Volume 1: The True Dragon of Purple Void, Chapter 12: The Future Dowry

Chu Tianyu entered the quiet room specially prepared by his grandfather for him and recounted to the Great Master everything he had seen that day as well as the doubts in his mind.
When Buzhan heard that even when the little girl attacked, Tianyu couldn’t sense any energy being emitted from her—only when she used her aura to pressure others could one tell she was using internal strength—Tianyu was asked how strong her internal energy was, to which he replied it was weak. Buzhan knew that by “weak,” Tianyu meant it was weak compared to himself. True strength could be judged by one’s ability to project energy outward and intimidate opponents, which indicated a certain level of skill. In the martial world, such skills would already count as considerable achievements. Moreover, since Tianyu said she was about the same age as him yet had reached this level, the person who taught her martial arts must surely be a master!
“Great, Great Master, what exactly is going on? Is what she used martial arts?” Tianyu asked again, seeing that Buzhan was deep in thought.
“Tianyu, if my guess is correct, that little girl is using superpowers!”
“What? What are superpowers?”
“Superpowers are abilities that some people possess naturally, different from ordinary people. For example, some can see through walls, while others can control various elements of nature from birth.”
“Then, Great Master, compared to martial arts, which one is more powerful?”
“That’s hard to say. It depends on each person’s cultivation level or the depth of their superpowers. But generally speaking, such superpowers are just trivial tricks in the face of true martial artists and not very useful. Besides, superpowers require a lot of mental effort—most need concentration to be unleashed, and it’s hard to achieve a fatal strike without preparation…”
“Oh, Great Master, is my Dragon Domain considered a superpower?”
Hearing this, Buzhan patted Tianyu’s head and said helplessly, “Even I can’t explain that. But I can tell you, the power of your Dragon Domain is far beyond what ordinary martial artists can match, let alone those so-called superpower users!”
Seeing Tianyu still look confused, Buzhan shook his head and smiled. He was actually describing this to a ten-year-old. He then looked at Tianyu again and said, “Your Dragon Domain is much ‘more powerful’ than theirs…”

“Oh~~~” Finally, Tianyu understood. After all, it was still him who was the most capable. He happily began to discuss with the master the Buddhist principles assigned by the master a few days ago, as well as his own Zen insights…

A few days later, on the top floor of the Chuyeh Building, in the chairman’s office, Chu Fangshan carefully examined the documents, while Secretary Huang stood respectfully beside him. Whenever Chu Fangshan frowned slightly, Secretary Huang would provide appropriate explanations and clarifications.

After a long while, Chu Fangshan put down the documents and said to himself, “So that’s how it is. Over the past few years, although I was aware of the Qin family’s development and had conducted some investigations on them, they mostly focused on business operations. I’ve never conducted such a thorough investigation like this before. Heh, Qin Muyun—good, she has courage. To go against tradition and plan to hand over all her businesses to her ten-year-old granddaughter is truly unexpected. Qin Nianran… Heh, my future daughter-in-law can’t possibly be that talented, right? If she really is, then I definitely want her for myself. Haha…”

Secretary Huang knew this was Chairman Chu talking to himself and didn’t need to respond, so he remained silent, waiting for Chairman Chu’s actual instructions.

Sure enough, after closing his eyes and thinking for a while, Chu Fangshan ordered, “First, continue the investigation into the Qin family. Always ensure we have the latest information, especially regarding my little daughter-in-law. Also, pay close attention to the activities of those two wastrels in the Qin family; we might need that information soon. Second, starting now, cancel all our short-term cooperation projects with the Qin family. Keep only the long-term ones, and reduce our cooperation with them appropriately. By the way, Xiao Huang, any future cooperation plans with the Qin family must be approved by me. Third, get me that housing plan for Binjiang New City right away.”

“Yes, Chairman!”

After arranging everything, Chu Fangshan looked out the window. As the tallest building in the city, he could see everything within sight, which made him feel very pleased. After Secretary Huang brought over the documents and he glanced through them, he smiled meaningfully and said, “Xiao Huang, immediately connect me to Qin Muyun from Fudu Industry. I want to discuss this cooperation project with him.”

