“Elder Long, Long Chen, he… He and Ye Qian…!” The vice commander hastily ran into a large palace and tried to make a report. However, halfway through he realized that the Deputy Elder was present as well. He hastily bowed. “Disciple greets the Deputy Elder.”

The Deputy Elder and Elder Long looked at the vice commander. The Deputy Elder said, “We already know. You can go.”

“Yes.” The vice commander withdrew.

Elder Long sighed. “Long Chen’s fate truly is strange. He somehow manages to surround himself with enemies without even trying. Do we need to take action this time?”

The Deputy Elder shook his head. “This isn’t the underlying flow of fate. This was arranged by someone.”

There was a chessboard between the two of them. It was currently displaying the scene of Long Chen grabbing Ye Qian’s throat. Lightning continued to flicker around him.

“Someone arranged it? You mean…?”

“Yes. It was them. We don’t need to worry about it. Someone else will come out.”

…

The one to attack Long Chen just now was Ye Yaochen. However, today, his face wasn’t as dark as before. Although his hair was still white, his face looked much younger.

If Long Chen hadn’t noticed his aura, he wouldn’t have recognized him. Just now he had tried to use a spiritual attack against Long Chen, and he had used his lightning to block it.

With Ye Qian in his hand, Long Chen looked coldly at Ye Yaochen. Fortunately, his Spiritual Strength was strong enough to sense Ye Yaochen’s sneak attack.

“Long Chen, release Ye Qian. That is the only way you’ll live to see tomorrow,” shouted Ye Yaochen.

Although that was what he said, Long Chen heard some well hidden delight in his voice. His anger was a cover for himself.

“I don’t believe that doing so is my only way to live. Your words are just like a fart. I can’t be bothered to even listen. I’m going to wait here for someone with actual authority to come,” sneered Long Chen.

Just at this moment, the crowd parted, and a group of elders in golden robes walked in. Their leader was a white-haired elder.

Upon seeing that elder, Ye Yaochen bowed. “Senior Pill Doyen, this matter has actually disturbed you.”

The elder shook his head. “In all my years, I’ve never seen someone capture one of the Divine Pill Division’s disciples. My eyes have been opened to the world. I just want to see who has such ability.”

The elder walked over to Long Chen accompanied by his group. Ye Yaochen barked, “Long Chen, this is the great Pill Doyen of the Divine Pill Division. Get the hell down from there!”

Long Chen laughed. “Ye Yaochen, are you an idiot? Or do you have some enmity with the idiot in my hand and want me to kill him?”

Long Chen’s hand tightened, and Ye Qian started to turn purple. He struggled but was unable to escape Long Chen’s hold.

Long Chen said, “Don’t blame me. That fellow down there wants you to die. How do you know him? Apparently he wants me to kill you and then he’ll have an excuse to kill me. But even if I released you, he’d do the same, so I’m wondering if I should just kill you and then make my escape. Although my chances of escaping aren’t very high, bringing a scapegoat like you down with me doesn’t seem that bad either.”

“No… don’t…” Ye Qian barely managed to choke out a few words. At the same time, he was filled with hatred for Ye Yaochen. Ye Yaochen wanted this matter to get bigger, and he didn’t care if he died or not.

“Long Chen, that’s about enough. If you have something to discuss, we can discuss it calmly. Your life is a life, and Ye Qian’s life is also a life. Neither one is more valuable than the other. To exchange a life for a life is nothing more than words of anger. I trust that you wouldn’t do such a thing unless you had no other choice left, and the current predicament clearly hasn’t reached that level,” said the Pill Doyen. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem angry. He appeared confident, as if he was in complete control of this situation.

Long Chen smiled. “You are correct. To tell the truth, I really am unwilling to exchange my life for his. But sometimes, some people do such infuriating things that it makes people want to directly slap them to death. Respected Pill Doyen, can I ask if all the disciples of the Divine Pill Division are gods who come to the mortal world? Are they supreme beings that will not allow other people to reject them? Are they people who can demand anything from anyone, otherwise they will go hostile? Just now, everyone present witnessed what happened. I’m not slandering anyone. May I ask if the great Pill Doyen can give everyone a satisfactory explanation for this?”

Quite a few people had witnessed the entirety of the events that had occurred. Who was right and who was wrong was very clear. Ye Qian didn’t have a leg to stand on.

