Chen Tianxin

Yang Chen had only just looked over when he sensed a terrifying energy constantly gathering within the seemingly bookish, somewhat gaunt middle-aged man.

It was as if a primeval beast had put on human skin. Even though the man wore a seemingly harmless smile, Yang Chen could only see danger in it!

This man was terrifying!

Those words immediately surfaced in Yang Chen's mind.

The middle-aged man seemed to sense Yang Chen's gaze. One corner of his mouth twitched as he tilted his head and, with interest, met Yang Chen's eyes!

Boom!

An invisible explosion seemed to erupt between them.

Yang Chen suddenly felt a wave of weakness in his mind. A terrifying shock wave swept through it and exploded.

In an instant, Yang Chen felt as if his soul had been blown to pieces. His vision swam with stars.

"Mr. Yang, what's wrong?"

Wild Wolf noticed that something was off with Yang Chen. A puzzled look crossed his eyes as he lowered his head and asked softly.

Yang Chen shook his head, then looked at the middle-aged man with a grave expression. "I'm fine. This gentleman is the person in charge of Jiangnan, right?"

"And you must be the young genius from Hancheng!"

Before Wild Wolf could answer, the bookish-looking middle-aged man approached Yang Chen at an unhurried pace, carrying a cup of coffee. A smile as warm as a spring breeze played on his lips.

It was as if every negative emotion would vanish completely in the presence of his smile.

Even Yang Chen temporarily forgot the damage caused by their earlier eye contact when he saw the man's smile!

Wang Teng, standing nearby, was even more openly starstruck.

This was the person in charge of Jiangnan!

A legendary figure throughout Jiangnan!

And today, he actually got to see him!

At such close range, too!

Wang Teng trembled with excitement, his shoulders rising and falling slightly, his eyes brimming with fervor.

The middle-aged man merely smiled at this, then led the three of them into the office.

Only after stepping out of the elevator and entering the office did Yang Chen understand what luxury meant.

The entire place was made of glass—and not just any glass, but one-way glass. People inside could see out, but no one outside could see in.

That provided excellent privacy.

But it must have cost a fortune.

Still, the middle-aged man was the person in charge of Jiangnan's Number 98 branch.

There would be nothing wrong with calling him the most distinguished person in all of Jiangnan. It was only natural that he would have such a lavish office!

Even so, envy flickered in Yang Chen's eyes.

Yang Chen had spent a long time living in harsh conditions. He couldn't help envying the lives of people in high positions. They never had to worry about basic necessities and could raise their standard of living as much as they pleased!

A moment later, the middle-aged man led Yang Chen and the others into a room. It was spacious too, but this time, several people were already inside.

One of them looked familiar to Yang Chen!

An old man among them waved at Yang Chen and smiled.

Yang Chen froze, surprise in his eyes.

Wasn't that the old man who had restrained the Island Nation People on the first floor? He was a Grandmaster!

Yang Chen knew that for certain.

The middle-aged man shut the door, then somehow brought over another cup of coffee. He nodded slightly to the people in the room and said:

"These are the Grandmasters of Jiangnan! You came here hoping to meet a Grandmaster, didn't you? Well, now you can meet as many as you like!"

Yang Chen scratched his head, feeling a little awkward!

He had acted quite cocky in front of Wild Wolf earlier, but he knew he still had to show the proper respect to his elders in front of this man.

Besides the old man he had already met, there were three others. One carried a broadsword on his back. The blade was bloodred, and a faint stench of blood seemed to surround him, much like Blood Butcher's ability.

But compared to Blood Butcher, the man's aura of bloodshed was far stronger!

Another was a gaunt man, all skin and bones, like a skeleton draped in human skin. Even his flesh was barely visible! A gloomy aura emanated from him, making the air around them seem to grow colder.

The last was a beautiful, mature woman. Every frown and smile of hers brimmed with irresistible Charm. She even shot Yang Chen a teasing look, instantly turning his face red.

Although Yang Chen had used the system's abilities to reach a level comparable to a Grandmaster, in the end, he was still just a young man in the prime of his life. When the beautiful woman teased him, he got a little caught up in it.

