Chapter 477 - Exchange For Your Life

“In front of me?” Demon General Strongman gasped and his gaze fell on Huangfu Qi. He cried in surprise, “This little girl is young, but she's already at the Fourth Passage Stage! It’s not that surprising that she became the three-time champion! What a prodigy! I wouldn’t even think about resenting someone like her for beating Zhao Wuji.”

The Clear Shallows King froze, knowing that he had misunderstood.

But Huangfu Qi was upset. She grabbed Long Chen’s arm and said, “Uncle Blockhead! What nonsense are you spouting? The person who won first place three times is my Big Brother! He is the number one champion of the qualifiers and should have become the direct disciple of that red toad! Your idiot nephew was no match for my Big Brother! But that red toad has a problem with his brain! He did not want my Big Brother and instead took in Zhao Wuji! That’s why I asked my Big Brother to follow me here!”

Huangfu Qi’s choice of words shook all of them. First, she had called Demon General Strongman “Uncle Blockhead,” which was somewhat acceptable. However, she had called the Red Ghost King “red toad” because of his pockmarked face and red skin. If he heard that Huangfu Qi had called him a red toad, he would explode in rage.

“Qi Qi, watch your words,” the Clear Shallows King said sternly, almost choking on her saliva. The Red Ghost King was famously difficult to deal with and short-tempered. If he found out that Huangfu Qi had called him that, he would cause never-ending problems.

Demon General Strongman also woke up from the shock of Huangfu Qi calling him Uncle Blockhead, then he completely digested the information she had provided. He looked at Long Chen, unable to accept reality, then asked the Clear Shallows King, “Clear Shallows King, what the girl said ...”

“Everything she said is true. This young man is Jiang Cheng. He is only at the First Passage Stage, yet he has mastered advanced Heaven-tier body tempering and combat techniques. Using those advantages, he became the three-time champion and won a hundred thousand Heavenly Passage Pills! The Red Ghost King is not on good terms with him, so he took Zhao Wuji in as his disciple instead. Now that he is under your wing, mentor him well. Keep private grudges out of this,” the Clear Shallows King said casually. If Demon General Strongman did it too obviously, she would be the one to lose face.

Understanding the Clear Shallows King’s warning, he nodded hurriedly.

He studied Long Chen up and down, unable to figure out how such a normal teenager possessed the capability to win first place three times.

Demon General Strongman understood why Long Chen had not become a direct disciple. He was older than the other participants, yet his cultivation level was the lowest. Cultivation level was the foundation of everything, and a person’s natural talent determined the gap between themselves and other people. Right now, Long Chen was three to four stages behind, but in the future, he would be five or six stages behind, causing him to fall behind for the rest of his life.

People like Zhao Wuji would cultivate many advanced Heaven-tier techniques in their lifetimes.

This gap was the reason why the Red Ghost King had chosen Zhao Wuji instead of Long Chen.

However, the glory that initially belonged to Zhao Wuji had been taken away by this teenager, along with the Heavenly Passage Pills. Demon General Strongman was uncomfortable with seeing such a huge sum end up in Long Chen’s hands.

Based on the look in Demon General Strongman’s eyes, Long Chen knew that his days would be tough.

However, he had never planned to stay in the Ancient Demon Domain for long anyway. The Day of the Nine Suns would come in two months, so he would only stay for two months at most. He was confident that he would become strong very quickly, even surpassing all their imaginations. Then they would all understand who the true prodigy was.

“Your name is Jiang Cheng? Not bad, you were able to win first place three times. Not many people have achieved that. However, you have a disadvantage in cultivation level, so you will have to work hard. I hope you remain in the top three among the seventy newcomers and make the Clear Shallows Pavilion proud!” said Demon General Strongman with a nod after eying Long Chen for a while.

“Yes, Lord Demon General,” Long Chen replied obediently.

The Clear Shallows King nodded approvingly and said, “Alright, Strongman, you may carry on with your training. Everyone, follow me. I will make arrangements for your accommodations. Tomorrow, you all will undergo the Demon Light Bath to increase your Qi and truly become an Ancient Demon Domain disciple. On the day after, you will train with Demon General Strongman! He is a very good senior. If you train under his wing, I believe that your cultivation will improve greatly!”

“Yes, Ma’am!” everyone said.

Under the Clear Shallows King’s arrangements, Long Chen arrived at the regular disciples’ quarters. There were very few buildings here. He had heard that all regular disciples below the Sixth Passage Stage would live in this area. Everyone above the Seventh Passage Stage would be considered advanced disciples as long as they had cleared one of the two earthly meridian points.[1]

Huangfu Qi was a direct disciple of the Clear Shallows King, so she would stay with the other direct disciples. The Clear Shallows King led her away. The little girl was a little hesitant, but she left in the end.

Long Chen, of course, knew that she would miss Xiaolang the most.

After settling down, Xiaolang came out of the Primordial Realm. Little Cat was not willing to remain alone, so he rolled around in the small room in the form of a fat, white cat.

