"I've grown tired of staying in Guangling, and I plan to come back to invest in some projects, so I bought a house first to get a head start on splitting my time between the two places," Yin Xue said with a cheerful smile.
"I had no idea you'd even started your own company. I suppose I'll have to address you as President Yin now," Jiang Yurou said politely.
"President, what president? That sounds much too formal." Despite her words, Yin Xue's expression radiated intense smugness.
"By the way, Yurou, I heard you're selling real estate now?"
"That's right, Yunlu Shuhai is our property development," Jiang Yurou replied.
"Oh? What a pity I found out too late. Otherwise, I would have come directly to you to make the purchase so you could have earned a commission," Yin Xue said with a tone of feigned regret.
"Well then, we'll just have to wait until President Yin is really rolling in it, and you can buy your second home through me." Knowing that the other woman's words were just empty politeness, Jiang Yurou used a joke to defuse the awkwardness. If Yin Xue had genuinely wanted to buy through her, she would have mentioned it beforehand rather than showing up without a word of warning.
"It's a deal, then. What are you up to right now?" Yin Xue glanced at the moving truck, which was packed with a mountain of items.
"Moving," Jiang Yurou said.
"Yurou, aren't you working a bit too hard? Not only are you selling houses, but you're also helping homeowners move?" Yin Xue exclaimed with an exaggerated expression.
"This..." Jiang Yurou hadn't expected the other woman to jump to such a conclusion, and she started to explain.
*Honk!*
The Land Rover sounded its horn again.
"Yurou, I can't talk anymore, my husband is urging me. I'll get in touch with you later!" With that, she got into the car.
Immediately afterward, the Land Rover edged forward a bit and slowly drove past.
As they passed, the bald man cast two glances at Jiang Yurou, then looked at Chen Bufan inside the car, flashed a cold sneer, and sped away.
"Yurou, who was that?" Chen Bufan asked.
"A university classmate. We used to be fairly close, but we haven't kept in touch much since," Jiang Yurou said.
"Even though I don't care much for her personality now, she certainly is capable. She's planning to open a company here in Liyang and even bought a place in this neighborhood."
"Jealous?" Chen Bufan asked.
"Not at all, because I have you." Jiang Yurou let out a cheeky giggle.
*You silly girl, do you have any idea that the most expensive house in the entire Yunlu Shuhai is already yours!* Chen Bufan shook his head with a smile.
The car soon arrived at Villa No. 9.
It truly lived up to its reputation as the king of the development. Worth fifty million, it was a three-story detached villa complete with four parking spaces, and the garden alone covered five hundred square meters—a mansion in every sense of the word!
"Wow, what a huge house!" Sisi hopped about in excitement.
Jiang Yurou was equally overjoyed. Even though it didn't belong to her, being able to live here beat staying in a regular house by a landslide.
"Welcome to your new home, Mr. Chen, Ms. Jiang!" A man walked over and greeted them respectfully.
"And you are?"
"I am your personal butler, arranged by Mr. Cao to receive you. Please feel free to instruct me if you need anything," the man introduced himself.
*This Boss Cao really is a shrewd operator,* Chen Bufan thought to himself.
"Then sorry to trouble you, but could you help us move our things inside first?"
"Right away!" The butler acknowledged the request and immediately set to work.
Chen Bufan led Yurou and Sisi straight toward the front door.
"Oh no!" Jiang Yurou froze, her expression faltering.
"What's wrong?"
"I completely forgot. The villa hasn't been renovated yet!" Jiang Yurou said with a long face.
*Just that?* Chen Bufan smiled and pushed the front door open.
In an instant, the sensor lights clicked on!
Before their eyes lay an exceptionally luxurious living room, complete with high-end grey marble flooring, imported solid wood furniture, and a cascading crystal chandelier...
The entire villa exuded grandeur, looking every bit like a royal palace.
"Good heavens!" Jiang Yurou was dumbstruck. This was far too luxurious.
"Satisfied?" Chen Bufan asked with a smile. He had arranged every single detail.
"Of course I am," Jiang Yurou nodded without a moment's hesitation.
"But Bufan, is it really okay for us to just move in like this?"
