—"Puff puff" —
two heads shot into the sky, and the corpses slowly collapsed.
"What are all these? These days, are robberies really this unprofessional and unprofessional? And you dare to come out and rob someone like that? Long Chen shook his head and tossed the broken sword in his hand.
"You are the worst robbers I've ever seen in my life." Long Chen shook his head and continued walking forward slowly.
No strength, no means, no cooperation—this is pure risking life for fun. Long Chen really couldn't understand what they were thinking.
As soon as Long Chen left, a group of powerful figures dressed in black appeared. However, beneath their black robes, the white hems of their clothes were faintly visible.
The funniest part is that some of them dressed so hastily that their clothes weren't buttoned properly, and even the dragon emblem was exposed.
"What's going on? How did he die so quickly? Someone exclaimed.
"Looks like we've run into a tough opponent. Hurry up and clean up." One person seemed to be their leader. At the command, they quickly cleaned up the battlefield and disappeared in a flash.
Everything behind the scenes could be clearly seen as long as Long Chen opened his divine sense, but he simply couldn't be bothered to look.
This group clearly lives at the very bottom of the Tianhuang Domain—weak in strength, average talent, living a life of swordsmanship and bloodshed, living day by day.
Their targets were random, not deliberately targeting Long Chen. Since it wasn't intentional, Long Chen had no reason to take them seriously.
However, after experiencing this "assassination attempt," Long Chen couldn't help but feel that regardless of strength or any level of cultivation world, the essence of cultivation is the same.
This essence is 'contention,' and this is true whether in the Immortal Realm or the Mortal Realm.
Commoners compete for food, wealthy merchants compete for profit, bureaucrats vie for power, emperors vie for territory, and beauties compete for women—the higher you stand, the more you compete for.
People envy immortals, but few realize that what they see as immortals is even more savage, greedy, brutal, and even more painful.
But this is the essence of the world; no one can remain untouched. Some say that not competing is the true way.
But if you don't fight for it, others will take everything from you. Can you just stand by and watch everything lost, including your life and your loved one, and remain indifferent?
The answer is no, at least Long Chen can't. So, he has to fight for it. His ambition isn't great; he just wants dignity and freedom.
But this simple wish, in this filthy world, is a luxury—a wish that is almost impossible to fulfill.
Long Chen continued forward, and soon someone began speeding past him. Clearly, someone had tried to assassinate him earlier, and someone had temporarily blocked the road. This left Long Chen speechless. To do something like this, and to be so brazen—how chaotic must the Long family be?
The road quickly became smooth, and Long Chen encountered no more obstacles. As he walked forward, he heard people muttering that the road ahead was perfectly normal, so why stop them?
Long Chen immediately rolled his eyes. It seemed that this group of guys had been so brazen that no one else could do it.
Long Chen noticed that most of the people walking this road were dressed shabbily, and even their weapons were battered. His attire was plain and inconspicuous, but among this group, his attire somehow gave off a touch of light luxury.
After walking for half a day, a city appeared ahead. It wasn't large, but not small either. It had no walls, only a square moat. Without this moat, this place wouldn't have been worthy of being called a "city."
There are many buildings in the city, but they are uneven. In many places, the soil is exposed and weeds grow wild, giving a very desolate and dilapidated feeling.
After asking around, Long Chen learned that this was Mercenary City, not the location for the outer teleportation array. The first city was still half a day's journey ahead, where they truly entered the Tianhuang Domain. The ascetics called it Mercenary City, while the experts simply referred to it as the Mercenary Station.
This Mercenary City is a gathering place for those poor wandering cultivators. Here, they band together for warmth, taking on tasks and earning some cheap fees just to barely cover the expenses of their cultivation.
Cultivation is like rowing upstream—if you don't advance, you fall behind. And once your realm falls, it's extremely difficult to improve again.
Therefore, no one dares to let their realm decline; otherwise, their lifelong cultivation will end here.
Seeing the busy crowd before him, dressed in rags and their eyes full of wariness toward the world, when he saw a young couple walking hand in hand, Long Chen stared blankly at their backs, stunned.
He suddenly recalled the scene back in the Fengming Empire, when he was at the lowest point of his life, looking across the world, no one could help him.
But it was at that moment that a woman boldly expressed her love to him, entrusting her life to him and willing to live and die with him.
"The dragon roams the four seas and travels ten thousand miles; the phoenix departs, accompanied by phoenix trees. Life and death never abandon the blood sea road; dragon and phoenix depend on each other until old age. Long Chen couldn't help but recite the poem they had collaborated on.
Back then, she was still in her prime, while he was young and reckless. Back then, they didn't know the cruelty of the world, but they bravely made lifelong vows—maybe a bit naive, maybe a bit foolish—but they dared to express their truest feelings with courage.
"The dragon has not only traveled across the four seas, but also the nine heavens. The phoenix left the phoenix tree, yet drifted without a place to rest. This is all my incompetence. Are you doing well now?" Long Chen thought of Chu Yao. At this moment, endless longing surged in his heart. He felt sorry for Chu Yao, and for all his close female friends.
At the same time, he hated himself. He was once called invincible among peers and the youngest dean in the history of Lingxiao Academy, yet he couldn't even fulfill the simple wish of being with the one he loved. He was a complete failure.
"Young man, why are you crying? Are you okay? At that moment, a timid voice rang out. A woman appeared before Long Chen—the couple who had walked past him had returned.
The woman carefully handed Long Chen a brocade handkerchief. The handkerchief was worn out, but it had been washed very clean.
"If you don't mind..." the woman said.
Only then did Long Chen realize that at some point, he had already started to cry. He felt a bit embarrassed. He didn't take the woman's handkerchief, but instead wiped his face with his hand and forced a smile, saying,
"Thank you. My eyes suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. It's nothing, thank you both."
The man looked dark-skinned and honest, but he was actually a four-star Destiny Practitioner, with cultivation at the sixth level of Divine Venerable. His strength seemed quite good. He asked with concern,
"Young man, are you facing some difficulties?" If you encounter it, just let me know. If I can help, we'll help you. Long
Chen shook his head, just about to say goodbye to them and leave, when suddenly a group of people rushed over from afar.