Volume 4: Hidden Struggles, Chapter 271: Dark Clouds Gather

In the following days, Chu Tianyu did not engage in any “secret actions” anymore. Instead, he openly took Ouyang Ziyi and Xue Feifei with him to visit many important figures such as uncles and aunts, showing a determined attitude in competing with his elder brother.
Originally, Chu Tianyu did not expect these visits to yield any tangible results. Yet, unexpectedly, they did gain some support from companies and executives, who reached preliminary agreements with Chu Tianyu on matters like project collaboration and investment. They then proceeded to discuss these plans with Qin Nianran, who actually controlled the Chu Group, which took everyone by surprise.
After further analysis by Chu Tianyu, Qin Nianran, as well as Ziyi and Feifei, they were able to deduce some reasons for this situation.
Firstly, according to the professional judgment of Qin Nianran, there were no issues or traps in these cooperation projects—they were purely business deals. Some of them were even quick-turnaround projects that could generate profits immediately, with investment costs recoverable in a short time.
Secondly, the industries involved and the forms of investment varied, suggesting no evidence of hidden manipulation or arrangement.
Lastly, and most importantly, why would these companies and executives choose to cooperate with them at such a sensitive time rather than their elder brother? Chu Tianyu and his group concluded that although the number of these companies and executives was far less than those cooperating with their elder brother, they held significant positions in various industries. They had close ties with Jiangyan City and the Chu Group and had always been long-term partners of the Chu Group.
This led Chu Tianyu and the others to think of one person: their grandfather, Chu Fangshan!
In fact, grandfather’s decision to push the seemingly playboy third son forward to compete with Chu Tianfeng, who had always been considered the heir to the Chu Group, and to let Qin Nianran—someone who wasn’t even a full family member, merely a fiancée—take control of half of the Chu Group already said a lot…

Moreover, the implications behind this are open to endless speculation. The third young master of the Chu family, who spends his days indulging in pleasure and romance, may be a playboy, but he possesses the skills of three wealthy and charming young ladies. Just these three young ladies alone are worth their weight in gold, representing powerful entities such as Fudu Industrial, Oulijia Bao Group, and Tianyu Company. For any company to become their partner would be a tremendous advantage, a rare opportunity indeed.
Had the Chu family not formed a strategic alliance with Fudu back then to overcome difficulties, it would not have achieved its current scale of development. Now, with these three companies united, their combined strength is unimaginable!
What’s more, it seems that the heads of these three powerful families not only tolerate but even subtly support the third young master’s reckless behavior of having multiple lovers. This is even more puzzling and sparks further speculation.
From the current situation, it seems that the third young master of the Chu family is no longer just the silly laughingstock of his childhood or the playboy he appears to be now…
Realizing this, Chu Tianyu’s unintentional actions significantly reduced the pressure on the Chu family, diminished some of the previous negative forces, and even prompted many opportunists to start courting them in light of their growing influence.
As for Chu Tianfeng, the eldest brother, he remained calm despite the intense situation surrounding Chu Tianyu. The companies under his control seemed to be operating as usual, with no major moves made. Chu Tianyu was well aware that his brother wasn’t unwilling to take action; rather, his powerful partner, Lord Qin, was busy preparing for a major conflict and had no time to deal with such business matters.
…
In the following days, Chu Tianyu dispatched a small number of people to gather information at various levels. According to the feedback, the capital was indeed filled with hidden tensions, with a sharp increase in unfamiliar cultivators. Although there was no concrete evidence linking this to any specific incident, those sent out were all elites from the Beijing branch of the Xuanji Sect. Some of them had spent decades operating under various identities in Beijing, possessing extensive networks and connections. Their analyses and reports were usually very accurate. If not for Chu Tianyu’s strict orders not to conduct in-depth investigations, they would have gathered far more information.

While Chu Tianyu’s side remained calm and indifferent, Lord Qin and Zhan Yupeng’s teams were busy making frantic preparations. Soon, the entire capital was shrouded in tension. All factions seemed to sense something and tried to rein in their subordinates, avoiding involvement in this turmoil as much as possible.
…
Half a month later, one night, in the early hours, the cold wind was biting. Even the usually busy streets were deserted. In a newly built villa complex in the western suburbs of Beijing, aside from the faint light from energy-saving street lamps, the entire area was eerily silent, with not a single person in sight—like a newly developed property with no residents yet.
At that moment, a faint sound of energy cutting through the air came from all directions. Then, dozens of figures suddenly appeared, all dressed in tight black clothes with their faces covered by black scarves. It seemed these night wanderers had already identified their target and silently surrounded the central house in the complex in a fan formation. At one of their leader’s signal, five figures instantly hovered in midair, forming a formation that glowed with intense black light—so dark even the midnight darkness paled in comparison.
Thus, their five hovering figures stood out even more. Anyone who wasn’t blind could notice this strange sight.
The other black-clad men on the ground also found their attack positions, concentrating their energy in secret, waiting to launch a fierce assault the moment the five in the air broke through the house.
But just then, before those five could shape their black energy, a red light suddenly appeared in the otherwise pitch-black villa complex, accompanied by the roars of strange beasts. The scale and suddenness of this were so shocking that the dozens of black-clad men were stunned. The leader’s face turned pale as he realized they might have fallen into an enemy trap…

As expected, soon after, rows of energy bullets, burning like flames, shot at high speed. The men in black didn’t have time to dodge—or rather, there was no place to dodge. In the blink of an eye, over half of them lay dead on the spot. The remaining ones remained calm; they were all highly trained experts. Without any communication among them, they gathered together under the leadership of the one in charge. With a simultaneous shout from them, a mass of black mist emerged and enveloped them all, barely holding off the continuous barrage of energy bullets.

