“This is… Impossible!”
Loong Jun lowered his head, trying to hide the shock and disbelief in his eyes.
He knew Zheng Anqi well and had thought of making a move on this princess of the Zheng family and international supermodel. However, based on the paparazzi news he had read, Zheng Anqi should look like an ugly crone. The picture of her wizened face had been published all over Hong Kong’s news outlets.
However, there and then, the Zheng Anqi standing before Loong Jun was even more attractive than she had been before the downfall of her family. Her porcelain skin scintillated under the bright light.
“Mr. Chen just signed a contract with me and named me his assistant. When he is gone, I will be sitting in his place as the Board Director. He put forward the motion of electing me as the new CEO of the Zheng’s Financial Group, anyone have a different opinion?”
She didn’t mind the shocked glares around her and made her way toward the director’s seat. Her heels clicked against the hard floor, making her steps sounded imperious and confident. She put the documents on the table and scanned the people around her.
Everyone was still stunned by the development, therefore, no one spoke a word.
Half of the board of directors were people related to the Zheng family, the other half consisted of the Zheng’s Financial Group’s former employees who used to work for Old Man Zheng. Therefore, if Chen Fan had nominated a family member of the Zheng family, no one was going to be against it.
Loong Jun and the other alligators that wished to use the power struggle between Chen Fan and the Board members to force Chen to forsake direct control over the company. He had been talking secretly with many board members and had formed a consensus that if Chen Fan had chosen anyone outside of the Zheng family as the new CEO, they would vote Chen Fan’s proposal down, organize strikes and pull their investments out.
To his surprise, Chen Fan had nominated Zheng Anqi as the next CEO.
Zheng Anqi was the heir of the Zheng family and therefore had the support of Old Man Zheng’s former employees. She had exceptional talent and had been considered the official third-generation heir of the Zheng family. Her sudden transformation from an old hag to her youthful and attractive former self was a telltale sign of Chen Fan’s support for her. Her drastic transformation also spoke loudly of Chen Fan’s unimaginable power.
Therefore, with everyone’s acquiescence, Zheng Anqi became the new CEO of the Zheng’s Financial Group and took over the driver’s seat of the company. Loong Jun heaved a sigh, rose from his chair and left the room.
From the moment he saw Zheng Anqi appear in the room, he knew that he had lost the battle.
“Boss Loong, what do we do now? Do we still hedge against Zheng’s Financial Group’s stock?”
A pretty-looking Columbia University grad trailed behind Loong Jun. She was Loong Jun’s secretary. She wore black high heels, back stockings and a pair of silver-rimmed glasses.
“No, let’s stop for now.”
Although Loong Jun had lost in the first round of the competition with Chen Fan, he was unfazed. He paused in a hallway of the Zheng’s Place and looked out through the glass windows down at entire Hong Kong Island.
“Although Zheng’s Financial Group had capitulated to Chen Beixuan, I won’t.”
“Chen Beixuan has made too many enemies in Hong Kong.”
“We need to find a new Grandmaster in Hong Kong.”
A light came up in Loong Jun’s eyes.
Zheng Anqi’s effective and strong-handed leadership had the support of all the former employees of Old Man Zheng. After a few weeks of consolidating power, the Zheng’s Financial Group was finally on the right track. Although the company was bound to experience more uncertainty in the future, it had more or less recovered from the turmoil. By now, there was only one last thing left for Chen Fan to do in Hong Kong: collect materials for Dharma Array.
The Green Dragon Grand Array required a tremendous amount of raw materials.
Hong Kong was the capital of spellcasters and the Chinese Esotericism Conference had attracted even more spellcasters to Hong Kong. They should have some raw materials that could be put to better use by Chen Fan. These raw materials could be used to cast a Feng Shui array or refine a Dharma Artifact in the hands of ordinary spellcasters, however, in the hands of Chen Fan, they could be turned into a gigantic Dharma Array that covered over an area of a few square kilometers.
What Chen Fan offered to the spellcasters in exchange for what they had was also very tempting.
Yun Wu Spirit Water, Lesser Essence Enhancing Pill, Arcane Pills, Body Tempering Pill, Essence Gathering Pill, and many small scale dharma arrays. Chen Fan had even promised them that if they could offer him a supreme-grade material, he would teach them the real art of Immortal Cultivation in exchange.
However, so far, no one had brought him a numinous treasures yet.
“Jaundice, Earth Essence, Yin Crystals, Bones of Malice Beast, Arcane Azure Wood, and the scales of Naga…” As Chen Fan had expected, these spellcasters had many precious materials. Some of them had been passed down generations and were the sole survivor of its kind. He had even collected a few pieces of material whose rarity was similar to that of the Yin Snake Bones. One of the pieces was no doubt the scale of a Connate Bone Spirit Beast.
Soon, Chen Fan had collected enough material to cast a dozen Green Dragon Grand Arrays. Pleasantly surprised by the results, a broad smile broke over Chen Fan’s face.
Chen Fan had paid for these precious materials with elixirs and some basic spells that cost him nearly nothing.
