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

Last time, he had been beaten so badly, but now he seemed totally fine. The Zhou family were truly willing to spend money on their son.

Almost every single bone had been broken in his body. It was only by spending a great amount of gold coins that he was pulled back from the gates of hell.

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.

Currently, he was still extremely weak. Ever since he had been beaten, 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 needles were stabbing into him, paining him so badly that he could only roll on the ground.

But the alchemists of the guild couldn’t find any reason for this suffering 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 his body.

But even after half a month had passed, 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.

As for the pain in his soul in the morning, it was no longer needles, but a blazing flame roasting him, making it so painful he wished he could die. The current Zhou Yaoyang was extremely emaciated, 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 he were blessing him and cupped his hands in greeting.

As soon as Zhou Yaoyang saw Long Chen, it was as 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 about you. How are the demons at night and the 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 medicinal pill 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 that he wouldn’t die for a while despite his internal organ failure.

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

“Long Chen, those ghosts are definitely yours! You despicable bastard!” Zhou Yaoyang bitterly exclaimed his resentment.

Thinking about the pain he had been 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 over 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 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 in 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 of 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 had 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 in the guild would be able to figure that out.

Obviously, the Savage Marquis 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 that 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,” said Long Chen indifferently. 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 passed, he returned to be a normal person and was full of longing towards life. That was the reason why he couldn’t even kill himself.

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 intensely 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 wishing 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 medicinal pill appeared out of his spatial ring, and he threw it directly to Zhou Yaoyang.

“This medicinal pill 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 until 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 wouldn’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 medicinal pill, Long Chen wouldn’t be able to escape punishment. Therefore, he swallowed the medicinal pill 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 had also 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 someone suddenly called out to him.

He turned to see that it was fatty Yu. He was amazed to find that he had actually reached the third Heavenstage of Qi Condensation. Due to his cultivation, his originally fat build now appeared to be sturdy 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 Shi Feng did; 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 Shi Feng’s!” said Fatty Yu earnestly.

“Well, when my bros invite me to drink, I can’t possibly say no! 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 Shi Feng had brought them to, it wasn’t that much worse.

When Long Chen entered, he saw that fatty Yu had told the truth; Shi 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! I’ve finally taken the first step on my cultivation path, 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 whose fates had changed 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 Shi Feng and fatty Yu, the rest of them had yet to advance past the first Heavenstage of Qi Condensation; heroic spirits they had, but a high tolerance for alcohol they did not.

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

“Brother Long, it’s like you’re a martial god from the heavens, an unparalleled 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 only one who fits those criteria the best is 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 speechless. When they raised the topic of the third princess, the beautiful image of Chu Yao appeared in his mind.

He couldn’t help but to feel some pity. Chu Yao was actually a gentle-hearted woman, but in order to protect herself, she had 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 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.

“You outrageous peasants really do think of the craziest things. Is the third princess someone you are capable of discussing?”