Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

Fenghuo Commerce Association.

This was a commerce association founded by the Royal Family of the Fengyang Ancient Country, with branches spread across many Upper Grade Dynasties.

In many dynasties, the Fenghuo Commerce Association and the Celestial Secret Pavilion were competitors. Logically, Shen Yourong and the Fenghuo Commerce Association should have had no contact with each other whatsoever.

But in reality...

Shen Yourong and the Fenghuo Commerce Association’s president, Li Ru, both hailed from the Fengyang Ancient Country and had known each other since childhood!

Led by Shen Cuihua and her companion, he arrived at the Fenghuo Commerce Association.

On the third floor of the Fenghuo Commerce Association.

Li Ru’s expression turned grim as he looked at Shen Yourong, who lay on the bed. Having lost his hands and feet, he resembled a human stick.

Shen Yourong gave a bitter laugh. "Li Ru, I’m afraid I’ve become a laughingstock."

Li Ru waved his hand. "Brother Shen, what are you talking about? If it weren’t for you back then, I would’ve been killed long ago... Rest assured, as long as I am with the Fenghuo Commerce Association, you will be our honored guest. As it happens, the Alchemy Conference is tomorrow. His Majesty has dispatched the strongest alchemist from our Fengyang Ancient Country. I will find a way to have him concoct a pill to regenerate your lost limbs."

"For you to treat me this way, even after I’ve fallen so low... I, Shen Yourong, am endlessly grateful!" said Shen Yourong.

Li Ru waved his hand dismissively. "Don’t say that. If not for you, my life would have ended long ago. We are brothers; there’s no need for such formalities. By the way, Brother Shen, I was in such a hurry earlier that I didn’t ask for the details. Who did this to you?"

An extremely venomous look flashed in Shen Yourong’s eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, "Younger Brother Li, the one who harmed me is none other than the Jiang Chen your Fengyang Ancient Country has been looking for!"

"What? Jiang Chen? He’s in Celestial Capital City?" Li Ru’s body trembled as his eyes flew wide.

Ever since Jiang Chen killed Yangg Hong,

the Fire Emperor had been furious. For some unknown reason, however, he had not personally moved to kill Jiang Chen.

Instead, he had issued a Killing Order for Jiang Chen through the Fenghuo Commerce Association.

However...

Jiang Chen had been staying in the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect, making any assassination attempt exceedingly difficult. Furthermore, the Cloud Domain was now a unified, impenetrable bloc, making it hard for outside forces to interfere.

To deal with Jiang Chen, the Fengyang Ancient Country had offered a massive bounty!

Li Ru had mentioned this matter to Shen Yourong not long ago!

Shen Yourong said, "That’s right. He was just invited to the Celestial Secret Pavilion as a guest by Wei Lihuang. He should appear at the Alchemy Conference tomorrow. Younger Brother Li, I know the Fengyang Ancient Country and Jiang Chen are in a fight to the death, which is why I came specifically to tell you this!"

"Excellent! Fantastic! The old ancestors have been vexed about not finding an opportunity to strike him, and now he’s walked right into our hands! Brother Shen, rest assured, I will pass this news back immediately. His Majesty and the others will definitely send experts. I guarantee you... within three days, Jiang Chen’s head will be placed before you!" Li Ru said with an excited expression.

Shen Yourong nodded, a cold glint in his eyes. ’Jiang Chen, you brought this on yourself!’

「At the same time.」

Having come to the Celestial Secret Pavilion at Wei Lihuang’s invitation, Jiang Chen ran into an acquaintance!

The moment they met,

Gai Shi landed a punch on Jiang Chen’s chest and laughed. "Well, well, look at you! Seems like you cause a ruckus wherever you go. When Master Wei said someone was causing trouble, I wondered who would dare stir things up at the Celestial Secret Pavilion. I never expected it to be you, kid!"

"It’s not that I want to cause trouble, it’s that trouble comes looking for me. What can I do?" Jiang Chen shrugged, looking Gai Shi up and down. "You’ve improved a lot this past year! At this rate, it won’t be long before you’re challenging for the Human Emperor’s position, right?"

Gai Shi’s cultivation had now reached the Sixth Stage of the Human King Realm, only a single Small Realm behind Jiang Chen.

Such talent was truly astonishing!

Gai Shi rolled his eyes. "Are you making fun of me? You’ve already killed several masters on the Celestial Venerable List. I bet the next time the Celestial Secret Pavilion updates its lists, your name will be on the Celestial Venerable List itself. Meanwhile, I haven’t even broken into the top hundred of the Earth Venerable List. Honestly, I’m so damn tempted to learn a wicked Secret Technique like Possession just to take over your body. You’re just too much of a monster... sigh..."

Jiang Chen chuckled.

He and Gai Shi had a friendship forged through life-and-death situations; their bond was extremely strong.

He naturally knew Gai Shi was only joking.

