At Jingtai's command, Chen Yuan naturally ceased his actions. In truth, he was already prepared to stop, having deemed it sufficient to leave Yang Yuanqing half-dead.

A fatal blow would inevitably lead to unforeseen consequences.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he couldn't.

At least not in front of Jingtai, under the watchful eyes of the crowd. After all, before the duel, there had been no mention of a life-or-death struggle. Yet, beating him half to death had accomplished much of his objective.

Unless Cao Zhengxian was willing to use spiritual treasures to heal him, Yang Yuanqing wouldn't recover for several months.

Objectively speaking, Yang Yuanqing's strength was considerable, far beyond that of a mere initial-stage Solid Core. He was a seasoned Solid Core expert, who, despite his youthful appearance, was already nearly forty years old.

If he were to face another Void Core cultivator, Yang Yuanqing could easily suppress them. However, he had the misfortune of encountering Chen Yuan.

Who was Chen Yuan?

He was the champion of the Immortal Ascension Battle, who had defeated all the heroes under the heavens, the first on the Hidden Dragon List, a figure renowned throughout the Jianghu. His physical body was only half a step away from the 'Indestructible Diamond' state.

His Qi Refining cultivation had also reached the peak of the Void Core stage, and he possessed the aid of a divine weapon. Most importantly, Chen Yuan had formed an Image Core, which was extraordinary.

The benefits it brought to Chen Yuan were immense.

With his strength, it would be a fool's dream to defeat him without Heavenly Core cultivation.

Yang Yuanqing, with his superb swordsmanship and protective divine skill, was simply not in the same league. One must know that Chen Yuan seemingly used all of his strength.

But he still had the 'Dragon Transformation' card hidden.

If there were fewer onlookers, and Chen Yuan unleashed his full power without restraint, Yang Yuanqing would undoubtedly be dead within a hundred breaths!

Yang Yuanqing, on the ground, felt his heart ease upon hearing Jingtai's words. He had truly believed he was about to die at Chen Yuan's hands.

The feeling of danger still lingered, filling him with dread.

He looked at Chen Yuan with a complex mix of emotions: three parts resentment, three parts admiration, three parts fear, and a hint of inexplicable submission.

Chen Yuan glanced at Yang Yuanqing on the ground, uninterested in dwelling on any fan-shaped statistical charts. He only needed to see the fear and hatred, and that was enough.

Slowly descending from the void, Chen Yuan approached Jingtai and bowed.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

Jingtai gazed at Chen Yuan for a long time before saying:

"Indeed, you are worthy of being My most trusted minister. With such strength, it is only natural that you have defeated all the heroes under the heavens."

"Your subject is terrified and dares not accept such praise from Your Majesty. I merely managed to win by a fluke against Eunuch Yang," Chen Yuan said with feigned humility, but his eyes betrayed his agreement.

The others, especially those who saw the near-dead Yang Yuanqing, were speechless. You call critically injuring him a 'fluke victory'?

And Chen Yuan's aura showed no signs of weakening. It was the same as before.

Jingtai said calmly:

"Since you have defeated Yang Yuanqing, the promise I made earlier will naturally be fulfilled. From today onwards, you will be the commander of the Eastern Imperial City."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"From now on, I entrust you with the important task of guarding the Eastern Imperial City."

"Your subject will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust,"

Chen Yuan said with a solemn expression.

"You young people should communicate more. Chen Yuan is a talent who has done well in Qing Prefecture. You who have long resided in the capital palace should also learn about the affairs of the world," Jingtai said, turning his gaze to several princes.

"Your sons obey."

"Your sons obey."

Several princes quickly bowed and saluted.

"I am tired, return to the palace."

Jingtai did not look at Yang Yuanqing once, as if he were merely an insignificant servant. In his eyes, a loser had little value.

A green-robed eunuch beside Jingtai immediately announced in a high-pitched voice:

"The imperial carriage is ready to return to the palace!"

More than a dozen serving eunuchs and maids immediately bowed and saluted as Jingtai turned and left.

"Your subject respectfully bids farewell to Your Majesty."

"Your subject awaits Your Majesty."

Their voices echoed behind him.

Cao Zhengxian looked at Chen Yuan with a faint smile and said:

"Envoy Chen Qing's strength is impressive. This director admires you greatly. Remember, there will always be a place for you in the Imperial Surveillance Bureau."

