Return of the Celestial King

Seeing that Qin Tuo seemed to have business to attend to, Long Wu decided not to go out with Chen Man Ni and the others.

Chen Man Ni and Ouyang Feifei, dressed exquisitely, left the apartment hand in hand.

Then, Qin Tuo took Long Wu downstairs, and they drove straight to Rose Hall.

In the car, Long Wu couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked,

"Celestial King, where are you taking me?"

Qin Tuo smiled.

"I’m taking you to Rose Hall to get familiar with the place. Since you’re both branches of Celestial King Hall, it’s good for you to get properly acquainted."

Long Wu’s face was a picture of shock. He couldn’t believe that Rose Hall, the top gang in the Provincial City, was actually another branch of Celestial King Hall.

"Celestial King, you’re not joking, are you? Rose Hall is really a branch of Celestial King Hall, just like our Huaiyi Hall?"

Although Long Wu already knew there were many gang branches in the Provincial City and that some might belong to Celestial King Hall,

he had never guessed that the largest gang was one of them.

Qin Tuo said seriously,

"Of course. I’ve already met with Qiangwei. Would I lie about that?"

Hearing this, Long Wu’s doubts vanished, and a wave of excitement washed over him.

"That’s fantastic, Celestial King! In that case, you won’t have anything to fear here in the Provincial City anymore!"

’With Rose Hall’s influence, protecting Qin Tuo would be more than enough, wouldn’t it?’ Long Wu thought.

Qin Tuo said pensively,

"Yes, with Rose Hall’s power, there’s no need to fear anyone. But while it’s easy to dodge a spear in the open, it’s hard to guard against a hidden arrow."

Seeing that Qin Tuo seemed to be hinting at something, Long Wu also grew cautious.

Soon, the two arrived directly at Rose Hall’s headquarters.

After their arrival was announced, a startled Qiangwei rushed out to greet them.

"Oh, Celestial King! You should have sent word. I would have come to receive you myself!"

Qiangwei’s face was filled with alarm and a hint of shame.

Qin Tuo waved his hand casually, and he and Long Wu sat down to the side.

He made the introductions.

"Qiangwei, this is Long Wu, the Hall Master of Huaiyi Hall. He’s also one of ours from Celestial King Hall."

Hearing his words, Qiangwei was also a little surprised.

Evidently, she hadn’t expected that Long Wu, the Southwest Underground Emperor, was also a member of Celestial King Hall.

But Qiangwei recovered quickly, nodding to Long Wu with a welcoming smile.

"Hello, Mr. Long Wu. I’m Qiangwei. Since we’re all part of Celestial King Hall, we’ll have to look out for each other from now on."

Hearing Qiangwei’s polite words, Long Wu felt a little embarrassed.

"Not at all, not at all. You’re too kind, Miss Qiangwei!"

Qiangwei added with a smile,

"Heh, I’ve actually heard of your prestigious reputation for a long time, Master Long. This is the first time we’ve had the pleasure of meeting."

Clearly, Qiangwei was being so courteous to Long Wu out of deference to Qin Tuo.

Long Wu’s face flushed bright red. He shook his head and said,

"I’m unworthy, I’m unworthy. You flatter me, Miss Qiangwei."

Long Wu was flustered, keenly aware of the vast gap in power between himself and Qiangwei.

It was the first time Qin Tuo had ever seen Long Wu so flustered; his normally swarthy face had actually turned a little red.

At that moment, Qin Tuo felt like laughing.

"By the way, Qiangwei, after taking that medicinal pill, you haven’t felt anything unusual, have you?"

Qin Tuo asked with concern.

Qiangwei shook her head, her face filled with gratitude as she said,

"Celestial King, my condition is excellent. In fact, my power has taken another great leap forward. It’s all thanks to your generous gift!"

Qiangwei was genuinely grateful to Qin Tuo. Without him, she knew it would have taken countless more years of bitter training to make this kind of progress on her own.

Qin Tuo nodded in satisfaction. This was all within his expectations.

After a few more pleasantries, Qiangwei’s expression suddenly turned serious as she said,

"Celestial King, there’s something you should know. A major event is happening in the Provincial City tomorrow!"

Qin Tuo asked curiously,

"Oh? What kind of event? Go on."

Qiangwei explained,

"The Martial Artist Alliance is holding a tournament tomorrow at the Provincial City stadium. I plan to kill Liao Feiying during the competition to eliminate a future threat for you, Celestial King."

Hearing this, Long Wu, who was standing nearby, felt a jolt.

Clearly, he longed to witness such a grand event and broaden his horizons.

Qin Tuo, however, asked pensively,

"I see. Qiangwei, are you confident?"

Qiangwei nodded and said with a smile,

"Please rest assured, Celestial King. The truth is, I reached the ranks of Inner Strength Grandmaster a long time ago. I’ve been hiding my true strength all these years. Coupled with your gift, I have full confidence I can crush Liao Feiying!"

Qin Tuo had no more doubts. He knew Qiangwei was always thorough and reliable.

However, he couldn’t help but ask,

"If that’s the case, can I participate?"

Qiangwei was a bit stunned, not expecting that Qin Tuo would also want to join the tournament.

She thought for a moment, then nodded with a wry smile.

"How about this, Celestial King? I’ll just bring you along with me tomorrow."

After that, Qin Tuo fell silent. They made some small talk for a little while longer before Qin Tuo took Long Wu and departed.

On the way back, Qin Tuo noticed that something was off about Long Wu.

Long Wu’s head was bowed in a pensive expression, a faint blush coming and going on his cheeks, as if he had something weighing on his mind.

Qin Tuo instantly guessed the change in Long Wu’s state of mind and couldn’t help but laugh.

"What’s wrong, Long Wu? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for Qiangwei?"

His thoughts exposed, Long Wu’s expression became incredibly awkward, and he quickly waved his hands in denial.

"Celestial King, please don’t make fun of me. How could anything be possible between Miss Qiangwei and me?"

It was just as he’d suspected. Qin Tuo knew Long Wu had fallen for Qiangwei at first sight.

So Qin Tuo thought for a moment and said earnestly,

"Tell you what, Long Wu. I’ll find a way to set the two of you up."

Long Wu shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Celestial King, please don’t waste your energy. The gap in power between Miss Qiangwei and me is too vast. I’m afraid someone like her wouldn’t give me a second glance."

Despite this, Qin Tuo simply replied with a knowing smile,

"Don’t worry, Long Wu. You don’t need to worry about this. Just leave it to me."

’Long Wu has served me so faithfully for so long,’ Qin Tuo thought. ’Now that he’s finally found a woman he likes, how can I, his boss, not give him a helping hand?’

Hearing Qin Tuo’s declaration, Long Wu was at a complete loss.

One moment he was frowning, the next he was smiling for no reason. His emotions were in turmoil, his previous composure completely gone.