"When a whale falls, all things thrive!" Zhang Chen heard the other’s words, and this thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
The Shen Family was grand and prosperous. If the Shen Family were to fall, countless forces would take over their assets and rise to become mighty powers.
"Are you not afraid I’ll go to the Shen Family to report you? After all, those people from the Shen Family are still my relatives." Zhang Chen looked at Liu Ji and posed the question.
"Do you think the Shen Family hasn’t noticed something amiss? If the Shen Family were so slow to react, they wouldn’t deserve to control seventy percent of the nation’s water fortune. But even if the Shen Family has noticed trouble and is secretly laying out measures to respond, what does it matter? To defeat the Shen Family and devour their assets, it’s not about simple schemes; it’s about raw strength." Liu Ji replied with a smile: "Even in the court, many secretly covet the Shen Family’s assets."
"In past times, the Shen Family controlled seventy percent of the nation’s water fortune, which might have been fine. But now the Incense Qi can enact Divine Enthronement, seventy percent of the nation’s water fortune is enough to nurture an Eleventh Tier Divine being. What virtue does the Shen Family have to enjoy such fortune? Even the kings of the Great Victory Court are envious of the seventy percent water fortune, and are among those plotting the Shen Family’s downfall. Otherwise, do you truly believe my Yellow Heaven Dao dares to act so openly against the Shen Family?" Liu Ji’s voice was light, but Zhang Chen’s pupils contracted; the waters here were too deep for the Shen Family.
"Consider this, ten percent of the nation’s water fortune can create a Twelfth Tier Divine being. But seventy percent can create an Eleventh Tier being. If this seventy percent were divided, how many Tenth Tier beings could it nurture? How many Ninth Tier experts? The benefits here are immense, and the Shen Family, while dominant, is a tier below the Eight Great Clans of Kyoto. Such Creation is beyond the Shen Family’s grasp." Liu Ji’s voice was full of emotion.
Zhang Chen silently reflected on Liu Ji’s words, growing more certain that the Shen Family was a powder keg he should stay far from.
Especially with his younger siblings to consider, he couldn’t risk getting involved.
Zhang Chen, burdened with thoughts, bid farewell to Liu Ji, employed escape techniques to return to the Shen Family, contemplating their future, then set off for Jiang Nan’s residence.
Jiang Nan had been kind to him, and both emotionally and logically, he should inform her, urging her to prepare ahead and escape the Shen Family’s pit of fire.
When Zhang Chen arrived at Jiang Nan’s residence, he coincidentally encountered Shen Qiu.
"Kid, why do you cling like a leech? Haven’t you remembered what I previously warned you?" Shen Qiu blocked Zhang Chen’s path, demanding an answer.
Zhang Chen shot Shen Qiu a cold glance, unwilling to waste words with someone about to face ruin and death. He attempted to walk past Shen Qiu, but was stopped again as Shen Qiu glared coldly at him: "Kid, you’d best know your place, or crushing you would be as easy as crushing an ant. Consider your siblings before you act."
"Hmm?" Zhang Chen’s gaze darkened, a cold glint crossing his eyes at the threat to his siblings.
"Why are you glaring? Fierce look! Miserable brat!" Shen Qiu snorted dismissively, shoving Zhang Chen aside. "A parasite depending on my Shen Family, unaware of your place and station. Some things are beyond your reach. You should take a good look in the mirror and recognize what you really are."
After speaking, Shen Qiu left arrogantly, Zhang Chen watched his retreating figure silently for a long moment before withdrawing his gaze. "No need to argue with a dead man."
Zhang Chen walked into Jiang Nan’s garden, guided by Mi Gao, through a corridor, finding Jiang Nan at the pavilion, staring at the goldfish in the water in a daze.
"Cousin." Zhang Chen stepped forward and greeted.
"Why are you here?" Jiang Nan turned to look at Zhang Chen.
"I want to move out of the Shen Family. Though it’s a good place, it’s filled with trouble. In the end, it’s a place of conflict. Cousin, you’re also an outsider; would you be willing to live nearby? We can look after each other." Zhang Chen inquired.
Jiang Nan paused slightly, pondering before giving Zhang Chen a complex look. Instead of answering, she spoke of unrelated matters: "I’ve developed feelings for cousin Shen Qiu; we grew close on the journey south and will soon be engaged. So, there’s no chance for us; let’s remain normal siblings."
Stunned, Zhang Chen looked at Jiang Nan: "You’ve fallen for Shen Qiu? You’re engaged to him?"
Jiang Nan uttered one word: "Yes."
Zhang Chen contemplated the information about Yellow Heaven Dao but suppressed it. If he shared it with Jiang Nan and she told Shen Qiu, the Shen Family might inquire how he knew about this, causing trouble he wanted to avoid. He wished for quiet survival, avoiding familial risks.
No trouble of any kind!
Thus, Zhang Chen merely hinted: "I fear Shen Qiu isn’t truly a good match."
"Little brother, be frank—speaking ill of others isn’t right," Jiang Nan’s voice was serious, hearing Zhang Chen’s criticism of Shen Qiu: "If you have nothing further, leave now. Linger here too long, and they’ll gossip."
