Nie Xueman rushed over immediately.
She saw that the man was burned beyond recognition—his entire body lacked a single patch of intact skin, looking like cracked tree bark. His mouth opened and closed, but only a few meaningless sounds escaped.
“Life-extending pill!” Nie Xueman urgently shouted.
Her senior fellow apprentice Li Mubai didn’t hesitate for a moment, feeding the precious pill, which overflowed with spiritual energy and a rich fragrance, into the man’s mouth.
After a moment, the dying man struggled to speak: “Auntie, I am… Mingyuan!”
“Mingyuan!”
Nie Xueman’s tears streamed down as she cried out in shock, frantically and helplessly caressing his face and body.
She simply couldn’t imagine that the person before her, charred black like a piece of charcoal, was actually her nephew—that dashing, handsome, and strikingly charming young man.
“Who did this?”
Nie Xueman’s heart ached as if it were being carved by a knife. Her tears poured wildly, the pain cut deep into her soul, and her hatred was so fierce that she could have ground her teeth to dust!
She was merely an abandoned girl taken in by the Nie family and shared no blood relation with Nie Mingyuan. In fact, she was two years younger than him. Back in their youth, they had once developed feelings for each other, sharing a tender and ambiguous bond—with only the final line left uncrossed.
“Auntie, it was Jiang Tian of the Jiang family, in league with the Lingnan forces and Xu Ruocheng, who wiped out—wiped out our entire family…”
Nie Mingyuan sobbed in a trembling voice: “Auntie, you must avenge us! Kill Jiang Tian! Kill him…”
With that, Nie Mingyuan fell unconscious again.
“Jiang Tian, I will tear you into a thousand pieces!”
A fierce, deadly aura spread across Nie Xueman’s beautiful face. Her entire body trembled as she shouted in fury, her voice dripping with brutal bloodlust.
A supremely powerful force burst forth from her seemingly delicate and graceful form, sweeping outward in all directions. Dust and debris billowed into the air as the shockwaves shattered the floor beneath her.
“Xueman, saving him is what matters most!”
Seeing the razor-sharp killing intent blazing in Nie Xueman’s eyes, Li Mubai gently reminded her.
“Mm!” Nie Xueman nodded.
Though her family had been annihilated and her nephew lay severely injured, her desire for revenge burned fiercely—but saving lives couldn’t wait.
Nie Xueman brought down quite a few life-saving medicines from Wudang Mountain and applied them all to Nie Mingyuan without hesitation. Then, cradling him in her arms, she swiftly left the ruins and vanished into the thick of the night.
…
Because the authorities deliberately suppressed the news, the massacre of Jinling’s three great families—the Nie, Chen, and Sun families—only circulated within certain elite circles. However, the wealthy magnates and high-ranking officials who had been closely following the conflict between the Jiang family and the three families could vaguely discern the truth behind the incident. Panic spread among them, their hearts pounding with terror and their minds reeling in fear.
“Under no circumstances should we provoke the Jiang family!”
Many families in Jinling held emergency meetings to devise countermeasures—and this very statement became the final consensus, treated as an unshakable creed by the powerful figures.
As for the police and other official bodies, after a thorough and meticulous investigation, they quickly ruled out the possibility of deliberate arson and declined to file any cases. Regarding the fire, they merely recorded a simple case file, and the dossier was locked away in an extremely secretive cabinet—no one was authorized to access it.
The case became a cold case, a mystery—nothing more than an insignificant ripple within the vast tide of history.
For the average citizens, however, it was just another ordinary fire on the western outskirts of Jinling, claiming a few lives. It faded from memory soon enough.
…
At the Yu family villa.
In a simple, old-fashioned study, the room was bright and spotless. Under the glow of the lamp, Secretary Yu was reviewing official documents.
“Father, everything has been taken care of on all fronts!” Yu Qiang strode in quickly, smiling as he spoke.
“Good. That’s a relief.”
Secretary Yu nodded, setting down his papers and said calmly: “This was a gift we gave to Jiang Tian on behalf of the Cao family. When he understands in due time, he’ll reconcile with the Cao family—and perhaps even serve the nation.”
