The oriole is behind

After separating from Tang Wan'er, Long Chen determined his direction and began to set out according to the map on the back of his Nameplate.

Currently, Long Chen was still at the edge of the map. According to the display, he needed to cross a large river and climb a high mountain to reach his destination.

However, less than seven days had passed since the start of the trial, so there was still plenty of time. Long Chen found a secluded cave and took out the Qi Ling Fish Essence.

The Qi Ling Fish Essence was the size of a soybean and looked like an unremarkable fragment of bone. Even if it were crushed, no clues could be seen.

He took out a black Medicinal Pill from his spatial ring, crushed it, and mixed it into a small bowl of water, which immediately turned pitch black like ink.

When he placed the Qi Ling Fish Essence into the bowl, the originally black medicinal liquid immediately began to boil, giving rise to countless bubbles as a faint energy slowly emanated.

Long Chen smiled slightly; as expected, only this method could stimulate the energy of the Qi Ling Fish Essence.

He tapped his forehead with his finger, and as his Soul power circulated, a faint vortex immediately appeared there. The fluctuations emitted by the Qi Ling Fish Essence were slowly absorbed by the vortex, with none of it leaking out.

In just one breath, all the energy from the Qi Ling Fish Essence was completely absorbed. Long Chen took the essence out of the bowl and found it had become dull and lusterless, eventually crumbling like mud.

This indicated that the energy of the Qi Ling Fish Essence was fully depleted. Long Chen closed his eyes to feel it; after absorbing the Qi Ling Fish Essence, his Soul power seemed to have improved slightly, though he couldn't be certain because that bit of energy was simply too weak.

A handful of Qi Ling Fish Essence appeared in his hand, about twenty or thirty pieces. These were left over from the two times he had eaten the Qi Ling Fish, and Long Chen took them all out.

"Gurgle…"

Long Chen placed the large handful of Qi Ling Fish Essence into the bowl. The black liquid in the bowl boiled, and at the same time, intense fluctuations rose up.

Long Chen did not dare to be careless. The vortex reappeared at his forehead, and he began to absorb the energy emanating from the Qi Ling Fish Essence.

That kind of energy was invisible to the naked eye and could only be sensed with the Soul. As the energy of the Qi Ling Fish Essence was absorbed by Long Chen, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Because the quantity was greater, Long Chen could clearly sense an extremely pure energy slowly nourishing his Divine Soul, and his Soul power became more active.

The energy contained in the Qi Ling Fish Essence was not Soul power itself, but rather a magical force that nourished the Soul.

If Soul power were compared to a small tree, then the energy of the Qi Ling Fish Essence was a type of fertilizer.

Nourished by the Qi Ling Fish Essence, Long Chen could clearly feel his Soul power slowly strengthening. Although the increase was very small, it still left Long Chen overjoyed.

One must know that a person's Soul power is innate, and it is usually only through a Breakthrough in Realm that Soul power is passively enhanced.

Treasures that can nourish the human Soul are few and far between, and treasures like Qi Ling Fish Essence are basically unknown. People only know of its deliciousness and throw away the Qi Ling Fish Essence as trash, which is truly a pity.

"It's a shame this Life Ring is of such a low level. Otherwise, I could have caught more Qi Ling Fish to keep by my side and let them breed freely; that would have been great."

Long Chen couldn't help but sigh. Qi Ling Fish have low fertility and are very picky about their living environment; they must live in a pure natural environment, making them difficult to cultivate.

His current Life Ring could only keep the Qi Ling Fish from dying and was not suitable for their growth, which was why he was somewhat disappointed.

Although the energy provided by the Qi Ling Fish Essence was weak, it was extremely pure and had no side effects. As long as there was enough, it could nourish the Divine Soul for a long time.

This was a classic case of gathering sand to build a tower; the longer the time, the stronger the Soul power would become. Especially for a Pill Cultivator, powerful Soul power was everything.

The pond where he had previously caught the Qi Ling Fish was not large. According to Long Chen's method of catching them, it wouldn't be long before they were all caught.

He estimated that if he actually did that, Xuantian Academy wouldn't allow it either. For now, he could only take it one step at a time.

After absorbing the Qi Ling Fish Essence, Long Chen felt refreshed and much more energetic, and he took a long stretch.

Sensing his own body, he found that under the effect of the healing pills, his body, which had been damaged by the power of lightning, was already mostly recovered.

"It's time to go out and wander around. Xuantian Academy is full of treasures everywhere; I can't let them go to waste."

Long Chen left the cave and began to walk forward. Along the way, he saw many applicants who, like him, had begun to search non-stop.

Clearly, everyone had begun to follow the map's guidance, heading forward to gather and prepare to cross the river. Many people couldn't help but feel nervous upon seeing Long Chen, but they breathed a sigh of relief when they saw he paid them no mind.

"Have you heard? This guy killed Lei Qianshang's right-hand man yesterday," someone whispered.

"I heard. That Zhao Wu was an extremely powerful figure, regarded as Lei Qianshang's left and right hand. To think someone like that died at Long Chen's hands is truly terrifying."

"Exactly. I heard that after Long Chen killed Zhao Wu, he didn't receive any punishment and can still continue with the trial."

