Volume 4: Hidden Struggles, Chapter 113: The Way of Power

Seeing that his words had caught Zhou Jie’s attention, Chu Tianyu was secretly pleased, but he spoke calmly, “What does a sunny mood mean? Even if you take it literally, I believe you can grasp the general idea!”
“But…” Chu Tianyu changed his tone and continued, “I’d like to tell you a story first. There was a woman who got angry whenever she argued with her husband. She said she wanted to show him how angry she could get—so angry that it might even cause cancer, making him regret it for life. She kept getting angry like this, until one day she felt abdominal pain. When she went to the hospital for a check-up, it turned out to be cancer. In the end, she died. But for whom did she die? Who would regret it? No one saw it, and no one regretted anything. It only gave her husband a valid reason to find another wife! Eventually, her husband did find someone with a cheerful mood and lived happily together. Who still remembers her…”
As he spoke, Chu Tianyu kept glancing at Zhou Jie, observing his reactions. He saw that Zhou Jie’s expression changed rapidly as the story progressed, as if he were in a fierce internal struggle.
Chu Tianyu knew that Zhou Jie had to break free from these constraints on his own. But at this moment, he needed to give him another push, so he casually added, “People should focus on positive things and maintain a sunny attitude. Then life is like a journey, memories are like a camera—mood determines choices, and choices determine what happens…”
After hearing Chu Tianyu’s words, Zhou Jie’s expression immediately changed, and he finally showed signs of deep thought. Seeing that he had said enough, Chu Tianyu decided the rest depended on Zhou Jie himself.
So he sat down and began thinking about what had happened the previous night. He never expected that Zhan Zifeng and Zhou Chongyun would use cultivators to confront each other over Qin Nianran. He had originally planned to follow those two despicable people to stop them from causing trouble. But by the time he turned around to help Qin Nianran, they had already killed one of Zhan Zifeng’s subordinates.
Later, when Chu Tianyu arrived with Qin Nianran, he was ready to intervene at any moment. After all, no matter how annoying Zhan Zifeng was, he was still Qin Nianran’s classmate, and he couldn’t let those two people commit more crimes.
But to his utter surprise, the situation reversed. Zhan Zifeng turned out to be extremely powerful, especially with those decisive strikes at critical moments, which seemed to carry a strange innate energy. It was this innate energy that allowed him to win in the end, eliminating those two despicable people and sparing Chu Tianyu the need to take action!

As for his ruthlessness toward Zhou Chongyun later on, it far exceeded Chu Tianyu’s expectations. It made Chu Tianyu ponder this situation secretly right away.
Regardless of who won or lost in their fight, neither of them was any good! There was no need to mention Zhan Zifeng, but how could that Zhou Chongyun have such strength to bring in two experts to fight over a woman? Clearly, with his character, he didn’t even have that ability!
Then, whose backing did he have…? How could there be such experts in the capital… at such a sensitive time…? Could there be some underlying connection between these seemingly unrelated factors? It seemed necessary to investigate that Tianxing Group thoroughly. By the way, Zhan Zifeng himself also had many secrets, especially his strange energy. It seemed he was hiding something—he could even emit a faint flame. If he used it from the start, those two wouldn’t last long!
It seemed they needed to send a few people to investigate secretly! With this in mind, Chu Tianyu actually had an even deeper thought—regarding Qin Nianran. After seeing Zhan Zifeng’s tactics and style, it was better to prepare in advance. After all, Qin Nianran was still his fiancée. Although it was said today would be the day to end things, pulling out at the last moment, from Qin Nianran’s perspective, made sense—what else could she say if he didn’t do that? This at least showed one thing: haha, they still couldn’t break things off for now!
This also gave Chu Tianyu some hope. That’s why he ran with extra joy during his “morning exercises” along the way—what a great move to pull out at the last moment!…
After making up his mind, Chu Tianyu was thinking that if Zhan Zifeng really tried to do something improper or continued to harass his “fiancée,” it would be his turn to say to Zhan Zifeng what he had said to Zhou Chongyun!
Just then, he suddenly heard Zhou Jie call out softly, “Tianyu, Tianyu, do you have youtiao?”
Chu Tianyu didn’t react right away and immediately replied, “No, only vegetable buns…”
“Ugh, come on, be more careful next time when buying breakfast. How can there be only soy milk and no youtiao? Sigh! You’re ruining China’s thousands-of-years-old cultural heritage!” Zhou Jie said jokingly.
Chu Tianyu was about to ask what soy milk and youtiao had to do with China’s thousands-of-years-old cultural heritage, but seeing Zhou Jie’s expression, he suddenly realized—he had finally overcome his own obstacles…
Chu Tianyu couldn’t help but stand up and give Zhou Jie a bear hug, as they often did on the court, while saying repeatedly, “Damn, I knew you were capable!”

