Dongtai's grandfather was Wou Gege, a renowned old Shaman from deep within the Southern Borderlands who had stepped into the Earth Level realm decades ago. His magic was potent and his strength terrifying—so much so that even Ancient Martial Artists in their Later Stage of the Innate Realm feared him, respectfully addressing him as Grandmaster Wou Gege. This alone spoke volumes of his standing.

Furthermore, Wou Gege's talent was outrageously formidable. As a youth, he studied under famous masters and mastered extraordinary sorcery. By the time he was in his seventies, he had become one of the ten greatest Shamans in the Southern Borderlands, an object of reverence and fear whose fame had spread far and wide.

However, aside from his Cultivation Level and power, the rest of his life seemed disappointing, even tragic. When Wou Gege was only middle-aged, he provoked a vindictive enemy. As a result, he suffered a calamity that wiped out his entire clan. In a single night, more than a dozen of his family members were slaughtered. Only his youngest grandson, Dongtai, was lucky enough to have been taken to play in a neighboring village, allowing him to narrowly escape the disaster.

From that day on, Dongtai became Wou Gege's only living relative, and he naturally poured all of his love into the boy. The old Shaman doted on Dongtai to an extreme degree. Not only did he meticulously teach him sorcery, but he even used his influence to arrange for their village's Holy Bug—the Thousand Bone Worm King—to become Dongtai's life-bound familiar. He had never once entertained such a thought even for himself.

But now, for the sake of his grandson's future, Wou Gege had done it.

For a Shaman, their life-bound familiar was often their most powerful trump card. The Thousand Bone Worm King was the Holy Bug of their village, famous throughout the entire Southern Borderlands. The benefits it would bring Dongtai were self-evident; it was an asset countless Shamans could only dream of possessing.

But now… initially, when Wou Gege heard his grandson had run into trouble in Capital City—a place of 'unfathomable depths'—he assumed Dongtai had carelessly offended some powerful old expert. But after hearing the story, he was shocked to learn that his grandson had been seriously injured by a peer, and with apparent ease. How could Wou Gege not be astonished?

"Grandfather, you have to help me with this! You have to get revenge for me! I can't let this go," Dongtai demanded, growing anxious when his grandfather didn't immediately respond on the phone.

"Sigh."

A soft sigh came through the receiver, followed by the aged voice. "Focus on healing for now. We'll discuss everything else when I arrive in Capital City." As he spoke, a chill intensified in Wou Gege's old eyes, and his tone turned frigid by the end of his sentence.

Although he knew full well that both sides were at fault—and that his grandson had started the trouble—the sight of Dongtai's injuries and the crippling of the Holy Bug, the Thousand Bone Worm King, filled Wou Gege's heart with a cold, rising anger.

He had grown accustomed to a life of seclusion over the years, avoiding conflict with the outside world. But that didn't mean he was someone who could be bullied.

Considering how 'excessive' the other party's actions were, they at least owed him, Wou Gege, an explanation, didn't they?

"Alright, I'll wait for you here in Capital City while I recover." Hearing his grandfather's words, a smug smile finally broke through Dongtai's savage expression. He knew this meant his grandfather was willing to stand up for him.

And as long as his grandfather was willing to make a move, that detestable, arrogant bastard would suffer dire consequences!

***

"What did you say? Chen Fei captured Chen Huaqin's son?"

Meanwhile, in the study of the Old Chen Family of the Forty-Nine City, the current Family Head, Chen Bingzhang, sat upright on a wooden chair, his voice laced with surprise.

Sitting on a sofa across from him, Chen Zhenjun nodded with a hint of helplessness. "I just found out myself. Chen Weishan secretly went to Jiangnan to harass Lin Ling, touching that kid's nerve. He was captured and taken to Flying Leopard that very day. Apparently, it happened a few days ago."

Chen Bingzhang cursed, "Idiot!" then shook his head with resignation. "Those fools really don't listen to a word I say. That boy already holds immense hostility toward our Old Chen Family, and now they've pulled a stunt like this... Does Hua Qin know?"

"I think he does," Chen Zhenjun said slowly after a moment's hesitation. "I had someone ask around. It seems Uncle Hua Qin even went to the Celestial Group to pressure them into releasing his son. But in the end, even the Celestial Group Elder he found to help was cursed out by Chen Fei. The situation became extremely tense." At this, Chen Zhenjun couldn't help but shake his head again, a flicker of astonishment in his eyes. What kind of existence was a Celestial Group Elder? Even someone of Chen Zhenjun's current rank would have to be polite and respectful in their presence.

