Chapter 585 – Willow Step

Long Chen nodded. He looked at Huangfu Fengchen and said, “Patriarch Huangfu, about this ...”

Huangfu Fengchen gave an apologetic look and said, “I apologize for what happened. Clan matters are complicated to deal with. It’s not easy to keep everyone’s mouth shut either. I’ve watched that kid Huangfu Yu grow up; I obviously know what he’s like. I didn’t want to give him the Willow Step because I didn’t want the Huangfu family to fall because of him.”

At this point in the conversation, Long Chen knew that Huangfu Fengchen knew everything.

That was good, and Long Chen did not need to explain himself.

It was not a big deal after all. It was just a fight. The only regret he had was not being able to beat Huangfu Yu up, because Long Chen did not like him at all.

“It’s fine. I came here mainly to see Qiqi. Now that I have fulfilled my objective, and even delayed my trip a bit, it really is time for me to rush to the Northern Battle clan,” said Long Chen.

“Don’t go yet. I have something for you. As compensation.” Huangfu Fengchen took out a simple, hand-written book from his Universe Pouch.

“What is this?” asked Long Chen.

“Last night, I worked through the night to copy down the Willow Step’s instructions. I initially wanted to give it to Huangfu Yu once he performed better, but after what happened today, he has lost the right to inherit this. So, I’m giving it to you!” said Huangfu Fengchen with a generous smile.

“No way! Isn’t this an inherited treasure of the Huangfu family? I cannot take this,” said Long Chen, shaking his head.

“I’ve lost face because of what happened today. If you don’t take this, I will be too embarrassed to ever see you again in the future,” Huangfu Fengchen said, then he tossed the handwritten book to Long Chen. “I think the old Battle Emperor is going to die soon. The Battle clan is in great danger, but I am unable to help. Please help them in my place. Looking at your performance today, I know you have surpassed all cultivators beneath the Third Earthly Martial Stage. And how many Third Earthly Martial Stage cultivators are there in the whole Divine Martial Territory? Work hard and catch up to the two prodigies. You’ll get there soon!”

Then, before Long Chen could reply, Huangfu Fengchen quickly disappeared along with Huangfu Qi. With his speed, Long Chen would never be able to catch up even with his Dragon Soul Transformation!

All that remained was the cries of Huangfu Qi.

She thought she still had time to play with Long Chen, but Huangfu Fengchen grabbed her and disappeared.

Long Chen stared at the item in his hand, frozen. He smiled bitterly and said, “It was only just a fight, but I received an intermediate King-tier combat technique. I’ve actually gained something from this trip to the Huangfu family.”

Every member of the Huangfu family other than Huangfu Fengchen now saw him as an enemy.

But Long Chen did not care.

The others were irrelevant to him.

Since this was a problematic place, Long Chen did not stay for long. He had almost completed his cultivation of the Soul Dispersing Dragon Claw on the way here. He was going to spend the next part of his journey studying the Willow Step!

This technique was more suitable to be cultivated during his travels than the Soul Dispersing Dragon Claw. He had to improve his movement somehow, and the body combat technique was useful for that. The Willow Step made the body as light as a swallow, so not only was it useful for dodging attacks, it was also advantageous while traveling.

The Willow Step was great training for his ability to fight in the air, and he did not need to step on the ground when he started using the technique.

Previously, he had seen Huangfu Fengyun use it, and he had somehow managed to “blow” him away using the Soul Dispersing Dragon Claw, which was a forceful attack. It showed that this technique was something special, despite it looking so simple!

The essence of the Willow Step could be understood from its name. Willow fluff was extremely light, and the seeds flew with the breeze. If the opponent’s attack was the wind, then Long Chen was a willow seed. The moment there was a breeze, he would fly away immediately.

[Note: There is a fluffy part that resembles cotton attached to the seeds of the willow tree, which aids in seed dispersal by wind.]

When he truly used the Willow Step, his body became much lighter than before, so light that it was terrifying!

This did not mean that his attacks would become weak, however. His attacks were still as strong as before, but when he used the Willow Step, he became as light and graceful as Huangfu Fengchen!

This boosted Long Chen’s combat abilities once more!

Long Chen had extraordinary talent when it came to cultivating combat techniques. This was likely due to the nourishment from the Inherited Blood Essence, as well as the Mysterious Dragon Jade in his sea of consciousness. His Martial Soul was very important for his ability to comprehend combat techniques too, and now that it had taken the form of a dragon situated above the Dragon Jade, it took his comprehension abilities to the next level!