"Would you rather move back?" Chen Bufan teased.
"That sounds like a bit of a hassle, though," Jiang Yurou giggled.
"All right, stop overthinking it. From now on, this is our new home!"
"Yay, Sisi has a new homeee~~"
It took the better part of the day, but they finally got everything unpacked and sorted out.
As night fell, the family of three sat gathered around a gorgeous dining table. A large cake sat in the center, its candles casting a warm, charming glow.
"To celebrate our move into the new home, let's all make a wish," Chen Bufan said.
"Sisi wants Mommy and Daddy to stay together forever!"
Chen Bufan and Jiang Yurou couldn't help but gently stroke the top of Sisi's head.
"Bufan, what about your wish?"
"Your wish is my wish," Chen Bufan said, his eyes filled with boundless doting.
Yurou was deeply moved.
"And you, Yurou?"
"I'm not telling you," Jiang Yurou said with a sly smile.
"As the saying goes, while the priest makes one yard of heaven, the devil makes two of hell!" Chen Bufan sighed in mock defeat.
"You're the devil! You're the heart-stealing playboy demon king!" Jiang Yurou smeared a dab of cake right onto Chen Bufan's face, her laughter ringing out like chiming bells.
***
In the dead of night, after both Yurou and Sisi had fallen asleep, Chen Bufan's figure materialized outside.
"Master, we've checked it out!" Canglong reported.
"And?"
"Behind the Kirin Hall is an organization called Zhennan Mansion, claiming to be the strongest overlord in Dongzhou. They have a total of ten branch halls scattered across all the cities in Dongzhou. The Liyang Kirin Hall is just one of them!"
"Ten branch halls... This Zhennan Mansion has a massive appetite," Chen Bufan said, his tone icy.
"The strongest overlord in Dongzhou—quite the flashy gimmick. Too bad you shouldn't have messed with me, Chen Bufan!"
"Send the word down: wipe out Kirin Hall!" Chen Bufan issued his command.
The myriad troops gathered once more, heading straight for Kirin Hall to slaughter them all!
Now that Yurou and Sisi were safely settled, Chen Bufan was resolved to completely eradicate every single force connected to the Han family!
Only by doing so could he have true peace of mind.
The incident with Sisi being kidnapped had pushed him to initiate a total purge!
For the sake of his wife and daughter, what did it matter if he stained the ground with blood?
Once he killed his way to being invincible across the world, let's see who would ever dare lay a finger on anyone around him again!
***
Another late night.
Another slaughter.
Ten thousand troops on the march, their killing intent biting and cold!
At this moment, Xing Ao had no inkling of what was about to befall Kirin Hall. He was simply listening to a report brought back by his subordinates.
Chen Bufan's family of three had just finished moving today.
"We do it now!" Xing Ao made the final decision.
Ever since Han Feiyun's schemes had failed last time, he couldn't be bothered to play petty games anymore. Given the strength of Kirin Hall, there was simply no need for tricks!
"Chen Bufan, to celebrate your housewarming, I'm going to send you a grand gift right away and send your family of three off to reunite in heaven!"
Xing Ao directly mobilized a hundred men from the Kirin Legion, along with ten top martial artists from Kirin Hall whose combat prowess was on par with the two previously dispatched.
With such a formidable lineup, no matter how many tricks Chen Bufan had up his sleeve, he would never escape with his life!
"Complete the mission, and there's a bonus of one hundred thousand for everyone!" Xing Ao instructed his subordinates.
"We won't let the Hall Master down!" The ten masters and one hundred blade-wielders shouted in unison, then split into more than twenty cars and sped straight toward Yunlu Shuhai!
Just a few miles into the drive, all the vehicles came to a sudden halt.
Right in front of them, a car was parked squarely in the middle of the road, blocking their path.
*Honk! Honk!*
The harsh blare of a horn pierced the night sky.
The car ahead didn't budge an inch.
"You're courting death!" One of the blade-wielders stepped out of a car—he was heavily built with a ferocious expression.
He strode up to the vehicle, ready to teach the driver a lesson, when the car window suddenly rolled down to reveal a refined face wearing a faint smile.
