After so many twists and turns, the Chen Family’s gathering finally ended.
Countless people left the courtyard with a mindful of questions. After a while, Elderly Man Wei and the other tycoons also left for home. Qin Hua was the first to excuse himself after he suffered a few bouts of embarrassment.
When Chen Fan returned, he was called into the main hall by grandpa. By then, the only people who remained in the main hall were Great Uncle, and a few other important family members, aside from the Great-Great Uncles.
By then, everyone knew that Chen Fan was no longer the boy they used to know. Even Chen Fan’s parents looked to Chen Fan as if their son was a complete stranger.
“I have something to say first.” Chen Fan said lightly.
He sat steadily in an armchair, looking calm and confident. He looked nothing like a seventeen year old fledging but a seasoned and experienced elder.
When Chen Fan’s gaze landed on Second Uncle, The Second Uncle felt his heart skip a beat as an overwhelming sense of something bad was going to happen rushed into his mind.
Lo and behold, he heard Chen Fan say: “This is my proposal: remove Chen Qianxin from his position as the CEO of The Chens Group and appoint Mrs. Wang Xiaoyun as the new CEO.”
“What?”
Second Auntie gasped as the life drained away from her face
“I second it.” Seventh great uncle agreed.
“I agree.” “Me too.” “Same here.” slowly but surely, other members of the Chen family all agreed. The Second Uncle looked to Great Uncle for help, however, Chen Zhenxin ignored his younger brother as he nodded and agreed to Chen Fan’s proposal.
“It is done then, Xiaoyun will be the new CEO of The Chens Group.” In the end, grandpa announced conclusively.
Hearing the deal was set in stone, Second Uncle collapsed into his chair like a lifeless doll.
The development also took the wind out of Chen Xu. He lowered his head and lamented his family’s misfortune. Without being the CEO of The Chens Group, his family could only get a small number of dividends from the company, it wouldn’t be enough to even maintain a Lamborghini much less purchasing one.
Wang Xiaoyun was half glad and half surprised by the announcement. However fast Jin Xiu Group had grown, it was no match against the powerful Chen’s group. She was confident that she would be able to double if not triple The Chens Group’s profit in a few years.
Once the motion was passed, everyone looked at each other and were not sure what the next item to discuss was.
Chen Fan finally broke the silence and said: “I know you guys have questions, start asking.”
Everyone glanced at each other and no one dared to be the first one to raise a question. In the end, Chen Huaian spoke up after he mustered enough courage.
“Xiao Fan, how do you know Li Wuchen and Elderly Man Wei?”
The arrival of Li Wuchen and Old Man Wei and shocked the entire Chen family. Hearing Chen Huaian’s question, Chen An and Chen Ning both held their breath as they waited for the answer expectantly. Wang Xiaoyun found herself leaning forward closer to her son as she, too, anxiously waited for the answer.
“I cured Elderly Man Wei’s old injury. As for Li Wuchen, he asked for a favor from me.” Chen Fan answered calmly.
“A favor from you? He is the mighty Li Wuchen, what could you offer him?”
Chen Gexin hurried to ask his son.
He was most afraid that his son had learned to achieve fame using unorthodox, if not outright evil methods. He would rather Chen Fan live as an ordinary boy than putting his life in danger.
“Um…” Chen Fan held it in for a second before he asked: “Dad, Grandpa, have you ever heard of the Internal Force Martial Artists?”
“Internal Force?” Great Uncle and other family members looked at each other in confusion.
What the heck was that? Was he talking about characters from Wuxia Novels? Weren’t we talking about Li Wuchen?
However, the word had turned both Wang Xiaoyun and Chen Huaian’s faces pale. Chen Huaian had worked as a high ranking official and therefore had seen a great many unexplainable things. While Wang Xiaoyun was from one of the mightest families in China, she, too, had learned the stories about humans with supernatural abilities.
“Once a martial artist possessed the Internal Force, he or she could fight against ten enemies at the same time. If he furthered his power, the Martial Artist could even defend against firearms. Once the Martial Artist reached the Transcendent state, he or she would be practically invincible.” Chen Fan explained slowly.
“You mean you are one of those Internal Force users?”
Great Uncle asked doubtfully.
Even the name, “Internal Force” sounded so preposterous, it reminded him of something he heard from wandering sake oil sellers.
“Indeed.” Chen Fan nodded.
No one was pleased by the explanation, particularly for Second Auntie. She believed that Chen Fan was fooling everyone.
“I have heard of internal force users before.” Wang Xiaoyun put in. “When I was living with my family, I had a bodyguard who was one of them. He demonstrated his power to me once by dodging a bullet from a shot fired at him point blank. ”
“Really?” Everyone was stunned by the revelation. Dodging the bullet? What is this? The Matrix?
Wang Xiaoyun didn’t mind the other’s disbelief, she looked at Chen Fan in the eyes.
“Xiao Fan, are you really an Internal Force user?”
“I am more like a Transcendent Master, to be exact.” Chen Fan said lightly.
“Transcendent Master?”
