The phone on the big desk suddenly rang, startling the two men in the middle of their secret plot.
Nie Changhai picked it up, and his face immediately changed dramatically. He jumped to his feet: “What? Nie Feng was injured by Jiang Tian!”
Nie Changhai rushed to the Nanjing First People’s Hospital.
Seeing Nie Feng’s condition, Nie Changhai’s heart ached as if it were being cut with a knife. He nearly exploded with rage on the spot.
“Nie Feng’s condition isn’t good. He has five broken ribs. We did our best to set them back in place, so there’s no major issue there.”
“The problem is, Nie Feng’s manhood was also crushed. We searched his clothes and the scene for a long time, but we only found some bits of flesh. There’s no way to piece it back together…”
“This will likely affect Nie Feng’s sexual function and fertility. I’m afraid he won’t be able to perform normally from now on…”
Despair and rage completely consumed Nie Changhai’s body and mind. He seemed not to hear the doctor’s report.
It was as if the whole world had disappeared, and all he could see was his son lying on the hospital bed, barely clinging to life.
Nie Changhai felt dizzy. He couldn’t even stand steadily. Fortunately, Nie Mingyuan caught him in time: “Dad, please accept my condolences.”
It took a while for Nie Changhai to calm down. He wiped away his tears and walked into the hospital room. Looking at his son, who was wearing an oxygen mask, he smiled and said, “Xiao Feng, just rest and recover. The doctor said it’s nothing. You’ll get better.”
“Dad, don’t lie to me!”
Nie Feng stared at the ceiling with a hopeless, empty gaze. Tears rolled down from his temples as he said weakly, “I know my little guy is gone. I’ve become a eunuch. From now on… I can’t be with women anymore, and I can’t have children either!”
Nie Changhai secretly cursed those doctors for not keeping the news under wraps. What if Nie Feng did something desperate?
“Dad…” Nie Feng’s voice choked up.
“Son—!” Nie Changhai quickly responded.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything stupid. I’m going to get revenge. I’m going to take brutal revenge. I’m going to make Jiang Tian wish he were dead! I’ll tear him limb from limb. I’ll find a hundred men to have their way with every woman in Jiang Tian’s family!”
Nie Feng’s eyes, which had been dull and lifeless, slowly began to focus.
But the look in them was fierce—like a tiger or wolf ready to devour someone. Even Nie Changhai felt a chill run down his spine.
“Little brother, don’t worry.”
Nie Mingyuan’s eyes were slightly red, his face full of murderous intent as he said, “This won’t end like this. Dad and I will definitely get revenge for you. Don’t you worry about it.”
In the eyes of outsiders, Nie Feng was just a spoiled, good-for-nothing young master. There were even rumors that the brothers were at odds with each other, fighting over power and status.
But inside the Nie family, everyone knew that Nie Feng and Nie Mingyuan’s bond was far deeper than that of ordinary brothers.
They had lost their mother when they were young and had once been homeless on the streets. They grew up relying on each other, stealing and sneaking around just to survive.
And after the Nie family grew powerful,
Nie Feng took on all of the family’s shady businesses—killings, robberies, kidnappings, extortion—doing every evil deed imaginable, becoming Nie Mingyuan’s right-hand man.
“When you kill Jiang Tian, I have to be there. I want to see him die with my own eyes!”
Nie Feng spoke each word deliberately, his hatred as vast as the sky.
Just then, the secretary walked in and said quietly, “Xu Ruocheng from the Xu family has come to visit.”
“Please, invite her in!”
Hearing this name, Nie Changhai’s expression turned serious. He didn’t dare to be rude and had already started walking toward the door to greet her.
The Xu family of Nanjing had a very mysterious background. On the surface, they seemed unremarkable, but in reality, they controlled most of Nanjing’s underground world. They could keep the Qingyun Society in check, and the Xu family had stood firm for a hundred years without falling.
