248: No one knows a nephew better than his uncle

“They said that if anything were to happen to me, all their lives combined wouldn't be enough to compensate.”

“Uh…”

Jiang Lan was speechless for a moment.

What Chen Heguang said seemed to be true.

If something really happened to Chen Heguang, when he returned and found out, he definitely wouldn't stand by and do nothing.

“Alright then, you just stay home and enjoy your retirement. There are servants here, so you don't have to do anything yourself. How good is that?”

Jiang Lan truly felt that this kind of life was good.

If he didn't have the System, he might have also thought that being a Demon Suppression Guard in the Demon Suppression Division was quite good.

Occasionally whipping people, receiving a generous monthly salary—such a job was impossible to find even with a lantern.

But Jiang Lan had the System; if he were to live an ordinary life again, that would be too useless.

Even without relying on this System, he could still reach the peak step by step.

Jiang Lan's current achievements were all due to his hard work and talent.

With my supreme talent, supreme Aptitude, and supreme natural gifts, Deep Blue, add some points for me!

Chen Heguang smiled.

“Humans are never satisfied. I used to only dream of this kind of life. But once it truly happened, I realized it was just… so-so.”

Isn't that the truth?

Jiang Lan deeply resonated with Uncle Chen's words.

Before, when he was in Skin Refinement, he yearned for Bone Refinement; in Bone Refinement, he yearned for Qi Gathering; once he reached Qi Gathering, he began to yearn for Gathering Yuan.

And now that he had reached the Soul Transformation Realm, he still wanted to break through the Severing the Connection Between Heaven and Earth and reach the seemingly unattainable Void Refinement Realm.

No need to think, he knew that once he reached Void Refinement, he would definitely strive for an even higher Realm.

Doing all this seemed meaningless, but in reality, it held great significance.

Most directly, it was the constantly increasing power within his body.

And as his Realm improved, other less obvious benefits also began to manifest little by little.

For example, the house Chen Heguang was currently living in.

If Jiang Lan hadn't reached his current Realm, let alone a mansion, not being killed by the Emperor would have been good enough. How could he possibly have this kind of treatment now?

In this world where the strong prey on the weak, strength is the foundation of everything.

If he weren't a Soul Transformation cultivator, he wouldn't have gained the friendship of the Building Master of Cold Crow, nor would he have received so much information from her.

Naturally, he wouldn't have entered the Secret Realm either.

After a moment of reflection, Jiang Lan said:

“Uncle Chen is right. It's getting late, I need to go to the Demon Suppression Division first. When I return tonight, I'll chat more with Aunt.”

“Go, go.” As he spoke, Chen Heguang seemed to remember something. “Oh, by the way, when you go to the Demon Suppression Division this time, are you going to look for Yu Zhi and the others?”

Jiang Lan nodded and replied:

“Of course I am.”

In fact, the main purpose of his return this time was to find Yu Zhi, Zhang Wen, and Zhao Wu.

Jiang Lan had a characteristic: he was nostalgic.

Everyone got along very well before, so there was no reason for him to abandon all his old brothers now that he had made his fortune. That wasn't Jiang Lan's style of doing things.

Besides Yu Zhi and the others, there was also Centurion Chou and Commander Wu.

“That’s good, remember to invite them to dinner. Tonight, your Aunt is cooking, and I'll ask her to make a few more good dishes. I’ll also have someone buy a table of food from Yan Chun Pavilion. Tonight, your Uncle will host a family banquet for everyone.”

As he spoke, perhaps fearing Jiang Lan might misunderstand something, Chen Heguang continued:

“Don't misunderstand, dear nephew, I, your Uncle, am personally funding this. Your silver is still in the treasury. Besides covering the expenses here and giving some to your niece-in-law, your Aunt and I haven't touched a single penny. The account books are in the storeroom, and you, nephew, are welcome to inspect them at any time.”

Hearing this, Jiang Lan felt somewhat helpless.

“Uncle Chen, didn't I tell you? What's mine is yours; just use it. There's no need for us to be so meticulous between us.”

“Eh…” Chen Heguang waved his hand and said, “Even brothers have to be clear about money. What kind of situation would it be if I, as your Uncle, used your money for no good reason?”

“Hiss…” Jiang Lan had a bit of a toothache.

Nowadays, silver, for him, was truly no different from a stone by the roadside.

If he had to say, it was just that silver looked a bit better than stones.

He was a Soul Transformation cultivator.

Currently, there were only about twenty Soul Transformation cultivators in the entire Chihong Province.

According to the Building Master of Cold Crow, these twenty-plus Soul Transformation cultivators could equally share the resources of the entire Chihong Province.

Silver, this most basic currency, was truly of no use to Jiang Lan at his current stage.

Jiang Lan felt that it was better to clarify this matter as soon as possible.

He was already like this; if Chen Heguang still couldn't bear to eat or wear well, then what was the point of Jiang Lan cultivating so painstakingly to his current Realm?

“Uncle Chen, do you know where this land beneath our feet is?”

Hearing Jiang Lan's question, Chen Heguang looked puzzled.

“Great Yan, where else could it be?”

Jiang Lan: “…”

“Speaking broadly.”

Chen Heguang thought for a moment:

“Nine Provinces Continent?”

Jiang Lan: “…”

“Speaking broadly is correct, but what you said is too broad.”

“Tsk… Then is it Chihong Province?”

“That's right.” Jiang Lan continued, “Then do you know what the strongest Realm within Chihong Province is?”

“Dear nephew, you're making things difficult for your Uncle. How would I know that?”

Seeing this, Jiang Lan no longer kept him in suspense and said directly:

“Currently, within the entire Chihong Province, among the more than two hundred Human Race vassal states, plus the Demon Domain territory, the strongest is Soul Transformation. Originally there were twenty-four, but now I am the twenty-fifth.

“Within this entire province, I am not weaker than anyone.

“As long as I have this ability, silver and stones are no different to me.”

Listening to Jiang Lan's words, Chen Heguang's mouth gradually widened.

He knew that his nephew would never deceive him.

Even so, the words coming from Jiang Lan's mouth still made him feel very unfamiliar.

He could understand every word, but how come when they were put together, he found it a bit hard to understand?

The strongest in Chihong Province?

This was a bit too absurd.

It wasn't that Chen Heguang didn't trust Jiang Lan.

It was just that Jiang Lan, this nephew, was someone he had watched grow up little by little.

Chen Heguang could confirm that the previous Jiang Lan had no cultivation talent.

Even if he luckily became a martial artist, he would most likely waste his life away, reaching Skin Refinement at best.

If he was extremely lucky, reaching Bone Refinement would be the absolute peak.

But ever since… ever since that day he went to the Scripture Pavilion, Jiang Lan's strength began to advance by leaps and bounds.

Up until now, many things seemed to have happened, but in reality, it had only been less than a year.

Even if Jiang Lan initially said he had hidden his Realm.

But hidden or not, how could he, as his Uncle, not see it?

At that time, he knew that his nephew must have had some fortuitous encounter.