HSSB544: This Yan Zhaoge, cannot be offended
“…Hatred? Exactly…why?” Nian Chen looked incomprehensibly towards Shen Shicheng.
Shen Shicheng’s expression didn’t change in the least, “That Yan Zhaoge may catch up at any time. Those of the other sects may be rushing over as well.”
“Forgive this disciple for not letting you die with understanding. There is no need for this disciple to pour out to you my resentment of so many years. Instead, I will be satisfied with just stably sending you on your way.”
Amidst his words, Shen Shicheng formed his fingers into a claw, clawing deeply into the flesh and blood of Nian Chen’s chest as his powerful true essence unceasingly broke apart Nian Chen’s organs as well as remaining vitality.
Nian Chen groaned as he spat out yet another mouthful of flesh blood, his originally silvery hair already having dimmed, losing its lustre.
The face of the past number one expert of the Blood Dragon Sect was currently enveloped by the shadow of death.
Perhaps it was a final clarity of mind before his passing, but Nian Chen instead felt his thoughts getting more acute even as his body grew weaker and weaker.
On the brink of his death, an insight flashed through his mind.
Some problems which he had not paid attention to previously now all surfaced within his mind.
“Everything…everything was a set-up from the start, all of it!” Nian Chen gazed furiously at Shen Shicheng, “Your daughter is still pure and untainted. That brat Shi Jun didn’t touch her at all.”
“Even those of our sect likely thought that the usually lustful silkpants Wei’er had designs on your daughter, with Shi Jun having wrecked his plans and therefore being maligned by him as a result. It was just that due to this old man and the reputation of the sect, in order to gain the support of the other sects, they all insisted that it must have been that Shi Jun who did it.”
Nian Chen said with great difficulty, “However, as his grandfather, I know that Wei’er was truly in love with your daughter. If not for some special circumstance, he definitely wouldn’t have forced himself on her!”
“That brat surnamed Shi did not act forcefully, and Wei’er would not do so as well. Where might the problem lie then?”
Nian Chen’s eyeballs looked like they were going to implode, “Usually, this old man might still think that it was Wei’er who had temporarily lost his rationality. But now, I know that it is you, you and that degenerate daughter of yours! It was all you!”
Shen Shicheng looked rather surprisedly at Nian Chen, saying somewhat emotionally in what seemed like praise, “This is why I wasn’t very approving of Ying’er’s plan initially. It was too risky.”
“If it didn’t succeed, you, Master, might react to it afterwards. At the very least, you might feel suspicion.”
“Still, I have to admit it. If I hadn’t come here, the result of me having waited for so long might just have been you achieving Sainthood, with me having no further chance.”
“With the chance having come, I managed to grasp it. Meanwhile, it was actually Ying’er who was able to create the chance for me. I am inferior to my daughter in this regard.”
After a brief moment of extended clarity, Nian Chen’s mind fell into chaos as the life completely left his body.
He struggled to look at Shen Shicheng, “How did you know that that Yan Zhaoge would stand against our sect for Shi Jun…”
Before he could finish speaking, Shen Shicheng had already exerted additional force, completely rendering him dead.
Nian Chen stared wide, yet his eyes no longer held the glow of life.
Shen Shicheng gazed at Nian Chen. Having personally slaughtered his Master as well as fulfilled his wish of many years, the many intermingling emotions caused him to momentarily feel out of sorts.
Still, he quickly recovered, extracting his palm from Nian Chen’s chest before waving the Nine Dragon Fingers over.
Shen Shicheng prepared to destroy the evidence whilst naturally coming to place his attention on his sect’s treasured Sacred Artifact, the Nine Dragon Fingers.
Looking at the incomplete Nine Dragon Fingers, having previously still appeared calm, a troubled look now appeared on Shen Shicheng’s face.
As he had said, the Blood Dragon Sect could do without Nian Chen, could do without he himself, but just could not afford to have anything happen to the Nine Dragon Fingers.
“Ying’er was quick-witted. Now that Nian Chen is dead, some set-ups of earlier might be able to serve their use. It is just that-should they be used? It would really hurt our sect’s authority too much, but that segment of the Nine Dragon Fingers just has to be gotten back,” Shen Shicheng sighed, “Directly looking for that Yan Zhaoge would most likely be useless. It seems that our hope will have to be placed on that kid surnamed Shi.”
As Shen Shicheng waved them over, only seven segments of the Nine Dragon Fingers drifted towards him. There was one that remained fixed within the air, unmoving.
“Huh?” Shen Shicheng felt a warning bell sound within his heart.
From within that segment of the Nine Dragon Fingers resounded a voice, “I am rather curious as well. How did you and your daughter communicate while in the Star Shifting Sea? Was it completely tacit?”
Shen Shicheng was greatly shocked as he saw a streak of light fly out of that segment of the Nine Dragon Fingers.
The streak of light contained a massive stone pillar along with a lone beam, the two appearing rather strange as they were put together.
Beneath the stone pillar stood a group of people, with it precisely being Yan Zhaoge who stood at their head!