"Excuse me, are you people from Kirin Hall?"
The blade-wielder maintained an arrogant expression. "Knowing that Kirin Hall is handling business, why aren't you getting out of the way!"
"May I ask if you're on your way to kill Chen Bufan?" the refined young man asked again.
The blade-wielder froze. "How do you know we're going to kill Chen Bufan?"
This time, he received no further reply.
*Crack.*
With a dull, crisp snap, the blade-wielder's neck was wrenched directly sideways. He collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide with undying resentment.
"Ambush! We've been ambushed!"
A roar echoed through the air, and the entire unit went on high alert.
Every eye locked onto that single car!
The very next second, the refined young man stepped out of the vehicle.
"I am Chen Bufan!"
*BOOM!!*
Like a clap of thunder bursting in the sky, the occupants of the twenty-plus cars—over a hundred men—were struck dumb with shock and terror.
They had been on their way to kill Chen Bufan, yet Chen Bufan had sought them out first, killing one of their blade-wielders with a single move!
Kirin Hall's ultimate trump card was the Kirin Legion, boasting five hundred hardened fighters known as the elite blade-wielders—unbeatable and ever-victorious!
Yet one of these elite blade-wielders had been slain before Chen Bufan had even stepped out of his car, without even having a chance to react. It was simply terrifying!
"Together! Kill him!" someone bellowed.
"Wait!"
At that moment, an aged voice rang out as an elderly man stepped down from a car. His footsteps were light, and his eyes gleamed with sharp, piercing light—one could tell at a glance that he was an internal martial arts master.
"Aside from our five hundred blade-wielders, Kirin Hall also has twelve martial arts masters. I heard the two masters we sent out last time were killed by you. This old man would very much like to witness your capabilities."
"Chen does not make a habit of bullying the elderly. All of you, attack together!" Chen Bufan said casually, his hands clasped behind his back.
*Bullying the elderly?* Hearing this, cold light flashed in the old man's eyes!
The practice of martial arts boiled down to two paths!
External training focused on tendons, bones, skin, and membranes to achieve an abundance of blood flow and physical toughness. Typical Muay Thai champions, boxing pros, and other combat athletes walked this path!
Internal cultivation focused on true qi, combining breathing techniques where yin and gong reinforced each other. Through years of refinement, converting breath into internal force marked an internal martial arts grandmaster.
In other words, the older one got, the deeper and more profound their cultivation!
Yet this Chen Bufan had actually mocked him based on his age, showing a complete and utter ignorance of the martial arts world!
"And here I thought you were some promising young talent. Turns out you're just an ignorant kid who knows nothing of the immensity of heaven and earth. Watch me strike you down!" With that, the old man gathered his breath and charged forward, kicking up a surging gale that roared through the air!
In a flash, he reached Chen Bufan and raised his palm to hack straight down at Chen Bufan's head.
A direct hit would send anyone straight to the underworld!
"You've lived this long and only managed to reach this level, yet you still dare call yourself a martial arts master!" Chen Bufan said with utter disdain, shooting out a massive hand to grab the old man's wrist.
He applied a tiny bit of force!
*Crack.*
The old man's wrist bones fractured on the spot.
"Ah..." The old man let out a shrill scream, hurriedly circulating the true qi within his body in an attempt to blast Chen Bufan away!
Chen Bufan pressed down with his palm, a boundless aura roaring forth that tore the old man's true qi completely to shreds. The old man's internal organs felt as though they had been struck by a heavy hammer, shattering apart inch by inch!!
"Pfft..." The old man spewed a mouthful of blood, his body violently sent flying backward.
With a heavy *thud*, he slammed into the ground and drew his last breath!
So-called internal martial arts masters were worth less than nothing before Chen Bufan, the God of Death!
The remaining nine martial arts experts sucked in sharp breaths of cold air at the sight!
The chief of the twelve masters, renowned for his internal cultivation and peerless in Liyang, had been single-handedly slaughtered by that kid with just one hand.
It was too terrifying!
"Charge! Kill him together!"
No one dared to fight him one-on-one anymore.