Long Chen had a late start, but there was no one else in the Ten Thousand Nations Territory with a hundredth of the Inherited Blood Essence and a dragon-shaped Martial Soul. He had a lower starting point compared to other people, but the speed at which he progressed was unprecedented!

The only other person who could keep up with him was Xiaolang, who was a mutated demonic beast!

Long Chen cultivated the Willow Step for five days. Not only were there secret teachings in the handwritten book, there were also explanations provided by Huangfu Fengchen, and he had even drawn many diagrams. After looking at them, many concepts that he could not understand were quickly explained.

Five days later, Long Chen could dance in the air like a light piece of willow fluff. He could move very quickly, and as he made his way through the forest, almost no one could see him clearly.

Huangfu Fengchen was right. There were not many people who could fight Long Chen as an equal in the whole Divine Martial Territory. There were only a handful of Third Earthly Martial Stage cultivators after all.

It had only been a little more than three months since he came to the Divine Martial Territory, yet he had improved by a terrifying margin. If other people learned of his journey, their jaws would surely be on the floor.

Long Chen had only truly been cultivating for a little more than a year.

This was why the blood of the ancestral dragons was so powerful.

The only prodigy who could be his equal was by his side. He was also Long Chen’s closest friend, a brother, a Sun Devouring Wolf—Mo Xiaolang!

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

On this day, Long Chen was traveling through the forest with the tip of his foot a meter above ground. His eyes were closed, but he managed to dodge all the obstacles ahead, as if sleepwalking.

Suddenly, his eyes sprang open and he cried with joy, “Xiaolang!”

He halted, and a cloud of gray mist poured from his chest. A large, black wolf appeared. After a long time of digesting, absorbing nutrients, and evolving, Xiaolang was now ten times larger than his previous size. This was a sign that he had reached the King-tier!

The Sun Devouring Wolf was currently a King-tier demonic beast that was almost on the same level as the Blood Ocean Viper. He was gigantic at more than ten meters tall and twenty meters long. He lied down while Long Chen stood in front of him, looking like a mouse in front of an elephant.

Xiaolang was not awake yet, but Long Chen knew that it was almost time.

The Sun Devouring Wolf was completely engulfed in black flames. Long Chen sensed a suffocating coldness radiating from Xiaolang. It was a bone-chilling cold that came from the black flames. Those were the Nine Devils Ancestral Fire, Xiaolang’s fatal attack!

After reaching the King-tier, Xiaolang would surely be able to control even more of the Nine Devils Ancestral Fire.

The huge fire swallowed Xiaolang whole, and the black flames started to turn the surrounding ground into hard, black ice. Thankfully, Long Chen was still floating in the air, so he was not affected.

The black flames slowly disappeared.

The flames soon extinguished, but the Nine Devils Ancestral Fire continued to burn on his four paws. The Nine Devils Ancestral Fire was just like Long Chen’s Golden Crow Flames, offering a great boost to Xiaolang’s attacks!

One swipe with his paw was enough to turn his opponent into hard ice!

The fatal strike that had killed the Void Martial Saint had been Xiaolang’s Nine Devils Ancestral Fire, and Long Chen’s Heaven Sword Array had merely helped the Nine Devils Ancestral Fire enter his body.

After entering King-tier, Xiaolang could now concentrate the Nine Devils Ancestral Fire on his paws.

Whoosh!

The Sun Devouring Wolf stood up and his black eyes sprang open. Long Chen did not see pupils in them, but two black flames—the Nine Devils Ancestral Fire!

“Awoo!”

Xiaolang looked up and let out a terrifying, eerie cry. His howl traveled far and wide; every demonic beast who heard him trembled and was paralyzed with fear.

This was a natural suppression of inferior beasts by a superior beast.

Now that Xiaolang had reached the King-tier, he had successfully broken free from the status of an inferior beast.

Just like cultivators, the Yellow, Black, Earth, and Heaven tiers were only foundational tiers for demonic beasts. They were only true demonic beasts when they reached the King-tier. This was also when the beasts started to become intelligent. Of course, this did not include Xiaolang, because he had a human soul, so he had always possessed peak intelligence.

The King-tier was only the beginning. Xiaolang had a long way to go before reaching the peak of all beasts.

Even Long Chen was nervous when he saw Xiaolang in this state.

He had pitch-black fur, a muscular body, agile grace, sharp claws, and canine teeth. Frightening black flames danced on his shiny fur while the Nine Devils Ancestral Fire burned on his four paws.

The Sun Devouring Wolf looked like a nightmare from hell!

Despite all this, Long Chen was most concerned about Xiaolang’s ability to take human form.