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The flying boat quickly left the Heaven Devouring Forest, no longer suffering any more attacks. Furthermore, as they flew by, the giant trees would open a path for them, which revealed the light of the sun.
âProtector Zhuo is mighty. You managed to completely intimidate those wood idiots. Otherwise, it would have been troublesome,â said a Life Star expert emotionally.
The other Life Star experts nodded. If Zhuo Tianxiang hadnât managed to intimidate the tree demons, it really would have been troublesome.
âHmph, those tree demons have been cultivating for too long, even their heads have started to solidify. Theyâre actually acting more and more unscrupulously. Back then, Pill Valley gave them some space and respected their living habits. Each time we passed, we would slow down. But those idiots actually took that as us being afraid of them. They would block our flying boats several times and threaten us. If we didnât do this, it probably wouldnât be long before they started demanding a toll for us to pass,â sneered Zhuo Tianxiang.
âThis detestable Heaven Devouring Forest doesnât even place Pill Valley in its eyes. It seems our prestige is dropping more and more. Itâs all because of those stubborn old bastards who are hidebound by convention. Otherwise, who would dare to say a word if we eliminated a few sects like the Xuantian Dao Sect?â raged a Life Star expert.
Long Chen quietly listened. Suddenly, Zhuo Tianxiang glanced at him, and Long Chen knew that this bastard was about to kick him out, so he took the initiative.
âSeniors, it seems that youâre talking about major classified matters. Does disciple need to step away?â probed Long Chen.
Zhuo Tianxiang had been about to send Long Chen away on the pretext of him needing to cultivate. After all, some things werenât appropriate for him to know. But now that Long Chen had put it like this, he didnât feel right kicking him out. Although Zhuo Tianxiang still disliked Long San inside, he still felt that raising a powerful genius alchemist would bring him great benefits. If he kicked him out here, it would imply that he still thought of him as an outsider.
âThereâs no need, youâre not an outsider, and you can know some things. You just have to remember them in your heart and not bring them up,â said Zhuo Tianxiang in the end.
âIn truth, Long San will learn of this sooner or later. Learning it now isnât a bad thing.â One of the Life Star experts explained, âPill Valley can be said to be the strongest power within the entire continent. Whether itâs in terms of power or wealth, we completely beat the Xuantian Dao Sect. If we wanted to, we could crush them like ants.â
âWhatâs the Xuantian Dao Sect? Is it very powerful?â Long Chen acted stupid.
âCough, I forgot you only encountered the alchemy world in the Eastern Wasteland and donât know anything about sects,â said that elder.
Zhuo Tianxiang had gone through his memories and knew that Long San was completely focused on alchemy and knew very little about the cultivation world. As for mentioning the Xuantian Dao Sect, it was just to vent some of his resentment at them.
âIn any case, all you need to know is that Pill Valley is the strongest existence in the world. However, although we have all that power, a group of conservative old men still control Pill Valley. As a result, Pill Valleyâs position is dropping more and more in the world, its dignity being erased. Even a declined sect dares to provoke our prestige. It really is infuriating.â
âIsnât the cultivation world one where the strong are respected? If they donât submit, then just beat them. Canât you just beat them into submission?â asked Long Chen, continuing to try and learn any secrets.
âItâs Pill Valleyâs higher-ups. Theyâre too conservative and refuse to use our power to intimidate the world. It pisses me offâŚâ
Hearing that elderâs explanation, Long Chen learned that Pill Valleyâs interior was not united. Instead, there was a fierce fight going on inside.
Long Chen summarized that Pill Valley had two factions. One was the conservative faction, while the other was the radical faction. The competition between the two sides was extremely intense.
The so-called conservative faction was an advocate for staying neutral and not participating in any struggles. They focused on alchemy and were indifferent to anything else.
The other faction, the radical faction, was unwilling to let Pill Valley go nowhere like this. Instead, it should be Pill Valley that controlled the continent.
The radical faction criticized the conservative faction for being pedantic. They had also been the ones to allow the Huayun Sect to slowly grow. After all, with Pill Valley existing first, if they had simply annihilated the Huayun Sect with a thunderous blow at the start, there wouldnât be anyone who could compete with them.
But the conservative faction had its own principles and was indifferent. They felt like representing Pill Valleyâs foundation was enough. The rise and fall of the cultivation world had nothing to do with them.
Long Chen hadnât expected the situation to be like this. But to express his standpoint, he immediately began to curse the conservative faction for not showing initiative and not working on advancing. They stagnated, holding back Pill Valleyâs development.
Long Chenâs display satisfied Zhuo Tianxiang and the others. At the very least, in terms of character, this Long San was not bad. They needed this kind of highly proactive youth.