Some people couldn't help but sigh. Previously, when Long Chen relied on his powerful mount to fight Qi Xin, they all thought he was just a playboy with no real combat strength of his own.

Because true experts do not need to carry such a powerful Demonic Beast to protect themselves, they hadn't taken Long Chen seriously in their hearts.

"This Long Chen is a total dark horse. I wonder if he can stand shoulder to shoulder with the five monster-class experts," one person remarked with emotion.

"Tch, him? What kind of thing is he to be compared with monster-class experts? Haven't you heard that he was made to cough blood by a single strike from Lei Qianshang?

He's just bullying minor characters. In the hands of a monster-class expert, he wouldn't even be able to take a single move," someone snorted, clearly looking down on Long Chen.

Long Chen had no idea that the matter of him killing Zhao Wu had already spread among the people. Now, people ranked him as the number one person below the monsters.

After crossing a mountain ridge, a plain lay ahead. The towering trees had disappeared, replaced by an endless expanse of low shrubs.

The shrubs were over two zhang tall, and walking inside them made it easy for one to lose their direction. Long Chen observed for a moment, confirmed his orientation, and entered the plain.

The path was very difficult to walk, with thorny brambles everywhere, most of which were poisonous. Although they couldn't break through Long Chen's defense, his clothes couldn't take it. If he wasn't careful, his clothes would be torn open with a large gash. If he didn't find a way, he might be streaking before he even made it halfway.

Suddenly, a figure sped past Long Chen, startling him. This person was so tough that they weren't even afraid of the thorns?

But when he saw the person's figure clearly, Long Chen couldn't help but be amused. That person was covered in shimmering gold; they were actually wearing a suit of armor.

'No wonder they aren't afraid of the thorns,' Long Chen thought, shaking his head. He searched through his spatial ring and found that there were actually a few sets of armor inside.

Long Chen couldn't help but thank the guy who had tried to rob him; it was truly a case of someone providing a pillow just as he wanted to sleep.

He found a set of Bronze Scale Armor that wasn't too flashy and put it on. The size was just right, and with his entire body covered in bronze scales, he was no longer afraid of those thorns.

After thinking for a moment, he searched through the spatial ring again, and suddenly a round helmet appeared in his hand.

"Haha, good stuff."

The helmet in Long Chen's hand was actually a Visored Helmet. When worn on his head, it only exposed his two eyes. Even an acquaintance might not be able to recognize him.

"An essential piece of gear for murder, arson, and robbery," Long Chen thought happily as he put on the helmet. Although his vision was somewhat obstructed and it was a bit uncomfortable, that was no issue for him; he could just spread out his Divine Sense.

He broke into a run and sped forward. With the scale armor protecting his body, he no longer had to worry about those annoying thorns.

This set of scale armor weighed over three hundred jin. Wearing it and carrying that momentum, Long Chen flew forward like a cannonball. He could run with his eyes closed; even if he encountered shrubs, he didn't need to avoid them and could just smash right through.

"Haha, this is too great!"

This was the first time Long Chen had experienced such a feeling, as if his Soul had been set free, and he wholeheartedly enjoyed the thrill of high-speed travel.

"Oh, no!"

Long Chen was so focused on the thrill that he didn't expect two figures to suddenly appear ahead. They were also wearing armor and were running, but their speed was no different from a snail's compared to Long Chen.

"People ahead, get out of the way! I can't stop!"

*Boom!*

Just as Long Chen finished shouting, a loud crash was heard as he slammed heavily into those two. The two of them were immediately sent flying into the air as if riding on clouds, flailing their limbs and screaming loudly.

*Thud! Thud!*

Two muffled sounds followed as the two flew dozens of zhang away before landing on the ground. Accompanied by groans of pain, they rolled a long distance, looking extremely disheveled.

"Crap, a rear-end collision. I'm probably at full fault," Long Chen couldn't help but be startled.

"Bastard, hand over your Nameplate!"

While Long Chen was dazed, the two had already scrambled up from the ground and rushed in front of him, pointing and roaring.

As they roared, they took off their helmets. Both had disheveled hair, bloody noses, and several bruises on their faces; it seemed the collision had really done a number on them.

"Damn it, that hurts so much! I can't even feel my nose anymore! What are you still standing there for? Hand over your Nameplate!" one of them yelled angrily while groaning in pain.

"Oh, oh, I'm sorry. I'm just a beginner who's newly on the road and not very familiar with the conditions. This Nameplate will be my apology to you both."

Long Chen felt somewhat in the wrong and handed his 'Heaven' character Nameplate to the man. Anyway, he already had a full set, so this one was useless to him.

The man took the Nameplate while cursing and glanced at Long Chen: "Kid, consider yourself lucky this time. Watch where you're going next time."

"Sure, sure, I'll definitely be careful next time," Long Chen said with a grin.

"Let's go. Big Brother Qi told us to gather quickly and not delay his important business. Let's just let this kid go," one of them said, pulling the other along as they left in a hurry.

After the two disappeared, Long Chen was slightly stunned. 'Big Brother Qi? Someone who can be called Big Brother should be a monster-class figure. Could it be Qi Xin?'

Long Chen's eyes darted around, and he began to quietly follow behind those two. 'Hehe, Qi Xin, let me see what kind of mischief you're up to.'