He had previously instructed Chen Yuan not to disgrace the name of the Sky Patrol Division in public, so how could he take the lead in backing down?

Even though Gu Hao was renowned throughout Qing Province, Tao Qingyuan was not afraid in the slightest.

At the end of the day, no matter how strong sword cultivators were at the same level, Gu Hao was only at the initial stage of the Tongxuan realm. He, on the other hand, had been in this realm for over a decade. Even with significant injuries, he was confident in defeating him...

If necessary, he would suppress his injuries and make a quick decision.

Gu Hao was not afraid at all, pointing his sword at Tao Qingyuan. The atmosphere between the two solidified, creating a tense situation that was alarming.

"Landlord, do you think Gu Hao's strength is enough to defeat Tao Qingyuan?"

The old servant couldn't help but ask.

Ye Chenbai shook his head:

"The chances aren't high. At most, he can only restrain him a little. If Tao Qingyuan wasn't injured, he wouldn't even last thirty moves."

"Does the Landlord have such a high opinion of Tao Qingyuan?"

"It's not high, it's just stating the facts. Gu Hao is new to the Tongxuan realm. Unless he's a genius that appears once in a century, how can he possibly win?"

"However, if he had two or three years, I'm afraid Tao Qingyuan would only be defeated..."

"Oh?"

The old servant sized up Tao Qingyuan, showing some interest.

He was weighing the two men's strength to see who would win.

"Don't worry, they won't fight."

Ye Chenbai said softly.

"Why? They..." The old servant couldn't help but say.

They were clearly about to fight.

"Liu Changkong has been showing his face for a while, but Gu Hao has only just revealed himself. What do you think he's been doing all this time?" Ye Chenbai chuckled, looking very sure.

In fact, he had another sentence he didn't say, which was that the government had more than one Tongxuan realm expert in Nanling Prefecture City. Would Gu Hao not think of that?

And even if he could restrain Tao Qingyuan, the Sky Patrol Envoys below wouldn't sit idly by while Chen Yuan fought himself.

These things, just by thinking about them... it's easy to guess some of it.

The old servant was silent, not refuting.

In his impression, Ye Chenbai was like this. In general, his guesses rarely had mistakes.

Sure enough, before Tao Qingyuan and the other man could move, a cyan dragon-headed spear shot out from the north, like a swimming dragon, and slammed into the ground with a 'boom'.

A middle-aged man wearing a cyan robe embroidered with dragons appeared next to the two in just a few breaths of time. He had a square face, fair skin, and thick eyebrows. Looking at Tao Qingyuan, he smiled:

"Old Tao, you're getting more and more backward. You're actually bullying the younger generation. Aren't you afraid that the experts from the Azure Cloud Sword Sect will come and spar with you?"

Looking at the cyan-robed man in front of him, Tao Qingyuan's face darkened:

"If they want to come, then let them come. What does Tao fear? No need for Chief Tang to worry."

Chen Yuan's expression twitched slightly. He had heard of this man's name from Tao Qingyuan.

Tang Qian, Tongxuan realm, over forty-two years old, unparalleled spear skills.

He single-handedly created the Azure Dragon Society, and in just twenty years, he had established the reputation of one of the five major forces in Nanling Prefecture.

He was the one who took the shortest time among the five major forces, but his power and strength were not the lowest. Recently, he had been secretly plotting to annex the interests of the Chang Le Gang.

However, Tao Qingyuan said that he had poor character and had done things that were unfaithful in the past.

Regarding this...

Chen Yuan now had that feeling. He was looking for a sense of presence for no reason, and his character was indeed not very good.

Just like...

Forget it, never mind.

Tang Qian smiled:

"I certainly won't worry, but Tang doesn't want to see the government using its power to oppress people. Since there is a deep-seated hatred between Chen Yuan and Liu Changkong, it's better to let them handle it themselves."

"Brother Tao, you suffered serious injuries before. It's better to be steady. Even if you win against Young Master Gu, there's nothing to brag about, but if you lose,

Then your lifelong reputation will be ruined."

"You want to interfere!"

Tao Qingyuan's face was icy.

"Hehe..."

Tang Qian smiled without saying a word, but his attitude was clear. As long as Tao Qingyuan made a move, he would help.

"Hmph, Tang Qian, you should take care of the Azure Dragon Society's affairs. This commander has recently received a lot of secret reports saying that your Azure Dragon Society dominates the Yunjiang River. What are you trying to do?"

Another heavyweight figure from the government stepped forward.

The Military Commissioner of Nanling Prefecture, Tongxuan realm!

Equivalent to the County Commandant in the county government, in charge of soldiers and weapons, and on par with Tao Qingyuan.

If Tang Qian hadn't interfered, he wouldn't have come forward at all. After all, his relationship with Tao Qingyuan wasn't that good, but if the Jianghu forces came forward,

Then he couldn't hide.

For nothing else, just the court's reputation.

"Commissioner Lu!"

Tao Qingyuan nodded, greeting him.

"Cough cough..."

Shi Yunlong coughed lightly, looking at the implicit confrontation between the few men with a normal expression, without any intention of interfering.

If the Azure Dragon Society hadn't attacked the Chang Le Gang before, he might have come forward to help, but given his relationship with the Tang guy, he was unwilling to make a move.

Of course, he couldn't possibly take action for the imperial court either, so he was neutral.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for the Chang Le Gang to gain a foothold in Nanling Prefecture.

"Brother Yunlong is going to take action too?" Tao Qingyuan said, looking at Shi Yunlong.