Nie Changhai knew very well that the Xu family was a legitimate martial arts family. It was said that the head of the family, Xu Zhenlei, had already reached the Dacheng level of the Transformation Stage, though he had been in seclusion for years without coming out. Presumably, he had advanced even further. How could Nie Changhai dare to offend such transcendent power?
“Uncle Nie!” Xu Ruocheng greeted him politely with a fist-and-palm salute as soon as she entered.
She was around thirty years old, with a beautiful face, a full chest, a slender waist, and curvy hips. She was tall and shapely, with a flirtatious and enchanting aura.
If she walked down the street, she would definitely be the kind of stunning woman that men couldn’t help but stare at.
But as she blinked her eyes, sharp glints shot out, carrying a faint yet chilling murderous aura. Even a cunning old fox like Nie Changhai had to be cautious around her.
After a few simple pleasantries, Xu Ruocheng said softly, “I’m sure the Nie family has also heard that Jiang Tian is a martial arts master.”
“Yes, have you heard about it too, Miss Xu?”
Nie Changhai also hoped to get some information about Jiang Tian from Xu Ruocheng.
“This man has made a name for himself in Lingnan, dominating an entire region. How could I not know about him?”
Xu Ruocheng said with a faint, ambiguous smile.
Nie Changhai’s heart sank.
It seemed those rumors were all true.
Xu Ruocheng said casually, “But I think the stories about Jiang Tian might be exaggerated. Or maybe his cultivation level has dropped.”
“How can you tell that his cultivation has dropped?” Nie Changhai asked with a frown.
“Heh, it’s too simple!”
Xu Ruocheng said with a hint of disdain, “Tonight, I saw with my own eyes at the Qixia Clubhouse that he was cut on the hand by one of Nie Feng’s bodyguards with a knife.”
“Even the peak of Iron Body isn’t afraid of cold weapons, yet Jiang Tian got hurt. That says it all.”
“Cultivation can drop? How is that possible?” The Nie father and son couldn’t believe it.
“Of course it can. Getting injured, being poisoned, or practicing cultivation the wrong way can all cause a drop in cultivation level.”
Xu Ruocheng smiled lightly, and there was something enchanting about it. “Rumor has it that Jiang Tian has defeated many martial arts masters, winning every battle. But in a fight between martial artists, it’s never completely one-sided. Surely, he gets hurt too, right?”
The Nie father and son were skeptical.
Xu Ruocheng’s cheeks showed a lovely dimple as she smiled and said, “I should remind you, Uncle Nie, that I’ve heard Jiang Tian is also quite skilled in medicine. He’ll probably recover in a month or two. You should strike while he’s weak—don’t hesitate any longer!”
“Alright, thank you for the reminder, Miss Xu. I will seriously consider your advice!” Nie Changhai gave a fist-and-palm salute.
After Xu Ruocheng got into her Mercedes-Benz business van and drove out of the hospital,
She took a glass of red wine from the built-in cooler, took a sip, and her eyes flashed with a cold, sharp light. She smiled faintly and said:
“When Jiang Tian leads the Lingnan forces into a decisive battle against Nanjing’s Nie, Sun, and Chen families, and they’re fighting fiercely and both sides are weakened, that will be exactly when my father comes out of seclusion. Then, the Xu family will strike with full force and unify Nanjing!”
——-
June 1, 2008, Sunday.
But no one at the Jinqingtian Laboratory rested that day. They all nervously gathered around Jiang Tian, standing inside the lab on the fifth floor of the Nanjing Medical University Science and Technology Building.
They were waiting for the first batch of medicinal pills to be completed.
“I wonder if it’ll work!”
Huang Zhihui was sweating. His face was pale with tension, and beads of sweat kept forming on his forehead.
“Professor Huang, don’t worry. You’re the one doing the work, and Professor Jiang is guiding you. These reactors are sure to succeed!”
