NINE STAR HEGEMON BODY ARTS

The one in front of him was the person who had almost been beaten to pulp by Long Chen, Zhou Yaoyang. Martial artists truly did have a tenacious life force.

Last time he had practically been crushed into a piece of pulp, but now he seemed totally fine. The Zhou family truly was willing to spend money on their son.

Every single bone had been broken in his body. It was only by spending a great many gold coins that he was pulled back from the gates of h.e.l.l.

But even with the Zhou family's financial resources, his wounds had still been extremely severe. He had come to the guild today to ask for powerful recovery pills.

The current him was extremely weak. Ever since he had been beat, for some reason he would always start to hallucinate in the middle of the night. Countless demons would plague him, and now he didn't even dare sleep with the lights off.

And furthermore, every morning he would feel his soul ache as if pincus.h.i.+ons were stabbing into him, paining him so badly he could only roll on the ground.

But the alchemists of the guild couldn't find any reason for this despite examining him multiple times. They could only conclude that it was due to a deficit in qi within him, so they had to first restore him.

But even after half a month pa.s.sed, he hadn't improved in that regard in the slightest. The symptoms actually worsened, and even if he didn't fall asleep he would see countless demons demanding his life.

And as for the pain in his soul in the morning, it was no longer pincus.h.i.+ons, but a blazing flame roasting him, making it so painful he wished he could die. The current Zhou Yaoyang was extremely emanc.i.p.ated, and his complexion was turning yellow, a large difference from his old confident and easy self..

"Zhou Yaoyang, it's been a while. How have you been recently?" Long Chen smiled as if blessing him and cupped his hands in greeting.

Originally Zhou Yaoyang was just a bit anxious, but as soon as he saw Long Chen it was if he had seen a ghost and his face turned deathly pale.

"Long Chen… you… how are you?"

"You don't look so good. It really makes me uneasy. I'm just worried for. How are the demons at night and soul roasting in the morning?" asked Long Chen.

"You… you… how do you know about that? Could it be… it was you?" Zhou Yaoyang's eyes were filled with alarm.

He suddenly remembered the Yaowan Long Chen had fed him after beating him.

According to the alchemist guild, it had been a pill to protect the organs and its effect was to make sure he wouldn't die for a while despite his internal organ failure.

But Zhou Yaoyang always felt that something was wrong with that, and hearing Long Chen's words today, he immediately suspected that pill.

Thinking about the pain he had going through these days, he angrily shouted and charged at Long Chen.

A simple slap landed on his face. The force behind it wasn't too great and it only sent him flying.

"Despicable? You dare call me that? No matter how despicable I am, it's not even a hundredth of how bad you are! Tell me, just how many despicable methods have you used against me these years?"

Long Chen lightly waved his hand and indifferently said, "You yourself don't even remember anymore. Being cruel will always have a reprisal. Now that I'm stronger, am I supposed to not get back a bit of revenge?"

The slap on his face completely sobered Zhou Yaoyang. Despite recuperating from his wounds these days, he hadn't stopped getting information about Long Chen.

The fact that Long Chen had beaten an imperial bodyguard of the Grand Xia's prince had completely shaken the capital; that was a true expert at the Blood Condensation realm!

In terms of martial might, Zhou Yaoyang was no longer a match for Long Chen. In terms of status, Long Chen was a grand Pill Apprentice, and he was even less comparable to him.

Zhou Yaoyang couldn't help being suspicious to what the alchemists at the guild had told him. The alchemist guild should be fully aware of all of Long Chen's methods so they should have been able to cure him! Instead they let him suffer endless torment.

But he didn't know that he had misjudged the guild. Long Chen had applied a bit of Ghost Seeking Liquid atop the medicinal pill. Other than grandmaster Yun Qi, no one else would be able to figure this out.

Obviously Manghuang Hou had no way of inviting someone as grand as Yun Qi. Let alone him, even a prince didn't have that capability.

"Long Chen, what do you want in order to let me free?" Zhou Yaoyang ground his teeth.

"Zhou Yaoyang, what happened to all the unyielding courage of yours? You tormented me for so many years but I never gave in to you. Now things have only turned to my side for such a short time. If you want to stop now, it's already too late. Gotta follow the rules of the game," indifferently said Long Chen. He then turned to leave.

"You really won't let me off?"

"If you want to escape the depths of misery, it's very simple. Take your sword and pull it against your neck. It only hurts for a second and then you'll be free. Don't beg me for help."

Zhou Yaoyang was so furious his entire body shook. When he was haunted by ghosts and his soul scorched, he truly did want to use death to free himself of the pain.

But as soon as that moment he pa.s.sed he returned to a normal person and was full of longing towards life. He couldn't simply end his life.

If he chose life, it was misery. If he chose death, he was unable to go through with it. Zhou Yaoyang was about to collapse. He didn't have the courage to kill himself, but if it continued like this, he'd go crazy.

Zhou Yaoyang ground his teeth and actually knelt on the ground.

"Long Chen, I beg you, I admit defeat."

Long Chen's hatred no longer burned as strongly as it had before. The current Long Chen was high and far above Zhou Yaoyang and they were no longer on the same level. He didn't place a small ant within his eyes.

Long Chen wasn't a priest who would repay enmity with kindness. But looking at Zhou Yaoyang's miserable state, most of his anger faded.

