Chapter 306: Fourth River Stage


    The highest-ranked person in the entire Cangyang Kingdom was the Sword Emperor. Fourth Prince Lin Zichen hadnt spent much time or effort on politics, but he had received the Sword Emperors acknowledgment and was referred to as the Young Sword Emperor.


    As a Ninth River Stage cultivator, he was the most terrifying prodigy Long Chen had everid eyes on. Lin Zichen had been a legend in the Cangyang Kingdom since he was young. There wasnt even an Eighth River Stage cultivator among the imperial youths, so the next strongest prince was only at the Seventh River Stage, and there was no guarantee that any of them would reach the Ninth River Stage in their lifetimes.


    That was why Li Zichen was a peerless prodigy in the Biyang Imperial Capital. He was just like Long Chen when he left the Burning Heaven Secret Realm in Yuanling City without an equal in his generation. Many older masters were also no match for him.


    Even the strongest cultivator in the Harmony family, one of the three noble families, was only at the Eighth River Stage, Song Zhongcheng!


    There were even rumors that Lin Zichen, having received the Imperial Sword passed down in the imperial family, had already caught up to his uncle, the Sword Devil, who had been at the Ninth River Stage for more than twenty years. He was one of the top three masters of the imperial family!


    That prodigy was right in front of Long Chen!


    Long Chen had to admit that even just watching the sword-bearing teenager made him feel immense pressure. Every sh of the Imperial Sword released a huge ripple as it glinted with light that prated the heavens. The Nine Heavens True Fire Beast let out furious roars, fighting with its fire, sharp ws, and all sorts of divine abilities. Although it was powerful, it could not hit the agile Lin Zichen!


    Lin Zichen was an Armament Warrior. His Armament Soul had been injected into the Imperial Sword, so they were intimately connected to each other. This allowed him to use a hundred and twenty percent of hisbat abilities. An Armament Soul offered arger boost than a Beast Warriors Beast Soul. Since the Imperial Sword was a formidable divine weapon that was the most well-known across the Cangyang Kingdom, paired with all the powerful techniques he possessed, even the Nine Heavens True Fire Beast was no match for Lin Zichen.


    Long Chen was left in a daze as he watched him. Lin Zichen was just too powerful! The beast could easily kill Long Chen, but Lin Zichen could kill it so casually!


    Every time he swung the Imperial Sword, a shower of blood would spray from the beasts body and fall on the ground. The clean ground was slowly dyed red from its blood.


    Long Chen was initially captivated by the battle, immersed in the immense pressure. But when he saw the rain of blood, his eyes lit up.


    <em>The blood of a Category Nine Earth-tier beast? Even just a little bit would be enough for me to get stronger, right? </em>Long Chens excitement grew. He desperately needed to grow stronger, but was frustrated because he could not kill stronger beasts. But if he consumed the blood now


    Long Chen wanted to leave so he wouldnt run into troubleter, but when he saw the blood, he decided to stay.


    Time passed as they fought. Lin Zichens impressivebat abilities and vicious techniques expanded Long Chens horizons. It was no wonder he was the number one prodigy in the Cangyang Kingdom. He knew that the beast was powerful, so he did not let it touch him. Instead, he kept weaving between attacks. In the end, the beast died from exhaustion!


    The gigantic carcass crashed into the ground, throwing dust up into the air.


    To be honest, Long Chen was drooling over the carcass. If this Category Nine Earth-tier beast could be his, his cultivation level would increase by several tiers. Of course, that was impossible because it was also very important to Lin Zichen, who quickly stored it in his Universe Pouch. He cleaned up the ce a little, then he left contentedly.


    He had no idea that a teenager had been lying on his stomach on a faraway hill, observing his battle against the beast.


    <em>I must admit that he is powerful. Compared to the Ninth Prince, he is much stronger in terms of mind and strength. </em>Long Chen waited until Lin Zichen disappeared. Hemented, not because he admired Lin Zichen, but because Lin Zichen was too hard to defeat.


    <em>I must not provoke that psycho before I be strong enough. </em>Long Chen was currently at the Second River Stage, so he knew how to act.


    With Lin Zichen gone, Long Chen sprinted as fast as he could to the battlefield. The ce was a mess due to the fire. There was ck, burnt soil everywhere, and the Nine Heavens True Fire Beasts blood covering the soil. Because some time had passed, a lot of blood had dried up and be useless. However, there were still some that could be salvaged.


