Chapter 2 - Long Chen

Using the last of his strength, Yang Chen propped Long Qinglan against the tree.

He’s just pretending to be dead!

After observing him, Yang Chen realized that Long Qinglan was fine. He almost punched him a few times out of spite.

Long Qinglan glared at him and said, “I’m still going to die but there are a few things I need to tell you now that I am awake. Listen carefully! If you skip even one of them, I will castrate you even if I’ve become a ghost.”

Yang Chen rolled his eyes. He never really heard his father speak before but it was somewhat identical to the style Yang Chen usually spoke. Seemed like it ran in the family.

“Alright, I know you are fine. Seeing how much more sober you are today, hurry up and tell me.”

Long Qinglan chuckled. “I’ve seen you a few times before and to think that you would speak and act almost the same way as I did when I was younger! Alright, let me make it brief. When I die, the first thing you need to do is dig out the Dragon Jade Pendant from inside my dantian.”

When he heard Long Qinglan bringing up the Dragon Jade Pendant again, Yang Chen was visibly shaken. “Father. Do you think I’m stupid? How could you survive if there was really a jade pendant inside your dantian?”

“Bullshit! Do I look like I am fine? Eighteen years ago, when I first arrived at Baiyang Town, no one in your mother’s generation was my equal. If not, how do you think I managed to deceive such a pretty woman to come and sleep with me? But thanks to the Dragon Jade Pendant, all of my Qi from when I was at the Eighth Draconic Stage was sucked dry until I became a useless person!”

To think there was such a thing. Yang Chen really didn’t know this. When he observed how agitatedly his father spoke, it seemed that his father was not lying. What kind of scary object was the Dragon Jade Pendant if it could suck a person’s Qi dry?

More importantly, his father was an Eighth Draconic Stage expert? To have such an achievement when he was so young was almost unheard of!

Legend told that humans were the descendants of the Primordial Dragons and inherited a portion of their blood. This was why the nine major blood vessels in the human body were called the Dragon Veins. When a cultivator achieved the peak state of the Body Quenching Stage, they could feel the heavens and earth and absorb their essence. By transforming the essence into Qi, they would be able to break through the nine Dragon Veins and become a master. This was why the Draconic Stage was divided into nine stages.

Yang Chen knew that the strongest person in Baiyang Town was his grandfather. Everyone called him a master, but at most, he was at the Ninth Draconic Stage.

Ignoring Yang Chen’s skeptical demeanor, Long Qinglan continued, “I’ve already made it clear what the first task is. Now, for the second ...You need to change your surname. From today onwards, your name will be Long Chen. We are from the Long family, one of the strongest families and the largest superpowers of this world. We are the descendants of the Long family, so we must not change our surname!”

“One of the strongest families? A child would probably believe you but me ... eh whatever. Sure, I will change my surname to Long.”

Yang Chen never thought that his old man would joke like this. But he didn’t really want to have the surname Yang, so it was fine either way. Even though his father was useless, he did not mind using the same surname.

Long Chen. This would be his new name.

He silently repeated his name in his heart a few times and felt it wasn’t bad. His father smiled when Long Chen agreed. Likewise, Long Chen felt that he was surprisingly happy too.

He sat beside Long Qinglan, their shoulders touching.

“You are my son. It’s fine for me to call you Chen’er. I’ve traveled across the Dragon Continent and reigned supreme all my life. To think that I would die in such a backwater place like Baiyang Town. Life is as unpredictable as ever.”

“Are you sure you are right in the head? I already know what you’ve done your entire life. There’s no need to lie to me! Also, we don’t have to go back to the Yang family anymore. We just need to find another place to live. I’m sure I can support you and your alcoholism with my capabilities alone. How about it?”

Long Chen stared at the flowers and trees while he said that. He was waiting for an answer from his father but no words came. Puzzled, he turned and realized that Long Qinglan was crying as he looked at him.

“Old man, why are you...”

Surprisingly, Long Chen found that he didn’t mind being stared at by a crying adult man. Even though his tongue was sharp, the man in front of him was still his father.

“Chen’er ...”

“... Mm.”

Long Qinglan raised his head. “I am not a good father. I have never fulfilled my duties as your father. This was why you had such a harsh upbringing. There are so many things you have to face by yourself in the future but I cannot tell you what they are. When you are at that stage, you will experience it yourself.”

“And now, I must tell you one last thing at the end of my life. Remember this well: this is a cruel world where power is everything. A man without power is nothing but a stray dog!”

“When I die, I hope that becoming stronger will be your lifelong goal. It was once mine, but fate played a cruel trick on me.”

Long Chen was speechless at his father’s last words and seriousness.

