Chapter 223: Chapter 118: The Boost to the Vajra Undying Body from Entering the Realm of Strength, Can I Kill Duan Tianhong with a Single Palm...?

"A genius like that should be won over and supported with vast resources. But you lot? You tried to suppress him with seniority and status. How absurd!"

"If you had actually won and beaten him, wouldn’t that have just pushed him into the arms of our rivals, the Cao and Li families? You idiots!"

"It’s good that you lost! It’s for the best!"

The five old men’s faces turned ashen. ’Why didn’t you say so earlier?’

’Even if you weren’t going to say anything, you could have at least stopped us!’

’You didn’t lift a finger, just watched from the sidelines like it was a show! How outrageous!’

...

After leaving the Seven Stars Gang, Liang Qiu sidled up to Chu Fan and whispered, "Boss Chu, I happened to see Duan Qingling once. She’s a true beauty, with a fine temperament, too. Why not look at her portrait first, or meet her in person before refusing?"

Chu Fan didn’t break his stride. He glanced sideways at him and smiled. "Say one more word, and I’ll break your legs right now."

Though he was smiling, a chill shot up from the soles of Liang Qiu’s feet. He immediately fell silent, not daring to say another word.

He knew that Chu Fan was not joking.

"The Duan Family..." Chu Fan raised an eyebrow, thinking how absurd the world was.

Just a moment ago in the courtyard, he had been pondering his current strength, wondering how many palm strikes it would take to kill Duan Tianhong at his peak. He never expected that bastard to try and play matchmaker for him.

’What kind of mess is this?’

...

Deep within the eastern courtyard of the Duan Mansion, in the Inner City of Cyan Yang Ancient City.

A carved wooden window was gently pushed open.

Duan Qingling stood before it, her posture as straight and slender as bamboo.

The evening breeze rustled her long robes and brushed against her makeup-free cheeks. Her calm eyes reflected the gradually lit lanterns, betraying no emotion.

"My Lady, it’s getting cold." Her personal maid, Chrysanthemum, draped a feather-gray cloak over her shoulders, her voice filled with worry. "The Madam just sent word. She said the Seven Stars Gang has agreed to the viewing, and the Young Master will bring back a portrait tonight."

Duan Qingling’s fingers, resting on the window lattice, tightened slightly.

"I know." Her voice was calm, as if she were speaking of someone else’s affairs.

Chrysanthemum hesitated, but finally whispered, "I heard that Young Master Chu is exceptionally talented. Master Cao has high hopes for him..."

"What does his talent have to do with me?" Duan Qingling turned around, the candlelight dancing in her eyes. "Just because I was born into the Duan Family, does that mean I don’t even have the right to choose my own husband?"

The words were spoken softly, yet every one was crystal clear.

Chrysanthemum held her breath—such a direct statement was considered a transgression in the Duan Family.

Duan Qingling, however, said no more and walked to her desk.

On it lay a well-worn copy of the *Chronicles of the Western Continent*, its pages filled with dense annotations.

This was the path she was paving for herself—a path free from the family’s shackles, a path leading to a wider world.

In her eyes, Cyan Yang Ancient City was a cage, and the Duan Family was a cage as well.

A frog at the bottom of a well, if it never leaps out, can only ever see the patch of sky above, missing out on the mountains, rivers, wind, and rain of the world.

"Tell me, this genius that Master Cao values so highly..." she suddenly said, her fingertip tracing a line across the page. "Would he willingly accept an arranged marriage?"

"Would he be willing to become a tool for the alliance between the Duan Family and the Seven Stars Gang?"

Chrysanthemum was stunned.

A faint smile touched Duan Qingling’s lips, a smile devoid of expectation, containing only cold calculation. "Send a message to my mother. Tell her I will be there tomorrow. And tell my brother—since it’s a viewing, then please have that Young Master Chu come in person."

She closed the book, her gaze once again falling on the night outside the window.

’I must see for myself whether this ’favored child of heaven’ the family has chosen is willing to be a puppet, or if he is...’

She didn’t finish the thought, but the sudden sharpness in her eyes said it all.

In that moment, she was no longer the sheltered young lady passively accepting her fate, but a player quietly placing her piece on the game board.

Even caught in the game, she would walk her own path.

...

As the night deepened, Duan Qingling sat alone at her desk, her fingertips stroking the cover of the *Chronicles of the Western Continent*.

The sound of soft footsteps came from outside the door. Her maid, Chrysanthemum, pushed the door open and entered, a hesitant look on her face. "My Lady, the Seven Stars Gang... has sent a reply."

Duan Qingling looked up, meeting her maid’s gaze, and already understood most of it. "They politely declined?"

