“General Ye of Kunlun”
A deadly silence fell over the room as soon as the name was evoked.
The footsoldiers of the Dark Moon might not comprehend the significance of the name, but Lin Tashan and Jiang Yinyue felt every ounce of its impact, so much so that they called him General Ye instead of using his full name.
“He is a real legend. A force to be reckoned with even among the Immortal Level Overlords.”
Jiang Yinyue lowered her head and murmured to herself.
“Hehe, he had kicked Hong Sect out of China, defeated Dragon Hall, quashed the Square Tower and forced my family into seclusion. By now, he has been presiding over China for more than six decades and he must have reveled in every second of it. Among his offsprings, Ye Nantian seemed to be his most likely successor. They might have their day now, but the Lin Family would avenge our defeat sooner or later.”
Lin Tashan let out a burst of cold laughter as a golden light glinted in his eyes.
“Clank.”
As if having sensed its owner’s emotion, the blade seemingly unsheathed itself spiling cold lights from its smooth and shiny surface. Suddenly, the temperature in the room seemed to have dropped a few dozen degrees until the air was bitingly cold on the skin and a layer of frost appeared on the surface of tables.
Everyone was shocked by the display of power.
What they were experiencing was merely the Blade Qi formed by Lin Tashan’s deadly energy.
It was hard to imagine what kind of terrifying power laid underneath the unforgiving Blade Qi.
“He was definitely more powerful than early-stage of Transcendent State as he had claimed.” Jiang Yinyue was taken aback by the power at first. However, she managed to avert her shocked gaze and pull herself together.
“I have heard that he had gravely injured his brother, Lin Tatian when the latter decided to turn on his family. That was more than a decade ago, yet he already could defeat Lin Tatian who was at the peak of Transcendent State. His power now must be unimaginable.”
Despite the shocking revelation, Jiang Yinyue plastered on an unfazed look and asked:
“Do you mean Chen Beixuan wouldn’t be here any time soon?”
“Russia is not just any nation in the world, it is a superpower.” Lin Tashan thrust his blade back into the sheath and said: “With enough determination, the leader of Russia could have done anything he wanted to. They had enough nuclear weapons to kill all the Immortal State warriors in the world many times over. That being said, Russia is cornered by the United States of America as of now, so I don’t think they would commit fully to dealing with Chen Beixuan.”
“That being said, Chen Beixuan’s journey back to China wouldn’t be a stroll in the park either. He had to deal with the Bloodwolf King first. Oleg is a tough son of a gun, a battle-hardened warrior. He could at least slow Chen Beixuan down for a couple of weeks. ”
Lin Tashan said with a great measure of conviction.
“I see the truth in it now. We would have already returned to our bases by the time Chen Beixuan arrives. I doubt he dares to barge directly into the Hong Sect Headquarters of the Lin Family.”
The thought lightened up Jiang Yinyue’s mood a bit so she chimed in with a smile.
“Pada!”
Suddenly, a dark shadow barged through the window and landed in the living room.
“Who is that??”
Everyone jerked their heads toward the shadow on the ground and realized that it wasn’t a person, it was someone’s head. They recognized the blood-smeared face right away. It was a familiar face that they had seen nearly every day.
“Zhou Tianhao!”
Someone blenched.
He had been the Wei Family’s most loyal dog before Chen Fan become his master. However, as soon as Lin Tashan arrived at Jiang Bei, he turned coat again and offered his servitude to Lin Tashan. By now, the former tycoon of Chu Zhou City was decapitated; his severed head on displayed before his new master.
Fear and regret were written all over Zhou Tianhao’s face, such as the last thoughts that thrust into his mind before his death.
His wide-open eyes seemed to have seen a power that was truly terrifying.
“Who goes there? Who killed Zhou Tianhao?”
Jiang Yinyue grounded her teeth and pulled a tout face. Zhou Tianhao had quickly become her trusted confidant and killing him was a loud and clear slap on her face.
“I am afraid the devil we were speaking of has arrived.”
Lin Tashan rose to his feet with a solemn face as a belligerent fire lit up his eyes.
“What?”
Before Jiang Yinyue realized what the man meant, the door was swung wide open as a young man walked into the room with a great measure of levity. He barely glanced over the deadly warriors of Dark Moon and neither did he paid particular attention to Jiang Yinyue or Lin Tashan.
“Who are you?”
A Dark Moon soldier asked with an edge in his voice. Meanwhile, realization had already dawned upon Jiang Yinyue and rendered her speechless. Her body shook in great trepidation as if she was standing before a ghost.
“Chen… Chen Beixuan?”
Jiang Yinyue stammered.
The name cast a spell in the air and turning the room pin-drop quiet. The Dark Moon Warriors were stupefied by what they heard and could only gape.
The ordinary-looking young man turned out to be the living legend who had brought a superpower to its knees and the archrival of the Hong Sect: Chen Beixuan!
The genuine fear on their captain’s face reminded everyone of the terrifying rumors they have heard about Chen Fan, the gruesome details of his treatment to his enemies. It wasn’t long before the Dark Moon soldiers were paralyzed by fear.
“Are you Lin Tashan?”
Chen Fan didn’t even spare Jiang Yinyue a glance as he locked his gaze on the man with the blade.
“You look just like your brother, Lin Tatian. Are you here to avenge his death?”
“Lin Tatian betrayed our family so his life or death matters not to us.” Lin Tatian was unfazed in the presence of the living legend. He replied readily and firmly.
