Chapter 7 - Practicing Combat Techniques

"Smack!" A loud slap echoed through the air, cutting off the words of the man with the dark face. The force of it sent him flying, scattering a dozen long teeth across the ground. "Apologies, my hand slipped," Long Chen said with a polite and somewhat apologetic smile, looking at the man who had been left stupefied by the blow. The slap had reverberated loudly through every corner of the Combat Skill Pavilion, halting everyone who was hurriedly flipping through combat techniques. They all paused, faces filled with shock, and stared in his direction. "Who dares to behave so recklessly in the Combat Skill Pavilion?" A cold voice pierced the air, and a man clad in black appeared inside the pavilion, his expression stern and fierce as he eyed Long Chen and the dark-faced man. The moment the man arrived, a powerful aura of blood surged from him, like a mountain pressing down, making it hard for those around him to breathe. Long Chen couldn’t help but narrow his eyes slightly. "A Blood Condensation Realm expert," he thought, surprised to find such a formidable presence hidden here. Given that this was a critical place, it made sense for a powerful guardian to be stationed here. The Combat Skill Pavilion was a zone where weapons were forbidden, and starting a fight here would result in imprisonment—everyone knew this rule. "Explain yourselves—what exactly happened here?" the Blood Condensation Realm expert demanded, his voice full of authority. "You might want to ask him," Long Chen replied with a shrug, displaying neither fear nor guilt. The dark-faced man was furious. He had been slapped, so why was he now being questioned? "Sir…" "My lord!" At this moment, Zhou Yaoyang, who had been watching from a distance, rushed over to the expert and explained, "It was like this, my friend Wang Mang suddenly felt an unbearable itch on his face, and inadvertently slapped himself. It wasn’t a fight, please investigate." Wang Mang, the dark-faced man, was bewildered, wanting to protest, but he saw Li Hao in the distance signaling for him to remain silent, so he swallowed his words. "You’re the son of the Barbarian Marquis?" the expert asked Zhou Yaoyang with a knowing glance. "Indeed," Zhou Yaoyang nodded quickly. The expert nodded, glancing at Wang Mang. "If your face itches, just scratch it. Making it look like your teeth are itching isn’t something I’d like to see again. Clean up your mess." With those words, he turned and left, leaving behind a group of stunned individuals who couldn’t fathom why Zhou Yaoyang would help Long Chen. "Heh, did you hear that? Such a big guy, and you’ve made a mess everywhere. Clean up after yourself," Long Chen chuckled, having anticipated this outcome, then turned back to leisurely select more combat techniques. "Dammit!" Wang Mang seethed, his eyes seeming to blaze with fire at Long Chen’s arrogant retreating form. The slap left him feeling utterly humiliated. "Endure it, Wang Mang. If you accuse Long Chen of hitting you, he’ll only be detained for a month. After that, he’ll be released unscathed. Swallow your pride for now, and tomorrow, Li Hao will help you regain your honor. You must be patient," Zhou Yaoyang cautioned. Wang Mang nodded, aware of the upcoming duel between Li Hao and Long Chen. He was used to bullying Long Chen for fun, never thinking it would escalate this far today. Suffering such a disgraceful slap, he had no choice but to swallow his frustration. They quickly gathered Wang Mang’s scattered teeth from the floor and wiped away the bloodstains. Zhou Yaoyang remarked, "Your face isn’t that swollen, so Long Chen’s strength wasn’t overwhelming. How did he knock out so many of your teeth?" Others were puzzled too, as only an extraordinary force would dislodge such solid teeth. "Who knows, it’s baffling," Wang Mang replied, still depressed. Unknown to him, Long Chen’s knowledge of alchemy made him very familiar with the human body’s structure. With a precise technique, Long Chen had dislodged half his teeth by weakening their roots with that slap. The lesson Wang Mang received served as a caution, and everyone else became considerably more cautious, ensuring no one dared provoke Long Chen again. Long Chen, relishing the peace, continued to thumb through the ancient manuals in the pavilion, which allowed only on-site reading; they couldn’t be removed. "Cultivation Technique: Wild Ox Strength" It was a combat technique featured in a book. In this world, combat techniques were divided into the heavens, earth, and human levels. All the techniques here were at the human level's lowest tier, the least prestigious category. Despite their low tier, these techniques remained highly valuable. Even high-status young masters required supervision by a Blood Condensation Realm guardian, illustrating how much the Phoenix Song Empire valued combat techniques. "Though it's a lower-tier technique, the spiritual energy paths are simple, clear, and effective. Quite good," Long Chen concluded after studying the technique. It suited him perfectly, especially since he was well acquainted with his body’s meridians, allowing him to master it promptly. He reviewed it closely again. With his now exceptionally powerful soul strength, remembering things had become second nature, quite close to photographic memory. After committing Wild Ox Strength to memory, Long Chen returned it to its place and picked up another technique—Wind-Chasing