And it was also perfect since Long Chen was wis.h.i.+ng to hear some secrets from him. Just as he reached his hand to rub his spatial ring, Long Chen's Spiritual Strength suddenly noticed that Zhou Yaoyang was secretly clenching his fists and was filled with bitter resentment.

Long Chen quietly muttered to himself for a moment before he coldly smiled. A Yaowan appeared out of his spatial ring and he threw it directly to Zhou Yaoyang.

"This Yaowan is for you. I hope you won't be enemies with me in the future, otherwise you'll regret it for a lifetime." Long Chen then left.

Zhou Yaoyang waited till Long Chen was far away before getting up. Looking at his distant figure, he narrowed his eyes.

"Long Chen, if I don't let you die a miserable death then I won't be Zhou Yaoyang!"

He wasn't afraid of Long Chen poisoning him because there were several people in the distance who had seen what had just happened. If he really did die from this Yaowan, Long Chen wouldn't be able to escape punishment. Therefore he swallowed the Yaowan confidently.

The next day, Zhou Yaoyang was overjoyed to find that his night terrors were gone and he no longer had to suffer the feeling of his soul burning every morning.

He coldly sneered inside. "Long Chen, just wait. The next time I take action I'll be taking your life in one fell swoop. At that time, the person who will be regretful is you!"

Back when Long Chen saw Zhou Yaoyang eat it, he also had sneered. You really are too evil to live. I actually wanted to spare your life, but unfortunately you're courting disaster.

"Brother Long?"

Long Chen had been just walking along the road when a shout suddenly called out to him.

He turned to see it was Fatty Yu. He was amazed to find that he had actually already reached the third Heavenstage of Qi Condensation. Due to his cultivation, his originally fat build now appeared to be st.u.r.dy and strong.

"Fatty, you're not bad. You've already reached the third Heavenstage of Qi Condensation," smiled Long Chen.

"Hehe, this is all because of brother Long." He somewhat bashfully said, "Brother Long, I was just thinking about going over to pay a visit to you."

"What do you need?"

"No no, it's just that since I've broken through to the third Heavenstage I feel like I should celebrate. Look at what s.h.i.+ Feng; I can't be too shameful in comparison right?" said Fatty Yu

"He advanced to the Blood Condensation realm while you are just at the third Heavenstage of Qi Condensation. Why does there need to be some grand celebration?" laughed Long Chen.

"Haha, those aren't the same. I couldn't even cultivate before, so the celebration this time is definitely on the same level as s.h.i.+ Feng's!" earnestly said Fatty Yu.

"Well when someone invites me to drink, I never refuse my bros. Let's go."

"Yes, perfect! I've already ordered a feast and we're only lacking you."

The restaurant Fatty Yu brought him to was in the southern side of the city. Although it wasn't as famous as the one s.h.i.+ Feng had brought them to, it wasn't that much worse.

When Long Chen entered, he saw that Fatty Yu had told the truth; s.h.i.+ Feng, Shou Hou and the others were already there.

"Haha, Brother Long has finally arrived."

Long Chen also laughed. He greeted everyone, and as soon as he sat down, the food and drinks were brought out.

"Today is to celebrate my advancement to the third Heavenstage! From here I've stepped onto the first step of cultivation and a bright future has been opened in front of me! This toast is for Long Chen!"

Everyone loudly praised him. They were all people who had changed their fates only because of Long Chen.

Long Chen also didn't stand on ceremony and drank a large cup of alcohol in one go.

Everyone was friends, so there was no need to restrain oneself and everyone drank copiously. Other than s.h.i.+ Feng and Fatty Yu, the rest of them were had yet to advance past the first Heavenstage of Qi Condensation; heroic spirits they had, but a high tolerance of alcohol they did not.

After just a few cups, a lot of mouths became unguarded.

"Brother Long, it's like you're a martial G.o.d from the heavens, an unparalled genius amongst men. We're all wondering just what kind of woman is suitable for you?" asked someone with the help of the alcohol.

Before Long Chen could even answer, Shou Hou followed up, "Hehe, at the very least it's gotta be a princess. As for looks, it's got to be a beauty capable of captivating the birds and beasts, eclipsing the moon and shaming flowers. And as for cultivation level? That's whatever. In any case no one dares bully brother Long; even the Grand Xia's prince is not someone he is afraid of! So his future wife doesn't need to be so strong, haha."

"Right! In our Phoenix Cry Empire, the one who fits those criteria the best is only the third princess!" said Fatty Yu, his eyes lighting up.

"I've seen the third princess before, and although she's beautiful, that kind of temperament is terrifying. Normal people wouldn't be able to handle it," sighed someone else.

"Tch, that's because she still hasn't met brother Long! Even a tiger will become a kitten in front of brother Long!"

Long Chen was without words for a moment; when they raised the topic of the third princess, the beautiful image of Chu Yao appeared in his mind.

He couldn't help feeling some pity. Chu Yao was actually a gentle-hearted woman, but in order to protect herself, she had to act arrogant and rude to the world.

Thinking about the time they'd had together, a warm feeling filled him. At the same time he felt awkward inside; wasn't talking about such things like this unworthy of Chu Yao?

Long Chen was in the middle of thinking that over when a woman's cold laugh rang out.