The hundred-year-old man had presided over Zhong Hai for more than a decade, and never once did Cheng Danqin see him being so shocked.
“He is here as well. I think the Lin Family played a wrong hand this time.”
Before Hua Yunfeng’s words faded, he unfurrowed his brows and let out a peal of laughter.
“Teacher, who is that?”
Cheng Danqin looked over the edge of the balcony and saw only the back of three visitors as they stepped through the gate. There was one man and two girls; all were young. The girl had a sword strapped on her back as if she was a swordmaster from Wu Xia novels.
“They are… trouble. Big Trouble!” Hua Yunfeng smirked. “One of them is the guy you always wanted to meet.”
“You mean… HE is here?”
Cheng Danqin’s face paled as a pang of shock and disbelief overtook her.
The thought of the man being only a few dozen meters away made her feel suffocated regardless of how many times she had talked about him in the past because the person on her mind was the Living Legend.
“Xiao Fan, why would Yukishiro Sa carry a sword to a banquet?”
The trio was Chen Fan, An Ya, and Yukishiro Sa. An Ya asked Chen Fan curiously as she handed over the invitation.
“I am my master’s servant; the weapon is to protect the master.”
Yukishiro Sa answered stoically and matter-of-fact-ly.
Both An Ya and Chen Fan were not sure what to make of the Japanese girl’s seriousness.
Chen Fan was a living legend, the only member of the Divine Roll, why would he require a girl’s protection? However, Chen Fan knew that carrying the sword all the time was not an entirely useless idea either since the Sword Art of Azure Flower required a strong bond between the blade and the user. What would be the best way of forging such a bond than keeping the blade close to twenty-four seven?
Under the door men’s suspicious gaze, the three of them entered the banquet.
The Hua Family mansion consists of three smaller courtyards that surrounded the main one where the great hall was located. Servants bustled about, providing delicacies such as lobster and vintage wine to the guests.
Most important guests had congregated inside the great hall while the less important ones spread throughout the entire mansion.
Most of those outside of the great hall were families and friends of the ones inside. They were rich heirs, often spoiled and care-free gadabouts, who care little to none about politics.
“Uh? Isn’t that An Ya from the Jin Xiu Group?”
“Who is that guy beside her? They looked pretty close.”
Many rich heirs of Zhong Hai murmured to each other in surprise.
An Ya’s beauty was well known among the elite circle in Zhong Hai. Those who were brave enough to make a move on her all end up getting their hearts broken.
“That dude looks like the heir of the Jin Xiu Group. He is from Jiang Nan Province. Can’t remember his name though. Something Chen, I believe.”
Young Lord Feng had also attended the banquet. His face darkened as soon as he caught a glimpse of Chen Fan and An Ya.
Although Young Lord Feng’s father was also a wealthy tycoon in Zhong Hai, his family prowess simply couldn’t compare with that of the Ji Family or the Tang Family. Therefore, Young Lord Feng was not influential enough to enter the main hall and had to stay outside in the courtyard.
“He is just a country hillbilly from Jiang Nan Province, how dare he call himself the Young Master? I just can’t stand his smug face.”
“Just so! If the real Young Master from the Lin Family heard that he had been using the same name, he might as well be dead.”
Many rich heirs jeered at Chen Fa from a distance.
Their eyes turned green with envy after seeing the two drop-dead gorgeous that flanked Chen Fan on both sides. However, they feared the might of the Jin Xiu Group, so they kept their voices low and didn’t provoke Chen Fan.
Young Lord Feng suddenly remembered something, so he turned around and slinked through the crowd toward the main hall.
Chen Fan thought it was just a normal banquet, so he didn’t even bother entering the main hall, and started to help himself at the BBQ stand.
“Yukishiro Sa?”
Even as Chen Fan and the girls enjoyed the tender Kobe Beef, a woman shouted out Yukishiro Sa’s name in surprise.
They looked around and saw a gleeful Ai Jinqi looking back at them.
She badly needed a breath of fresh air after staying in the main hall for too long. Both the mood and the air in the main fall was stifling thanks to the Lin Family heavy-handed approach. To her surprise, she ran into some of her old acquaintances.
“But…” Ai Jinqi glared at Chen Fan in confusion. “Aren’t you in Chen Beixuan’s service? Who is this gentleman?”
Chen Fan had changed his appearance back to normal, so Ai Jinqi didn’t recognize him.
“Oh. You are Xiao Qi, aren’t you? Long time no see.”
Chen Fan greeted the girl readily.
Fate had brought the girl to him five times while he was in Japan, so it was difficult for Chen Fan to forget about her.
“Are you Chen Beixuan?”
Ai Jinqi had recognized Chen Fan’s voice right away. She rounded her eyes and gaped at Chen Fan in disbelief. However, it quickly occurred to her that anything was possible with Chen Fan since he could defeat an entire army all by himself.
If he could do that, then changing appearance must be a piece of cake for him.
“What are you doing in Zhong Hai? It has been so long! I thought I would never meet you guys again. I have tried to look for the other woman called Red Sparrow, but got nothing…” Ai Jinqi’s bubbly personality hadn’t changed a little. “Ah, right! Do you know that the Lin Family’s Young Master is trying to create the first-ever Commerce Guild of Zhong Hai?”
“Young Master of Lin Family? The Commerce Guild of Zhong Hai?”
Chen Fan and the two girls were suddenly at a loss.
