"The previous agreement?"
Chen An immediately woke up.
There was indeed an agreement between him and Huang Yuexuan.
Earlier, Huang Yuexuan had hired Chen An for two thousand taels of silver to act as her bodyguard and protect her safety during this period.
Chen An naturally didn't forget about this agreement.
So he nodded, "Of course, I haven't forgotten."
From the current situation, hiring a master with the achievement in internal energy as a bodyguard for just two thousand taels of silver was definitely a big profit for Huang Yuexuan.
But Chen An had no intention of going back on the deal.
After all, the money had already been accepted, so it would be a bit embarrassing to go back on it now.
Besides, it's better to resolve enmity than to let it fester.
In Chen An's eyes, Huang Yuexuan was no ordinary person.
If he could sell a favor and make friends, that wouldn't be bad.
Consider it an early investment.
"Alright."
Huang Yuexuan smiled, "I'd trouble the mister to accompany me for the last leg of the journey, escorting me to the outskirts of Shangyuan County, to prevent running into bandits on the road. I wonder if the mister would be willing."
The last leg of the journey? That doesn't sound very auspicious.
Glancing at Huang Yuexuan, Chen An finally nodded, "No problem."
"Thank you, mister."
Satisfied with the reply, Huang Yuexuan didn't intend to linger any longer. After chatting with Chen An, she turned and left directly.
Watching Huang Yuexuan's figure disappearing, Chen An simply raised his glass silently, lost in thought.
He could sense that the other party was actually hiding a lot of things.
Unlike other people, Huang Yuexuan seemed light-hearted on the surface, as if she didn't care about anything, but after a long time of contact, Chen An could feel the immense pressure in her heart.
The seemingly carefree surface was perhaps just a disguise, making people think she was confident in her heart.
But the pressure in secret was something she had to bear alone.
Having finished a pot of wine, Chen An saw that Cao Xin still showed no signs of waking up, so he got up and had someone arrange a room for Cao Xin.
There was nothing for it.
He had things to take care of later.
The final match of this competition was still waiting for him to fight.
After making sure Cao Xin was settled, he walked up to the training ground, where someone was already waiting for him.
To Chen An's surprise, his opponent for this match was already waiting on the opposite side, just waiting for him to step onto the stage.
This time, his opponent was Bai Changming.
Bai Changming, also one of the outstanding talents of the Bai family, was a few years older than Bai Changli and had much deeper cultivation.
Compared to Bai Changli, Bai Changming's temperament was colder and more indifferent. At this moment, he just silently watched Chen An stepping onto the stage, without saying anything.
"Let's begin."
It wasn't until the bell rang minutes later that Bai Changming nodded and said, "Use all your strength, don't hold back."
"Okay."
Chen An also nodded.
Then he reached out his hand and slowly drew his long knife.
The silver long knife fell on the ground, emitting a faint silver light under the manipulation of internal energy, looking dazzling and eye-catching.
The silver patterns on the long knife seemed to come alive, looking dazzling and bright.
The next moment, Chen An made a move, bringing down the long knife.
The fierce internal energy drove the long knife, emitting waves of silver sword energy.
The long knife descended, the powerful aura overwhelmed the surroundings, causing the airflow to ripple, creating cracks in the surrounding arena.
If an ordinary person stood here, they would probably be split in half immediately.
Bai Changming remained calm, facing this amazing strike without any reaction, silently evading it, then taking out his own weapon.
Unlike Bai Changli and others, Bai Changming used a long sword as his weapon.
The sword was jet black, looking pitch black, but the movements were extremely swift, indicating that it was no ordinary weapon.
As the long knife fell, Chen An and Bai Changming met.
The intense confrontation began.
Compared to the previous battle between Chen An and Cao Xin, this battle was undoubtedly much more exciting.
In the previous battle, Cao Xin's cultivation was far inferior to Chen An's, and even when Chen An intentionally held back, Cao Xin had no resistance and could only passively fight back.
But in this battle, the two were evenly matched.
Both Chen An and Bai Changming had achieved the achievement in internal energy.
Chen An, not to mention, had improved his other refining techniques in addition to the Bright Body Technique. Simply put, in terms of internal energy alone, he was definitely above the level of just the achievement in internal energy.
As for Bai Changming, he was even more terrifying.
In the fight, Chen An was amazed to find that Bai Changming's internal cultivation was superior to his own.
His internal energy was so huge that even Chen An was surprised.
In the past, he had always relied on internal energy to crush others. For the first time, someone had surpassed him in internal energy.
This was not just the achievement in internal energy, it was clearly the achievement in internal energy perfection!
