Chapter 102 - Liu Yuan

It was already dawn, but there were still six days until the training exercise.

During that time, everyone was busy cultivating and increasing their strength, so none of them bothered with Long Chen.

The sixth Blazing Thunder Crystal ... It doesn’t hurt as much, but it still took me four hours to merge with it!

Long Chen slowly felt the barbaric strength coursing within his body.

I might’ve died if I didn’t have the Dragon Soul Transformation. The more crystals I merge with, the harder and more painful it becomes to merge with the next one. I wonder what the limit of my dragon body is?

There was little time left, so Long Chen went all out.

With so little time until the training exercise, Long Chen would rather increase his physical strength and Qi using the Blazing Thunder Crystals rather than cultivating something else, as the benefit was immense.

I should be able to deal with someone at the mid-Human Core Realm, but I would lose if I came across someone at the late Human Core Realm, much less Feng Wutian himself. Not only does he have numerous martial techniques, his bloodline is also very strong.

The peak Human Core Realm was just a step away from the Earthly Core Realm. If Feng Wutian had more resources at his disposal, he could easily dish out attacks beyond the strength of a Human Core Realm cultivator.

“If he were to attack you now, you would die in one strike.” Ling Xi frowned.

Long Chen was worried when he thought about Feng Wutian. He knew that the key to surviving the Heavenly Martial Realm was the seventh Blazing Thunder Crystal.

“Damn it! I don’t care anymore. I will just go all out. I don’t care who I will face, but I will make sure to hit them so hard that they can’t stand up anymore!”

Ling Xi shook her head silently when she saw how agitated Long Chen was. The gap in strength was not something passion and determination could bridge.

But she didn’t have the heart to tell him so.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The merging of the seventh Blazing Thunder Crystal gave Long Chen some pressure even though he had transformed. Still, the pain was not as bad as the fourth crystal, but the time it took to merge with it was significantly longer.

He finished half a day later.

“Time for the eighth one!”

The date of the training exercise was getting closer, so he didn’t dare to stop. The pain he was enduring during the merging of the eighth crystal was comparable to the pain of the fourth.

But Long Chen knew he couldn't chicken out now. The pressure Feng Wutian placed on him was immense!

“Only those that can endure this will survive! Those who can’t endure hardships would perish!”

He gritted his teeth and endured the pain. Ling Xi’s voice became slightly hoarse when she saw how determined Long Chen was.

She didn’t know what to say when she saw how hardworking and smart Long Chen was.

It took him two whole days to merge the eighth crystal!

The pain was quite unforgiving at first, but he grew used to it as time went on. His determination to endure the pain was unbreakable.

“Long Chen, how about we stop here? We shouldn’t merge the ninth one now.” Ling Xi was worried about him.

She was, however, impressed by how resilient Long Chen was.

“Are you kidding me? This small amount of pain is not my limit!”

Long Chen fished out the ninth crystal from his Universe Pouch.

After merging with the eighth crystal, his body was considerably stronger than before.

The powers of lightning and fire in his dantian were slowly fusing with his Human Core.

“I can become a Blazing Thunder Warrior the moment I merge with ten!”

Long Chen was confident, so he quickly started merging the ninth crystal. The merger this time was significantly more difficult than the previous one, and it was even more painful, leaving his face pale from the pain.

He was currently enveloped in blue fire and lightning, making him look very gnarly.

A large amount of energy gradually leaked out of his body. He was covered in flames, and lightning was flickering through the flames and his skin.

He endured the pain for the next few days and gradually got used to it. Even though it was difficult, he still endured.

The ninth crystal took me three whole days to merge with. Tomorrow is the training exercise, so I don’t have enough time to merge with the tenth crystal ...

Long Chen sighed. He had almost become a Blazing Thunder Warrior, but there was no time.

“I don’t know if I would become one if I finished absorbing the tenth crystal, but if I did, I would at least increase my chances of survival in the Heavenly Martial Realm.”

Long Chen, however, was not disappointed with his progress.

