At eighty, the Holy Sect's enchanting woman aided in achieving longevity.

After Hong Cangye finished speaking, he didn't give Liu Qianfeng a chance to respond at all, and then led the sect disciples away as if avoiding a snake or scorpion.

With the Blazing Fire Sect taking the lead, other sects that were previously hesitant also found excuses to leave.

A momentous event has occurred today, so naturally they must rush back to their sect to report and discuss how to deal with the potential major earthquake that may strike the entire Cangwu City.

Before leaving, Tie Zheng, the young master of the Iron Sword Sect, hesitated for a moment.

He strode up to Chen Changsheng, took out an exquisite jade bottle from his robes, handed it to him, and said in a low, sincere voice:

"Brother Chen, this is a healing pill specially made by the Iron Sword Sect's medicine hall. It should help you recover faster."

Looking into Tie Zheng's sincere eyes, Chen Changsheng didn't hesitate or back down.

He reached out and took the jade bottle, poured out a pill, put it in his mouth, and then smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Tie."

Tie Zheng hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice again and said:

"Brother Chen, Li Han is not only the hope that the Li family branch has painstakingly cultivated, but the power behind him is also enormous."

Now that he has been crippled by Brother Chen in one move, the Li family will definitely not let this go.

The power of the Li family is far beyond Brother Chen's imagination; it is definitely not something you can resist at this moment...

Therefore, I, Tie, suggest that Brother Chen leave Cangwu City immediately to avoid disaster, the sooner the better...

This wasn't a cowardly escape, but a desperate attempt to save one's life—a case of "where there's life, there's hope."

Chen Changsheng saw genuine worry in Tie Zheng's eyes.

Having experienced Li Han's insidious cruelty, Tie Zheng's sincerity seems all the more precious.

He nodded earnestly and said, "Brother Tie, rest assured, since I dared to do this, I have naturally thought about how to deal with the consequences. Thank you for your advice, Brother Tie."

The guests left one after another, and half an hour later, only the people from Cangwu Academy remained in the noisy main hall.

The academy disciples, who had been holding their breath all night, surged around Chen Changsheng like a tidal wave.

"Junior Brother Chen, this is a healing ointment I brought from home. It's incredibly effective for fractures and cracks!"

"Junior Brother Chen, you should try this..."

Several disciples hurriedly took out their best healing medicines and even shoved them into Chen Changsheng's hands, their eyes filled with fervent worship and gratitude.

"Junior Brother Chen, are you really a disciple who just joined the academy today? I still can't believe it. Our Cangwu Academy has actually produced a super genius who is even more powerful than the top prestigious families!"

A young female disciple asked excitedly, her beautiful eyes scanning Chen Changsheng over and over again.

"Tch! What are the geniuses from the major sects compared to our Junior Brother Chen? He crippled that arrogant young master of the Li family..."

And it only took one move!

Li Han is the undisputed overlord of the younger generation in Cangwu City. Our Junior Brother Chen has crippled him, so wouldn't Junior Brother Chen become the new number one?

"That's right! The number one young talent in Cangwu City is actually in our academy now..."

My God, it feels like a dream!

Almost all eyes were on Chen Changsheng, mostly filled with admiration and respect.

At tonight's banquet, Chen Changsheng not only intimidated everyone with his absolute martial prowess, but also gave Cangwu Academy, which had been suppressed by various forces for countless years, a great sense of pride!

Gu Dashan walked over with difficulty, clutching his chest, and looked at Chen Changsheng.

He nodded gratefully and said in a deep voice, "Brother Changsheng, thank you for avenging me!"

"Alright, everyone, stop surrounding Junior Brother Chen."

Although he didn't suffer any fatal injuries, he was extremely exhausted from the recent battle and can't withstand your noise.

Nangong Yue's cold voice rang out.

Among the academy's disciples, Nangong Yue held immense prestige. Her brief remark instantly silenced the surrounding commotion.

Nangong Yue walked to Chen Changsheng's side, her eyes filled with worry:

"Junior Brother Chen, if you only injured Li Han, then everything is fine."

But Li Han is completely crippled this time, and the Li family will definitely retaliate fiercely; they might come knocking on their door soon.

In this matter, they have no chance of keeping their promise not to pursue the matter further... What are you going to do?

Nangong Yue's words instantly cooled the excitement of all the disciples, and their expressions became extremely solemn.

"Hehehe, you don't need to worry about this matter."

