The Imperial Academy opened once a month for all the noble heirs in the imperial capital. Its operational time was one day; the morning was used for studying poetry and etiquette, while in the afternoon, the martial arts book collection inside the academy was open for free to everyone.
Previously, every time the Imperial Academy opened, it basically had absolutely nothing to do with Long Chen, not even in the slightest, because if he went, he would only become the target of everyone’s mockery.
But now it was different. After swallowing the Wind Palace Pill, Long Chen had successfully condensed the embryonic form of the Wind Palace Star.
Although it was only an embryonic form and couldn’t store much Spiritual Qi yet, its storage capacity was much larger than the body’s meridians. Meridians are like rivers, while the Dantian is an ocean that accommodates hundreds of rivers, commonly referred to as the Sea of Qi.
Rivers might seem plentiful, but their capacity is limited. Without the support of the Dantian, those rivers would quickly dry up. However, all these problems were completely solved with the formation of the Wind Palace Star.
Most importantly, the Wind Palace Star had condensed its embryo. As long as he had enough energy in the future, it would eventually form a complete Wind Palace Star.
At that time, Long Chen would possess his very own first “Dantian.” This was the most absurd point of the Nine Star Tyrant Body Art.
When all Nine Stars were fully opened, it was equivalent to having nine Dantians operating simultaneously. Even thinking with one’s heel, one could tell how powerful and formidable such a booming source of spiritual energy would be.
Moreover, even though Long Chen possessed all the circulation methods of the Nine Star Tyrant Body Art, his understanding of this heaven-defying technique was still very little and he needed to continue exploring it.
Once he completely condensed the Wind Palace Star, he would be able to store a massive amount of Spiritual Qi. He could then attempt to condense his bloodline to enter the Blood Condensation realm, and instantly become a true martial artist.
The Qi Gathering realm was merely the first step into the martial path. Only when one stepped into the Blood Condensation realm, with qi and blood surging throughout the body and combat power surging insanely, could one be called a true martial artist.
Long Chen currently didn’t know which layer of cultivation he was at in the Qi Gathering realm, but with the formation of the Wind Palace Star embryo, his body had been significantly strengthened, which made him extremely joyous.
Now, with a simple throw of a punch, the howling sound of the wind could shatter a flower vase from five feet away. His entire body was brimming with power.
Coming to the Imperial Academy this time, he was aiming for the martial arts book collection. His Wind Palace Star had begun to form, and the Spiritual Qi in his body was also gradually becoming abundant; he could already practice martial arts combat techniques.
What is called martial combat techniques are fighting skills deduced by the great preceding experts based on their own Spiritual Qi through meridian circulation.
Combat techniques are extremely terrifying. These techniques allow a martial artist to detonate devastating power that is several times stronger than ordinary combat power, making it irresistible.
Therefore, combat techniques were absolutely vital for every martial artist. Now that Long Chen had the Spiritual Qi to practice combat techniques, he couldn’t wait any longer.
The Imperial Academy was located on the north side of the imperial capital, stretching over tens of miles, and was the grandest building aside from the imperial palace.
After verifying his waist badge, Long Chen entered the Imperial Academy and headed straight for the Literature Hall. This was the place to “cultivate” in the morning; listening to teachers discuss the past and present, poetry, etiquette, literary allusions, and some other outdated theories.
As soon as he stepped into the Literature Hall, because he arrived early, there were only a few dozen noble heirs present in this vast hall.
“Haha, Brother Long, you came!”
As soon as Long Chen arrived, several youths immediately greeted him warmly.
These youths were just like Long Chen; for various reasons, they also couldn’t cultivate. Although they weren’t close friends, they could be said to share the same fate and hardships.
In the Fengming Empire that highly revered martial arts, even though they weren’t bullied as severely as Long Chen, they were also often mocked, insulted, and looked down upon.
Because of that, these people could chat quite amicably with Long Chen, especially since they hadn’t seen Long Chen come here for a long time, so they were very happy to see him today.
“Haha, it seems you all came quite early,” replied Long Chen, greeting them back with a smile. Now that his Wind Palace Star was successfully condensed, his mood was very good, completely altering his gloominess in the past.
“I heard a few days ago, Brother Long showed off your prowess and defeated Li Hao. It truly left us in awe. Can Brother Long cultivate now?” asked a skinny youth with a very envious look.
They were initially on the same level as Long Chen. Now hearing that Long Chen had actually defeated Li Hao, who was at the third layer of the Qi Gathering realm, besides being shocked, they also felt a bit envious.
“Hehe, just pure luck. But recently, I learned a divine skill,” said Long Chen mysteriously, not wanting to continue the topic.