In an instant, over a hundred men went berserk, charging straight at Chen Bufan!
Chen Bufan didn't make a move; instead, he signaled Canglong.
Canglong handed over a cigarette. Chen Bufan clamped it between his lips and exhaled a ring of smoke.
At that exact moment, countless dark figures materialized from all directions—it was the Demon God Army!
Marching on foot, their speed was no slower than cars!
After all, with so many men scattered across Liyang for ordinary cover, they had been operating in dispersed units.
Whether it was wiping out the Han family or dealing with Kirin Hall this time, once orders were received, they converged rapidly on the target.
Seeing such a massive army appear out of nowhere, the men of Kirin Hall were dumbfounded.
Boundless and covering the mountains and plains, they moved through the dark night like an unstoppable torrent of steel!
This was what true invincibility looked like—completely beyond comparison to mere blade-wielders!
There was no need for Chen Bufan to lift a finger; once the Demon God Army arrived, they cleared the field.
As he finished his cigarette, Chen Bufan spoke: "Stop."
By this time, only a single martial arts master remained. Well past fifty, having lived through most of his life and seen every kind of storm, his liver and gall felt as though they were splitting apart, his face drained to a sheet of white.
"Your phone," Chen Bufan walked up to him and said coldly.
"P-phone?" The martial arts master was stunned. Someone this overwhelmingly powerful still wanted to rob a phone?
Not daring to talk back, he immediately fished out his cell phone.
"Make a video call to Xing Ao for me," Chen Bufan commanded.
The master obeyed immediately.
*Beep... beep...*
It rang only twice before the call was connected.
Seeing the master on screen, Xing Ao let out a breath of relief, assuming everything was going smoothly.
"Old Yu, why is your face so pale?"
Before the master could reply, the phone was suddenly turned around, and Chen Bufan's face instantly filled the screen.
"Is Hall Master Xing free tonight? Chen will be dropping by for a visit shortly!"
"C-Chen Bufan?" Xing Ao jolted violently, nearly leaping out of his chair.
Before he could ask any questions, the call was abruptly disconnected.
"Why was Old Yu with Chen Bufan..."
"Not good!" Xing Ao instantly realized something was amiss, panic surging through him.
"Quick! Have all the remaining members of the Kirin Legion assemble immediately!"
***
Meanwhile, on the suburban road, after hanging up the phone, Chen Bufan granted Old Yu a swift and painless death.
"Let's go, to Kirin Hall!" At his command, the main force continued their advance.
***
Kirin Hall's headquarters was located in a very secluded area, occupying a sprawling expanse of warehouse-like buildings resembling a small industrial compound.
Barely a few miles away, Chen Bufan arrived swiftly by car.
Xing Ao had been waiting at the entrance all along. Seeing only a single car arrive in the dead of night, his gaze narrowed sharply!
*How many people can fit in just one car? Could that alone have wiped out the ten top experts and one hundred blade-wielders he sent out?*
You've got to be kidding me!
Canglong stepped out first, then pulled open the car door, and Chen Bufan slowly emerged.
Dressed in black with leather shoes, his aura was extraordinary.
The moment he appeared, even the stars in the night sky seemed to lose their luster.
That intangible presence suppressed all directions, sending a heavy jolt through Xing Ao's heart.
He had fought through the underworld for countless years, his heart as cold and ruthless as a block of iron, yet upon seeing Chen Bufan, a flicker of genuine terror rose within him.
"Just the two of you?"
"Are two not enough?" Chen Bufan asked.
"Then prepare to wait for your deaths! Since you've come today, don't even think about leaving this place alive!" Xing Ao finished speaking, and countless dark figures burst forth from inside Kirin Hall.
It was the remaining four hundred men of the Kirin Legion.
They tightly surrounded Chen Bufan and Canglong!
"You think a few hundred people can kill me?" Chen Bufan said coldly, his tone dripping with disdain.
"Such big words! Kirin Hall's ability to establish itself in Liyang relies entirely on our five hundred blade-wielders. Killing you will be a piece of cake!" Xing Ao roared arrogantly.
"Then why couldn't the other hundred men, plus the ten martial arts masters, make it back?" Chen Bufan said playfully.
