"The barbarians from the dwarfish land of Dongying dare to provoke the Central Plains. As a patrolling envoy of the imperial court, how can Yuan turn a blind eye and allow them to barge in?

"What I represent is not just myself, but also your Lordship's reputation. Besides, even if I refuse, this person will probably block the door according to the rules unless I admit that I am inferior to him..."

Tao Qingyuan's tone faltered. He had intended to give Chen Yuan a hint, but instead, he received a lesson. Who exactly is the superior here? However, he didn't show it.

He knew that what Chen Yuan said was reasonable. Since a challenge had been issued, if it was not accepted, the person would come to provoke him, forcing Chen Yuan to admit defeat.

This has always been the custom of the Jianghu.

"This Yagyu Shinichi is not simple. Be careful..." The reason for summoning Chen Yuan this time was to make him vigilant and not to be careless just because Yagyu Shinichi's visible strength and ranking on the Hidden Dragon List were lower than his.

"Oh... Does this person have some other background?"

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked in a low voice.

"If you know a little about Dongying, you would know that among the three major families of Dongying, the Yagyu family is the strongest. Some of the strongmen in the family can even rival the great sects of the Central Plains. This Yagyu Shinichi and his brother are known as the Yagyu Twin Blades and are geniuses who are rare to see in a hundred years. Yagyu Shinichi is about the same age as you, both in their twenties, yet he has already broken through the Heavenly Astral Realm..."

Speaking of this, Tao Qingyuan suddenly paused and looked at Chen Yuan:

"You dared to accept this battle, but have you also broken through the Heavenly Astral Realm?"

His eyes flashed, Chen Yuan hesitated for a moment, and nodded:

"Before, when I was in Qingshui County, I felt that my cultivation had reached its peak, so I triggered the Yang Astral Qi. Fortunately, I succeeded in breaking through."

At this moment, Chen Yuan no longer concealed it. Anyway, he would have to reveal it tomorrow when he fought with Yagyu Shinichi. There was no point in concealing it anymore.

It's better to show it openly.

Unexpectedly, after Chen Yuan admitted it, Tao Qingyuan didn't show much shock, but instead said, "As expected."

When the news of the Blood Demon's death spread before, many people suspected that Chen Yuan had hidden his strength and had actually already broken through to the Heavenly Astral Realm, including Tao Qingyuan.

Compared to killing the Blood Demon Elder, a peak Heavenly Astral Realm expert, while still at the Condensing Fiend cultivation stage, he preferred to believe that Chen Yuan had already broken through before, but had simply not shown it.

Now that he had Chen Yuan's personal admission, there was nothing to be surprised about.

"Yagyu family... Yagyu Shinichi's brother..." Listening to Tao Qingyuan's introduction, Chen Yuan muttered to himself, as if pondering something.

"Yagyu Shinichi's brother is a few years older than him, and he is among the top fifty on the Hidden Dragon List."

"So it's him."

Chen Yuan already knew that there were two Dongying martial artists in the top fifty of the Hidden Dragon List. He didn't expect one of them to be Yagyu Shinichi's brother. Moreover, Yagyu Shinichi's background now seems quite significant.

If he killed him...

"My Lord, I once said that anyone who challenges me must engage in a life-and-death battle. If I kill this person, will there be any..." Chen Yuan looked at Tao Qingyuan, wanting him to state his position.

Killing him was a certainty, but in order to prevent retaliation from higher-level martial artists, the imperial court would have to protect him.

Seeming to see through Chen Yuan's thoughts, Tao Qingyuan glanced at him:

"Don't worry, with the imperial court here, the Yagyu family won't dare to retaliate afterward. Moreover... the barbarians of Dongying extremely revere the strong, to the point of being perverted,

Hundreds of years ago, there was a contemporary expert who had a feud with a Dongying martial artist. In a fit of rage, he directly invaded the Dongying islands and massacred tens of thousands of people. But despite such a great hatred, these people admired this expert immensely and even erected a monument for him."

"Because the Dongying people have a slave mentality, which some people in the Central Plains now call them 'dwarf slaves'. If you have the opportunity to subdue these dwarf slaves in the future,

Perhaps you will have a share in that monument."

Tao Qingyuan's tone became disdainful at this point.

Servility is rooted in the hearts of these Dongying people. They dare not resist a truly powerful person. Although they seem to be venturing into the Central Plains, in the eyes of many, these people do not have a true heart for martial arts.

Therefore, for hundreds or thousands of years, Dongying has not produced a peerless expert who dominates the world.

"I will definitely work towards this direction." Chen Yuan smiled, but his tone was firm. If he really had the opportunity in the future, he would really go to the Dongying islands to take a look.

In his previous life, he had only seen Dongying girls in movies, but had never tried them...

Tao Qingyuan laughed a few times, saying he hoped to see that day.

Then, his tone changed, and he began to tell Chen Yuan that his clash with Yagyu Shinichi had already spread throughout Nanling Prefecture City, and there would definitely be many people watching at the time.

He told Chen Yuan to be careful and, at the very least, not to lose.

Now that he had caught the attention of those above, if Chen Yuan could maintain it, he would definitely receive support from above in the future, and his future would be limitless.

Although the imperial court has strict ranks, it also selects geniuses to provide resources for cultivation, and it will also become Chen Yuan's solid backing.

If he receives the full cultivation of the imperial court, the things Chen Yuan can obtain will definitely not be inferior to any sect in the world, and the upper limit will be even higher...

