A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)
Chapter 1866

It was a tranquil night.

Light shone through the windows of the villa as Lu Ziming stood outside his room, shivering in his thin pajamas.

His current predicament was not his choice; his accommodation had been invaded and taken over.

Just moments ago, Ye Fan had arrived for a midnight visit and demanded a place to stay.

As Lu Ziming picked up the phone to book a hotel for him, Ye Fan brazenly announced the house was perfect and he would stay there for a few days.

The latter then instructed him that in the meantime, no one was to be near the villa without his permission.

After being unceremoniously chased out of his own home, Lu Ziming stood in the villa compound, feeling lost like an abandoned puppy. He stared at his cozy abode as self-pity welled up within him. "F*ck, what did I do to deserve this treatment? What is all this nonsense?" he muttered angrily under his

breath.

Regardless of his indignance, Lu Ziming's hands were tied.

After all, the man in his house was not someone he could afford to cross.

His resentment aside, Lu Ziming was also thoroughly perplexed by Ye Fan's actions.

"It seems like Chu Tianfan will isolate himself forthe next few days. Could it be that he'll have another breakthrough in his abilities?"

Lu Ziming shuddered at the thought of that.

Even without improving his powers, it was already widely known that Ye Fan was second to only the experts of the god realm.

How frightening will he become if he continues to cultivate his skills? Perhaps China will finally birth a god realm warrior.

Lu Ziming lifted his head to gaze at the window of the lit room.

A myriad of emotions churned within him.

He was undecided if Ye Fan's entry to the god realm would bring China more harm or good.

After dwelling on the matter for a few moments, Lu Ziming snapped back to reality and changed into a more presentable attire. He then summoned his driver and left the villa.

In another villa, the chandelier swayed gently from the ceiling.

Ye Fan had taken off his top and was sitting cross-legged on the ground.

"Let's start, Junie," he said with a carefree smile.

However, Junie was rooted to the spot. Her eyes reddened as she took in the ugly scars on his body.

She extended a dainty hand and gingerly caressed the raised skin. The silence seemed to stretch on forever before she spoke, her voice cracking with emotion. "It must have been painful when it happened..." Ye Fan was momentarily stunned before he shook his head. "I don't remember. It's all in the past now," he reassured Junie with a gentle smile.

"All right, Junie. Let's start now," he urged. "Once the treatment is over, I'll accompany you back to India."

She gave no verbal reply and simply nodded her head.

With that, the start of Ye Fan's final treatment commenced on a wintry night.

Even he himself did not know how long the scars of this treatment would remain engraved in his skin.

Meanwhile, Lu Ziming had arrived at the Zhang family to meet up with Zhang Jiuling.

The appearance of Ye Fan had dissolved the tension between the two rival families.

"What did you say? Chu Tianfan went to your house?" Zhang Jiuling repeated, incredulous.

Lu Ziming recounted everything about Ye Fan's visit to the old man.

Zhang Jiuling was a senior martial expert with years of experience under his belt. With a ticking time bomb living in Jiangbei, there were many things that Lu Ziming could discuss with only him. "Yes," Lu Ziming affirmed and continued solemnly, "I suspect another breakthrough is around the corner."

Zhang Jiuling's eye twitched involuntarily upon his words.

"A-Another breakthrough? He's already at the top of the Sky Ranking. What is there for him to surpass? Unless..."

Zhang Jiuling faltered. A shiver ran down his spine as a thought struck him.

He whipped around to look at Lu Ziming. "The g-god realm?"

Though he was reluctant to admit it, Lu Ziming nodded in agreement.

Based on Ye Fan's current capabilities, the only achievement left to unlock was the entry to the god realm.

"Mr. Zhang, what are we going to do now? Should we report this to the War God Castle?" he asked with a rueful smile, his expression one of resignation.

Zhang Jiuling fell silent as well. He, too, had no idea how to approach the situation.