Long Qinglan patted Long Chen’s head quite strongly before placing his hands on Long Chen’s shoulders and smiling. “I’ve said what I needed to. One more thing ...The Yang family are soon going to have their Family Meeting. The youth will compete with each other to win the Yang family’s most prized technique, the Dragon Seal. The Dragon Seal is the key for you to become a Dragon Warrior. You must obtain it at all costs. Remember this well!”

Long Chen had indeed heard about the Yang Family Meeting, but it had nothing to do with him.

“I can fight a few hooligans on the street with my physical strength, but the Family Meeting? I would bring shame on you! And what’s a Dragon Warrior?

“The Dragon Warrior is a legend that has long since faded on the Dragon Continent.”

Long Qinglan smiled as his eyes filled with yearning. His hands slowly slid down Long Chen’s shoulders and fell to his sides without a sound.

Long Chen was about to ask what the Dragon Continent was when he saw Long Qinglan’s arm fall limply. He panicked and immediately grasped at his father.

Long Qinglan’s eyes were open and he was smiling, but he was no longer breathing. Long Chen realized that he had truly passed away.

Long Chen’s mind was a mess.

Just a day ago, Long Qinglan had died, and he had been able to somewhat accept it. But just when he was still thinking about how he could bring his father somewhere else and live peacefully, he was all alone again ...

Long Chen’s head lowered bitterly.

Listen carefully! If you skip even one of them, I will castrate you even if I’ve become a ghost.

I am not a good father. I have never fulfilled my duties as your father.

This is a cruel world where power is everything. A man without power is nothing but a stray dog!

When I die, I hope that becoming stronger will be your lifelong goal.

Long Qinglan’s words echoed again and again in Long Chen’s ears.

Long Chen had never thought that he would suffer such a painful parting. He had long thought he was emotionless, but how should he explain such heart-wrenching pain?

It was midnight by the time he confirmed that the man in front of him would not get up again. Long Chen prepared to bury him.

As he looked at the gaunt man in the grave, Long Chen clenched his fist silently.

“Father. I remember everything you said, and I will follow. I will make sure to complete everything even if I become a cripple. I’ve changed my surname. As for the Dragon Seal, it will take some time. Becoming stronger will also take more than a few days. And ...”

He thought back on what Long Qinglan had said about digging up the Dragon Jade Pendant from his dantian.

“He’s already dead. It’s a grave sin to desecrate his corpse ...”

Long Chen thought about it and was just about to give up before changing his decision again.

“No. He said that the Dragon Jade Pendant is tormenting him and he repeated it at least three times. There is probably a deeper mystery to this.”

Long Chen was not someone who waited. He immediately took out his dagger and checked Long Qinglan again. He took a deep breath and opened up his father’s dantian.

True enough, there was a piece of black jade inside.

Long Chen placed the jade pendant on the ground before burying his father and erecting a gravestone. After praying to his father, he sat down and inspected the jade pendant.

It was the Dragon Jade Pendant that Long Qinglan had mentioned.

“Were you the one that sucked his Qi dry and ruined his entire life?”

The jade pendant was shaped like a dragon with some mysterious grooves on it. It was completely black, and the material looked ordinary, maybe even old. Long Chen never would’ve thought that it had tormented Long Qinglan his entire life.

It was already very dark. Under the moonlight, the fog started to cover the forest as the Dragon Jade Pendant in Long Chen’s hand started to glow. Long Chen’s attention drifted for just a moment and the Dragon Jade Pendant disappeared.

“What the? What happened?”

Before he could react, Long Chen felt a thunderous boom in his head. He found out that his consciousness had appeared, covered in a grey fog. The sound of wind did not stop while Long Chen could not even pinpoint where up or down was.

“This is ...The sea of consciousness! It’s exactly as described by the book! It’s also the location of one’s soul. When one becomes a cultivator and unlocks their inner eye, they will be able to see the sea of consciousness. What is happening to me?”

He was shocked as he started running in his sea of consciousness. Regardless of how far he ran, he felt that he couldn’t escape the endless fog. Just then, Long Chen saw a piece of black jade. It was the Dragon Jade Pendant! It glowed as it floated in front of him.

Long Chen opened his eyes in surprise.

“The Dragon Jade Pendant had entered my sea of consciousness. Don’t tell me it’s trying to absorb my Qi?”

He was still shocked.

“No, wait. I don’t have Qi. I mean, it could absorb my fart, I suppose?”

Just then, a strong power emanated from the Dragon Jade Pendant, crossed the boundary of flesh and soul, and appeared in Long Chen’s dantian.

The powerful warmth enveloped him and made him feel good.

“Qi?”