“Dear Mr. Chen Beixuan, Please note that I have not harmed your family during my sojourn in Jiang Bei. I have purposely avoided disturbing them out of my respect for you. I hereby make it clear that neither I nor the Lin Family wishes to get involved in your business with the Hong Sect. I have done everything under the directive of the Hong Sect, but not of my own will, neither did I take pleasure in it.”
Lin Tashan quickly threw the Hong Set under the bus.
Jiang Yinyue rounded her eyes in disbelief as she gaped at Lin Tashan. She had never seen anyone more shameless and fickle.
“You are right that you didn’t lift a finger on any of my family members, but you have killed a very good friend of mine.” Chen Fan walked over to the middle-aged man with his hands linked behind his back.
The soldiers of the Dark Moon stood and watched as Chen Fan come closer to them, none of them dare to move a muscle.
“Oh? Which friend?”
Lin Tashan gasped and then asked in confusion and fear.
He was smart enough to refrain from digging his claws into Chen Fan’s family in order to leave a bit of wiggle room for himself in case of Chen Fan’s return. As long as he didn’t harm the people who Chen Fan really cared about, Lin Tashan was confident that Chen Fan would spare his life especially when he had the powerful Lin Family’s support.
“Xu Ao.”
Chen Fan spoke a name.
“Him?”
Lin Tashan was suddenly light-hearted by the revelation. He looked to Chen Fan incredulously and asked: “Master Chen Beixuan, you and I are both Martial arts Grandmasters, the true dragons. People such as Xu Ao and Zhou Tianhao were merely tools under our disposal. Xu Ao had offended me, and so I killed him. Why are you so hung-up on such an insignificant character? The Lin Family could offer you ten if not hundreds of servants as talented as Xu Ao.”
Grandmasters were True Dragons; they were the ones who had officially embarked on the journey of cultivation and had a much higher level of enlightenment than average mortals. Xu Ao was merely a local tycoon and his life was as worthless as that of an insect in the eyes of a Grandmaster such as Lin Tashan.
Lin Tashan knew Chen Fan as the living legend, a mighty warrior who was more powerful than an average nation. Therefore, he couldn’t wrap his head around Chen Fan’s fixation on someone as significant as Xu Ao.
“Indeed. Just as you think killing Xu Ao was the same as squashing an insect, so too my view on killing you.” Chen Fan heaved a sigh and shot Lin Tashan a glance of vast emptiness and divine indifference.
A mortal may choose one over another, but the North Mystic Celestial Lord had no preference.
Lin Tashan’s face darkened as he said in a heavy voice.
“Sir, are you sure you want to offend the Lin family of Southeastern China because of one of your lackeys? Let me remind you that our ancestor is still alive. You have already made many enemies: Russians, the Hong Sect. Are you sure you want the Lin family to raise up against you as well?”
“Lin Family?” Chen Fan cracked a smile and linked his hands behind his back. “Don’t make me laugh.”
His imposing demeanor shocked everyone in the living room.
“Kaboom!”
Suddenly, Lin Tashan backed away a few dozen feet, through the wall, and disappeared in the pouring rain.
The Grandmaster of Lin Family had turned on his heels and abandoned the Hong Sect fighters to their own devices.
Even as Jiang Yinyue opened her mouth to chid her craven ally, she heard Chen Fan’s voice around her ears.
“Do you think you can run away from me?”
Chen Fan tapped the gourd and grunted. “Sword Arise!”
“Clank!”
Before everyone’s incredulous eyes, a golden ray of light shot out from the gourd that was hitched about Chen Fan’s waist. Some people could even see a golden sword shimmering inside the energy.
The Sword circled around in the air, its edge barely touched people’s neck before it was through the hole on the wall and disappeared in the rain.
“Flying sword?”
Jiang Yinyue’s lips trembled as she squeezed her last couple of words.
With disbelief and shock written all over her face, her head rolled off of her shoulder.
Hadn’t the art of the Flying sword already gone extinct in China? The only one who might still know the art of Flying sword was still hiding behind the tall walls of the Lin Family, where did Chen Beixuan learn the art?
“I shall sever your head before the dawn break.”
Chen Fan linked his hands behind his back and looked into the distance. He said to himself with an even voice: “This sword had tasted blood in many cities: Jin City, Jiang Zhou City, Tian He, Yun Hai City and now Chu Zhou City. Your blood will be the last sacrifice to complete the ritual of commemorating my friendship with Xu Ao. It will restore justice to the world, and live up to its name as the ‘Sword of Essense Restoring’.”
Even as Chen Fan murmured to himself, he heard a heavy clank in the distance behind the curtain of rain.
He saw a silvery Blade Qi shot up into the sky like a flash of lightning. Lin Tashan must have unsheathed his deadly blade. The ferocious attack would easily make Lin Tashan one of the most powerful Sword Master in the world and earn him a rightful place on the Dark Roll.
“Clank, clank!”
A wave of clanking noises rose in the distance, accompanied by an eruption of sparks. A few seconds later, a golden light lanced up into the sky and the noise suddenly halted.
The sword was broken and the master was dead.
After Chen Fan spoke a nearly inaudible word. The golden sword flew back to him without any trace of blood on it. The Sword Master from the Lin Family was a semi-immortal level Grandmaster, but he had lasted less than two seconds under the attack of the deadly flying sword.
Chen Fan didn’t even care to confirm his kill. He unsheathed the sword, drifted into the heavy rain and disappeared like a phantom.
The series of events happened tonight had huge implications that were yet to be felt.
Once the dawn broke, the Jiang Nan Province would be gripped by shock and fear after seeing the aftermath of the onslaught.