had been choking back sobs, suddenly burst into laughter upon hearing Long Chen's rebellious words.

Her beautiful eyes smiled, and with tears still on her face like rain on pear blossoms, she looked as beautiful as spring dew. She was breathtakingly lovely. Long Chen couldn't help but blurt out, "Mengqi, you are so beautiful."

However, he regretted it the moment he said it. *Damn it, I still couldn't hold back. My lecherous nature was exposed again.* Long Chen wanted to slap himself.

Fortunately, upon hearing Long Chen's compliment, Mengqi was not angry. Her pretty face flushed red, her beautiful eyes darted around, and her shy appearance was another kind of beauty.

*I'm done for, I'm done for. Long Chen, oh Long Chen, if you miss out on such a beauty, what's the point of living?*

That's right, I must use any means necessary. First, don't fear danger; second, don't be afraid of losing face. The bolder one is, the greater the harvest.

Long Chen took a deep breath and let go of Mengqi's hand, but the marriage agreement remained in her hand.

"Actually, with your current status, you could completely ignore my feelings and act as if I don't exist. We are completely from two different worlds.

But you still came. I know you didn't want me to continue holding onto illusions, nor did you want me to face a cruel outcome after endless waiting.

You did nothing wrong by doing this; on the contrary, I am very grateful to you," Long Chen said, looking at Mengqi and nodding.

"Long Chen, are you saying this to ease the guilt in my heart?" Mengqi looked at the marriage agreement in her hand, her voice trembling slightly.

"No, I'm just speaking the truth. However, from today on, I have a grand goal," Long Chen said with a smile.

"What is it?" Mengqi asked.

"From today on, I will work hard to cultivate. When I am strong enough, I will come to find you. Although the marriage agreement is void, it doesn't stop me from pursuing you again, right?" Long Chen said with a smile.

Although he was smiling, his eyes were filled with persistence. Combined with his determined expression, no one could doubt his resolve.

Mengqi was stunned for a moment. It was the first time she had seen someone confess so boldly to her, and it was a man she had deeply hurt.

For a moment, Mengqi's heart was in turmoil. She didn't know how to answer—whether to refuse or accept.

"You don't need to feel pressured. This is just my own wishful thinking. Someone as kind as you is worth me, Long Chen, protecting with my life.

However, before pursuing you, I must work hard to cultivate and become a true powerhouse so that I have the qualifications to protect you.

For these qualifications, I will cultivate with all my might. Whether you accept it or not, I will do it," Long Chen said firmly.

A flush of red flashed across Mengqi's pretty face. Although she came from humble beginnings, everything had changed since she joined the Sect.

It was the first time someone had dared to confess to her so boldly and directly. Looking at Long Chen's firm gaze, she felt a wave of panic in her heart and was unable to speak for a long while.

*There's a chance.* Seeing Mengqi's flustered expression, Long Chen was secretly delighted. At the very least, Mengqi did not show any resentment or disgust toward him. This was a small step toward success. Next, he needed to work harder and continue to be sentimental until he moved her.

Just as Long Chen was about to strike while the iron is hot, a terrifying aura suddenly rose up. This fierce aura made one's heart tremble.

Mengqi's expression changed slightly. She stepped forward, shielding Long Chen behind her. Her jade hand moved slightly, and just as she was about to act, she saw the situation clearly and withdrew her hand.

A giant wasp appeared in front of them, nearly five zhang in length. Its entire body was surging with aura, and its colorful markings made one's scalp tingle just by looking at it.

Long Chen was startled. It was a Second Order Demonic Beast, and among Second Order Demonic Beasts, it was the extremely violent Blood-Rage Wasp.

Even a Third Order Demonic Beast would rarely provoke it, because even for a Third Order Demonic Beast, if it were stung by its tail stinger, it would either die or lose a layer of skin.

However, after a brief shock, Long Chen looked at the pretty figure in front of him and felt a wave of emotion: *If you can stand in front of me once, I can stand in front of you for a lifetime.*

Whoosh! The giant Blood-Rage Wasp landed. When the terrifying roar faded, a man jumped down from its back.

He looked to be in his twenties, tall and slender with regular features, giving off a very noble feeling. However, the undisguisable arrogance between his brows ruined his overall image.

As soon as the man appeared, he looked at Mengqi, his eyes revealing undisguisable admiration.

"Junior Sister, you haven't returned to the Sect for so long, and Master is very displeased, so he sent me to find you," the man said with a beaming smile. However, upon seeing Long Chen, he couldn't help but frown and say, "Who is this person? Could it be…?"

When he finished speaking, a cold glint appeared in the man's eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

"Don't talk nonsense. I'm just here asking this Young Master about some things." Mengqi was clearly not good at lying, and a trace of panic flashed in her beautiful eyes.

She turned her head and said to Long Chen, "Young Master, thank you."

