“Number one on the Heaven roll? What is the Heaven roll anyways?”
An awkwardness hung in the air as most people had never heard of such a thing. Was it some kind of alternative to the Forbes Rich List?
“Hold on, did you call him Chen Beixuan? Is he the new rising star in Hong Kong, the mysterious tycoon Chen Beixuan?”
Suddenly, someone asked.
“Ah- no wonder I felt the name sounded so familiar. Just a few months ago, I heard someone talking about a new billionaire in Hong Kong who is called Chen Beixuan. No one seemed to talk about him after he took over the Zheng’s Financial Group.”
Another one recalled as memory suddenly came back to him.
The conversation resonated among the crowd, and more and more people recalled the same news they had heard. Since Hong Kong was far away from Wu Zhou and the news about Chen Beixuan’s rise to power was only mentioned very briefly, most people were only able to recall the name but couldn’t remember any details
“He is the owner of Zheng’s Financial Group in Hong Kong?” Tang Jianfen asked incredulously.
The Su Family found it hard to wrap their minds around the new information presented to them.
Chen Fan’s identity seemed to be changing every passing minute. He was the Master Chen of Jiang Bei, then he was the Head Sergeant of Cang Dragon unit, and now he was the billionaire in Hong Kong. Chen Fan turned out to the owner of Zheng’s Financial Group and was in charge of the Zheng family in Hong Kong. It was a powerful family clan that wielded as much prestige and wealth as the Su Family.
Many people looked at Chen Fan in disbelief.
He not only dominated Jiang Bei but was also a multi-billionaire in Hong Kong. Either of his achievements could be an ordinary man’s life goals. However, He had reached both at the age of nineteen. If he was not a genius, no one else was.
Jealousy and envy quickly surfaced on Ji Luochen’s eyes.
He was in his early thirties and was only able to become the CEO of a public company largely due to his family background. On the other hand, Chen Fan was in charge of a few companies and managed over billions of assets. He simply couldn’t compare.
Even Su Yanghao felt a pang of regret and remorse.
If he knew Chen Fan was such a capable young man, he would risk the ire of Ji Family and marry her grandniece to him. If he was able to accomplish so much while before he even turned twenty, what could he achieve when he was forty? He would definitely help Su Family’s fame rise to new heights.
“What a shame, it’s all too late now.”
Su Yanghao thought to himself.
Ji Family, Nin Family, and the Tang Family were clear which side they were on, therefore, if Su Yanghao kept on hesitating on the fence, the other families would sooner or later resent his lack of commitment. Worse, his son, Su Zhengde was already at it with Chen Fan and between Chen Fan and his own son, he would choose the latter any minute.
“He is a tycoon in Hong Kong, but so what? We are in mainland China now, so we need to obey the mainland’s rule. Many people have witnessed what you have done to my son, you can’t get away with it in court.” Nin Chendong took a step forward, eyes bloodshot. He shouted at Chen Fan hotly.
Su Zhengde and the other elders nodded in agreement.
Even Old Man Zheng in Hong Kong wouldn’t be able to get away with such a crime, much less his successor Chen Fan. Compensation would have to be handed out in billions to the son of the Nin Family in the bed.
Ji Shoujuo kept his silence.
Deep down, he had a nagging suspicion that the Heaven roll and the Martial arts Grandmasters meant something very significant. Plus, he remembered that he had acquainted the title “Grandmaster” before, but he couldn’t recall any details.
It wasn’t Ji Shoujuo who was getting old and his memories were escaping him, it was because different professions lived in different worlds. If one was a fashion designer, he would never have heard of the top chef in the food industry. Ji Shoujuo had worked in the financial sector for his entire life and rarely did he got the chance to brush shoulders with martial artists. Even if he got to meet martial artists, the latter wouldn’t disclose the information about the Heaven roll readily.
Most Martial Artists he met were looking for employment under him, so the focus of the conversation was their ability but not those who were much stronger than them.
Before the old man could remember the meaning of the title, Qiao Luoyin put in: “Although a tycoon of Hong Kong has to obey the law, that is not the case for the most powerful Grandmaster in China. He could easily ruin your entire family, much less break your son’s arms and legs.”
She paused then let out a cold smirk.
“Are you really that naive thinking the Old Man Zheng had died of natural causes and willingly handed over his assets to Mr.Chen? The Zheng family was not running a charity the last time I checked. ”
Her words stirred up a swell of murmurs.
“What does she mean? The number one Grandmaster on the Heaven roll was above the law?”
“But she had raised some good questions. Why did the Zheng family offer all of their assets to Master Chen? Things do not add up.”
“I have heard that it was some kind of bet.”
Someone put in.
“Indeed. The Zheng family owed Master Chen ten billion and tried to write off their debt. The two parties decided to settle the score in a good old fashioned duel. In the end, Master Chen had killed the greatest Feng Shui Master Zhou Daoji in the duel and claimed all of the Zheng family’s wealth. He also took Old Man Zheng’s life afterward.” Qiao Luoyin said slowly.
Even as she said this, her mesmerizing gaze drifted toward Chen Fan. Her eyes were brightening by the second.
When she first heard about Chen Fan’s deeds, she, like everyone else in the room, thought that those were high tales. However, after meeting the man straight out of the legend, Qiao Luoyin felt her heart thumped in her chest, unable to hold back her admiration.
“What?”
The crowd boiled over.
A tycoon’s life and all of his wealth: no one has ever heard of such preposterous duel in the modern world.
“Impossible, that’s impossible.”Tang Jianfen shook his head
“We don’t believe you either.”