Realizing that Bai Changming's internal cultivation was above his own, Chen An decisively gave up the internal energy struggle and chose another way to compete.
In a warrior's battle, internal energy didn't represent everything.
Weapon handling, martial skills, and other factors could all have a huge impact on combat effectiveness.
Therefore, after the internal energy struggle didn't work out, Chen An decisively changed his focus and tried to compete in martial skills.
He swiftly displayed the Outstanding Wind Blade Technique, rushing forward to battle.
However, Bai Changming took a glance and then made a move.
He also used a martial skill that appeared quite powerful, reaching the achievement in this area as well.
In terms of martial skills, Chen An was also at a disadvantage.
Bai Changming had more than one martial skill at the achievement level, and several of them were even at the achievement level.
This was a tough situation.
Not only was he not able to win in the internal energy competition, but he was also behind in martial skills.
Even in combat experience, Bai Changming was ahead of Chen An.
Although Chen An had fought before, most of his opponents were weaker than him.
But Bai Changming was clearly different.
For some reason, his combat experience was extremely profound, far exceeding Chen An.
Comparing him with Bai Changli, who talked big but had mediocre skills, Bai Changming was a typical ruthless person. When he could use a weapon, he wouldn't say much and would just attack directly.
"An Zi is going to lose."
Watching the scene below, Bai Qing shook her head and said with concern, "He still lacks experience."
"At this age, being able to fight Chang Ming to this extent is quite good."
Beside her, Bai Mingli smiled and said, "Chang Ming is the most outstanding talent in our generation in the Bai family, and is likely to inherit the position of the head of the family in the future."
"But when he was seventeen, he didn't have this level of cultivation."
"What you've achieved in the battles is already quite commendable."
He didn't find Chen An's performance surprising, as they knew Bai Changming's situation very well.
Given Bai Changming's extraordinary talent, it wouldn't be surprising if Chen An lost - they would only be surprised if he won.
In their eyes, the current situation was just normal.
"I just hope he won't be too disheartened."
Bai Qing nodded, agreeing with Bai Mingli's statement.
The people above basically believed that Chen An was going to lose this time.
In reality, Chen An himself thought the same way.
There was no reason he could find to win.
Whether in terms of internal energy level or martial skills, he was below Bai Changming.
In this situation, unless he forcibly added some source power to himself, achieving a breakthrough in the heat of the moment, he would inevitably lose, and that was just normal.
But let's skip the last-minute breakthrough.
He didn't have much source power on hand, and without the appropriate inheritance, he could only try to deduce the Bright Body Technique.
But even if he deduced it, at most he would reach the level of internal energy perfection and be on par with Bai Changming, so he probably wouldn't win.
He wasn't someone who couldn't afford to lose anyway, so why bother?
He was only insisting at this point in order to gain more experience.
Fighting against a master like Bai Changming was a rare experience, so now that he had the chance, he wanted to try it out to gain more experience.
A while later, when Chen An's internal energy was depleted, he raised his hand decisively, indicating his surrender.
Seeing Chen An's actions in front of him, Bai Changming was a bit surprised, but he still put away his long sword, nodded at Chen An, and then turned and left.
Chen An also walked off the stage.
"Brother Chen, how do you feel?"
Just as he stepped off the stairs, Bai Changren and the others came over, showing concern, "Did you get hurt anywhere?"
Chen An shook his head, indicating that he was fine.
Compared to the sarcastic and vicious Bai Changli, Bai Changming in this match was much more gentlemanly. Not only did he not say anything during the entire process, but he also stopped when it was appropriate, making it a normal competition.
Seeing Chen An's surrender, he directly left the stage, his actions appearing particularly decisive and straightforward.
This also made people sigh.
In the same environment, different people could develop differently.
In the Bai family's environment, Bai Changming had achieved such a high level of cultivation at such a young age and was able to maintain such a character, which was quite rare.
Seeing that Chen An was fine, Bai Changren finally felt relieved. Then he smiled and said, "Regardless, Brother Chen has made it to the top four this time, which is worth celebrating."
"Let's go, let's have a few drinks."
Chen An was thus dragged away by Bai Changren, not staying any longer.
And on that day, the final result of this big competition was finally announced.
After defeating Chen An, Bai Changming once again defeated another opponent, a talent from the Cao family, and emerged as the final victor.
However, the Bai family was not surprised by this result.
Previously, Bai Changming had already been quietly regarded as the top talent of the Bai family's younger generation, destined to inherit the position of the family head in the future.
And the result of this big competition simply confirmed this fact.