“Chairman, this project is strongly supported by the government and offers substantial profits. Although it involves large plans, scale, and timelines, with the strength of our Chuyeh Group, we can definitely complete it on our own. There won’t be any problems with funding from the banks either, as this is considered a government flagship project. Do you really think we still need…”

Chu Fangshan nodded in appreciation at Secretary Huang, thinking to himself, “Not bad. An excellent administrative assistant not only needs to be able to carry out tasks smoothly but also must offer suggestions at the right time to provide ideas and reminders to decision-makers. But how could he possibly think of such things?” He then waved his hand lightly. Having worked for Chu Fangshan for many years, Secretary Huang recognized this gesture as indicating that the chairman had other plans, so he said nothing more and went to answer a phone call.

“Hello, is this Brother Qin? It’s Fangshan!”

“Oh, hi, brother! Why are you free today? I really disturbed you at your place a few days ago!”

“Not at all. I should actually thank you for coming to celebrate my mother’s birthday.”

“That’s what we’re supposed to do…”

“Oh, I’m bothering you today because I have a cooperation project I’d like to discuss with you…”

“Really? What project?” Qin Muyun on the other end immediately became interested.

“It’s about the development of Binjiang New City. Recently, Chu Industry has invested too much in other projects and can’t turn around right now. You know, this new city project requires a significant amount of funding and won’t be completed in just a few years. So I’d like to work together with you on this!”

“Well, um…” Qin Muyun already knew about the scale and potential profits of Binjiang New City, but it had always been a top priority for Chu Industry, supported by the local government as well—no one could get involved. So what was going on now? Why would Chu Fangshan, that old fox, offer him a share of this big pie out of nowhere? What was his motive? Shocked and hesitant, he didn’t know what to say for a moment.

“Hehe, Brother Qin, it’s not convenient to discuss this over the phone. Let’s arrange a time to meet and talk in detail. After all, we’re family. Don’t just focus on business matters; we should spend more time together as family…”

“Okay, of course…”

“Well, let’s not talk much over the phone. I’ll have my secretary arrange a specific meeting time. Alright, goodbye…”

“Mm, no problem. Goodbye…”

Qin Muyun frowned after hanging up the phone. Misfortunes had struck one after another since he answered the call. The cooperation on the Binjiang New City project had already surprised him greatly, and he couldn’t figure out Chu Fangshan’s intentions. Then, without any reason, the matter of their in-laws relationship was brought up. Ever since the Chu family had a “fool” born, they had never brought it up on their own, so he naturally pretended to be clueless. Even during the birthday celebration for the Chu family’s elderly lady a few days ago, they hadn’t mentioned it. Now, it was brought up along with the Binjiang New City plan—could there be some connection between the two? Or were there other factors at play?

Qin Muyun couldn’t reach a conclusion for now, so he temporarily ordered his subordinates to prepare materials on Binjiang New City and arrange a meeting with Chu Fangshan. Perhaps an answer would emerge naturally when the time came.

……

“Dad, are you really going to give half of the construction of Binjiang New City to Fudu Industry?” his son Chu Minglei asked in confusion. His daughter-in-law, Han Yixue, was also there. Under Chu Fangshan’s special instructions, Han Yixue was now practically half of the head of Chu Ye Group. For any major decision, Chu Fangshan would consult her before taking action.

“Mm, first, take a look at this…” He handed over the documents of Qin Nianran. After reading them, both Minglei and Yixue were shocked, especially Yixue. She had been in charge of the investigation, and the results were astonishing.

Yixue stared at the documents thoughtfully, while Minglei said in confusion, “Well, she already looks so cute in the photos. She’ll definitely be even more amazing when she grows up. I never expected that the girl who was betrothed to Tianyu to be a genius with an IQ of 320. Our simple son is really far behind! Wait, Dad, are you giving away half of Binjiang New City just to keep this marriage? Just for a marriage that’s still uncertain? Dad, the children are still young. Even if that girl from the Qin family is great, there’s no need to consider this now. Besides, with our Chu family, are we worried we won’t be able to find a wife for Tianyu?”

Chu Fangshan cursed inwardly, “Idiot!” But he kept a calm expression and turned to Yixue, asking, “What do you think, daughter-in-law?”

