Chapter 89

While Liu Tianjun was causing chaos in Hanghu's underground world by paying a grand visit to Nan Qinghong as per Situ Chen's request, Ye Fan was completely unaware of it.

Today was the day when he had consumed the most inner strength since he came down the mountain. In the evening, after returning to the Su family's No. 2 villa, he went to his room and began to meditate to restore his inner strength.

On the large bed in the bedroom, Ye Fan, after a bath, sat cross-legged in his pajamas, like the eye of a storm, surrounded by a swirling aura.

With each breath Ye Fan took, the aura would surge into his body, then circulate along the route of the Small Heavenly Cycle, cleansing his body of impurities while strengthening his blood and qi, thus quietly generating inner strength.

After the inner strength was generated, it seemed to be summoned, dividing into nine streams and flowing into the nine major acupoints of the Small Heavenly Cycle.

Under Ye Fan's continuous meditation, the inner strength in the nine major acupoints gradually recovered, reaching a full state.

Noticing this, Ye Fan stopped meditating.

Because... he knew that no matter how much he meditated, his inner strength would not increase by even a tiny bit!

Unless he could enter the Initial Stage of the Innate Realm, allowing the inner strength to circulate along the route of the Great Heavenly Cycle, thus opening the acupoints of the Great Heavenly Cycle and storing the inner strength in new acupoints!

"Should I try to break into the Innate Realm?"

Seeing that his inner strength was already saturated, Ye Fan suddenly had this thought.

On Spirit Mountain, because Chu Xuanji required him to reach the Innate Realm before he could leave the mountain, he would try to break into the Innate Realm every few days.

After coming down the mountain this time, he had not tried it again. Now, with this sudden thought, he felt somewhat excited.

Ye Fan had never been indecisive.

Thinking of it, he did it. Ye Fan once again focused his mind, eyes fixed on his nose, and nose on his heart. After achieving a state of calm, he moved his mind, and the inner strength in the nine major acupoints surged out like soldiers responding to a general's call.

The inner strength surged and, under Ye Fan's mental control, gathered together like nine streams merging into a river, flowing along his meridians toward the first acupoint of the Great Heavenly Cycle!

That acupoint was the entrance to the route of the Great Heavenly Cycle. As long as Ye Fan could control the inner strength to flow into it, he would have successfully taken the first step toward the Innate Realm!

"Charge!"

Ye Fan steeled his resolve and controlled the gathered inner strength, suddenly rushing toward the first acupoint of the Great Heavenly Cycle!

It felt like a general giving the order to attack, and his soldiers charging forward!

Just as before, when the inner strength rushed toward the acupoint, it was as if an invisible gate stood outside the acupoint, blocking all the inner strength and preventing it from advancing any further!

Barrier.

This was a situation every martial artist would encounter when advancing to a higher realm.

Only by breaking through the barrier could one hope to advance to a higher realm!

The first attempt failed, but Ye Fan was not discouraged. He controlled the inner strength again and launched a second charge, even more fiercely than the first.

The second attempt also failed to break through the barrier.

After two consecutive failures, Ye Fan felt somewhat depressed, but he did not give up. He gritted his teeth and continued, until the tenth attempt failed, and he finally stopped.

A warm, steamy gas surged out of his pores, making him feel as if he were in a fairyland. Then, the white mist turned into sweat, soaking his entire body.

For a moment, he felt utterly exhausted, and his meridians ached as if they were being torn apart.

This was the aftermath of a failed attempt, not only severely depleting his inner strength but also risking damage to his meridians.

"It seems that my senior sister was right. For me, the barrier to the Innate Realm is a mental knot. Only by resolving this mental knot and advancing in mental cultivation can I break through the barrier and enter the Innate Realm!" Wiping the sweat from his face, Ye Fan couldn't help but sigh. He got out of bed and walked to the window, gazing at the brightly lit city of Hanghu.

"Where are you?"

Gazing, gazing, Ye Fan murmured to himself.

The moonlight illuminated his resolute face, clearly showing that at this moment, there was no resentment on his face, only longing.

It seemed he was looking forward to meeting his biological parents.

...

In Hanghu, in the office building representing the power center of Jiangnan.