Yet Chen Fei had just bluntly cursed one out and even threatened to go to the Celestial Group to cause trouble for him. How could Chen Zhenjun not be shaken? At the very least, he himself lacked the courage to do such a thing.

Ah, this is truly…

"Sigh..." Hearing this, Elder Master Chen sighed once more, a note of disappointment in his voice. "Those fools don't use their brains at all. We're desperately trying to bring that boy back into the fold, and they're doing everything in their power to push him away. No wonder our Old Chen Family has begun to show signs of decline. It's not just because the old man passed away."

Chen Zhenjun was silent for a moment. In truth, he had harbored similar thoughts for a long time, but given his junior position in the family, it wasn't his place to say them out loud.

He looked up at his father. "Dad, what should we do? Uncle Hua Qin vaguely mentioned something to me before, but he was so cryptic that I didn't understand, and the matter was dropped. Now... we can't just pretend we don't know about it, can we?"

"And yet, right now, I truly wish I could," Elder Master Chen replied, his eyes glinting, leaving Chen Zhenjun stunned.

"Dad, are you serious? But..." Chen Zhenjun said with a look of disbelief. While it was true that Chen Huaqin and his son were in the wrong for secretly going to Jiangnan Province to harass the young man's mother, at the end of the day, Chen Weishan was still a member of the Old Chen Family. Even if he was just from a branch family, with Uncle Chen Huaqin involved, they couldn't possibly turn a blind eye.

If word of this got out, the Old Chen Family's already precarious situation could become even more turbulent, rife with internal conflict. If mishandled, it could become a massive problem. Logically, as the current Family Head, his father shouldn't want to see that happen.

"This Chen Fei is truly extraordinary. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had the backing to point at a Celestial Group Elder and curse him out," Elder Master Chen said, taking a deep breath, his gaze sharp.

"Truly extraordinary?" Chen Zhenjun's curiosity was piqued. "Dad, is there something about Chen Fei that I don't know?"

"You? There's a lot you don't know," Elder Master Chen said, glancing at his son. "You know about that incident with the Old Sunx Family, right? Do you know who ultimately stepped in to back that boy?"

"Who? Wasn't it Old Master Xuu?" Chen Zhenjun asked, taken aback.

"No. While Old Master Xuu did give his assent, the one who actually came forward to support the boy... I asked around privately. It was Old Man Huang Xing," Chen Bingzhang stated.

"Old Man Huang Xing?" Chen Zhenjun repeated, the name sounding vaguely familiar yet distant.

Suddenly, he shot to his feet, a look of utter shock on his face. He remembered now—the first director of the Central Guard Bureau! Wasn't that his name? Old Man Huang Xing? That man personally stepped up to support Chen Fei? How was that possible?

That man was a titan from his own grandfather's generation! Even with Old Master Xuu's approval, it shouldn't have been enough to make such a revered figure intervene personally. Chen Zhenjun's mind felt muddled.

"Dad, how could Chen Fei have a connection with Old Man Huang Xing? Even with Old Master Xuu pulling strings... it seems impossible, right?" he asked, unable to suppress his bewilderment.

But Elder Master Chen answered with a different question, "Have you heard of the Tiger Leopard Hall?"

"Tiger Leopard Hall?" Chen Zhenjun paused and frowned. "I've heard of it. It's supposedly the most powerful underworld organization in the Martial Forest of the Region of Three Provinces of Lingnan. They've been entrenched there for decades, with deep and tangled roots. In terms of the danger they pose, they're second only to the First-Class powers of the Southern Borderlands."

"And now, that organization has been annihilated. The official story is that Old Man Huang Xing handled it personally," Elder Master Chen said, glancing at his son.

"The official story is..." Chen Zhenjun repeated, the words slowly sinking in. Then, his expression turned to one of pure shock and disbelief. "Old Master, don't tell me you're suggesting..." He was beginning to grasp the implication.

"Old Man Huang Xing is good-natured and not particularly tight-lipped, so I managed to learn a few things. It seems the destruction of the Tiger Leopard Hall was that boy's doing. And he did it alone, a personal undertaking without any official support. Do you understand what that means?" As he spoke, even Elder Master Chen couldn't help but shake his head in admiration.

The fact that the Tiger Leopard Hall could dominate the Three Provinces of Lingnan for so long without being destroyed spoke to its strength. Yet now, a young man in his twenties had single-handedly, and privately, wiped it out. The meaning was crystal clear. No wonder that boy looked down on their Old Chen Family from the very beginning.

So, he really did have the backing all along!

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