The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

The Thunder Shocking Sword—a strike of infinite sharpness.

A flash of sword light streaked through the air, followed by a spray of crimson.

A bloody gash appeared on Lu Chen’s palm. His blue and white robe was torn wide open, revealing a golden Soft Armor beneath. His expression was now incredibly grim.

"That’s a Protective Profound Soldier."

"He’s wearing a Protective Profound Soldier in a duel between the Earth Element Realm and the Spiritual Element Realm."

"Damn, that Li Peiyi is incredible."

.........

"What a fast, powerful strike. If Lu Chen hadn’t been wearing that Protective Profound Soldier, Miss Li would have won the match," Su Chang commented.

Qin Ya shook his head. "Equipment is a part of one’s strength."

"That’s true."

Li Peiyi’s face was unnaturally pale, a clear sign she had exhausted too much of her True Essence. "This match is my loss," she stated coldly.

Lu Chen watched Li Peiyi’s retreating figure in silence. Yes, he had won the battle, but he felt no joy in his victory. Instead, a boundless anger and shame washed over him. He had to rely on a Protective Profound Soldier to defeat someone from the Spiritual Element Realm. If word of this got out, he would be utterly disgraced.

Though he had won, it felt like a defeat!

And though Li Peiyi had lost, she had done so with honor!

Taking a deep breath, Lu Chen composed himself. He scanned the crowd and spoke coldly, "Is there anyone else who would like to come down for a lesson?"

Most of the Martial Artists present were proud, but they also knew their own limits. Lu Chen was at the Earth Element Realm, and not a weak one at that. Coupled with the clearly high-grade Protective Profound Soldier he wore, his combat power was immense.

Most of them would just be serving themselves up on a platter if they went down there.

"Brother Su, don’t you want to give it a try?" Qin Ya smiled.

"Heh, that Sixth-Grade Profound Soldier is nothing special to me. I won’t bother competing for it," Su Chang said with a shake of his head and a smile. As the top prodigy of the Su Family, he had no shortage of Profound Soldiers. A mere Sixth-Grade Longsword wasn’t enough to tempt him.

And while Lu Chen’s strength was decent, he wasn’t worthy of Su Chang’s personal attention.

Such was the pride of a top prodigy. Of everyone present, only a select few like Qin Ya, Su Ming, and Li Peiyi were even worthy of his notice. The rest weren’t qualified to be his opponents, and that included Lu Chen.

Just then, Lu Chen smiled faintly and turned his gaze to Qin Ya. "I hear that Teacher Qin’s Alchemy Dao is unparalleled in the Empire, and that your Cultivation is quite impressive as well. I wonder if I, Lu Chen, might have the honor of requesting some pointers from you."

At his words, all eyes turned to Qin Ya. Most people’s impression of him was limited to his esteemed statuses as a Young National Hero and a Seventh-Grade Alchemist. Since Qin Ya rarely fought, their understanding of his combat prowess was still based on his past feat of killing Wang Yan.

In the entire Empire, only a handful of people who had direct contact with Qin Ya had any real understanding of his power. This group included Muui Yunlie, Huaa Que, and Li Peiyi.

Lu Chen was one of them.

The last time he had accompanied Lu Zhengyi to extend an olive branch to Qin Ya, he had felt a powerful energy that was still fresh in his memory. But he couldn’t accept it. He was a genius too, with his own pride. He knew he was most likely no match for Qin Ya, but he wouldn’t be satisfied until he tested that strength for himself.

"Oh? Are you challenging me?" Qin Ya said with indifference. ’He knows he’s no match for me, yet he still dares to issue a challenge?’

"That’s right. Or is Teacher Qin afraid?" Lu Chen said, his tone a clear provocation.

Qin Ya gave an indifferent smile. To him, Lu Chen’s actions could be considered courageous, but the gap in their strength was simply too vast. He didn’t even have the interest to fight. He stated plainly, "The disparity in our strength is too great. There’s no need for us to fight."

A collective gasp...

Arrogant! Utterly arrogant!

Everyone couldn’t help but think to themselves. ’While Lu Chen’s strength might not match a top prodigy like Su Chang, he’s still one of the best in the Imperial Capital. Yet to Qin Ya, the power gap is so huge he can’t even be bothered to fight?’

"This kid is way too arrogant." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Does he really look down on Lu Chen that much? Not even interested enough to make a move? That’s just being conceited."

"Hmph. Is this how a Young National Hero behaves? So arrogant and ignorant."

.........

Su Chang and the others shot Qin Ya a strange look. Even they thought his words were a bit too arrogant. With Su Chang’s power, dealing with a Martial Artist like Lu Chen would be effortless, but what about Qin Ya?

Although his current Cultivation was also at the Earth Element Realm, he had only recently broken through. Lu Chen, on the other hand, had been at this Realm for quite some time. His level was definitely several grades higher than Qin Ya’s. Combined with the profound Martial Skills of the Lu Family, he could even hold his own for a few moves against a Celestial Essence Realm Martial Artist.

’Besides, even if you are stronger than Lu Chen, do you have to be so blunt about it? We’re all genius Martial Artists here; everyone has their pride. You’re practically trying to infuriate him to death.’

’Lu Chen is a genius Martial Artist of the Earth Element Realm, after all. For him to be so arrogant... have I misjudged him?’

Nangong Luoyu muttered to herself as she watched Qin Ya’s impassive face, her recent decision wavering.

"Heh, that’s just Teacher Qin’s personality..." Muu Xue shook her head, at a loss for words. Others might think Qin Ya was being arrogant, but Muu Xue knew this wasn’t an act—it was simply his nature.

’This is a man who dares to curse at and confront even an Extraordinary Strong Person. Did you really expect him to speak politely to an Earth Element Realm Martial Artist who was provoking him?’

"Heh, interesting."

Yao Qingming remarked with a faint smile.

"Qin Ya!!"

As everyone expected, Lu Chen exploded in anger. ’Even if you’re stronger than me, do you have to humiliate me like this?!’ That’s right, in Lu Chen’s eyes, Qin Ya’s attitude was nothing short of a direct humiliation, and it sent him into a burning rage.

"I see you’re just a coward who doesn’t dare to fight me!" Lu Chen suddenly declared. Many of the Martial Artists present were already jealous of Qin Ya’s accomplishments, and they couldn’t stand his arrogance either, so they quickly joined in the jeering.

"Yeah, Teacher Qin, go on up and have a round or two!"

"It’s just a spar, not a deathmatch!"

"Heh. Don’t tell me you’re actually scared, Qin Ya. How disappointing."

......

Listening to the idle chatter around him, Qin Ya’s brow furrowed slightly. "Truly a bunch who don’t know their place," he said coldly. "Fine. I’ll go through the motions."

The provocations from so many people had finally annoyed Qin Ya. With a single leap, he was on the stage. "You," he said flatly. "Make your move."

Qin Ya’s eyes were half-lidded, his demeanor casual, as if Lu Chen didn’t exist. This was the final spark that ignited Lu Chen’s long-simmering rage.

"Qin Ya!!" he roared, unleashing a palm strike imbued with surging True Essence. Fueled by his extreme fury, the attack was a full thirty percent more powerful than usual.

"Too weak."

The indifferent words echoed as a hand floated out effortlessly. The moment it appeared, the immense Palm Power seemed to collide with an unstoppable force and was instantly obliterated. The hand then gently slapped against Lu Chen’s body.

BOOM...

A tremendous force swept over him, and Lu Chen’s body was sent flying uncontrollably, shooting away like a cannonball.

With a SPLASH, he landed directly in the lake.