Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

Chapter 597 Endurance! The Heartbroken 8th Prince!

Qin Zhan seemed to sense his silence, and slowly turned his head. A trace of pain flashed in his eyes, which were burning with anger, but it was quickly replaced by a deeper calm.

He took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the anger that was about to burst forth, then turned around, placed his hands on Chen Fan's shoulders, and said in a low voice:

"Tolerate."

He only said one word.

"Only those who can endure can reach the end." Qin Zhan released his grip, turned around, his back to Chen Fan, and faced Song Tianren's pitch-black figure on the arena. "My deputy general is dead, and I feel even more pained than you. But if you go up now, you'll be playing right into Song Tianren's hands. His 'Heavenly Demon Soul Devouring Technique' excels in group battles and close combat. You, with your Nascent Soul stage, have less than a 30% chance of winning against his demonic power. If you die on the arena, all two first-place finishes today will be for nothing. If you live, with the Golden Offering Token in hand, you'll have plenty of opportunities to avenge my deputy general in the future."

Chen Fan was silent for a moment, then slowly raised his head.

He met Song Tianren's indifferent black eyes, his voice as calm as still water: "Fellow Daoist Song's cultivation is extraordinary; I am ashamed to admit my inferiority. Once I obtain the offering token, I can seek guidance from Fellow Daoist Song later. For today… let's leave it at that!"

After he finished speaking, the training ground fell silent!

The smile on Song Tianren's face slowly faded, and a hint of coldness flashed in his dark pupils.

He didn't say anything more, but just gave Chen Fan a deep look, as if he wanted to etch the eunuch's appearance into his bones. Then he turned and walked off the stage, his black robe fluttering in the wind.

Zhao Yu curled her lip and snorted coldly, "Coward, I thought you were so great, but you're nothing special!"

The selection process officially concluded in the evening.

The judges of the Hall of Offerings compiled and reported the final results of the three selections, and the ranking on the selection stele was finally finalized after being refreshed several times.

The top three in the cultivation selection were Song Tianren and two Nascent Soul cultivators from Great Yan and Great Chu, respectively.

The first in the selection of alchemists was Chen Fan, the Great Yu.

The top choice for formation selection is Chen Fan, the Great Yu.

According to the selection rules, Chen Fan ranked first in both alchemy and formation techniques, and was directly awarded the Gold Medal Offering Order. After being officially appointed by the King of Zhao, he can formally become a Zhao Kingdom Offering.

The top three in the other three selections each received a silver medal, a far cry from the gold medal.

That night, Yu the Great stationed his troops.

Qin Zhan set up a table of wine in the courtyard.

There was no copper stove for roasting meat, no spiritual fruits or delicacies, only two pots of strong liquor and a few rough porcelain bowls.

The two sat facing each other across a table, the moonlight cool as water, the bamboo shadows dappled.

Qin Zhan finished his bowl first, then refilled Chen Fan's bowl, and then remained silent for a long time while holding the bowl.

Moonlight shone on his black iron armor, making the marks from the swords and blades gleam with a chilling light.

He suddenly grinned, a smile tinged with an indescribable bitterness.

"My deputy general is named Han Shan. He has served me for over a hundred years. He was originally a rogue cultivator. Years ago, when he was besieged by demonic cultivators, I led my troops to pull him out of a pile of corpses. From then on, he followed me without fail, from the border to the capital, from the battlefield to the selection process. For over a hundred years, he has shielded me from swords, taken arrows for me, and killed countless demonic cultivators for me. I thought he would stay with me for life, but I never expected him to die here, at the hands of a demonic cultivator who wasn't even at the Nascent Soul stage."

The Eighth Prince tilted his head back and drank the wine in the bowl in one gulp. The wine dripped down the corner of his mouth, but he didn't wipe it away. Instead, he slammed the bowl down on the stone table with a dull thud.

"Even in his dying moments, he was still looking at me. I knew what he wanted to say. He wasn't afraid of death; he was afraid that I would avenge him. He knew that if I rushed in, I would fall for Song Tianren's provocation, and not only would I fail to avenge him, but I would also utterly disgrace the entire Great Yu. So, he never begged me to help him until his death. He just looked at me until he breathed his last."

The Eighth Prince raised his hand, wiping the wine stains from his face. He looked up at the bright moon in the sky and remained silent for a long time before speaking. His voice was even hoarser than before: "Chen Fan, I have lived for over a thousand years and my cultivation has reached the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. I am considered a figure in the Great Yu Dynasty. But do you know what the most humiliating thing in my life is? It's not that I couldn't beat Song Tianren, nor that I was bullied by Fatty Yan, but that I clearly had the ability to avenge my own people, yet I could only endure it."

Chen Fan didn't say anything more, but simply picked up his wine bowl and kept him company.

Not knowing what to say, he could tell that the man in front of him was truly heartbroken!

The Eighth Prince picked up the wine jug again and filled Chen Fan's cup, then filled his own. His tone held a desolation quite different from his usual hearty manner: "A person should live a hundred years, and in theory, one should have a clear mind to enjoy life. Cultivating immortality, isn't it all about not being bullied, not fearing gossip, and not disgracing oneself? But I've cultivated for over a thousand years, and in the end, it's still all about 'endurance.' When I was young, I thought cultivating immortality was about seeking revenge and finding true strength in the sword. Later I realized that cultivating immortality is no different from the mortal world. You still have to endure when you should endure, and you still have to shrink back when you should shrink back. It's not that I can't win, it's that I can't fight. It's not that I don't want to kill, it's that I can't kill."

He tilted his head back and finished another bowl, then leaned back in his chair, gazing at the starry sky. His eyes held a mixture of reminiscence and longing: "One day, if I can leave Yu the Great, leave this prince's robe, leave behind all this damned court intrigue, I want to travel beyond Tiannan Star. To see the truly powerful cultivators, to see the scenery that doesn't belong to this planet. Then, with just a sword, I can leave whenever I want, stay whenever I want, without worrying about national affairs, family matters, or world events, without having to concern myself with the Eight Great Families or the demonic cultivators on the border. That's what true cultivation is."

Chen Fan held his wine bowl but didn't reply.

He knew that Qin Zhan's words were not meant for him, nor were they meant for him to comfort him.

Qin Zhan was just talking to himself, talking to the bright moon in the sky, and talking to the vice general who died on the arena.

All he could do was accompany Qin Zhan to finish the pot of strong liquor.

As night deepened, Qin Zhan finished the last pot of wine, stood up, patted Chen Fan on the shoulder, and staggered back to his room.

Chen Fan was the only one left in the courtyard.

He sat alone at the stone table, looking up at the starry sky.

He had been on his way from the sealed land to the State of Zhao, during which he was hunted down like a stray dog ​​by the Eight Great Families. Now, he is about to become a top-ranking retainer of the State of Zhao. This journey has been incredibly difficult and arduous.

He killed Wang Xuan, Wang Teng, and countless cultivators who blocked his path. He was also intercepted by Nascent Soul stage monsters and nearly died on the road several times. But he made it through in the end.

Chen Fan is now only one step away from becoming a tribute to the Zhao state.

With this token, he could go to Daqin Star...