He did not show any displeasure at Yang Yuanqing's defeat, seemingly not caring at all. But Chen Yuan did not dare to lower his guard, and said in a deep voice:

"Thank you for the factory director's kindness."

Cao Zhengxian smiled, waved his hand, and Yang Yuanqing, who was on the ground in the distance, was immediately suspended in the air. He said lightly: "Waste."

Then, grabbing Yang Yuanqing, he turned and left.

"Chen Yuan, come to the Sky Patrol Division tomorrow,"

Zhang Yantong said.

"Yes, this subordinate obeys."

"Not bad," Zuo Tiancheng commented.

"This envoy has high hopes for you, not bad."

Wu Tianxi also nodded and smiled slightly.

"Lord Divine Envoy is too kind."

Each of them said a word. Apart from that, the three Divine Envoys did not say anything more and left the Imperial City directly, flying through the air, to tomorrow.

Flying is forbidden in the Imperial Palace, but not in the Imperial City.

Otherwise, this distance alone would be a considerable distance for those officials who went to court.

After everyone left, only the four princes, princesses, and Chen Yuan were left here.

The eldest prince, Sima Qian, walked forward with a smile and cupped his hands.

"I am Sima Qian, greetings Envoy Chen Qing."

"Greetings, Your Highness."

Chen Yuan cupped his hands without being humble or arrogant.

The second prince, Sima You, also said with a smile on his face:

"I have long heard of Envoy Chen Qing's great name. Today I see that it is indeed so, with his heroic appearance and amazing strength. His literary talent is also rare in the world. The casual saying 'Life and death are shared, hearts and souls revealed, a promise is worth a thousand gold' makes You feel a sense of heroism and loyalty. It is a great loss to the literary world that Envoy Chen Qing did not pursue the path of literature."

"Your Highness is too kind. Yuan is just casually spouting nonsense and cannot compare to Your Highness's literary talent."

"Second brother, you are wrong. Envoy Chen Qing should have followed the path of martial arts, otherwise how would there be the first Hidden Dragon List champion in the imperial court? How could he show off the imperial court's prestige?

With Envoy Chen Qing's strength, I am afraid that once he breaks through the Solid Core, he will be able to be on the Wind and Cloud List."

Sima Qian smiled heartily.

The Wind and Cloud List he mentioned is the Earth List in the Immortal Ascension List, which includes all the Core Realm grandmasters. A total of seventy-two people are included, each of whom is a rare master in the world.

Of course, the Wind and Cloud List, like the Hidden Dragon List, has an age limit. Only warriors under the age of seventy can be on the list, which is basically very lenient.

Core Realm grandmasters are said to have a lifespan of three Jiazi, but most warriors do not live to this age, and warriors who can exceed three Jiazi are even rarer.

Some people once said that the average lifespan of a Core Realm grandmaster is about 150 years.

Once a warrior is over seventy years old, his Qi, blood, and true Core will gradually decline. If he exceeds one hundred years, the chance of breaking through to Huayang is only 1%.

Therefore, seventy years old is a watershed for Core Realm grandmasters.

Of course, the Supreme List has no restrictions. It depends on one's own strength. Those who can be on the Supreme List are all Yang God True Monarchs, and their potential and other aspects have basically reached their limits.

After all, which warrior who can break through the Huayang and even Yuanshen level is not a person with extraordinary talent?

"Your Highness is too kind."

Chen Yuan smiled.

Although the people in front of him were princes, Chen Yuan was not afraid of them. If the other party was willing to treat him as an equal, it would be fine to make friends. If the other party put on airs, he did not need to pay attention.

Wasn't Wei Wuque, the son of the King of Beiliang, treating him as an equal?

If you really want to talk about it, the son of the King of Beiliang is actually not lower in status than the princes present. He is a definite heir who will be able to ascend to the throne of the King of Beiliang in the future.

And it is not certain who among these princes will be able to ascend to the throne.

Didn't you see that several Huayang Divine Envoys did not value the princes very much?

As long as they are not the crown prince, the other princes will be distributed or imprisoned when the new emperor ascends the throne, becoming like breeding pigs in the royal family. Therefore, people with high positions and great power generally do not need to take sides.

Only those self-righteous civil officials want to train a wise monarch. In addition, there are some low-ranking officials who want to fight for the merit of supporting the emperor.

But those officials above the rank of Zheng Sipin, unless they have blood ties, have to take sides.

