“Shu, shu, shu.”
A large group of men in black suits emerged into the garden. They were all brawny and muscular men with hard faces that was filled with malicious intent.
“Just you guys?”
Chen Fan cracked a cold smile.
He was surrounded by about a hundred men, each and every one of them were seasoned veterans whose fighting power was on par with a black belt in Taekwondo or a sanshou fighter such as Xiao Long.
However, as an Internal Force user, Chen Fan should be able to easily do away with a hundred hitmen.
“Of course not. We knew that you are Master Chen. Don’t worry, we have done our homework.” Tang Yifei’s lips curled into a smile and then she clapped her hands. Five more men emerged out from behind a man-made stone hill.
Energies that emanated from these five fighters were much stronger than those men in black suits. Their glinting eyes and snappy movements of the two middle-aged man suggested that they were of phenomenal success in their internal force cultivation while the three other younger fighters were of initial success level.
“They are Uncle Hu, Uncle Nan and three of my father’s disciples.” Tang Yifei introduced the five men distractedly. “They were trained by my family and excelled at striking as a team. Even a peak level Internal Force user won’t be able to withstand their combined might.”
“Is that so?” Chen Fan asked calmly.
The Tang family of Jiang Nan province wouldn’t be an influential faction if they couldn’t even pull off five Internal Force users. Although they were much more powerful than run-of-the-mill factions, Chen Fan didn’t take the threat seriously.
“Master Chen used to kill the Alaskan Tiger with three punches, I wager that he won’t take you seriously, Uncle Nan.” Tang Yifei cracked a smile.
“Humph!!”
One of the phenomenal success level Internal Force users snorted but didn’t refute.
Tang family had long since learned about Chen Fan’s dominance in Jiang Bei. They suspected that even the five Internal force users would not be able to overcome him.
“Therefore, I have arranged three elite snipers at three different high spots outside of the garden. I have heard that Master Chen used to block Xin Zhong’s hand gunfire using Dharmic Dao, I wager if you would be able to survive armor-penetrating sniper rounds?”
Tang Yifei finally revealed her hand, including her trump card: the snipers.
Suddenly, a few red dots appeared over Chen Fan’s body. It jittered and darted back and forth between his head and chest. Those red dots were laser pointers on sniper rifles.
These snipers would give Chen Fan no chance in turning the table. Even a top martial artist wouldn’t be able to survive a shot from a sniper. These sniper munitions were able to pierce through steel-plated walls and if it landed on a human skull, it would cause a catastrophic explosion. Even a Grandmaster such as Lu Tianfen would have a hard time defending himself against a sniper shot.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Chen Fan furrowed his brows and appeared to be scared.
“Well, I have heard of your power and naturally, I am afraid. So these measures are only to level the ground between us, so to speak.” Tang Yifei bowed and then said: “You are the kingpin in the Jiang Bei region and we resided in Jin City; we had alway minded out own businesses. So I am curious as to what has brought you here?”
She looked up and locked her sharp gaze on to Chen Fan.
“Do you believe me if I tell you that I am here only for Xiao Qiong?” Chen Fan asked lightly.
“No!” Tang Yifei answered readily, eyes glinting. “Master Chen, at your level and with your power, you can have anyone you want. I am not convinced that you will be so dedicated to one particular girl.”
“However beautiful Fang Qiong was, I can find ten other girls who are at least as attractive as her, if not more so. In terms of family background, I have a list of rich princesses who are from more well-off families. They would throw themselves into your arms should you so much as give them a wink.”
Tang Yifei cracked a smile and then said: “So tell me, how would I believe that you are here for Fang Qiong?”
Chen Fan kept his silence and didn’t reply.
Although he could have any girl he wanted, and it was true that many girls would die for spending a night in the same bed with him, Tang Yifei was wrong. Chen Fan came to Jin City just for Fang Qiong; it was as simple as that.
The so-called dominance of Jiang Bei, and the appearance of supremacy worth nothing compared to a smile on Fang Qiong’s face. He used to be the North Mystic Celestial Lord and had power and influence trillion times more impressive than what he had now, so he wouldn’t give a damn about his achievement in Jiang Bei.
“Why don’t you say something, Master Chen?” Tang Yifei asked sharply. “Oh, let me guess. You are actually here to pick a bone with the Sheng family. I wager you have already sent Xu Ao and others into the Jin City and are ready to strike out at both us and the Sheng family.”
“Er…” Chen Fan suddenly felt a lack of words.
He wanted to tell the girl that she had been thinking too much. He also wanted to tell the girl that if he really wanted to claim Jiang Nan province, he could have killed Tang Yuanqin with a single slap in the face. There would be no need to put up the ruse and set up the scheme.
“What do you want then? “Chen Fan played along, pretending he was mad.
