Volume One, Chapter 13: Not a Single Penny Will Be Given

Bang!

The charging man was sent flying by a single punch from Chu Lingtian.

“Ugh!”

Zhang Chao crashed to the ground, his mouth open as he spat out bitter bile.

“I’m done! I’m done!”

“Young Master, I surrender!”

He waved his hands repeatedly, begging for mercy. There was not a trace of his former arrogance left.

“What do you mean?” Chu Lingtian asked with a frown.

“Before you arrived, many people pretending to be the Young Master came here.”

“But most of them were useless fools, so I merely wanted to test your abilities,” Zhang Chao explained.

The Inner Three Gates were under the control of the old master.

The Outer Eight Gates, however, had fallen into the hands of the traitor Lin Hao.

Lin Hao was constantly scheming to seize control of the entire Heavenly Secret Sect. After learning that the old master had appointed a new Young Master, he took advantage of the opportunity and frequently sent people disguised as the new Young Master to visit members of the Inner Three Gates.

“And now? Have I passed your test?” Chu Lingtian snorted.

“You passed! You passed!”

Although they had only communicated with the Young Master through the internal network and had never seen his real face or detailed information, they knew one thing for certain: the Young Master was under thirty.

That narrowed the possibilities considerably.

A young man under thirty who had inherited the old master’s personal teachings was bound to possess extraordinary strength.

Zhang Chao himself was a grandmaster. Across the entire Great Xia, there were scarcely any young men capable of crushing him with a single punch.

Even if the Outer Eight Gates possessed such a genius—which they did not—would Lin Hao truly send him on a mission as perilous as this one?

Thus, Zhang Chao was ninety percent certain that the man before him was the true Young Master.

With a thud, Zhang Chao dropped to one knee.

“I offended you earlier. Please forgive me, Young Master.”

“Get up.” Chu Lingtian waved his hand and asked, “Have the people from the Outer Eight Gates already arrived in Jiangnan?”

“They’re only minor players. Lin Hao’s headquarters aren’t here. However, if he learns that you’ve arrived, Young Master, he’ll probably make a move.”

“Do not reveal that I’ve returned for now.”

After giving it some thought, Chu Lingtian decided to postpone announcing his plan to unify the Heavenly Secret Sect.

His immediate priorities were to investigate his mother’s whereabouts and settle matters with Jiang Wan.

He then took the private elevator straight to the top floor of Venus Tower without stopping once along the way.

There was only one office on the top floor—the president’s office.

The moment he opened the door, a chill swept over him, making him shiver.

Before he could say anything, he froze.

At the very center of the expansive apartment, a seductive naked woman lay completely exposed before his eyes.

She appeared to be in her thirties. Her snow-white breasts were full and proud, while the curves of her delicate body were exquisitely pronounced. His gaze drifted downward, and he could not help wondering what lay beyond.

“Young Master, do you think I’m beautiful?”

Her eyes curved into crescent moons, and her mesmerizing smile seemed almost hypnotic.

“What are you doing?”

“Young Master, I’m a man of integrity, all right?”

“The Heavenly Secret Sect does not encourage this sort of thing.”

Chu Lingtian waved his hands repeatedly.

Fortunately, his time in Fire Phoenix Prison had trained him to remain composed.

With that, he strode forward and eagerly pulled the woman into his arms.

His scorching hands made Huang Yanchen let out a coquettish cry. A trace of ruthlessness flashed through her eyes.

It seemed this Young Master was another impostor.

“You—”

Before she could finish, Chu Lingtian swiftly tapped nine points on her body.

In an instant, a vast force surged through her, striking along one hundred and eight thousand meridians.

“Mmm…”

The soothing sensation caused Huang Yanchen to release an irresistible moan.

Whoosh!

The next moment, Chu Lingtian waved his hand. The blanket on the nearby sofa flew toward him. He wrapped it around her perfect body, then placed her on the sofa.

“Turn off the air conditioning.”

“Do not move around.”

“It will ease in an hour.”

Chu Lingtian found the remote control and switched off the central air-conditioning system.

“You saw through it?” Huang Yanchen asked, her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment.

“If I hadn’t, the expert hiding in the shadows would have torn me to pieces in an instant.” Chu Lingtian glanced at the bare walls surrounding them.

“You even noticed that?” Huang Yanchen was startled once again.

She clapped her hands. A concealed door slid open, and more than a dozen experts silently emerged. They nodded toward Huang Yanchen, then quickly disappeared into the corridor outside.

