The edge is beginning to show

In the Phoenix Empire, martial arts are popular, and fights are inevitable. Therefore, outside the imperial capital, there is a Life and Death Arena, a place to resolve private grievances.

Here, as long as both parties agree and sign a Life and Death Contract, once they step onto the arena, even if one kills the other, they will not be punished by the laws of the Empire.

Usually, there are countless spectators here, and today is no exception. However, as one duel after another ended, when two young men stepped onto the stage, a commotion broke out below.

"Isn't that Long Chen? Why is he here again?"

"Yeah, he was almost beaten to death yesterday. Why is he back today?"

"Hmph, he probably doesn't want to live anymore and wants to be beaten to death by someone else here."

Long Tianxiao is revered as the Marquis of Zhenyuan and is known as a generation's Military God. However, those who truly call him a Military God are the commoners who have suffered from the ravages of war year after year.

In the imperial capital, those who are rich or noble live in a prosperous age and do not look highly upon Long Tianxiao, who comes from a commoner background. Therefore, there are few people in the entire capital who look up to Long Chen.

"Long Chen, you piece of trash, why are you here again? Isn't this just a waste of time? Who wants to watch you fight? Get lost!"

"Exactly, if you want to commit suicide, find a place where no one is around. No one wants to see a piece of trash; it's a waste of time."

For a moment, the hundreds of spectators under the stage couldn't help but curse loudly, clearly extremely disgusted with Long Chen.

However, in an inconspicuous corner in the distance, two veiled young women were watching the figure on the stage with full attention.

"Big Sister, is that your fiancé? Why does he look so poor? There isn't even a ripple of aura on his entire body," one of the young women said with some disappointment.

"Hmph, it's all because Father made the decision on his own. He arranged the marriage when we were still in the womb. It's truly infuriating," the other young woman said, extremely annoyed.

On the arena, Long Chen was completely unaware that two young women were peeping at them. As for the jeers, he had no reaction either, just looking at Li Hao indifferently.

"See that?" Li Hao pointed at the restless crowd and sneered. "You are just an unwelcome piece of trash. If you are sensible, you should just run into a wall and die."

Long Chen just looked at him indifferently, saying nothing.

"Clang."

A bell rang, the signal for the duel to begin. Once the bell rings, life and death hang by a thread.

The originally noisy crowd fell silent because of the bell. After all, it was a life-and-death duel; one might lose their life at any moment.

"Big Sister, your fiancé doesn't have any cultivation at all. He is facing a guy at the third stage of Qi Gathering. Aren't you worried?" the young woman asked.

"Hmph, what is there to worry about? If he dies, he dies. What does it have to do with me?" the other young woman snorted softly. However, as she spoke, a very strange silk net had already appeared in her palm.

"Hehe, you say you don't care, but you've even prepared a weapon. It seems you still care about him. But honestly, even though his cultivation is trash, he is truly good-looking. How about this, if you don't want him, Sister, give him to me," the young woman said with a giggle.

"Nonsense. Is this kind of thing something you can just give away? If you like him, you can do whatever you want after I annul the engagement with him," the other young woman said angrily.

"Hehe."

On the arena, Long Chen remained as calm as water, completely different from the gritting-teeth version of himself yesterday.

"Long Chen, are you so calm because you are facing death? Don't worry, considering your bet, I won't beat you to death today," Li Hao said triumphantly.

"So many bullshit words. Hurry up and make your move. I have things to do later," Long Chen said impatiently.

Because the whole place was very quiet, Long Chen's words reached everyone's ears without missing a syllable. In an instant, a burst of mockery erupted from under the arena.

"Li Hao, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and beat this bastard to death. It's too disgusting for us."

Someone who knew Li Hao shouted on the spot.

A sneer appeared on Li Hao's face. He stopped hesitating and unleashed all his strength at the third stage of Qi Gathering. He stepped on the arena, lunged at Long Chen, and threw a punch.

As soon as Li Hao attacked, a burst of cheers erupted from under the stage. Li Hao's posture was beautiful and handsome.

"What a great move, 'The Jade Tree Facing the Wind Fist'!"

Someone recognized this move. However, the two women in the distance both spat in secret, a trace of mockery appearing on their lips.

A trace of mockery also appeared on Long Chen's lips: Can such a full-of-holes, idiotic move be used to fight an enemy?

Seeing a punch smashing toward his face, with whistling wind, Long Chen acted as if he didn't see it and didn't move.

"Haha, this trash doesn't even know how to dodge," someone under the stage mocked.

However, just as his mockery ended, Li Hao's fist stopped three inches in front of Long Chen's face, motionless.

Those who were indulging in mockery lost their voices. They discovered that one of Long Chen's legs had extended, and his foot was kicking fiercely into Li Hao's crotch.

Li Hao, who was originally full of spirit and not lacking in elegance, now had a face like a purple eggplant. Clearly, Long Chen's kick made him very uncomfortable. The intense pain twisted his face, and he couldn't move at all.

He couldn't move, but Long Chen could. At the moment he paused, Long Chen grabbed Li Hao's hair with both hands, pulled it back forcefully, and simultaneously drove his sturdy knee forward.