“Big Brother, I think Demon General Strongman will set traps for you. It’ll be very difficult to guard against that. He’s at the Ninth Passage Stage, so if he decides to attack you, you’re done for,” said Xiaolang worriedly.

“He doesn’t have the right to do something in broad daylight. As long as I take this time to quickly increase my cultivation level, I will be fine. After I bathe in that light thing tomorrow, I’ll head to the demonic beast training grounds in the Ancient Demon Domain.”

As long as he could make it there, Long Chen knew that the speed of his progression would scare other people.

“What is the demon light they kept mentioning?” Xiaolang asked curiously.

“I don’t know.” Long Chen shook his head.

“It’s probably a method of releasing the power in a seal. The disciples of the Ancient Demon Domain have a bit of demonic energy in their Qi, which may eventually affect their minds after some time.

“The source of this demonic energy is likely a seal. Usually, when a powerful master dies, part of their power can remain sealed in an object, which can be released to enter another person. Along with this power, the seal will also enter the recipient. The demonic energy is an example of it,” explained the cat.

Long Chen and Xiaolang understood.

“So that means that the Demon Light Bath will make my Qi contain demonic energy? Does it mean it’s best I don’t go for it?” Long Chen asked cautiously.

“You don’t want to go? Aren’t you afraid that the blockhead will use it as an excuse to kill you?” Little Cat chuckled, as if nonchalant.

“What should I do, then?” Long Chen was sure that the cat had an idea.

“You will go. Not only should you absorb the seal’s power, you can also take all of its power for yourself,” said Little Cat with a mysterious smile.

“Do you have a way to remove the seal so I can absorb its pure power?”

“Eh?” Little Cat’s eyes widened and he smiled in exasperation. “You’re smart. You have at least one ten-thousandth of my smartness! Not bad, not bad. Because you’re smart, I will help you erase the seal and let you absorb the power.”

It was settled.

Long Chen planned to quickly increase his cultivation level after completing the Demon Light Bath.

Little Cat suddenly furrowed his brows and said, “That blockhead is here! Pray you’ll survive!” Then, faster than anyone, he fled into the Primordial Realm.

“Coward,” said Long Chen. Then he used the Soul Swallowing Gaze and spotted Demon General Strongman walking over. He was huge, so no matter how light his footsteps were, they made a sound. Very soon, he arrived in front of Long Chen’s door and knocked.

“Lord Demon General, what brings you here?” Long Chen asked calmly after opening the door.

“Follow me,” Demon General Strongman said mildly, then he turned around.

“I’m sure it’s alright if we discuss whatever it is here.” Long Chen did not move. He wasn’t sure what the guy was up to, so he dared not move recklessly.

Demon General Strongman halted and turned around. His gaze, which was as sharp as a knife, swept across Long Chen. Long Chen felt a powerful pressure on himself.

Demon General Strongman took several steps closer, and a powerful force pressed Long Chen into the room.

“You brat, have you gotten bold after a good performance today?” asked the Demon General Strongman coldly with raised eyebrows.

“May I ask what you mean by that, Lord Demon General? I don’t think I’ve done anything ever since I entered the Clear Shallows Pavilion.”

“And you dare argue with me too. That is your mistake.” Demon General Strongman’s voice rumbled like thunder. Long Chen felt dizzy just from the reverberations. A Ninth Passage Stage cultivator’s Qi was indeed extraordinary. He could likely kill Long Chen with a wave of his hand.

Long Chen knew that this was an unreasonable man. The more he spoke, the more unreasonable he would be. Therefore, he chose to shut his mouth.

Seeing as Long Chen had finally learned his lesson, Demon General Strongman said, “I spoke with my nephew earlier. He has strong opinions about you and wants me to teach you a lesson. You brat, now that you’re in my hands, you’re going to suffer. Of course, if you can complete my training tasks for you, you won’t have to suffer.”

Long Chen remained silent.

Demon General Strongman suddenly felt bored because he was not arguing back and shrugged. “Whatever. You’re a newcomer, so I won’t trouble you for now. However, since you won’t be able to use the one hundred Heavenly Passage Pills any time soon ... Let’s do it this way. Let me take ninety thousand pills off your hands. This is for your safety, because other people might be eyeing them and you may even vanish into thin air if someone decides to target you for them. What do you think?”

Has the fox finally revealed its tail?

Long Chen was amused. He knew that the pills were Demon General Strongman’s target. This was no small sum to him after all. From Demon General Strongman’s perspective, it was a huge waste for something that should have belonged to Zhao Wuji to end up in Long Chen’s hands.

“Give them to me. Ninety thousand Heavenly Passage Pills in exchange for your life.” Demon General Strongman’s glare darkened when he saw that Long Chen was not moving.

1. To refresh your memories: every time a person advances by one Passage Stage, one of their meridian points will be cleared/unblocked, and thus activated. ☜