"The previous agreement?"
Chen An immediately woke up.
There was indeed an agreement between him and Huang Yuexuan.
Earlier, Huang Yuexuan had hired Chen An for two thousand taels of silver to act as her bodyguard and protect her safety during this period.
Chen An naturally didn't forget about this agreement.
So he nodded, "Of course, I haven't forgotten."
From the current situation, hiring a master with the achievement in internal energy as a bodyguard for just two thousand taels of silver was definitely a big profit for Huang Yuexuan.
But Chen An had no intention of going back on the deal.
After all, the money had already been accepted, so it would be a bit embarrassing to go back on it now.
Besides, it's better to resolve enmity than to let it fester.
In Chen An's eyes, Huang Yuexuan was no ordinary person.
If he could sell a favor and make friends, that wouldn't be bad.
Consider it an early investment.
"Alright."
Huang Yuexuan smiled, "I'd trouble the mister to accompany me for the last leg of the journey, escorting me to the outskirts of Shangyuan County, to prevent running into bandits on the road. I wonder if the mister would be willing."
The last leg of the journey? That doesn't sound very auspicious.
Glancing at Huang Yuexuan, Chen An finally nodded, "No problem."
"Thank you, mister."
Satisfied with the reply, Huang Yuexuan didn't intend to linger any longer. After chatting with Chen An, she turned and left directly.
Watching Huang Yuexuan's figure disappearing, Chen An simply raised his glass silently, lost in thought.
He could sense that the other party was actually hiding a lot of things.
Unlike other people, Huang Yuexuan seemed light-hearted on the surface, as if she didn't care about anything, but after a long time of contact, Chen An could feel the immense pressure in her heart.
The seemingly carefree surface was perhaps just a disguise, making people think she was confident in her heart.
But the pressure in secret was something she had to bear alone.
Having finished a pot of wine, Chen An saw that Cao Xin still showed no signs of waking up, so he got up and had someone arrange a room for Cao Xin.
There was nothing for it.
He had things to take care of later.
The final match of this competition was still waiting for him to fight.
After making sure Cao Xin was settled, he walked up to the training ground, where someone was already waiting for him.
To Chen An's surprise, his opponent for this match was already waiting on the opposite side, just waiting for him to step onto the stage.
This time, his opponent was Bai Changming.
Bai Changming, also one of the outstanding talents of the Bai family, was a few years older than Bai Changli and had much deeper cultivation.
Compared to Bai Changli, Bai Changming's temperament was colder and more indifferent. At this moment, he just silently watched Chen An stepping onto the stage, without saying anything.
"Let's begin."
It wasn't until the bell rang minutes later that Bai Changming nodded and said, "Use all your strength, don't hold back."
"Okay."
Chen An also nodded.
Then he reached out his hand and slowly drew his long knife.
The silver long knife fell on the ground, emitting a faint silver light under the manipulation of internal energy, looking dazzling and eye-catching.
The silver patterns on the long knife seemed to come alive, looking dazzling and bright.
The next moment, Chen An made a move, bringing down the long knife.
The fierce internal energy drove the long knife, emitting waves of silver sword energy.
The long knife descended, the powerful aura overwhelmed the surroundings, causing the airflow to ripple, creating cracks in the surrounding arena.
If an ordinary person stood here, they would probably be split in half immediately.
Bai Changming remained calm, facing this amazing strike without any reaction, silently evading it, then taking out his own weapon.
Unlike Bai Changli and others, Bai Changming used a long sword as his weapon.
The sword was jet black, looking pitch black, but the movements were extremely swift, indicating that it was no ordinary weapon.
As the long knife fell, Chen An and Bai Changming met.
The intense confrontation began.
Compared to the previous battle between Chen An and Cao Xin, this battle was undoubtedly much more exciting.
In the previous battle, Cao Xin's cultivation was far inferior to Chen An's, and even when Chen An intentionally held back, Cao Xin had no resistance and could only passively fight back.
But in this battle, the two were evenly matched.
Both Chen An and Bai Changming had achieved the achievement in internal energy.
Chen An, not to mention, had improved his other refining techniques in addition to the Bright Body Technique. Simply put, in terms of internal energy alone, he was definitely above the level of just the achievement in internal energy.
As for Bai Changming, he was even more terrifying.
In the fight, Chen An was amazed to find that Bai Changming's internal cultivation was superior to his own.
His internal energy was so huge that even Chen An was surprised.
In the past, he had always relied on internal energy to crush others. For the first time, someone had surpassed him in internal energy.
This was not just the achievement in internal energy, it was clearly the achievement in internal energy perfection!
