Time passed swiftly in the mountains; three months went by in a blink.
During this time, the news that Jiang Daolian had challenged Chen Heng had already spread far and wide, deliberately encouraged by her.
When they heard that even she had suffered a crushing defeat,
the members of the great clans suffered another blow to their morale, their spirits sinking further.
Even their usual arrogant, overbearing manner subsided somewhat, and they became considerably more cautious in their conduct, prompting many of humble pedigree to secretly raise their hands to their foreheads in celebration.
Once word of this spread,
Chen Heng also gradually became recognized as a leading figure among his fellow Foundation Establishment disciples, enjoying tremendous prominence.
Alongside Deng Ji, Xie Su, and Sima Quantong of the other three courts, he became renowned among his contemporaries, the four collectively known as the "Crown of the Four Courts."
This reputation even reached Xiaoming Great Marsh, and Chen Heng received another grant of a hundred thousand Talisman Coins and several bottles of pills, his purse growing fuller by the day.
Yet no matter how noisily the outside world sang his praises,
Chen Heng himself continued to live in seclusion, seldom appearing before others.
Apart from the mandatory monthly assessments and the Masters' lectures, it was exceedingly difficult to catch sight of him...
Besides quietly cultivating and contemplating the mysteries in his own cave abode,
Chen Heng visited Shen Yuanzhi on Green Conch Peak every seven days to seek her guidance on difficulties and uncertainties in his cultivation.
As these visits continued,
they gradually became a routine.
Those drawn by Chen Heng's current fame, who wished to invite him to feasts or hunts, or ask him to travel abroad and earn merit together, could only gradually abandon such intentions when they saw