Chapter 276 - Farewell

Not wanting to cause a commotion, Long Chen snuck into the Silver family compound. Yin Mengyao was currently in the courtyard of her quarters, looking miserable. Long Chen and Mo Xiaolang leaped into the yard.

“Sister Mengyao,” Long Chen called gently, placing Xiaolang down.

When she heard his voice, Yin Mengyao looked up hurriedly. When she saw him, she broke into a grin and asked, “Long Chen, is Emperor Yuan not trying to kill you right now?”

“He tried, but we killed him already,” said Long Chen with a smug grin.

“Nonsense! Don’t lie to me. Come sit here. It should be safe enough; Emperor Yuan can’t come in here.”

Like a true older sister, Yin Mengyao pulled Long Chen over to sit on a stone bench in the pavilion, then she served him some fruits and pastries.

With a

whoosh

, Xiaolang leaped onto the stone table and crouched, watching her with a na?ve, innocent gaze.

“Long Chen, did you get this powerful little wolf from the Burning Heaven Secret Realm?” Yin Mengyao peered at Mo Xiaolang curiously with love in her eyes.

“I did. You can pet him; he won’t bite.” Long Chen still felt guilty whenever Mo Xiaolang’s situation was brought up. Xiaolang was his younger stepbrother, so Long Chen should have protected him. Yet he had ended up like this.

“Really?” Yin Mengyao was tempted to try. After observing Mo Xiaolang for a long time, she only dared to reach out with her hand but not touch him. In the end, Xiaolang stood up and stuck out his pink tongue, then licked the back of her hand once.

Then he turned to eat the pastries on the stone table with utmost focus.

“He’s cute! And he seems to like pastries too. This pine flower cake is Xiaolang’s favorite. Right, Long Chen, can I ask you about him? Did he actually die? Or did he merely leave to start his path of revenge?” Yin Mengyao looked up expectantly.

“I ...” Long Chen hesitated. If Yin Mengyao also knew about his intentions for revenge, that meant she was very important to him. Long Chen wanted to tell her that Mo Xiaolang was standing in front of her, but when he was about to speak, Xiaolang stopped him with a look.

“He told me that he had to go off alone to take revenge, but he will definitely come back to see you,” said Long Chen, changing his mind.

He felt a little bitter. Xiaolang must not have wanted Yin Mengyao to see him in this state, and that was why he had stopped Long Chen. He had always been a good kid who did not want people to worry.

“Alright ...” Yin Mengyao could not do anything about it. Her gaze was fixed on Mo Xiaolang, who was eating the pine flower cake.

“Right, Long Chen, now that you have become an Immortal Guard, when are you going to leave?” she asked.

“In three days. I came here today to bid you farewell,” said Long Chen.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“Three days?” She pursed her lips and lamented, “Both you and Xiaolang are outstanding. I’m your older sister, yet my cultivation level is embarrassingly low. But having you two as my younger brothers is my proudest accomplishment. You two are my biggest heroes!”

“Of course! But we’re only here because of you. You see, it’s definitely not a coincidence that two prodigies ended up becoming your younger brothers. This was all because of your efforts,” said Long Chen with a chuckle.

“Stop buttering me up.” Yin Mengyao was growing shy from his compliments.

“In three days, you’ll also be leaving me ... Sigh. I won’t say too much. As your stepsister, I wish you all the best in becoming the strongest person in the world as soon as possible, then marry a pretty wife and bring her to me!”

“Sister Mengyao, you’re not ambitious enough,” Long Chen said with a grin. “As for wives, the more the merrier. In the future, I’ll bring you an army of sister-in-laws.”

“You’re a jerk with no sense of loyalty! One day, one day ...” Yin Mengyao blushed with rage.

Time passed slowly, and the sorrow of farewell filled their conversations towards the end. Thankfully, Long Chen kept cracking jokes, so the mood was not too somber.

When it was time to go, he did not drag it out; he merely said goodbye and leaped over the wall to leave.

Xiaolang was about to follow him, but after Long Chen leaped over the wall, he backtracked and jumped into Yin Mengyao’s arms. He gazed at her with his bright, intelligent eyes, which were already shining with tears.

Yin Mengyao was speechless. She knew that this little guy had killed the Black Tortoise Patriarch and that he was extremely powerful. “Long ... Long Chen ...”

When Yin Mengyao started shouting in fear, Xiaolang quickly licked her forehead once, then leaped out of her arms and disappeared into the sunset. Yin Mengyao stood there in a daze, staring in the direction they had gone towards.

“That little black wolf ... Why does it give me such a familiar feeling? Its eyes ... Why does it feel like I’ve seen them countless times?”

Yin Mengyao sat in place for a long time but still had no answers.