Ye Wenhao, the new second-in-charge of Jiangnan, sat in his office, browsing through a report.

Hou Jian, the head of the Jiangnan police, sat opposite Ye Wenhao, feeling as if he were sitting on pins and needles, his expression a mix of reverence and worry.

Reverence, because he knew that the reason Han Guodong fell from his pedestal was entirely due to the efforts of the man opposite and the power behind him—Han Guodong was implicated in the He family's affairs and was investigated, revealing some of his past misdeeds.

Han Guodong, the former second-in-charge of Jiangnan, had a powerful backing like the Bai family. For him to fall from his pedestal in such a humiliating way, no other force in China could have done it except for the one represented by the man opposite!

Hou Jian firmly believed this!

Reverence, also because he knew that the man opposite was not just a member of the Ye family from the capital but also the most likely contender for the future head of the Ye family!

Such an identity meant that even those of the same rank as the man would tremble in his presence.

It was precisely because of this that the top official of Jiangnan, after the man was transferred from a ministry in the capital to Jiangnan, began to show signs of retirement, leaving most of the affairs to be handled by the man.

In just three days, the man had gained absolute authority through a transfer, which was extremely rare in the history of China's political arena!

But neither the officials of Jiangnan nor the other bigwigs paying attention to Jiangnan found it strange.

On the contrary, they believed that if the man could not achieve this, it would be a disgrace to his reputation as the most likely contender for the third-generation successor of the Ye family!

As for the worry...

It was simple.

Because of the heinous murder case at Lingyin Temple, Ye Wenhao was already very dissatisfied with the police work and had ordered the police to capture the murderer within 48 hours.

Now, with the Lingyin Temple case still unsolved, a serious gang fight had erupted in Hanghu's underground world, causing a very negative impact.

In such a situation, Hou Jian feared that Ye Wenhao would, in a fit of anger, remove his hat.

This was just a matter of a word for Ye Wenhao!

"According to the report, the victim in the Lingyin Temple murder case is from the Donghai Gang, and the kidnapped person is the daughter of Situ Chen, the mastermind behind the Donghai Gang. And everything that happened tonight is the Donghai Gang's retaliation against Nan Qinghong?" After a long pause, Ye Wenhao finished reading the report and looked up at Hou Jian.

"Yes, Governor Ye!"

Startled by Ye Wenhao's question, Hou Jian immediately stood up, his body straight as a rod, and respectfully replied.

"Then tell me, where is Situ Chen's daughter now? And where are the bandits who kidnapped her?" Ye Wenhao asked.

For some reason, Ye Wenhao's tone was calm, but it brought immense pressure on Hou Jian, making him feel as if a mountain were pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe.

He struggled to adjust his emotions and said, "Governor Ye, I just received the latest news. Situ Chen came to Hanghu today and returned to Donghai in the afternoon. From the video surveillance, we found that his daughter was in his car when he returned. This means he rescued his daughter."

Pausing here, Hou Jian continued after seeing that Ye Wenhao did not comment, "As for the kidnappers, we have not found them yet. However... we suspect they have been killed by Situ Chen's people. We are currently investigating this..."

"I don't want suspicions; I want evidence and the truth." Ye Wenhao interrupted Hou Jian, his face expressionless.

Hearing Ye Wenhao's words, Hou Jian felt his heart racing, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. He didn't dare to wipe it but immediately replied loudly, "Please rest assured, Governor Ye. We will solve the Lingyin Temple case within 48 hours as you instructed!"

"The priority now is not just solving the Lingyin Temple case, but also how to quell the gang fight and give the people a satisfactory explanation!"

Ye Wenhao said sternly, "I don't care how you do it; I only care about the results! If you cannot give the people a satisfactory explanation or if I hear of similar incidents again, you will submit your resignation to the organization!"

"Yes!"

Hou Jian was drenched in sweat, his tone heavy.

Ye Wenhao said no more but lowered his head and picked up another document.

Seeing this, Hou Jian cautiously left the office, feeling as if he had just walked through the gates of hell, his entire body drenched in sweat.

A natural authority.

It was only today that Hou Jian truly understood the meaning of these four words.

...

...

PS: The book is about to go on strong recommendation. If you like this book, please add it to your bookshelf for easier reading.