“A divine skill? What is it?” As expected, everyone’s attention was instantly drawn, and the topic of conversation immediately shifted.
“Hehe, lately I obtained a secret book on face reading techniques. I diligently studied it and have gained a bit of enlightenment,” said Long Chen with a slightly proud expression.
“Face reading? Isn’t that just a trick of street fortune tellers?”
“Of course not. I’ve been studying the art of face reading recently and gained a bit of enlightenment. That day I saw Li Hao’s forehead turn black and the corner of his brow radiated an aura of bad luck; that was clearly a sign that disaster would soon strike him. That’s why I agreed to duel with him. And the result… hehe,” Long Chen smiled without finishing his sentence.
Everyone was half-believing and half-doubting. Suddenly someone said with a look of enlightenment, “It seems that’s true! I heard that day Li Hao acted like he was possessed, completely unable to exert his combat power, and was instantly defeated by Brother Long.”
They had all heard about the duel between Long Chen and Li Hao, but most of them felt Li Hao’s defeat was very illogical. Now that Long Chen mentioned it, they could suddenly match up the facts, and couldn’t help but begin to believe Long Chen’s words.
“Hehe, Brother Long, since you are an expert in face reading, can you help me see why my fiancée always avoids me and doesn’t want to meet? What exactly is going on?” asked one of them with a gloomy face.
“No problem. Come, come, let’s find a place to sit first, standing here doesn’t feel right.”
They then found a table in the corner and sat down. On the table were some snacks provided for the noble heirs to enjoy.
Long Chen pointed at a pastry on the table and smiled at the person, “Eat a piece.”
“Alright.” The person didn’t hesitate. He took a piece of pastry and ate it. The others looked at Long Chen slightly confused.
“How does it taste?”
“Very delicious.”
“Want another piece?”
“Sure.”
The person took another piece of pastry and immediately ate it. However, after one bite, his expression suddenly showed enlightenment. He looked at Long Chen respectfully and said, “Thank you for the guidance, Brother Long. I understand now. Actually, all this time I’ve been too greedy. Brother Long is reminding me that humans need to be contented, right?”
Everyone looked at Long Chen with admiration, not expecting Long Chen’s spiritual level to be so profound that even a small piece of pastry could provide deep enlightenment.
However, Long Chen shook his head and sighed, “You are wrong. What I want to warn you about is: You are already as fat as a pig, yet you still eat so greedily like this, to the point you can barely fit through the front door.
Your fiancée is only avoiding you and hasn’t canceled your engagement; that alone is an immense tolerance. Be grateful.
With a body shape like yours, any woman sleeping next to you would definitely be scared half to death, afraid that you might roll over and squash her as flat as a painting.”
The person’s face turned red. After being reminded by Long Chen, he looked down at his own body that was over five feet tall and over four and a half feet wide, and felt that he did indeed seem a bit overweight.
“Fatty Yu, stop wasting Brother Long’s precious time. Hurry home and lose weight. Brother Long, hehe, try looking at how my face is?” exclaimed another skinny man with a respectful smile.
“You huh…” Long Chen looked at him seriously. A moment later he said, “Your face shows that you are destined to live in poverty and suffer before the age of thirty. But fortunately, after thirty…”
The man was overjoyed, “Will I achieve great success after thirty?”
“No, after thirty, you will slowly get used to it,” answered Long Chen.
The person, “…”
Everyone couldn’t hold back their loud laughter. In the midst of their laughter, suddenly a pair of eyes full of venomous hatred glared at them, causing everyone’s laughter to stop instantly.
Long Chen had sensed it from the beginning. He turned his head and saw Li Hao staring sharply at him like two sharp swords.
“The great Young Master Li, are your injuries healed? Truly worthy of celebration. But the injuries up top are indeed healed, what about your injuries down there?” asked Long Chen full of “concern.”
Li Hao’s face twitched. When he was carried back to his estate on a stretcher, his entire face had almost been flattened into a flat board by Long Chen’s knee.
The Li family hurriedly begged for an alchemist’s help from the Alchemist Association and spent a massive amount of gold coins to recover Li Hao.
Admittedly, having lots of money was nice. In such a short time, Li Hao already looked like a normal person again.
But today, after Long Chen brought it up, Li Hao instantly felt excruciating pain in his manhood like a reflex, as if he was recalling Long Chen’s kick from back then.
Long Chen’s kick that time was too cruel, nearly crippling him. What made him hate it to the point of gritting his teeth the most was, when he was carried home to be treated, only then was it realized that one of his eggs had gone missing.