Few of the others take sides. sutan.

The emperor would not allow it either. The current emperor has a Core Realm cultivation and is not even fifty years old, so he can live for at least a hundred years. It is not of much use to take sides.

Could it be that they can kill the emperor?

In fact, many people believe that the reason why the emperor has been slow to establish a crown prince is based on this consideration. Anyway, he still has a long lifespan, so there is no need to establish a crown prince.

If none of these princes break through the Core Realm cultivation, it is not certain who will live longer.

"No, You thinks what big brother said is right. With Envoy Chen Qing's strength, it is only a matter of time before he is on the Wind and Cloud List," Sima You said with a smile.

Looking at the people talking and laughing, Sima Ke snorted and obviously did not respect his two older brothers so much. His eyes flickered as he stepped forward and invited:

"Envoy Chen Qing, do you have time today? Why not come to my house for a while?"

As soon as Sima Ke spoke, Sima Qian and Sima You frowned at the same time. The eldest prince said:

"There are some fine wines and beautiful women in my house. Even if you want to go, Envoy Chen Qing should go to my house. Fourth brother, you should cultivate yourself."

"Fine wines and beautiful women... Hehe, big brother, how could Envoy Chen Qing be so vulgar? My house is full of ancient books and poetry. Envoy Chen Qing should go to my house to comment on them."

After the princes reach adulthood, they will be allowed to open a mansion in the outer city, which can be regarded as giving them some private space.

Therefore, they each have their own mansion. If anyone fails to seize the throne in the future, his mansion will be named a royal mansion...

Looking at the words of several people, Chen Yuan refused:

"Thank you for the love of several princes, but Chen is tired from a battle today and is going back to rest."

It's okay to talk and laugh a few words, but don't try to drag him into a certain faction's camp. He doesn't want to be used as a tool and be hated by other princes. Even if he participates in the seizure of the throne, it must be of his own free will if he wants to go further.

Sima Ke was not angry and said with a faint smile:

"There is an old friend of Envoy Chen Qing in my mansion. I won't say who it is. Since Envoy Chen Qing is busy these days, I will invite you another day. I hope that next time, Envoy Chen Qing can give Ke some face."

After saying that, he turned his eyes to Princess Pingyang and said:

"Royal sister."

Princess Pingyang's eyes flickered and she also stepped forward and said to Chen Yuan:

"Pingyang greets Envoy Chen Qing."

"Your Highness, the Princess."

I have to say that the Sima family's genes are still good. Whether it is Sima Ke, Sima Qian, or Sima You, they are all handsome, and Pingyang, as the eldest princess, is also very beautiful.

In his opinion, she is comparable to Yu Qingyan, and their temperaments are also different. Yu Qingyan has a fairy-like quality, untainted by the mundane world.

Princess Pingyang has a noble and luxurious temperament that makes people want to conquer her.

"Envoy Chen Qing is talented in literature and outstanding in martial arts. Pingyang admires you and would like to invite Envoy Chen Qing to the palace for a gathering. What does Envoy Chen Qing think?" Princess Pingyang tapped her teeth lightly and her voice was gentle.

But Chen Yuan remained unmoved and still said the same thing as before.

"If that's the case, so be it. I hope Envoy Chen Qing will not reject Pingyang's invitation after you are busy in a few days," she said with a faint smile.

"Next time for sure."

"Farewell."

"Long Princess, take care."

Pingyang bowed and smiled, leaving with Sima Ke in the direction of the palace.

Chen Yuan looked at the backs of the two, but his eyes mainly focused on Sima Ke, unmoved by the graceful figure of Princess Pingyang next to him.

He was wondering who the old friend Sima Ke was talking about was.

It seemed that he did not have any old acquaintances in the capital except for Tao Qingyuan.

"Envoy Chen Qing, I will also take my leave."

The eldest prince, Sima Qian, said with a faint smile.

"Your Highness, please take care."

In the blink of an eye, only Chen Yuan and Sima You were left here. Just as he was about to leave, Sima You said:

"I am also going out of the Imperial City. Would Envoy Chen Qing like to go together?"

"Okay."

Walking on the bluestone slabs of the Imperial City, Sima You and Chen Yuan talked to each other. The other party indeed behaved as rumored, gentle and refined.

He didn't seem like a prince, but like a humble gentleman-like literati.