This time, even Wang Xiaoyun was dumbfounded by the jargon. For people without martial arts training, it was very difficult to comprehend the power of a Transcendent master.
“He sounds like a swindler to me.” Second Auntie murmured in low voice.
Although she dared not to raise her voice before Chen Fan, the anger and indignation inside of her spurred her to murmur out her seething loathing toward Chen Fan.
“Hehe”
Chen Fan cracked a smile and didn’t answer. He reached out a hand and traced a curve in the air with a finger.
Everyone watched as a ray of golden light shot out from the tip of his finger and it cut through the main hall right in the middle.
“Bam!”
Everyone gasped as they saw the large heavy dining table was sliced into two halves by the golden light. The tail of the golden light swept across the ground and created a ten-meter long scare on the paved stone floor.
This mark was about an inch thick and extended from under Chen Fan’s feet all the way to the entrance.
“So this is the power of a Transcendent Master?”
Wang Xiaoyun exclaimed incredulously.
Chen Fan flexed his finger and turned toward Second Auntie.
“Second Auntie, didn’t you force me to apologize the other day? I thought of using this trick on you back then, but I didn’t do it for the sake of the other relatives’ feelings.”
Second Auntie trembled uncontrollably.
Chen Fan’s finger attack had cracked open a heavy dining table made out of Ironwood and left a large scar on the stone floor. If the attack landed on human flesh, it would be able to tear through it as a knife would to butter.
“After all, you are my blood kin, and therefore I resorted to a more civilized method.” Chen Fan said calmly.
If he had made such a claim before the gathering, everyone would laugh it off and think Chen Fan was bluffing. However, then and there, no one doubted a single word coming out from Chen Fan’s mouth. He could have killed them with a flick of a finger, they should consider themselves lucky to be still alive after offending him so many times.
Chen Ning and Chen An shook their heads and let out an ugly grin.
They were mortals after all, and they should never have competed against a powerful martial artist. They looked at each other knowingly as they both recalled what had happened at the race track. Chen Fan’s victory in the horse racing made so much more sense now.
An Ya felt she was going to faint. She couldn’t believe that her little brother could turn out to be a powerful martial artist.
“No wonder!”
Chen Huaian marveled. “Seeing your ability, Li Munchen’s visit makes so much more sense now.”
As Grandpa said so, his gaze on Chen Fan grew softer and more approving by the second.
Great-Great uncle was right, the Chen family had finally produced a worthy heir!
“What does Li Muchen want from you?”
Wang Xiaoyun asked with knotted brows.
“Just small favor.” Chen Fan said lightly.
The Head Sergeant in the Cang Dragon unit was a prestigious position even in the eyes of the Wei family, yet it meant nothing to Chen Fan. If not for Li Muchen’s sincerity and dedication, he would have refused the offer in less than a heartbeat.
Seeing Chen Fan didn’t want to reveal more, Wang Xiaoyun held in her curiosity and decided to ask her son in private when they returned home.
“Grandpa.” Chen Fan rose from his seat and asked: “Do you remember I said I cured Elderly Man Wei?”
“I am not only a martial artist but also an able doctor.
“Let me take a look at your health.”
Chen Huaian was moved by his grandson’s sincere look, so he nodded.
Chen Huaian rested two fingers on the old man’s wrist, trying to gauge his pulse. Meanwhile, he scanned the old man’s body using Immortal Will. It wasn’t long before he sensed the presence of cancer. Chen Fan furrowed his brows and paused his examination.
“Fine, fine. I will have to let you guys know about it sooner or later.”
Seeing Chen Fan’s troubled look, Chen Huaian announced as he shook his head.
Then and only then, Chen Huaian’s family learned that the old man had late stage cancer.
“Dad!”
Tears welled in his sons’ eyes. Chen Huaian had always been the backbone of the family, without him, the family would soon fall apart.
“We can’t dictate how long we will live. I am happy that I can live to see that our family finally has sired a powerful heir. I am content. “Chen Huaian looked at Chen Fan and said in satisfaction.
People around the old man started to sob. Chen Gexin’s heart was filled with pain and grief when he thought of the twenty years of separation from his father.
“Grandpa, I can cure you.”
Suddenly, Chen Fan put in.
“What?”
Everyone looked to him expectantly. Their eyes were filled with hope.
Despite Chen Fan’s confident look on his face, he wagered that it was about time to take his cultivation to another level.
Spirit Water and the Arcane Pills should extend the old man’s life for a while. However, to uproot cancer, he would have to locate a Spirit Medicine and brew the Essence Enhancing Pill. Alternatively, he could improve his cultivation to the point that he could use the Art of Life.
His grandpa’s life, as well as Xiao Qiong’s both, rested on the level of his cultivation. Should he be able to enter the Connate Spirit level and utilize the power of the Divine Sea, he could have cured Chen Huaian’s cancer with a single touch of a finger.
The thought gave him an urge to return to Chu Zhou City and start to cultivate right away.
“But before that, I have one more thing to do.”
Chen Fan’s eyes lost focus and a beautiful image appeared in his mind.