Chapter 5000 Obtaining the Medicinal Ingredients  

With one palm, the immortal cave was bathed in seven-colored divine radiance. Long Chen laughed maniacally, reveling in the violent and wild nature of his attack.

Unlike the silent lethality of the violet blood, the power of the seven-color Supreme Blood erupted in a domineering and destructive manner, which Long Chen thoroughly enjoyed.

Suddenly, Long Chen glanced at his hand, now a bloody pulp. The meridians in his forearm were cracked, a clear indication that he hadn’t reached a perfect level of control over this technique yet. The backlash had injured him.

If his control had been better, he could have directed the backlash outward, amplifying the attack’s power. Overall, there was still considerable room for improvement in it.

“Hehe, that was satisfying!” Long Chen chuckled. Although he was injured and the attack was imperfect, it didn’t dampen his joy.

“Should I try the other hand?” Long Chen suddenly thought of his left hand. What if he condensed the Cross Blood Rune on both hands and used them simultaneously? Wouldn’t that make the attack stronger?

Furthermore, if Long Chen used his right hand to suppress his opponent with a weapon, creating an opening, his left hand could strike and deliver a fatal blow.

After thinking about it, Long Chen decided to train his left hand to master this attack as well. However, he postponed further training for the moment to rest and recover. Exiting the immortal cave, he headed toward the Heaven Overseer’s residence.

“Heaven Overseer,” Long Chen greeted.

The Heaven Overseer smiled upon seeing Long Chen and tossed a worldstone to him. Peering inside, Long Chen found thirteen medicinal ingredients. Feeling delighted, he bowed graciously to express his thanks.

For now, these medicinal ingredients didn’t have a use as he could only refine the Nirvanic Charge Pill after reaching the Eternal realm.

“Your Blood Qi looks like it’s about to burst, and your aura concealment is starting to show holes,” said the Heaven Overseer as he observed Long Chen.

Previously, he had been curious. Long Chen’s cultivation base didn’t quite match the aura he sensed. Now, after Long Chen had unleashed the God Slaying Cross, his wild aura hadn’t settled. Hence, the Heaven Overseer instantly realized Long Chen had sealed his cultivation base.

Long Chen chuckled. “I’ve made some minor gains lately. I’m embarrassed to reveal them in front of you.”

As Long Chen spoke, he released the seal the Earth Cauldron had given him. He had grown accustomed to his new cultivation base, managing his aura at the boundary between the ninth Heavenstage and the great circle.

Sensing Long Chen’s aura, the Heaven Overseer smiled. “The elite competition is progressing like wildfire, and the next battle will commence in two hours. Are you really not going to take a look?”

Long Chen was a bit moved by the suggestion. Cultivation was an endless journey, and he knew the value of firsthand experience. A single discovery along the path of cultivation could yield unimaginable benefits.

Instead of merely studying texts, he believed in the power of personal experience. Personal journeys and discoveries ultimately determined how far someone could advance.

“Alright, then I’ll go and see what I can learn,” Long Chen replied with a nod, treating today as a short break from his usual routine.

When Long Chen arrived at the competition area, he realized that the giant martial stage was constructed by joining hundreds of martial stages together. The spectator stands were divided into inner and outer regions, the former offering slightly more comfortable seating compared to the latter, though the view was equally good from both.

As Long Chen entered, he noticed the place was already bustling with people, despite the event not starting yet.

All the mercenaries instantly shot up when they saw Long Chen. Brother Song, Yu Ying, and the others were excited to see him.

“Long Chen!”

Long Chen couldn’t help being surprised. “Eh? Brother Song, you’re… a six-star Heavenly Doyen?”

Long Chen vividly remembered his first encounter with Brother Song, when the latter was a four-star Heavenly Doyen at the sixth Heavenstage. Now, Brother Song had ascended to a six-star Heavenly Doyen at the ninth Heavenstage.

The fact that Brother Song had reached the ninth Heavenstage wasn’t surprising. With the Jiuli rune in his body and access to abundant resources, it was natural for his cultivation base to skyrocket.

However, an increase in Doyen rank was a bit surprising. Brother Song hadn’t gone through any divine pool baptism, yet he had still managed to improve. What a rare occurrence.

Long Chen looked at Yu Ying and noticed similar advancements in her. Could it be that the awakening of their ancestral runes also enhanced their talents?

Normally, talent was something fixed at birth. If this awakening indeed altered their natural aptitude, then their futures were undoubtedly bright.

Long Chen knew that if these individuals were brought to the High Firmament Academy and received the academy’s nurturing, they would undoubtedly become the cornerstone of the High Firmament Academy’s forces.

Long Chen’s arrival caused an uproar amongst the mercenaries, resulting in everyone’s gazes turning over to him. Qin Feng, Long Ziwei, and Gui Jiu immediately ran over.

“I didn’t expect you to be capable of cultivating the Starry River of the Sky Art,” remarked Long Chen.

Gui Jiu’s second head had regrown, and he now exuded astral energy fluctuations. While Gui Jiu’s talent wasn’t bad, Long Chen hadn’t expected him to be able to cultivate the Starry River of the Sky Art, which required a righteous heart as its first prerequisite.

Long Chen had always felt Gui Jiu to be more of a slippery kind of person, a mix of good and bad. Hence, Long Chen was surprised that Gui Jiu could cultivate this technique, which meant that Gui Jiu’s inner heart was still righteous. This realization caused Long Chen to reconsider his previous judgment.

“It’s thanks to Boss’s selfless generosity. After cultivating the Starry River of the Sky Art, I saw a vast world I’d never seen before. Thank you, Boss,” expressed Gui Jiu sincerely.

“Not bad, not bad. If you are willing, you can go with Brother Song and the others to the High Firmament Academy,” said Long Chen.

Gui Jiu was overjoyed to hear it. Before this, Qin Feng had said that he would only bring the mercenaries back to the High Firmament Academy. As Gui Jiu wasn’t included, he was extremely disappointed but hadn’t dared to say it.

“Boss, what about me?” asked Long Ziwei hastily.

“If you want to, you can come at any time. However, if you want to join the Dragonblood Legion, that will be very difficult. You have to be mentally prepared,” warned Long Chen. He knew what Long Ziwei was thinking.

“That’s fine. As long as I can be in the same academy as you, I’ll be very satisfied,” replied Long Ziwei.

During the past few days, Long Ziwei had been with Qin Feng. As he was half a Heavenly Chosen, he didn’t have to participate in the elimination rounds.

As a result, Long Ziwei and Qin Feng were in the spectator stands most of the time, guessing the result after examining the power of the competitors.

After thousands of battles, Long Ziwei had been wrong about eighty times, while Qin Feng had proven correct every single time, which thoroughly convinced Long Ziwei. He now understood the vast disparity between himself and the Dragonblood warriors. Knowing that Qin Feng was just an ordinary Dragonblood warrior intensified his desire to join the High Firmament Academy.

Just joining the High Firmament Academy would already satisfy him. While becoming part of the Dragonblood Legion was his ultimate dream, entering the High Firmament Academy felt like a significant step toward realizing that dream.

“How noisy. You peasants should keep your mouths shut,” a voice from the inner stands interrupted them, causing Long Ziwei and the others to tense up.