Upon entering Beijing, it was already noon.
Ling Chen parked the car on the side of the road, randomly picked a restaurant to fill his stomach, and then drove to his destination.
Half an hour later, he arrived in front of a high-end office building. With the docunts given to him by Nanrong Wanqing, he entered the lobby, ready to ask the receptionist for information. But at that mont, a familiar voice ca from behind: "Ling Chen."
He turned around and saw Liang Zhao Hui quickly approaching, his face full of smiles.
"Why are you just arriving now?"
"I ran into so trouble and was delayed a bit. Where’s the chairman?"
"She’s upstairs in a eting with soone. Hey, be careful later, the chairman asked you to deliver the docunts. She has been here for half a day, and you still haven’t shown up. Just now, from the look on her face, she seed very angry."
Ling Chen shrugged his shoulders; he wanted to be on ti too, but who would have expected that kind of accident to occur. On that day, Nanrong Wanqing’s secretary Wang Lan told him that Nanrong Wanqing would be going to Beijing to attend a shareholder eting in two days. If it weren’t for this reason, he wouldn’t have left his responsibilities behind and traveled all the way to Beijing.
Following Liang Zhao Hui upstairs, they entered a spacious reception room, where Zhong Wei and others were sitting on the sofas, waiting for the eting to end.
"Mr. Ling, you’ve finally arrived."
Wang Lan hurried over, took the docunts from him, and then turned and went back to the eting room.
"Captain Zhong, how long does the chairman plan to stay in Beijing?"
"It’s still uncertain, maybe two or three days. Why, do you have sothing on your mind?"
"No, just asking."
Less than ten minutes later, the shareholder eting finally ended. While chatting idly with Zhong Wei, Ling Chen learned that aside from the Hongyu Group in East Sea City, Nanrong Wanqing had also invested in several companies in Beijing, and was looking to expand the group’s business into Beijing in the future.
Seeing Nanrong Wanqing being wheeled out of the eting room by Wang Lan, Ling Chen and several others from the Zhong team imdiately went up to greet her.
Nanrong Wanqing looked at Ling Chen with an expressionless face and asked coldly, "Where have you been? You’re so late."
"I’m sorry, there was an unexpected issue on the road, and I got delayed. I assure you that I will not..."
"Zhong Wei, let’s return to the hotel." Before Ling Chen could finish, Nanrong Wanqing had already signaled to leave.
Seeing this, Ling Chen couldn’t help but give a wry smile. He had to endure the consequences of his own actions, even if it ant swallowing his tears.
Nanrong Wanqing spent the afternoon in her hotel suite dealing with matters and did not go out. As night descended, Ling Chen used his phone to call Ye Liangyong. After all, since he was in Beijing, he might as well pay a visit.
When he received his call, Ye Liangyong was delighted, insisting on inviting him to dinner for a proper chat. Soon, Ye Liangyong personally arrived at the hotel by car. Originally, he wanted to take Ling Chen sowhere else, but since Ling Chen was responsible for Nanrong Wanqing’s safety, it was not convenient to go too far, so the two went to the hotel’s private restaurant.
"Ling Chen, how is my master doing?"
"Mr. He is in great health, better than many young people."
"I originally wanted to visit him in East Sea City, but work at the company has been so busy that I just couldn’t find the ti."
Ling Chen smiled slightly: "Mr. Ye, you are a busy man of great importance; Mr. He will surely understand." He paused for a mont, then changed the subject, "Mr. Ye, I want to ask you about sothing. Have you heard of the Heaven and Earth List and the Dragon and Tiger List?"
"Anyone who practices martial arts knows about them. What about it?"
"There’s nothing much, I just heard soone ntion it today, so I’m quite interested."
Ye Liangyong said longingly, "The Heaven and Earth Dragon and Tiger Four Rankings are the pursuit of all martial artists; everyone wants to be on the lists. It represents not only strength but also honor and status. Don’t laugh at , but actually, my na is also on one of the lists."
"Really?"
"Tiger List, ranked tenth, at the very bottom." He said this with a sigh of resignation, "To tell you the truth, I really don’t want this na."
"Why?"
"Many who are not on the list want to squeeze into the Tiger List. To do that, they must challenge those who are on it. I’m ranked tenth, the weakest one. Anyone who can beat can eliminate and qualify for the ranking. So, every month, quite a few people co to challenge . If I happen to et an equal opponent, it’s a good thing, as we can exchange skills and improve. But the problem is, those challengers are of mixed abilities, without any real skill, yet you can’t refuse to accept the challenge. Otherwise, words might spread that you’re scared. This matter really bothers ."
As he spoke, he glanced at Ling Chen and smiled, "Since you’re so interested, how about I give you the tenth position on the Tiger List? Last ti at the Martial Arts Academy during our spar, I lost to you, so it’s only right to pass the position to you."
Ling Chen quickly waved his hand, "Forget it, I hate being troubled. Hey, Mr. Ye, who actually ranks these Heaven and Earth Dragon and Tiger Four Rankings? It seems like everyone seriously trusts the placent on this list."
"Heavenly chanism Pavilion. You must have heard of Heavenly chanism Pavilion in so TV dramas and novels. In fact, it’s not fiction, but a real entity. It is said that Heavenly chanism Pavilion originated hundreds of years ago, specializing in collecting martial arts secrets and anecdotes of the famous, while never getting involved in fights, with an aloof status. Even after hundreds of years, Heavenly chanism Pavilion has retained its complete form. Now, keeping up with the tis, it has beco a mysterious sect. However, it’s more appropriate to call it an organization nowadays."
"Heavenly chanism Pavilion operates in secrecy and possesses many confidential channels to collect all kinds of information. They keep records of all the experts, along with assigning rankings to all of them."
"What kind of rankings?"
"Among the experts of the world, there are nine grades in total, grades one to three are the lower tier, four to six are the middle tier, and seven to nine are the upper tier. In the Heaven and Earth Dragon and Tiger Four Rankings, the Tiger List is the lower tier, the Dragon List is the middle tier. Experts of the seventh and eighth grade can enter the Earthly List, and only those of the ninth grade can enter the Heavenly List. Any martial artist without a grade is considered insignificant."
"Mr. Ye, what about you...?"
"I’m a First Grade, you should be around Second Grade." Seeing the surprise on Ling Chen’s face, Ye Liangyong said, "The martial arts of Huaxia are profound and unmatched by outsiders. For soone of your young age to be graded is already very admirable. With your talent, if you work hard, there might be a chance for you to enter the Heaven and Earth List in the future."
Ling Chen touched his nose. The Heaven and Earth List was too distant for him right now. Besides, he had no interest in competing for rankings; a simple and quiet life was what he pursued.
After finishing the al.
Ling Chen returned to his hotel room and lay quietly on the bed, still thinking about the porridge girl he had just t.
That woman had given him a very mysterious impression—a young yet already an expert on the Earthly List.
...
At this mont, in a treehouse hidden among the dense foliage.
The porridge girl sat at the doorway, legs dangling in the air, flipping through a stack of old photographs in her hand.
When her eyes landed on a yellowed old photo, she suddenly froze, unable to shift her gaze for a long ti.
In the photo, a young man was standing with a smile, like a gentle breeze that felt warming to the soul.
"Master..." she muttered to herself, her eyes involuntarily reddening.
If Ling Chen were here, he would be shocked by the man in the photo.
Because the man was his father, whom he had not seen for many years.
(Brothers, send over your recomndations.)
User Comments
0 comments from readers