Chen Yuan was appointed by Emperor Jingtai to oversee the martial affairs of three prefectures, a position that seemed to grant him immense power, a distinction not even bestowed upon former divine envoys sent out of the capital for experience. However, the reality was far from straightforward.

Of the three prefectures, South Prefecture (南州) was essentially similar to Liang Prefecture (凉州), with the military and political power firmly in the hands of Prince Zhennan, Nangong Lie (镇南王南宫烈). The Sky Survey Division (巡天司) held little authority and possessed a negligible presence.

Everything depended on Prince Zhennan, Nangong Lie.

If he granted the court face, the South Prefecture Sky Survey Division could wield some power; otherwise, it was essentially a mere decoration.

Blood Prefecture (血州) presented an even greater challenge. Its territory rivaled that of two Qing Prefectures (青州) combined, and its abundant resources ranked among the top three in the entire realm. However, the vast majority of it was beyond the court's control.

Only two prefectural domains bordering Tangshan Prefecture (汤山府) and Shu Prefecture (蜀州) were truly directly administered.

Even then, there was constant concern about the potential for demonic cultivators and rogue elements to rebel, making the slaughter of officials not just a possibility, but a sword perpetually hanging over the heads of all Blood Prefecture officials.

Therefore, the only place where Chen Yuan could truly gain power was Shu Prefecture!

This prefecture was also not small in size, larger than Qing Prefecture, and relatively rich in cultivation resources, ranking among the top prefectures in the Great Jin Dynasty.

Most importantly, Shu Prefecture had a Xianmen (仙门)!

Not a sect like the Tai Xu Palace (太虚宫) which had already secluded themselves from the world, but one directly established in the mortal realm like Wudang Mountain (武当山), known as the Human Sword Sect (人间剑宗), a sacred ground for sword cultivators.

It was also the leader of the Jianghu (江湖) world in Shu Prefecture.

The temperament of the Shushan (蜀山) sect had always been unyielding. Unlike the Taoist branch of Wudang Mountain, which largely practiced non-action, Shushan disciples would rather break than bend, and their sword intent was exceptionally high.

Chen Yuan had always been wary of Shu Prefecture, and that remained true.

The only relatively good news for him was that there were no real grudges between Chen Yuan and Shushan. He had once carried out Jiang He's (姜河) order to kill Zhao Hao (赵昊), the Sixteenth Gentleman of the Hidden Dragon List (潜龙榜十六君子剑), offending a Core Formation elder of Shushan.

However, Jiang He had resolved the issue afterward. As the "Sword God," he had naturally visited Shushan to cultivate his sword, and the people there would give him some respect. Furthermore, Chen Yuan had smoothed relations with Bai Changqing (白长卿), the senior brother of Shushan Sword Sect's current generation.

They could be considered as friends made through fighting, with a harmonious relationship.

The last time Chen Yuan was searching for his uncle, Wu Daozi (吴道子), Bai Changqing had heard the news and invited him, but he had already left after finishing his business.

This time, he was basically planning to manage Shu Prefecture as his base, as the core of the three prefectures. He would inevitably need to establish good relations with Shushan.

He did not expect any other help, nor did he want Shushan to interfere. He would be satisfied as long as they kept their distance.

The last time Tang Xianzhuo (唐献卓) had slaughtered many Core Formation grandmasters in order to revive his lover, causing considerable damage to the Shu region, which could be considered an indirect help to Chen Yuan.

Martial artists use martial arts to violate prohibitions. The higher one's cultivation, the more they disregard the government and refuse to be managed. Chen Yuan was actually prepared to kill on a large scale.

One reason was to plunder resources to prepare for rebellion, and the other was to eliminate most of the troublemakers and control Shu Prefecture. Although Jiang He had also managed Qing Prefecture for many years.

But the Tao Divine Palace (道神宫) only wanted to gain a foothold and become a power comparable to the Xianmen, but their influence was not enough.

