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

Chapter 596 Is it still a coincidence? Song Tianren's provocation!

On the high platform, Zhao Yu's face was no longer gloomy, but ashen.

He stared intently at the two lines of gold characters on the stone tablet, his fingers turning slightly white from gripping the handrail so tightly.

If luck is the key to success in alchemy, then what is the key to success in formations?

A eunuch winning first place in both alchemy and formation selection is unprecedented in the entire history of the selection of court officials in the Zhao Kingdom.

He had just been publicly mocking this person for coming out for some fresh air, but in the blink of an eye, he was slapped across the face and rendered speechless.

Yan Yunfei snapped out of his daze and forced out a sentence: "First place in formations too? This...this is too much of a coincidence, isn't it?"

"A coincidence?" Qin Zhan finally spoke, his voice booming, unable to hide the smile on his face. "Fatty Yan, you call that a coincidence? Being number one in alchemy is luck, being number one in formations is also luck? Then next time you encounter something good, I'll also say it's luck, will you admit it?"

Yan Yunfei opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, but in the end he just flicked his sleeve and stopped talking.

Qin Zhan laughed three times, then turned to look at Chen Fan, his eyes practically overflowing with pride and admiration: "Two firsts! In my entire life, I've led no fewer than ten selection processes for the court, and I've never seen anyone win two firsts at the same time! Chen Fan, you've really brought honor to the Great Yu this time!"

Chen Fan cupped his hands slightly, his expression remaining calm: "Your Highness flatters me."

Qin Zhan patted his shoulder and lowered his voice, saying, "Now that you are number one in both alchemy and formation, the offering token is a certainty, and it is very likely to be a gold-level offering token. I was worried that those two old dogs from the Wang family would harm you, but now I think it was unnecessary. With the gold-level offering token in your hand, even if the eight great families were combined, they wouldn't dare to touch a hair on your head."

Chen Fan nodded, secretly relieved.

According to the selection rules, those who rank in the top three in both selections will be awarded a Gold Medal of Honor, equivalent to a third-rank official in the Zhao Kingdom. Currently, he is first in both alchemy and formation, and unless someone achieves a higher score than him later, the Gold Medal of Honor is already his for the taking.

Having obtained the Gold Medal Offering Order, he could use the Zhao Kingdom's teleportation array to travel to the Great Qin, bringing him one step closer to the Reincarnation Mirror of the Cultivation Alliance.

From the sealed land to now, from being hunted down like a stray dog ​​by the Eight Great Families to soon becoming a tribute to the Zhao Kingdom, the journey has been truly arduous.

Just as he was pondering this, a commotion suddenly arose from the direction of the training ground.

The commotion came extremely suddenly!

First came a few gasps of surprise, followed by an uncontrollable roar, and then a chilling sound of bones shattering.

The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly penetrated the array barrier between the training ground and the inner hall, reaching the ears of everyone present.

Chen Fan's thoughts were interrupted.

He raised his head, his gaze passing through the array between the inner hall and the training ground, and landing on the cultivation selection arena.

The scene on the stage caused his pupils to shrink almost imperceptibly.

All that could be seen was that Da Yu's deputy general, a Nascent Soul cultivator at the Great Perfection stage who had fought in the border army for over a hundred years and was covered in scars, was being held up in mid-air by Song Tianren with one hand around his neck.

It was visible to the naked eye that the lieutenant's black iron armor was mostly broken, and his entire left arm was severed at the shoulder, with an uneven cut, as if it had been torn off.

Blood flowed down his body, pooling into a glaring crimson stain on the arena.

His right leg was also broken, with the shinbone piercing through his calf. The white bone fragments were covered with bits of flesh and trembled slightly as he struggled.

His eyes were still open.

Those tiger-like eyes, accustomed to life and death in the border army, were now fixed on Song Tianren. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but his throat, which was being choked, could only produce a hoarse hoarse sound.

Song Tianren stood with his hands behind his back, one hand gripping the deputy general's neck, his posture as calm as if he were just pinching a chick.

There was no killing intent, no anger, not even the slightest fluctuation in those pitch-black pupils!

A slight smile played on his lips, revealing an expression that was neither a smile nor a frown.

"Is this all the cultivators of Yu the Great are capable of? They couldn't even withstand three of my moves, yet they dare to participate in the selection process in the Zhao Kingdom?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he slightly clenched his fingers.

The lieutenant let out a sharp crack in his throat, his struggling body suddenly stiffened, and the light in his eyes quickly dimmed, like a candle flickering in the wind.

Song Tianren casually tossed the deputy general's corpse onto the edge of the arena like trash, then slowly turned his head, his gaze passing over the array and landing precisely on Chen Fan.

"Chen Fan," he spoke, his voice not loud but clearly carrying throughout the entire training ground, "Aren't you known as the number one in the Great Yu? You got first place in alchemy and first place in formations, so why did you become a coward in the cultivation selection? If you're scared, then go back to the Great Yu now. If you're not scared, then come up and fight me."

"I'll give you three moves. If you can touch even a scrap of my clothing within those three moves, you win. If you can't, you die, and I'll collect your corpse."

Upon hearing this, a low murmur of laughter rippled through the training ground.

The demonic cultivators in the Boundless Sea laughed unrestrainedly, while the cultivators from the Great Yan and Chu Kingdoms were also gloating.

Even Zhao Yu on the high platform found an opportunity to turn the tables, tapping the armrest and saying sarcastically, "Chen Fan, Song Tianren has invited you so warmly, why don't you go up and show off your skills? You've already won first place in alchemy and formation techniques; if you could also get a ranking in cultivation, that would truly make you an all-rounder. What, you're too afraid?"

Qin Zhan stood in front of Chen Fan, his fists clenched tightly!

He stared at the lieutenant's corpse on the arena, his incredibly bright eyes burning with fury, and his body trembling slightly beneath his armor!

That was anger, not fear.

This deputy general had followed him for over a hundred years, from the border to the capital, from the battlefield of demonic cultivators to the selection process in the Zhao Kingdom, remaining loyal and inseparable.

Now, however, he was being slaughtered on the stage by Song Tianren like a chicken, without even the power to fight back.

Chen Fan remained silent.

He stood there, coldly watching the still-warm corpse at the edge of the ring.

As he pondered his journey from the sealed land to the State of Zhao, he witnessed countless deaths—good and bad, some deserving of death and others not.

But the surging emotions in his heart at this moment were not anger, nor pity, but a chilling clarity.

Song Tianren was forcing him to take action, and Zhao Yu was also forcing him to take action. Everyone was waiting to see him act impulsively, to see him make a foolish mistake, and to see him fight a losing battle.

He served as a eunuch in the palace for over sixty years, and his greatest skill was forbearance.

He endured being trampled in the mud, spat on in the face, and treated like a dog all those years.

Because he knew that those who couldn't control themselves would never have a chance to turn the tables. Only those who survived to the end had the right to talk about dignity.

If Chen Fan acts impulsively due to provocation, all his previous efforts will be in vain!