Chapter Twenty-Seven: The House Was Burned Down

With the sound of tumult dying down, the room gradually returned to silence.

Chen Yu emerged from within, wiping his hands. He glanced at the Martial Path nestled in his arms, and with satisfaction, pinched his beard. Gradually, his aura diminished, finally settling at the peak of External Strength—just a step away from Internal Strength.

Everyone knew that Ling Zhi and his junior brother Chen Yu practiced what was considered a heretical path, but no one realized how terrifying their combined martial arts could be.

He found himself still lingering over the sensation he had just experienced.

Chen Yu had already extracted all of Ye Wan’er’s martial strength; now she was no different from a cripple. Yet, he had to admit, the girl had worked hard—her martial energy had actually sustained him long enough to step into Internal Strength, if only briefly.

However, he had skipped the most crucial step. If he had fused with Ye Wan’er, perhaps he would have truly entered the Internal Strength realm.

This was the path others called evil, but the increase in power was undeniably swift.

Originally, the Martial Path he had nurtured in Ye Wan’er’s body had been scattered, making cultivation with her far less effective.

But then, Ling’er had appeared!

His martial discipline allowed him to discern which girls were ideal resources for cultivation, and Jiang Ling’er was the finest auxiliary partner imaginable.

If he could have her, and blend both martial paths, Internal Strength would be the least of what he could achieve—he might even touch an even higher realm.

He would save the chance for fusion for Ling’er.

He had thought the heavens meant to ruin him, but it turned out he was favored instead.

Just thinking of this made his hands tremble uncontrollably.

After hiding for so many years in other cities, mocked as trash by these useless people, he could finally return home with his head held high!

As for Jiang Xiaotian, he almost felt he ought to thank him for bringing such a bountiful gift.

In fact, from the very beginning, he had never believed in Jiang Xiaotian’s identity, assuming he was just another pawn sent by a rival family to steal his Martial Path.

After all, he had once, by chance, met his senior brother Ling Zhi’s true disciple.

But since this pawn brought such a precious resource, there was no need for courtesy.

Chen Yu could no longer suppress his grin. He had waited so long for this day! This opportunity was a blessing from above!

Soon, news of the deaths of those two martial artists spread throughout Linhai’s martial arts community.

The city was in an uproar, and it wasn’t long before people began speculating that Chen Yu had already become a master of Internal Strength.

That night, many would find sleep elusive.

Several prominent families sighed in regret; back in the day, they had followed the crowd and trampled on Chen Yu and his senior brother. Now that he had entered Internal Strength, he posed a tremendous threat.

“Ah, it seems the power in Linhai is about to shift...”

The following morning, Jiang Xiaotian woke drenched in sweat.

Only then did he recall the nightmare he’d had—a terrible dream where Ling’er was taken away by a group of strangers, lifted to the skies, and he fought desperately but failed to rescue her.

Every boy harbors a martial arts dream, and to him, Ling’er was the heroine at its heart.

But that was a fantasy; today, she was his cash cow.

With plenty of days left before the Martial Arts Tournament, they were free to wander Linhai at their leisure.

Jiang Xiaotian had intended to find Ye Wan’er, to drop her some hints and do his best to help her.

But when he arrived at their lodging, he found the place overcrowded, several cars parked out front, and Chen Yu standing at the door, chatting and laughing with the crowd.

Perplexed, Jiang Xiaotian wondered what was going on. Among the group, he even recognized a few faces—people who’d glared at him just yesterday. Now, they were all smiles with Chen Yu. What had changed overnight?

He looked for Ye Wan’er but couldn’t find her, so he simply left, assuming she was out.

Chen Yu noticed him but didn’t greet him; he was now almost certain of Jiang Xiaotian’s identity.

The previous night, while forcibly extracting Ye Wan’er’s martial power, he had been thwarted by a strange aura, nearly failing in the process. The source was, of course, Jiang Xiaotian—the one who had dispelled the energy in Ye Wan’er’s body.

He would make Jiang Xiaotian pay for this. Thus, even though Ye Wan’er was now a cripple, he hadn’t discarded her but locked her in a room. She still had her uses.

