Chen Fan sat in the car, driven by Jiang Tiansheng.
A dozen other cars, driven by Jiang Tiansheng's trusted subordinates, escorted them from front and back.
Su Yingxue sat beside Chen Fan, her expression tinged with worry.
No matter how casually Chen Fan spoke of the martial arts contest, she couldn't help but feel uneasy.
However, she knew she couldn't persuade Chen Fan.
Fiddling with the dragon-patterned compass in his hand, Chen Fan watched the sky outside begin to darken, his expression remarkably calm.
He had already made all the necessary arrangements.
The dragon-patterned compass in Gongsun Zheng's hand was something he was determined to obtain.
Therefore, he could not back down from this fight.
In truth, while Gongsun Zheng was powerful, Chen Fan didn't take him too seriously.
His arrangements were based on the numerous changes and influences that would arise after this battle.
The Blood God Hall would likely not miss this opportunity and would make a move after this contest.
The intelligence from the Magician’s side also corroborated some of his speculations.
However, this was for the best, as it would save him a lot of trouble.
The assassins from the Blood God Hall were all Asian in appearance and skilled in infiltration, making them difficult to track down. If this battle could resolve things, it would be much easier.
The only thing that slightly concerned him was Su Yingxue's insistence on accompanying him, which meant he had to divide his attention to protect her, and there could be no room for error.
To this end, he had arranged for Mei Ji to secretly protect her.
Lost in thought, they were not far from Liuyun Dojo.
Just then, Jiang Tiansheng's phone rang.
After answering the call, he paused for a moment and turned back, saying, "Mr. Chen, the other party cited too many spectators as the reason for changing the venue to the Broken Bridge! They also said they have made arrangements and cleared out the tourists!"
Changed the venue?
Chen Fan said nonchalantly, "Then let's head to the Broken Bridge."
A martial arts contest was a martial arts contest; the location made no difference to him.
Of course, for a martial artist like Gongsun Zheng, perhaps the West Lake, a place of scenic beauty and elegance, would have more of the aura of ancient martial arts practitioners!
***
After receiving Chen Fan's reply, the people at Liuyun Dojo dispersed and headed for the Broken Bridge.
"Mr. Xu!"
Su Yuhua seized the opportunity to approach someone and said in a low voice, "Everything is ready!"
"Mr. Su, you and I are strangers. What you're saying is unclear to me!" Xu Yunhou said faintly, "What you did in the past or what you will do in the future does not interest me."
Su Yuhua's attempt to curry favor was met with a cold shoulder, and he couldn't help but feel annoyed.
However, he guessed that Xu Yunhou likely had some reservations.
The reason he approached Xu Yunhou again was precisely because he had already found out Xu Yunhou's identity.
The Xu family of Xiling, the patriarch of a century-old prominent family.
It seemed Xu Yunhou had a grudge against Chen Fan, and not a small one at that.
If he could establish a connection, or even form an alliance, it would undoubtedly be a highly desirable outcome for him.
The influence of a century-old prominent family was far greater than that of local influential families.
Even though the main power base of the Xiling Xu family was not in Hangjiang, they were still a target worth courting.
However, Xu Yunhou clearly didn't think highly of him.
Feeling rebuffed, Su Yuhua shook his head and walked out of Liuyun Dojo.
He was unaware that Xu Yunhou actually didn't think much of him. Otherwise, driven by his desire for revenge, he wouldn't have kept Su Yuhua at arm's length.
Arriving at the parking lot, Su Yingxia and Yuan Liangping approached him.
"Third Uncle, how was it? Did you find out? How strong is this Mr. Gongsun?" Su Yingxia asked eagerly.
Su Yingxia was wearing a simple and elegant beige suit, looking haggard and noticeably thinner.
She had been through a lot recently.
With the ups and downs of the commercial war between the Liangjiang Chamber of Commerce and Shengshi Group, her mood had been like a roller coaster.
