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At the summit of Five Finger Peak, a gentle breeze rustles through the air.

Chen Yuan sat cross-legged on the blue stone, his eyes closed, concentrating on regulating his breathing.

The fatigue of the past few days of battle lingered around him... From the bloody battle against the beast-eating cultivators in Tianshan County, to the step-by-step annihilation of the Liu family and the investigation of Lu Chengfeng's background, to the fierce battle against the corpse puppets upon returning to Tianqing County!

The fierce battles kept him on edge, and his spiritual energy and mental strength were greatly depleted.

But the intense battles also brought him a complete transformation.

Previously, in the ruins of the Ancient Corpse Transformation Sect, he quietly broke through the shackles and pushed his evil cultivation path all the way to the first realm of the Purple Mansion - the Opening Mansion Realm, forging a heaven-defying foundation that is unimaginable to others!

For the next three days, he sat alone on the mountaintop, working day and night to solidify his cultivation and strengthen his foundation at the Opening Mansion Realm.

He fully integrated the power of the Purple Mansion and awaited the day of the decisive battle.

"Da, da, da..."

An old, steady footstep slowly approached. Chen Qingcang stood behind Chen Yuan, looking at the young man's tall figure with deep worry in his eyes.

"Ah Yuan, in three days it will be a life-or-death battle between you and Song Qingxue. Are you... truly confident?"

He pondered for a long time before finally speaking, "Song Qingxue is already a true Grandmaster of the Purple Mansion Realm. Even if she were just entering this realm, she would be far beyond the reach of any Yellow Court cultivator. And your current realm..."

At this point, he hesitated, then finally let out a soft sigh.

He knew that Chen Yuan's current cultivation level was still only at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Court realm.

The Yellow Court and the Purple Palace represent a vast chasm, as one can fly while the other cannot, yet they represent a battle between two different levels.

Like birds and reptiles, they are not even in the same dimension, and there is absolutely no possibility of reversal.

Previously, Li Wei and Nuomi had secretly instructed them to keep Chen Yuan's secret of breaking through to the Purple Mansion realm through evil cultivation strictly confidential. Therefore, Chen Qingcang knew nothing about this and only thought that his grandson had bravely faced death with his pride.

Chen Yuan slowly opened his eyes, his dark pupils clear and calm.

He stood up and bowed slightly to the old man, a confident smile playing on his lips: "Don't worry, sir, I'm absolutely certain of victory in this battle."

Chen Qingcang was suddenly taken aback, his pupils shrinking slightly: "How...how much?"

If he hadn't personally witnessed Chen Yuan's numerous miraculous comebacks and extraordinary achievements, he would have surely thought the young man was arrogant and spouting nonsense.

"100%".

Chen Yuan spoke firmly, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Chen Qingcang took a deep breath, suppressing his shock and trepidation, and after a long while slowly nodded, "Alright! Since you know what you're doing, Grandpa will trust you!"

Chen Yuan smiled slightly and said in a relaxed tone, "Old Master, after this battle, why don't we give you the position of Prefect?"

Chen Qingcang rolled his eyes at him, annoyed, and said, "Go play somewhere else. I don't have time to worry about the affairs of the entire county."

But seeing Chen Yuan's serious expression, which didn't seem like a joke, he immediately stopped smiling, his gaze becoming solemn: "Are you serious?"

"Of course it's true."

Chen Yuan nodded, his gaze deep and profound. "I'm going to the Western Frontier Prefecture to serve as the Chief of the Wuxiang Department, so the position of Prefect needs to be changed to someone from our Chen family. Among the Chen family, only you, sir, are the most suitable."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qingcang fell into a long silence, the mountain breeze ruffling the white hair at his temples.

After a long silence, he finally spoke in a deep voice, his tone filled with deep worry: "A-Yuan, the Western Frontier Prefecture is extremely dangerous, far surpassing Tianqing County."

With your unparalleled talent and unique divine seed, once you arrive over there, you're highly likely to be targeted by top-tier forces from all sides, becoming someone else's alchemy material, possibly captured and refined into human pills.

Upon hearing the words "Ren Dan," Chen Yuan's mind suddenly sharpened.

He had long heard of the cruel secrets of cultivation.

At this thought, a chilling glint flashed in his eyes, his killing intent hidden beneath. "Hmph, if they dare to covet my flesh and blood foundation, wanting to use me for alchemy? Let's see if they have the fate and the ability!"

Seeing the unyielding arrogance and unyielding spirit in the boy's eyes, Chen Qingcang ultimately couldn't bear to discourage him any further.

Young prodigies should naturally possess an arrogant spirit that looks down upon the world!

Moreover, his grandson's foundation and combat strength have long surpassed those of his peers.

He raised his hand and gently patted Chen Yuan's shoulder, saying softly, "Okay, Grandpa believes you."

But remember, there's always someone better than you.

Even with extraordinary combat power, one must never be arrogant, complacent, or look down on others.

"Grandson will remember your teachings."

Chen Yuan nodded emphatically, his expression calm and composed.

"You should rest and recuperate properly; I won't bother you anymore."

Chen Qingcang smiled slightly, turned around and walked away slowly, leaving Chen Yuan alone on the mountaintop, lost in thought against the wind.

……

the next day.