With a gentle laugh, Liu Qianfeng walked over with a cheerful smile:

"As the dean, I will naturally do my best to protect the disciples of the academy, so you don't need to worry."

If the Li family bullies my disciples right in front of me so soon after I take office, I will have no face to stay in Cangwu Academy any longer.

"Dean!"

As Liu Qianfeng approached, the disciples all bowed respectfully.

"Dean."

Chen Changsheng bowed respectfully, but his eyes revealed a slightly strange glint.

Liu Qianfeng nodded slightly, looking at Chen Changsheng with concern, and asked, "Changsheng, how are you feeling right now?"

Chen Changsheng smiled slightly: "Not really, but if it's just talking, it's perfectly fine."

Liu Qianfeng was taken aback, then gave Chen Changsheng a deep look, his gaze complex and inscrutable, which ultimately turned into a helpless, bitter smile:

"Since that's the case, then keep me company for a while... Gu Canghai, you take the disciples back to your quarters first."

As for the main hall, let's have someone come and clean it in a quarter of an hour."

Knowing that Liu Qianfeng wanted to speak with Chen Changsheng privately, the instructors and elders responded and led all the disciples out of the main hall in an orderly manner.

As he stepped out of the main hall, Dugu Cheng turned back and gave Chen Changsheng a cold look, a hint of gloating malice flashing in his eyes:

You actually dared to cripple Li Han... Let's see how you die this time!

Only Chen Changsheng and Liu Qianfeng remained in the spacious main hall.

In the silence, the two faced each other in silence for a moment.

Facing this new dean who had a powerful background and strength, and who was shrouded in mystery, Chen Changsheng remained calm.

In contrast, Liu Qianfeng's expression was somewhat complicated, and he was the one who broke the silence first.

He gave a wry smile, looked at Chen Changsheng, and said in a somewhat helpless tone:

"Alas, I, Liu Qianfeng, who has dominated my entire life, have been outmaneuvered by a mere brat like you at the very end..."

What's most infuriating is that even though I knew I was being used as a pawn by you, I still willingly jumped in to take the bullet for you.

Chen Changsheng also smiled, his smile was very sincere, and he respectfully bowed to Liu Qianfeng as a junior, saying:

"I apologize for my presumption and for taking advantage of Dean Liu's prestige."

"Alright, alright, no need for these useless pleasantries."

Liu Qianfeng flicked his sleeves and sat down on the relatively intact armchair beside him. His deep eyes were fixed on Chen Changsheng, and he asked in a deep voice:

"I'm very curious, where does your confidence come from?"

Are you so sure that I will do everything in my power to protect you?

You can see very clearly that if I had hesitated even slightly back then, or handed you over, your life would have ended here today.

"You crippled the most promising young master of that sect!"

Chen Changsheng's lips curled into a slight smile. He met Liu Qianfeng's scrutinizing gaze with clear and firm eyes: "To fully understand a person, it may take several years or even decades."

But in the eyes of a younger generation, if you want to know a person's basic character and what kind of person they are at heart, you only need to observe their eyes.

He looked into Liu Qianfeng's eyes and said calmly and frankly, "Before I faced off against the disciples of the various famous sects, I carefully observed the Dean."

When the former dean faced external pressure, his eyes showed a habitual look of compromise and submission.

But in Dean Liu's eyes, what this junior sees... is a completely different kind of courage.

"Oh?"

Liu Qianfeng was stunned for a moment again.

Chen Changsheng's analysis of eyes and bloodthirstiness, though calm in tone, pierced the heart and did not seem to come from the mouth of a teenager.

He's more like a weathered old man who's seen it all and experienced the vicissitudes of life.

"You trust me so much... no, or rather, you're so certain of your own intuition?"

Liu Qianfeng found the young man in front of him increasingly unfathomable.

That's roughly it.

Chen Changsheng smiled slightly, a smile that held a meaning that others could not decipher.

Having lived two lives, he has traversed mountains of corpses and seas of blood, experiencing countless brushes with death and betrayals.

After countless trials and tribulations, he could discern the good, evil, hypocrisy, and murderous intent in someone's heart with just a glance.

Such insight into people's hearts needs no explanation and is beyond the comprehension of the world.

Just as Li Han thought he was extremely cunning and harbored murderous intentions, in Chen Changsheng's eyes he had already seen through everything.

This provoked Chen Changsheng's most decisive and ruthless iron-blooded counterattack.

Chen Changsheng suppressed his smile and continued:

"Besides, even if the dean's temperament is not as I expected, I am still a disciple of Cangwu Academy in name only."