Bored, Jiang Xiaotian recalled their talk of martial arts techniques. Since he was already playing this role, he might as well try to find them.

He had messaged the real “him,” but received no reply, as if the person had vanished from the world. This group was clearly in league, and his ill-gotten gains weighed on his conscience.

But there was no turning back. Perhaps they could be convinced he wasn’t Ling Zhi’s disciple, but “Jiang Xiaotian” could never be a good man in their eyes.

He might as well throw caution to the wind. The martial world was a mess—if a villain had power, he was called a hero; if a good man had none, he was just another corpse.

Following his memories, Jiang Xiaotian arrived at Ling Zhi’s house, but the scene of devastation before him made him doubt he was in the right place.

He could barely believe his eyes.

The house, intact just yesterday, had been reduced to blackened ruins. Even the outer walls were stained with soot.

At least the fire had been put out, though nothing inside had survived.

With good intentions, Jiang Xiaotian went in to look around. Luckily, the ashes of the deceased had survived the blaze, albeit charred and unsightly. He decided to bury them somewhere proper.

But anger stirred in his heart.

What was Chen Yu playing at? His senior brother’s house was gone and he hadn’t even checked on it?

He doubted it was an accident—if it was deliberate, it was downright malicious. The owner was already dead, and someone had torched the house anyway...

Just as Jiang Xiaotian was about to leave, he noticed someone had appeared at the door.

The man looked to be in his fifties, with a crew cut and a suit, standing tall and straight.

When he spotted Jiang Xiaotian, he scrutinized him from head to toe before striding over.

“Young man, what’s your name?”

Jiang Xiaotian ignored him. Where had this old man come from, and why should he answer?

Seeing Jiang Xiaotian’s silence, the elderly man showed no anger, merely handed him a business card.

Jiang Xiaotian hadn’t intended to take it, but the sight of the police emblem made him start; he accepted the card with both hands at once.

After all, he was a law-abiding citizen!

The old man was amused by this, though his thoughts remained inscrutable.

After a moment, he sighed with regret. “Just look at this—madness. A perfectly good house, burned to cinders. What a pity.”

Jiang Xiaotian felt awkward. This was no unknown figure—this was a government man.

Fortunately, the old man didn’t seem intent on making things difficult. He patted Jiang Xiaotian on the shoulder. “Young man, be careful how you conduct yourself. Isn’t that Martial Arts Tournament coming up? We’ll be watching closely. If something unusual happens, call the number on the card—someone will handle it.”

With that, he dusted off his hands and walked away, still muttering about the house’s fate.

Jiang Xiaotian swallowed nervously and quickly called Brother Long to ask what was going on.

After some explanation, he learned that martial artists weren’t limited to ordinary folk—the government had its own organizations too, and those members were all masters, though no one knew their true strength.

But that made sense; otherwise, the martial world would have descended into chaos long ago.

Still, he shrugged it off. He was an upstanding young man. As for the Martial Arts Tournament, he’d just watch for fun—he had no intention of causing trouble.

Brother Long, cautious as ever, was spooked—it wasn’t his territory, after all. When Jiang Xiaotian called, he rushed over in a panic, only relaxing when he saw everything was fine.

“By the way, Mr. Jiang, we’ve hit the jackpot this time!” On the way, after finishing a call, Brother Long’s excitement was palpable.

Jiang Xiaotian was unfazed; he was used to Brother Long’s bluster, who only ever acted calm back in the old neighborhood.

“Oh, I almost forgot—you probably heard already. All the most powerful clans in Linhai have gone to pay their respects to Mr. Chen. They’re all fawning over him—he’s incredible! It must be because of how domineering he was yesterday!” Brother Long gushed as if he’d been the one receiving visitors.

Jiang Xiaotian had no interest, responding with a simple “oh.”

“And you don’t need to worry about the Martial Arts Tournament anymore—Mr. Chen has announced he’ll participate. With his current momentum, we’re sure to win!”

At this, Jiang Xiaotian frowned and straightened up. “He’s entering? What about Ye Wan’er?”

Brother Long paused, scratching his bald head. “Well, I’ve never heard of a master and disciple competing together. If Mr. Chen is joining, Miss Ye definitely won’t be.”