“Nothing. We just want you to go back to where you come from and we will both mind our own business like we used to.” Tang Yifei finally revealed what she was after.
Ever since Shen Junwen informed her of Chen Fan’s real identity, she had been planning this moment. Chen Fan had fallen into her trap unknowingly one step at a time.
Tang Yifei knew that Shen Junwen was trying to incite conflict between her and Master Chen. However, she also knew that Chen Fan’s presence in Jiang Nan province posed a much bigger threat to the Tang family than it would to the Shen family.
A great man cannot brook a rival.
“If we teach him a hard lesson today and drive him back to Jiang Bei, he would think twice before he wants to come down to Jiang Nan again,” Tang Yifei thought to herself. Plus, all of his family is here in Jin City, so In the case that Chen Fan had enough audacity to return to Jiang Bei, the Tang family would always start the punishment by doing away with his family members.
“What if I say no?” Chen Fan replied readily.
“Then you will have to face our snipers. I am quite curious as to if you could overcome the powerful modern weapons.” Tang Yifei pulled a hard face and then said coldly.
Even as Chen Fan heard the girl’s reply, he felt the three red dots suddenly converged toward his head. Even the air smelled like danger.
All the three sharpshooters were elite assassins that had taken more lives than one could count. Chen Fan was convinced that if he made any sudden moves, an armor-piercing round would go right through his heart or the head. However fast a Martial Artist was, he would not be able to our run a bullet. Even those who purported to be able to dodge a bullet were only able to predict the trajectory of bullets ahead of time.
He wondered where did Tang Yifei hire these three elite sharpshooters.
“Sigh.” Chen Fan suddenly let out a long sigh. He shook his head and asked: “didn’t your father tell you who I really am?”
“What are you talking about?” Tang Yifei was taken aback at first and then said with a smug face. “Ever since my father heard about you, he went into seclusion and started to refine his power in order to counter you. He will be out of his seclusion cultivation very soon.
“I am afraid that you won’t live to see him though.” Tang Yifei said with pride in her eyes.
If she was able to defeat someone who was a headache even for her father, she would have bragging rights for many years to come.
However, she felt disappointed by Chen Fan’s performance so far. He didn’t act like the overlord of Jiang Bei, instead, he was brash and careless like a fledgling. He knew she was Tang Yuanqin’s daughter, yet he fell for the trap regardless.
“How could a man of such ordinary talent bring down Xu Ao and other tycoons?” Tang Yifei asked herself.
“He has been in seclusion for half a year?” Chen Fan paused and then said: “That explains it! I was wondering why he hasn’t come to greet me ever since I arrived. Worse, I thought he had consented your conspiring with Chen Xiao to plot against me.”
“What do you mean?” Tang Yifei pulled a taut face and asked hotly.
In her mind, Tang Yuanqin was an invincible god. Hearing Chen Fan’s insult toward her father, she made up her mind to make use of her sharpshooters.
“You are not a martial artist and so you don’t really know anything about me.” Chen Fan turned around to look at Tang Yifei as he said slowly. “If your father was here, he would kneel before me and beg me to spare your life.”
“If you were a martial artist, you would never even think about offending me.”
Chen Fan was at the top of the Heaven Roll and was considered the most powerful Grandmaster in the world. Anyone who practiced martial arts or internal force would have heard of his name. Snipers might be effective against normal Grandmasters, but not against someone who was also a Physique Refinement Grandmaster such as Chen Fan or Lei Qianjue.
A decade ago, Chen Longxiang from the Diamond Temple used to rush to a battlefield without any armor and killed hundreds of soldiers. In the end, his enemy had to barrage him with heavy cannon shells in order to stop him. Chen Longxiang was just a Physique Refinement Grandmasters, a far cry compared to Chen Fan’s power.
Tang Yifei was removed from the world of martial artists. As the daughter of a local tycoon, she focused on business, intrigue and social skills. She rarely even talked to the martial artists trained by her father.
“No wonder the Tang family’s fame was waning recently. Its influence simply couldn’t compare with that of the Gu family or the Lu family.”
“Chen Fan, you are courting death!”
Tang Yifei could no longer hold back her anger, so she shouted at Chen Fan hotly. She thought of sparing Chen Fan’s life for the sake of Fang Qiong, but his insult had made her change her mind.
“My lady, let me test his strength.”
Uncle Nan stepped forward and locked his eyes on to Chen Fan. He was ready to kill.
Although he knew that Chen Fan had killed a peak level internal force user before, he was confident in his success.
“Pathetic.”
Chen Fan didn’t want to waste any more breathe on them. He flashed out of view and reappeared before Uncle Nan. He yanked his arm up as an azure light flickered in his hand. The light quickly grew into a long blade that sliced open the air as Chen Fan swung it around in a flat sidearm slash against Uncle Nan’s waist