As the saying goes, a fat man has his own brand of wisdom.
He had deliberately made such a commotion beforehand, all to lull his opponent into thinking he was only at the Five-Meridian True Qi level.
When his fist energy closed in on Xuan Yuan, he finally revealed his trump card.
This punch condensed all the essence of the fat man's Six-Meridian True Qi, channeled all the boundless fury he had been nursing lately, and carried the ambition of a grudge-holding underdog fighting his way back from the brink!
Boom!
Xuan Yuan barely had time to react, desperately raising his palm to meet the blow.
Crack!
The instant Xuan Yuan's palm made contact with the fat man's fist, he understood what the word "gap" truly meant!
The fist energy, wrapped in six layers of spiraling force, drilled through like an auger and ground his entire arm into a spray of shredded flesh in the blink of an eye.
And the fist energy didn't stop there — it slammed straight into his chest!
Puh!
A mouthful of blood sprayed out like an arrow.
Xuan Yuan's whole body, like a kite with its string cut, was blasted off the stage by the devastating fist energy, sent tumbling more than ten meters back before crashing into a massive pillar.
When they looked at him again, blood was streaming from all seven orifices, a gaping hole had been torn through his chest, his head lolled crookedly on his shoulder — he was dead beyond any hope of revival!
"What?"
"That's... Six-Layer Fist Energy? Xuan Xuan broke through?"
Never mind the few supporters Xuan Yuan had — even Marquis Jinshan himself had never expected to see this. His son had won, and won so easily!
Fatty Xuan stood on the stage, his mountain of flesh still sending tremors through the platform beneath his feet.
"My Jin family may fall on hard times, but we will never tolerate traitors. Those who betray the family — die!" For the fat man, this was the first time in his life anyone had felt such killing intent from him.
What followed was rather grisly. As a frontier lord, Marquis Jinshan's ruthlessness came fully to the fore. After Fatty Xuan's victory in the arena duel, Marquis Jinshan showed his true mettle.
He ordered several elders detained, then released evidence of their collusion with Marquis Longteng and their betrayal of the family.
Beheadings! Property confiscation!
In short order, the internal turmoil of the Jinshan household was dealt with swiftly and cleanly. Even Jiang Chen couldn't help but admire that Marquis Jinshan, when it came to brutal efficiency, was far superior to his own father, Jiang Feng.
Of course, quelling internal rebellion with a heavy hand was entirely understandable. No family ever showed mercy toward traitors.
The outcome of the duel — a reversal that everyone had expected — didn't really stir much emotion in Jiang Chen's heart. Fatty Xuan thanked him profusely and wanted to keep him on as an honored guest.
But seeing that the Jinshan household had just finished purging a rebellion and executeed a string of heads, it clearly wasn't the best time for a visit. Jiang Chen took his leave shortly after.
When he returned to his own manor, he received stunning news — his father, Jiang Feng, had emerged from seclusion!
Only, the few who knew about this for the time being were Jiang Ying and Jiang Fu.
Jiang Feng had indeed come out, and he had successfully broken through, smoothly advancing into the Ten-Meridian True Qi realm and stepping into the ranks of True Qi Grandmasters — truly entering the tier of elite feudal lords.
"Congratulations, Father." Jiang Chen was genuinely happy for him.
"Haha, Chen'er, between father and son, why stand on ceremony? Besides, if it weren't for you, I'm afraid Nine-Meridian True Qi would have been my ceiling for life."
Jiang Feng had always been easygoing around his son.
Jiang Chen then gave his father a rundown of the events at the Jinshan household and also reviewed the current state of affairs.
Jiang Feng nodded. "As for how the Jinshan household handled their family affairs, that's about as well as it could be done. From what you're saying, Marquis Longteng's rebellion is likely to happen within the next six months?"
"Based on my estimate, his patience is probably good for about six more months."
"Chen'er, what do you think — how should our Jiang family align?" Jiang Feng turned the question to his son.
"We don't need to take sides. Whether it's the royal house or Marquis Longteng, both have already written us off as belonging to the royal camp." Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "But honestly, why would the Jiang family need to take sides at all?"
Jiang Chen didn't believe the royal family was worthy of his allegiance. The only reason he had ended up on Marquis Longteng's opposite side was the push of circumstances — not because he had chosen the royals.
He, Jiang Chen, was one of a kind. No faction could command him.
……
Marquis Longteng's Manor.
News of what had transpired at the Jinshan household reached Long Zhaofeng's ears in short order.