Moreover, the other party did not have any cultivation in his body, as if he only read books and did not practice martial arts.

The other party's personality was as gentle as water. He curiously asked Chen Yuan if he had any other poems. Chen Yuan smiled and said that he was just a crude warrior.

How could he know anything about poetry?

What he said before was just a casual remark.

He did have some poems that he could use to live a carefree life as a plagiarist, but he didn't like it. He believed in strength is respected.

Since he didn't want to please Sima You, why should he deliberately plagiarize poems to please him?

As they talked, the other party asked Chen Yuan when he came to the capital. Chen Yuan told him the truth. Sima You warmly invited Chen Yuan to stay in his mansion when he heard that Chen Yuan had just arrived in the capital and did not have a place to live.

But Chen Yuan still refused with a smile. If he really lived in the Second Prince's Mansion, it would basically be equivalent to Chen Yuan supporting the Second Prince in the eyes of outsiders.

Even Jiang He and Zhang Yantong might be thought to be betting on the Second Prince Sima You.

Chen Yuan now seemed to be alone, but everyone knew about his close relationship with Jiang He. This time, he also walked the path of the Zhang family and was also thought to be favored by Zhang Yantong.

As a Sky Patrol Division Divine Envoy with a high position and great power, Zhang Yantong, such a Huayang Real Person, was valued by these princes, which was one of the reasons why they were so enthusiastic before.

Leaving the Imperial City, Chen Yuan said goodbye to the Second Prince Sima You and walked towards an inn in the capital. He was unwilling to stay in the mansions of several princes.

He didn't want to live in the Zhang Mansion either, even though Zhang Yantong had invited him before, and even though there was a beautiful Zhang Xuan sister in the Zhang Mansion, he still didn't want to go.

No matter what, that was not his home.

Although it was not exactly living under someone else's roof, it was still a bit uncomfortable. It wasn't like he couldn't afford a mansion in the capital.

Even though the mansions close to the Imperial City in the capital were worth every inch of land, he didn't care at all. The silver he had accidentally picked up when he was an envoy in Tangshan Prefecture was now in the Heavenly Book in his hand.

He didn't bring much this time, only ten thousand taels of silver and three thousand taels of gold, but added together, it was worth forty thousand taels of silver. Not to mention buying one,

Even buying ten or eight would be easy.

Not to mention the dozens of Origin Crystals he had. With his wealth, few people in the Core Realm could compare to him. This was also the pursuit of many officials.

But most of them were not as wealthy as him, being able to completely control a prefecture and eliminate the Jianghu forces that had accumulated for dozens or hundreds of years.

Although expanding his power required some, there was still a lot of surplus.

Walking on the streets of the capital, Chen Yuan habitually recalled what happened today, exploring it from beginning to end like watching a movie.

Suddenly, he stopped, thinking of the scene in the Imperial Garden.

Everything else was normal, but something seemed wrong when Jingtai received the People's Umbrella. He remembered that Jingtai took the initiative to look at the People's Umbrella at that time,

But he only touched it and withdrew his hand.

He didn't think anything of it at the time and didn't think much about it, but if he recalled it now, he could find something wrong. Could it be that he was overthinking it?

Chen Yuan couldn't help but frown.

That People's Umbrella didn't seem to have any problems. It was just an ordinary umbrella woven by ordinary people. He had never cared much about it and usually put it in the Heavenly Book.

He only took it out today to present it to Jingtai for him to see when he met him...

Thinking about it, Chen Yuan couldn't figure out what problems a country's monarch could have, so he temporarily put aside this suspicious problem and thought of taking over as the commander of the Imperial City.

This trip was considered smooth, although there were some twists and turns, he still managed to successfully take the position. Now everything was ready, only the arrival of the ancestor worship was lacking.

Of course, the premise was that the people from the Taoist God Palace would tell him the location of the Dragon Vein Land, otherwise... he would probably have to find it himself.

It was not easy to find in this vast capital. The most important thing was that, in his opinion, the Dragon Vein was generally in the Imperial City, which was not a place that could be entered and exited casually.

Even if the identity of the Imperial City commander had convenience, he might still be noticed.

Before long, Chen Yuan arrived at the inn, asked for a good room, set up a formation, and couldn't wait to tell Jiang He the news that he had become the commander of the Imperial City.

And his answer was relatively concise:

————

Are you there? Asking for monthly tickets?