It was a hot summer day at River City's high-speed railway station.
A thin figure appeared from the crowd.
It was a young man dressed in a T-shirt and a cap, a sling bag over his shoulder.
He looked perfectly normal.
The ID he squeezed in his hand said that his name was Ye Chen.
"It's been five years."
Ye Chen walked out of the station, but when the tallest building in all of River City appeared before him, he suddenly froze in his tracks.
As he raised his head, his gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, and he murmured under his breath,
"River City! I, Ye Chen, am finally back! Five years ago, during that banquet at Cloud Lake Manor, the Ye family was wiped out, and I'm left as the only survivor. If my mother had not pushed me into East Coin Lake with the last of her power, the Ye family may have disappeared from River City forever!"
At that, Ye Chen abruptly clenched his fists, and a powerful malicious aura erupted in all directions. The tourists around him felt as though an invisible hand was choking them by the throats!
That very moment, they were in hell!
"Zheng Jingming! Master Long! And everyone who stood by and watched as my parents were killed! I'm sure you don't know that I still live!
"Perhaps I should thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been rescued by my master, and I definitely wouldn't have returned with such earthshaking techniques!
"This time, I swear, I'll make everyone involved in this pay for what you have done, a thousand times over!"
...
A few seconds later, Ye Chen finally relaxed his grip and flagged down a cab, heading toward the center of the city.
If he had delayed by even a few more seconds, the passersby behind him may not have escaped a terrible fate.
On the way, memories from the past flashed through Ye Chen's mind, and the pain was almost suffocating.
He had originated from a powerful family, and he had never had to worry about a meal in his life. Although the people in the circle said he was useless, he enjoyed life with his parents nevertheless.
However, during that assembly at Cloud Lake Manor five years ago, his fate had been irreversibly changed!
In order to save a little girl, his father had offended a man who sat at the top of the food chain!
The man had lost his temper, slapping his father on the face! He even killed Ye Chen's father in front of countless others!
Throughout the whole thing, no one had stepped out to stop him!
Not even the families who had flattered the Ye family in the past!
Not even his father's old friends!
Not even the uncle he had always trusted!
Ye Chen had gone berserk, struggling, and even rushing at that man with a dinner knife!
In the end, however, the man stopped him with just one hand!
He could clearly remember that man's emotionless gaze and ice-cold voice as the latter said,
"River City's Ye family, huh? Who do you think you are? Even if you're a family at the very top, I can still kill you with a snap of my fingers! And you, you insignificant trash, I hear you're famous in these parts for being useless. Haha, and you want to kill me? Even if I give you a hundred years, you'll still be useless!"
To everyone's surprise, a woman suddenly rushed forth then, using all of her strength to push the boy into East Coin Lake!
The instant he fell into the lake, the boy had watched his mother rush at the man!
She ran with the determination to die.
Ye Chen thought that his life would end there, but he had floated down East Coin Lake and was unexpectedly rescued by an old man.
The old man had taken him into a land isolated from the rest of the world and taught him the ultimate skills of alchemy, training him to cultivate the Nine Heaven Dark Sun Technique.
Over the past five years, no one knew what had happened to Ye Chen in that ethereal land.
All they knew was that the place had unleashed upon them a demon who went by the codename Bloodthirsty Berserk Dragon!
…
At the Magnificent Group offices in River City.
Ye Chen looked at the slip of paper in his hand, and then at the logo on the front doors. Once he was certain he had the right place, he walked in.
He had initially intended to go straight to Capital City and search out the man that had appeared at Cloud Lake Manor. After all, that was the man he wanted to kill the most over the past five years. All he knew about the man was that the people around him called him Master Long and he came from Capital City. Everything else was a blank to him.
When he left, however, the old geezer he called his master had insisted that he make a trip to River City and find a girl called Xia Ruoxue.
The old geezer had once wandered to River City, and while he was there, he had a complicated relationship with Xia Ruoxue's grandmother. Ye Chen even suspected that Xia Ruoxue might be the old geezer's granddaughter.
