Chapter 9 - Treasure

There were only two people in the great hall. A middle-aged man with prominent features and the aura of a cultivator sat in the center, while the second son of the Yang family, Yang Yuntian, sat next to him.

The middle-aged man was the patriarch’s eldest son, also Long Chen’s eldest uncle, Yang Qingxuan.

Long Chen stepped into the great hall, and their gazes met.

Although Yang Qingxuan looks friendly, I can see a divine light in his eyes. He’s definitely a master with deep cultivation, much more powerful than Yang Yuntian.

Now that Long Chen’s cultivation had improved, he had grown more perceptive too.

Yang Qingxuan looked at Long Chen. “You must be Yang Chen. You’ve been roaming the streets since you were small, so I haven’t seen you much all these years. You’re all grown up now.”

Yang Qingxuan hasn’t reprimanded me at all. Looks like I’ve got a chance

.

One of Long Chen’s main principles in life was that a man must know when to bow, for the most important thing was to remain alive. He had hurt Yang Yuntian’s son after all and knew that he was in the wrong. Long Chen bowed to them in accordance with standard courtesy and said, “Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle. Greetings from your nephew ... Yang Chen.”

Although Long Chen had promised his father that he would change his surname, he hadn’t publicly announced this to the Yang family yet.

“So, you’ve reached the Third Draconic Stage. Your physical body’s refined too, looks like you’ve also learned a Body Tempering technique. You must’ve been working hard in secret all these years to achieve such cultivation. Perhaps one day, you’ll even catch up to Lingqing and Lingyue.”

Long Chen hurriedly denied everything.

What the hell is he doing, making small talk? He didn’t even mention the incident! On the other hand, Yang Yuntian’s glaring so hard that I think he can’t wait to kill me.

At this point, Yang Yuntian softly exclaimed, “Eldest Brother!”

When Yang Qingxuan heard Yuntian’s reminder, he smiled and said, “You’re a good kid but family infighting is not right. I heard you hit hard too ...”

Long Chen quickly replied, “Eldest Uncle, you know how they say fists are blind in the heat of conflict. It’s impossible to completely control my attacks at my level. I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

Yang Qingxuan didn’t reply after Long Chen’s interruption, though Yang Yuntian boomed coldly, “You didn’t mean to hurt him? Then why did I hear that you were trying to kill Yang Zhan? You’re vicious for your age. If we don’t nip this in the bud now, you’ll be wreaking havoc when you’re older.”

Yang Yuntian shot up and approached Long Chen. Long Chen could feel Yuntian’s thick aura of power pressing on him, almost pushing him down.

Long Chen remained silent, bitterly standing his ground. He knew that Yang Yuntian could kill him in one strike if he wanted to.

A female voice came from behind the door. “Second Brother, leave him to me. I’ll make sure he learns his lesson.”

Long Chen relaxed, and he took a deep breath. But he was still afraid. He knew Yang Xueqing was behind him.

Everyone knew how Yang Xueqing had treated him all these years. She would not let him off easy.

Knowing this, Yang Yuntian smiled. “Third Sister, he’s yours. It’s just children squabbling, nothing serious. A small lesson will do.”

Yang Yuntian left promptly.

When Yang Qingxuan saw that he wasn’t needed anymore, he stood up with a smile. Before he left, he leaned over and whispered into Yang Xueqing’s ear. “He actually succeeded in cultivating the Meteor Fist, a skill beyond his level, in less than five days. Father might appreciate a talent like that. See what you can do ...”

Yang Xueqing froze. She didn’t approach Long Chen until after Yang Qingxuan left.

Long Chen had also heard what Yang Qingxuan said. He was looking forward to seeing Yang Xueqing’s facial expression, but unfortunately, her face remained as cold as ice.

Right. Defeating Yang Zhan still isn’t enough to change her impression of me.

Long Chen’s fighting spirit remained strong, and he said nonchalantly, “Beat me, kill me, do whatever you want. If you don’t plan to kill, then talk. I don’t have time to waste.”

Her neat brows furrowed and she said coldly, “You’ve gotten arrogant after learning a little trick! You’re exactly like that useless idiot all those years ago. I’ve seen many one-trick ponies in my lifetime. It’s hilarious how you and your father think you’re some big shot just because of a small achievement.”

Long Chen’s eyes flashed momentarily with killing intent.

He forced it down. “If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving now.”

He walked around Yang Xueqing. When he was about to exit, Yang Xueqing suddenly spoke up. “I will be marrying the third son of the Bai family, Bai Zhanxiong, in a month. I do not want to see you in Baiyang Town from tomorrow onwards. Take this as a warning.”

Long Chen wasn’t surprised to hear the news.

He’d trained his heart to be strong with cultivation, yet it still bled in this moment. No other mother could be as heartless as this.

Long Chen turned and stared coldly. “I’m telling you now that Bai Zhanxiong is evil. Don’t be fooled by his gentlemanly looks. I’ve personally witnessed him kidnapping a few girls who were barely sixteen and selling them to some strangers ...”

When Long Chen told her his long-held secret, he thought she would take it seriously. Instead, Yang Xueqing’s gaze turned stern and towards the end of his sentence, she cut him off with a sneer. “Yang Chen, you gained a little of my respect after defeating Yang Zhan. I thought you would abandon your bad habits and turn over a new leaf; I was happy for you. Yet, you disappoint me once more.

“I know you don’t want to see me marry again. But you didn’t have to tarnish Brother Bai’s reputation by spinning such laughable lies. Brother Bai and I grew up together. If your father hadn’t appeared, I would’ve been with him a long time ago. I know him much better than you do. Do you think you can convince me with a lie like that?”

