Chen Beixuan had won!
As soon as Chen Fan was out of Shiba Park, news about the fight had already reached across the ocean to China.
The outcome had at first shocked the entire Chinese Martial arts community.
Chen Fan had won! He had defeated the most powerful Overlord in Japan, a Sword Sage who was anointed by the Japanese emperor himself.
After the shock wore off, everyone cheered for Chen Fan’s victory. A joyous and celebratory mood hung in the air wherever there were martial artists: the Wu Family of North-Western China, Ba Ji Sect at Zhong Zhou, Tai Chi Sect, Xin Yi Sect, Lu family and Gu family, just to name a few.
China and been bullied by Japan for too long and it was about time for a change.
The last hundred years in Chinese history was the hundred years of shame and disgrace. China was plagued by internal strife and external invitations then. However, the Chinese people had never given up hope and started to rebuild their country from the ashes of war. Japan, on the other hand, had a head start on modernization and was the first Asian country to industrialize. After decades of accumulation, Japan had reached a higher level of standard in nearly all aspects of life than China. They grew content and became contemptuous toward Chinese, considering them inferior in all ways. They viewed China as an American plantation landlord would to Africa.
War had brought deep hatred between the people of the two nations, and a little spark would often cause a bloody duel between the two nations martial artists.
That was the premise that had made Chen Fan’s fight with Takemiya Hiro so much bigger than it was. Chen Fan’s victory had made him a hero of the Chinese people, a poster boy of their national pride. Although in present-day age, the national competition was mostly in the area of economy or culture influence, it didn’t mean that martial arts had become obsolete. Every Grandmaster added some weight to the overall strength of a nation. A powerful Grandmaster such as Takemiya Hiro and Chen Fan were even more valuable than a breakthrough in military technology.
At their level, they were more powerful than most modern weapons and the ruined Tokyo Tower was a testament of their power. The Tokyo Tower was made out of steel and not even bombs could have caused as much damage as it had sustained.
“I told you so! I knew Chen Beixuan was going to win the fight.”
“Just think about it: Chen Beixuan had never lost a fight ever since he rose to prominence. That Japanese dude, did you see how old he was? There was no way he could —”
A group of young martial artists gathered at the Xin Yi Sect and they were all engrossed in their conversation about the fight. Suddenly, a one-armed middle-aged man passed the crowd and caught the speaker’s attention. The young man’s face paled and one of his listeners hurried to covered his mouth as if he was speaking blasphemy in a church.
To his surprise and relief, the middle-aged man nodded at them with a smile and walked away.
After the one-armed man disappeared, the listener finally let go of his hold on the young man’s mouth. He castigated hotly: “Are you crazy? Chen Beixuan is Elder Sun’s sworn enemy, yet you praised Chen Beixuan as if he was a hero. Are you tired of living? ”
The young man’s head drooped in silence as he struggled to gather himself from fear.
The one-armed man was Sun Wudi, one of the semi transcendent warriors at the Xin Yi Sect. He had joined a mission with a few others to do away with Chen Fan, but he ended up losing one of his arms after Tong Shan ripped it off of his body. There was no doubt that he loathed Chen Fan.
“But I saw Elder Sun smiling at me. I guess he didn’t hear what I have said?”
The young man scratched his head and was dumbfounded.
Such a scene played out in many places in China.
Inside the Medicine God Valley Sect, Jin Yi looked to the east and imagined Chen Fan standing at the end of the horizon where Japan was. A mix of complicated feelings rose inside of her. King of Elixirs stood beside her and patted her shoulders to offer some solace but he was unable to smooth the girl’s knotted brows.
Lu Yanxue sat before an office table. She was wearing a business outfit with a black and white button-down shirt. She wore pulled back hair that was up in a bun, making the lines on her face look severe. Those lines softened a little after she got a message about Chen Fan’s victory. However, a hint of morose flickered in her eyes.
Zheng Anqi was in a board meeting when she received a phone call. She nearly jumped out of her seat and paced around the large conference room, startling the rest of the attendees. They have never seen Zheng Anqi break her seasoned and aloof shell and became so anxious. Only those board members who were close to Zheng Anqi had guessed that the phone call might have something to do with the mysterious owner of the company.
Jinlin City, Zhong Hai, Yan Jin…
Regardless of where they were, the reaction to the news was the same: they were shocked at first, and then relief. Too much was at stake, if Chen Fan lost the fight, it would be another few decades at least for the Chinese Martial Arts community to regain momentum. On the other hand, Chen Fan’s victory would be able to allow the Chinese Martial Artist community to pin their Japanese counterpart under its thumb for many years. They no longer needed to stomach the arrogance and disdain of the Japanese Martial Artists.
Meanwhile, other news came out of the military.
Leader of Dragon’s Fang, the backbone of the squad that was stationed at Northern China had decided to resign from his post in order to focus on his cultivation after he had received a phone call. His resignation had already been approved by the military leaders.
Meanwhile, in a mountain valley somewhere in Zhong Zhou…
A girl of elegant features sat by a pond, watching the mist rise from the calm surface of the water. The girl used to have a strident and boisterous personality, after spending much of her recent months by the calm and serene lake, she had grown much quieter and more focused.