Instead of staying still and taking hits, the black mist began to spin rapidly, gaining speed as it rolled in the direction of the heaviest attacks.

Faced with this change, those who were lying in ambush from afar launched fierce attacks on the black mist, but with little effect. Apart from producing some noise when hitting the mist, it didn’t slow down its progress at all.

Soon, the black mist rolled into the enemy ranks, and powerful energy beams were shot out as it spun. Wherever these beams passed, they left behind black mist trails. The enemy had no way to defend against them—any contact caused severe damage, making it extremely terrifying.

While the two sides were engaged in fierce combat within the villa complex, not far away on a building, a man and two women were each holding a piece of yellow roasted sweet potato, munching on it while watching the chaos.

These three were Chu Tianyu, Zi Yi, and Fei Fei!

“Tianyu, how many times have they fought each other recently?” Ouyang Zi Yi asked.

Chu Tianyu took a bite of the sweet potato and thought for a moment before saying, “This is probably the third major confrontation.”

“I didn’t expect the Zhan family to have such strong influence. Although they’re at a disadvantage now, it seems they always know what’s coming ahead. They manage to gain the upper hand through cunning tactics. That alone is puzzling!” Xue Fei Fei added.

Chu Tianyu pondered for a while before replying, “Hmm, what Fei Fei said does seem true. Although the Zhan family is powerful and has their unique methods of worship, compared to Lord Qin’s strength, they’re still far behind. As Fei Fei said, if they couldn’t always strike first, the outcome of these battles would really not be interesting at all.”

As the conversation between them continued, the situation on the field had changed dramatically. The power of that black mist was gradually weakening, with fewer and fewer black energy blasts being emitted. The mist itself also became lighter, allowing people inside to be seen clearly now.
“It seems Lord Qin’s men will be left here tonight,” Chu Tianyu said while observing.
“Well, they didn’t suffer in vain. Just in that short while, they managed to knock out many of Zhan’s Holy Blood North Sons. At least they got their worth,” Xue Feifei commented from the sidelines.
“Hmm, there’s no more suspense left. It seems both sides are tied in this hunt!” Chu Tianyu nodded.
“Should we get involved?” Ouyang Ziyi turned her previously intense gaze away from the distance and looked at Chu Tianyu, unable to resist asking out of curiosity.
Chu Tianyu smiled and was about to speak when he felt a slight vibration in the satellite phone in his pocket. He was immediately startled—this phone was used specifically to stay in touch with the Xuanji Sect. Normally, unless something serious happened, the sect wouldn’t call him. Since it was already midnight and they were called now, it must be something urgent.
As soon as Chu Tianyu answered the call, he heard rapid breathing on the other end, along with faint sounds of fighting. Then, fragmented words came through: “Sect, Sect Master, we’ve been ambushed! Miss Nianran is in trouble… Ah…”
Before the sentence could finish, a scream came from the other end—clearly, that person was in grave danger.
“Hello? Hello! Where are you? Speak up!” Chu Tianyu asked anxiously.
“Beep…” Only static came through the phone.
Hearing this, the three of them were shocked. For Chu Tianyu, his worry grew even greater. He knew Nianran had a business gathering that night but didn’t realize she hadn’t returned home yet. Now, she was under attack, likely in extreme danger…
Chu Tianyu couldn’t even imagine what might have happened further. But there was no time for him to overthink or hesitate. He immediately took Ziyi and Feifei with him and flew through the sky at lightning speed. With the sound of wind rushing past, the three of them disappeared into the vast darkness of the night.

With a “boom,” Qin Nianran barely managed to exchange blows with the three fire-covered elders in front of her. Faced with their attacks, she immediately stepped back, staring in horror at the elders—whose skills were truly masterful. Those few blows earlier likely hadn’t been a coordinated effort; otherwise, the consequences wouldn’t have been as mild as just being forced to retreat…
“Who are you? Why did you ambush our convoy?” Seizing the opportunity, Qin Nianran asked loudly. She knew about the battle between Lord Qin and Zhan Yupeng and didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire and suffer heavy losses.
However, seeing the two corpses of Xuanji Sect disciples on the ground, she realized the chance of this being a mistake was very low. Moreover, given their ruthless tactics, it seemed they had planned this from the start, aiming to kill her without any hesitation.
“Nothing special. Blood for blood. I just want to use your head!” said one of the elders who had attacked her.
Before Qin Nianran could respond, a voice came from afar, growing louder: “In this sacred city, how dare someone be so arrogant, openly making such threats? This is outright lawlessness!”
“Boss, it’s still midnight… calling it ‘sacred’ seems a bit off…” a deep-voiced voice reminded him.