A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)

Chapter 2180

Rainbow-colored lights illuminated the night sky of a small city located a hundred kilometers away from Karlo Palace.

Countless streaks of multicolored light shone like flashes of lightning.

It was as if a magnificent firework show was displayed in the sky above the city during winter.

Countless citizens on the streets and alleys gazed up at the sky in astonishment. For a moment, they thought the deities had descended.

Soon, explosions reverberated in the air.

The next second, blazing fire engulfed the entire city.

“That day, lights from the sun and moon were drowned out by darkness. Blood, bones, and corpses were all over the place. Kneeling on the floor like a most devout believer, I begged for my gods' advent. When the divine glow illuminated the sky, I thought the gods were here to lead me to heaven. However, that wasn't the case. Instead, this world was turned into a living hell...”

The next day, the news anchor sorrowfully read the content of a ruined diary retrieved from the disaster area to the whole world.

Everyone in the world was overwhelmed by great horror and sadness.

The people of the mundane world remained ignorant about what happened.

On the other hand, members of the Martial Arts Security Council were in a hurry to convene a video conference.

During the meeting, Remdik's Great Emperor, Aaron, lost his composure and bellowed, “D*mn it! Which b*stard came up with this terrible idea? Make ourselves scarce? Make ourselves scarce, my foot! You managed to escape, but what about my fellow Remdikians? Where could they hide? A city in Remdik was almost completely destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of people were either killed or injured. How do you plan to repay such a sinful debt?”

With bloodshot eyes, Aaron's furious roars reverberated around everyone's ears.

Others might not be aware of what caused the catastrophe, but Aaron and his peers knew very well.

That was Chu Tianqi's punishment for them. Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties in exchange for their ignoble survival was too dear a price to pay.

Even the esteemed martial arts leaders who were present couldn't afford to bear such consequences.

That was a responsibility they couldn't avoid, and their names would forever be inducted into the hall of shame by the people.

That was why Aaron and the other members of the Martial Arts Security Council didn't dare to declare the truth to the public.

After all, once the truth was uncovered, and everyone became aware that the Martial Arts Security Council's evasion contributed to hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties, the scathing criticisms and negative news would inundate Aaron and the others.

Losing their reputations wouldn't be the first thing they had to worry about, as they might even be judged by the commoners.

The others kept quiet while Aaron unleashed his wrath on them.

Jared, especially, lowered his head and didn't dare to make a sound because that was his awful idea, after all.

It was his suggestion that led to the occurrence of the tragedy.

However, at that time, Jared thought Chu Tianqi was merely targeting the martial arts world and supreme grandmasters such as themselves.

Hence, Jared proposed for them to go into hiding, and once Chu Tianqi couldn't locate them, he wouldn't be able to cause them any harm.

After all, an unwritten rule had always existed in the martial arts world.

The disputes within the martial arts world should never involve the mundane world and ordinary people.

However, Jared didn't anticipate Chu Tianqi's recklessness to know no boundaries.

In the past, Chu Tianqi's elder brother, Chu Tianfan, was regarded as a psychotic murderer and a source of disturbance that destabilized the community by members of the International Martial Arts Union merely because he killed a lot of martial artists.

Who would have expected Chu Tianqi to be more brutal than Chu Tianfan? The former even massacred civilians.

“He's a devil! That guy is a devil! A vicious devil!” Korea's martial arts leader uttered with a trembling voice.

Only at that point did everyone realize they were facing a fiend without regard for anything or anyone.

“Under such circumstances, we can only accept his challenge. We'll only drag more innocent civilians into this matter if we continue to avoid him. As supreme grandmasters, leaders of the martial arts world, and the mundane world's protectors, we cannot disregard everyone's safety for our survival,” Ye Qingtian said solemnly.

The others nodded in agreement.

As it stood, Chu Tianqi's scheme was no different from holding everyone in the world hostage.

Being left with no alternatives, Aaron and the others could only confront Chu Tianqi.

However, a new problem arose.

“I'm afraid it will be difficult for the few of us to fight against Chu Tianqi.” Aaron sighed.

“Why don't we hold a congress among the International Martial Arts Union to gather the martial arts leaders from other nations to oppose him together?” someone suggested.

Aaron shook his head.

“That's useless. You should know that our seven countries' combined martial arts strength already represents over eighty percent of the globe's martial arts power. Even if the other smaller nations contribute, the significance will be negligible.”