Chrysanthemum nodded, carefully adding, "Master Cao sent the message himself. He said the Seven Stars Gang is willing to form an alliance with the Duan Family, and his attitude was very sincere. Although the Patriarch was somewhat displeased, he didn’t lose face over it."

Duan Qingling was slightly taken aback.

This outcome was what she had predicted, and even secretly hoped for.

But when she actually heard it, a strange ripple still spread through her heart.

"How did he refuse?" she asked softly.

"I heard that Young Master Chu Fan rejected it himself. He said he is still young and dedicated to the Martial Dao, with no intention of starting a family for now." Chrysanthemum’s tone held a mix of admiration and displeasure as she spoke. "To refuse a marriage from one of the Four Great Clans so decisively... that Young Master Chu certainly has courage."

"But for him to treat you like this, My Lady, I..." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Duan Qingling lowered her gaze and said nothing.

The answer was exactly as she had predicted.

Yet, for some reason, when the "rejection" truly arrived, she didn’t feel as relieved as she had imagined.

"What else do you know about this Young Master Chu?" she asked suddenly.

Chrysanthemum’s eyes lit up. "I heard he only joined the Seven Stars Gang three months ago! And just a few days ago on Xingning Street, he defeated a foreign Martial Artist at the Bone Marrow Forging realm with a single punch!"

Duan Qingling raised an eyebrow. "Bone Marrow Forging?"

"Yes! And what’s even stranger, Master Chen Xuan from the Moon Arrow Martial Arts Hall was boasting about him everywhere while drinking the other day. He said his talent for archery is incredible, like he’d discovered a hidden treasure."

Now, Duan Qingling was genuinely surprised.

She knew Chen Xuan’s temper. He rarely praised even the disciples of his own Martial Arts Hall. How could he hold a youth who had just started on the Martial Dao in such high regard?

"Before he joined the Seven Stars Gang, which Martial Arts Hall did he train at?"

Chrysanthemum shook her head. "The Young Master already looked into it. Young Master Chu’s parents died long ago, and he’s spent the last two years making a living by fishing. He’s never entered any Martial Arts Hall. He only joined the Seven Stars Gang for self-preservation because someone had designs on his ancestral home."

The book in Duan Qingling’s hand fell onto the desk with a THWACK.

’Three months...’

’From a fisherman’s son with no foundation to a genius who can defeat a Bone Marrow Forging expert with one punch and is highly praised by Chen Xuan for his archery?’

’That rate of progress is simply terrifying!’

’How has no one ever heard of him before?’

An image of a blurry figure involuntarily formed in her mind—a young man struggling against adversity, yet able to shine brilliantly in a desperate situation.

For some reason, she was reminded of her former self.

Back then, she had been filled with resentment, only thinking about how to escape the marriage.

She never expected that he might be the very person she had been searching for—someone unwilling to be manipulated by fate.

"My Lady?" Chrysanthemum called to her softly.

Duan Qingling came back to her senses, only to realize she had walked to the window.

The night was deep, the stars were sparse, and crimson moonlight spilled down, enveloping the entire city.

Although she had gotten what she wished for, there was an inexplicable emptiness in her heart.

In that moment, she knew clearly that this failed marriage was perhaps just the beginning of another story.

The young man she had never met had already left an indelible shadow in her heart.

...

The night was deep and quiet.

The sound of splitting firewood in the courtyard had not stopped.

[Firewood Splitting Saber Technique Experience Points +6]

Chu Fan split a pine log, then stood up, lowering his axe. His gaze fell upon his panel.

[Technique: Firewood Splitting Saber Technique (Third Limit Break 9851/10000) (Traits: Sword Swift as Wind, Sword Heavy as a Mountain, Sword Swift as Lightning)]

[Technique: Literacy (Second Limit Break 4379/4500) (Traits: Generalize, Gradual Progress; Generalize, Stunning Comprehension)]

[Technique: Nine Blood Soul Blades (Perfection) Progress: (2449/2500) (Traits: None)]

[Technique: Moon Eclipse Arrow (First Limit Break 2413/2500) (Trait: Soul Split)]

In the past few days, he had focused most of his energy on breaking through to the Entering the Realm of Strength, so his progress in other Martial Arts had slowed considerably.

But now, ten days later, his Firewood Splitting Saber Technique, Moon Eclipse Arrow, and Nine Blood Soul Blades were all on the verge of Breaking a Limit.

Chu Fan felt a sense of urgency.

Although the night was late and he was somewhat tired, he couldn’t suppress the drive in his heart.

In truth, as long as the progress bar was moving and the Experience Points were increasing, he was getting stronger bit by bit.

But the temptation of Breaking a Limit was ultimately too hard to resist...

The night was already deep, but Chu Fan wanted to ride the momentum and break through in all of those Martial Arts at once!

’Just a little longer!’