"Long Chen, Guo Ran, are you all alright?"
Arriving at Guo Ran's residence, Xie Qianqian came up to greet him, her face full of concern.
When Long Chen and Guo Ran returned, his residence had already been sealed off. Anyone from Guo Ran's side was forbidden from entering, so they didn't know any news from outside.
When Guo Ran returned, he was stopped by someone. In a fit of rage, he knocked the guards to the ground, displayed the dean's nameplate, and threatened that anyone who dared act arrogantly again would be killed on the spot.
Only then did these people realize that Guo Ran was already acting dean and ran in panic.
"Qianqian, it's fine. I'm the acting director now. Damn it, this time I'm going to settle accounts with those who opposed us."
Guo Ran proudly showed off his nameplate, leaving Xie Qianqian, Tu Hu, and the others stunned; they couldn't believe what was happening before them.
"Boss, let me introduce you. This is Tu Hu, this is Zhang Zhao, and this is ...," Guo Ran introduced his men to Long Chen one by one.
Guo Ran was always suppressed at the Tianlong Divine Armor Academy, but he had loyal followers who had fought alongside him countless times and never abandoned him.
Upon seeing Long Chen, these disciples were extremely excited. They had heard so many stories about him, and today they finally saw the legendary figure.
Besides Xie Qianqian and her husband, there were sixteen others who were Guo Ran's most trusted confidants, and precisely because they were Guo Ran's loyal followers, they were kept under surveillance.
Although Guo Ran was suppressed, his place to live was still quite good, with his own independent area and a bit of a dominant.
Since there were no outsiders, everyone entered the cultivation room together. Long Chen carefully examined Guo Ran's body, his expression gradually growing serious.
"Boss, what's wrong? Your expression is a bit scary. Am I about to die young? Seeing Long Chen's grim expression, Guo Ran said nervously.
"Smack!"
Long Chen slapped Guo Ran the back of the head, cursing in frustration, "You lazy fool, why did you abandon the Dragon Blood Body Forging?" It
turned out that after Guo Ran ascended to the Immortal Realm, he stopped cultivating the Dragon Blood Body Refining Technique because Long Chen was no longer watching over him. This method was too exhausting and time-consuming, and in order to better study the art of artifact forging, he stopped practicing the Dragon Blood Body Refining Technique.
The path of cultivation has always been like rowing against the current—if you don't advance, you'll fall behind. This time, Long Chen carefully examined Guo Ran's body. The dragon blood power within him was almost depleted, which was exactly why Long Chen was angry—this guy started slacking off without anyone watching him.
"Boss, I'm not lazy. I'm studying artifact forging day and night. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to survive here." Guo Ran said with a look of grievance.
"Nonsense, I don't know you yet? The Dragon Blood Body Refining Technique doesn't require deliberate cultivation; it only needs to constantly circulate Dragon Blood, and its power will never run dry.
It's clearly your own laziness and unwilling to give so much. No wonder you can't beat those idiots. Your flesh and blood power has already deteriorated too much now. Long Chen said irritably, this guy is good at everything, except he's just too lazy.
You should know that the boost from a battle armor is based on one's own strength—the stronger your power, the more powerful your armor can be wielded.
A super-powerful battle armor cannot be wielded without a strong physical body. Among the four, Guo Ran's physical body was clearly the weakest, and by a wide margin.
If Guo Ran had endured hardship and not given up the Dragon Blood Body Refining Technique, even if his physical body was inferior to the three, he wouldn't have been left so far behind. This was what made Long Chen so frustrated with his lack of progress.
"Boss, you're wise and mighty, invincible. I know you must have a way, right?" Guo Ran forced a smile.
This guy is counting on meeting up with Long Chen in the future so Long Chen can help him improve. His philosophy is to slack off for a moment, enjoy it for a while, and keep slacking off for a while. This laziness is already terminally ill and beyond saving.
"I'm too lazy to waste words with you. Take this pill." Long Chen handed Guo Ran a pill.
Guo Ran swallowed it without even looking, but as soon as the pill entered his stomach, his expression changed.
"Ah..."
Guo Ran suddenly let out a miserable scream, his clothes tore apart, blood gushed from his skin, and he collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth and convulsing uncontrollably. Everyone was startled.
"Stop! Are you trying to kill Senior Brother Guo Ran?"
Seeing Guo Ran suddenly collapse, Tu Hu and the others panicked. Seeing Guo Ran looking like he was about to die, they hurried to help him.
Guo Ran kept twitching but tried hard to wave at them, signaling them not to interfere. Guo Ran looked at Long Chen and said,
"Boss... What are you doing... To activate me... Dragon blood? Is there ... A gentler way... Guo Ran's
voice was choked with tears. He knew what Long Chen was up to and couldn't help but plead.
"Be gentle?" This is the price of laziness. If you haven't, I can let you activate your dragon blood while unconscious.
But your dragon blood is already depleting completely. To activate it now, you must endure endless pain, let the dragon blood adapt to your pain nerves, and re-penetrate every part of your body.
You've been lazy for over a year, and now you have to make up for all the hardship you've suffered in a single day. The world is fair, and there are no shortcuts. Long Chen shook his head and said.
Pitiful people have hateful qualities, and Guo Ran was just like that—he ultimately had to pay the price for his laziness.
"Do you want to get stronger?" Long Chen looked at Tu Hu and the others. Tu Hu and the others glanced at Guo Ran, who was lying on the ground wailing in pain, and felt a bit guilty.
Tu Hu gritted his teeth and said, "Senior Brother Long Chen, give me one of these medicines too. I want to share hardships with Senior Brother Guo Ran." "
Us too." The others chimed in in unison.
Long Chen nodded. Guo Ran was a pretty good guy. So many people were willing to share hardships with him, which was enough to prove Guo Ran's character.
"Here are a few fruits. Eat them in order. Remember to eat them in order. If you eat them wrong, it could be fatal." As Long Chen spoke, he handed them four Heavenly Dao Fruits.
They are the four levels of Heavenly Dao Fruits: Heaven, Earth, Human, and Mortal. The true effects of these fruits usually only appear at the Immortal King realm.
However, disciples of the Tianlong Divine Armor Academy pursue their realms too much and advance too quickly, causing their realms to become superficial. These Heavenly Dao Fruits can help solidify their foundation.
An unstable foundation is like a tree without roots—the bigger the tree, the more dangerous it becomes. The disciples of the Tianlong Divine Armor Academy are too dependent on battle armor.
Everything has its pros and cons. The advantage is that they can create super powerful battle armor, increasing their combat power tenfold or even dozens of times. Moreover, the more they keep refining, the more powerful the armor becomes.
But the downside was also obvious: they were no longer pure cultivators, their own strength too weak. Without armor, they would be utterly defenseless.
After everyone ate the fruit, their minds grew dizzy and they collapsed to the ground and fell asleep. Only Guo Ran was alone, still wailing in pain, as if he were being tortured.
"If I had known this would come to this, why would I have done it in the first place?"
Seeing Guo Ran's miserable state, Long Chen shook his head and sat cross-leggedA ball of flame appeared in his hand, and within the flames appeared a golden liquid. This liquid was Long Chen's essence blood. As soon as the essence blood was released, a vast dragon might surged, causing the entire space to roar.