“What’s wrong? Is this Lin Tatian powerful?”
Chen Fan sipped his tea calmly and asked.
“Not just powerful, he is… legendary!” Tang Yuanqin let out a wry smile and the admiration and respect in his eyes deepened. “Lin Tatian had made a name for himself a decade ago overseas. Although his name was unfamiliar with people in China, he was a reputable dominating power in South East Asia. His art of Black Water Arcane Energy was deadly and made him nearly invincible. He was the most powerful Grandmaster before the rise of Ye Nantian. Rumor had it that he had already reached the peak of the Transcendent State before his disappearance.”
As Tang Yuanqin went on, his tone became more and more servile.
Like Chen Fan, Lin Tatian used to be a renowned Grandmaster, and in his prime years, his power had been on par with Lei Qianjue. However, such a mighty figure was slapped into a pulp by Chen Fan. It spoke loudly of Chen Fan’s power.
Although Tang Yuanqin had learned Chen Fan’s ability to do away with Grandmasters, seeing the action with his own eyes was much more visceral and convincing that reading it on paper. Worse, the Grandmaster Chen Fan had killed was not just any Grandmaster, he was a peak-level Grandmaster.
“He was heavily injured before our fight, therefore he was at most mid-stage of the Transcendent State.” Chen Fan shook his head. If Lin Tatian was mid-stage of Transcendent State, he would still be less powerful than Lei Qianjue. Chen Fan could not have killed him without using any divine powers nor hypersonic attacks.
“He was injured?” Tang Yuanqin furrowed brows and murmured to himself. Then he suddenly remembered something, so he slapped his thigh and said: “Ah! Right! He must have got injured while trying to run away after his family found out about his betrayal.”
Even as Tang Yuanqin said that he shook his head and murmured: “No wonder Lin Tatian had disappeared in the decade that followed. He must be hiding from the Lin Family. Otherwise, he would never lower himself to live under a disguise for so long.”
“If Lin Tatian was still alive, he would be placed at the top five spots on the Heaven Roll.” Tang Yuanqin exclaimed.
Chen Fan nodded in agreement.
As soon as Chen Fan heard of the Heaven roll, he had been curious about the identity of Kunlun. How could he know so much about all the other Grandmasters?
The four other Grandmasters listed below Chen Fan were all Peak Level Transcendent State Grandmasters. If Lei Qianjue or Lin Tatian were still alive, they would have been listed as well.
“However, Lin Tatian had reached peak Transcendent State ten years ago, yet you said he was injured right around that time. Could there be anyone more powerful than a peak-level Transcendent State in the Lin family of Southeastern China?” Chen Fan asked curiously.
The mentioning of the Lin family of Southeastern China brought fear to Tang Yuanqin’s face.
He hesitated for a second and then dismissed the other guests at the table. So far, the other tycoons that were invited to the dinner had been soaking up the information from the two’s conversation. Although they knew nothing about the martial arts world, names such as Lin Tatian, Lei Qianjue and Ye Nantian were a sure sign that they were talking about something very important.
However, since the host had given them the signal to leave, they obliged without protest.
After everyone had left the room, Tang Yuanqin finally said heavily: “Master Chen, there are things that I really shouldn’t bring up. However, considering you are the most powerful fighter in China, I think I can make an exception for you.”
Tang Yuanqin paused a second and continued: “The Lin Family has always been a taboo among other Martial artists. No one would bring them up unless they have to. Plus the Lin Family has been quiet lately and if not because of Lin Tatian’s involvement in the world again, I don’t think many people would have even heard of them.”
“So, you mean the Lin Family is very powerful?” Lin Family was unfazed.
“Very, very powerful. They could have dominated the entire China should they wish to do so.” Tang Yuanqin said.
His face was written with fear as if he had evoked some unspoken horror. “When I was a child, I had heard my grandparents say that the Lin Family was the most powerful Martial arts family in China. The Lu family, Gu family nowadays couldn’t compare with the Lin Family’s might.”
“Really?” Chen Fan asked.
Neither Chen Fan nor Ye Nantian had officially claimed supremacy over China, what made a family clan do that?
Tang Yuanqin recognized Chen Fan’s contempt, and so he said heavily: “Because the Lin Family has an Immortal State martial artist.”
“Immortal State?”
Chen Fan narrowed his eyes after he heard the words. Ever since he had achieved the Azure Thearch Longevity Body, he had been invincible. Even someone as powerful as Lei Qianjue who was a Grandmaster in both martial arts and physical refinement was laid low after one hypersonic punch. He wagered that Ye Nantian would be at most a few levels above Lei Qianjue and therefore, he knew that only martial artist of Immortal State was his worthy opponent.
“I thought no one had seen an Immortal State martial artists for over a decade.” Chen Fan asked.
“Indeed. The one from the Lin Family was the last known Immortal State martial artist.” Tang Yuanqin said seriously: “He had risen to fame nearly a hundred years ago, and used to be the most powerful men of the Qing Dynasty, a personal guard to the Emperor. He never lost a fight ever since his debut appearance. ”
“The Lin Family was able to claim supremacy over China and become the most influential Martial arts family of China.”
“However, that was a hundred years ago.” Tang Yuanqin shook his head and said: “The last time he showed up was sixty years ago. No one has heard of him since, and the Lin Family also grew more reticent. If not because of Lin Tatian, the world might have already forgotten about the Lin Family.”