The scene at the commercial summit where Chen Fan transformed into the legendary businessman Mr. Long remained like a nightmare that wouldn't fade.
For a long time, Su Yingxia even dared not go out, because no matter whose gaze she met, she felt it was mocking and ridiculing her!
She, Su Yingxia, had rejected a husband like Mr. Long and married a good-for-nothing like Jiang Shaolong. Wasn't that a laughingstock?
The wealth, money, power, villa, and luxury car that she had pursued were all within her grasp... but she had chosen to divorce Chen Fan.
She remembered clearly that in the days leading up to their divorce, Chen Fan had told her in person that if she was willing, he could give her anything.
But she had dismissed his words with a sneer, not even giving him a glance or a sliver of a chance to believe him!
It was all her own doing!
She had completely broken down at the commercial summit and took more than half a month to recover.
Thus, her hatred for Chen Fan had permeated her very bones.
She felt that for the rest of her life, she wouldn't ask for anything else, but to achieve one thing: to make Chen Fan die!
To make this man, who had become her nightmare and whose name alone tormented her, disappear completely!
That's why she was here today, partly to see Chen Fan beaten to death, and partly persuaded by Yuan Liangping.
Yuan Liangping had hinted to her that regardless of whether Chen Fan won or lost, he wouldn't survive tonight.
She desperately, ardently wished for Yuan Liangping's words to come true.
Upon arriving here, she naturally wanted to know if Chen Fan's opponent tonight was powerful enough.
"Gongsun Zheng, rumored to come from an ancient family, a super master at the peak of Huajin!" Su Yuhua said with a smile, "I deliberately chatted with a few people from the martial arts world, and they unanimously believe that Gongsun Zheng could kill Chen Fan with ease."
"This person is a renowned master in the martial arts world. He once single-handedly suppressed half the martial arts world, with no one able to contend with him!"
"His lifelong pursuit, besides martial arts, is nothing else!"
Su Yingxia breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
With such a formidable opponent, Chen Fan would surely die a miserable death, right?
However, for some reason, she recalled many past experiences.
In those experiences, people had also confidently told her that Chen Fan was doomed to die, or that Chen Fan was destined to become a laughingstock.
Yet, to this day, Chen Fan was still alive and well, and as Mr. Long in his other identity, he remained someone she had to look up to.
She quickly shook her head, dismissing these unlucky thoughts.
As long as Chen Fan died, she would do anything, truly!
As the three were about to get into the car, they saw the master of the dojo, Gongsun Yuan, leading the way out of the main entrance.
A man in a blue robe, around forty to fifty years old, walked out accompanied by the woman they had seen from afar earlier.
All three looked over simultaneously.
As his gaze swept past, Gongsun Zheng seemed to sense something and immediately looked over.
His eyes were like sharp thorns, and upon meeting their sight, they caused a stinging pain in Su Yuhua and the others' eyes.
They quickly averted their gaze, their hearts filled with shock.
Just a glance caused their eyes to sting; what kind of situation was this?
Moreover, under this gaze, they all felt an extreme sense of danger, as if they were being targeted by a great terror.
For a moment, Su Yingxia and the other two trembled.
Then, something even more shocking happened: Gongsun Liang jogged over and addressed Su Yingxia directly, "Miss, my grandfather wishes for you to come over!"
Su Yingxia looked up blankly and glanced at Gongsun Zheng again.
His gaze had softened considerably, no longer emitting the great terror and stinging sensation from before.
While watching Su Yingxia, Gongsun Zheng was speaking to the woman beside him.
"Me?"
Su Yingxia asked.
"Yes!" Gongsun Liang said with a grin, "My grandfather wants to have a few words with you."
Su Yingxia's heart pounded. She didn't know what Gongsun Zheng wanted to say to her.
Su Yuhua reacted quickly, saying, "Go ahead, Yingxia, we'll wait for you here!"
Su Yingxia then followed Gongsun Liang.