He himself wasn't one to flaunt, but sometimes the situation forced his hand. The news of Chen Yuan's killing of Blood Demon Old Man should be spreading to Nanling Prefecture City soon.

Tang Qian's murderous intent towards him would probably intensify, but the current Chen Yuan was not the same as before, and he already had a chance of fighting against a Tongxuan realm expert like Tang Qian.

The group left Clear Water County town discreetly, heading towards the Prefecture City along the same route they had taken before.

It's worth mentioning that late last night, Yan Kai personally made another trip, bringing Chen Yuan cultivation resources worth nearly a thousand taels of silver, as a sort of life-buying payment.

Chen Yuan didn't refuse, as doing so might make Yan Kai overthink things.

The two chatted casually for a while, and Chen Yuan mentioned the promise he had made earlier, reassuring Yan Kai that he could rest assured because he always kept his word.

Yan Kai also revealed some of his future destinations.

Unsurprisingly, Yan Kai's destination was Blood Province.

He felt like taking his dozens of cavalrymen to Blood Province to try their luck, and expressed hope that if they were destined to meet again, he could share a drink with Chen Yuan.

He also said not to hesitate to ask if there was anything he could help with.

Yan Kai valued the word 'righteousness' above all else.

After staying for about fifteen minutes, Yan Kai left Chen Yuan's residence alone.

Chen Yuan didn't choose to kill Yan Kai and return to report, perhaps because Yan Kai didn't possess any destiny worth Chen Yuan's effort, or perhaps because Yan Kai's understanding of the situation made Chen Yuan feel that he was a smart man, and it would be a pity to kill him.

Yes, Chen Yuan's evaluation of Yan Kai was that he was sensible.

Although Yan Kai had a rugged appearance, it could be seen through these few incidents that he was quite intelligent. A wise man submits to circumstances. If he didn't fall in the future, this person might achieve something in the future.

He didn't know if they would ever have the chance to meet again.

The road on the way there was very peaceful, and the road on the way back was equally peaceful. This time, Chen Yuan didn't follow the previous route all the time, but instead detoured through other routes along the way.

The time spent wasn't much delayed, taking about the same amount of time as before.

Round trip, plus the time spent in Clear Water County, Chen Yuan spent about half a month. He arrived in the Prefecture City at noon.

Without rushing to report back to the Sky Survey Division, he dismissed Mo Donghe and the others, and went straight to the place where Yunjiang Three Ghosts and others had healed and hid before.

"Greetings, Lord!"

"Greetings, Lord!"

Seeing Chen Yuan's arrival, they still saluted very respectfully. After this period of recuperation, the injuries on their bodies were no longer a major concern.

"Hmm... you're back?"

Chen Yuan swept his gaze over Qian Xishan and the others, and then focused on Zhao Beishan.

"After I broke through, Elder Zhao guided me for a period of time. Thinking that the Lord might be able to use me, I came here." Zhao Beishan smiled calmly.

He showed Chen Yuan his cultivation.

He had entered the Naqi realm!

Chen Yuan now had a truly obedient Ninggang realm subordinate. If you count Yue Shan, who was still quite obedient to him, the power in Chen Yuan's hands was already not weak.

"How is Elder Zhao now?"

Chen Yuan asked with a light smile. Zhao Beishan offered Chen Yuan tea and said truthfully:

"Elder Zhao..."

Chen Yuan nodded slowly as he listened. Ping An County was still the same as before, the Three Harmonies Fist School was still open, and Wang Ping was also working hard on his cultivation. According to Zhao Beishan, Wang Ping now rarely went to brothels to drink, and spent most of his time on cultivation.

His cultivation was steadily improving with Chen Yuan's resource support.

A new constable had been appointed in Ping An County, not someone he knew, but someone transferred from another county. He took good care of Wang Ping and the Three Harmonies Fist School.

There was no face-slapping plot as imagined.

Of course, the reason why this was the case was because Chen Yuan's fame in Nanling Prefecture City had spread to Ping An County. Now, who in Ping An County didn't know that Chen Yuan was a martial arts genius who only appeared once every hundred years in Ping An County?

He also possessed great power within the Prefecture City.

Not to mention a constable, even officials at the level of the county lieutenant and county magistrate would not dare to provoke him easily.

Wang Ping also often mentioned Chen Yuan. According to Zhao Beishan, every time Wang Ping drank with his colleagues, as long as he was half-drunk, he would always put his arm around the other party and pretend to be profound, saying:

"Do you know who my good brother is?"

"It's Chen Yuan, who is on the Hidden Dragon List and holds the position of Sky Surveyor. Back then..."

After listening, Chen Yuan's lips curled up slightly. Wang Ping was really fulfilling his promise and using him, Chen Yuan, as a target for boasting.

Chen Yuan didn't feel any disgust. His only worry was that Wang Ping was being sheltered by his reputation, and if he lost power in the future, he might also be implicated.

However, that day still seemed far away.

Moreover, Chen Yuan's opponents generally wouldn't target an ordinary constable in a small county. Probably few people believed what Wang Ping said.

If their relationship was so good, why didn't he transfer him to his side?

Wang Ping had never explained this.

"Breaking through is a good thing. The three of you should not slack off and break through as soon as possible..." Chen Yuan said, looking at the remaining three ghosts.