Yixue didn’t answer directly. After thinking for a while, she said subtly, “If Dad has made up his mind, we should go ahead. I believe this plan is very feasible. The key lies in the ‘delay’ strategy in over a decade and the situation with Tianyu! Oh, by the way, Dad, Minglei and I still need to attend the company’s monthly meeting. We’ll be leaving now…”

After saying that, he pulled Minglei and left. Minglei still didn’t understand what was going on. Seeing that his father hadn’t said anything and Yixue had already started walking, he had no choice but to follow her out first.
Watching his daughter-in-law Yixue walk away quickly, Chu Fangshan nodded deeply and thought to himself, “What a clever woman. She clearly saw through my plan but still left some face for her husband by speaking so subtly. Heh, I really didn’t choose the wrong daughter-in-law for my son. Heh, now as grandfather, I’ll find a good daughter-in-law for my grandson. Oh, hehehe…”
Outside, Minglei grabbed Yixue, who was walking ahead, and asked doubtfully, “What kind of riddle are you playing with Dad?”
Yixue smiled faintly and said, “Dad wants to find another daughter-in-law like me for our family’s Tianyu. The dowry will be the entire Fudu Industrial Group…”
“Huh? What does that mean? I still don’t understand…”
“You fool, come downstairs first. I’ll explain as we walk…”
……
Time passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, two more years had gone by. Tianyu was now twelve years old, and the brain injury he suffered from the power of Longyu had fully healed. Xianyun, Kuangru, and even Grandfather Chu Fangshan and Mother Han Yixue had all returned, gathering once again in the quiet room of Buzhan.
Tianyu was not allowed to attend this gathering. After some polite exchanges, everyone got straight to the point.
Of course, it was Buzhan who first gave a brief introduction to Tianyu’s situation. Over the past few years, in addition to mastering all of Shaolin’s internal martial arts techniques, Buzhan had focused on cultivating Tianyu’s insight. Although Tianyu’s brain had only just healed and his mind had just begun to develop, the insight Buzhan had nurtured in him was like an invisible treasure, a treasure hidden in the subconscious, waiting for Tianyu to uncover and activate it in the future. According to Buddhist teachings, everything has its root, and this root is nothing but “insight.”
Due to the dragon energy within Tianyu’s body, coupled with his focused mindset from a young age—which aligned with the Buddhist principle of acting without effort—Tianyu made rapid progress even in the most difficult internal martial arts techniques. Sometimes, after Buzhan infused energy into his body and guided it a few times, the techniques would naturally take shape, allowing him to achieve initial success.
As for external martial arts and skill training, Buzhan taught him a few Shaolin techniques that could be used with bare hands, such as Prajna Palm and Vajra Finger. After all, in these times, relying on weapons was no longer appropriate.
Of course, Kuangru would sometimes come over and teach Tianyu some small, interesting martial skills.

After Bu Chan finished speaking, Yi Ji raised a hand and said, “Amitabha. In the coming years, the cultivation of Tianyu will rely heavily on you two. Bu Chan can finally let go…” Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the fanatical Confucian beside him: “Hehe, Master, how could we just let you go like that? Jian Feng still has one more idea to share. Regarding the future instruction of Tianyu, I’ve made a rough plan: the first three years will be entrusted to the old Taoist to teach him. After thinking it over, since the Master has already laid a solid foundation in Tianyu’s internal cultivation, we won’t have to worry much about that. With the old Taoist’s Yunmen tradition, it involves either leading him beyond the mundane world to explore famous rivers and mountains, seeking ancient relics and serene places; or immersing him in the world’s distractions to observe the various aspects of life. By drawing on nature and the elements of heaven and earth, he can train his mind, cultivate his sentiments, and ultimately reach a state of sainthood. Three years later, building on the foundation laid by the Master and the old Taoist, I will take Tianyu ‘into the path of darkness’ to experience the wickedness of human hearts and the fickleness of the world, to witness all the injustices and ugliness in the mortal realm. By reaching the extreme of the demonic path, he will then reawaken to the truth and ultimately attain the Mahayana state, thus living up to the opportunity granted by the Dragon Realm’s legacy! Once Tianyu reaches adulthood at eighteen, he can act according to his own wishes, and we old folks can truly let go…”