“Grab a seat.”
Hearing Chen Fan’s order, Third Lord, Zhou Tianhao and Master Guo all found a chair and sat down. The rest of the group had to stand behind them.
“Master Chen, we have spread the news of your return to all the tycoons in the city. Everyone is excited to see you.” Third Lord said respectfully and rightfully so since the teenage boy in front of him was no longer a caster of average power, but the number one cultivator of the Jiang Bei region—Master Chen.
Nearly all the magnates in the Jiang Bei region were pinned under his thumb, and some even considered Maser Chen the equal of Tang Yuanqin in the Hu Dong Province.
“Sure, I can meet them.”
Chen Fan said lightly.
“As long as we are under your protection, we will no longer fear that asshole Tang Yuanqin.” Zhou Tianhao slapped his fat thigh excitedly.
“Tang Yuanqin?”
Chen Fan half opened his eyes as he asked curiously.
“Before your rise to power, Tang Yuanqin dominated the Hu Dong Province.” Zhou Tianhao explained. “From his seat of power in the Jin City, he ruled the rest of the cities in his province with an iron fist. What’s worse, he also tried to expand his range of power to Jiang Bei region. Of course, we had to put up a fight, and it worked. So far, all of his attempt to expand into Jiang Bei had been pushed back by us.”
“Oh? Is he really that powerful?” Chen Fan asked curiously. “You have the backing of the entire Wei Family, and Xu Ao has his father-in-law. Most of the tycoons in the city had at least one capable protector, so what made Tang Yuanqin so threatening to you?”
“Yes, you are right. But that is only If everyone were able to unite under one banner.” Zhou Tianhao cracked a wry smile.
Xu Ao, Baldy Liu, Zhou Tianhao… Every one of them were dominating figures in their own rights.
However, they had grown used to being the only one in charge of things and could not even bear the thought of sharing their authority with others. They were no match against Tang Yuanqin in such disunity.
“Nonetheless, Tang Yuanqin is quite a capable leader and a visionary.” The Tang family had deep roots in the Hu Dong Province. His grandfather was the warlord that rose to power from Hu Dong Province, the army he commanded was at least a few thousand strong. The old man used to assist Mr. Sun in the great evolution.
“After helping Mr. Sun topple the last empire of China, the Tang Family joined the war against the Japanese and survived. The family is well connected in the Jin City and was one of the biggest families in the Hu Dong province.
“Tang Yuanqin is a very capable leader a shrewd businessman. Over the years, he had consolidated power in the Hu Dong Province and kicked the factions originated from other provinces out of Hu Dong. ” Zhou Tianhao said with a hard face. “The Tangs Group had their fingers in all the industries that you can think of, but what they excelled at was transportation. Nearly all the transport fleets in the navigable waters and channels belong to the Tangs Group.
“He has both the manpower and financial advantage; therefore, even the richest man in the Hu Dong Province had to be careful around him. Lord Wu from Jiang Zhou City who attended the tournament was one of Tang Yuanqin’s representatives.”
Zhou Tianhao paused and heaved a sigh. Indignation and anger were written all over his face.
Chen Fan nodded.
Based on what he was told, this person was indeed a power to be reckoned with. Businessmen in the Chu Zhou City such as Zhou Tianhao simply could not compare.
Master Guo had an aggrieved expression on his pale face. He put in, “I wonder if Brother Zhou Tianhao has heard of the recent news?”
“What news?” Zhou Tianhao asked puzzledly.
Chen Fan watched as Master Guo bowed to him and then said: “Master Chen, the Tang Family of the Jin City, was a well renowned Martial Arts Family. Although the family hasn’t have produced a Grandmaster in the hundred years, both Tang Yuanqin and his father are powerful Internal Force users. They were undefeated in the Hu Dong Province.”
“That makes so much more sense now.” Chen Fan nodded.
Money, power, and wits were the vocabulary of the weaklings. Only strength could have been the reason for their success.
Without absolute strength, Tang Yuanqin would not able to dominate the Hu Dong Province for so many years. His hegemony over the region would have produced as many friends as enemies for him. Without the ability to defend himself, he would have been assassinated many years ago.
Zhou Tianhao managed a smile and then said, “Sorry, I am not familiar with martial arts. But I have heard about Tang Yuanqin’s martial arts skills. I believe that Master Gu who work for Xu Ao had a battle with him and lost the fight.”
Master Guo shook his head and said, “We don’t need to worry about him now, we have Master Chen.”
Then, he gave Chen Fan an adoring fanboy smile.