Moreover, Qing Prefecture was mostly flat, easy to attack and difficult to defend, so they would abandon it depending on the situation when the imperial army arrived. Managing Shu Prefecture well was the key, but Chen Yuan realized after careful investigation that it was not a simple matter...The world admired martial arts, and because of the border troubles in the north, there was only one Wudang Xianmen, making it relatively weak compared to other regions.

The central region was firmly controlled by the Sima family, so the south was the first choice for many martial artists.

This region had not experienced major wars for hundreds of years and was extremely rich in resources, even surpassing the coastal areas. Nearly half of the ten great Xianmen were located in the southern region.

The majority of the five great aristocratic families were also here, as well as many powerful forces second only to the ten great Xianmen. It could be said that everything was intertwined, and if there were any hidden families, they would inevitably be hidden in the southern region.

Such chaos created a prosperous martial atmosphere, but it also made it more difficult to control.

After Chen Yuan left the Tangshan Buddha, he had already begun thinking about how to transfer the White-Clad Scholar Song Lun (白衣书生宋伦) out of Blood Prefecture and intercept him secretly. Of course, the other party must be very vigilant now.

He planned to first control the situation in Shu Prefecture and then plan the real major events.

Shuzhong (蜀中) was divided into several parts, but Shu Prefecture City was not in the Shuzhong area. In order to avoid the sharp edge of Shushan, the Great Jin Dynasty established Shu Prefecture City near South Prefecture after its founding.

The location was average, and although the resources were abundant, they were not eye-catching. Much of the spotlight was taken by the Shushan Sword Sect.

Chen Yuan traversed most of Shu Prefecture and finally arrived at Shu Prefecture City on the twenty-second day of the seventh month of the ninth year of the Great Jin's Jingtai era.

Chen Yuan kept a low profile and thought he was being very discreet, but he was still a little surprised when he arrived at Shu Prefecture City. Lu Renyi (鲁仁义), the younger brother of the new Shu Prefecture Golden Envoy Lu Renjia (鲁仁甲), led the Sky Survey Division elites drawn from the capital and other prefectures, plus the Shu Prefecture Governor and the Shu Prefecture's Fourth Rank General Pingnan (平南将军) to personally greet him outside the city.

The scene was very grand, attracting tens of thousands of people to watch.

This was actually quite normal. Chen Yuan was now a Third Rank martial official, a Sky Divine Envoy of the Sky Survey Division, with a huge reputation and nominally in control of the three prefectures.

In terms of official rank, at least in the entire south, no one could compare with him except for Prince Zhennan, Nangong Lie.

The governors of each prefecture only held a Third Rank official title and were weak civil officials, who were inherently equal in status when facing military officials, and now were even weaker than Chen Yuan.

Each of them wore their official uniforms with solemn expressions, welcoming Chen Yuan's arrival.

"Welcome, Marquis, to Shu!"

Lu Renyi, who had just taken over his brother's position, took the lead in saluting.

Behind him was a dark mass of officials, including the governor and the General Pingnan, who also bowed in salute.

"Welcome, Marquis, to Shu!"

"Welcome, Marquis, to Shu!"

"Welcome, Marquis, to Shu!"

"Everyone, please rise."

Chen Yuan, wearing his marquis's official uniform, stepped on the void. With a thought, the heaven and earth's vitality supported everyone, and he stepped down from the void step by step, with a faint smile on his face.

A Thorough Marquis (彻侯) with ten thousand households was indeed respected in status and reputation.

"Thank you, Marquis."

"Thank you, Marquis!"

"Thank you, Marquis!"

"Marquis, this official and Golden Envoy Lu, and General Pingnan have prepared a banquet for the Marquis in the Sky Survey Division. All officials above the Sixth Rank in Shu Prefecture City want to pay their respects to the Marquis's demeanor. I hope the Marquis will not decline."

Shu Prefecture Governor Chu He (楚合) bowed and said with a somewhat ingratiating smile, as if Chen Yuan was really his direct superior...

"In that case, this Marquis will accept your kind invitation."