“Thank you…” Zhou Jie uttered those two words before focusing all his strength in his arms.
“Damn, waking up to such a disgusting sight—please, if you two want to be affectionate, can’t you do it in the bathroom?” Da Hu’s exaggerated voice came from the bed.
“Die!” Chu Tianyu and Zhou Jie shouted in unison. At the same time, a vegetable bun, along with Zhou Jie’s swift kick, silenced Da Hu’s annoying mouth for good…
…
“Nianran, how’s your progress with the documents?” Qin Muyun asked anxiously in a study.
Qin Nianran looked solemn, unlike her usual hesitant state. Instead of answering directly, she spoke in a very detached tone: “Since I stepped back from managing Fudu Industrial last September, its main business direction hasn’t changed, nor has its performance shown any significant shifts. The asset managers and financial supervisors I left behind haven’t discovered anything major. From the documents Grandpa gave me, it seems they’ve been studying Nianran for a while, creating the illusion of partial losses and partial profits while keeping overall performance stable! They’re taking advantage of the fact that Nianran isn’t in Beijing to conduct thorough inspections and oversight!”
Qin Muyun slammed his crutch angrily, heartbroken. “Sigh, it’s all those good-for-nothing sons! Grandpa, I’m sorry for Fudu!”
Qin Nianran agreed, “Grandpa, it’s not your fault. Such things have happened throughout history! Where there’s profit and power, there are greedy people! I didn’t expect that aside from some uncles, even my mother’s uncles are involved…”
“Sigh, those wretches!” the old man said angrily.
“But those partial losses are real, while the apparent profits are purely an illusion!” Qin Nianran changed the subject.
“How so?” the old man asked.
Qin Nianran continued, “As for the losses, I won’t go into details. As for the fake profits, it seems they’ve found a powerful backer, allowing them to secure so many large-scale projects. Hmph, actually, their tricks aren’t worth much once exposed! With such high demand, they need to purchase more raw materials. Moreover, I see that some projects have tight deadlines. So when buying materials, prices are inflated, and many inspections are deliberately ignored. The increased cost of raw materials seems to be covered by those project funds, but the trick is that we pay directly for those materials, while those large projects remain in debt—money out, debt in. How could Fudu not end up in this situation?”

Qin Muyun listened closely with her eyes tightly shut. Judging from his trembling body, he also understood the intricacies well. He just wanted to hear confirmation from his own granddaughter! Gradually calming down, Qin Muyun, still with her eyes closed, said, “That’s it! Nianran, do as you think is best! Consider those losses as my part as a father covering for them… Sigh, I wish Nianran were a boy!” Qin Nianran didn’t reply to her grandfather. Instead, she quietly left the study to give him some space. As soon as she stepped out, her expression turned cold, and she sighed sadly, “In wealthy families, there’s no true kinship!” Then she dialed a phone number and said, “You can start now…”