When the people from his estate rushed to the arena, the fighting arena had long been cleaned up. Rumor has it, that egg of his had been carried off by a stray dog.
The moment Li Hao regained consciousness and heard the news, he almost fainted again from being so angry. However, everything was unsalvageable. No matter how great an alchemist was, it was impossible for them to mold a new egg for him.
Even though he didn’t walk with a limp, losing one of the things that was supposed to be symmetrical made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
Now that it was brought up by Long Chen, his facial expression became incredibly grim. Staring intently at Long Chen, he gritted his teeth and said, “Long Chen, you bastard, I challenge you to a life and death duel. Do you dare accept it?”
Long Chen’s face, initially smiling, instantly tensed up. That address was extremely insulting, especially since it insulted his mother.
Truly courting death. Since you want to be freed from worldly suffering, I will grant your wish.
“Like I said before, I want to add a wager.”
Long Chen looked at Li Hao. Since this person wanted to die, his death must have value. After all, they came from the same country; he couldn’t bear to see Li Hao die in vain as lightly as a goose feather.
“Fine! No matter what your wager is, I, Li Hao, will oblige.” His heart, however, sneered coldly. No matter how much the wager is, you won’t have the life to spend it. Li Hao had lost terribly last time due to his carelessness, which allowed Long Chen to find an opening. He would not let himself repeat the same mistake.
This time was different from the last. What he was talking about was a life and death duel. In the previous duel, even though killing the opponent was not held accountable, as long as the opponent surrendered, he couldn’t kill them.
But a death duel was different. Once two people stepped onto the stage, it was equivalent to handing over their lives. Surrendering was useless. The winning party had full rights over their opponent’s life and death.
“Good. Tomorrow at three-quarters past noon, we meet at the Life and Death Arena,” Li Hao laughed sinisterly, looking at Long Chen as if he were looking at a corpse.
Long Chen laughed coldly in his heart. Now was the time to teach a harsh lesson. Seeing Li Hao about to leave, Long Chen smiled slyly and said, “Be careful when walking, keep your balance so you don’t fall.”
Hearing Long Chen’s words, Li Hao, who had already turned to leave, suddenly froze stiff. His face was almost distorted by anger; he understood the meaning of Long Chen’s words.
He took a deep breath, acted as if he didn’t hear Long Chen’s words, and slowly walked towards another direction in the Literature Hall.
However, Long Chen’s words were like steel needles piercing his sensitive parts. Every time he took a step, it triggered a memory that pierced to the bone.
He wanted to pretend to walk away without caring about it, but the harder he tried, his steps actually looked increasingly unnatural, making everyone look at him strangely.
Seeing Li Hao walking far away with a waddle like a duck, someone beside Long Chen reminded him cautiously, “Brother Long, why did you agree to it? That is a life and death duel, lives will be lost.”
“It’s alright. Today I saw the face between his eyebrows covered in dark clouds and an aura of death. That is a sign that his life has been locked by the demon of death. He will not live past the day after tomorrow. Oh right, there is one thing I’d like to ask you all for help with.” After speaking, Long Chen whispered something to them in a low voice.
The people looked at each other. Finally, the man called Fatty Yu gritted his teeth and said, “Brother Long, since you asked for it, take all my savings.”
After saying that, he handed a crystal card to Long Chen. Long Chen didn’t expect this Fatty Yu to be so loyal. It turned out, the card contained eighty thousand gold coins.
Although they were also noble heirs, they fundamentally came from branch descendants and were not considered important. These gold coins were a massive amount of money for Fatty.
“Damn, I also have sixty thousand here. Take it!”
“Mine is a bit less, only thirty thousand. Brother Long, this is the extent of my ability.”
“I also have…”
Initially, Long Chen thought being able to borrow around eight to ten thousand from them would already be pretty good. He didn’t expect them to give all their wealth to help him.
“Friends, in the event I die, this money of yours will vanish in vain,” Long Chen reminded while looking at the row of crystal cards in his hand.
“Does Brother Long look down on us? We all cannot cultivate, and we also not infrequently swallow annoyance from them. Since Brother Long dares to risk your life to fight, even though we don’t have that courage, at least we can provide this support.”
Seeing Long Chen accept the life and death duel challenge from Li Hao, their shared sense of hostility was also ignited. When Long Chen asked for help, their minds ran hot and they no longer cared about anything else.
Long Chen nodded; he would engrave this debt of gratitude in his heart. With over two hundred thousand gold coins in his hands, it was already enough for him to do something.
Right at that moment, the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed. A group of people stepped into the Literature Hall. The hall, initially somewhat noisy, instantly turned completely silent.