Master Chen was a Transcendent Master, plus, he has an advantage in his young age. If Tang Yuanqin were half as smart as people claimed he was, he would think twice before jumping into a battle against any Transcendent Master.
“Indeed. With Master Chen, we don’t have to worry about Tang Yuanqin any longer! Master Chen can kick his ass!” A broad smile broke over Zhou Tianhao’s face.
The Third Lord Wei also nodded in agreement.
Although he had missed the action at the tournament, Zhou Tianhao had filled him in on the details of Chen Fan’s heroic acts: that he had walked on water, that he had toppled the stage with one punch, every feat evoked righteous fear inside of the Third Lord toward the godly hero.
Chen Fan cracked a smile and didn’t say a word.
He didn’t take Tang Yuanqin seriously since, at his level, only a Transcendent Master such as Lei Qianjue could have piqued his interest.
He looked toward Guo Wei who was still recovering from his injury.
“Have you heard anything from the Hong Sect?”
Guo Wei bowed slightly and said, “Master, my overseas sect brothers told me that Lei Qianjue didn’t announce any further comment after his disciple’s defeat. However, some of his other disciples had claimed to avenge their sect brothers. A friend of mine from Zhong Hai City told me that they have picked up activities of the Hong Sect in their territory. The infiltrating force was small in number, but I wager that there will be more coming. I wonder if they are targeting you.”
He paused a second and then said cautiously, “You have made a name for yourself by defeating Lin Hu. Many friendly martial artists wanted to pay tribute to you.”
“I don’t have time.” Chen Fan shook his head.
Chen Fan wagered that the so-called Friendly Martial Artist was all of the similar prowess as Guo Wei. In other words, they were all weaklings.
Seeing Chen Fan was not interested, Guo Wei decided to keep other information to himself.
Chen Fan’s surge in popularity not only earned him admiration but also suspicions and doubts. Many people in the martial arts field questions the possibility of a young boy possessing as much power as a Transcendent Master.
That being said, Chen Fan had earned a significant number of admirers. Even some reputable masters bought into the story of Chen Fan.
However, since Chen Fan had disappeared for a few months right off the bat of the tournament, his fanboys had finally given up their pursuit.
Chen Fan watched as his guests discussed the time and location for the meeting to rally for unity.
The Jiang Bei region was situated at the northern part of the province and compared to the southern part where the Tang family hailed from, it was much larger in land mass but smaller in economic prowess. The Jiang Bei region had been in disarray for a very long time. If someone were to take up the challenge and unit all factions under one banner, the Jiang Bei region was able to take over the Hu Dong Province.
“If Master Chen could consolidate the power in the Jiang Bei Region, he would definitely need my help in managing and delegating the factions. By then, I would be the number one underboss of the entire Jiang Bei Region.”
Of all the magnets in the Jiang Bei region, he had always been the weakest. None of the other tycoons consider him worthy of their company.
Everyone was convinced that Zhou Tianhao was nothing but a lap dog of the Wei Family of the North Bank. Therefore, he could not pass up such an opportunity of a lifetime to change his outlook.
Meanwhile, The Third Lord Wei was also daydreaming about the prospect of success. “The old man always looked down on me; I can finally prove him wrong.
“Yes, my two brothers might be smarter than me, but neither of them knew Master Chen.
“To be able to control the entire Jiang Bei was not a small feat. If Master Chen were successful, he would become one of the most powerful figures in the Hu Dong Province. Like all business leaders, he would need political backing and who would be better than my family to fill that role? No one!
“I want to look at my brother’s face when I bring such a powerful ally into our family.”
With that in mind, the two deliberated on the topic with new found enthusiasm.
As their ambitions grew, so did the scale of the meeting they were planning. What started out as a simple meeting had grown into a fully fledged out banquet, and an organization came with the board of directors and a hundred different committees.
Chen Fan kept his silence all the while; however, he had seen through his guests and knew exactly what they were after.
“You guys have grossly underestimated the difficulties.”
Chen Fan shook his head.
He knew he couldn’t rule the Jiang Bei region with fear; he would have to earn the right as a leader.
These magnates were seasoned warriors on the battlefield of money and power. It wouldn’t be easy to convince them to hand over their hard earned control unless they were pushed to the last leg, but at what cost?
If Chen Fan was a mortal, he might seriously consider spending five or ten years to consolidate the power and eventually dominate the Hu Dong Province.
However, Chen Fan had neither the time nor the interest in such trivial matters.
“I know they each have their own agenda, and none of them are good for me.
“But so what?
“As long as I have the absolute power and strength, I can always squash anyone who dares to oppose me.”
With that thought in mind, Chen Fan slowly closed his eyes and no longer pay attention to his guests.