“But…” Yu Qiang hesitated.
“You’re talking about Nie Xueman, the Wudang disciple, aren’t you?” Secretary Yu said with a faint smile.
“Dad, your insight is as sharp as ever!”
“Heh, what do you think the Nie family relied on to act with such impunity? Wasn’t it Wudang?”
Secretary Yu said coolly: “Leaving them a survivor is precisely to let Nie Xueman carry a signal—that in China, there is no place beyond the reach of law. Even martial artists cannot cause chaos or violate the prohibition against using force. Otherwise, this is what awaits them!”
Secretary Yu rose to his feet, and his aura suddenly erupted, as sharp and fierce as an unsheathed sword—as if this was the true face of the high-ranking official he was.
“But what if Nie Xueman and Wudang seek revenge against Jiang Tian?” Yu Qiang asked worriedly.
“Heh, for three decades, China relied on Ye Zhantian to suppress the martial arts world. In the next thirty years, it might rely on Jiang Tian.”
Secretary Yu said calmly:
“Jiang Taichu is extraordinarily talented and gifted beyond measure—he reached the pinnacle of the Transformation Realm before the age of thirty. That is an intimidating level of power. Do you really think Wudang would fare well if they declared war on him?”
“I understand now!”
Yu Qiang acknowledged, then hesitated for a moment before saying: “According to intelligence reports, the three families attacked the Jiang family over a fragment of a map…”
“A fragment? What kind of fragment?” Secretary Yu asked, surprised.
“Jiang Tian didn’t ask, and Nie Changhai didn’t say—but behind the scenes, their backers seem to be the East Asian Sakura Society!”
“The Sakura Society!”
Secretary Yu’s expression shifted to shock, then twisted into a furious, murderous sneer: “The Sakura Society has been a sworn enemy of our military and the Dragon Group! I never expected they would cultivate proxies in Jinling. And Nie Changhai and his ilk—originally from Jinling, carrying both national and personal grievances—actually chose to become lackeys of the Japanese. They deserved to die! Jiang Tian did well killing them!”
After the briefing, Yu Qiang quietly left Secretary Yu’s office.
“A fragment of a map? What kind of map fragment could possibly stir the Sakura Society’s interest…”
Secretary Yu’s gaze stretched far into the night beyond the window as he pondered for a long time. Then, suddenly moved, he let out a soft sigh: “I must report this to Old Cao…”
…
Two days had passed since the upheaval of Jinling’s three great families.
Meanwhile, Jiang Tian, along with his parents and Ye Ziwei, had returned to Jiang Village to meet Jiang Changgeng.
“Tian’er, was it you who brought down Jinling’s three great families?”
Those were the first words out of Jiang Changgeng’s mouth, his brows furrowed in concern.
“Yes, it was me,” Jiang Tian admitted without denial.
Knowing the old man was upright and somewhat old-fashioned, Zhang Wanqing quickly spoke up in her son’s defense: “Grandfather, this really wasn’t Jiang Tian’s fault…”
“I understand. The three families harbored malicious intentions and sought to destroy our Jiang family—they deserved to die. But, Jiang Tian, won’t this stir up more enemies against you?”
Jiang Changgeng sighed deeply, his face etched with worry.
“Grandfather, please don’t worry!”
Jiang Tian grasped Jiang Changgeng’s hand and smiled: “I’ve had remarkable encounters—I am no longer an ordinary person…”
“I know—you can command the crimson fire and made Cao Shixiong treat you with great respect. You’re clearly no ordinary man. It’s just…” Jiang Changgeng still couldn’t shake his concern.
“Alright, alright—it looks like I’ll have to show you a bit of my real power. Grandfather, watch this!”
Jiang Tian sighed helplessly, then brought his fingers together and waved them casually. Whoosh! A sharp blade aura, about ten yards long, swept outward.
In the courtyard, a rockery over three meters tall was cleaved cleanly in two, crumbling to the ground with a crash.
“Jiang Tian, how did you do that? Is this your trump card?” The entire family was stunned—they simply couldn’t believe their eyes.