“Which young person hasn’t been impetuous due to their vigor? If every person was as deathly as us elders, the divine families would have no hope for the future. Rather than right and wrong, the most important thing is to learn and grow. Someone who runs around being arrogant will naturally have to pay the price one day. That is a natural process for growth. Ye Qian is at fault. As the head of the Pill Division, I was unable to discipline him and so I also have to take responsibility for this matter. If you feel that you have suffered an injustice, then how about I apologize to you for it?” said the elder.

“Senior Pill Doyen!” The elders beside him were all shocked. The Pill Doyen’s status was incredibly high. For him to apologize to a youngster was something extremely humiliating.

The Pill Doyen waved his hand. “A wrong is a wrong. Does it have anything to do with status?”

Long Chen couldn’t help reappraising this elder. He hadn’t expected such a reaction.

However, the elder’s aura was concealed. He had no way of sensing his power, and his spiritual fluctuations were also impossible to grasp. Long Chen didn’t feel any malice, but he also didn’t feel any kindness either.

This person was an existence on the same level as the Deputy Elder, someone who was above Netherpassage. He had to be careful around him.

“For senior to so courageously admit to a mistake humbles me. With your example, it would make me appear petty to not let this matter go.” Long Chen smiled at him. He then turned to Ye Qian. “Do you see? To be qualified to be arrogant but not act arrogant is the mark of a true expert. A full bottle doesn’t make noise, but a half-full one makes a bunch of noises. That’s a reference to people like you. You should try to learn from your senior.”

Long Chen tossed Ye Qian away. Just as he released him, Ye Yaochen shouted, “Capture this brazen interloper!”

Ye Yaochen was the first to step forward. But before he could do anything else, a dark hand appeared on his shoulder, making him unable to move.

Seeing that hand, Long Chen’s heart skipped a beat. It was the hand of the Pill Doyen. His hand was black like charcoal. There were some wooden veins on it as well.

“The body is the furnace, life is the flame. The Dao is contained within the palm. Senior is truly a behemoth of the Pill Dao. I apologize for my earlier rudeness.” Long Chen was moved. He bowed toward the Pill Doyen respectfully.

The Pill Doyen’s hand was like that because he had used his body as the furnace and burned his very life to give birth to medicinal pills. His hand had been burned by countless flames.

It could be said that someone who was capable of doing such a thing was not simply pursuing higher realms. Such a person was someone who viewed alchemy as a kind of belief, a belief that was even more sacred than their life.

Alchemy was a grand profession, but the majority of alchemists were only after status and wealth. This profession in particular easily twisted people’s original hearts. That resulted in most alchemists being extremely arrogant.

However, someone who was able to view alchemy as even more important than their own life was definitely worthy of respect, especially from another alchemist like Long Chen.

The Pill Doyen was surprised that Long Chen could instantly see through this. Within the entire history of the Divine Pill Hall, he had been the only one to reach this step. Even the Elders of the current Divine Pill Division didn’t know why his hand was like this.

“You really are a master of the Pill Dao. You instantly saw through me. That’s very admirable,” praised the Pill Doyen.

Most importantly, despite being so young, Long Chen was not only capable of instantly capturing Ye Qian to show off his domineering side, but he was also able to instantly recognize his hand and put away his arrogance.

“You also know how to refine pills?” Ye Qian was enraged inside to hear this praise. He had thought that the Pill Doyen had come here for him, but now it seemed that he had just lost his face.

“I wouldn’t dare to say such a thing. I just have a slight understanding,” said Long Chen. He smiled faintly, already knowing what he had to say.

As expected, Ye Qian sneered, “I hear that you secretly learned the alchemy arts of Pill Valley? Even Pill Valley’s representative was defeated by me in alchemy. Do you have the guts to compete with me? I’d guess that you don’t.”

“Your guess is correct. I don’t have those guts.” Long Chen turned away from Ye Qian to the Pill Doyen. “Junior still has to buy some things. Will this matter affect my shopping?”

“Of course not,” said the Pill Doyen.

“Then junior will say goodbye.”

Long Chen pulled Wan Qing away to buy the ingredients he wanted, enraging Ye Qian.

“Coward!”

Long Chen acted like he didn’t hear. He began perusing the various wares.

Ye Qian suddenly shouted, “Do you want to have a gamble? If you beat me, I’ll give you all my wealth. Do you dare?!”

Long Chen’s eyes instantly brightened. He turned back. “Then can I ask how much money you have?”