Realizing that Bai Changming's internal cultivation was above his own, Chen An decisively gave up the internal energy struggle and chose another way to compete.
In a warrior's battle, internal energy didn't represent everything.
Weapon handling, martial skills, and other factors could all have a huge impact on combat effectiveness.
Therefore, after the internal energy struggle didn't work out, Chen An decisively changed his focus and tried to compete in martial skills.
He swiftly displayed the Outstanding Wind Blade Technique, rushing forward to battle.
However, Bai Changming took a glance and then made a move.
He also used a martial skill that appeared quite powerful, reaching the achievement in this area as well.
In terms of martial skills, Chen An was also at a disadvantage.
Bai Changming had more than one martial skill at the achievement level, and several of them were even at the achievement level.
This was a tough situation.
Not only was he not able to win in the internal energy competition, but he was also behind in martial skills.
Even in combat experience, Bai Changming was ahead of Chen An.
Although Chen An had fought before, most of his opponents were weaker than him.
But Bai Changming was clearly different.
For some reason, his combat experience was extremely profound, far exceeding Chen An.
Comparing him with Bai Changli, who talked big but had mediocre skills, Bai Changming was a typical ruthless person. When he could use a weapon, he wouldn't say much and would just attack directly.
"An Zi is going to lose."
Watching the scene below, Bai Qing shook her head and said with concern, "He still lacks experience."
"At this age, being able to fight Chang Ming to this extent is quite good."
Beside her, Bai Mingli smiled and said, "Chang Ming is the most outstanding talent in our generation in the Bai family, and is likely to inherit the position of the head of the family in the future."
"But when he was seventeen, he didn't have this level of cultivation."
"What you've achieved in the battles is already quite commendable."
He didn't find Chen An's performance surprising, as they knew Bai Changming's situation very well.
Given Bai Changming's extraordinary talent, it wouldn't be surprising if Chen An lost - they would only be surprised if he won.
In their eyes, the current situation was just normal.
"I just hope he won't be too disheartened."
Bai Qing nodded, agreeing with Bai Mingli's statement.
The people above basically believed that Chen An was going to lose this time.
In reality, Chen An himself thought the same way.
There was no reason he could find to win.
Whether in terms of internal energy level or martial skills, he was below Bai Changming.
In this situation, unless he forcibly added some source power to himself, achieving a breakthrough in the heat of the moment, he would inevitably lose, and that was just normal.
But let's skip the last-minute breakthrough.
He didn't have much source power on hand, and without the appropriate inheritance, he could only try to deduce the Bright Body Technique.
But even if he deduced it, at most he would reach the level of internal energy perfection and be on par with Bai Changming, so he probably wouldn't win.
He wasn't someone who couldn't afford to lose anyway, so why bother?
He was only insisting at this point in order to gain more experience.
Fighting against a master like Bai Changming was a rare experience, so now that he had the chance, he wanted to try it out to gain more experience.
A while later, when Chen An's internal energy was depleted, he raised his hand decisively, indicating his surrender.
Seeing Chen An's actions in front of him, Bai Changming was a bit surprised, but he still put away his long sword, nodded at Chen An, and then turned and left.
Chen An also walked off the stage.
"Brother Chen, how do you feel?"
Just as he stepped off the stairs, Bai Changren and the others came over, showing concern, "Did you get hurt anywhere?"
Chen An shook his head, indicating that he was fine.
Compared to the sarcastic and vicious Bai Changli, Bai Changming in this match was much more gentlemanly. Not only did he not say anything during the entire process, but he also stopped when it was appropriate, making it a normal competition.
Seeing Chen An's surrender, he directly left the stage, his actions appearing particularly decisive and straightforward.
This also made people sigh.
In the same environment, different people could develop differently.
In the Bai family's environment, Bai Changming had achieved such a high level of cultivation at such a young age and was able to maintain such a character, which was quite rare.
Seeing that Chen An was fine, Bai Changren finally felt relieved. Then he smiled and said, "Regardless, Brother Chen has made it to the top four this time, which is worth celebrating."
"Let's go, let's have a few drinks."
Chen An was thus dragged away by Bai Changren, not staying any longer.
And on that day, the final result of this big competition was finally announced.
After defeating Chen An, Bai Changming once again defeated another opponent, a talent from the Cao family, and emerged as the final victor.
However, the Bai family was not surprised by this result.
Previously, Bai Changming had already been quietly regarded as the top talent of the Bai family's younger generation, destined to inherit the position of the family head in the future.
And the result of this big competition simply confirmed this fact.
