Marquis of the Savage Lands

In front of Marquis Zhenyuan's Mansion, hundreds of elite soldiers had the entire estate surrounded, impenetrable. A middle-aged man in silver armor sat astride his horse, looking arrogantly at Madam Long.

Madam Long, pale-faced, was saying something to the man. Behind her, Bao'er and the rest of the family watched the armored soldiers with terrified expressions.

When Long Chen appeared, the man's eyes lit up. He let out a cold shout, "Long Chen, you gravely injured Zhou Yaoyang, the young master, for no reason. I am ordered to arrest you. Surrender now!"

"Clang!"

Over a hundred long swords were drawn, letting out a roar. The entire scene was filled with a murderous aura, making it difficult to breathe.

These were all elite soldiers, carrying a heavy scent of blood. Madam Long had never seen such a grim scene before. Her face instantly turned as pale as paper, and she swayed precariously. If not for Bao'er supporting her, she wouldn't have been able to stand.

Long Chen ignored the gleaming long swords before him and walked to his mother's side. Seeing the terror in her eyes, his heart ached.

"Mother, it's alright. It's just a dream. When you wake up, everything will be gone," Long Chen said softly, holding his mother's hand.

As Long Chen spoke, a gentle soul power emanated, and Madam Long's eyelids immediately felt heavy as lead. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

"Bao'er, Aunt Zhang, help my mother inside."

Long Chen couldn't bear to see his mother frightened. He used his soul power to lull her to sleep. Otherwise, a mortal like his mother would find it hard to endure such a shock and would easily fall ill.

Bao'er followed Long Chen's orders and, along with Aunt Zhang, helped Madam Long inside. Long Chen then told everyone to close the main gate.

Looking at the man sitting on the horse, sensing the faint aura of blood emanating from him, a mocking smile appeared on Long Chen's lips:

"Just a half-step Blood Condensation."

Seeing that Long Chen had finished, the man, instead of surrendering, was looking at him nonchalantly. He narrowed his eyes.

"Long Chen, you have committed a heinous crime. No one can protect you now. Are you waiting for me to take action myself?" the man shouted coldly.

"General? You're f*cking just a Brigadier General, a dog in plain terms. You dare call yourself a general? Do you want to die laughing?" Long Chen pointed at the man's nose and cursed.

Brigadier General was the lowest rank among generals in the Phoenix Cry Empire. They had no merits and no real power; they were essentially just squad leaders.

However, this fellow had been ecstatic when he was first promoted to Brigadier General, constantly referring to himself as "this general." He had become accustomed to it.

Long Chen's words were like poisoned arrows, piercing the man's heart, instantly making his face extremely ugly.

He was a man of humble origins, having toiled in the military for over a decade. Now that he finally had a chance to break through to the Blood Condensation realm, he was exceptionally promoted to Brigadier General.

Now, his greatest honor was being trampled underfoot, igniting a strong killing intent within him.

"Long Chen, don't force me to kill you," the man gritted his teeth, his hand reaching for the saber at his waist.

"If you dare draw your saber, I'll take your head."

Long Chen stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the man. He spoke very seriously, his voice not loud and without a trace of anger, yet carrying immense confidence.

"You're seeking death!"

The man roared, pressing his hand against his horse's back. He lunged at Long Chen like a falcon, throwing a punch.

He circulated his blood energy, and a faint aura of blood appeared, clearly indicating he was using a sliver of his Blood Condensation realm strength.

Long Chen's eyes flashed like lightning, his expression turning cold. He took a step forward and threw a punch as well.

"Boom!"

The two fists met, sending gusts of wind scattering. A loud explosion echoed, and both were forced back several steps by the impact.

"With just this, you dare to be so arrogant?" Long Chen sneered.

The man's face changed. Being mocked by a youth labeled a good-for-nothing made him furious enough to explode.

"Die!"

"Clang!"