…
“Mom, that time I got into a fight at the bar—it was really to defend our Yaowang Group’s reputation…”
Jiang Chao was being dragged by the ear by his second aunt to come before Jiang Changgeng and confess his mistakes. A while back, he had been in a brawl and ended up at the police station, violating family rules.
He pleaded pitifully: “And they threw the first punch! I’m always the one talking tough first—but the cops didn’t listen to my side of the story and threw me in the station anyway.”
“You’ve got to put in a good word for me in front of Grandfather, so he doesn’t come at me with his walking stick!”
He was still rambling on when suddenly he saw Jiang Tian bring his fingers together and wave—and then the rockery split in two. That stunning scene unfolded before his eyes.
“Whoa! Mother!”
Jiang Chao was so frightened he collapsed onto the ground, his legs going weak—he couldn’t even stand up, utterly horrified.
If that had hit him, wouldn’t he have been sliced to death?!
“How… how did he do that?”
“He was a good ten yards away from that rockery!”
“Could our son be some kind of deity?”
Jiang Changgeng, Jiang Zhixing, his wife, and Ye Ziwei all stared at Jiang Tian in sheer shock, as if looking at a complete stranger.
Even Jiang Tian’s feat of commanding the crimson fire at the old man’s birthday banquet hadn’t shaken them as profoundly as this single-handed cleaving of a mountain rock did.
The second aunt was also trembling with fear. She stood respectfully at the door and spoke to Jiang Tian in a quivering voice: “We pay our respects to the family head and to the old master!”
“As for Jiang Chao’s fight—though rash and impulsive, it was in defense of the family’s honor. He is exempt from punishment. You may go!”
Jiang Tian waved a hand dismissively.
“We thank the family head for your leniency!” The second aunt and Jiang Chao both knelt down in fear, then withdrew slowly.
After they left, Jiang Tian turned to the stunned old man and said calmly: “Grandfather, do you have confidence in me now?”
“Jiang Tian, what kind of person are you, really?” Jiang Changgeng was deeply shaken—he could hardly believe it.
Jiang Zhixing and his wife also turned to Jiang Tian, their faces full of confusion. The same question weighed on their minds.
“Grandfather, have you heard of martial artists?”
“I’ve heard a little about them.”
Jiang Changgeng suppressed the shock in his heart and slowly said: “They say medicine and martial arts are inseparable—practicing martial arts requires understanding the body’s meridians, acupoints, and anatomical structure. And doctors—especially top-tier ones—are the most likely to encounter martial artists, since even martial artists can get injured or poisoned!”
Jiang Changgeng paused, a look of longing on his face: “Though our Jiang family isn’t a martial arts clan, I’ve come across one or two martial artists in my time. I know that martial artists are classified into levels like Iron Body, Inner Strength, Transformation Realm, and so on. They say those at the Iron Body level are impervious to cold weapons, those at Inner Strength can kill from a distance without leaving any trace, and those at the Transformation Realm are honored as Grandmasters—able to condense qi into a protective barrier, manifest weapons from pure energy, and even harm enemies with a flick of a petal or a leaf…”
“Hiss—that powerful?!”
Jiang Zhixing, his wife, and Ye Ziwei were all dumbfounded. They could hardly believe that such terrifyingly powerful beings existed in this world.
At that point, the old man suddenly started in realization: “Tian’er, are you perhaps one of those legendary martial artists—or even at the Transformation Realm?”
“No, Grandfather. What I practice is a different system—it’s called cultivation.”
Jiang Tian said calmly: “Right now, I’m at the mid-to-late stage of Qi Refining, but I’m already on par with a martial arts Grandmaster at the peak of the Transformation Realm!”
“What?! You’re already at a cultivation level equivalent to the Transformation Realm? Our Jiang family actually produced someone on the level of a martial Grandmaster!”
Jiang Changgeng was deeply stunned, then suddenly enlightened, he burst into laughter and clapped his hands: “Haha! No wonder Cao Shixiong treated you with such immense respect!”
Jiang Zhixing and his wife also swelled with pride.