“So, you think it was that Immortal State fighter who had injured Lin Tatian?” Chen Fan asked with furrowed brows.
“Impossible” Tang Yuanqin shook his head and blurted out a burst of laughter.”He had been famous since the year my grandpa was born. He had been a personal guard of three emperors, if he was still alive, he ought to be over a hundred fifty years old. That’s impossible. ”
“However, although he might have already been dead, I wager there are more than one powerful martial artists in the family. There could be people as powerful as Lei Qianjue and if they work together, they could have easily injured Lin Tatian.” Tang Yuanqin said hesitantly.
Chen Fan kept his silence, however, a light glinted in his eyes.
Tang Yuanqin had thought that the Immortal State warrior must have been dead after so many years, but Chen Fan knew that if he was able to reach Divine Sea level, he should be able to live well over a hundred fifty years. If he were to reach Connate Spirit, he could live five centuries easily. The Immortal State on earth should be equivalent to the Divine Sea Level.
“My only question was if the cultivators on earth were able to live that long given how bad the conditions were on earth. The earth was deprived of Spirit Qi and had a harsh environment for cultivators. Even if he could live that long, his energy would have depleted. Plus, I am not afraid of him even if he still possessed the same power as he did during his prime years. As soon as I reach Ethereal Enlightenment, I could master the Divine powers and he would be no match against me.” With that thought in mind, Chen Fan smiled proudly.
Afterward the conversation, the banquet was reopened. Once Chen Fan was done eating, he left the room under many admirable stares.
Tang Yifei could no longer hold back her anger after Chen Fan was gone.
“Dad, even if he was powerful enough to kill the entire Sheng family, we don’t need to bend backwards for him. After all, we the Tang family are a proud and powerful force in Jiang Nan Province and he is a teenager less than twenty years old. At most, he is as powerful as us, but he still would be no match against you and your influence.”
Although she knew that Chen Fan was powerful, she couldn’t stomach the view of her father’s servitude to Chen Fan.
“Sigh… Yifei, you are not a martial artist and therefore you don’t understand.” Tang Yuanqin heaved a sigh and then shook his head. Seeing the question in many other tycoon’s eyes, he nodded and said: “Fine, I will explain it to you guys why I am treating master that way.”
“Does anyone know who Master Chen really is?” Tang Yuanqin asked the people around him.
“Isn’t he the Master Chen of Jiang Bei?” Everyone was taken aback by the obvious answer.
Even Chen Xiao looked up and was confused. Could there be anything more than what Chen Fan had already achieved?
“Hehe, Master Chen?” Tang Yuanqin let out a cold smile. “Why would I bend over backwards for a tycoon of Jiang Bei? Even the Sheng family of Jiang Bei was no match against me. I could have easily killed them all with force, although not as easily as using his spells.”
“However, little do you know that he is a Martial arts Grandmaster!” Tang Yuanqin heaved a sigh.
“Dad, you are already at Semi transcendent level aren’t you? I don’t think you are that much weaker than him.” Tang Yifei said indignantly.
She was not a martial artist and therefore knew very little about the power of Martial Artists. A Grandmaster could fight an Internal Force as an adult would to a child.
“Hehe, if he was just a normal Grandmaster, of course, I won’t have to fear him. After all, even if I can’t defeat him in a fight, I should be able to get away in one piece. In addition, we have lots of top snipers who could pose a threat to a Grandmaster. That is why the Grandmasters in China have left us in peace for so long. However…” Suddenly, fear flickered in Tang Yuanqin’s eyes. “He is not just any Grandmaster.”
“Not just any Grandmaster?”
The remark confused everyone even more. No one knew that there was a different kind of Grandmaster.
“Just like Internal Force, there are different levels of attainment at the Grandmaster level. Lu Tianfen from the Lu family, for example, was the least powerful Grandmaster. However, he was still able to dominate Tian Nan Province.” Tang Yuanqin said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The Lu family of Lin City was a must more influential family than Tang Family. They controlled the underground world at Tian Nan and owned a few tens of billions of assets, a few times more than that owned by the Tang family. The Tang family was nothing before the might of the Lu family.
“There were more powerful Grandmasters than Lu Tianyun. For example, Du San from the Miao’s Land and Hua family of Zhong Hai. They could claim supremacy in a large area and even the government had to fear them.” Tang Yuanqin said admiringly.
“Hua Yunfeng of Zhong!”
Even Tang Yifei was shocked by the announcement. Jiang Nan Province was close to Zhong Hai and therefore was heavily induced by the metropolis. Most provinces surrounding Zhong Hai relied on the backing of the Hua family to survive.
“Of late, someone created a Heaven Roll to rank off the Grandmasters in Chian. People like Lu Tianfen won’t even make it on the list. Even Du San was listed on the eleventh spot. Hua Yunfeng was the fourth.”
“That’s insane!”
Everyone was stunned by what they heard. This was the first time for a lot of them to peer through the curtain of power to see the hidden forces at play. Powerful as he was, Hua Yunfeng only made it to the fourth spot. Then who was on the top three?
“Dad? What’s the ranking of Chen Fan?” Tang Yifei asked indignantly. “Is he even on it?”
“Hehe…” Tang Yuanqin paused a second, letting the suspense hang in the air. “He is the most powerful Grandmaster in China, Chen Beixuan! Without the appearance of an Immortal State martial artist, he is undoubtedly the most powerful.”
His words had shocked everyone.