As of now, they might very well be the only two people in the martial arts world that knew Ye Fan was alive.

The War God Castle was completely in the dark regarding this.

As martial artists of China, Lu Ziming and Zhang Jiuling were obligated to report the current situation to the War God Castle.

However, the latter was hesitant.

"How do you think the War God Castle would react if they found out that Ye Fan was alive?"

Lu Ziming pondered over it before giving an ambiguous answer. "It's hard to say. They might strengthen their defenses, or they might apologize to him."

"What else?"

"Do you think the War God Castle would send assassins to murder Chu Tianfan?" Lu Ziming asked after a brief pause.

Zhang Jiuling shook his head. "If it were up to me, I would broadcast to the whole world that Ye Fan is alive. When that happens, the War God Castle wouldn't even need to lift a finger. Hordes of people will clamber over one another to kill him. The martial experts of the Chu Sect and the people who had attempted to kill Chu Tianfan back then will send hitmen to Jiangbei to assassinate him.

"Furthermore, Chu Tianfan is currently in isolation, so it is undoubtedly the golden opportunity to attack him. If that happens, Jiangbei will descend into chaos. Although I am grateful to Chu Tianfan for helping the Chinese martial arts world and it is not in my nature to repay kindness with malice, we can only hope that he dies in the midst of this havoc. If not, you and I will be staring death in the face." His gravelly voice reverberated through the room.

Lu Ziming's face clouded over instantly.

"In my opinion, the War God Castle will not go to such extremes. At the end of the day, Chu Tianfan is one of us. Plus, he never made it official that he is against the War God Castle."

Lu Ziming was unwilling to believe the War God Castle would use such underhanded tactics to eliminate Ye Fan.

However, Zhang Jiuling disagreed, "Humans are inherently selfish. We will do whatever it takes to reap the most benefit for ourselves. The War God Castle will stop at nothing to gain that benefit, especially when it comes to dealing with Chu Tianfan. They will not have mercy on him."

"Are you implying that we should keep it to ourselves, Mr. Zhang? What if Ye Fan really has a breakthrough and murders his way up Mount Yan? It will be the end of the Chinese martial arts world." It was evident that Lu Ziming's loyalty still lay with his country.

After all, the War God Castle was the traditional icon of Chinese martial arts. None of them wanted to witness Ye Fan massacre Sword Saint and the other martial experts.

Heaving a sigh, Zhang Jiuling relented. "Why don't we alert the War God Castle in a roundabout way? This way, they can prepare beforehand."

After coming to a compromise, the two men made an anonymous phone call to the War God Castle.

Meanwhile, at Mount Yan, the War God Castle had grown a lot quieter since the War God left.

Sword Saint had become a man of few words. He was rarely involved in the matters of the Chinese martial arts world and would only voice his opinion on major issues.

As of now, Mo Gucheng and his son managed the War God Castle.

However, on this particular night, Mo Gucheng summoned Sword Saint and Tang Hao for an emergency meeting. It seemed like the King of Fighters had received a piece of vital information.

"Sword Saint, Tang Hao, I just received some important information. There have been reports of activity involving the experts of Chu Sect in the southern provinces of China.

"Furthermore, I heard from a reliable source that in the recent months, there has been a huge geographical shift of the experts at Mount Chumen. All the Chu Sect experts are swarming back to gather there. Al the signs indicate that Chu Sect is about to leap into action. There is a high chance their first war to world domination would start amongthe Chinese martial arts world!"

Mo Gucheng's expression was solemn as he relayed the grim message. His low voice added to the eerie darkness of the night.

Sword Saint and Tang Hao were relatively unsurprised by the news.

Just as Ye Qingtian had predicted when he left War God Castle, it was only a matter of time before Chu Sect created their own army and lodged an attack on China with world domination in mind. Had it not been for the man in the dragon mask who wrecked the Chu Sect's plan and rhythm, the day would have arrived a lot sooner.