Xue Yong took a deep breath and finally said, "Fine, I can give up the position of head of the Xue family, but you must remember your promise."

Although Xue Yong was reluctant to let go of the power in his hands, he had already witnessed the terrifying strength of Lin Chen.

The Chen family had been completely subdued by Lin Chen, and the Li family was directly annihilated. Even the Zhou family, the number one behemoth of China, was about to fall at the feet of this young man. Xue Yong really did not have the courage to contend with Lin Chen.

Moreover, Lin Chen personally promised to take the Xue family to its peak, which had been his dream all along. After all, the Xue family lacked the heritage to surpass the other major families. Now Lin Chen had given him hope. How could Xue Yong not be moved?

Lin Chen smiled and nodded. He could imagine the wonderful expressions on the faces of those clansmen who had once insulted and mocked Xue Ying when she became the family head.

After Xue Yong left, Xue Ying said gratefully, "Lin Chen, thank you!"

Originally, Xue Ying was just the owner of a small medicinal herb company, and she couldn't even control her own fate. Lin Chen gave her hope, a stage to showcase herself, and now he even made her the head of the Xue family. All of this was given to her by the man before her.

"Silly girl. There's no need for formalities with me!" Lin Chen said with a light smile.

...

At this moment, undercurrents were stirring throughout China. All the major family powers were focused on the life-and-death battle that would occur in two days.

After settling down Xue Ying and the others, Lin Chen confined himself in his room, entering the Prison of Time for cultivation every day.

Since refining the Heart of Flame, Lin Chen felt that he was only a step away from the Innate Realm.

However, this bottleneck proved insurmountable.

At dawn, a ray of sunlight entered through the window lattice, and Lin Chen stepped out of the Prison of Time.

No sooner had he appeared on the bed than a jade hand clung to him tightly.

Lin Chen glanced sideways and saw that An Xiaodi, this little girl, had somehow fallen asleep on his bed.

At this moment, An Xiaodi was holding Lin Chen tightly, her flowing long hair spread out: "Lin Chen, I've missed you so much."

An Xiaodi mumbled in her dream, gripping Lin Chen tighter and tighter.

Looking at the lovely girl in his arms, Lin Chen couldn't help but feel a sense of pity.

"Sister, sister, why don't you come to see me, sister, don't leave..."

Suddenly, An Xiaodi cried out, as if she had a nightmare, and sat up abruptly.

"Xiaodi, what's wrong?" Lin Chen asked anxiously, looking at An Xiaodi's face, which was still filled with panic.

An Xiaodi still had a panicked look on her face: "I dreamed of my sister. She seemed not to recognize me, and no matter how I called her, she didn't respond to me."

"Silly girl, that was just a dream, you must be thinking too much about your sister." Lin Chen patted An Xiaodi's shoulder and comforted her with a smile.

"Yes, but my sister hasn't contacted me for a long time. She used to call me every week." An Xiaodi spoke with a look of longing.

Lin Chen trembled slightly in his heart. He hadn't told An Xiaodi about Anna, after all, Xiaodi was still a child, and Anna was her only relative. Both Dragon Elder and Lin Chen worried that she couldn't handle such a blow.

"Can the system imitate Anna's voice and send me a WeChat message?" Lin Chen communicated with the system in his mind.

"Ding-dong, of course, it can."

Lin Chen smiled, patted his head, and said to An Xiaodi, "Look at my memory. Actually, your sister sent me a WeChat message, and I forgot to let you listen to it."

As he spoke, Lin Chen took out his phone and opened WeChat.

Lin Chen clicked on Anna's WeChat and indeed there was a message.

"Little sister, I'm on a mission abroad and won't be able to come back and stay with you for a while. Be good and listen to Lin Chen, okay!"

Hearing Anna's voice, An Xiaodi's eyes reddened slightly.

An Xiaodi and Anna had been orphaned at a young age and had only each other to rely on, sharing an exceptionally deep sisterly bond.

"Thank you, Lin Chen. I've been worried about my sister lately, but now I can rest easy," An Xiaodi said, breaking into a smile through her tears.

In an ancient castle in Siberia, an old man's face was ferocious, still bearing an expression of terror.

A deep bloody mark adorned his neck, streaked with blood stains.

Standing before him was a young woman, clad in black, her eyes completely crimson.

Shockingly, this girl bore the visage of someone from Huaxia and she was none other than Anna.

At that moment, she picked up a cellphone, and a young man's photo appeared on the screen—it was Lin Chen.

"Next target, Lin Chen from the Capital City. Mission requirement: kill!" an icy voice came from the cellphone.

"Kill, kill, kill!" Anna uttered in a bloodthirsty, icy tone as red light surged in her eyes.

In the Capital City of Huaxia, Lin Chen sneezed and rubbed his nose.

"Who could be thinking of me now?"

Black Demon stood respectfully beside Lin Chen, "Master, it's about time. We should be leaving."

Lin Chen nodded, his gaze softening as he looked at Qin Lan, "Xiao Lan, let's go."

Qin Lan nodded, looped her arm through Lin Chen's, and the pair got into a Cadillac sedan like a loving couple.

The Zhou family's home was particularly bustling today, with the roads surrounding their residence having been closed off early.

The Zhou family's parking lot was filled with luxurious cars from various provinces.

The banquet hall of the Zhou residence was crowded with people—every one of them an influential bigwig.

And in the spacious square of the Zhou residence stood a huge fighting stage, which was the duel arena for Lin Chen and Zhou Ci.

Every person at the event was discussing the same topic: the duel between Lin Chen and Zhou Ci.

At that moment, Lin Chen and Qin Lan entered the hall, and instantly the entire place fell silent, followed by a surge of whispering.

"Is that the Lin Chen who's challenging Zhou Ci?"

"That kid must not know his own limits to dare challenge Zhou Ci. He's courting death."

"Brother, you just came back from outside and don't know, but this Lin Chen is not to be trifled with. He killed Chen Ling of the Chen family and single-handedly wiped out the Li family. He's a super ruthless man!"

Zhou Ci, holding a glass of red wine, was chatting with a well-known lady. Upon hearing the murmur of voices, his gaze turned coldly upon the two figures entering.

When he saw Qin Lan holding Lin Chen's arm in an intimate manner, his eyes grew colder, and his hand holding the glass trembled slightly.

"Bang!" Under a surge of hidden energy, the wine glass in his hand and the red wine within turned into nothingness.

Everyone knew that today was his engagement party with Qin Lan, yet here she was, with her arm linked with another man's, a flagrant slap across his face.

"Isn't that Zhou Ci's fiancée, Qin Lan? Why is she holding Lin Chen's arm?"

"Don't you know? Qin Lan was originally Lin Chen's woman. Today is going to be quite the show."

Watching this scene unfold, many eyes flickered with interest; the two men had not even begun fighting, yet already the air was tense with confrontation.

Zhou Ci's gaze was frosty as he glared at Lin Chen, clenching his fists, "You dare steal my woman, kid? Today, I will make you wish you were dead."

At that time, Lin Chen's gaze also settled on Zhou Ci. Their eyes met, filling the entire hall with murderous intent, a life-and-death battle set to begin.