after sending leng yanran on her way, xu nian and the other two headed towards the location of the battle mansion within the city.

    the battle mansion is the place where east field county specially cultivates elite and powerful individuals.

    each year, the battle mansion only admits thirty-six members, all of whom are either strong or exceptionally talented geniuses.

    every battle mansion student can cultivate there for ten years, enjoying various resources provided by the mansion.

    after ten years, they must leave the battle mansion, but once they leave, they will take up important positions in east field county, with very high status. even the city lord has to be polite when seeing them.

    therefore, members of the battle mansion hold a high status across the entire east field county, and some even take up official posts during their cultivation period in the mansion.

    xu nian and his two companions soon arrived at the core of the battle mansion, the battle hall!

    the battle mansion is not an academy. instead, its members enjoy considerably more freedom.

    initially, the battle mansion will assign you a residence in east field county for temporary living, and aside from fixed cultivation resources, all other resources must be obtained by completing mission tasks.

    the place where you receive missions and exchange for rewards is the battle hall.

    every city in east field county has its battle hall, but tianfeng city is home to the headquarters of the battle hall.

    in the battle hall, as long as you are capable enough to complete missions, you can exchange for anything you want, including money, women, cultivation resources...

    the headquarters of the battle hall in tianfeng city sits in the east of the city, covering tens of thousands of square meters.

    the grandeur of the great hall stunned xu nian and the other two for several seconds, especially the words "battle hall" on the plaque above the entrance, exuding a resounding martial aura, evoking both awe and boiling blood.

    "i never expected that i, chen xifeng, would also have a day when i joined the battle mansion," chen xifeng said excitedly as he looked at the battle hall''s plaque.

    at this moment, xu nian''s heart was filled with emotion, and a sense of pride spontaneously welled up inside him.

    just a few months earlier, he was a bereft dog thrown out by the qin family, yet today, he had leaped to become a genius of east field county and even joined the battle mansion. the hardships and frustrations he had endured were truly unimaginable to the average person.

    his growth over these past few months had awakened a heart of a warrior deep within him, bit by bit.

    xu nian looked back at the two words on the plaque, his heart secretly astounded.

    such indifferent behavior subconsciously made xu nian frown.

    xu nian used his spiritual sense to scan the woman in the white gown, but the result shocked him.

    a nine-star war sect, an absolute powerhouse. in other cities, she would be a family head or city lord, and yet this woman looked to be barely twenty-seven.

    such a young war sect was incredibly rare.

    "name, identity!"

    before xu nian and the others could speak, the woman in the white gown said so, her voice indifferent, not even lifting her head.

    "my name is chen xifeng, a disciple from qinglin academy, ranked sixth in the academy''s great competition," chen xifeng hastily stated his identity, looking at the woman with eyes full of fervor.

    "this is your storage ring. simply drop your blood to recognize the master. the token, residence key, and battle mansion rules are all inside; take a look for yourself. next!" the woman in the white gown replied indifferently, made a check on a register, and tossed chen xifeng a ring.

    upon receiving the ring, chen xifeng was excited but felt a tinge of disappointment, seeing that the woman never once looked up at him from beginning to end. explore more stories at empire

    "dugu jingcheng, a disciple from qinglin academy, ranked third in the academy''s great competition," dugu jingcheng followed with his reply.

    "the same for you; this is your storage ring," the woman in the white gown continued without looking up, tossing dugu jingcheng a storage ring.

    dugu jingcheng, however, didn''t mind and, after taking the storage ring, went to the side to recognize the ring with his blood.

    "next!" said the woman in the white gown, her voice still cool.

    xu nian touched his nose and then said, "xu nian, a disciple from qinglin academy, ranked first in the academy''s great competition!"

    the moment xu nian announced his name, the few battle mansion members chatting in the rest area suddenly stopped and looked in xu nian''s direction.

    at the same time, the hand that the woman in the white gown had been about to move stopped, and for the first time, she slightly raised her head, which had been down all along, to look at xu nian, her eyes carrying a hint of curiosity and scrutiny.

    the great hall was already quiet, but at this moment, everyone fell silent, and the atmosphere immediately turned eerie.

    xu nian was taken aback, so were chen xifeng and even dugu jingcheng, who all noticed that the atmosphere in the hall was off, as they surveyed their surroundings with cold eyes.

    finally, the woman in the white gown smiled, put down her pen, and looking at xu nian, asked, "are you that bold and brazen xu nian?"