Now, Foundation Establishment level martial artists could basically not help him. Even if all three of them were masters of the Bone Refinement realm, it was no exception.

Only experts at the Ninggang realm could help him.

With the improvement of his status and strength, Chen Yuan's opponents were constantly changing. Like now, only Tongxuan experts in Nanling Prefecture could catch his eye.

Ordinary Tiangang realm martial artist couldn't stop him for a few moves.

"Lord is right."

"This subordinate will definitely cultivate diligently."

The others quickly bowed and said, looking at Chen Yuan with awe in their eyes.

The strength Chen Yuan had shown when they met him was still at the Bone Refinement level, but in just a few months, he had actually reached the level they looked up to.

The news of him killing the Blood Demon Old Man had been spreading in Nanling Prefecture City for many days. When they first heard it, most people thought it was a rumor.

Even they had an unbelievable expression.

But with the final word from Ascending Immortal Tower, the battle of Chen Yuan killing the Blood Demon Old Man was revealed. In the past two days, Nanling Prefecture City was a sensation.

From their mouths, Chen Yuan also learned about some of the situations after he left.

Overall, it was not much different from before, except that the Green Flood Dragon Society and the Evergreen Gang had fought several battles, with casualties on both sides, and the Green Flood Dragon Society had also found helpers.

Dragon-Tiger Sect!

It was rumored that Xu Lingtian, the master of the Dragon-Tiger Sect, had allied with Tang Qian, destroying many people from the Evergreen Gang outside the city, and even eliminating several affiliated forces.

But the Evergreen Gang seemed to have someone helping them, resisting the pressure from the Green Flood Dragon Society.

They didn't know who it was, but Chen Yuan knew that if nothing unexpected happened, it should be the Sky Survey Division helping the Evergreen Gang.

In addition, the Jinshan Temple didn't seem as peaceful as before, and was also ready to make a move. Except for the Divine Firmament Hall, Nanling Prefecture was very uneasy.

However, these were just undercurrents.

What really shocked Nanling Prefecture City was the news that the Blood Demon Old Man had appeared and been killed by Chen Yuan in Clear Water County.

The Blood Demon Old Man's strength was only at the peak of the Ninggang realm, but his reputation was not small. The period of time he had disappeared before hadn't made many people forget him.

And Chen Yuan was also a well-known figure in Nanling Prefecture City.

The confrontation between the two naturally attracted the attention of many people.

Especially since Chen Yuan had killed the Blood Demon Old Man against the odds. After the Ascending Immortal Tower made its judgement, he directly crossed a large gap from over two hundred and strongly entered the top 100 of the Hidden Dragon List.

He was the second person from Nanling Prefecture to be on the list in recent years after Zhang Xuan.

And unlike Zhang Xuan, Chen Yuan's rise was too fast, shockingly fast, unbelievably fast. In just a few months, he had strongly promoted from the initial entry into the Hidden Dragon List to the top 100.

His name as a genius spread far and wide, and even outside of Qing Province, people had heard of his name.

The difference between the top 100 of the Hidden Dragon List and the rankings after that was simply worlds apart. Only by entering the top 100 of the Hidden Dragon List could one truly be considered a genius with potential.

Throughout the years, all the geniuses who had made it into the top 100 of the Hidden Dragon List, except for those who had fallen midway, would at least break through to the Tongxuan realm. However, many geniuses after the top 100 would be stuck at the Ninggang bottleneck, making it extremely difficult to break through to the Tongxuan realm.

It could be said that becoming a genius in the top 100 of the Hidden Dragon List was almost like being a reserve Tongxuan realm martial artist, and there was even a certain chance of being able to step into the Dan realm.

Becoming a pivotal Grandmaster-level expert in the Jianghu world.

Although Chen Yuan's ranking on the Hidden Dragon List was only very low in the top 100, it was still among the top 100. Moreover, it was said that the reason why he wasn't ranked higher

was because Chen Yuan's methods of killing the Blood Demon Old Man were somewhat strange, making them difficult to understand.

The constables and others who saw that scene that day couldn't accurately describe it, only knowing that the Blood Demon Old Man was killed by Chen Yuan...

Someone even gave Chen Yuan a nickname.

'Top 100 of the Hidden Dragon List.'

Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes. This time, the Ascending Immortal Tower ranked him ninety-ninth, only one spot away from being excluded from the top 100. It could be considered a barely making it into the top 100.

Of course, if it was a battle watched by many people in Nanling Prefecture, then Chen Yuan's ranking would be higher.

'Demon Blade Chen Yuan!'

This was the nickname many people gave him, because his blade technique was fierce and powerful, and his cultivation improved too strangely and quickly, almost like a rocket, so he was given the word 'demon'.

But to be honest, when Chen Yuan heard this nickname from Yunjiang Four Ghosts and others, Chen Yuan was a little dissatisfied. Demon Blade... didn't feel as domineering as Devil Blade or Heavenly Blade.

It had some meaning of being demonic...

Unfortunately, this wasn't something he could control. It was given by many idle Jianghu people...

Moreover, Chen Yuan didn't really like this kind of nickname, feeling that it was very awkward, not as intimate as his name. But this was the most common thing in Jianghu.

Many experts would be given titles...