"Envoy Tao, don't misunderstand. Shi is just here by chance. You can fight if you want, I'll just watch." Shi Yunlong smiled and said nothing more.

"Amazing, amazing! Several of the top experts in Nanling Prefecture have come forward. What a big scene!" In the crowd below, Chu Yunfeng couldn't help but whisper.

"Yeah, this kind of scene is rare. I didn't expect a challenge to attract so many experts." Someone echoed.

"It's a pity, Chu's strength is low, otherwise I would definitely help!"

Chu Yunfeng's face was a little excited.

"Who does Senior Brother want to help?"

"Of course..." Subconsciously, he was about to say of course it was the Jianghu forces, fighting against the court's lackeys, but after thinking about it, Chen Yuan had been kind to him, so he didn't say it, but simply said:

"Join the fun, just like Gang Leader Shi, not helping anyone."

"Hmph."

Beside them, a disciple of the Shenxiao Hall sneered, thinking that these weak chickens from the Qingmu Sect were really arrogant. Even their Sect Master probably wouldn't dare to get involved in this kind of scene.

Let alone them, these small fries.

It would be more like it if it were their Shenxiao Hall Master.

It's a pity that the Shenxiao Hall was a bit far away from here, and he had only happened to come to the Prefecture City.

"The Azure Dragon Society, the Sky Patrol Division, the Chang Le Gang, the Military... The forces near Nanling Prefecture City have arrived almost completely, there's still one missing..." Ye Chenbai chuckled.

"Who is the Landlord talking about?"

"Jinshan Temple!"

"Amitabha."

As soon as Ye Chenbai finished speaking, a faint Buddhist chant resounded in everyone's hearts. An old monk with a white beard, holding a string of Buddhist beads, led a group of Jinshan Temple martial monks to the front of the group.

The crowd automatically made way, not daring to block them.

Behind the old monk, Chen Yuan also saw an old acquaintance, Xuan Nu!

He couldn't help but mutter in his heart, damn it, there are only so many forces in Nanling Prefecture, and most of them have come today!

The Azure Cloud Sword Sect's prestige is really not small.

Yes, Chen Yuan attributed all of this to the prestige of the Azure Cloud Sword Sect. Otherwise, just based on a conflict that wasn't that big, it was impossible to gather so many experts.

A Tongxuan realm martial artist was enough to establish a not-small force, enough to rampage through Nanling Prefecture City.

Even looking at the entire Qing Province, they could be called experts.

"Master Fanan!"

"Master."

As soon as the old monk appeared, he somewhat shocked the entire audience. Apart from Tao Qingyuan and Commissioner Lu, Gu Hao, Tang Qian, and Shi Yunlong all nodded in greeting.

"The 'Fa' generation..."

Chen Yuan's heart stirred. This was considered a relatively old generation in Jinshan Temple. Apart from those who had already fallen, basically those who were still alive were very powerful.

It was said that the strongest expert in Jinshan Temple was from the 'Fa' generation.

"Why do you benefactors need to argue over a small matter? In this poor monk's opinion, it's better to let the two of them compete and decide the winner. It's a bit inappropriate for Tongxuan realm martial artists to interfere."

As soon as Fanan opened his mouth, he sided with Gu Hao's side, causing Tao Qingyuan's face to darken, and he didn't answer.

Their side currently only had two Tongxuan realm experts, and it was not a good thing to conflict with their three opponents. The odds of winning were not high...

Especially this old monk, one of the few remaining 'Fa' generation monks in Jinshan Temple. Although he had never fought him, Tao Qingyuan had heard of his name.

"Sir, why should you take action to kill a Ninggang martial artist? Since Liu Changkong is coming for this subordinate, then this subordinate will kill him, and let some ungrateful guys know the immensity of heaven and earth."

Seeing that Tao Qingyuan didn't speak, Chen Yuan knew that he was in a dilemma.

If he retreated, he would appear weak and damage his reputation. If he didn't retreat, it would be difficult for him to be his opponent, and even worsen his injuries, which would outweigh the benefits. So he immediately spoke to give him a way out.

At the end of the day, it was his grievance with Liu Changkong, not Tao Qingyuan's.

Chen Yuan had originally thought of using the Sky Patrol Division's hand to easily cripple this kid, without needing to fight fiercely. It was just a shame that he couldn't make the decision.

Azure Cloud Sword Sect... Hehe.

"Senior Brother Gu, this is the last time Changkong will call you Senior Brother. If I kill Chen Yuan this time, I will surely die to apologize and never implicate the Sect!" At the right time, Liu Changkong said solemnly.

He knew that confronting the imperial court like this would definitely lead to dissatisfaction from the hardliners, and even suppress the Azure Cloud Sword Sect, but without the support of the Azure Cloud Sword Sect, these forces in Nanling Prefecture would not be able to come forward.

Therefore, even if he won, he couldn't live.

Gu Hao didn't say anything, looking at Tao Qingyuan expressionlessly.

"Alright, then this envoy will leave it to you. Be sure to kill this villain. The imperial court's majesty cannot be humiliated!" Tao Qingyuan said in a low voice, his gaze sweeping over the faces of Fanan, Gu Hao, and the others.

He had noted down this grudge.

Chen Yuan nodded, drawing his Wild Goose Blade from behind, pointing directly at Liu Changkong:

"This envoy can destroy your Liu family, and can also destroy you. Since you insist on seeking death, I will fulfill your wish today. Between you and me, today,

we will decide the victor and the loser, and also life and death!"