Long Chen froze. In the face of the woman’s disappointment and disgust, he slowly clenched his fist. He felt blood rushing to his head as a beast roared in his heart! “Is that so? Do the words of your own son hold so little weight?” Long Chen’s eyes fixed on hers as he emphasized each word.

Yang Xueqing fell silent for a moment, then said, “I know everything you’ve done all these years. You never took studying seriously, and you’ve even bullied people in the streets. I lost all hope in you ten years ago. People of the Long family like you are all bad apples who don’t deserve any trust. Why would I believe you?”

Long Chen felt like his chest was about to split open. He fixed his bloodshot eyes on Yang Xueqing, then suddenly exploded into hysterical laughter. “Yang Xueqing, how could you say such things so casually? Have you ever taken any responsibility as a mother? I had no parents and no one to teach me. That’s what made me the dog I am today! And you blame me? You blame me for being a bad apple since birth, a hopeless spoiled brat! But let me tell you this: although I have harmed a few people, I’ve never harmed a good person! But I can’t say the same about your beloved Bai Zhanxiong ...”

Taking a deep breath, Long Chen said calmly, “You say you’ve lost hope in me. Today, I have also lost all hope in you too. However, as long as I, Long Chen, am around, I will stop the marriage from happening! You understand?”

Yang Xueqing remained expressionless and tossed a small pouch at his feet. “You’ve never been a Yang to me. Here are fifty spirit jade pieces. Take it. Baiyang Town is no longer your home.”

There was no need to say anything else. Although Long Chen loved taking advantage of people, he did not even look at the jade pieces and left. He sprinted right out of the Yang Residence to the river, then punched one boulder after another like a madman. Finally, he collapsed in exhaustion.

He sat staring in the direction of the Yang Residence. The massive estate lay before his eyes like a mountain squashing his heart.

Long Chen clenched his fist tightly as killing intent erupted from his body. “Father, I don’t know if she deserves my kindness, but I know that Bai Zhanxiong is not a good person. No matter what she does to me, I will stop her. Also, I will never let her look down on me, and especially not you!”

Long Chen clenched his fist so tightly that his nails dug into his skin and blood flowed under his fingernails. “Father, no one will stop me on my journey to becoming stronger. I now understand what you told me. If I want to be someone elite, a person whom everyone respects, I must become infinitely stronger until I’ve reached the peak of the world!

“Thank you to everyone for underestimating me. Without you, I would still be the na?ve child who thinks cultivating is boring and lives without goals. You all will soon witness a gigantic surprise from yours truly!”

“The Family Meeting is in half a month’s time, and the wedding that I will ruin is one month from now. I, Long Chen, will make sure to give you all a

huge

surprise!”

Soon, he finished venting his anger. Night fell quickly.

Long Chen sat on the roof of his house in the eastern section of town, staring out into the dark sky. “Yang Xueqing wants me to leave Baiyang Town. But Father wants me to get the Dragon Seal, so how can I leave? But if she attacks me, how will I defend myself with my current cultivation? Should I seek refuge away from Baiyang Town for a while, then return when it’s time for the Family Meeting?”

After some hard thinking, Long Chen’s tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed.

Instead of staying in Baiyang Town, I might as well go hunting for demonic beasts. Perhaps I’ll improve faster this way, and I might even find rare treasures!

With this thought in mind, he decided to leave town. But since he was hungry, Long Chen leapt off the roof and headed towards Sunset Hotel.

Sunset Hotel was still bustling with activity even though it was almost midnight.

Long Chen approached quietly and suddenly heard someone say, “Huge news! Something huge happened at the Yang Residence!”

“What is it? Spill it!”

“None of you know this, but I heard that yesterday, Young Master Yang Zhan fought with the Third Lady Yang’s son! Young Master Yang Zhan was stripped of his clothes in public, and then he went home and killed himself!”

“Is that true?”

“Of course it is! I just heard it too, now the Yang family’s looking all over town for Yang Chen!”

When Long Chen heard this, he left hurriedly. “I thought he’d just be embarrassed for a while. I never expected he would be weak enough to kill himself. How useless. He had always treated me as less than human, I guess the sudden change of roles was too much for him to accept. It makes sense.”

“Now that Yang Zhan’s dead, I definitely can’t stay in Baiyang Town. I must leave now!”

Long Chen had grown up in the streets, so he was familiar with them. He left town through an underground passage before the Yang people arrived.

He only turned back to look at Baiyang Town in the distance after walking a long time. “Now that Yang Zhan’s dead, it will be extremely dangerous for me to appear at the Family Meeting. But I heard that the Yang patriarch treasures talent like his own life. If I display extraordinary skills, I might have a chance to live! Even my current Meteor Fist should be enough to shock him.”

But where could he go now that he couldn’t stay in Baiyang Town? “The Desolate Mountains east of Baiyang Town are covered in dense forests, which are hotspots for venomous insects and demonic beasts. There’ll be many treasures too ...”

Long Chen was about to head towards the Desolate Mountains but someone was quickly approaching.

He quickly hid in a panic.

When he saw who it was, he breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

It was the younger of the two that had followed Yang Lingyue earlier this morning. His name was Bai Shixun, the youngest son of Bai Zhanxiong.

Every memory of Bai Shixun humiliating Long Chen at the Jade Palace Brothel surfaced in Long Chen’s mind.

What’s Bai Shixun chasing?

Long Chen had initially believed Bai Shixun was chasing him, but when he took a closer look, he realized Shixun was chasing after a floating light glowing coldly in mid-air.

It was clearly a piece of treasure.