I now have the intermediate Black-tier martial technique Burning Devil Sun Fist and the Life Combat Technique Recovery. I even have the elementary Black-tier Body Combat Technique Nine Heavens Dragon Step. Thanks to the Blazing Thunder Crystals, both my physical strength and Qi have become much stronger. Adding in the Dragon Soul Transformation and Blood Transmutation, I should be able to fight against a late Human Core Realm cultivator ...

Long Chen was filled with determination and confidence.

After merging so many crystals, he took an entire day to consolidate what he had learned so far. The second day soon came, and it was already morning. Gan Lin escorted him from the Turquoise Willow Residence.

“We will go to the Turquoise Sun Hall first. The administrator has already brought both Liu Ling and Feng Wutian over. Our expert cultivators as well as our Sect Elder, Liu Yuan, will be there. He’s at the Heavenly Core Realm, so you should treat him with respect.”

Long Chen noted down in his heart what Gan Lin had said.

There were numerous experts in the Lingwu family. Long Chen was just a minor character here, so he was excited to see how strong they were.

Mo Xiaolang and Liu Yuan were the two strongest cultivators he had ever seen.

But Liu Lan had ignored him and brought Feng Wutian and Liu Ling to the Turquoise Sun Hall instead. This made Long Chen feel dejected.

So she doesn't think highly of me at all?

That was the only explanation.

It was Liu Lan who had instigated the conflict with Feng Wutian. Long Chen had no idea what she was trying to accomplish here.

There were five administrators in the Turquoise Sun Hall. They each had their own residence to take care of. The Turquoise Willow Residence was one of them. As for the Turquoise Sun Hall, its buildings were much more elaborate, considering it was one of the eight major halls of the Turquoise family.

While the residences of the Turquoise family housed the youths, the Turquoise Sun Hall housed older experts. Long Chen saw several middle-aged cultivators beyond the Human Core Realm here even though he had just set foot in the Turquoise Sun Hall.

As for the hall itself, everyone with significant strength was already gathered here.

The Sect Elder was at the top of the hierarchy and the administrators were just below him. Older disciples who were strong would have the chance of being granted the title of elder. There are currently four elders in the Turquoise Sun Hall.

A sage-like middle-aged man was sitting at the chair in the center. On his left sat four old people, and on his right were five younger people. Liu Lan was one of them.

Sitting directly in front of them were the talented disciples who would represent the Turquoise Sun Hall in the training exercise.

When they arrived, Gan Lin greeted them and then sent Long Chen in before exiting courteously to return to the Turquoise Willow Residence.

Because Long Chen was the last person who had entered the hall and he had a grudge against Feng Wutian, everyone stared at him in unison.

Why are they staring at me like that? It's as if they are trying to strip me bare.

He cursed in his heart, but he did not show any disrespect. He greeted everyone. “Disciple Long Chen greets the Sect Elder, the four elders, and the five administrators!”

The four elders were so old that their faces were almost frozen in place. They stared at Long Chen blankly, while the four administrators smiled at Long Chen. Liu Lan, however, was acting as if this was the first time she had met him.

Damn. What is that bitch thinking ...

Long Chen finally noticed Liu Yuan.

Liu Yuan had also finished observing Long Chen. Thinking back about what his younger daughter had told him, he glanced at his elder daughter, Liu Lan, without a word.

It was clear what he was trying to say. Liu Lan had given Long Chen a false estimate of three stars in terms of potential.

He has just entered the Lingwu family and is not from a prestigious bloodline. Not only did he break the promise to fight in the Mortal Arena, but Long Chen is also at the initial Human Core Realm. Why did Liu Lan give him three stars?

Even though he was unsatisfied with Long Chen, Liu Yuan was too lazy to change the roster after he had submitted it. “So you are Long Chen? You have just entered the Lingwu family and have the opportunity to join a training exercise held in the Heavenly Martial Realm. I hope you can seize the opportunity without ruining our reputation. The competition between each hall is fierce, and it directly affects our standing, so the ten of you must fight with all of your strength. Understand?”