"War God!" At that moment, Zhao Feng rushed in from outside.

"Did you see the breaking news?" As he spoke, Zhao Feng's expression was grim. This was uncharacteristic, as he wouldn't normally show such panic in front of Chen Zheng.

Chen Zheng also sensed that something was wrong and slowly shook his head. He had been swamped with work all morning and hadn't had a chance to see the news.

Without further explanation, Zhao Feng strode over and switched on the television in the conference room. The screen immediately froze on a scene that resembled a grand opening ceremony.

"Xu Ronghua?" Feng Yueyue's eyes widened the moment she saw the man standing at the center of the screen. If she remembered correctly, Xu Ronghua had jumped off a skyscraper. How could he possibly be appearing on a television screen now?

At the same time, the footage showed Xu Ronghua and a white-haired old man walking slowly to the forefront, followed by Zheng Nantian, figures from the Fan Family, and other top tycoons.

"Business tycoon and former chairman of the Ronghua Corporation, Mr. Xu Ronghua, has joined forces with the Zheng Group, the Fan Group, and the Changyun Martial Arts Hall in a powerful alliance!"

"They have now officially established the Jiangnan Alliance Group, marking a monumental collaboration…"

As the host's excited voice droned on from the television, Chen Zheng's expression turned utterly grim.

Ma Wenyuan, oh, Ma Wenyuan… I really did underestimate you. To think you'd pull the 'golden cicada sheds its shell' gambit on me!

He now understood completely. It was easy to see the truth of the matter: the man lying in his villa was definitely not Ma Wenyuan.

The damned old bastard had used a body double!

"War God, the Zheng and Fan families had already joined the Alliance even before the third round of financing for a certain company!" Zhao Feng reported from the side. "They knew perfectly well that you would never let them off easily, so they sent their key family members to the Alliance for protection long ago!"

His expression was just as grim. He had been so preoccupied with supervising the refinement of the Spirit Pills lately that he had neglected other matters.

"It doesn't matter. They're just a bunch of clowns who can't accomplish anything significant." A cold smile touched the corner of Chen Zheng's mouth. "If they think Liu Changyun can protect them, then I'll shatter their Alliance to pieces!"

As he spoke, a chilling glint of light flashed in his eyes.

Just then, Chen Zheng's phone began to vibrate intensely. Seeing the unfamiliar number on the screen, he already had a suspicion.

He answered the call, and a familiar voice came through immediately.

"Chen Zheng… surprised to hear my voice?" Ma Wenyuan's smug tone was unmistakable the moment the call connected.

"You played your hand well, finding a scapegoat for yourself. You pulled off that 'golden cicada sheds its shell' trick quite smoothly, didn't you?" Murderous intent flashed in Chen Zheng's eyes.

"Hahaha… With a little bastard like you, of course I had to be careful. You're a general of the frontier, and you killed two internal energy masters right there at the mine!" Ma Wenyuan laughed heartily. "With that kind of power, how could I not prepare for the worst?"

"So you even know what happened at the mine," Chen Zheng said, finally understanding. His enemies had gone to such lengths purely out of fear of his power.

And it was true. Ma Wenyuan knew that whether in the stock market or in reality, Chen Zheng would never let him off the hook. That was why he had orchestrated such an elaborate plan to secure his own escape.

"You're absolutely right. I did all this to bide my time until Master Liu's return!" Ma Wenyuan continued, "I'll admit, you killing two internal energy masters on the spot genuinely surprised me." He let out a long sigh.

"But so what? Do you really think you're more formidable than Master Liu? The martial arts tournament starts the day after tomorrow. You'll be there, and let me tell you, there's no way you're leaving it alive! Don't you worry. I'll have Master Liu leave you barely breathing. Your last breath will be for me to take!" he sneered. "I'll send you to King Yama's palace so you can have a nice reunion with your damn bastard of a father!"

With that, he hung up. At the same moment on the television screen, Xu Ronghua's gaze seemed to shift, locking with Chen Zheng's as if bridging the immense distance between them.

"War God, I'll go deal with him right now!" Zhao Feng said, his voice laced with fury. He clenched his fists and turned to leave.

But Chen Zheng stopped him. "For the next few days, focus on assimilating the Spirit Pill I gave you. You'll have your chance to shine at the martial arts tournament," Chen Zheng said calmly.

He wasn't as furious as his enemies might have imagined. In fact, this was, in a way, a good thing.

Xu Ronghua isn't dead; he's alive and well. That means I'll be able to get all the information about my mother from his own lips.

"Mr. Chen…" Feng Yueyue declared with determination. "Although we don't know the full extent of your feud with Xu Ronghua, no matter what happens, our Feng Family will stand firmly with you!"

She had only overheard parts of the phone call and didn't know the whole story, but she could clearly sense the deep, mortal enmity between Chen Zheng and Xu Ronghua—a feud that could only end when one of them was dead.

"Thank you for the kind sentiment, Miss Feng, but this is my personal affair. It has nothing to do with you," Chen Zheng sneered. "As for Xu Ronghua, there's no way I'm letting him go."

After they exchanged a few more words, Feng Yueyue quickly turned and left.

"The man lying in the villa," Chen Zheng asked after she was gone, "have you found out who he is?"

Zhao Feng nodded repeatedly. "His name is Li Tai. He was a classmate of your father and Xu Ronghua. He followed Xu Ronghua ever since he came to Jingzhou. After an accident disfigured his face, Xu Ronghua paid for plastic surgery to make him look identical to himself, turning him into his personal, death-sworn bodyguard."

"Li Tai's family is most likely being held and controlled by Xu Ronghua right now."

"Li Tai?" Chen Zheng frowned slightly.

He wasn't sure if this man had been involved in the plot that framed his father, but he likely knew a great deal. Keeping him alive could prove useful…

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