Chapter 79: Soaring Dragon

Chapter 79: Kang Long

Night, once again, descended in silence.

When Qi Yue returned from outside, she merely spared a glance at the alchemy furnace before retiring to the side hall.

Within the alchemy furnace, Ye Chen lay still, yet his mind was drawn into a wondrous realm.

"This… where is this place?" He gazed, astonished, at the world before him.

Before him stretched an illusory, primeval realm. Giant mountains pierced the sky, their peaks jagged and imposing. The vast land stretched boundlessly. Though ethereal, he could faintly discern an ancient, untamed aura.

*Bang!*

*Bang!*

*Bang!*

Suddenly, this illusory world seemed to tremble.

In the distance, he beheld a majestic figure slowly approaching. Those resonating thuds were, in fact, the sound of his footsteps.

He resembled an ancient barbarian, his upper body bare, his lower half clad in tiger skin. His build was that of a tiger's back and a bear's waist, his eyes blazed like torches, and his black, unbound hair whipped in the wind. His entire body was a tapestry of muscles, coiled like dragons, brimming with explosive power.

"Is this a member of the ancient barbarian tribe?" Ye Chen murmured. Though illusory, he still felt a potent pressure. With every step that colossal figure took, Ye Chen's heart quaked.

*Bang!*

To Ye Chen's astonishment, the barbarian took one final step and came to a halt.

His back was like a mountain, majestic and unyielding, a monument that would never crumble, impervious to any external force.

He simply stood there, like a statue.

Sun and moon cycled, spring gave way to autumn. He knew not how long he had stood, nor had he moved an inch. The years had etched their passage upon his profound form.

Eventually, he stirred. His eyes snapped open, and two beams of light, as if substantial lightning, shot forth.

Then, upon his body, visible dragon patterns began to emerge with astonishing speed, and bolts of lightning danced upon his arms.

"Kang Long!" Accompanying a earth-shattering roar, he took a single stride forward, then suddenly swung his arm, striking the void with a palm.

*Roar!*

Suddenly, the sound of a dragon's roar resounded through the heavens. The barbarian's single palm had conjured a colossal thunder dragon shadow. The thunder dragon shadow roared and howled, soaring straight towards the sky.

*Boom!*

*Rumble!*

The heavens and earth instantly shifted color, dark clouds gathering thick and fast. That massive dragon shadow actually tore through the firmament, the entire world trembling in its wake.

"Good… good domineering profound art." Witnessing this spectacle, Ye Chen's mouth hung open for a long time.

At this moment, the illusory world began to dissipate. A torrent of information surged into his mind—it was a secret art named "Kang Long." And the scenes of that barbarian demonstrating this secret art replayed endlessly in his mind.

*Ah!*

He knew not when, but within the alchemy furnace, Ye Chen suddenly sat upright.

After a brief moment of disorientation, he regained his senses.

"Kang Long," he murmured. He finally understood. He had been drawn into a wondrous realm, and that realm contained the lifetime memories of that barbarian, vividly explaining the secret art named "Kang Long."

Lost in thought, he hurriedly rose and looked again at the inner wall of the alchemy furnace, only to find that the densely packed text had vanished.

"It seems this Kang Long secret technique was inscribed within this alchemy furnace long ago," Ye Chen murmured to himself.

"If that's truly the case, does Xu Fu not know?"

"Or…," Saying this, a flicker of light crossed Ye Chen's eyes as he looked towards the True Fire within his dantian, "Or perhaps this Kang Long secret art only manifests upon encountering the True Fire, and that Earth Fire is far from reaching the qualification to make it manifest. If Xu Fu is unaware, then it makes sense."

With this temporary speculation, he flipped and leaped out of the alchemy furnace.

He ran all the way out of the Spirit Pill Pavilion and made his way to the back mountain of the Heng Yue Sect.

"Just here." Finding a secluded spot, Ye Chen hurriedly sat down, quietly comprehending the Kang Long secret art.

The method of the Kang Long secret art flowed through his mind once more.

As he comprehended, he continuously clicked his tongue in amazement.

Kang Long, just from its name, was a domineering secret art primarily focused on attack.

And the method of the Kang Long secret art was exactly as introduced: this kind of overbearing secret art demanded an extremely high level of physical strength from the practitioner. Precisely because of its overbearing nature, a physical body that did not meet the standard would inevitably suffer injury.

"The realm where that barbarian was must be the ancient barbarian tribe. The barbarian tribe possesses strong physical bodies, thus their techniques are naturally domineering."

"I wonder if my physical body's strength has reached the standard for casting Kang Long."