But he came to his senses almost immediately.

A trace of surprise flashed through the beautiful woman's eyes. She knew how powerful her Charm was. Even a few points of her ability could enthrall some veteran S-Class ability users, so a boy as young as Yang Chen should have been even easier to ensnare.

Yet his reaction had caught her off guard. He had truly snapped out of it in an instant.

Although Yang Chen hadn't realized that she had used her ability on him, what he had just done was still remarkable!

Very strong!

That was the woman's assessment of Yang Chen.

The middle-aged man's eyes flickered for a moment. Like the woman, he showed a hint of surprise, but quickly suppressed it and said with a smile:

"You've already met that old man. Just call him Elder Wang. The one with the sword is Shan Shou, and the walking skeleton is Gui Xing. As for this lady..."

The middle-aged man paused, then said with a slightly troubled expression, "What was her name again?"

The beautiful woman shot the middle-aged man a reproachful look, then spoke sweetly. "Grandmaster Chen is a busy man, of course he wouldn't remember my name. Little brother, remember this: I'm Meng Yao."

Meng Yao glared at the middle-aged man, then turned her gaze away as if sulking.

Yang Chen rubbed his nose and looked around, committing their names to memory.

After all, he had come here to join Number 98. He would inevitably be dealing with these people in the future, and it would be awkward if he couldn't even remember their names.

"Heh, as for me, I'm Chen Tianxin. You can call me Uncle Chen or Grandmaster Chen. Either is fine!"

Chen Tianxin chuckled and lightly patted Yang Chen on the shoulder.

"Introduce yourself. Let these Grandmasters see the genius of Jiangnan!"

Yang Chen nodded, then spoke with a hint of solemnity.

"This junior is Yang Chen. Half-step Grandmaster!"

Yang Chen clearly hesitated when he stated his strength. He didn't know whether he could be considered a Grandmaster, since his spiritual energy cultivation was only A-Class!

Even so, his words exploded through the room like a bomb.

Half-step Grandmaster!

All four Grandmasters turned their gazes toward Yang Chen.

They had never heard of a half-step Grandmaster this young!

Elder Wang in particular looked disappointed, his cloudy eyes betraying it.

He had clearly sensed that Yang Chen's spiritual energy cultivation was only A-Class. And yet he had exaggerated so much in front of them. Wasn't he just showing off?

Young people!

Elder Wang shook his head slightly, his favorable impression of Yang Chen fading a little.

Just then, the middle-aged man who looked like a skeleton spoke. "Kid, you say you're a half-step Grandmaster, so that makes you one? Young people shouldn't be so arrogant!"

He didn't believe Yang Chen at all. After all, even being a half-step Grandmaster meant having some connection to the title of Grandmaster, and that was no small feat.

How long had he spent trying to enter the Grandmaster Realm? He had even turned himself into this barely human creature. And how old was Yang Chen? At most twenty, yet he claimed to be a Grandmaster. He was far too arrogant!

He felt it was necessary to show Yang Chen what a Grandmaster was capable of!

Otherwise, any Tom, Dick, or Harry might start calling himself a Grandmaster!

Yang Chen glanced at Gui Xing, then looked around at Chen Tianxin, Elder Wang, and the others.

Seeing that they all seemed content to sit back and watch, Yang Chen immediately understood. They wanted him to show what he could do!

He had defeated Wild Wolf earlier, but that alone didn't prove he had reached the Grandmaster level—or even the half-step Grandmaster level.

But if he could trade a few moves with a genuine Grandmaster, his true strength would speak for itself.

As for Wild Wolf and Wang Teng, they were so overwhelmed by the Grandmasters' auras that they couldn't even speak. The two of them had practically become invisible.

Yang Chen took a deep breath. A gaze as fierce as a lone wolf's appeared in his eyes. He licked his lips, looked around at the Grandmasters once more, and let a slight grin spread across his face.

"If none of you believe me, how about we fight and settle it?"

To be continued!