The long saber was drawn, a cold glint slashing down at Long Chen. The whistling wind stung people's eardrums, chilling their hearts.

This was the moment he had been waiting for. Long Chen pushed off the ground and retreated a zhang like a phantom, dodging the man's strike.

In his retreat, he used the newly learned Wind Chasing Steps. Although he was a beginner, Long Chen's fusion with the alchemist emperor's memories made him incredibly proficient in the body's meridian pathways. His mastery was no different from someone who had practiced for decades.

He took a step forward and appeared before a soldier, smashing a fist at him. The soldier was horrified and hastily raised his saber to block.

Suddenly, his palm vibrated, and the saber in his hand disappeared. When he looked at Long Chen again, Long Chen was already holding the saber and slashing fiercely at the Brigadier General.

"Swoosh!"

The Brigadier General, having just missed his strike, hadn't had time to recover. Long Chen had already retreated, disarmed him, and attacked. The entire sequence was fluid, and the whistling wind cut through the air, striking terror into the Brigadier General's heart. He hurriedly channeled his strength to defend.

"Boom!"

After the roar, the Brigadier General felt an irresistible force surge through him, sending him flying several zhang along with his saber.

As soon as he stabilized himself, he felt a chill at his waist. Relying on years of battlefield experience, he instinctively swung his saber without thinking.

Another explosion rang out, sparks flying. A cold glint shot out, flying dozens of zhang and embedding itself in an old tree.

The Brigadier General had blocked Long Chen's attack with his astonishing intuition, but he couldn't resist Long Chen's terrifying strength. His tiger's mouth was split open, and his saber was knocked away.

At this moment, the Brigadier General lost all his previous arrogance, his face filled with utter horror. He saw a cold glint already before his eyes, like the blade of death.

"No!"

"Pfft!"

The terrified voice still echoed in the air, but the brigadier general's head had already flown high up, his face filled with shock and unwillingness.

Before his soul plunged into darkness, he suddenly remembered a sentence Long Chen had said earlier: "If you dare to draw your saber, I'll take your head."

He finally believed it now. Long Chen hadn't been bluffing; he had spoken the truth. Unfortunately, he realized it too late.

Thump

The headless corpse fell to the ground. The head tumbled in the air for a long time before falling to the ground and rolling quite a distance away.

For a moment, all the conscripted soldiers were stunned. Their leader had been killed in the street, and everyone's weapon felt unsteady in their hands.

They were not strangers to bloodshed, but they had never seen such a bloody scene as today. From beginning to end, Long Chen's expression had remained calm, his eyelids not even twitching. This was more terrifying than gritting one's teeth.

"Long Chen, how dare you kill my beloved general? Believe it or not, I'll destroy your Marquis Zhenyuan's Mansion!"

Suddenly, an angry roar came from afar. A middle-aged man with a stern face, accompanied by dozens of powerful individuals, walked towards them.

"Finally decided to show yourself?"

Long Chen sneered inwardly. When he first arrived, he had used his divine sense to scan the surroundings and found people hiding and observing from a distance.

"Marquis of the Savage Lands, truly worthy of the title. Your unreasonable attitude truly lives up to your marquisate."

Long Chen leaned lazily against the stone lion in front of his mansion and said casually.

"Long Chen, today in the Hall of Literature, you offended the Seventh Prince, severely injured my son, and now you've killed my beloved general. Hmph, even if you can talk your way out of it today, you won't escape punishment. Let's see who can save you," the Marquis of the Savage Lands roared angrily.

Looking at this marquis, who was once as famous as his father, a mocking smile appeared on Long Chen's lips. Your pathetic tricks are worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as my father? Bah!

"Zhou Chengqing, are you getting more senile with age? Does Long Chen need anyone to save him? What an idiot."

Long Chen reached into his robes, took out a jade token, and said to him, "Open your dog eyes, your nostrils, and that eye in your butt, and take a good look at what this is."