Beside Yan Zhaoge stood Xu Fei, Shi Jun and a bunch of Changli Mountain martial practitioners.
What crushed Shen Shicheng’s heart even more was the fact that there were clearly also people of Water Crystal Palace, Myriad Sword Pool and the Spirit Returning Sect amongst the group as well.
There were not many of those from the other sects, just one or two. However, looking at the shocked whilst also scornful expressions on their faces, Shen Shicheng’s heart instantly plunged to the very bottom.
He reacted very quickly, hurriedly wanting to sweep away the segments of the Nine Dragon Fingers that he controlled.
While he would be unable to refine them within a short period of time and use them to deal with Yan Zhaoge and the others, they should still be able to protect him as he fled.
However, Yan Zhaoge struck out lightly with his palm, the combination of the pillar and beam of the Divine Palace releasing streams of seven-coloured radiance which directly locked down all of the Nine Dragon Fingers here.
Shen Shicheng appeared sorely resigned. Having seen the scene of Yan Zhaoge personally fighting off the Chief of the Evil Shifting Sect, the Transcending Mortality Martial Grandmaster Feng Jingsheng, he knew that even without the Northern Ocean Clone being present, he who had lost the Nine Dragon Fingers would still not have the strength to flee.
Yan Zhaoge swivelled his head to look at Shi Jun, finding the latter’s gaze a little dazed.
“Jun’er, do you still remember back when I just found the two of you? You were mainly joyful when you saw me, more happy than shocked.”
“When you introduced me to that Shen Ying, you also mentioned that she had probably heard of me before.”
“Back then, I thought that you must already have heard news of me. Still, Shen Ying aside, when I was out causing a disturbance in the Vast Ocean World, you should have been in the Star Shifting Sea where it would have been very hard for you to receive news from Changli Mountain.”
Shi Jun said, “I indeed didn’t receive any news from Changli Mountain. I just coincidentally met some people in the Star Shifting Sea who had entered later than me and heard their discussions, thus learning that, you, senior apprentice-uncle…had come out into the world.”
At this point, Shi Jun’s expression turned gloomy as he said bitterly, “At that time, Miss Shen and a few Blood Dragon Sect martial practitioners were also present just by the side.”
“Back then, people of Myriad Sword Pool and Spirit Rhino Island were present. Being busy searching for medicine for Mother, I did not want to get into a conflict with them. Thus, I did not spread the matter, exposing other relationship, not even asking further on the issue. Still, thinking back on it, my expression must have changed back then, with Miss Shen having seen something from it.”
Having heard that Yan Zhaoge had appeared in the Vast Ocean World, next having refined the Northern Ocean Clone, showing off his majesty as he had killed Fang Kan and caused Lin Qiancheng to suffer a setback, Shi Jun had naturally felt both shocked and happy, longing to see him again.
Yan Zhaoge nodded slightly, “That’s it. She didn’t know that you were my junior apprentice-nephew, but she was able to tell that we knew each other, with our relationship being rather close as well.”
He patted Shi Jun on the shoulder, smiling, “You’re not to blame for it. Her acting was really good.”
Yan Zhaoge swivelled his head to look at Shen Shicheng, “Your daughter is indeed proficient at such a young age. Strictly speaking, she did not reveal any flaws in front of me. Possibly knowing of the relationship between Jun’er and I also does not entail that she wanted to do something. It just supported my earlier suspicions.”
“I discovered the problem before meeting with the two of them. Speaking of this, you father and daughter were just unlucky,” A glow shot out from Yan Zhaoge’s left eye as he said this, coming to form a scene of light in mid-air.
Everyone raised their heads and looked. It was precisely the scene of Shi Jun and Shen Ying in the palace of the underwater cavern after the former had killed Nian Wei.
When everyone saw the smile revealed by Shen Ying behind Shi Jun when he had turned to check on the spirit patterns on the beam of the Divine Palace, they could not help but feel a slight chill within their hearts.
That was not a smile of concern and gratitude. Well, it was also not cold and sinister. It was merely filled with a triumphant, confident feel, as if everything was proceeding right according to plan.
Seeing this scene, Shen Shicheng sighed vastly, “Since you already knew long before, why…”
“Why was I still willing to be used by you people, engaging in a deadly battle with Nian Chen?” Yan Zhaoge laughed mildly, “It’s because I had already wanted to kill Nian Chen originally, of course. Not only did I want to get rid of that Nian Chen, I wanted to clear up all my previous enemies together.”
“Such as the Evil Shifting Sect, such as Spirit Rhino Island.”
Yan Zhaoge smiled radiantly as the sun, “Offing them out in the open is much easier than if I had to go trample on their sects themselves.”
Shen Shicheng was dazed as Yan Zhaoge’s smile seemed not to contain any warmth at all, just bringing a bone-piercing chill throughout his entire body.
It was not they who had borrowed Yan Zhaoge to kill others. Instead, Yan Zhaoge had been using them as a lance!
The others who were present felt a chill run from the bottom of their feet straight up to their heads, “This person, cannot be offended!”