“I have been collecting materials for three days, I wager I should be able to head back in three more days.” Chen Fan calculated in his mind. He had been staying at the Zheng family’s mansion along the Repulse Bay.
The amount of material he got was similar to that inside of the Medicine God Valley Sect’s vault.
Although the spellcasters were able to sense the incredible energy in a lot of the materials, they were clueless as to how to use them. Chen Fan capitalized on that and bought them from the spellcasters’ hands. These materials would be put to great use in the hands of a powerful Array formation master.
“Mr. Chen, here is your tea.”
A girl with breathtaking beauty and tall stature set a cup of superior-grade Sejak tea before Chen Fan. She was wearing a casual outfit and pulled her hair back and up in a bun that was fixed with a wooden hair stick. She looked like a meek and obedient housewife before Chen Fan.
“I didn’t ask you back to be my servant girl, I need you to run the company for me.”
Chen Fan let out a remark after taking a small sip of tea.
“You have asked for absolute ;loyalty from me. I am just showing you that you are my master now.” Zheng Anqi stood still and said calmly without any rancor. She locked her gaze on the young man before her and her heart was filled with complicated yet strong emotions.
This was the young man who had pushed her into the living hell. He had taken the life of her grandpa, robbed her of youth and beauty, turning her into a helpless and hapless hag.
However, this was also the young man who had restored her appearance and made her the manager of a multi-billion corporation.
Did Zheng Anqi hate him? Of course.
However, her hatred was only on the surface. Old Man Zheng was near the end of his life span and without the hundred Arcane Pills she had obtained from Chen Fan through trickery, Old Man Zheng would have already died of natural causes by now. In other words, Chen Fan had gifted the old man an extra year of life and there was nothing wrong with him taking the gift back. Plus, Chen Fan had given her the rare opportunity to see the true colors of people around her and to taste a much-needed dose of reality. She had never thought that the kindest person to her ended up being Chen Fan, who she thought was the cruelest man in the world.
The moment Chen Fan restored her appearance, Zheng Anqi had made up her mind to trust her life to this young man. She was abandoned by her family and friends, and Chen Fan was all she had.
“I will be leaving for Jin City in three days. Call me if you need anything. As you said, I am your master now, so no one should dare harm you.” Chen Fan said lightly.
“Yes.”
Zheng Anqi shivered a little and then lowered her head and replied.
She stood there for a while in silence and didn’t leave the room until Chen Fan was back to his study to sort all kinds of strange things he had collected over the days.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Esotericism Conference carried on.
The death of Zhou Daoji was just being felt by the spellcasting society. Zhou Daoji was the most powerful spellcaster in Southern Sect, an accomplished Feng Shui master of peak Dharma Cultivation level. He had dominated Hong Kong for a few decades and had defended the honor of Hong Kong many times.
Hong Kong is an international metropolis, the shining jewel on southern sea. It had been the focal point for the South East Chinese community, if not the entire overseas Chinese community. Many international corporations set up their HQ in Hong Kong. Zhou Daoji had been protecting Hong Kong from the malicious process that had been eyeing on the incredible social wealth of Hong Kong. With the death of Zhou Daoji, things were bound to change.
Thailand, Chiang Mai, China Town…
A statue of a one-eyed naga was set inside of an ancient temple. This One-eyed Naga King had a hideous face and was covered with glinting scales that were darker than ink.
Under the statue sat a thin old man in a black robe.
The old man was meditating, the space all around him was infused with an invisible force that seemed to bend the fabric of space. A fly stumbled into the contorted space and was crushed by the invisible force instantly.
“Master, Zhou Daoji is dead.”
A wave of heavy footsteps brought in a small dark-skinned man. Despite his small frame, he was covered from head to toe with hard muscles. Every inch of burgeoning muscle seemed to pack an incredible force. He only wore a bandana on the head, a tank top and a pair of shorts with no shoes.
Every step he took sounded like a giant walking.
The dark-skinned man entered the temple and bowed 45 degrees to the thin old man. If any top fighters of Muay Thai was here, they would be shocked by what they saw. This dark-skinned man was a renowned Grandmaster in Ancient Muay Thai. Rumor had it that he was able to lift an elephant and his power was on par with that of the Grandmasters in China.
However, such a mighty figure stood respectfully before the old man as a pupil would to his master.
“Alodi, you are unnerved.”
The thin old man’s eyes remained closed. However, a red dot appeared in between his eyes on his forehead. Then, the dot turned into a line and the line became a third eye. It was golden in color and gave a cold, icy glare to the dark-skinned man.
Alodi lowered his head and looked even more fearful and respectful than before.
Although he was a Mixed Martial Arts Master, a Grandmasters in Ancient Muay Thai, and was able to kill a galloping elephant, he would not even think of challenging the old man.
Alodi knew that this old man was the most powerful Dharma master in Thailand, if not the entire Southeast Asia,
He was the Grandmaster of the oriental back magic, Gong Tau, and his name was Dashava Kunloon.