The Revenge of the Reborn Supreme Sovereign

"Interested or not?"

"Do you have the nerve?"

The two questions buzzed incessantly in Hua Xiaotian’s heart like a demonic chant.

After nearly ten seconds of silence, Hua Xiaotian finally took a deep breath. "I’m afraid of death!"

Indeed. The dignified Guardian Institute Director had just uttered the words, "I’m afraid of death." If this were to get out, it would surely cause an uproar throughout the entire Martial Arts World. But at this moment, Hua Xiaotian no longer cared about any of that.

He wasn’t afraid to die for his country, but he couldn’t bring himself to embark on a pointless journey to a foreign land just to get killed.

"If you’re afraid to die, then forget it. Just stay safe here in Huaxia. If there’s nothing else, that’s all!" Qin Fan nodded to himself, casually tossing out the words.

However, just as he was about to hang up, Hua Xiaotian’s voice rose in a panic. "Wait—wait, hold on!"

"Can you stop dithering like an old woman? Spit it out!" Qin Fan snapped impatiently.

Ignoring Qin Fan’s attitude, Hua Xiaotian asked gravely, "If I go, is there any chance I’ll return alive? Or, at the very least, could we take Orochi down with us?"

He wasn’t afraid of dying, but he was afraid of a pointless death!

"Life and death are determined by fate! Only the heavens know if you’ll return alive. But Orochi will definitely die!" Qin Fan’s earlier impatience gave way to a playful amusement.

With his abilities, ensuring Hua Xiaotian’s safety would be a piece of cake, but he had no intention of making such a promise. He had sought out Hua Xiaotian precisely because he valued the man’s fervent patriotism.

The nation’s prosperity or decline didn’t affect him much. After all, his ultimate destiny wasn’t bound to a minor place like Earth. Even so, he still cared deeply for the name "Huaxia." His life had started here, and it held everything he cherished most. Therefore, he didn’t mind cultivating a true number one expert for Huaxia before his departure.

And Hua Xiaotian was his chosen candidate.

Of course, the man still had to be tested. This test was to see if he dared to follow him to Japan.

Success means breaking through to the Gang Jin realm, while failure means I can at least take Orochi down with me. Either way, my death will have meaning!

Gritting his teeth, Hua Xiaotian became resolute. "Fine! I’ll take that bet. I’ll go with you!"

"Are you sure?" Qin Fan asked with a smile.

"I’m sure! When do we leave?" Hua Xiaotian asked.

"After I deal with the Qiao Family. I’ll contact you then."

With that, Qin Fan hung up without waiting for a reply.

BOOM! RUMBLE!

Just as Qin Fan pocketed his phone, a peal of thunder sounded, and the dark clouds overhead burst into a torrential downpour.

"Damned heavens, you’ve got the wrong place! This rain should be falling on Shanghai, on the Qiao Family!" Looking up at the deluge, Qin Fan chuckled wickedly. Then, with a leap, his figure streaked away like a meteor.

「Shanghai, the Demon City.」

「The Qiao Family Mansion.」

Qiao Xiyuan had been beaten by Qin Fan in Jiangzhou to the point where he could barely care for himself. After several months of special treatment, he had recovered and was looking radiant. At this moment, however, he sat on the living room sofa as if on pins and needles, fidgeting constantly and repeatedly checking his phone.

"Xiyuan, what’s wrong with you?" Noticing his grandson’s state, Elder Qiao, dressed in casual clothes, put down his newspaper and asked with a puzzled look.

"Grandpa, it’s nothing! Nothing at all!" Qiao Xiyuan forced a stiff, unnatural smile.

"Nothing? You wouldn’t be in this state if it were nothing," Elder Qiao said, his frown deepening. Qiao Xiyuan had grown up under his watchful eye; how could he fail to notice when something was amiss? His expression immediately turned solemn.

"Grandpa, really, it’s nothing!" Qiao Xiyuan’s face had paled without him realizing it as he gave a dry, unconvincing laugh.

"Speak!" Elder Qiao barked. For Qiao Xiyuan to look like this, something must have happened. Something major.

"Grandpa!" Jolted by the shout, Qiao Xiyuan trembled and cried out his name. He might be a formidable figure in the Southwest Falcon Special Combat Team, but in the Qiao Family mansion, reverence for the old patriarch was ingrained in the very bones of every family member.

Elder Qiao didn’t respond. His tightly knitted brows made his stance perfectly clear.

As the expected call still hadn’t come, and faced with his grandfather’s severe demeanor, Qiao Xiyuan finally lost his nerve. "Grandpa," he said timidly, "I had someone abduct Qin Chu and Wei Shuying!"

"Qin Chu? Wei Shuying?" For a moment, the elder didn’t recall the names.

But the next instant, recognition dawned, and his face changed drastically. He shot up from his chair.

"What! You had Qin Fan’s parents abducted? You—you—you! You’re courting death! Leaving aside the fact that they’re Qin Fan’s parents, they are the legal representatives of Spirit Water No. 1! If anything happens to them, the highest levels of the government will demand an explanation! How could you be so foolish, how could you!" Elder Qiao yelled frantically, pointing a trembling finger at his grandson.

Listening to the barrage of scolding, Qiao Xiyuan hung his head, his body trembling faintly. Now that things had come to this, he was terrified.

"Speak! Tell me exactly what happened, now!" Elder Qiao roared, unwilling to waste another second.

An extremely nervous Qiao Xiyuan no longer held anything back, his words tumbling out in a panicked tremble. "Grandpa, someone from Japan approached me and Qin Jie from Jiangzhou. They wanted us to abduct Qin Chu and his wife, send them to the Chongming port, and load them into a container ship bound for Japan.

"They offered two billion US dollars as payment, and Qin Jie and I would each get one billion. Qin Jie was responsible for having his people abduct the couple and bring them to the docks, while I was responsible for arranging for them to be loaded onto the container ship.

"By my calculations, they should have arrived and been handed over by now, but I still haven’t received the confirmation call. Grandpa, do you think something’s gone wrong?"

SLAP!

His only answer was a furious slap from Elder Qiao. The crisp sound echoed through the entire living room.

Elder Qiao’s face was ashen, the muscles in his cheeks twitching. "You—you’re insane! Absolutely insane! Making a deal with those little Japanese devils, handing Qin Chu and his wife over to them! If this gets out, forget about facing Young Grandmaster Qin Fan—even the national security departments won’t let this slide! You’re dragging the entire Qiao Family into the abyss! You wretched creature, you’ve brought about a catastrophe!"

"No, no, Grandpa, I was very careful!" Qiao Xiyuan forgot the searing pain on his cheek, shaking his head frantically as he tried to explain. "It definitely won’t implicate the Qiao Family!"