As Lu Yanxue made her way toward the courtyard, she found herself amidst faces with strange and sometimes contradicting emotions. Some pretended that they didn’t know her, some were confused, and some gave her an ingratiating smile. She heard people murmur:
“She is Chen Beixuan’s woman.”
Then the people who were unsure of her looked at him with fear and respect.
Three days ago, no one had ever heard of the name Chen Beixuan, three days later, it became synonymous to martial arts. A not even twenty year old boy from Jiang Bei had risen to power by killing the family lord of the Lu Family and the Medicine God Valley Sect Elder. News of the fight went viral and spread throughout the world of martial arts.
Lu Yanxue was offered to Chen Beixuan as a gift, because of that, her status in her family also rose with the reputation of Chen Beixuan. By then, even the family elders, her great-great Grandpa would speak to her with respect.
Lu Yanxue was not sure what to make of this change, should she feel happy? or sad?
Chen Fan had killed the Lu Family’s master as well as Lu Tianlong; they were only bound by blood, but not connected by relationship. Chen Fan had risen to power and everyone from the Lu Family wished to cozy up to him and his woman. Therefore, the powerful warriors and her great uncles started to treat her with respect.
The Lu Family had lost their Grandmaster and was deemed to decline. However, many people also noticed that the Lu Family could have made up the loss of the family lord by gaining a powerful family son-in-law. The family would live and prosper as long as they could set Chen Beixuan up with Lu Yanxue.
Because of that, Lu Yanxue’s status in the family had increased significantly, so much so, that many believed she was vying to become the most influential person in the family.
When Lu Yanxue made her way to the meeting hall, the sight of two brawny martial artists wrenched her mind out of her reverie. The two men moved away for her and bowed slightly.
Inside the main hall, Chen Fan was sitting at the main seat and was surrounded by elders from the Lu family. Sitting right across him was an old man with a thin face. Lu Yanxue knew the old man, he was the family lord of the Gu family, Gu Shitong. He was near the Transcendent State and was revered by many martial artists for his skills and abilities. Both the Lu Family and the Gu Family were two of the biggest martial arts families in China.
“Come closer, Xiao Xue.” Chen Fan let out a smile.
Lu Yanxue bowed slightly and shuffled toward Chen Fan. Gu Shitong looked up at the girl while she passed him, and right away he was swept off his feet by her beauty.
Lu Yanxue put on some of her best clothes today. She was in a blouse that tightly hugged her upper body; around her spinner waist was a broad black waist brand that accentuated her curves. On her feet, she wore golden stilettos that matched with her makeup with cold and muted color pallets. She gave off the quality of unreachable glamorous goddess.
“What a beautiful girl! No wonder the Young Master would fall for her.” Gu Shitong thought to himself. “Grandmaster Chen, only your girlfriend’s extraordinary beauty could match your extraordinary abilities.”
“Thank you, Lord Gu.” Chen Fan nodded slightly and didn’t deny Master Gu’s presumptions of his relationship with the girl.
Lu Yanxue’s lips curled into a smile; she took Chen Fan’s reticent on the matter as acquiescence.
Having confirmed Chen Fan’s relationship with the Lu Family, members of the Gu Family quickly recalculated the situation in their mind. They had been certain that without a Grandmaster, the Lu Family would quickly fall from grace. However, with Chen Fan’s support, the Lu Family’s power and influence shouldn’t differ that much from before.
Greetings over, Gu Shitong rose from his seat and was about to leave.
Chen Fan’s battle against the Lu Family lord had put the Martial Arts Conference on hold. However, Martial Artists still poured into the Lu Family manor to meet the new Grandmaster. Chen Fan only gave audience to the most influential guests, and when he did that, he always had Lu Yanxue beside him.
“Did you know that ever since they were convinced that we are together, they treated me very differently. They used to curse at me and call me names for betraying my family, but now, they treate me like a princess. My father was promoted to the position of a deputy CEO of the Lu’s Group, a few days ago, he was just a small manager.” After everyone was gone, Lu Yanxue spoke up abruptly.
“Oh, really?” Chen Fan replied lightly.
“Why don’t you tell them the truth?” Lu Yanxue turned her head over to Chen Fan and looked him in the eyes.
Only three days ago, she knew this boy as an alchemist from Jiang Bei; an insignificant passerby in her life. Three days later, he was transformed into the world’s most renowned young master called Chen Beixuan, a persona that was so powerful that even the Gu Family Lord and the richest man in the province would have to bow to him respectfully. It was every little girl’s dream to be the woman a such a powerful man.
However, Lu Yanxue knew that the young man never had and would not like her. If there was anything between them, it was his pity toward her.
“Explain to them?” Chen Fan spread his hands and said: “I told you that I would promise you a happy ever after life, didn’t I? The first thing I had to do is to break the shackles they placed on you and I have done just that. The Lu Family will treat you like a princess and you can do anything as you please.”
“If you ever fall in love with anyone you can just marry him. Don’t you worry your pretty head about me.”
Lu Yanxue kept her silence and looked at Chen Fan intently.
She lamented in her mind for Chen Fan’s lack of understanding of a woman’s mind. He was the reason for her freedom and prestige, plus, how could she ever fall in love with anyone since Chen Fan had stolen her heart. She used to fancy Lu Haixuan, but he simply couldn’t compare with Chen Fan.
