A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)

Chapter 2242 Suspicions

Mo Wuya retorted, "Why do you harbor such hatred for your young age? Do you intend to follow in the footsteps of Chu Tianfan by becoming public enemy number one through brutality?

His words jolted Zhao Zhenlu, who subsequently softened his tone.

"Prince of Fighters, h-how could you say that? There's no way you can compare me to Chu Tianfan because, unlike him, I'm carrying out a mission. Please don't make such insinuations about me," Zhao Zhenlu refuted.

Laughing out loud, Prince of Fighters patted Zhao Zhenlu on the shoulder.

"Relax, Mr. Zhao. I was just kidding. Besides, I'm stopping you from killing indiscriminately for your own good. Just think about it. The Li and Chen families have established themselves in Jiangdong for generations and are well-loved here. Now that they have withdrawn from Jiangdong and aren't vying for power against you, how would the residents of Jiangdong see you if you show no mercy against the two families? They would think that you're a cold-blooded murderer who's no different from Chu Tianfan. When that happens, you'll lose the will of the people. Without it, it will be difficult for the Zhao family to rule Jiangdong," Mo Wuya advised solemnly.

Zhao Zhenlu fell into deep thought before nodding in agreement.

"I expect no less from the Prince of Fighters! You've so much more foresight than I do. Thank you for the insight you have given me. Once the Zhao family has established itself in Jiangdong, I will send you thirty percent of its annual revenue as tribute," Zhao Zhenlu declared gratefully.

A silent smile was all Mo Wuya responded with.

"All right now, you should get back to work. I'm going to take a stroll outside."

Mo Wuya dismissed Zhao Zhenlu with a wave of his hand before leaving the room to walk down aimlessly along the street in Yunzhou.

Staring at the shadows thrown onto the sidewalk and the glistening reflections on the surface of Yunwu Lake, Mo Wuya lamented, "Alas, no one can turn back time. Chu Tianfan, oh Chu Tianfan, you have been relegated to the annals of history in the end. Consider this as my way of paying respect to a long-time rival."

With that, the matter of Jiangdong came to an end.

Nevertheless, the wheels of the martial arts world continued spinning endlessly.

After Ye Fan's death, training for Dragon Gate Project greatly intensified.

Soon, it was time for the third batch of candidates to join the project.

Chen Jiuzhou found War God and ordered them to get ready to enter Dragon Gate the next day.

Initially, they were meant to be the second batch, but Ye Qingtian declined to do it on Ye Fan's account.

Subsequently, he found more excuses to delay it until now.

"Jiuzhou, since the slots for Dragon Gate training are extremely valuable, I feel that we should prioritize the younger generation. After all, old fogeys like us have limited potential left. We can fill in the remaining slots once you have gotten everyone else in." All content is property © NôvelDrama.Org.

Ye Qingtian tried to delay the matter again.

"That's not necessary. We have plenty of slots available. You don't have to give them up. I have informed Sword Saint and King of Fighters about it. The three of you will enter Dragon Gate

tomorrow and that's an order. I won't allow room for any disobedience!"

Chen Jiuzhou's attitude to the older elite warriors was unmistakably harsh.

Upon hearing Ye Qingtian's tone, he used the full authority of Hall Master to arm-twist them into entering Dragon Gate.

He then turned and left, leaving Ye Qingtian no chance to refuse.

The furrow on the latter's brows consequently deepened.

Once Chen Jiuzhou was gone, Sword Saint and King of Fighters emerged from the chamber at the back.

Both of them had heard the earlier conversation.

"Tell me, what are your thoughts?" War God asked the two of them.

King of Fighters wore a grave look on his face. "Ye, I think there's more to the matter than meets the eye. Otherwise, why would Chen Jiuzhou force us into entering Dragon Gate? Isn't he afraid that we will seize power from him once we break through to the next level?"

King of Fighters expressed his suspicions, to which Sword Saint nodded.

He's right. Logically speaking, Chen Jiuzhou shouldn't want us to train inside Dragon Gate. After all, the stronger the three of us are, the greater the threat we are to him. But now...

"Both of you have also noticed something suspicious going on, haven't you?" War God looked up at the two. "Three among those in the second batch didn't make it out. The death rate seems to be climbing."

"Are you saying that Chen Jiuzhou is trying to get us killed by ordering us to enter Dragon Gate?" Mo Gucheng gave Ye Qingtian a quizzical look.

War God shook his head. "It would be fine if that was the case. What worries me more is another reason."

"What is it?" King of Fighters asked again.

Sword Saint seemed to have an idea. "The one that Chu Tianfan told us about?"

War God nodded solemnly. "When Ye Fan first shared it with me, I found it ridiculous. But now, I increasingly feel he was right. Dragon Gate Project might just be a front for a huge plot, one that involves enslaving the best martial artists in the entire world."

"H-How is that possible?" King of Fighters' lips began to tremble. He found the idea difficult to accept.

"I'm just guessing too. It might be a case of my imagination going wild. But ever since Ye Fan's death, I can't help but grow more suspicious by the day. Just think about it. Ye Fan was just a junior who had done nothing to offend Moryana, Odin, and the others. Yet all of them began hunting him down right after he told us about the secret of the Dragon Gate training. Was it really a coincidence or were they trying to kill him in order to bury the secret?

"Also, having disappeared for many years, Moryana returned with not only a massive increase in her strength but also a change in her temperament. Could she be hiding some sort of secret too? On top of that, Chen Jiuzhou seems to be plotting hard to get us to enter Dragon Gate. Taking everything into consideration, I'm increasingly inclined to believe Ye Fan," War God elaborated with a solemn expression.

By then, King of Fighters and Sword Saint had turned pale in shock.

"War God, if what Chu Tianfan said is true, can you imagine the repercussions for the world?" Sword Saint remarked gravely.

War God nodded. "Without a doubt, it means that the apocalypse is upon us. Once The Great Four and all the genius martial artists of the world are enslaved, the mastermind can destroy the world, and we will be powerless to stop him. The only one capable of standing in his way has unfortunately been killed by the world itself."

He spoke in a low voice. His words carried an inexplicable sense of sorrow and sarcasm.

The room subsequently fell into a deathly silence.

The three pillars of China, weighed down by the gravity of the situation, were at a loss for words.

Sometimes, being the only one awakened to the truth was a terrible thing, to the extent of it being a cruel burden to bear.

"All right now, stop being so pessimistic. I was just speculating just now. If it turns out to be true, we still have time to remedy the situation," War God added.

"In that case, are we still attending the Dragon Gate training tomorrow?" King of Fighters asked.

War God shook his head. "We should cook up an excuse to skip it. It would be great if there was no plot behind it, but if Ye Fan's words turned out to be true, the three of us could still avoid the fate of being turned into slaves. At the very least, we'll become the last line of defense for China's martial arts world."