54: Chapter 54 Choice

Chen Changqing silently took a restoration pill from his Storage Pouch and tossed it straight into his mouth.

At this moment, that Foundation Establishment referee finally reacted and announced the final winner of this assembly.

Hearing this, everyone finally reacted as well, not expecting the variables of this assembly to be so immense. Several top championship contenders had all suffered defeat, whereas an unknown young Cultivator had instead become the biggest dark horse, making it impossible for everyone to accept for a moment.

Among them, some questioned that the Talismans used by Chen Changqing during the match far exceeded the net worth a normal Qi Refining Cultivator should possess, suspecting that his Family was providing support behind the scenes.

However, these remarks were quickly refuted by some people with a very simple reason: Chen Changqing was a Tier 1 High Grade Talisman Master. Simply stating this identity was enough to dispel all doubts.

In the private room of the Zhou Family, Zhou Ziye wore a look of utter disbelief. He had not expected this Chen Changqing to hide so deeply, and upon thinking that he had previously provoked him, he felt somewhat embarrassed.

Beside him, Zhou Mingrui was filled with emotion, "This Chen Family is truly going to rise! To successively produce two such supremely talented geniuses."

"No, upon returning, we must have the tenth brother strengthen ties with the Chen Family, preferably through a marriage alliance. That Li Qingling is quite good, and Ziye's age happens to match hers closely." Zhou Mingrui carefully calculated inwardly.

The Li, Wang, and Zhao families next door to the Zhou Family visited the Chen Family together at this time, and upon seeing the members of the Chen Family, they immediately offered congratulations.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, congratulations, congratulations! The rewards your Family received this time surpass all major powers; the storefronts on the surface alone reach seven. Whether operating them yourselves or renting them out, you will obtain a huge amount of Spirit Stones." Li Chengyang took the lead in offering congratulations.

The Cultivators from the other two families followed closely behind.

"Fellow Daoists flatter us too much. For our Chen Family to reach today is not entirely due to the Family's efforts alone; we also rely on Senior Lin Feng of the Xuantian Sect and the assistance of the families behind each of you Fellow Daoists." Chen Yuanjin said modestly.

The few of them exchanged further pleasantries.

After everything completely settled down, every single Cultivator in the Chen Family rejoiced.

As soon as Chen Changqing returned, he walked into his own room to begin healing his injuries. Although he appeared to be severely injured, in reality, these injuries were merely superficial.

Even so, he was still somewhat surprised by the combat prowess displayed by Han Lingjun. If compared against him, Han Lingjun operating at full strength was equivalent to thirty percent of his own combat prowess, provided that he himself did not use Tier 1 top-grade Talismans and Tier 2 Magical Artifacts.

However, do not think thirty percent is small. With just this strength, one could easily slay ordinary Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Perfection Cultivators. But facing a Cultivator like Chen Xuanyi who was both skilled in combat and capable of fighting across realms, it would be hard to say who wins and who loses.

It is just that Han Lingjun was currently only at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining. If his cultivation reached the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Perfection, he might even be able to trade blows with Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

If Chen Changqing himself reached the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Perfection, he might even be able to slay Foundation Establishment Tier 2 Cultivators, or even Tier 3. However, these were all his own estimations, as he had actually rarely witnessed Foundation Establishment Cultivators making a move.

After the Taihe Assembly ended, countless Cultivators left the Taihe Market. Quite a few of them spread what they had seen and heard within the market over these past few days, especially concerning the champion of this assembly, Chen Changqing.

This caused Chen Changqing's reputation to spread not only throughout the entire Taihe Prefecture, but even several prefectures surrounding Taihe Prefecture had caught wind of it.

Of course, he was not quite clear on these matters yet; he only knew that he would be receiving his rewards tomorrow.

The next day.

The organizers of the Taihe Assembly personally distributed the rewards.

Several Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators summoned the Family Cultivators of the top ten together, notifying them that they could take over the shops in the market.

As for the young Cultivators in the top hundred, most of them departed after collecting their rewards. Aside from the foundation establishment pill, everything else could be collected on the spot. The foundation establishment pill was a reserved quota; after all, the time for the four of them, including Chen Changqing, to reach Foundation Establishment was still very far off, yet the preservation period of a foundation establishment pill was only three years. Furthermore, if the foundation establishment pill were issued to them now, who knows if they would encounter bandit-Cultivators? Therefore, the four of them merely obtained a quota.

Several days passed again, and most of the families within the market had already departed. Those remaining were none other than local families and the few families that had just taken over shops.

Likewise, the Chen Family did not leave either. A few days ago, Chen Yuanjin had already sent a message back to the Family, so the coming period of time would be spent waiting for Chen Xuanyi to lead Family Cultivators over to manage the shops.

As the Family's influence spread larger and larger, the Family's Cultivators were already becoming somewhat insufficient. Even though the Family had continuously encouraged Mortals within the clan to reproduce in large numbers over the years, only a dozen or so new clansmen had been added in these past five years, mostly of the Chang generation, with two belonging to the Ling generation.

Just as several of them were discussing who would go and who would stay next, an unexpected guest came to visit the Chen Family.

Chen Changxuan opened the room door, his gaze freezing blankly. How could it be her?

The others also looked over and were somewhat surprised. The arriving person was none other than Song Mingxue; although somewhat aloof, she nodded with a polite smile to everyone before walking inside.

"Fairy Song, what is your purpose in coming here?" Chen Changqing was the strongest here, and all members of the Chen Family regarded him as their head, so naturally, it was up to him to ask.

"There is definitely bad news for your Chen Family." Song Mingxue looked at the few of them and explained to the Chen Family the reason why she had come here.

Hearing this, Chen Changqing and the others wore heavy expressions.

"Is what you said true? Does the Yun Family really want to propose marriage to my Chen Family and take Qingling as a bride?" Chen Changqing felt his breathing become somewhat hurried.

"Mm, your Chen Family currently has three paths. Either let Li Qingling marry that Yun Family profligate son to be a plaything for a lifetime, using the second half of her life to plot a future for your Chen Family."

"Or completely offend the Yun Family, become enemies with the Yun Family, and then be exterminated by the Yun Family." Song Mingxue laid out the stakes and relations clearly to the few of them.

"As for why I am willing to tell you these things, it is simply because I do not wish to see a Genius like Fellow Daoist Li be wasted."

Hearing this, the few of them said nothing, merely feeling the atmosphere dull and oppressive, as if a massive mountain were weighing down upon their bodies.

However, making them hand over Li Qingling in exchange for the future of the Chen Family was something they absolutely could not bring themselves to do.

Moreover, as others looked at Chen Changqing and Li Qingling, everyone was not a fool; that the two of them liked each other was no secret either.

Li Qingling stood to one side, her hands tightly clutching the corner of her garment, a trace of sorrow carrying within the depths of her eyes.

Although Song Mingxue gave the Chen Family two choices, did their Chen Family actually have a choice?

Thinking of this, Chen Changqing wore a silent expression. No matter what, he could not possibly hand over Qingling. Since there was no choice, at worst he would take advantage of the time before the Yun Family proposed marriage to send Qingling away from here.

Wait, abruptly, Chen Changqing then realized that Song Mingxue had spoken of three choices.

Immediately, he hurriedly asked, "Fellow Daoist Song, you just mentioned three choices; what is the third choice?" Since she offered a third choice, this choice would definitely be able to resolve the crisis for the Chen Family.

Hearing this, the others also carried a trace of hope in their eyes.

"The third choice." Song Mingxue paused, looking at the few of them with a somewhat profound expression.