Ai Jinqi hurried to explain: “I was just wondering what had lent the Ji Family so much audacity. It turned out that they have gained the Lin family of Southeastern China’s support. Did they really expect Lin Family’s Immortal State warrior who had been missing-in-action so far to save them from their doom?”
Lin Shuming had risen to power a hundred years ago, and by now, he must be around a hundred fifty years old. Even if he was still alive, he was no longer the mighty Immortal State warrior that he used to be.
Meanwhile, Chen Fan had already reached the Divine Sea level.
Only two things on this planet might harm him: Connate Spirit level cultivator or nuclear weapons.
Ai Jinqi batted her lashes and was about to ask Chen Fan what he meant; suddenly, a hot voice boomed from a distance.
“That’s him! He is the one who beat me up during lunch.”
They watched a group of people swarm toward the pavilion where Chen Fan was standing. The leader of the group was Yichen and Young Lord Qiu.
“Hey, you! Did you beat up my bro?”
A man took a step forward and asked Chen Fan coldly. Chen Fan had never met this man before; he must have been absent at the restaurant earlier.
Ai Jinqi’s face paled as soon as she saw the man.
She remembered that his man had been standing right next to Lin Pojun. It was evident that his status was even higher than Ji Luochen. Someone had told her that his name is Lin Tianshu, and he was a member of the Naga Unit: an elite force unit in the Southeastern Division of the Chinese National Military.
The Lin Family had a tradition of naming their offsprings after constellations.
The Tianshu constellation was a part of the Big Dipper, a significant constellation in Chinese culture. It was a telltale sign of this man’s status within his family.
“Ah! I was looking for you, and here you are!”
Chen Fan scanned the group coming after him and recognized Young Lord Qiu.
Half of Young Lord Qiu’s head was wrapped in gauze; the other half gave Yukishiro Sa a begrudging glare.
“The Lin Family never attacks anyone for no reason. You have hurt my friend; if you can apologize now and gain my friend’s forgiveness then we will call it off.”
Lin Tianshu said in an even voice.
He had a stately and imposing demeanor that was befitting to the elite heir of powerful families.
“As for Forgive? Sure. Just let me spend three nights with that slut who hit me. Do it, or else…” Young Lord Qiu let out a grin.
“What a fool!”
Chen Fan heaved a sigh and shook his head. He had spared these hooligans’ lives once, but they still didn’t learn their lesson.
They should know that the North Mystic Celestial Lord was not well known for his mercy and kindness.
“Clank!”
Chen Fan casually waved a hand and the ancient blade strapped to Yukishiro Sa’s back, suddenly unsheathed itself and flew toward Young Lord Qiu. It traced an Azure arch in the air as it covered the dozen meter distance with lightning speed, severing Young Lord Qiu’s head from his shoulder. Afterward, it returned to the sheath as swiftly as it had come out.
Such was Chen Fan’s unthinkable power that he could control the flying sword and kill a man with a flick of the finger just as the ancient legendary sword masters would.
“Puchhh.”
Suddenly, blood squirted from the Young Lord Qiu’s neck, and splashed all over other people’s faces and spilled down to the floor.
The bloody scene had made many guests collapse to the floor. Yichen rounded his eyes and gaped at Chen Fan in utter disbelief. Rich heirs such as him had never seen any ruthless and outrageous methods.
He outright killed Young Lord Qiu!
“Murder!”
Young Lord Feng screamed at the top of his lungs and stirred up all guests in the mansion.
“An Overlord!”
Seeing Chen Fan’s ability to control the flying sword, Lin Tianshu fixed his gaze on Chen Fan and examined the young man carefully. He exclaimed: “I had never thought that anyone outside of the Lin family of Southeastern China could have such incredible power. Who exactly are you, and are you sure you want to be the enemy of the Lin Family?”
“I don’t have to answer your questions, tell Lin Pojun to ask me himself.”
Before Chen Fan had finished his words, he waved a have and grunted deeply.
“Kneel!”
Suddenly, the group of rich heirs felt an invisible force pressing down on them. Their knees quickly gave in and brought them to the floor.
“Arrh!”
Lin Tianshu snarled as internal force roiled about him, trying to break free of the force. However, he was pressed down flat to the ground just like everyone else.
“Are you Chen Bei—”
Lin Tianshu looked up and sideways, trying as much as he could to land his gaze on Chen Fan as he squeezed the few words out of his mouth.
However, before he could finish his questions, an overwhelming force had pressed his face into the floor.
The other onlookers were shocked beyond belief. Even the guards of the Hua Family blenched and revered the young man. The Lin Family had come all the way to Zhong Hai, confident that they would take over Zhong Hai. However, Chen Fan had already killed one of their cronies and forced the rest of them to their knees.
This was a blatant challenge to the Young Master.
“Such savagery! Such power! I have never heard of such a cut-throat bad-ass in Zhong Hai before!”
“OMG. Young Lord Qiu’s father is a general, but he had killed him like squashing an insect.”
“I thought that he was just a country hill-billy. But now it seems that he might as well be a worthy opponent for Lin Pojun.”
Many rich heirs of Zhong Hai thought to themselves.
“Chen Beixuan! He really lives up to his reputation!”
Ai Jinqi let out a wry smile and exclaimed.
By now, the entire mansion was sizzling with unrest and excitement.
“Who dares to challenge the Young Master?”