Marquis of the Savage Lands, Zhou Chengqing, looked at the jade token carved with the image of an alchemy furnace and his face was filled with shock.

"How is this possible? How could you possess an Alchemist Apprentice Token? This must be fake!" Zhou Chengqing roared.

"Idiot, it seems you really are old. With four eyes and one in your butt, you still can't see clearly. Fine, I'll do you a favor and let you see clearly." After speaking, Long Chen directly threw the jade token to Zhou Chengqing.

Zhou Chengqing reached out and took the jade token, examining it carefully. In the end, his face was filled with a look of shock. As a marquis, how could he not recognize the identity token of the Alchemist Guild?

However, it was precisely because he recognized it that his face changed drastically. The signatory on the back of the token was none other than Yun Qi, from the Phoenix Cry Empire. Anyone with a name and standing in the empire would recognize that master, wouldn't they?

Even successive emperors had to show utmost respect to the president of the Alchemist Guild, which showed how esteemed the Alchemist Guild was in the empire.

If a country lacked the support of the Alchemist Guild, it would be devoured by other empires in no time. It could be said that the Alchemist Guild was the empire's sustenance.

"Zhou Chengqing, have you understood now? Can I have my token back?" Long Chen asked with a cold smile, looking at the dazed Marquis of the Savage Lands.

The Marquis of the Savage Lands' face turned ugly. He desperately wanted to crush the jade token and apprehend Long Chen, but he dared not.

Although he didn't know how Long Chen obtained the token, possessing it proved that Long Chen was a member of the Alchemist Guild, people who were above imperial law. He had no right to deal with him.

Taking back the jade token handed over by the Marquis of the Savage Lands, who looked as if he had lost his mother, Long Chen's expression suddenly turned stern, and he coldly rebuked, "Zhou Chengqing, a brigadier general from your mansion surrounded a disciple's residence and attempted to commit murder with a blade. If you don't give me an explanation today, I will apply to the Alchemist Guild tomorrow to sanction the Phoenix Cry Empire."

Zhou Chengqing's face turned pale. The sanctions from the Alchemist Guild were terrifying. They would refuse to supply the empire with elixirs for a period, which was tantamount to killing the empire.

"I was unaware of this matter beforehand. That brat acted entirely on his own initiative. I will return immediately to investigate the reason and will give the heir apparent an explanation soon." With Long Chen's special status now, the Marquis of the Savage Lands had no choice but to swallow his pride.

Damn it, how shameless can one be? To be able to eat back their own shit with a straight face, Long Chen was impressed by the Marquis of the Savage Lands for the first time.

No wonder he was a Blood Condensation realm expert over a decade ago and still is now. It turns out he's spent all these years practicing how to eat shit.

"How you investigate is your business. By the time I wake up tomorrow, the area in front of my mansion must be spotless. Otherwise... you understand the severity of the consequences."

Long Chen snorted coldly, too lazy to argue further with this shameless old fox. After leaving his warning, he directly returned to his mansion and slammed the door shut.

He was truly furious today. He had been provoked in the Hall of Literature in the morning, at Falling Sunset Mountain at noon, and now at his doorstep in the evening. Three incidents in one day, it was utterly tiresome. However, the incident at noon was quite passionate.

After Long Chen disappeared, the Marquis of the Savage Lands' face turned ashen. His attempt to steal a chicken had resulted in losing the bait, and none of his original plans had been achieved; instead, he had brought trouble upon himself.

"My Lord, what should we do?"

"Do? Do your sister! Hurry up and clean this place. Even if you have to lick the bloodstains off the ground with your tongue, lick them clean!"

The Marquis of the Savage Lands, who was already seething with anger and had no outlet, finally found one. After a torrent of curses, he threw the stunned crowd aside and left alone.

"Damn it, how did that little beast become a member of the Alchemist Guild? This is troublesome."

The Marquis of the Savage Lands muttered to himself. After pondering for a moment, seeing that no one was around, he got up and headed in the direction of the imperial palace.