Chen Yuan glanced at the officials behind him and nodded slightly.

Perhaps some people would not want extravagance, or even scold these officials who took the initiative, but Chen Yuan would not. He would need to win them over later.

Moreover, Lu Renjia's death was really not that necessary.

It was a slap in the face of the court and Emperor Jingtai, not his own.

If Lu Renjia had not been killed in advance, he might have died in his arrangement.

"Marquis, please."

"Marquis..."

"Mm." Chen Yuan strode forward, walking at the front, accepting the worship of dozens of officials, the respect of countless people, and the envious, respectful, or disdainful gazes of many Jianghu martial artists on both sides of the road.

After walking about a hundred steps, Chen Yuan felt no less than a thousand gazes on him, but among them, a few seemed somewhat familiar. He turned his gaze over.

Although separated by a thousand feet, Chen Yuan immediately sensed who the person was.

Shangguan Yu (上官御) and Shangguan Hong (上官虹), seemed to be accompanied by several martial artists with very strong cultivations, but the current situation naturally did not allow him to go forward. He simply raised his hand slightly and turned his gaze back, sitting on the specially made carriage.

"Such keen spiritual sense, this Marquis of Wuan, Chen Yuan, is indeed worthy of his reputation." On a high building a thousand feet away, a man in brocade robes stroked his beard and nodded slightly.

He seemed very satisfied.

Standing beside the middle-aged man were several people, including Chen Yuan's good brother and big benefactor Shangguan Yu, and Chen Yuan's somewhat intimate acquaintance Shangguan Hong.

In addition, three martial artists guarded them.

They were all clan elders and guards of the Shangguan clan, with very high status on weekdays.

And the middle-aged man in brocade robes was none other than Shangguan Tiehong (上官铁鸿), the head of the Shangguan clan, one of the five great aristocratic families!

"Yes, only such a talented person can take good care of Hong'er."

An old man in white with long hair also smiled.

Shangguan Hong's face flushed red, not knowing what to say.

Shangguan Yu pursed his lips, somewhat despising his own family's attitude. Back then, they were not like this. At that time, he was friends with Chen Yuan. For him, Chen Yuan offended the Yun family and killed the Yun family's young master, Yun Han (云寒).

As a result, the family was unwilling to help Chen Yuan and adopted a cowardly posture. He was very angry at that time, and even directly confronted his father, Shangguan Tiehong, but was scolded.

The same happened later, when he clashed with the Gu family, Chen Yuan also bore the pressure from the Gu family alone.

As a good brother, Shangguan Yu felt he had failed.

In Jianghu, righteousness came first, but he felt he had not done his part.

Later, he saw through Chen Yuan's character, and not wanting his sister to marry someone she didn't want due to a political marriage, he introduced her to him, but the result was disappointing.

Unexpectedly, there was a twist of fate. Shangguan Hong was saved by Chen Yuan again, and her heart was secretly promised.

The last time Chen Yuan was dying in Liang Prefecture, if he hadn't stopped her, his sister would have gone directly to Liang Prefecture.

The family also knew about this matter and strictly forbade it, not wanting to have too deep a relationship with Chen Yuan. Their base was in the south, and no matter how strong Chen Yuan was, he couldn't help the family, and it was not beneficial to either party...

Moreover, Chen Yuan was in a dying state at that time, and might return to the west one day. How could they marry the direct daughter of the patriarch to him?

But the key point came again.

Chen Yuan did not die in Liang Prefecture!

Not only did he not die, but he successfully broke through to Transformation Yang (化阳) and became a real person of the Fifth Realm, and also possessed great reputation. At that time, the Shangguan family was somewhat loosened.

After that, Chen Yuan was conferred the title of Ten Thousand Household Marquis, his status unparalleled, and he also held the position of Heavenly Divine Envoy of the Sky Survey Division, making him a unique young talent in the world.

At this time, the Shangguan family's attitude was very eager, hoping to have Chen Yuan and Shangguan Hong married as soon as possible, so that the Shangguan family could take a step further.

