Volume Two: First Signs of Brilliance Chapter 47: Yu Chen

Ten minutes.

To be precise, seven and a half minutes—that’s how long it took to get to the bottom of things. Li Wei was found guilty of abusing his authority for personal gain and accepting bribes. He was immediately dismissed and taken into custody, while the evidence department and the anti-corruption unit were already on their way to search his house.

The matter at Xishan Police Station could be considered concluded for now, but in the business world, a storm was brewing because of Qin Yang, and a bloody upheaval was about to begin.

In the world of martial artists, everyone abides by its unwritten rules—settling things their own way. This time, the Shangguan family of Xishan had overstepped, stirring up widespread resentment. If only a single family had acted, they would have appeared weak and isolated. But with Wang Hao taking the lead, and Wang Kun and Shao Bing mediating, several prestigious local conglomerates united to suppress the Crystal River Group.

Especially notable was Yang Cong, who, far from letting his defeat at Qin Yang’s hands go, took the Yang family as a main force in this alliance.

Of course, Qin Yang knew nothing of this. He sat drinking tea at his leisure while the veteran policeman bustled about, finally able to speak freely now that a big shot had arrived. Qin Yang thus learned the true extent of the entanglements here and was surprised to discover how many crimes Li Wei had in fact committed.

At last, the matter was resolved. The three beautiful women followed close behind, their moods visibly lightened, with smiles playing on their faces.

“Dragon Group, this is Lily, and the master of the Enchantress,” Lily introduced, nodding at Qin Yang.

Upon hearing this, Qin Yang’s demeanor grew solemn. To be the Enchantress’s master meant one’s strength must be extraordinary—especially since Lily’s aura was now utterly concealed, leaving him unable to gauge her depth. This only confirmed his own judgment.

The Enchantress regarded Qin Yang with open curiosity, “Qin Yang, why aren’t you staying in Bincheng? What brings you to Xishan County?”

He smiled, “Well, I heard an ancient site had been discovered here. Since I’ve hit a bottleneck in my cultivation, I thought I’d come see if I could break through.”

Lily’s brows knit slightly at this. As a peak expert on the Path of Dao, she could clearly sense that Qin Yang harbored two distinct Dao intents within him:

The Way of Slaughter.
The Way of Thunder.

Most people who comprehended even a single Dao could step into the Daoist realm. Yet he had mastered two and was still unsatisfied.

“With your current mastery of two Daos, you could enter the Daoist realm at any time. That you haven’t suggests your ambitions are not small,” Lily remarked.

No sooner had she finished than the Enchantress’s eyes widened, sparkling with disbelief, “Qin Yang, are you even human? Aren’t you being a little too greedy? You’ve comprehended two Daos and still won’t advance—what are you after?”

“You’re not thinking of following Yu Chen’s path, are you?”

“Yu Chen?” The name was unfamiliar to him. He looked at the Enchantress, asking, “Is he famous?”

She rolled her eyes in exasperation, amazed that someone like Qin Yang, with his reputation, hadn’t heard of Yu Chen of the Yu family.

“Yu Chen is a genius. At twenty-six, he’s at the peak of the Awakening Realm, having comprehended two Daos: Mountain and Flame. He’s even started to master a third. Yet he hasn’t advanced to the Daoist realm, because he insists on mastering the Way of Water first. In his view, Mountain and Flame are too forceful; he needs Water to balance them. Some predict that if Yu Chen enters the Daoist realm wielding Mountain, Flame, and Water, he’ll be invincible at that level. Three Daos will form a force field only seen among those at the Profound Realm.”

Ye Meier, unfamiliar with such matters, stood quietly at Qin Yang’s side, listening in silence.

The Enchantress, noticing Qin Yang’s calm reaction, grew irritated—especially since she still hadn’t paid him back for her earlier humiliation.

She sneered, “Qin Yang, I think you’d better stick to honest cultivation. Trying to master multiple Daos isn’t for you.”

“The Yu family has assets in the billions and all the resources they could want. Don’t try to imitate others and end up losing your own path,” she added with schadenfreude.

Qin Yang frowned, disagreeing. “In my heart, there is only my own path. The way of others doesn’t suit me.”

He spoke with utter calm, but everyone could sense the boundless confidence within.

Lily’s previously serene eyes finally betrayed a ripple of emotion. She looked at Qin Yang, surprised by such unyielding resolve at his young age—he was nothing like the Enchantress described, pursuing power for power’s sake.

“Yu Chen—I'll remember that name. If I get the chance, I’d like to test him myself.” Qin Yang took Ye Meier’s hand and started to leave. Suddenly he paused, as if remembering something. “Oh, by the way, I’m only twenty-two. I’ll be twenty-three after the new year.”

“Interesting.”

“Master, what’s so interesting about him? He wants to challenge Yu Chen, but I bet he won’t even know how he dies,” the Enchantress muttered.

Crystal River Group

The entire company was in chaos. Everyone who had planned to go home after work was called back for an emergency meeting that evening.

In just one hour, thirteen companies had already terminated their contracts with them.

Several of these were key clients. The rest wavered, clearly hesitant.

For a moment, Crystal River Group stood amidst a raging storm.

Across Xishan County, even a few large firms had made their stance clear: anyone who dared help Crystal River Group would be making an enemy of them and would be taken down together, with no blame but themselves.

Shangguan Hai wore a shirt with sleeves rolled up, sweat beading on his forehead like an ant on a hot pan.

He clutched a packet of documents, the flimsy paper now feeling heavy as lead.

Wan Hao Group—its main business in Bincheng, just a small company, hardly worth mentioning.

Lion Sun Group—led by Yang Cong, wealthy and powerful, with a formidable reputation in the martial world.

Sun Moon Group—headed by a junior from the Wang family, a towering presence throughout Xishan.

And many other companies, too numerous to count. The only thing they shared was this: Crystal River Group was in serious trouble.

Up to now, Shangguan Hai still had no idea why these companies had suddenly turned against them.

He didn’t believe he’d offended anyone. What was the reason?

Even with his wide network in the business world, when he tried to ask around, no one would give him a straight answer.

At that moment, Shangguan Yu walked in, his hand bandaged and face dark as thunder. He’d just heard that the people he’d sent out had failed—and Li Wei had been arrested too.

He’d been on his way home, but hearing the news about the company, he rushed back in a panic.

This company was his money tree; if it collapsed, how could he keep living the life of a playboy?

Now, at last, he understood the power of Qin Yang from Beihai. What puzzled him, though, was that Qin Yang had only just arrived in Xishan County. No matter how strong he was, he shouldn’t have been able to rally so many people to his side.

What he didn’t know was that while everyone respected Qin Yang, they were even more concerned about the forces behind him.

With such miraculous techniques and martial arts, no one could believe there wasn’t a true martial arts grandmaster backing him.