Long Aotian watched his granddaughter, whom he had raised with such care, have her heart and eyes filled only with Chen Xiao. He was both amused and annoyed, grumbling incessantly:
"I'm already in my eighties, gravely ill, and can barely walk. How could I possibly trouble your boyfriend?"
Zhou Wanrong considered his words and found them reasonable. She then left with a sense of relief, muttering to herself:
"That's true. Without resorting to using your status to bully others, purely based on combat strength, even if you were in good health, you might not be able to defeat Chen Xiao, let alone in your current frail state."
Long Aotian immediately felt indignant. As soon as Zhou Wanrong left, he glared at Chen Xiao with unconcealed defiance.
"Doctor Chen, shall we have a spar?"
Fearing Chen Xiao wouldn't accept, he immediately straightened his body as soon as he finished speaking and confidently gestured with one hand:
"Within five minutes, if you can defeat me with just one hand, I promise I will no longer interfere with your relationship with Wanrong."
Although Chen Xiao's formidable display of power two days prior, catching Long Xiaolin's Green Dragon Crescent Blade with a single hand, had secretly startled Long Aotian, he still held low expectations for Chen Xiao's martial arts cultivation. After all, Chen Xiao's physique appeared too slender, and he was fair-skinned and delicate. Moreover, he now looked utterly depleted, as if drained by his romantic entanglements.
Long Aotian believed that even though his expertise lay more in leading armies than in martial arts, he could easily send Chen Xiao spinning like a top with a casual slap. His only concern was that Chen Xiao might not dare to accept the challenge.
However, as soon as the words left his mouth, Long Aotian was stunned. He clearly saw Chen Xiao, who had been lying on the sofa moments before, panting like a deflated balloon, suddenly launch a kick towards him. The speed was so astonishing that the human eye could barely follow it.
How could he possibly defend against this?
Long Aotian's mind went blank. In a moment of crisis, relying on decades of battlefield experience, he quickly crossed his arms to protect his vital areas. His internal energy, weakened to only seventy percent by the poison, erupted fully.
Yet, despite this, with a dull thud, Long Aotian was sent flying backward like a tiny duckweed battered by a colossal wave. He landed sprawled on his back, convulsing, his arms, the target of the kick, throbbing with unbearable pain. Tears of grievance welled up in his eyes, and he protested pitifully:
"I... I haven't even called out 'start' yet..."
Before Long Aotian could finish speaking, with a ripping sound, his sleeves suddenly disintegrated, completely defying his understanding of physics. He trembled in disbelief, exclaiming as if he had seen a ghost:
"This... this... this is this... is this the legendary Hua Jin? In his early twenties, he has already achieved Hua Jin, something countless professional martial artists can't reach in their entire lives? Master Ye Canglan and Master Puhui, the two recognized martial arts peaks in Juxian City, both achieved it only after reaching sixty! Could your martial arts talent be even more monstrous than theirs..."
Chen Xiao, despite his body being utterly exhausted, pushed himself to use the Great Dream Vajra Divine Art to sneak attack Long Aotian. He was simply annoyed that Long Aotian was disturbing his rest and had no desire to listen to Long Aotian's continued exclamations. He said:
"Then you can call start, but this time, I won't just be shattering your sleeves."
Long Aotian had just managed to get to his feet when he felt a prickling sensation on his scalp. The resolute demeanor of the peerless war god vanished. Without a second thought, he vigorously shook his head like a rattle drum:
"No! Please, don't! I... I admit defeat, alright?"
In truth, Long Aotian's primary reason for coming to Zhou Wanrong's house so late at night was to test Chen Xiao's martial prowess. After all, his life spent in the military had exposed him to countless intricate strategies and schemes on the battlefield, leading him to deeply believe in the saying "Might makes right." He felt that as long as one's personal strength was sufficiently high, they could overcome all obstacles and even defy everything.
He couldn't even withstand a single move from Chen Xiao. Reluctantly, he had no choice but to entrust Zhou Wanrong to Chen Xiao's care.
Chen Xiao, thinking he could finally rest in peace, suddenly received a call from Leng Shan.
As fate would have it, his worst fears were realized. He had been extremely worried about the Sumi Mustard Paste, which he had painstakingly produced, and now something had indeed happened.
About ten minutes prior, under the cover of night, the warehouse of Jinfang Pharmaceutical suddenly caught fire, and the blaze was extremely fierce. According to Leng Shan's call, it was likely caused by a large amount of fuel like gasoline. Leng Shan and Luo Lin alone were powerless to extinguish it. The 119 emergency services would take at least twenty minutes to arrive. Due to the continuous targeting and suppression of Jinfang Pharmaceutical by Jiuding Pharmaceutical and the Juxian City Chinese Medicinal Materials Wholesale Association, the surrounding area was unusually quiet. Despite Leng Shan and Luo Lin shouting themselves hoarse, no one came forward to help fight the fire.
"Doctor Chen, please think of something! If we wait twenty minutes, let alone the Sumi Mustard Paste, the entire warehouse will be reduced to ashes!"
On the phone, Leng Shan's voice was choked with sobs. He couldn't bear to imagine how Chen Xiao would torment him if the painstakingly produced Sumi Mustard Paste was destroyed under his watch.
Chen Xiao felt as if struck by lightning. His expression instantly turned grim. He forced himself to call out to Long Aotian, who was already stumbling towards the door:
"Old man, the Sumi Mustard Paste I just finished producing a few hours ago, without eating or drinking, which cost two million just for the medicinal ingredients alone, and which I planned to have Dr. Yan arrange to send to the border army in the Northern Territory tomorrow morning, is currently threatened by fire and could be reduced to ashes at any moment. Because Sumi Mustard Paste itself is a highly flammable substance with a very low ignition point, can you find a way to help as quickly as possible?"
"What?"
Long Aotian's face contorted in shock. The sharp aura unique to a person of high authority instantly erupted.
In that instant, he was no longer the grandfather who was throwing things around in anger over his granddaughter, nor the old prankster who had been defeated by Chen Xiao's sneak attack and was crying tears of pain. He was the Dragon King, the battle-hardened war god who had dominated battlefields for decades. He stated decisively:
"Location of the fire?"
Chen Xiao replied just as crisply:
"Jinfang Pharmaceutical."
Long Aotian's eyes lit up. He said:
"South of Juxian City? That's not too far from the confluence of the three seas. Coincidentally, a unit of the Southern Theater Command's Marine Corps is currently conducting a secret mission in that sea area. If we dispatch supersonic armed helicopters for rescue, it will take at most ten minutes. At worst, I'll reluctantly share some Sumi Mustard Paste with them after the mission is accomplished!"
As he spoke, he quickly pulled out his phone and made a call, using what were clearly coded words that Chen Xiao couldn't understand a single syllable of.
However, in just three sentences, before he even finished the call, he gave Chen Xiao an "okay" gesture.