"The Chu Family has been destroyed?" This news swept through the entire Tiannan Star Province like a storm, reaching even the inhabitants of the Lin Yang Star System. And this was the Chu Family, possessed of two Nascent Souls!
Those of this realm were known as Heavenly Lords, whose single strike was enough to demolish a lesser nation. Condensing their personal Laws, shattering their golden cores to birth a Nascent Soul, cultivators at this stage could resonate with the Laws of the cosmos. Replacing the heart of Heaven with their own, a single thought from them could set the clouds swirling and the snow falling for a thousand miles, or span ten thousand miles across. They could manipulate astronomical phenomena; every casual movement they made carried the power to shatter realms and overturn worlds. They could use their innate might to command space itself, granting them boundless longevity. Once a Nascent Soul was successfully formed, the soul could detach from the physical vessel—an event the Taoists called Feathering and Ascending, the Buddhists termed Nirvana, and the demon race described as Transfiguring the Form. Across the universe, beings in the Nascent Soul realm were considered supreme masters of their domain, capable of manipulating space with their bare strength! Such was the might of the Nascent Soul!
Yet all of this availed the Chu Family nothing against Chen Fan. When a Nascent Soul faced a Divine Transformation entity, every divine ability and spell was rendered utterly useless. In the realm of Divine Transformation, all of your Laws, including the very power of heaven and earth, were comprehensively suppressed. A single punch or palm strike from a Divine Transformation master could obliterate a Nascent Soul.
Though Chen Fan had not yet reached Divine Transformation, he was far more terrifying than the average early-stage Divine Transformation expert.
The news of the Chu Family's destruction spread throughout the entire Tiannan Star Province, leaving countless people consumed with curiosity about the figure responsible for wiping them out. In an instant, various great clans dispatched agents to gather intelligence, finally uncovering a name that struck terror into their hearts.
"Chen Beixuan."
"What? It's Chen Beixuan?" the Patriarch of the Ye Family exclaimed in shock. He was well aware of Chen Beixuan's deeds—a man who walked the earth like a god and a demon.
"What do you mean, *what* Chen Beixuan? Goodness gracious, that's Divine Lord Chen we're talking about!" the Great Elder beside him gasped in awe.
"But why would he annihilate the Chu Family?"
"Word is that the Chu Family captured his friend and inflicted heavy injuries upon them, so he simply wiped the clan out," said the Patriarch of the vampires. Although the ancestor of his vampire clan had been slain by Chen Beixuan, he could not muster the slightest thought of revenge; instead, he immediately added Chen Beixuan and his companions to the clan's list of absolute taboos.
Across the entire Tiannan Star Province, the Lesser Southern Heavens, and the Lin Yang Star System, people trembled upon hearing that Divine Lord Chen had eradicated a major clan merely on account of a few friends. Some spoke with lingering fear, "Men, add Chen Beixuan to the family genealogy! We are forbidden to provoke him for all eternity. Give Earthlings a wide berth whenever you encounter them—what if one of them turns out to be a friend of Chen Beixuan?"
Back in Yishan District, the Chen Family Martial Arts Hall had already been renamed the Beiqiong Sect. Upon learning the news that Chen Fan had trampled the Chu Family into oblivion, Chen Yue'er was so stunned she could not even speak. "How could he possibly be this powerful? Even my brother Chen Hao wouldn't be his match anymore, would he?"
"It seems the Master had his reasons for handing the sect leadership over to him. How laughable that I was unwilling to accept it before," Zhang Yunhaissaid. A hundred men like him put together wouldn't be enough for Chen Fan to beat up.
Chen Huai'an felt not the slightest bit of surprise over Chen Fan's destruction of the Chu Family; Xiaofan's temperament had always been this way. After all, he alone truly understood Xiaofan's strength, and over the past two days, he had also heard tales of the events in the Lesser Southern Heavens—though even *she* had been thoroughly shaken upon hearing the news at the time.
"Is this the Chen Family Martial Arts Hall?" A pure-looking young woman with teeth as white as seashells stood beside the Chen Family Martial Arts Hall. The man accompanying her looked entirely ordinary, yet carried an air of supreme detachment, as if holding nothing in this world in regard. Indeed, these two were none other than Chu Xuanji and Chen Fan.
As for Lin Yang, she was still handling matters on the Chu Family's side. Many people had long coveted the assets of the fallen house, but given Lin Yang's friendship with the Chu Family ancestor, she naturally could not stand by and let such a thing happen. Seeing that Lin Yang was determined to protect the Chu Family, the major clans had no choice but to back away with a sigh of frustration. With Divine Transformation Almighties remaining in seclusion, Lin Yang reigned supreme within the cities of the Tiannan Star Province—save, of course, for Chen Beixuan.
"The dragon of our Chen Family has finally returned," Chen Huai'an said with a beaming smile as he stepped forward to welcome Chen Fan.
"That's right, where are Ye Qingcang and the others?" Chen Huai'an asked, puzzled.
"Lin Yang settled them at the Lin Yang Academy to cultivate," Chen Fan replied, giving a slight nod. As for why they hadn't come to the Chen Family Martial Arts Hall, it was because the two of them were ultimately from Earth. Should the Seven Great Religions discover them, they would be obliterated with thunderous force. The Lin Yang Star System was situated rather far from the Seven Great Religions, which provided them with a measure of safety.
Chen Yue'er and the others gazed at Chen Fan with complex expressions, then glanced at the Chu Family young lady beside him. Once upon a time, that young woman had been her idol; now, she could only rely upon Chen Fan for protection.
*The world does not recognize the soaring pine, waiting until it reaches the clouds to call it tall.*
Inside the residence, Chen Fan said, "Grandfather, I'll be leaving in a couple of days to search for Sister Anya and the others." He no longer wished to linger in the Tiannan Star Province; he had already settled all matters here. As a peerless figure comparable to a Divine Transformation Almighty, how could he possibly remain cooped up in a place like this forever?
"I knew this day would come. A place like this could never cage a dragon like you," Chen Huai'an said with a trace of reluctance, having only just reunited with his grandson.
"Before I leave, however, I must go to the Cangming Realm to take back what belonged to me in my past life. Yang Fan, Jin Han, are you ready? I, Chen Beixuan, have returned," Chen Fan murmured, lowering his head as a cold, piercing light flashed in his eyes.