“What if we use nuclear bombs to attack Chu Tianqi? He can't have attained sainthood, right? I refuse to believe he can survive a nuclear shelling,” said Jared, putting forward his idea again.

Aaron retorted angrily, “You'd better shut your pie hole. Is Chu Tianqi a fool? Do you think he will just stand still and let you bombard him? Besides, can you locate him? Even if you successfully discover his whereabouts and find out he's in a city, are you going to bomb the whole place and let the citizens there perish along with Chu Tianqi?”

Aaron bombarded Jared with questions, rendering the latter speechless.

Face flushing crimson, Jared fell silent subsequently.

Momentary quietness lingered as none of the meeting's attendees spoke.

Right when everyone was at their wits' end, Mochizuki Kawa, Japan's Sword God, proposed, “Formidable beings exist in the mundane world. We may not win against Chu Tianqi, but someone must be capable of accomplishing that. I suggest we utilize our powers and connections to search for those hidden elites in the mundane world. With thousands of years of foundation in cultivating martial arts, a nation like China must have plenty of transcendent martial artists living in hiding among the deep mountains and dense jungles. Perhaps there are god realm masters among them.”

Everyone turned to gaze at Ye Qingtian.

He flashed a cynical smile. “Transcendent martial artists living in hiding? How are we supposed to locate them if they are what they are?”

“No way. Have you never come across an exceptional martial artist in China who isn't part of War God Castle after so many years?” Mochizuki Kawa was filled with utter disbelief and bewilderment.

Ye Qingtian grinned. “There is someone who fits your description if you put it that way. Moreover, all of you know him too.”

“Who is that?” Mochizuki Kawa asked.

Aaron and Carlo grew impatient as well.

Even Jared shifted his gaze onto Ye Qingtian anxiously.

Ye Qingtian paused briefly before uttering, “Ye Fan.”

W-What?

Everyone's expression changed.

Frowning, Jared snapped, “Ye Qingtian, are you intentionally provoking us? Why are you mentioning that jerk at this critical moment?”

“You all asked me if I know any phenomenal martial artists outside the system who could deal with Chu Tianqi. Well, Ye Fan is the only person I can think of.” Ye Qingtian shrugged.

Carlo and the others were stumped as they realized Ye Qingtian was undoubtedly correct.

Ye Fan was the only person they knew who could match up against Chu Tianqi.

“Should we look for Chu Tianfan and plead with him to return and take a stand against Chu Tianqi?” someone asked tentatively.

King Folo snorted.

“Quit joking. Do you think of Chu Tianfan as your pet dog that you can just order around? Don't forget that all of you besieged Mount Chumen to try and kill him. Now you expect him to help you? You should consider yourselves lucky if he doesn't slaughter you when he shows up. Are you under the assumption that he's a saint?”

King Folo was annoyed. He couldn't fathom how the other leaders had the audacity to make such a brazen proposition.

“Well, the circumstances have changed now. I think we can give that idea a try. As for the previous grudges, we'll apologize to him publicly and provide him with some benefits or make him some promises so that he will make a concession,” Carlo put forth an idea.

Snorting angrily, Jared refuted, “Apologize to him? That's impossible! Chu Tianfan is just a youngster. How is he qualified to deserve an apology from us, his seniors in the martial arts world? Moreover, he's the one to cause Chu Tianqi to go berserk, so resolving this predicament is his obligation. Why should we give in to him?”

Aaron sneered after hearing that. “Since Grandmaster Jared is unwilling to beg for help, we shall observe the turns of events. Anyway, Chu Tianqi left a message at the scene saying he'll wipe out Baykeep if we don't hand over a hundred exceptional martial artists in three days.”

What?

Jared shuddered in fright as he bore his eyes into Aaron. “Aaron, are you sure you're not just saying that to scare me?”

“Why should I lie to you? I'll show you a picture of the scene if you don't believe me.” Aaron shared an image of the disaster scene on the screen.

A few sentences were written on the floor of the ruins, and the final line read: The massacre of Baykeep will happen in three days.

Overwrought and ashen-faced, Jared said with a trembling voice, “G-Go and find Chu Tianfan. H- Hurry up and ask for his help.”

Jared was Ferropene's martial arts leader. Hence, it was only natural for him to be frightened upon learning the nation's capital, Baykeep, was about to be annihilated.