âProtector Zhuo, if you need anything, just tell me. Disciple will definitely accomplish it even if I must go through raging fire or deep water! After all, I, Long San, am also a member of Pill Valley, and I have the responsibility to push Pill Valley forward and excavate all my potential. Iâll work hard to overthrow those pedantic rulers stopping Pill Valleyâs growth. Iâll make them all get lost!â Long Chen cried with righteous indignation as if the conservative party had somehow committed great atrocities against him.
These words were mostly just big talk. Zhuo Tianxiang and the others also felt that it was a joke that a small little disciple could overthrow the conservative faction.
But they also approved of his attitude, so Zhuo Tianxiang nodded. âGood. Long San, just remember that as long as you work hard enough and are loyal, youâll definitely receive the best grooming within Pill Valley. Once we arrive at Pill Valley, Iâll tell you how to act. However, although your alchemy talentâs decent, donât get easily satisfied. There are plenty of geniuses in this world. Your current accomplishments are nothing, so you need to work hard on improving your alchemy arts. No matter how good your talent is, you canât slack off. If you donât have the willpower to work through the boredom and loneliness, you wonât have any big accomplishments. We all have a high view of your talent, so work hard.â
âYes, disciple understands. Disciple will immediately enter seclusion and bitterly train!â Long Chen said his goodbyes and returned to his room. Locking the door, he drank some wine and fell asleep, beginning his bitter training.
Because of the Underworld Soul Ghost Curse, he was only able to use his spiritual yuan to form his flame energy. That was the only way to prevent the curse from reactivating. Other than refining pills, he couldnât do anything right now.
In the past few days, he had been forced to be extremely careful with all these experts staring over his shoulder. It was truly tiring. When he finally had a chance to rest, he naturally took a good nap.
Long Chen didnât know how long he had been sleeping for when he suddenly heard someone knock on the door. He hastily sat up and warmed up his pill furnace, looking like he had just been refining pills. Only then did he open the door.
âWorking hard is good, but you need to balance it. After four more hours, weâll arrive at Pill Valley. Therefore, Protector Zhuo wants you to make yourself presentable. Switch out your robes.â One of Pill Valleyâs experts handed Long Chen a set of ocean-blue embroidered robes.
Long Chen washed up. His messy hair was tied into a knot behind his head. After putting on the robes, he looked much more alive and refreshed. With his tall stature, the robes even made him appear handsome. If he walked down the streets, heâd definitely turn a few heads.
âHaha, not bad. As expected, the clothing makes the man. Youâre like a whole different Long San.â When Long Chen came out, the elders were quite moved. He was like a completely different person.
He had been like an impoverished beggar when they had first met him. But now, it was like he had become a prince. The visual impact was quite great.
âTruly not bad, but handsomeness doesnât have that much use. Of course, if you were able to seduce the Pill Fairy, that would be a different story.â Zhuo Tianxiang looked over Long Chen. For some unknown reason, the image of Long Chen appeared in his mind as he looked at Long San.
âWho is the Pill Fairy?â asked Long Chen.
âHaha, little fellow, Protector Zhuo was just joking. Donât start getting carried away by your wishful thinking. WIth your current power, you donât even have the qualifications to meet the Pill Fairy,â laughed one of the elders.
âUsing this bit of time we have, Iâll test you and see how well youâve progressed after everything weâve taught you.â Zhuo Tianxiang directly began to test Long Chen on the foundational alchemy arts of Pill Valley. Long Chen answered all his questions easily
The most shocking thing to Zhuo Tianxiang and the others was that Long Chen was able to infer concepts completely beyond what they had initially taught him. Just from the foundational skills they had taught him, he proposed various theories. A portion of those were wrong, only looking right in theory, and Zhuo Tianxiang immediately corrected them, but this terrifying comprehension ability still amazed them.
Furthermore, his control over his Pill Flame had also reached a very high level. Even these old alchemists were stunned.
But then thinking of his terrifying Spiritual Strength, they supposed that such precise control was only natural.
Just at this moment, the flying boat stopped in front of a huge transportation formation. There were countless experts guarding it, all of them wearing the robes of Pill Valley.
âLong San, just follow me,â said Zhuo Tianxiang. Long Chenâs heart turned cold as he realized what Zhuo Tianxiang was intending. In the future, Zhuo Tianxiang would be looking after him. But Long Chen didnât want to keep interacting with this fellow. He was worried about being seen through.
âMany thanks, Protector Zhuo!â However, he had no choice but to put on a grateful expression as he thought of how to escape this fellow.
As he descended the flying boat with Zhuo Tianxiang, he suddenly thought of an idea, and a wicked grin appeared on his face. He tightly followed behind Zhuo Tianxiang, locking his eyes on Zhuo Tianxiangâs butt.
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