Zhang Chen sensed the futility, inhaled deeply, and departed.
"Wait." Jiang Nan called to Zhang Chen’s retreating back.
Zhang Chen halted his steps and turned to look at Jiang Nan, a hint of joy in his eyes: "Could it be that cousin has changed her mind?"
"I just wanted to tell you that if there’s nothing important, you shouldn’t come here anymore. You and I, a solitary man and woman, it’s not proper, and it’s best to avoid suspicion. Besides, I’m afraid Shen Qiu would be unhappy if he knew, I’m afraid he’d be jealous," Jiang Nan said to Zhang Chen.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen felt as if he had been inexplicably struck by a sword, a breath caught in his chest. He gave Jiang Nan a deep look and said, "Take care, cousin."
"Also... I hope that if you see me in the future, just treat me as a stranger; we don’t need to talk or interact," Jiang Nan gave Zhang Chen another blow.
"Alright! In the future, when we meet, it’ll be as if on a desolate path."
Zhang Chen said this, then turned and walked away, disappearing from Jiang Nan’s sight.
Watching Zhang Chen’s distant back, Jiang Nan gently sighed: "He and I were already ambiguous, now we must avoid suspicion, and must not have any entanglements, lest anyone sees through it and the trouble becomes greater."
If she and Zhang Chen were completely innocent with a clear conscience, she certainly wouldn’t act this way; it was precisely because there was something unclear between the two that she had to sever all ties.
"I owe Jiang Nan a favor, I have to find an opportunity to repay it soon, after all, favors are the hardest to repay." Zhang Chen walked along the small path of the Shen family, contemplating various thoughts. A favor is a favor, a friendship is a friendship, he owed Jiang Nan a favor, and he must find an opportunity to repay it.
Returning to his own courtyard, the three young ones were meditating cross-legged, Mrs. Zhang was exercising her muscles and bones in the yard, and following the recent humiliation they had suffered, the whole family finally realized the importance of strength, each working hard in cultivation, unwilling to waste a bit of time.
Zhang Chen walked all the way to the courtyard, gazing at the azure sky, a hint of indescribable thought in his eyes: "Who would have thought that one day, I, Zhang Chen, would be so underestimated."
Soon Zhang Chen collected his mood, stood in the courtyard and began to comprehend the Law of Heaven and Earth, striving to attain a higher level of Divine Techniques and realms as soon as possible.
When cultivation reaches Zhang Chen’s level, it’s about refining the body, transforming it into jade bones, and then overcoming the Three Calamities.
However, without a Cultivation Technique left by predecessors, Zhang Chen could only rely on his own comprehension and exploration, which was very difficult, unable to achieve rapid progress.
At Zhang Chen’s current level, it’s not that without a Cultivation Technique he can’t continue to cultivate, it’s just that relying solely on his own comprehension is too difficult, not to mention the accumulation and summarization of predecessors through generations, how could Zhang Chen’s own comprehension compare?
It’s akin to gravity; before Newton discovered gravity, it required countless people to comprehend and explore it, but once Newton figured it out, successors only needed to study it directly. The difference in difficulty is imaginable.
"My own comprehension is too slow, it’s better to find the next step of the Cultivation Technique on the Immortal Path." Zhang Chen secretly thought: "It would be best to find the latter half of the Nine Revolutions Profound Skill, who knows where that Big Black Dog fell."
Soon, Zhang Chen’s Primordial Spirit grew weary, and he resumed meditating to recover.
Time passed quickly, three days flew by in an instant. During these three days, Zhang Chen wandered outside by day, inquiring about various news of Chongzheng Academy, and at night he secluded himself for cultivation, comprehending the Law of Heaven and Earth, living contentedly.
On the morning of the third day, Zhang Chen used his Escape Technique to reach Liu Ji’s courtyard, where he saw Liu Ji sitting cross-legged, grinding a Treasure Sword. Upon seeing Zhang Chen, Liu Ji waved the sword in his hand: "Kid, take a look at how this Treasure Sword is?"
Zhang Chen paused upon seeing the Treasure Sword in Liu Ji’s hand, because he felt a familiar trace of Qi Mechanism from it.
"Immortal Slaying Sword!"
Zhang Chen’s pupils narrowed, his eyes filled with disbelief.
The Ancestral Master of Longevity once wielded the Immortal Slaying Sword in the great battle against the Peacock, how could he forget the sword’s aura?
It’s just that later Zhang Chen returned to the real world, and did not know where the Immortal Slaying Sword eventually ended up. Especially since he did not encounter the Immortal Slaying Sword in the place of the Ascension Pool, Zhang Chen suspected it finally fell into the hands of the Innate Peacock.
And the Immortal Slaying Sword is related to clues about the Innate Peacock, which are very important to Zhang Chen.
In the sunshine, the treasure sword exuded a trace of deadly Sword Qi, shimmering with a cold, dazzling light. The atmospheric temperature seemed to drop a few degrees, with thin strands of frost forming in the courtyard.
At this time, no insects were chirping in the courtyard, and beasts scattered, frightened by the overwhelming killing intent.
For a moment, the whole courtyard was silent.