“The techniques you used just now were the Nine Hands of Death, weren’t they? Even Lin Hao never mastered them. The only art capable of suppressing the Blazing Palm is an inheritance passed down by the old master.”

“Greetings, Young Master!”

Huang Yanchen was now certain that the man before her was the new Young Master.

Several years earlier, she had been gravely injured by the Blazing Palm of Yuan Yi, the master of the First Hall. Since then, she had been forced to use cold air constantly to suppress the injury. Otherwise, the raging fire within her would consume her and kill her.

The suffering had been unbearable.

That was why she had deliberately appeared naked—to test Chu Lingtian.

Since the Young Master had inherited everything the old master had learned throughout his life, he was certain to possess unparalleled knowledge of both medicine and martial arts. Even without her saying a word, he should have been able to detect her affliction and treat it.

If he failed to notice it, then he would undoubtedly be a false Young Master.

“Your internal injury was caused by the Blazing Palm of that old dog Yuan Yi, the master of the First Hall, wasn’t it?” Chu Lingtian asked casually.

“You know even that?” Huang Yanchen was once again stunned. She was now completely convinced of Chu Lingtian.

“I’ll settle the score with that old dog Yuan Yi.”

Back then, when the old master had been severely wounded, Lin Hao had led the heads of the Eight Halls in the attack. Yuan Yi had been at the forefront.

“Your injury can only be fully cured with an antidote refined from a Mystic Ice Vermilion Fruit.”

“Look for one. Once you have it, come to me.”

“Thank you, Young Master!”

Huang Yanchen was so excited that she immediately knelt on the floor.

“Uh… get up.”

When Chu Lingtian lowered his head, he caught a glimpse through the gap in the blanket of a vast expanse of snow-white flesh, faintly revealed.

Noticing the Young Master’s embarrassment, Huang Yanchen giggled.

She had never expected the Young Master to be so young. And judging by his reaction, he seemed never to have been intimate with a woman before…

“Let’s keep this brief. I have something for you to do.” Chu Lingtian coughed.

“Whatever you command, Young Master. No matter what it is, I would gladly walk through fire and water for you.”

“Take this photograph.” Chu Lingtian had a copy of the photograph given to him by Chu Jianguo printed out and handed it to Huang Yanchen. “I want information about her.”

“This woman?” Huang Yanchen glanced at the photograph, narrowing her eyes. Somehow, the woman looked familiar, but she could not remember where she had seen her.

“What is it?” Chu Lingtian asked when he noticed her strange reaction.

“She does seem somewhat familiar, but I cannot recall why… Rest assured, Young Master. I’ll give the order immediately and obtain the results as quickly as possible.”

“By the way, Young Master, when you have time, I’ll take you to the Black Dragon Society. I heard long ago that you were coming, so I have already prepared everything in Jiangnan for you to take over.”

“The Black Dragon Society?” Chu Lingtian paused. The name sounded familiar. Then he remembered—weren’t the men who had smashed Wang Shiyan’s shop previously said to be members of the Black Dragon Society?

“Yes. Qinglong established it a year ago to ensure my safety after I came to Jiangnan.”

“It is our own force. You can place your complete trust in it, Young Master,” Huang Yanchen explained.

“We’ll discuss it later. First…” Chu Lingtian was about to continue when the office door opened and Zhang Chao entered.

“Young Master. Miss.”

He bowed respectfully.

“What is it?” Huang Yanchen asked.

“The Jiang family’s representatives and the young master of the Lin family have come again. They wish to discuss the New World project in the Eastern District. Would you like to meet them?”

“Just give them a small portion of the project. Why should I go personally?” Huang Yanchen frowned.

“Young Master Zheng said that he hopes you will do him a favor and personally receive Young Master Lin…” Zhang Chao spoke cautiously.

Huang Yanchen’s brows drew together even more tightly.

Beside her, Chu Lingtian asked curiously, “The Jiang family? Who are they?”

“A younger member of the Jiang family of Jiangnan, named Jiang Wenwen. She represents the family and wants to negotiate a partnership in the New World project. She has been pestering me for several months.”

“After I refused to give my approval, they recently found Young Master Lin Shaodong, the son of the chief secretary of the provincial capital, and asked him to lobby on their behalf. Under the pressure, I was planning to hand one-tenth of the New World project to the Jiang family.”

“…”

“Not a single penny’s worth. They get nothing.”

After hearing the explanation, Chu Lingtian slammed his hand down and rejected the proposal outright.

“What?”

Huang Yanchen stared at him in astonishment.