After speaking, she glanced at Long Chen. That look contained many things. Before Long Chen could fully comprehend it, Mengqi had already summoned her mount and flown away.

The man looked at Long Chen, snorted coldly, and pointed a finger. A transparent arrow appeared in front of him and shot straight toward Long Chen's face.

Long Chen was still savoring the meaning in Mengqi's look and never expected the man to suddenly attack so viciously. It was too late to dodge.

That was an arrow condensed from Soul Power, invisible yet substantial. Once an ordinary person was hit by that arrow, their Divine Soul would be shattered instantly, and they would become an idiot.

Long Chen was greatly alarmed. It was too late to dodge, so he hurriedly mobilized his Soul Power to defend. Although his Soul Power was strong, he had never practiced any Soul techniques, so the chance of being able to block it was extremely slim.

"Bang!" Suddenly, another arrow appeared out of thin air and collided with the man's attack, emitting a loud explosion. Long Chen was pushed back four or five steps by the force.

"Senior Brother Qi, it probably wouldn't be good if Master found out you attacked a Mortal like this."

Before anyone knew it, a young girl appeared beside them and said indifferently to the man known as Senior Brother Qi.

The man surnamed Qi's expression changed slightly, but he immediately smiled and said, "Junior Sister, you misunderstood. I was just testing him; how could I actually hurt him?"

Long Chen's face was ugly. With his Soul Power, how could he not see that the bastard clearly wanted to turn him into an idiot?

This caused Long Chen's anger to burn. In particular, the way that bastard looked at Mengqi made Long Chen furious. Now that he even wanted to kill him, Long Chen was so angry he gritted his teeth.

"This Young Master, this person is an Inner Sect Disciple of our Wind Soul Pavilion, and his cultivation is extremely high. You must work hard."

After saying this, the young girl even winked at Long Chen. Long Chen was stunned. Was she intentionally giving him a hint?

"Senior Brother Qi, let's go."

The young girl said to Senior Brother Qi, but her posture clearly indicated she was going to leave with Senior Brother Qi.

Senior Brother Qi looked at Long Chen, smiled faintly, and jumped onto the Blood-Rage Wasp. After the two left, Long Chen couldn't help but curse angrily:

"F*** you, Senior Brother Qi-Shit, I'll remember this grudge!"

After the anger subsided, Long Chen calmed down. No matter what, there were still gains today. Although the engagement was broken, at least he left a good impression on Mengqi.

Most importantly, he discovered that when Mengqi left, she carefully put away the marriage agreement instead of destroying it immediately, leaving him with greater hope.

However, at the same time, he felt a great sense of crisis. With a woman as outstanding as Mengqi, how many people could resist her charm? Moreover, there was that human-looking-dog-acting Senior Brother Qi-Shit by her side; it was truly too dangerous.

What if, besides Senior Brother Qi-Shit, there are Senior Brother Niu-Shit, or Senior Brother Gou-Shit? No, I must quickly improve my cultivation.

Although he had connected with the Alchemist Guild, the Alchemist Guild belonged to a neutral faction and did not participate in any conflicts; everything still had to depend on himself.

The words Li Hao said before he died that day sounded an alarm for Long Chen. If the other party was only using his mother and him to restrain his father…

His father had already refused the royal summons several times; perhaps his father had long realized something. The longer time dragged on, the smaller the utility value of Long Chen and his mother would become, and the more dangerous it would be.

Returning home, Long Chen locked himself in his room, ordered no one to disturb him, and took out the medicinal herbs from his spatial ring one by one.

The last time at the Alchemist Guild, the copper cauldron that Yun Qi gave him had helped Long Chen a lot. As one of the essential tools for an alchemist, there was a lot of knowledge regarding cauldrons.

Long Chen's original cauldron was the fighter jet of trash. When performing Alchemy, not only was its thermal conductivity poor, but it also greatly consumed Long Chen's pill fire.

Furthermore, the quality was a complete mess. When performing Alchemy, it couldn't seal the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. Impure Qi would enter the Pill Furnace, and Spiritual Qi would leak out. It would be a miracle if such a Pill Furnace could refine good pills.

Moreover, when a Medicine Cauldron is forged, the craftsmanship requirements are very strict, and the Medicine Cauldron Long Chen originally had was clearly crafted by an ordinary craftsman.

But there was no other way. A decent Medicine Cauldron would cost at least hundreds of thousands of gold coins, often even millions, and Long Chen simply couldn't afford it.

Now, the cauldron Yun Qi gave Long Chen was a First Grade Medicine Cauldron, which generally only Alchemist Apprentices had the qualifications to own.

With this Medicine Cauldron, Long Chen could be considered to have upgraded his gear. Looking at this brand-new Medicine Cauldron, Long Chen nodded.

"It's time to speed up, otherwise my wife will fly away."