Gai Shi continued, "The old ancestor said the Eastern Continent was about to descend into chaos, so he took me with him for closed-door cultivation. I only came out recently. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you during your most difficult time!"

Jiang Chen smiled and waved his hand. "We’re brothers. There’s no need to say all that!"

"Yeah!"

Gai Shi grinned, then asked, "By the way, what happened to that Shen Yourong in the end?"

"Nothing much..." Jiang Chen explained casually.

Hearing about Shen Yourong’s fate, Gai Shi found it deeply satisfying. "It’s true what they say: it takes a scoundrel to deal with a scoundrel. I’d heard stories about Shen Yourong and his two ’top-grade’ daughters before, I just never ran into them... They must have the worst luck imaginable to have provoked an Evil Star like you. Still, that Shen Yourong is a venomous snake. I doubt he’ll let this go. You need to be careful!"

"It’s fine. If he stays away, so be it. If he dares to provoke me again, I’ll personally send him to see Yama!" Jiang Chen said nonchalantly.

Gai Shi grinned. "That’s what I like about you... Tonight, you have to have a good drink with me! Tomorrow, we’ll attend the Alchemy Conference together!"

"Alright!"

Jiang Chen nodded.

He then let the Black Emperor take Xiaoyou and Little White to go play by themselves.

He, on the other hand, followed Gai Shi to a courtyard arranged by Wei Lihuang, where they drank to their hearts’ content.

The two of them drank a great deal that night.

They didn’t stop until dawn the next day.

Wine jars were strewn all around them. At a minimum, they had each drunk six or seven jars.

With a surge of True Essence, they dispelled the lingering smell of alcohol.

Gai Shi said, "I’m heading back first. My Royal Family also sent an expert alchemist to compete this time, hoping to secure a good ranking. We’ll meet up again at the Alchemy Conference!"

"Alright!"

Jiang Chen nodded. After Gai Shi left, he changed into a fresh set of clothes. An expert from the Celestial Secret Pavilion was already waiting outside. Seeing Jiang Chen emerge, the expert immediately said respectfully, "Lord Jiang, the Pavilion Master ordered this subordinate to wait here for you. As soon as you awoke, I was to escort you to the venue for the Alchemy Conference!"

"Thank you for your trouble."

Jiang Chen nodded, then asked, "Where are Xiaoyou and Little Black?"

The expert quickly replied, "The Black Emperor and the others have already gone to the site of the Alchemy Conference!"

"Please lead the way."

Jiang Chen shook his head helplessly and followed the expert to the Alchemy Conference venue.

This Alchemy Conference was held once every three years. Because the rewards were quite generous, it attracted many expert alchemists to participate.

Among them were even Fourth-grade Advanced Alchemists!

In the Eastern Continent, Fifth-Grade Pill Kings were extremely rare and revered. Barring special circumstances, an alchemist of the Fifth-Grade Pill King level would not easily take action. This meant that Fourth-grade Advanced Alchemists were already considered to be at the pinnacle of the Eastern Continent’s Alchemy Realm.

Of course...

an anomaly like Jiang Chen, who could refine Sixth-grade Pills, was another matter entirely!

"Lord Jiang, please wait here for a moment. The Pavilion Master and the others will be here shortly!" the expert said respectfully, leading Jiang Chen to a seat in the VIP section.

Jiang Chen nodded.

He glanced around but didn’t see Xiaoyou or the Black Emperor, which made him a little uneasy. However, the thought of the Black Emperor’s capabilities put his mind at ease.

While he waited, many experts arrived one after another.

The seats around Jiang Chen began to fill up.

Only a few seats directly next to him remained empty and untouched, specially reserved for Wei Lihuang, Gai Shi, and the others.

Just as Jiang Chen was growing impatient, his brow twitched. He felt a trace of hostility directed at him. While maintaining a calm and composed exterior, he subtly extended his Divine Thought and overheard a few people conversing in low voices...

"See him? That’s Jiang Chen. I hear he’s an incredible genius!"

"Even Gai Shi is far from his match. He truly is the undisputed number one of the younger generation in the Eastern Continent’s Martial Arts Realm! I also heard he’s an alchemist?"

"Hmph, that’s just hearsay. I admit his talent in the Martial Dao is strong, but when it comes to the Alchemy Technique, he isn’t even qualified to carry my shoes!" an arrogant voice rang out, making no attempt to conceal itself.

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow and looked toward the speaker.

The man appeared to be around fifty years old and was dressed in the attire of the Alchemy Master Guild. The alchemist’s badge on his chest indicated that he was a Fifth-Grade Alchemist!

Noticing Jiang Chen’s gaze, the man made no effort to hide his feelings.

He tilted his head up slightly, his eyes filled with thick hostility and a hint of provocation, as if to say, ’What are you looking at? Yeah, I’m talking about you!’

Jiang Chen shook his head lightly, the corners of his mouth curling up into a playful and mocking smile...

’A Fifth-Grade Alchemist?’

’Is that supposed to be impressive?’

’Heh...’