…

Over these past two days, Chu Tianyu had thoroughly studied Chu Corporation’s information. Under the guidance of his elder brother Chu Tiancheng, he met one by one with the senior managers from various branches in the capital. However, through these interactions, Chu Tianyu was greatly surprised. Among so many executives, there were all kinds of people with various expressions, but they all shared one thing: utter humility and caution. This created a stark contrast for Chu Tianyu. He wasn’t new to dealing with subordinates—when managing the Xuanji Sect, whether facing senior figures like Old Chen or other disciples, their respect was genuine, unlike the fake demeanor he saw now. But comparing the Xuanji Sect to Chu Corporation wasn’t meaningful. The Xuanji Sect was, after all, more of a sect in the world of cultivation than a regular company. Although it now adopted corporate management, its essence hadn’t changed at all. So, faced with the hypocritical smiles and flattery from Chu Corporation’s people, Chu Tianyu simply couldn’t muster any interest. And watching his elder brother act so pretentiously, with those fifty- or sixty-year-old men quickly smiling and nodding in agreement, was utterly boring! Seeing Tianyu distracted again, Chu Tiancheng took the chance to ask quietly, “What’s wrong, Tianyu? Not used to this kind of setting?” “Heh, a bit…” Chu Tianyu had no choice but to agree. Suddenly, Chu Tiancheng turned and said, “Alright, let’s stop here for today. We’ll continue drinking at the group’s summary party the day after tomorrow!” “Okay, okay, sure…” The others quickly stood up, agreeing and taking their leave. After sending them away, Chu Tiancheng turned to Chu Tianyu and asked, “Tianyu, what do you think people are here for in this world?” Chu Tianyu didn’t know what his elder brother wanted to say and shook his head.

The eldest brother stretched out one hand, spreading his fingers, then suddenly clenched them into a fist and swung it forcefully, saying, “Power—men’s power!”
Chu Tiancheng didn’t give Chu Tianyu a chance to speak and continued, “Why do those people treat us, who are dozens of years younger than them, with such respect? That’s power—because we hold their livelihoods in our hands. To put it narrowly, for them, to reach a position in the Chu family means having a fortune of over hundreds of millions. They’re not short of money. What do they lack? Power! How much capital flows through their positions every day? How many promotions and decisions are made daily? That’s what they truly want to possess and maintain. If one day they leave the Chu family and lose their power to make decisions, lose that immense sense of satisfaction from controlling everything, what’s the use of having some money? Can that money help them build another Chu dynasty?”
Faced with his brother’s words, even mentioning a “Chu dynasty,” Chu Tianyu was momentarily speechless…
Seeing Tianyu’s silent expression, Chu Tiancheng spoke earnestly again, “Tianyu, it’s not that I’m criticizing you, but you still need to work harder! Don’t just focus on practicing swordsmanship and reading books. Put your mind on the Chu family. Eventually, I’ll need you to share more responsibilities with me!”
“Mm…” Chu Tianyu replied helplessly.
Only then did Chu Tiancheng pat him on the shoulder and say enthusiastically, “Haha, that’s right! Let me teach you—when facing these people, don’t see yourself as so insignificant. Here, you’re a big shot. If you don’t maintain your dignity, they’ll feel uncomfortable instead! That’s a kind of authority, an authority that commands respect, while theirs is nothing but servility! Why do they have such servility? It’s so that others can treat them in that way! Hehe, just think this way—to make them comfortable, I too must maintain my dignity. That’s also a form of consideration, a sense of humanity.”
Chu Tianyu remained silent, but he didn’t agree with a single word his brother Chu Tiancheng said. If his brother’s view was indeed an insight into power, though insightful and profound, it still remained at that level—just power based on advantageous conditions, not the true way of power!
The true way of power isn’t scheming, not advantages, nor oppression, but a kind of fanatical worship! I remember the first rule taught by the sect leader of Xuanji Sect was exactly this. In plain terms, it means: “Fanatical worship generates fanatical power. The way of power lies in ‘divinity,’ not in ‘force’!”

“The God” refers to an exaggeration of inner swordmanship, a display of restrained power that feels like a gentle breeze yet remains out of reach; it is omnipotent, a source of reliance and support, the spirit of everyone… Only such power can truly be unbreakable, and only those led by such power can truly be fanatical followers, the most loyal adherents. For thousands of years, the Xuanji Sect has cultivated such followers for the Chu Tianyu realm—fanatical and persistent! And what Chu Tianyu aims to do is become that “God”! With extraordinary mastery, legendary experiences and trials, and decisive and wise actions… Clearly, he has already achieved it.