Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

Time passed little by little.

From the height of the sun to the gradual darkness of night, the array suspended in the sky showed no sign of stopping.

Six hours have passed.

Li Zhan sat on the rock, the wine gourd already hanging back on his waist.

"Taoist priest, is your lousy compass reliable at all?"

"Then why haven't they come out yet?" Wu Feng asked, looking at Li Zhan beside him with a puzzled expression.

"How would I know!" Zhou Chu rolled his eyes. "Do you think fighting someone like Boss Chu is child's play? Besides, Boss Chu and Junior Brother Xia are no ordinary people. Isn't it normal for them to fight for a while?"

"Alright, stop arguing." Yang Qingxuan said calmly, his voice not loud, but it silenced the two of them at the same time.

Just then, the Bagua formation in the sky suddenly emitted a deep rumble, the flow of golden light accelerated abruptly, and the entire formation began to vibrate violently.

Zhou Chu's expression changed, and he suddenly stood up from the ground. Everyone looked up at the same time.

Soon, two figures descended from the sky and landed in front of them.

It was between the Marquis of Chu and Xia Jin after their battle.

Li Zhan was the first to jump down from the rock and walk up to the two of them. His gaze shifted back and forth between Chu Hou and Xia Jin, as if searching for something.

The Marquis of Chu stood there, his robes slightly disheveled, but he appeared unharmed. However, Li Zhan noticed a hint of weariness in the Marquis's eyes.

Now let's look at Xia Jin.

The new junior brother stood there shirtless, his breathing steady, his face normal, and his expression calm, showing no change from before he went in.

Li Zhan opened his mouth, then couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Brother Chu, Junior Brother Xia, between you two... who won in the end?"

All eyes were on the Marquis of Chu.

"Hahahaha!"

Lord Chu suddenly burst into laughter, shook his head with a smile, and glanced at his four junior brothers before finally settling on Xia Jin, his eyes filled with admiration and emotion.

"I lost." He said crisply, without a trace of resentment in his tone, but rather with a heartfelt sense of satisfaction. "I lost this match against Junior Brother Xia."

"What!?"

"Boss Chu, you actually lost?!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Qingxuan and the others' pupils dilated in shock, and their expressions changed instantly.

They looked at each other, clearly unable to believe it.

Lord Chu, the undisputed senior disciple among the Hun disciples and the recognized strongest among the disciples of the Third Heaven, actually admitted that he had lost.

Seeing his junior brothers' expressions, Chu Hou laughed even harder. He strode over to Xia Jin and slapped him on the shoulder with such force that Xia Jin swayed slightly.

"What's with those expressions? I lost, isn't that a good thing?" Chu Hou's voice was tinged with excitement. "The stronger Junior Brother Xia is, the more advantageous it is for us!! With Junior Brother Xia this time, we definitely can't lose against that alien team!"

Xia Jin shook her head slightly, "In the end, it was Senior Brother Chu who was too kind."

"If this were truly a life-or-death battle, I might not be able to win this fight!!"

At this moment, Zhou Chu finally recovered from his shock. He swallowed hard and asked, "Junior Brother Xia, could it be that after being tempered in this Yuanling Pool... you have already broken through to the Creation Realm?"

"The Creation Realm!?" Xia Jin shook her head. "Of course not."

"Then what..." Zhou Chu opened his mouth, wanting to ask something else.

"alright."

The Marquis of Chu suddenly interrupted Zhou Chu's questioning, because at this moment the jade pendant at his waist began to flicker.

The Marquis of Chu frowned, raised his head, and glanced at everyone present.

"Everyone, go back and rest and recuperate. The alien army will arrive here in one day."

As soon as she finished speaking, the area around the Yuanling Pool fell silent. Apart from Xia Jin, everyone else wore a solemn expression.

"Alright! Smile, all of you. It's just dealing with a small alien race. They're nothing more than a small stumbling block on our path of cultivation! In the future, our goal is to completely eradicate these alien races and restore peace and prosperity to our human race!" Marquis Chu said irritably.

"Senior Brother Chu."

Xia Jin looked at Marquis Chu and suddenly asked, "May I leave the temple and go back down there?"

Marquis Chu was slightly taken aback. Before he could answer, Yang Qingxuan walked over and patted Xia Jin on the shoulder.

"Junior Brother Xia, this wouldn't work for anyone else," Yang Qingxuan said with a smile. "But we disciples of the Hun class have this privilege; we can leave the temple at any time."

A hint of surprise flashed in Xia Jin's eyes.

He really hadn't expected that.

Marquis Chu nodded, then looked at Xia Jin and said in a deep voice, "Junior Brother Xia, although you are free to leave the temple, at this critical juncture, you must return quickly!"

Xia Jin nodded, her expression serious: "Don't worry, I only need half a day."

The Marquis of Chu said no more, and pointed to the token hanging at Xia Jin's waist.

"You can use this token to enter and exit the temple."

"Go back, all of you." Marquis Chu waved his hand, turned around first, and walked out of the Yuanling Pool. "Get some rest. After tomorrow, we will face our greatest challenge yet."

Yang Qingxuan, Li Zhan, Wu Feng, Zhou Chu and the others exchanged glances, nodded, and turned to leave.

Xia Jin stood on the shore, watching the figures of the group disappear into the night.

He lowered his head, his gaze falling on the token in his palm.

Spiritual energy surged from his palm and flowed into the token.

A portal to the void suddenly appeared silently in front of him.

......

Inside the void passage, Xia Jin flew at top speed, watching the occasional streaks of light flashing past him, but his thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.

It's been almost three months since I left Daxia.

Three months.

It's neither long nor short.

I wonder how Yuexi and the others are doing.

In Xia Jin's mind, the image of his wife, Leng Yuexi, appeared, followed by the image of Su Xuanji.

And then there's Yu the Great.

Xia Jin's lips curled up slightly, and a rare, gentle smile appeared on her face.

......

The Imperial Palace of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Hall of Prince Jin.

Leng Yuexi sat on the soft couch by the window, holding a book in her hands, but her gaze lingered not on the pages, but on the bright moon outside the window, lost in thought.

Three months had passed, and she seemed to have lost some weight, with a hint of weariness in her eyes.

Su Xuanji sat opposite her, her long hair, which was usually tied up neatly, was now loose and draped over her shoulders, making her look less aloof and more gentle.

"What are you thinking about, sister?" Su Xuanji put down her teacup and asked softly.

Leng Yuexi snapped out of her reverie, placed the book on her lap, and shook her head slightly. "It's nothing. I was just wondering... when will my husband return? It's been almost three months since he left!"

It goes without saying who this "husband" refers to.

Su Xuanji said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "That bastard, he's been gone for almost three months. He hasn't sent back a single message."

His tone carried a hint of complaint, but more than that, it revealed an undeniable concern.

Leng Yuexi glanced at her, a mischievous smile flashing in her eyes: "Sister Xuanji, are you missing him?"

A blush quickly spread across Su Xuanji's cheeks. She turned her head away, feigning composure, and said, "Who's thinking about him? I just... I just feel that he..."

Su Xuanji didn't give a reason, and Leng Yuexi just looked at her younger sister and shook her head with a smile.

The two women sat quietly, one gazing at the moon outside the window, the other looking down at the cold tea in her cup, neither of them speaking.

Just then, a slight ripple suddenly came from the void in the main hall.

Leng Yuexi and Su Xuanji looked up almost simultaneously, only to see a portal suddenly appear in the void.

Immediately afterwards, a tall, slender figure stepped out from the door.

She was shirtless, with long hair flowing down her back, and exuded an air of nobility.

It's Xia Jin.