Su Zhengde chimed in.
Su Yanghao didn’t join the opposition. As an elder who had weathered the turmoil of the early 20th century, he had heard of incredible stories of the martial arts world in passing. Although none were as stunning as what Chen Fan had done, he knew those Martial artists lived a different life than most people.
“The question remains if Chen Fan was one of those who were above the law.”
Su Yanghao thought to himself shocked.
“You don’t believe me because you have no idea what it means to be the number one Grandmaster on the Heaven roll.” Qiao Luoyin smirked and then she lifted her chin and refuted: “Have you guys ever heard of Hua Yunfeng of the Hua Yunfeng in Zhong Hai?”
The name caught everyone’s attention.
Ji Luochen and Tang Jianfen were both startled by the mentioning of the name.
Even before the People’s Republic of China was founded, the Hua family had already claimed supremacy in Zhong Hai. The family not only survived but also thrived under the leadership of Hua Yunfeng. Hua Yunfeng himself also became a synonym for a successful man in Zhong Hai.
Everyone in China knew of him.
“Why do you bring him up?” Su Zhengde asked.
However, Ji Luochen and the other older men in the room have already guessed the reason. They not only knew what made Hua Yunfeng a legend but also to stay out of this mighty force’s way.
“The Heaven roll listed all Grandmasters in China. Hua Yunfeng was number four.” Qiao Luoyin said with a smug smile. “Even Ye Nantian was the second on the list. I hope now you will have a better idea of what the number one spot means.”
“What?”
Everyone was shocked by the new information.
Once they had learned the ranking of Hua Yunfeng and Ye Nantian on the list, the weight of the ranking finally setting in.
Everyone looked to Chen Fan in shock and disbelief.
Master Chen, Tycoon of Hong Kong, the number one Grandmaster in China, when all these notable titles were bestowed upon this teenager, Chen Fan was suddenly shrouded by mystery and turned into a character out of legends.
Even Fang Qiong rounded her eyes incredulously while staring at Chen Fan.
She knew her childhood friend was a force to be reckoned with, but not to such an inconceivable degree.
“Wait for a second, do you have any proof of what you have just said?”
Suddenly, Lord Ji asked as suspicion burning in his eyes.
His question suddenly made everyone question the girl’s words.
“that’s right, what if she is lying to us? How could less than twenty years old young achieve so much? We don’t live in a Qidian novel, aren’t we?”
Many people looked to Chen Fan with doubt.
Many of them chose to question Chen Fan’s power not because there was a lack of evidence, but because they couldn’t coup with the reality that a teenage boy was much more successful than them.
“What kind of proof do you need? Why don’t you call the Zheng family and ask them yourself right now?” Qiao Luoyin flung back at the old man.
She was the heir of the Qiao Family in Jinlin City, and no one had ever questioned her words.
Su Yanghao waved a placatory hand at both the girl and Lord Ji. He knew that Lord Ji had chosen not to believe her words because he refused to accept the reality that he had lost the fight, that even the combined forces of the families couldn’t bring down Chen Fan. Ji Shoujuo had lived ninety years and never did he endure such utter defeat. Ji Shoujuo raised the question simply because his ego drove him to do so.
After all, Chen Fan’s status in society was so unreachable to most people in the room that it might as well be fake should Ji Shoujuo persist that it was. After all, if people couldn’t translate the Heaven roll to the power they could perceive, so it might as well mean nothing.
Chen Fan furrowed his brows and was about to speak out.
Suddenly, a commotion came up from the entrance. It sounded like some important man had arrived.
The commotion caught everyone’s attention, and soon a young man darted into the main hall and announced:
“Third Grandpa, the leader of the nation sent their secretary to pay tribute to you.”
“What?” Su Yanghao was taken aback and rose to his feet. With the help of Su Xiao, he made his way toward the entrance with everyone else in tow. It was the Su Family’s honor to have The leaders sent their representative here.
Before Su Yanghao had made it out of the main hall, the representative was already in sight.
His name was Mr. Qu and he was a scholarly looking middle-aged man with a pair of silver-rimmed glasses.
“Mr. Qu, It is an honor to have you here.” Su Yanghao held onto Mr. Qu’s hand and shook it vigorously.
“Mr. Su, the leader of our country knew that it is your ninetieth birthday and asked me to send their regards.” Mr. Qu hung a mechanical smile on his face and his voice sounded distant and guarded.
However, no one thought Mr. Qu’s demeanor was unwarranted.
Despite Mr. Qu’s low rank in the government, he represented a political hegemony in China who often appeared on Tv.
Mr. Qu scanned the crowd. As soon as his eyes found Chen Fan, they were lit up with glee. Mr. Qu quickly heaped smile on his face and hurried to Chen Fan and shook his hand with a peal of laughter.
“Grandmaster Chen, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Do you know him, Mr. Qu?”
Everyone was stunned by the development. Lord Su asked incredulously.
“Why of course. The leaders talk about him all the time.” Mr. Qu said. “It is our fortune to have Grandmaster Chen serving the people of China.”
Su Yanghao gapped at Mr. Qu incredulously.
“How could it be? Even the leaders of the nation know of Chen Fan?” Ji Shoujuo shook his head in disbelief.
“Of course!” Mr. Qu seemed to be displeased by Lord Ji’s remark. He continued: “Do you want to know the opinion of our leader toward Grandmaster Chen?”
Mr. Qu pulled a serious face and then announced: “Chen Beixuan is the greatest pride of our nation, the golden boy of our time.”
Mr. Qu’s words shocked everyone and rendered them speechless.