It was difficult to be water for one who had seen the great seas; Lu Yanxue wondered if she would ever fall in love again.
Zhong Zhou, the ancestral ground of the Ba Ji Sect…
A young man with an arm wrapped in bandages was doing rehabilitation exercises. Slowly and with great pain, he lifted the heavyweights. despite the sweat on his forehead and the pain in his hands, he held the position steadily.
Beside him was a handsome looking woman and a middle-aged man in wheelchairs.
“Baisheng recovered well. His broken hand was fully healed in just a few days. He should be ready for regular training at any time now.” The middle-aged man said slowly.
“Uncle-Master Mu, you have given the only healing salve to Sect Brother, what about you?” The woman’s voice was filled with remorse.
“Xiao Mang, don’t feel bad for me. Baisheng is the future of our sect. He is very likely to become a Grandmaster. If his career ended here, so would the future of our sect.” Mu Shan said with a smile. “Plus, I am a peak level Internal Force User, and I can recover much faster than him even without using any elixirs. A few more months, you will see.”
“Uncle-Master Mu…” Guo Xiaomang was still disheartened by the situation they were in. “Damn that Chen Beixuan, I curse him!”
The thought of that culprit for her family’s misfortune made her grit her teeth.
“Thou shall never insult a Grandmaster. The rule is the rule. Lesson learned. “Mu Shan shook his head and lamented.
“I don’t believe he is a Grandmaster. He is so young! I think you are all scared of him for nothing. He could have just been a Physique Refinement expert for all we know.” Guo Xiaomang refuted.
Mu Shan had his own doubts as well, but he decided to keep his doubts unspoken.
The more he recalled the event, the more holes he found in his previous conclusion. From the beginning to the end of the battle, Chen Fan had only attacked once and was dealt a blow once. It wasn’t impossible for some of the Physique Refinement masters to pull it off either.
The girl was right, the boy could very well be a Physique Refinement Master.
“Was I really wrong?” Mu Shan lowered his head and muttered.
The power between a Physique Refinement Master and a Grandmaster was nearly incomparable since Grandmasters were the clear winner. If Chen Fan had really tricked him into thinking that he was a Grandmaster while in reality, he was just a Physique Refinement Master, the Ba Ji sect would have to avenge their failure much sooner.
Suddenly, his cell phone rang.
Mu Shan answered the call and listened. When he put down his cell phone, his face was dark and serious.
“What’s going on Uncle-Master Mu?”
Xiao Mang asked concernedly. Guo Xiaomang put down the weight and looked to Mu Shan as well.
Light flickered in Mu Shan’s eyes a few times as he hesitated. In the end, he heaved a sigh and let go of the information. “Just a moment ago, Chen Beixuan killed the Family Lord of the Lu family in front of all the other martial artists.”
“Lord Lu?” Before Xiao Mang figured out who that was, Guo Baisheng’s face paled. “Isn’t Lord Lu a Grandmaster?”
“Indeed.” Mu Shan said bitterly.
Gao Baisheng was stunned by the news. His face changed colors as a pang of emotion seized him. In the end, he threw the weight on the ground and stormed into his room, slamming the door behind him.
Guo Xiaomang shouted after him but Gao Baisheng didn’t listen. Mu Shan heaved a sigh and said: “Let him be.”
“This is a test for him. If he can’t pass this test, he would never have a chance of becoming a Grandmaster”
“Uncle-Master Mu, is Chen Beixuan really a Grandmaster?” Guo Xiaomang asked in disbelief. He was just a kid, how could he be a Grandmaster?
The more powerful a martial artist was, the more they understood the difficulties in making progress. Every seemingly insignificant improvement came at the price of countless hours of training. Even some of the most talented martial artists were stuck at the level just below the Grandmaster level. Try as they might, the bottleneck persisted and the only thing they could do was to keep at it decades after decades.
However, Chen Fan appeared out of nowhere and reached the Grandmaster level with incredible ease.
“Lu Tianfen is a real Grandmaster. He dominated the martial arts world in Southern China for decades. The fact that Chen Beixuan was able to do away with him spoke loudly of Chen Beixuan’s power.” Mu Shan muttered as his eyes lost focus slightly.
When he first returned from his humiliating defeat, he was hopeful that Chen Beixuan was just a Physique Refinement master and if he had used the secret art, he might be able to counter Chen Beixuan’s killing blow. However, when the news of the Martial Arts Conference reached him, he knew he was wrong.
“I don’t think me and Baisheng would ever surpass Chen Beixuan in our lifetime. Our only hope for revenge now rests on Zhentang.”
Mu Shan looked into the distance wistfully.
The news quickly spread to Ba Ji sect, the Gu family, the Xin Yi Sect and many other martial arts families. Everyone was talking about the same topic.
“Have you heard of the Young Grandmasters from Jiang Bei?”
“You mean that Master Chen? Not him again, someone told me already. I say he is a fraud!”
“I think not. Have you heard that Lord Lu was killed this morning?”
“What? The Lord of the Lu Family, Lu Tianfen? He.. he is a Grandmaster, isn’t he? By who?”
“Chen Beixuan from Chu Zhou City!”
Chen Fan suddenly rose to the center stage and became the dominating power of the martial arts landscape. He transformed himself from a young kid to the youngest Grandmaster and a legend in history.