Three days ago, the old geezer had activated a Fate Prediction Formation and saw that a great disaster, potentially fatal, would befall Xia Ruoxue in the next hundred days. At the same time, Ye Chen's fate was that of the Purple Aura Sleeping Dragon, which meant that even the heavens would not see him coming. In other words, Ye Chen was the only one who could overturn her fate.
As for how he was supposed to do it, the old geezer did not say a word. He just told Ye Chen to take it one step at a time.
…
"Stand right there!"
Suddenly, a cold voice came from ahead of him. There were two large, muscular men standing in Ye Chen's way, both at least 190cm tall. Both of them were dressed as security guards, their skin was tanned and their gazes sharp, the muscles on their arms bulging intimidatingly.
Ye Chen raised a brow, but of course he would not fight security guards like these. That was why he explained, "Good day. I'm looking for Xia Ruoxue."
When they heard Xia Ruoxue's name, one of them laughed coldly. "You want to be meet President Xia? Do you have an appointment?"
"No," Ye Chen replied honestly.
"Then do you have a Magnificent Group employee's ID?"
"Can't say I do."
The arrogance on the security guard's face intensified at that, and he looked down his nose at Ye Chen. Stretching out his arm, he pointed at the doors and said in a voice dripping with contempt, "If you don't, please see yourself out. The door's that way!"
The Magnificent Group was one of the Top 500 companies in Huaxia, and it was one of the leading businesses in River City. As security guards for the Magnificent Group, they naturally felt as though they were one step above everyone else.
They did not have to kowtow to anyone. All they had to do was chase away the rabble!
Just then, a few men dressed in suits walked out of a Mercedes-Benz E200. They went to the receptionist first and seemed to ask for Xia Ruoxue, but in the end, they met the same roadblock Ye Chen had. The men shook their heads, and after a moment's deliberation, they eventually chose to sit on a sofa nearby and wait.
Ye Chen did not intend to argue with the security guards either, so he pointed at the sofas in the lobby and said, "Alright, I'll just wait over there."
He then walked toward the sofas.
However, he did not get far before the two guards stopped him again.
"Are you freaking deaf, punk? Don't make me say it a third time. The door's over there, scram!" one of the guards yelled fiercely, pointing at the door.
Ye Chen frowned deeply. He had just arrived in River City, and he had not offended these two, so why were they picking on him?
He pointed at the men in suits again and asked, "Why can they wait but I can't?"
One of the guards looked Ye Chen up and down, saying sarcastically, "How could a country bumpkin like you meet President Xia? You should look at yourself in the mirror and scram. If you don't, I'll freaking throw you out."
Ye Chen shook his head helplessly. He finally understood that these guards were drunk off their borrowed authority, and his clothes clearly told them that he did not deserve to wait inside!
To think that River City had not changed even after five years!
"What if I don't want to leave?" Ye Chen's expression darkened.
"You don't want to leave? Well then, do you want to die?!"
As soon as he said that, one of the guards smacked Ye Chen's shoulder with his hand, the veins on his arm bulging.
His lips curved into a cruel smile because he knew that he just had to exert a little force, and this skinny kid would go flying three meters away!
Just a few days ago, another tactless country bumpkin had tried to challenge his authority, and he had tossed the man out with one hand. The fool was still lying in the hospital even now!
The guard abruptly put some strength into his arm, but Ye Chen did not move at all!
Gradually, the guard's smile froze! His expression turned to one of horror!
It was because he realized that the young man before him was unmovable, like a mountain!
At the same time, an aura of death began to crawl up his arm, heading toward his back!
His whole body was soaked with sweat!
The other guard noticed something was wrong with his partner, and he said with a laugh, "What's the matter with you, Stone? What's with all the sweat all of a sudden? Did your wife dry you out last night? C'mon, allow me."
With that, he reached a hand out for Ye Chen too.
"Scram! I don't want to kill you."
Suddenly, Ye Chen spoke coldly, his voice like rumbling thunder!
At the same time, he stomped down his left foot lightly, and a whirlwind of aura actually appeared around him, crashing toward the guards!
The two of them felt a powerful force crash into their chests, and they could not help but vomit blood as they were sent flying!
Eventually, their bodies smashed through the tempered glass panel in the lobby!
Fwoosh!
The entire piece of glass shattered, crashing into the ground loudly!