Steps. Wind-Chasing Steps focused on a special footwork technique, channeling spiritual energy along specific meridians to the feet, enhancing speed and burst capability. It was effective for long-distance travel as well as short-range evasion. "Excellent, another useful technique," Long Chen smiled, committing the spiritual energy circuits and methods thoroughly to memory. "Time's up. All young masters, put down your manuals. Anyone caught hiding them will be executed without mercy!" The Blood Condensation Realm expert reappeared, his icy voice sending shivers through everyone. They promptly set down their manuals, though many shook their heads in dismay. The Phoenix Song Empire's strict regulation allowed them just half a day each month to study in the Combat Skill Pavilion. Diving deeply into one combat technique could take them months, yet despite the underlying dissatisfaction, none dared complain. Long Chen was momentarily surprised to see how quickly time had flown. If the others knew he’d memorized two combat manuals in just over two hours, their jaws would surely drop. The esoteric nature of the techniques, especially the complex spiritual energy flow through the meridians, often left people confused, requiring both study and practice to understand them properly. Leaving the Imperial Academy, Long Chen exchanged greetings with Fatty Yu and others, whispering a few words to Shi Feng. Though initially surprised, Shi Feng quickly masked his emotions, though his eyes couldn’t quite hide the shock. Returning home, Long Chen found his previously destroyed room had been cleared out, though it clearly couldn’t be used. Fortunately, the house was spacious, and he was given a new room. He visited his mother first, exchanging a few comforting words amid her lingering unease over recent events. Ever since Long Chen woke up, he seemed different, almost unfamiliar, but his calm demeanor now helped put her at ease. He didn’t mention a word about the upcoming life-and-death duel with Li Hao. After leaving his mother's side, Long Chen returned to his room, locked the door, and consumed a second Wind Mansion Pill. As he refined this second pill, the Wind Mansion Star beneath his feet grew slightly larger. A larger Wind Mansion Star could hold more spiritual energy, acting somewhat like a dantian. However, it was still in its infancy, requiring countless Wind Mansion Pills to mature fully. This was why Long Chen had been appalled upon learning the cultivation demands of the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art. Two pills worth tens of thousands of gold coins were downed, yet his Wind Mansion Star remained embryonic, far from the stages of forming, converging, or transforming. The so-called Nine Transformations of Star Transformation seemed unreachable, turning the star into a bottomless pit. Yet Long Chen knew the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art was his only path to avoid a mediocre life, or worse. Without it, he’d become easy prey, merely a lamb to the slaughter. After spending two hours refining the Wind Mansion Pill, his embryonic Wind Mansion Star grew slightly, increasing his spiritual energy capacity. By now, it was late at night. Long Chen quietly left his room and entered the woodshed, took a deep breath and began practicing the Wild Ox Strength. His intimate knowledge of his body’s meridians made mastering the lower-tier technique easy and stress-free. Facing a stone mill—a tool used to husk rice—he hugged it at its one-thousand-pound bulk and strained his muscles. "Lift!" The massive stone mill rose at his command. Sensing an excess of strength, he estimated his strength had reached around fifteen hundred pounds. Before his defeat by Zhou Yaoyang, he had barely a hundred and fifty pounds of force. His strength had increased tenfold. "Not bad. Just my present strength matches that of a Qi Condensation Realm practitioner at the fifth level," Long Chen thought, feeling exhilarated and more eager for the possibilities the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art promised. Its mere embryonic form had already brought incredible enhancement. Curiosity piqued, he couldn’t resist testing further. Settling into a low stance, he let spiritual energy gather slowly in his feet before channeling a hot force down his veins into his fists. "Shattering Stone Fist!" "Boom!" His fist struck the stone mill with an explosive force, sending it careening across the room to crash into a wall, bringing the entire structure down. Long Chen stood stunned at the sheer power, not anticipating such a dramatic result. Looking outside, he noticed several rooms lighting up across the manor, indicating he'd woken everyone. He hurried back to his room stealthily and pretended to sleep. Nevertheless, a thrill coursed through him: just what rank was the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art? What would happen with the convergence of the Nine Stars? What kind of strength would it truly bring? That night, excitement lingered, keeping sleep at bay. When dawn’s first rays entered his room, Long Chen opened his eyes. "Hehe, dreaming of my parts?" he mused, "A grand dream, but let’s see if you can achieve it." After washing up, he briefly entertained the rumors concerning the mysterious happening in the woodshed the previous night. Facing the rising sun, Long Chen had a single thought: "Today is a wonderful day. Everything wished for can come true."