However, before he could act, Chen Yuan was promoted again.

Supervising the three southern prefectures, his power was enormous.

At this time, the Shangguan family actually knew that Shangguan Hong was somewhat unworthy of Chen Yuan, but they still held some thoughts, hoping to marry Chen Yuan and hoped that Shangguan Yu, this good brother, could help them mediate.

Shangguan Yu wanted to scold the old fogies in the clan at that time. Could they have any shame?

When others were down on their luck, you avoided them. Now that they are glorious, you are going to them.

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't bully the young and poor, this sentence may not be appropriate for Chen Yuan, but it is very in line with the current situation.

Shangguan Yu was unwilling to do so, but Shangguan Tiehong talked to him and told him, could he just watch Shangguan Hong live a lonely life, or marry someone else?

The Shangguan family also had their own difficulties at the beginning. Although they were also ranked among the five great aristocratic families, they had been getting closer to the court in recent years, which was disliked by many Jianghu forces, resulting in a sharp decline in family income.

Not helping Chen Yuan at that time was really a last resort.

Now that Chen Yuan has entered Shu Prefecture and his power is terrifying, if they can use Chen Yuan's power to take a step further, they will definitely be able to restore the Shangguan family to its former glory.

It can also allow Shangguan Hong to find a home. It is actually a win-win situation.

A family is not a person, and cannot act on impulse. He hoped that Shangguan Yu could understand him.

Shangguan Yu, who had been thinking for a long time in the clan, finally agreed to this matter and decided to take his father and several clan elders of the Shangguan family to meet Chen Yuan.

But he couldn't guarantee whether they could get along well.

He couldn't guarantee whether he could get Chen Yuan to accept Shangguan Hong.

Now it was completely different from before. The former Chen Yuan was also a genius, who showed his talent early and was famous in Qing Prefecture and parts of Shu Prefecture.

At that time, Shangguan Hong had the status of the direct daughter of the Shangguan clan, and it was very hopeful that she could become his legal wife.

But now, an Transformation Yang family is marrying someone who is a marquis of ten thousand households, a Third Rank official of the imperial court, and controls the great power of the three southern prefectures.

Becoming a legal wife, there is no hope at all.

Chen Yuan's tough stance against the emperor, by refusing to marry Princess Pingyang, had already made his attitude clear. He didn't even care about the emperor's daughter, let alone the direct daughter of a small family?

If Chen Yuan put out the word, I am afraid that all ten great Xianmen would be willing to marry him.

This is Chen Yuan's current status and power.

"Yu'er, when are you going to see Chen Yuan?" Shangguan Tiehong turned his gaze to Shangguan Yu, with some eager meaning in his eyes, wanting to become Chen Yuan's father-in-law.

"Now that Brother Chen has just arrived in Shu Prefecture City and is welcoming officials from all over Shu Prefecture, it is a busy time. Let's do it tomorrow. Tomorrow, I will send someone to deliver a letter of introduction.

However, father, don't have too much hope. This matter is really not certain to succeed. The situation now is no longer what it used to be." Shangguan Yu said indifferently.

Shangguan Tiehong smiled awkwardly, but did not say anything more.

Only Shangguan Hong looked up at Shangguan Yu and blinked. Shangguan Yu didn't say that before, but she also knew the stakes and pretended to sigh.

Several Shangguan clan elders around looked at each other and were also somewhat embarrassed, but didn't know what to say, because what Shangguan Yu was saying now was very true.

The current Chen Yuan was no longer the Chen Yuan he used to be.

It was true that the Shangguan clan was ranked among the five great aristocratic families, but that was only their reputation in Jianghu. In fact, their power was not that great. In fact, as long as Chen Yuan wanted to, he could destroy the Shangguan clan at any time.

They could only secretly hate that they had not seen Chen Yuan's potential at the beginning, and only saw his situation of making enemies everywhere and facing multiple crises, but it was too late to say anything!

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Seeking monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)

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