Her features were well defined as if they were chiseled out from a smooth marble. Her skin was the color of fresh snow and was as smooth as silk: a perfect combination with her long dark hair that tumbled down to her waist. She sat by the lake, hugging her legs close to her chest, and stared into the pond thoughtfully.
An elder came over to her.
“A’Xiu, you have not yet reached Transcendent State. Don’t sit so close to the Yin Dragon Pond, it’s not good for you.”
The girl was Chen Fan’s in-name disciple that he had taken up a year ago: A’Xiu. She had become much more beautiful than she had been a year ago. She used to have the charm of a girl next door, but now she had outgrown her childish shell and transformed into a drop-dead gorgeous lady.
A’Xiu didn’t seem to hear the old man’s warning. She murmured to herself.
“I have thought that if I put my heart into training, I could catch up with master one day. But now I feel that even when I finally reached the peak of Internal Force cultivation, It would still be a far cry compared to Master. I will have to live with the reality that I would never ever catch up with him.”
Wu Shanhe heaved a sigh; he was not sure what to say to the girl.
The old man had lived a rough and tumble life and had tasted all flavors the world had to offer him. However, he was still an amateur when it came down to romantic affections.
However, A’Xiu quickly gathered herself and said: “What was I thinking. Master has led me by example and had trampled over the Japanese Martial arts community. I should not fall behind.”
“Sect Brother Wu, let’s go deal with that annoying bunch at Jiu Ding City. I have heard reports that someone was trying to incite a mutiny against me.”
The tone of A’Xiu’s voice changed and so did her expression. Her face became hard and severe and her expression was like an icy wind sweeping across the tundra, turning her into the legendary queen of blizzards.
“As you wish.”
Wu Shanhe replied as he lowered his head.
Even the spell caster from the Yin Ghost Sect started to fear the power and the decisiveness of the young girl.
When the news reached the international underground world, it had the same effect on people as it did in China.
The family lord of the Lee Family of the Samsung Group called for a family meeting during which they removed Lee Hyeok-Gyu of all his responsibilities in the family and decided to put him under house arrest. They also approved the motion to shelf all activities against Azure Talisman Pharmaceutical and Chen Beixuan.
Aid International and other large corporations were also quick to send out representatives to touch base with Chen Fan.
The news also reached Hong Sect. An insider who worked closely with the sect leader said that the sect leader didn’t take the news very well. He had watched as the leader smashed everything, including his most prized china collection in a fit of anger. Afterward, the leader confessed that he regretted ever making a move against Chen Beixuan.
The rest of the underbosses of Hong Sect were also terrified after hearing the news.
They relished in the fact that they were not the one who was sent to deal with Chen Beixuan, otherwise, none of them would still be alive. No one doubted that Chen Beixuan had the ability to kill all seven underbosses of Hong Sect at once.
Olga’s face paled as she reflected on her near escape from death.
Many more underground organizations debated with each other passionately.
“Is Chen Beixuan really an Immortal Level Overlord?”
Someone posted a post on the CIA’s private server.
“He killed Takemiya Hiro who we haven’t seen in action for decades. Regardless of how highly regarded he was in Japan, no one knows for sure how powerful he was.”
“We might not have any evidence to prove that Chen Beixuan is of Immortal State, but he had displayed his incredible power that had crushed the Tokyo Tower. Plus, he killed Kurokawa Sho with one punch under everyone’s watch. It doesn’t really matter that much if he is Immortal State or not, the point is, no one could have defeated him now. Could Zeus do that, or anyone of the other two fighters at the top of the list?” Someone else replied.
The reply was liked by many netizens.
Then a user called Observer posted more information.
“I have heard that Takemiya Hiro had kept himself busy while he led his life in isolation. He challenged nearly everyone on the top ten spots of the list. Zeus told me in person that their spar twenty years ago had ended in a draw. He believed that Takemiya Hiro had the ability to take one of the top three spots.”
“Observer” was a well-known alias online. He seemed to be very well connected and always got a whiff of something happening before anyone else. The other users suspected that he was either a high clearance level intelligence officer from one of the major powers in the world, or he was an insider of an international megacorp. Otherwise, no ordinary man could have gathered that much information so quickly. As soon as the Observer showed up, many users came out of their lurking state and greeted him.
“Mr. Observer, you are finally here.”
“I think Mr. Observer is right, he always is.”
“If Mr. Observer is right and Takemiya Hiro had what it takes to be placed at the top three spot, should we reevaluate Chen Beixuan’s rank then? Would he rank number two if not one?”
Someone asked with a surprised emoji.
“Mr. Observer, can you please shed some light on Chen Beixuan’s exact level of attainment? Is he really an Immortal Level Overlord?”
The original poster asked.
After a while, the Observer finally replied: “no, he is more powerful than Immortal level.”
Then the entire forum went dead silent.
A question arose in the minds of whoever was reading the perplexing and stunning revelation. Was there going to be a new Immortal Level Overlord in this world? There hadn’t been one for sixty years. Takemiya Hiro had been the closest one to reach Immortal state, but he was dead now.
“I can’t be certain if Chen Beixuan is the most powerful man in the world at this moment, but I think it’s safe to say that he is the most powerful man in East Asia”
That was Observer’s last message.
The entire East Asia Martial arts community was shocked by the revelation.