Thinking thus, Ye Chen suddenly stood up, took a deep breath, and immediately activated the method of the Kang Long secret art.

*Crackle!*

*Crackle!*

Suddenly, inexplicable lightning tore across his body, causing him pain.

He clearly felt the blood within his body flowing rapidly, as if burning with fire. A domineering power surged through his meridians, even causing the toughness of his meridians to painfully emit a low roar.

"Kang Long!" With a roar, he took a step forward and unleashed a palm strike.

*Roar!*

Suddenly, a violent dragon sound arose. A thunder dragon shadow instantly roared out, sweeping away the surrounding ancient trees and rubble.

*Boom!*

*Rumble!*

A rumbling sound rose. A solid rock wall several *zhang* away was blasted into collapse by his single palm.

And at this moment, Ye Chen, who had just cast Kang Long, almost fell headfirst to the ground.

"What huge consumption!" His eyes were filled with shock. Ye Chen hurriedly poured several mouthfuls of spirit liquid into his mouth. One Kang Long strike had nearly drained all the True Qi from his dantian.

Indeed, a domineering attack required strong backing to support it. This Kang Long secret art, while powerful, was at the limit of his current state. Casting it once was all he could manage; striking out a second palm was absolutely impossible.

The spirit liquid entered his body, and the True Qi consumed by the Kang Long secret art slowly began to recover, but the pain in his body lingered.

"I still injured myself," Ye Chen sighed. "With my current physical body strength, I can only just manage to cast this Kang Long secret technique."

The sky was already nearing dawn. Ye Chen once again poured a mouthful of spirit liquid into his mouth, then slipped away and hurried out of the back mountain.

He returned to the Spirit Pill Pavilion just as the sky brightened.

In the inner hall, Xu Fu was already sitting cross-legged, waiting.

"Elder, morning," Ye Chen greeted him with a smile.

"Come, come over here," Xu Fu beckoned Ye Chen closer, then quietly asked, "Did you see Yue Er last night?"

Ye Chen nodded, knowing that Xu Fu was referring to his disciple, Qi Yue.

"How do you feel about my Yue Er?" Xu Fu looked at Ye Chen with a smile.

Ye Chen was stunned, but he still offered a reply. "She is very beautiful, like a fairy daughter."

"Do you like her?"

Ye Chen was taken aback. He realized that this early morning, this Xu Fu was playing matchmaker for him and Qi Yue!

"Master!" A sharp female voice echoed from the side hall.

The next moment, Qi Yue, clad in a white dress, stepped into the inner hall. It was clear from the color on her cheeks that she was angry.

"Yue… Yue Er, you've come out of seclusion!" Xu Fu gave a dry laugh, feigning ignorance.

Qi Yue glared fiercely at Xu Fu, then her beautiful eyes fixed on Ye Chen, still with a cold glint. "This disciple is devoted to cultivating the Dao and has no room for personal feelings. Furthermore, even if you were to find a match, you must find someone stronger than me! What is he? A Qi Condensation realm! Is your disciple unable to marry out?"

Qi Yue launched a barrage of reprimands, not only at Xu Fu, but even Ye Chen was implicitly scolded, unable to lift his head.

"Yue Er, listen to me! He…"

"I don't want to listen," Qi Yue directly interrupted Xu Fu. Before leaving, she cast a cold glance at Ye Chen, then flicked her sleeves and walked out of the inner hall.

After Qi Yue left, Ye Chen's mouth twitched. He looked at the Xu Fu beside him. "I say, Elder, your disciple, this temper is a bit too…"

"Ah! I spoiled her."

"Um, Elder Xu, who usually cleans that alchemy furnace of yours?" Ye Chen shifted the topic to the alchemy furnace, wanting to confirm whether or not Xu Fu knew about the Kang Long secret art hidden within.

"That is my treasure. Besides you, it's usually me and Yue Er who clean it."

"Then you all haven't discovered that the alchemy furnace has… has anything inside?" Ye Chen cautiously asked.

"Anything? What anything?" Xu Fu looked at Ye Chen, bewildered.

Seeing Xu Fu's expression, Ye Chen got the answer he wanted. Neither Xu Fu nor Qi Yue knew about the Kang Long secret art hidden inside the alchemy furnace. And that Kang Long secret art was very likely to only manifest upon encountering the True Fire.

"Are you going to tell me? What anything?" Xu Fu was still staring at Ye Chen.

"Nothing, just some spirit grass residue," Ye Chen said casually, then walked out of the inner hall. "I'll go refine pills."

"Making a fuss," Xu Fu said discontentedly.

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