As the head of an academy, how could he possibly stand by and watch his disciples be publicly killed on his own turf?

Upon hearing this, Liu Qianfeng straightened his face and said in a deep voice:

"You have only just stepped into the gates of Cangwu Academy today. As a newly recruited disciple, it is impossible for you to have much of a sense of belonging to the academy."

But from the very beginning of the competition, you repeatedly identified yourself as a disciple of Cangwu Academy, saying it more than ten times, and repeatedly proclaiming that you were fighting for the dignity of the academy.

I was surprised at the time, until you humiliated the geniuses of all the prestigious schools, gradually provoked their bottom line, and completely offended them...

"It suddenly dawned on me that your repeated calls of 'disciple of the academy' were clearly a trap to subtly persuade me to step forward!"

Chen Changsheng did not deny it, and readily cupped his hands and said, "As expected of Dean, my little thoughts could not escape your discerning eyes."

"Hmph, you never intended to hide it from me at all."

Liu Qianfeng's expression darkened slightly, and his tone became more stern:

"I just can't understand why you're doing all this on purpose."

What good will it do you to incur the wrath of those top-tier families?

Don't tell me you were just showing off because of your youthful arrogance. Sigh, fine, but in the end you even went so far as to cripple Li Han. Do you know how much trouble you've caused?

"Today, on the academy's territory, I can protect you for the time being, but the Li family's subsequent retaliation, even if it's just a small branch, will not be easy for me to handle!"

It won't be easy to handle, which implies that he can still manage!

Upon hearing this, Chen Changsheng felt a slight sense of surprise.

The ancient family has an extremely strong foundation in Cangwu City. The fact that the new dean could show such confidence when mentioning the Li family shows that the background and strength behind them are by no means simple.

"I naturally have my own purposes in doing this, but Li Han's matter was indeed not within my initial expectations."

Chen Changsheng's eyes turned slightly cold. "I believe that with the Dean's discerning eye, it's not hard to see that Li Han's initiative to step forward wasn't for a friendly exchange, but rather to completely destroy me in front of everyone."

Liu Qianfeng remained silent for a moment, his eyes clearly showing agreement.

Chen Changsheng snorted coldly and said in a deep voice, "As for someone who has no grudge against me but tries to kill me and destroy my foundation, I have no reason to be polite to him."

If you can kill him on the spot, leave no future trouble; if you can't kill him, cripple him completely—this has always been one of the basic principles of how a junior should conduct himself.

These extremely cold words sent a chill down Liu Qianfeng's spine.

He found that he couldn't understand this boy at all. What kind of environment and experience could give a boy such a ruthless and decisive temperament?

Taking a deep breath, Liu Qianfeng suppressed the turmoil in his heart and avoided the topic of Li Han's crippling, instead asking, "Then what were you trying to achieve by deliberately provoking all the prestigious families?"

"I need three things."

Chen Changsheng held up three fingers, each word clearly written.

"Which three?"

"First, resources and titles that can rapidly improve my cultivation level; "

Second, a sufficiently formidable opponent and the pressure of a life-or-death struggle;

Third, someone who can keep things under control and shield me from the visible storms when I face these pressures.

These words made Liu Qianfeng frown. After thinking for a moment, he asked in confusion, "I still don't understand what you want to do."

"It's very simple," Chen Changsheng said, looking directly into Liu Qianfeng's eyes, enunciating each word clearly, "This junior must break through from the Foundation Establishment stage to the Golden Core stage within a year!"

"What?!"

Liu Qianfeng's eyes widened in shock, almost causing him to jump up from his armchair: "One year? From Foundation Establishment to Golden Core? What a ridiculous joke you're making!"

Chen Changsheng remained expressionless, quietly watching him.

"You...you're not serious, are you?"

Seeing Chen Changsheng's calm, almost terrifying expression, Liu Qianfeng was greatly shocked.

Standing before me was a young man who claimed he would transcend a major cultivation realm within a year!

Moreover, judging from his expression, he was definitely not just talking nonsense.

"Of course I'm serious."

Chen Changsheng nodded, "I have a reason to reach the Foundation Establishment stage within a year."

Liu Qianfeng fell into a long silence, gazing intently at Chen Changsheng for a long time before slowly shaking his head and saying, "Changsheng, do you know how long it took me to advance from the ninth level of Foundation Establishment to the Golden Core stage?"

Before Chen Changsheng could answer, Liu Qianfeng sighed self-deprecatingly, "Back then, I was hailed as a genius of the sect. I was stuck at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment for three whole years and exhausted countless resources before I finally succeeded in forming my core."