Although Chen Yuan felt that Tao Qingyuan's words were a bit boastful, he still solemnly agreed.

He had never thought about failure. Since he had made a life-and-death battle, he would have to carry it out. Moreover, according to past experience, this Yagyu bastard likely possessed destiny.

Especially after hearing from Tao Qingyuan about the Yagyu Twin Blades and the once-in-a-century genius, it further confirmed his destiny!

Time flew by, and the next day arrived.

One night of cultivation passed peacefully. Being unfazed by even a collapsing sky was Chen Yuan's current state of mind. He seemed to not take this deathmatch seriously at all. He even practiced his saber in the morning as usual and then had his meal...

But while Chen Yuan was calm, the outside world was completely different, extremely noisy. Since early morning, those who had nothing to do rushed to the Yun River in the north of the city,

Waiting quietly for both sides to arrive.

The lively atmosphere did not resemble a deathmatch competition, but rather a friendly exchange.

At noon, Chen Yuan looked up at the scorching sun in the sky, knowing that the time was almost up. Then, he took Li Dongshan and began to head north of the city.

As for Zhao Beishan and the others, they were hidden in the shadows.

The pedestrians on the road were endless. When they saw Chen Yuan appear, they followed him, forming a grand procession of at least several hundred people, which seemed quite spectacular.

Yue Shan, who had been waiting by the roadside, joined the crowd, and several Sky Patrolling Guards protected Chen Yuan within a radius of a few yards.

"Envoy Chen, cripple that Dongying dwarf slave!"

Suddenly, someone shouted loudly.

Then, there was a lot of noisy sound, shouting that the barbarians should not be allowed to run rampant in the Central Plains. In response, Chen Yuan just glanced at that person and nodded silently.

Before long, Chen Yuan arrived at a certain place north of the city, surrounded by the crowd. The number of people watching the excitement on both sides of the road was really large. When they saw Chen Yuan arrive, someone shouted, "Chen Yuan is here!"

Then, hundreds or thousands of pairs of eyes focused on Chen Yuan, bringing a powerful sense of pressure.

Chen Yuan's gaze was calm as he swept over the two sides one by one, frowning slightly. He really didn't like being watched, but unfortunately, a contest between two geniuses in the top 100 of the Hidden Dragon List was destined to be not peaceful.

Especially with the martial artists and common people of Nanling Jianghu having nothing to do, it added a lot of interest.

If it were in the East Sea or Blood Province, where martial arts were more prevalent, it would definitely not attract so much attention.

Among these people, Chen Yuan saw Shen Yanshu, who was even more beautiful after nearly a month. The maid Xiao Yu beside her seemed a little excited.

Some Sky Patrolling Envoys like Lu Yang were wearing Black Cloud uniforms, while others were in plain clothes. He exchanged glances with some officials from the prefecture government. Lu Yang even nodded and smiled.

Nie Qiyun next to him looked gloomy, his eyes cold and filled with a chilling light. He exchanged a glance with Chen Yuan, and the corners of his mouth twitched, seemingly a sneer.

In addition, when Chen Yuan looked around, he also saw Tao Qingyuan and Tang Qian and others high up, seemingly preparing to watch the battle. When he saw Chen Yuan's gaze, the corners of his mouth curved, and Tang Qian even gave Chen Yuan a smile.

Monk Fa Nan's white beard fluttered, his eyes focused, ignoring Chen Yuan.

Continuing to walk forward, Chen Yuan's gaze narrowed, and he directly fixed his eyes on a figure in the river some distance away, who seemed to be waiting for him with a saber.

"Brother Chen."

As the host of this contest, Ye Chenbai of the Dengxian Pavilion naturally couldn't not show up. Seeing Chen Yuan arrive, he nodded and pointed to a small boat prepared for him on the side.

The battle on the Yun River naturally needed a place to stand.

"Life and death battle, where is the life and death agreement?"

Although this was Chen Yuan's home ground, he still asked this question. Ye Chenbai seemed to have expected this and waved his hand, ordering someone to bring out a white cloth.

On it was written that life and death were at one's own risk...

Yagyu Shinichi's name was also written on it. Chen Yuan didn't care and directly picked up a pen and signed his name. Since it was said to be a life-and-death battle, it was naturally impossible to change halfway.

Then, Chen Yuan suddenly jumped up, his figure landing steadily on the small boat like a swallow in the clouds. With a single arm movement, a faint red Xuan Yang Qi burst out of his body, propelling him forward.

His direct exposure of his Heavenly Astral cultivation also caused a burst of exclamation from the surrounding people. Tang Qian frowned slightly, increasingly feeling that this person should not be allowed to live. Shi Yunlong's eyes also showed some amazement.

Fa Nan was expressionless, and his face was unreadable, but he was likely very unhappy, after all, it was because of Chen Yuan that he had been grounded for a period of time.

Nie Qiyun's face was gloomy, with some disbelief and anger, his chest rising and falling steadily. Lu Yang next to him even praised Chen Yuan, saying, "A true prodigy," which made people look sideways.

Only Ye Chenbai showed no surprise, as if he had already expected Chen Yuan's cultivation.

Driving the small boat, Chen Yuan got closer and closer to that figure, and then opened his Heavenly Eye. Suddenly, he felt relieved. The other party really possessed destiny.

It was not in vain for him to fight in person!