However, after a few more years, Yan Hanqing gradually let this matter go. Because he had the backing of the Yan Family, receiving vast resources and wealth that supported his cultivation, allowing him to finally break through and achieve the Mahayana Realm.

As for that person who once left him with lingering resentment, they were only working as a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue, their cultivation realm still revolving around the Void Refinement Realm.

He and that genius were already on separate paths.

He lacked nothing, while that genius had to worry about food, clothing, and shelter, and also exert themselves for official duties. Even with extraordinary talents and aptitude, these gifts were wasted on the trivialities of life and the intrigues of the bureaucracy, gradually blending into the masses.

They were born into different worlds.

It was only the imperial examinations that brought them together to compete in the same exam hall.

Once they left the exam hall, they remained people from two different worlds.

Yan Hanqing stepped down from the carriage, his aged face showing a smile, and called out the person's name: "Chen Tang. It's been a long time."

Chen Tang stopped and also smiled: "Hanqing, we haven't seen each other in almost twenty years."

Yan Hanqing tapped the carriage door with the reins in his hand, Yan Shaomian opened the door, saw the reins, hesitated slightly, then took the reins and sat on the carriage seat.

"Grandfather..."

Yan Hanqing waved his hand, stopping Yan Shaomian's words, and said with a smile: "You take your younger brother and go on ahead, I met an old friend and can't leave."

Yan Shaomian's heart tightened, clenching her teeth and trying to hold back the tears, which welled up in her eyes but eventually fell, sliding down the sides of her nose, dripping at the corners of her lips, moistening her red lips, salty with a hint of bitterness.

She suddenly shook the reins, spurred the horse to drive the carriage away.

Yan Hanqing did not look at them, his gaze stayed on Chen Tang as he said with a smile: "Twenty years, has it been? Time passes like a horse galloping swiftly, fleeting away. Unknowingly, you and I have both grown old. Recalling the True King Era, cultivators could easily live for several thousand years, and those in the Ascension Realm had a lifespan that could extend to tens of thousands of years. Yet you and I, having reached the pinnacle of the Mortal World, live but mere centuries; it is truly lamentable."

Chen Tang's gaze drifted past him, falling on the departing carriage, and he spoke softly: "My lifespan spans a thousand years, unlike yours."

Yan Hanqing's pupils narrowed slightly.

He had just noticed that Chen Tang was excessively youthful, only speculating that Chen Tang possessed some youth-preserving skill, but hadn't anticipated Chen Tang to have a thousand-year lifespan!

How unfair is Heaven?

He had lived to sixty, sensing his physical body beginning to weaken, hence resigned from the sect master position, stepping down to allow others to rise.

This escape was also disguised as an old coachman driving a carriage.

For Chen Tang, his lifespan hadn't even reached one-twentieth of a lifetime; there was still a long time for him to enjoy life and achieve higher breakthroughs, not affected by aging at all!

Yan Hanqing smiled and said: "Chen Tang, during the imperial examination back then, you let me win, preserving the dignity of my Yan Family, I have always been grateful."

Chen Tang said: "At that time, my cultivation was shallow, with no background, I had to yield, you need not thank me. Even for others from the Families, I would also yield."

Yan Hanqing smiled and said: "Indeed. Back then when you sparred with anyone, it was always a draw, never harming camaraderie. I could tell you were very cautious, afraid of offending others. Hence you earned a nickname, called 'Draw Chen.'

Chen Tang was quite surprised, shook his head, and said: "I have not heard this name before."

Yan Hanqing said: "We called you that behind your back, never in front of you. Since you drew with all Scholars during confrontations, you became the top scorer. Although you have the talent of a top scorer, regrettably, facing the Thirteen Families, you could only yield, thus you control your scores, merely ending up fourteenth. Chen Tang, do you hate us Thirteen Families for this?"

Chen Tang's face remained as calm as usual: "I hate."

Yan Hanqing paused slightly, with interest said: "Since you hate us, how did you, in every confrontation, manage to precisely control your temperament, making each bout a draw?"

He deliberately stalled for time, hoping Yan Shaomian could take her brother far away, even farther.

Chen Tang was silent for a moment, then said: "My father bore me but did not raise me. When I was very young, he left me at home seldom returning. I grew up feeling inferior, so I cultivated diligently, researching various disciplines. Others thought I was self-reliant, but little did they know I avoided interacting with people, using learning to mask my fears. Compared to me, my father favored Chen Wu more, I envied Chen Wu, wished to prove I was stronger. Therefore, I joined the imperial examinations, wanting to be a top scorer, to show him I was the number one in literature and martial arts on the West Bull New Continent. My goal in achieving top scorer was merely hoping he'd come home often, see me more times, that I wasn't a disgrace."

Yan Hanqing sighed: "But upon arriving at the Western Capital, you discovered the power of the Thirteen Families was beyond imagination. You are a meticulous person, forced by the Families' influence to compromise, testing at fourteenth place. Thus, toward me, the Yan Family, the Thirteen Families, you hold immense hatred."

Chen Tang said: "Previously, I indeed hated you for it, but later, working in the Ministry of Revenue, I saw many more like myself. They possessed talents not inferior to mine, some had even higher aptitude and comprehension, yet were eliminated in the Literary Examination, killed in the Martial Examination, and failed in the Imperial Examination. Seeing more of these people fuels my hatred towards you even more."

Upon hearing this, Yan Hanqing realized he couldn't use the sentiment of shared scholastic experiences to persuade him for mercy, only through one decisive battle determining victory or death, could there be a chance to survive.

"Back then you ceded, thus you and I could share a name. Later I ascended to the sect master position, thanks to your refraining from defeating me directly, otherwise, I would have lost the eligibility to compete for sect master."

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