Lin Monong was also nervous, but she gave a sweet smile and tried to comfort him.
The lab, which was nearly a thousand square meters—almost like a factory—had five production lines. Each line was made up of more than a dozen oddly shaped reactors connected by pipes.
These reactors embodied the combined intelligence of Jiang Tian, Huang Zhihui, and dozens of other professors and postdoctoral researchers.
The five production lines were used to make specialized medicines: Black Jade Continuation Pills for treating injuries, Ascending Dragon Meridian Pills for improving bone structure and achieving human evolution, Small Rejuvenation Pills for strengthening the body and curing all kinds of illnesses, and Detox Pills specifically for neutralizing poisons.
It could be said that if any one of these pills were released to the public, it would cause a sensation and completely dominate the pharmaceutical market.
When the medicinal herbs were placed into the first reactor and it was turned on, it let out a rumbling sound, vibrated slightly, and flames blazed up, licking the bottom of the reactor.
Then, clouds of vapor rose from the reactor, were condensed back into liquid, and became colorful juices that flowed into long, thin glass pipes.
These liquids started out very faint, but gradually became more concentrated, until they finally looked like sparkling, brilliant gems.
In simple terms, the idea was to take the principle of the “spiritual cauldron” that Jiang Tian knew about and apply it using earthly materials and knowledge of physics and chemistry to create these reactors, enabling mass production of the pills.
A spiritual cauldron, or spirit furnace, has a kind of consciousness. The spirit of the cauldron—sometimes called the Furnace God—can gather energy from the heavens and earth on its own to automatically refine pills.
Although these reactors were simplified versions, using special earthly materials, and didn’t have one hundred percent of the effectiveness of a true spiritual cauldron, with the skillful work of Jiang Tian and Huang Zhihui—turning the ordinary into the extraordinary—they still achieved about seventy to eighty percent of the effect, which made Jiang Tian quite satisfied.
Of course, the core components of the reactors—covered in runes and called “furnace hearts”—were carved by Jiang Tian’s own hands and infused with his true essence. These components could convert ordinary fire energy into spiritual energy and extract all the spiritual essence from the medicinal herbs.
The design and carving of these furnace hearts alone had taken Jiang Tian two or three months.
Jiang Tian believed that no one else in the world could make something like this, not even the world’s top high-tech companies.
Ten minutes later.
Clink, clink, clink—a series of soft sounds rang out as red pills fell into the container, giving off a delicate fragrance.
“Professor Jiang, go check the results!”
Huang Zhihui’s face was strained, and he was trembling slightly, like a prisoner waiting for the judge’s verdict.
“Okay!”
Jiang Tian nodded, walked up with a calm look on his face, grabbed a handful of the pills, and swept his spiritual sense over them.
“Professor Jiang, how is it?”
Seeing Jiang Tian’s expressionless face, Huang Zhihui and Lin Monong were both very nervous, their hearts pounding like drums.
Jiang Tian was silent for a moment, then finally broke into a gratified smile and said, “It worked. These Overlord Body Pills have about one-tenth the potency of the ones I make by hand.”
“It finally worked!”
Cheers erupted.
Everyone was trembling with excitement.
Some raised their arms in triumph, some jumped and hopped around like children, and some of the female researchers even burst into tears.
Four months had passed since the lab was established. Day after day, night after night, everyone had stayed late working on designs in the office. Many researchers had forgotten to eat, forgotten to spend time with their families, all for the sake of the experiments.
Failure after failure, starting over again and again.
Setback after setback, wiping away tears and getting back up each time.
Time after time experiencing disappointment and helpless sighs, yet clenching their fists and telling themselves they could do it.
At this moment, it all turned into hot tears, flowing freely.
“It worked?”
Huang Zhihui stood there dazed, unable to believe it.
“Professor Huang, without your theories, our research could never have succeeded!”
Jiang Tian walked over, took his hand, raised his arm, and said.