Chen Yuan got up early, washed up, and went out.

"Young Master, a resounding victory!"

"Young Master, beat that bitch to a pulp!"

……

Along the way, the people of the Chen family's territory saw Chen Yuan walking towards the foot of the mountain and they all spoke excitedly.

They then followed closely behind Chen Yuan, and the number of people grew larger and larger, creating a grand and impressive scene.

Chen Yuan nodded to everyone as he spoke, "You've all worked hard these past few days. Get some rest; you don't need to come with me."

Everyone was moved upon hearing this.

These past few days have been very busy with family affairs, and everyone is extremely busy.

Today is the day of their young master's life-or-death battle with Song Qingxue.

They didn't want to miss out, so everyone put down what they were doing.

"Thank you, young master. We're alright. We're going to cheer for you."

"Yeah, young master, we can't miss such a spectacular scene—we're going to smash that bitch's head in!"

Everyone chimed in, feigning fervor on their faces.

However, no one was sure what to do.

After all, this time Chen Yuan was facing a Purple Mansion True Person.

There wasn't a single being at the Purple Mansion Realm in the entire Tianqing County.

Should Huang Tingjing take on the challenge?

That would undoubtedly be suicide.

The crowd's faces were filled with fervor, but their hearts were filled with worry.

Chen Yuan smiled slightly and didn't say anything. Since they wanted to come along, it didn't matter.

……

Tianqing County City, the place where the Song family lived.

"Qingxue, today is the day you fight Chen Yuan. I advise you not to be careless. When the time comes, just use the power of the Purple Mansion Realm to beat him to death in the arena."

Song Tianwen looked at Song Qingxue with a gloomy expression and said emphatically.

In his view, since Chen Yuan dared to accept the challenge, he must have some trump card that they didn't know about.

This made him unsure of himself, so he still hoped that Song Qingxue would not be careless and would not lower her cultivation level.

"Yes, let's crush him to death, to avoid any unforeseen complications!"

Song Kui also agreed with Song Tianwen's words.

Song Yingxing narrowed his eyes and looked at Song Qingxue. "Qingxue, the young master is right. You must not be careless. You must go all out and kill him in one blow. Do not give him a chance to use his trump cards."

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

Without a doubt, in everyone's mind, Chen Yuan's trump card was the prefect's seal and the guardian statue of the prefecture!

Song Qingxue shook her head slightly; she had absolute confidence in herself.

And on the same day, she also made a statement saying that she would fight Chen Yuan with her Yellow Court Realm Great Perfection Realm. Is she going to go back on her word?

In her opinion, even with her Yellow Court Realm Great Perfection cultivation, she could absolutely crush Chen Yuan.

Seeing Song Qingxue's posture, Song Tianwen frowned, his voice turning serious, "Qingxue, don't be reckless! For the sake of our Song family's thousand-year glory! You must win this competition!"

"Otherwise, not only will you lose your life, but our Song family will also become a laughing stock in the prefectural city."

Song Qingxue's expression was cold, her large chest heaving violently. "Hmph, brother, I know what I'm doing, you don't need to worry!"

"I can't crush a lowly human brat even if we're at the same cultivation level?"

"We need to use the power of the Purple Mansion? Wouldn't that just make us a laughingstock?"

Seeing Song Qingxue's attitude, Song Tianwen frowned, sighed inwardly, and said no more.

This younger sister is proud and arrogant, and has never suffered any loss since she was a child. This time, she just wanted to get revenge, especially in front of Zhu Xin.

"Fine, keep an eye on things yourself. If it's crucial, you have to step in and stop them, even if it means breaking the rules."

Song Tianwen's gaze darkened as he thought to himself.

……

The city of Tianqing was in an uproar because of the life-or-death duel between Chen Yuan and Song Qingxue.

As dawn broke, countless people had already gathered in the county town square.

There used to be a teleportation array here, but it was destroyed by Chen Yuan, leaving a deep pit.

Within just three days, the deep pit was filled in and repaired, but the smell of blood still lingered.

Amidst the gazes of countless people, Chen Yuan slowly approached from the distant street riding a tall, black horse.

The scene immediately became chaotic.

"Look, Chen Yuan is here!"

"That's really bold! He actually dared to challenge a Purple Mansion cultivator!"

"Is he going to use some trump card? Could it be the statue of the county town?"

……

The crowd buzzed with discussion, filled with anticipation and curiosity.

Chen Yuan rode in on a large black horse, and with the horse neighing, he soon arrived at the edge of the martial arts square.

He dismounted and strode confidently into the arena.

Song Qingxue stood in the center of the field with a cold expression.

Upon seeing Chen Yuan's arrival, the murderous intent in her phoenix eyes intensified.

Before he could speak, Song Tianwen, who was in the Song family group, spoke up.

"Chen Yuan, I'll give you one more chance. It's not too late for you to resign from your position as prefect."

"Moreover, you are a Grand Master of the Formless Realm. If you die here, it will be a loss to our Great Xiang Empire."

Song Tianwen said this simply because he was worried that Chen Yuan might have some extraordinary background and kill his sister.

If the other party could voluntarily relinquish the position of prefect, that would be the best outcome.

"Heh, even now you're still pretending, keep pretending your mother's ass."

Chen Yuan mocked without any politeness.