The man in white approached Lin Chen with a sneer on his face.

"Hey, who are you to talk to Brother Chen like that?" At this moment, a young man holding a glass of red wine, obviously trying to suck up to Lin Chen, angrily reprimanded.

"Smack!"

Accompanied by a crisp sound, the young man's glass shattered into pieces in an instant.

"Ah!"

The glass shattered and the young man's hand was lacerated by the fragments, bloody and flesh mangled.

Lin Chen's gaze sharpened as he stared intently at the man in white.

On him, Lin Chen sensed a dangerous aura.

"Mengfan, I'm back, and I said I would marry both you and your sister Qin Lan. I've come back to fulfill that promise." The young man looked at Qin Mengfan with a faint smile on his face.

"Pah! Shameless, find someone else to be your woman; neither my sister nor I will ever marry you," Qin Mengfan shouted angrily.

"Oh, is that so? No matter, I believe you will come around. I'll have you and your sister serve me together. Tsk tsk, it will be so enjoyable," the man in white said with a light chuckle.

"Despicable!" Qin Mengfan shouted furiously.

Suddenly, the man in white vanished on the spot, appearing before Qin Mengfan like a ghost, and hooked her chin with his hand: "Despicable? Haha, I'll show you just how shameless I can be."

"Smack!"

With another crisp sound, his wrist was flicked away by another hand: "Whoever you are, stay away from Mengfan."

"Oh! Isn't this the peasant that's been making waves lately? Jealous, are we?" the man in white teased as he looked at Lin Chen.

Lin Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. Just as he was about to take action, Qin Mengfan stepped in front of him.

"Chen, don't be impulsive, he is Zhou Ci, a man from Kunlun!" Qin Mengfan spoke with some apprehension.

"Zhou Ci, so it's actually Zhou Ci! No wonder he looked so familiar." The crowd immediately erupted in surprise.

Zhou Ci began Qi Refinement at the age of four, activated his bloodline at eight, and was taken in as a Disciple by an elder of Kunlun. His name had become a legend among the disciples of various families.

"Good heavens, Zhou Ci has actually returned!" Everyone looked at the young man with fear.

"No matter where you come from, as long as I'm here, I won't let you touch the Qin sisters," Lin Chen said, unfazed by the name of Kunlun, still speaking icily.

"Haha, just an upwardly mobile loser, and you really think you're somebody?" Zhou Ci suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Right, I forgot you're someone who overestimates himself, even dreaming of competing with Young Master Bai Ling for a woman. But you'll never ascend to Kunlun now. That duel in a month will be your deathday!"

Zhou Ci leaned in and whispered into Lin Chen's ear with a chuckle, "Young Master Bai Ling has ordered me to bring back your head. Tsk tsk, I really have to thank you for giving me this opportunity to ascend."

"Want to kill me, huh? Fine, I'm waiting! But I'm guessing you won't have the chance to return to Kunlun. Since you're Bai Ling's lapdog, that just gives me another reason to kill you," Lin Chen replied with a faint smile, showing no sign of weakness.

"Ignorant of death!" Zhou Ci's icy aura suddenly burst forth, turning the entire hall as cold as an ice cellar.

Zhou Ci looked at everyone arrogantly and declared, "At the duel in one month, I will take Lin Chen's head! Everyone's welcome to witness it."

After saying this, Zhou Ci left the hall with a cold laugh amid the shocked gazes of everyone.

"Qin Mengfan, you won't escape my grasp," a voice brimming with arrogance came from outside the hall.

"Bastard!" Hao Lin clenched his fists, ready to rush out.

"You're no match for him," Lin Chen said as he held Hao Lin back.

He hadn't expected that his opponent for the duel in one month would change; it looked like it was going to take some effort!

Lin Chen's eyes flashed with chilling coldness, "Bai Ling, you actually dared to break the three-year pact and send someone to kill me? Well then, let me show you how formidable I am!"

The banquet finally ended amid the tense atmosphere, and Hao Lin said somewhat awkwardly, "Lin Chen, I'm sorry. I wanted you to come and have a good time, but I didn't expect so many things to happen."

Lin Chen offered a faint smile, "It's nothing. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have met Zhou Ci."

At this moment, Qin Mengfan, with a worried look on her face, said, "Lin Chen, don't participate in the competition next month!"

"Why?" Lin Chen asked.

"Zhou Ci's strength is beyond anything we can compare with. He grew up in Kunlun with the best cultivation resources. It's said that he's already an SS-level warrior now. You're not in the same league as him," Qin Mengfan earnestly said.

Lin Chen offered a faint smile again, "The competition next month is not just about my family's feud with the Zhou family, but also a personal vendetta. I won't back down."

"But what if?" Qin Mengfan worriedly looked at Lin Chen.

"He is strong, but I will be stronger than him. Trust me," Lin Chen said, pausing in his steps, speaking deliberately.

After saying goodbye to Qin Mengfan and Hao Lin, Lin Chen walked down the bustling streets.

The image of Xiao Wen flashed through his mind. It had already been half a year; how are you doing in Kunlun?

No matter how difficult the path ahead is, I will reach the summit of Kunlun to bring you back to my side.

Passing by a Starbucks coffee shop, Lin Chen suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Through the window, he saw a familiar figure—Zuo Sisi.

At this moment, Zuo Sisi was dressed in a business suit, talking to a fat man opposite her.

The fat man wasn't listening to Zuo Sisi at all; his sneaky eyes were fixed on Zuo Sisi's slender, beautiful legs.

"Auntie, what is she doing here?"

Curious, Lin Chen walked into the coffee shop and sat down next to them.

"Miss Zuo, have you thought it over about what we discussed last time? This is your last chance," said the fat man with a sinister smile on his face, knowing he had the upper hand. The Zuo Corporation had put over a year of preliminary work into this project, and if the negotiations fell through now, it would cause a loss substantial enough to bankrupt them.

So now, Sisi was like meat on his chopping board, ready to be cut up at his pleasure.

"Manager Tang, a 40% share of the profits won't even cover our cost price. Can you increase it a bit?" Zuo Sisi spoke respectfully.

"40%? That was yesterday's offer. Today's price is 30%," Tang Jin said with a twitch of the flesh on his face and a cold sneer.

"What? 30%?" Zuo Sisi's face went instantly pale.

"Manager Tang, 40% is already our bottom line. We can't accept 30%," Zuo Sisi said, with a hint of anger in her voice.

"President Zuo? Since you don't like it, we can terminate this agreement. There are many companies waiting to sign with us; we won't miss just one of you," Tang Jin said with a sneering laugh, standing up ready to leave.

"Wait, Manager Tang, we accept," Zuo Sisi finally said through gritted teeth.

"President, we'll be operating at a loss like this," the secretary Xiao Mei said anxiously.

At this, Tang Jin returned to his seat and smiled faintly, "President Zuo, if you want a 40% share, it's not impossible. Just join me for dinner later."

"Dinner?" Zuo Sisi hesitated, her beautiful eyes wavering.

"Never mind, if President Zuo doesn't want to save face, that's fine. But the profit share I just mentioned has changed again—you now only get 20%," Tang Jin said, his smile not reaching his eyes, as he sneered coldly.

20%? Hearing this offer, Zuo Sisi felt almost hopeless.

"Fine, I'll go," Zuo Sisi said with a somber tone, biting her lip.