When Yan Honghai was gone, Long Chen wandered around the asteroid while getting used to the increased gravitational force. There was indeed nothing but yellow soil.
“This place is so barren.”
Long Chen calmed down and started cultivating.
This was something he had to do every night.
He had to endlessly circulate his Qi in order to absorb nature’s spiritual energy to increase his strength. It also served as training to control his Qi.
“It’s definitely five times harder to circulate my Qi, but this is not my limit.”
The blood-red Qi surged out of his Earthly Core under his command and circulated through his veins. It was not faster than before.
The more he did it, the more refined his Qi became. Because of Blood Transmutation, Long Chen didn’t really have any issue with his Qi being unstable, but he could further increase its quality.
He believed that once his Qi had been refined to a certain point, it would give him unexpected benefits.
Long Chen settled down for the next several days. His most important task was to refine his Qi on the asteroids. After some time, his Earthly Core Qi was much more refined, which enabled him to exert more strength.
He also spent time cultivating the Nine Dragon Flashes. Even though it was an advanced Black-tier technique similar to the Sword Devil Finger, it was much more complicated. With the help of the increased gravitational force, Long Chen’s progress was very noticeable and significant. He managed to surpass Dongfang Xuanxiao’s expectations by completing the fifth flash.
Ten days later, he was already cultivating on an asteroid five hundred meters in diameter with a gravitational force twenty times stronger than normal. He was cultivating the Nine Dragon Flashes here due to the immense pressure. It took a lot of his strength to use it, and when he moved, his footwork was slow and deliberate, as if he were playing with a child.
But if the gravitational force returned to normal, Long Chen’s speed would’ve been ten times faster than before.
“Flash! Again! And again!”
He kept cultivating and slowly shifted his feet. While he did so, his body slowly started transforming in a mysterious way.
After flashing five times, Long Chen felt tired. He had been cultivating for a whole day and needed to rest.
The Dragon Jade Pendant was helping him increase his comprehension skills. Long Chen had firmly grasped the essence of the Nine Dragon Flashes, and all he needed to do was cultivate it under the pressure.
Because his foundation was strong, his progress was not led astray.
He had to channel a lot of Qi into his legs while training the Nine Dragon Flashes, so he was also refining his Qi at the same time.
My strength is slowly increasing, but the fifteen day period Xuanxiao gave me is almost over. I will train for two more days and then head out.
After resting, Long Chen resumed his cultivation.
Some time later, he felt like something was weird. He opened his eyes and saw that someone else had arrived on the asteroid he was training on.
It was a youth with tanned skin and a muscular body. He was wearing a beast’s fur and had a radiant smile.
When he saw Long Chen, he walked over and happily introduced himself. “I see that you can cultivate in an environment with twenty times the gravitational force. Not bad! My name is Nangong Cheng. Can we be friends?”
Long Chen saw that the youth was around fifteen years old even though he was very muscular. He was also at the mid Earthly Core Realm.
That meant that he was considered one of the geniuses within the inner family.
The youth’s face was also tanned, but his teeth were bright white. He smiled at Long Chen sheepishly.
Long Chen knew that people like him who didn’t plot tricks were good candidates for friendship. Networking with his peers was important, so he stood up.
“My name is Long Chen.”
“Oh, then you must be the one who came in through the qualifiers.” Rather than being snobbish, Nangong Cheng was more curious after learning that Long Chen was not born into the inner family. “It must be difficult to be the highest achiever among thousands of people. No wonder you can cultivate in this gravity. Which family are you from?”
“The Eastern Azure Dragon family.” Seeing how easy it was to talk to him, Long Chen was more than happy to become friends.
“Oh, I’m Nangong Cheng from the Southern Vermillion Bird family.” Nangong Cheng scratched his head and smiled.
“The Southern Vermillion Bird family? I’m acquainted with Feng Wutian.”
“Feng Wutian? He’s not an important person. He’s still at the initial Earthly Core Realm even now. I fought against him back when he just entered the inner family. Long Chen, the fact that you were able to enter the inner family means you must be strong. Can we spar? I’m just a battle junkie that loves sparring against others. Even my brothers and sisters call me a martial maniac.”