For an ordinary cultivator to bridge the vast gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core, even the most exceptionally talented would need years of arduous cultivation and a great stroke of luck!

To advance from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core within a year... In all my life, I have never seen or heard of anyone who has accomplished this, nor has anyone even dared to entertain such a thought!

"Just because others can't do it doesn't mean I can't. Just like before today, did the Dean ever think that I, with my first-level Foundation Establishment cultivation, could cripple Li Han, who was at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, with a single punch?" Chen Changsheng laughed heartily.

Liu Qianfeng was speechless, then chuckled and shook his head: "It seems you really are serious."

Oh well, youth is wonderful. No matter how outrageous your goals are, you have the right to be arrogant.

However, you have told me so much today, even revealing such a secret goal. Aren't you afraid that I won't help you at all?

"After all, this is our first meeting today. What do your grand ambitions have to do with me?"

"That depends on the dean's choice."

Chen Changsheng met his gaze without flinching. "If it weren't for this sparring session today, the Dean would have just taken my words as a joke of youthful arrogance."

But after the junior displayed such combat prowess, even a sliver of faith remained in the dean's heart...

Don't you want a peerless genius who might one day defy the laws of heaven and earth and shake the entire continent to grow up under your protection and witness?

These words were so powerful that they shook Liu Qianfeng to his core.

However, Liu Qianfeng quickly regained his composure and said with a wry smile:

"Your ambition and courage have indeed moved me, but the twists and turns and bottlenecks on the path of cultivation cannot be forcibly broken through by mere talent and ruthlessness."

A year is too short, unbelievably short.

"However, I will still do my best to take the blame for you in public today, after all, you are a disciple of Cangwu Academy, and today you have won unprecedented dignity for the academy."

As long as you are a disciple of the academy, I will ensure your safety—this is in the best interests of both me and the academy.

Liu Qianfeng stood up and added solemnly:

"But all I can do for you is protect you from the overt storms. The Li family's underhanded conspiracies and assassinations will surely follow one after another. I can't always be by your side."

If you encounter a dangerous situation that I cannot protect, then it will all depend on your own abilities.

Upon hearing this, a barely perceptible hint of disappointment flashed in Chen Changsheng's eyes, but this was to be expected.

He politely cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your protection, Dean. I am well aware of the trouble I have caused the academy today."

"Please rest assured, Dean, I will handle any hidden troubles myself."

"Hehe, no need to worry about it."

Liu Qianfeng waved his hand and laughed, "Tonight they were trying to intimidate me, and you slapped me back hard, so it's only natural that I protect you, haha..."

After the conversation, Chen Changsheng, somewhat weakened by the eruption of the Second Yang, slowly walked out of the main hall. He strolled silently through the howling wind of the long corridor in the dead of night.

"You seem a little disappointed?"

In his mind, Mu Qing'er's clear and cold voice, as pure as snow, quietly rang out.

"yes."

Chen Changsheng shook his head helplessly in his heart. "I originally wanted to use my grand goal of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage this year and my amazing performance today to impress Liu Qianfeng into accepting me as his personal disciple."

If I could obtain the title of the Dean's personal disciple, I could mobilize all the top-tier cultivation resources and forbidden areas at the academy's core. Unfortunately... the plan failed.

"Hmph, having just met you, and not even knowing your background, how could he possibly rashly accept you as his personal disciple?"

Mu Qing'er snorted coldly and said incisively, "Moreover, your performance today was too sharp and domineering. Your cunning and combat strength far exceeded your age. While this amazed him, it also made him instinctively feel an uncontrollable vigilance and wariness."

Faced with an unfathomable and dangerous genius, how could he possibly grant your wish so easily?

Chen Changsheng paused slightly, then instantly understood the situation and gave a self-deprecating smile: "You're right, my behavior today was indeed a bit excessive."

"What do you plan to do next? You've crippled Li Han, and the Li family will definitely not let this go."

Secret revenge is always far more brutal than overt revenge!

"It's alright, actually."

Chen Changsheng's lips curled into a playful smile again, his eyes gleaming with extreme confidence. "Today is Li Han's own fault. If I didn't have the trump card of immortal spiritual energy, I would be the one crippled today."

Since they want to play, I'll play along to the end.

"Liu Qianfeng can provide overt protection, which is enough for me."

As for the Li family's underhanded tactics...

If they dare to come knocking, I have plenty of ways to make their entire family suffer!