    Long Chen wasted no time. He quickly activated the Blood Devouring Domain, and all the blood that could still move flowed towards him and was absorbed by his ck hole-like body. Finally, it turned into blood-red Qi flowing swiftly through his star veins.


    The blood was a great source of nourishment. Although there was not much, it was of great quality. Long Chen had just absorbed blood from a beast seven tiers above himself. Each small drop of blood, after being condensed and filtered by Blood Transmutation, had been turned into huge quantities of blood-red Qi!


    <em>Its time to work towards the Third River Stage </em>


    Long Chen suddenly noticed that the sky of Counter Essence Realm did not have stars. Without stars, he would not be able to connect to the power of the stars. And without star power and only relying on Heavenly River Pills, the star river he condensed would be unstable and could break down at any time.


    But perhaps that was not such a bad thing.


    Long Chen had no time to think about it. He slowly refined the beasts blood; if he did not use this Qi to condense a star river within his body, the sheer volume of it would soon make him explode!


    <em>I can condense a star river even without stars in the sky!</em>


    Long Chen gritted his teeth and sat down cross-legged, vigorously steering the Qi to move through his body. The volume of Qi he had absorbed was especiallyrge, so it was a little hard to control. However, this was not his limit. His excellent dragon body was not particrly hardy, but it had great abilities.


    <em>Whoosh!</em>


    He sensed that if he did not condense a star vein right now, his body could not hold on any longer. He quickly took out a hundred Heavenly River Pills and stuffed them into his mouth. Although his heart ached, he would not be able to enter the Third River Stage without them!


    The hundred pills turned into star power and helped him condense a star river. Because there were no Heavenly Rivers in the Counter Essence Realms sky, Long Chen decided to condense both Yin and Yang Rivers for the third stage. He would figure out the restter!


    He had enough Heavenly River Pills and a giant amount of Qi, so he easily finished condensing the Yin and Yang Rivers and reached the Third River Stage, bing considerably stronger. The only unexpected thing was that a hundred pills was not enoughhe had to consume more than three hundred pills to finally condense the Yin and Yang Rivers!


    It was because there was just too much Qi in the Nine Heavens True Fire Beasts blood. Even after attaining the Third River Stage, there was still a lot of Qi umted in his body. Although he was still unstable, he had no choice but to start working towards the Fourth River Stage!


    <em>Blood? Killing? </em>Long Chen sensed a cold aura spreading in his mind. He suddenly felt like blood would make him excited. Of course, killing too.


    <em>Ive probably used Blood Transmutation too much. My mind has started to be influenced by the Inherited Blood Essence. </em>Long Chen had no choice, and this tiny influence would not be a huge problem.


    He started to work towards the Fourth River Stage. It was much more difficult than the previous stage and used up more pills. He only had about two thousand Heavenly River Pills to begin with, and they were being spent very quickly. When he condensed the star river, he had to consume more than a thousand Heavenly River Pills to truly seed. By the time he had used up all his Qi to condense the fourth pair of star rivers, only about one to two hundred pills remained.


    Due to the Nine Heavens True Fire Beasts blood, Long Chen had consecutively leveled up from the Second to the Fourth River Stage, two levels in total. He believed that with his current strength, the Dragon Soul Transformation, and Divine Fire Clone, he could defeat the people who had been targeting him like Yu Tao and Song Yuefeng!


    <em>What a powerful feeling. My body is filled with power  </em>Long Chen smirked as he felt the power in his body. His eyes were faintly glowing red.


    <em>Whats the matter? </em>Although he felt powerful, he felt as if he could not control his body, like there was a force inside himmanding him. Long Chen thought about what it wasmanding him to do and realized that it was to kill.


    <em>My body is hot. Why do I yearn for someone toe fight me? </em>Long Chen was puzzled. He guessed that it was a symptom of Blood Transmutation overuse. It would not be a problem if he waited a while, so he controlled himself a little until he felt okay again.


    <em>Next, I should return to the Elementary Zone and see if there are any other opportunities I can take advantage of. </em><blockquote>


    Doge & Chacha''s Thoughts


    He''s bing a berserker I see


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