Nangong Cheng was surprisingly happy with the title.
Is he just an idiot? Long Chen rolled his eyes. Usually, people who asked for a spar with another person that they just met were rude, but seeing how Nangong Cheng somehow had a few screws loose, Long Chen did not dislike him. Rather, he appreciated his honesty.
“Do you agree?” Nangong Cheng waited for his reply eagerly.
“I agree, but there is one condition.” Long Chen smiled.
“Sure, if I can fulfill it, I will do it!” Nangong Cheng was excited about having a new sparring partner.
“It’s not that difficult, just answer my question. Don’t worry, I won’t ask about anything secret, nor will it affect your life.”
“A question?” Nangong Cheng tilted his head in confusion. “Sure, you can ask me, but I don’t really know a lot of things.”
Long Chen didn’t know how to react to someone as simple as him. But at least he would be able to learn more about the Star Devil Prison.
“Are you familiar with the Star Devil Prison? Have you gone to the large star area before?”
“The large star area? Nope. That’s where they keep the prisoners. Only the patriarchs can go there. My father said that if we got close to it, we would get stuck due to the immense gravitational force. And then we would not be able to get out unless the patriarch saved us.”
Long Chen was shocked. “Then why can the patriarchs enter the large stars? Is it because they are strong?”
“I don’t think so. I’ve heard that the five Divine Weapons can mitigate the gravitational force of the large star, but they can only access their corresponding star.”
“Does that mean that I can enter the Azure Dragon Star if I hold the Azure Dragon Halberd?” Long Chen was surprised. That meant that he had a chance to save Mo Xiaolang thanks to Dongfang Xuanxiao arranging for him to join the tournament.
“I think so, hehe.” Nangong Cheng didn’t know what Long Chen was planning to do with all this information, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to spar, so he was worried the answers would be unsatisfactory.
The information he had provided was crucial for Long Chen. He had wanted to ask where Mo Xiaolang was imprisoned on the Azure Dragon Star, but he knew that Nangong Cheng would not know either. “Alright, I’ve finished my questions. Nangong Cheng, you must not tell anyone about what I asked you here.”
“Of course. I’m a man that keeps my word. I will tell no one.” Nangong Cheng patted his chest with pride and then asked carefully, “So … Can we spar now?”
“Here?” Long Chen was taken aback, but then he realized that it was indeed a good idea. He would improve dramatically by sparring in a place with twenty times the gravitational force. It was exciting, even.
“Yes, and I’m ready!”
Nangong Cheng took a few steps back and clenched his fists. He was ready to fight.
This guy … Long Chen was speechless, but the title of martial maniac did suit Nangong Cheng, seeing how rearing for a spar he was.
He must have even more battle experience than Dongfang Tianya, and he has definitely fought in a place with increased gravitational force before. I must be careful not to lose to him.
“Let’s start,” Long Chen said plainly.
“Take this!” Nangong Cheng immediately ran over and punched Long Chen, his fist covered in flames. The flames burst forth and solidified into a fist that trapped Long Chen’s escape route.
“Vermillion Bird Technique, Heavenly Flame Fist!”
Even though Nangong Cheng’s speed was drastically reduced thanks to the intense gravity, it did not affect his attack strength!
Shit! He’s several times stronger than Dongfang Tianya.
Long Chen was silently surprised, and he got serious. To Nangong Cheng’s surprise, Long Chen’s footwork became faster.
Nine Dragon Flashes!
Nangong Cheng was shocked to see that his opponent could still move that fast despite the increased gravity. But he was not affected and launched punch after punch.
But at the crucial moment, Long Chen disappeared.
He’s over there!
Nangong Cheng managed to locate Long Chen when he completed the first flash.
This made him very excited.
But Long Chen did not stop, causing Nangong Cheng to stare in disbelief. Long Chen flashed a few more times and then disappeared completely.
“I’m over here.”