"Bang, bang, bang."

Long Chen's movements were very pleasing to the eye, clearly defined. The combination of movements and sounds gave people a very strong visual impact and a crisp sense of rhythm.

A tooth-aching sound of bone cracking came. Li Hao had taken three heavy blows in a row. His nasal bone had collapsed and deformed, his face was covered in blood, and he had already fainted.

For a moment, the entire venue was silent. No one expected that a powerhouse at the third stage of the Qi Gathering realm would be defeated so quickly by a piece of trash with no cultivation at all.

And it was defeated in the cleanest, most efficient way. This result was like a fierce slap in the face to the group of people who had been clamoring.

Even the two young women who were secretly watching were stunned. That Li Hao was nothing in front of them and could be wiped out with a wave of their hands.

But Long Chen was different. From beginning to end, he didn't use a trace of Spiritual Qi; he used Mortal fighting techniques to defeat Li Hao.

"Long Chen wins."

A voice came from under the stage. It was an old man who was specifically presiding over the arena, responsible for registration and announcements.

Long Chen's chest heaved violently a few times. He used great willpower to suppress the killing intent in his heart. Now was not a good time to kill.

It was just that it had been suppressed for too long, and once it erupted, it was difficult to take back. To the outside world, it looked like Long Chen was panting wildly due to the exhaustion of excitement.

Long Chen walked off the stage, went to the old man, took back his bet, the long saber, and received a crystal card worth five thousand gold coins.

The rule here is that before the match, the bets must be handed over to the referee to show fairness, which also prevents the possibility of going back on one's word.

After getting the precious saber, Long Chen returned it directly to Shi Feng, put the crystal card into his bosom, and couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Although five thousand gold coins were not much, they could solve some urgent needs. The salary of the Long family had been withheld for a long time, and now the Long family was really struggling to make ends meet.

Under the gaze of countless people, the two slowly left. The two young women, seeing Long Chen leave, also disappeared.

The news of Long Chen defeating Li Hao spread throughout the entire imperial capital as if it had legs, making countless people puzzled. How could a piece of trash who couldn't practice martial arts suddenly become so powerful?

But countless people witnessed it with their own eyes, and the news of Li Hao being carried back to his mansion spread. For a time, many people found it hard to accept.

After Long Chen and Shi Feng left, Long Chen wanted to split the spoils with Shi Feng, but Shi Feng refused firmly. In the end, using the excuse of having something to do, he left first, not even asking why Long Chen suddenly became strong.

Keeping this favor in his heart, Long Chen headed straight for the Hundred Herb Hall. After entering the Hundred Herb Hall, Long Chen requested a catalog of medicinal herbs here.

It clearly recorded the names and prices of various medicinal herbs. Long Chen saw most of the Materials for refining the Fengfu Pill on it. Fortunately, the Materials for refining the Fengfu Pill were not particularly rare.

However, seeing the prices on it, Long Chen's heart was bleeding. His gold coins were only enough to buy three portions of Materials.

But he couldn't buy all Materials; he also needed to buy an Alchemy cauldron, and even more so, some other spare medicinal herbs. The gold coins in his hand were just a drop in the bucket.

But he couldn't not buy them. Long Chen gritted his teeth, spent 1,200 gold coins, and bought the lowest quality bronze cauldron.

He bought another portion of Materials for refining the Fengfu Pill, and at the same time bought a large amount of Materials for refining Qi Returning Powder. When Long Chen came out of the Hundred Herb Hall, there were only 500 gold coins left on his crystal card.

After returning home, Long Chen rushed straight to his room, locked the door tightly, and asked Bao'er to notify everyone not to disturb him.

He knew his mother must know the news that he had gone to fight again. Fearing his mother would worry, he deliberately asked Bao'er to block his mother. Anyway, he had nothing to do, and his mother shouldn't be too worried.

Now he was racing against time and had to improve his strength quickly. The plight of the Long family was not as simple as it appeared on the surface. Long Chen smelled a sense of crisis.

"Hoo."

Long Chen circulated the Spiritual Qi in his body, and a ball of flame appeared in his palm. This was the Alchemy fire condensed by an alchemist. However, seeing that flame, Long Chen couldn't help but cry and laugh; this flame was too weak.

The Alchemy fire is a fire of Spiritual Qi condensed by an alchemist through a unique method of operation using their own Spiritual Qi. But now, the Alchemy fire that Long Chen condensed had a very low temperature, not much stronger than ordinary Mortal fire.

Moreover, Long Chen discovered that without the support of the Dantian, his Alchemy fire could not last for a quarter of an hour, which was far from enough time to refine the Medicinal Pill.

Long Chen gave a wry smile. Fortunately, he had prepared a backup plan. Long Chen did not refine the Medicinal Pill; he first put the Materials for the Qi Returning Powder into the cauldron and refined them one by one. However, he did not use the Alchemy fire, but rather the fire of wood.

When all the medicinal herbs were refined, beside Long Chen, there was an extra whole jar of Qi Returning Liquid. After resting for a while, Long Chen took a deep breath:

It was time to officially start refining the Fengfu Pill.