When night fell, someone suddenly knocked on the wooden door of her courtyard. Yin Mengyao woke up from her daze with a start and hurried to open the door. A young girl with bright eyes and a brighter smile skipped into the yard and said happily, “Sister Mengyao, I have gigantic news!”

“What is it?”

“I’ll tell you if you promise to go out with me tonight!” teased the young girl.

“Alright, alright. You give me a headache.”

“Hehe, really? Don’t you break your promise!”

“When have I ever broken a promise?”

“That’s true.” The young girl cocked her head and exclaimed excitedly, “I just learned that the head of Yuandi City, Emperor Yuan, was defeated and killed by my idol, Brother Long Chen! His head was even chopped off! Yay, yay, yay!”

The girl skipped happily in the yard.

Yin Mengyao’s smile froze. She recalled what Long Chen had said earlier. At the time, he had casually mentioned that he had killed Emperor Yuan, but she thought he was joking.

So it was true ...

Has Long Chen grown to that level already?

***

When night fell, Long Chen visited the Yang family in Baiyang Town. He had not been home for a long time, so the Yang family was very emotional. Yang Lingqing had left with Li Xuanji, and no one knew where she was. Though Long Chen, the Yang family’s most terrifying prodigy, was still in Yuanling City.

At the dinner feast, Long Chen told them about the recent events and his future plans. When they heard him, they were left in a daze, not moving the chopsticks in their hands.

“Grandfather, Uncle, Mother, I am going because I want to achieve greater heights, so that I have a chance at finding Lingqing in the future. As for you guys, I will make arrangements accordingly. I will never let our enemies affect the development of the Yang family,” he said.

After a long pause, the Yang patriarch finally said, “Good! Good! Good!”

Although they were sad to see him go, it was clear that they were extremely proud that such a prodigy came from their family.

Yang Xueqing’s eyes were filled with tears.

She had imagined that Long Chen would soar high, according to Long Qinglan’s prediction, but she had not expected the day to arrive so quickly. She and Long Chen were distant when he was growing up, but Long Chen was the one who mattered most to her now.

Before he left, Long Chen left them many things, many of which would allow the Yang family to prosper easily in the future.

After the feast, when the Yang family was asleep, Long Chen left Baiyang Town and made his way to a vast field. The sky was filled with stars, with nine heavenly rivers crossing through the sky. Long Chen easily spotted the Dubhe Starry River, which was a Yin river.

He had condensed the Yang heavenly river during the day, but now that night had fallen, it was time to condense the Yin heavenly river.

The Yin and Yang heavenly rivers could usually be completed within a short time of each other. Since Long Chen had completed the Yang heavenly river, the Yin heavenly river was much easier. At this point, he needed to use Heavenly River Pills to generate more Qi.

He cultivated until dawn.

There were still two days left, so he decided to spend his remaining time with his family. After all, if he didn’t die in the next chapter of his journey, he didn’t know when he would be back again.

The whole next day was spent with his family, mostly staying with his mother, Yang Xueqing. Although they did not talk much, they had some chemistry.

He spent the next night condensing the Dubhe Starry River.

Finally, after one more night, Long Chen reached the First River Stage. When he officially entered the Heavenly River Realm, the Yin and Yang heavenly rivers flowed in tandem within his body and star power aggregated within his Dubhe Star Vein.

On the day before his departure, everyone watched Long Chen leave the Yang family. They all knew that this day would come eventually, so they were proud of him.

“The Lingwu family only has the Vermilion Bird Matriarch and the White Tiger Patriarch left, while the Beast Soul Palace will surely deteriorate without Emperor Yuan. They are not even capable of taking on the responsibilities of ruling the city. Only the cunning Dawn Trading Alliance remains with their strength intact. This time, I shall pay the Dawn Trading Alliance a visit.”

There was no deep enmity between the Dawn Trading Alliance and Long Chen, unlike the other two factions. Therefore, Long Chen was going there to ask them for a favor. He would obviously give them something in return.

When he arrived at the Dawn Trading Alliance’s headquarters, Long Chen saw a group of people rush inside to report his arrival. Soon after, the rotund Dawn Trading Alliance Chairman, Li Wudi, appeared at the entrance. With him was Li Ziling, who was now the Head Emissary of the Dawn Trading Alliance. An elderly man with a curved nose and a sharp gaze, also known as Old Eagle in the Dawn Trading Alliance, was with them as well.

“Brother Long Chen! Come, come inside!” Li Wudi said with a smile on his face.

News of Long Chen reaching the Heavenly River Realm and killing Emperor Yuan had already spread across Yuanling City. This was more shocking than him beating the Azure Dragon Patriarch.

That was why Li Wudi was terrified when Long Chen paid the Dawn Trading Alliance a visit. Long Chen was the only person in the city that Li Wudi could not afford to offend ...