Xing Ao's eyes split with rage: "You dare slaughter people from Kirin Hall and then use it to mock me? I am going to tear you limb from limb today!"
"Kill him!" At his command, the four hundred blade-wielders, gripping short blades, charged frantically toward the two men.
"Canglong, the gentleman here seems to think the two of us aren't enough. Why don't you show him?" Chen Bufan asked.
"Gladly!" Canglong said with excitement, burning combat intent blazing in his eyes.
Being able to fight alongside the Master was an honor.
"Let's begin, then. It'll also give me a chance to see how much your strength has improved lately." With that, Chen Bufan charged straight into the crowd, with Canglong close on his heels.
"Overconfident fools! The two of you think you can take on four hundred men? Do you think you're the God of War Temple Master Chen Bufan himself?!"
Suddenly, Xing Ao's expression warped violently. *Could it actually be the same person?*
"Impossible!"
He quickly dismissed the thought. It was just too damn terrifying.
The God of War Temple Master Chen Bufan was a legendary, heaven-shrouding figure.
In the Battle of Annihilation, Chen Bufan had trampled ten nations, subduing organizations so thoroughly they didn't dare lift their heads—yet he had vanished completely after that. How could he possibly show up in a tiny place like Liyang?
Even across the vast expanse of Dongzhou, not every place was fortunate enough to warrant Chen Bufan's personal presence.
"It's definitely a coincidence! Just the same name!!" Xing Ao shook his head frantically. If he had genuinely offended Chen Bufan, the mere deployment of the Demon God Army would have ground Kirin Hall to dust. There wouldn't have been any need for the God of War Temple Master to make a move himself.
Watching the four hundred blade-wielders swarm Chen Bufan and his companion, a flash of excitement lit up Xing Ao's eyes.
"Even my teacher, Wolong, might not necessarily be able to hold out against this. What makes you think you can!"
Yet shortly after those words left his mouth, he was left dumbfounded.
Chen Bufan, caught in the middle of the four hundred blade-wielders, moved as though possessed by a god of war. Wielding a sharp sword, he swept through the crowd like an unmanned realm, leaving a trail of severed limbs flying through the air wherever he passed.
Blade-wielders collapsed one after another, all of them meeting the exact same fate: their arms cleanly hacked off. In an instant, shrill shrieks echoed endlessly through the air!!
"Too fierce!" Canglong felt respect welling up from the bottom of his heart.
He had claimed they would fight together, but the Master alone moved like a clearing bulldozer, rolling every single opponent flat under his wheels.
"The Master's strength seems to have grown again..." Canglong muttered under his breath, smacking his lips in awe.
*Swish, swish, swish!*
The longsword danced continuously in Chen Bufan's hand like a laser beam, slaughtering his way all the way to the main gates.
The very last man fell.
At this moment, standing outside the gates of Kirin Hall was Xing Ao alone.
Xing Ao, who had worn an expression of absolute elation just minutes prior, now had a face completely blanketed in terror.
After a long, frozen moment, he drew in a sharp breath of cold air.
"Is he even human?!"
The elite legion that Kirin Hall took such pride in—the invincible four hundred blade-wielders—not a single one of them could stand anymore. Every last one lay sprawled across the ground, wailing in agony.
All of them had been stripped of an arm, a fate far more agonizing than death itself.
It was right at this moment that the Demon God Army arrived, a crushing, pitch-black tide of overwhelming momentum.
"Would you like to see how my men compare to your blade-wielders?" Chen Bufan said coldly.
Xing Ao felt a bone-deep chill: "Chen Bufan, just what kind of person are you? How do you have so many subordinates?!"
He stared in sheer terror at that mass of black-clad figures standing uniformly in formation like statues of the God of Death, radiating an air far colder and deadlier than any blade-wielders.
"Go ask in Hell!" Chen Bufan said, raising his longsword.
"Damn it, I'll blow you to hell!" Xing Ao suddenly yelled, shoving a hand frantically into his jacket before pulling the trigger.
*Whoosh!*
A bullet tore through the air straight toward Chen Bufan.
*Clang!*