Chapter 553: Kill that bastard!
His fiancée, Ji Xiaolin, was no longer pure?
When Zhang Zhiyun heard Zhang Tianen's words, his head buzzed, and he felt as if he had been struck by lightning, completely stunned, his composure shattered, and his handsome face twisted.
Ji Xiaolin was the woman he had fallen in love with at first sight, and she was also his fiancée. Zhang Zhiyun even felt that their marriage was destined by the heavens and the matchmaker. Although Ji Xiaolin seemed somewhat repulsed, he believed that through effort, he could make Ji Xiaolin like him and fall in love with him.
The result… the result was this? Because of the Master of Myriad Dharma Sect's despicable scheme, his fiancée, the woman he had chosen, the woman he had believed was his destiny, had actually been with another man? The perfect future he had envisioned, the flawless union he had anticipated, was now irrevocably stained.
The tightly coiled composure that defined Zhang Zhiyun snapped. The world around him seemed to lose its color, a dull gray haze descending over his vision. Blood roared in his ears, a torrential flood of rage and humiliation that drowned out all other sound. No man could endure this. And for a man like him—a Son of Heaven, a prodigy destined for greatness—it was a wound that cut deeper than any blade, a poison that seeped directly into his soul.
He was Zhang Zhiyun, the most outstanding successor of the Tianshi Sect in a millennium. In a cultivation world where the Tianshi Sect stood as the undisputed leader of Yanxia, he was the crown jewel, the future of their legacy. At just over twenty years of age, he had already reached the rank of a Half-Step Celestial Master, a feat that left his peers choking on his dust. Becoming a full-fledged Celestial Master before thirty was not a dream but an expectation. Breaking through to the legendary world of a Land Immortal was his destiny.
His Master, the supreme leader of the Celestial Master Sect, saw him as the future. The council of elders looked upon him with eyes full of hope, placing the sect's thousand-year-old glory squarely on his young shoulders.
Outwardly, Zhang Zhiyun projected an image of calm confidence and humble grace. But beneath that placid surface was a furnace of pride. He believed, with every fiber of his being, that he was destined to stand at the apex of the world. And the woman who would stand beside him, his future wife, had to be just as extraordinary. She had to be a perfect match, a flawless gem worthy of being set beside him.
Ji Xiaolin was that gem. She met every single one of his stringent conditions. Her beauty was breathtaking, a celestial grace that could captivate nations. Her lineage was impeccable, the daughter of the Celestial Master Peak expert, Zhang Tianen. Her own cultivation talent was top-tier, a perfect complement to his own.
This was a marriage blessed by the heavens, a union of power and destiny. But now? Now, that perfect union was marred by an unerasable, filthy blemish.
And the most excruciating part, the thought that felt like a red-hot poker being twisted in his gut, was that it was his fault.
It was because of him.
If it weren't for his existence, his engagement, his prominence, why would the Wan Fa Sect have ever targeted Ji Xiaolin? Why would they have gone to such lengths to concoct a scheme to humiliate him through her? She was an innocent party, a victim caught in the crossfire of a war that revolved around him.
"No…"
A silent, agonizing scream clawed its way up his throat, but no sound emerged. His heart felt like it was being ripped from his chest. An almost uncontrollable urge to drop to his knees, to throw his head back and roar at the indifferent sky, seized him. The pain was unbearable, a crushing weight that threatened to pulverize his very spirit.
The succession of devastating blows he had endured today was overwhelming. The only event in his life that could compare was the complete annihilation of the Hangzhou Zhang Family twenty years ago. No, this was worse. Far worse. Twenty years ago, he was just a child, too young to truly comprehend the nature of pain and loss. But now, he was a man, and this agony was sharp, clear, and all-consuming.
First, he had suffered a crushing, humiliating defeat at the hands of the Master of Wan Fa Sect, a battle that had nearly cost him his life. And now, immediately after, he was forced to hear this soul-shattering news.
The pressure built in his chest until he felt he would vomit blood.
"Zhang Zhiyun, if you feel it's not suitable, this engagement can be canceled." Zhang Tianen's voice cut through the fog of his anguish. The older man's expression was grim, his eyes fixed on Zhang Zhiyun's deathly pale face and trembling body. He let out a soft, heavy sigh.
His daughter was the most precious thing in the world to him; she didn't need to desperately cling to any marriage alliance for status or security.
This wasn't mere fatherly pride or overconfidence. Zhang Tianen knew his own worth. With his cultivation at the very pinnacle of the Celestial Master realm, his strength was terrifying. He might live the life of an ordinary deliveryman, a disguise to remain close to his daughter, but that was by choice. If he so desired, immense wealth, absolute power, and world-shaking status would be his for the taking.
In ancient times, a figure like Zhang Tianen would have been an Imperial Preceptor, a grand teacher to emperors, a man whose words could shift the tides of nations and whose powers could summon wind and rain.
The title of Yanxia's number one cultivation expert was not just for show. The Master of Wan Fa Sect, an ancient and powerful Celestial Master in his own right, had brought with him an army of high-ranking sect members to besiege them. And Zhang Tianen had wiped them all out. Alone.
It was just that Zhang Tianen carried a deep sense of debt to his wife and daughter. He wanted nothing more than to live a quiet life, to spend time with Ji Xiaolin and make up for his past absences. He had no desire for fame or fortune.
While he had once viewed Zhang Zhiyun as a promising son-in-law, a worthy match for his daughter, he would never force the issue. His daughter's happiness and dignity came first.
If it wasn't suitable, then it was better to sever the ties now.
Besides, a flicker of cold anger was stirring in Zhang Tianen's own heart, directed squarely at Zhang Zhiyun. If it weren't for his involvement, for this damned engagement, would the Wan Fa Sect have ever made their move? Would his beloved daughter, his precious Ji Xiaolin, have suffered such a cruel misfortune? He had already obliterated the Master of Wan Fa Sect, but that act of vengeance was not nearly enough to quell the fire of his rage.
[Ding! The relationship between the Child of Destiny, Zhang Zhiyun, and important helper, Zhang Tianen, has fractured. Plundered +80,000 destiny value!]
...
Break off the engagement?
The words struck Zhang Zhiyun with the force of a physical blow. A sudden, inexplicable panic gripped his heart, a cold premonition that something critically important was about to be ripped away from him forever. His mind, which had been reeling in chaos, snapped back into focus. He had to salvage this. He had to.
"Uncle, this entire matter was caused by me, by Zhang Zhiyun. How could we possibly break off the engagement?" he said quickly, his voice still hoarse with emotion.
He looked up, his expression a complex mask of pain, regret, and forced resolve. He clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white, then forced them to loosen. He gritted his teeth, the sound a faint grinding in the tense silence.
"I don't care about those things," he declared, forcing the words out. "I truly don't. The fault lies with me, not with Xiao Lin."
What other choice did he have?
He could only forgive. He had to forgive.
Though his heart ached with a suffocating agony, though every instinct screamed at him to reject this tainted reality, he had no other path. He had to accept it. He had to swallow this bitter pill.
After all, this engagement wasn't just his own affair. It was an alliance arranged personally by the Master of the Celestial Master Sect and Zhang Tianen, the Tianshi Sect's former strongest expert. To break it would be a slap in the face to both of them. Furthermore, the objective truth was that Ji Xiaolin was the victim. She had been implicated because of him.
If he were to break off the engagement now, he would undoubtedly make a permanent enemy of Zhang Tianen. The elders of the Tianshi Sect would see him as petty, narrow-minded, and dishonorable. It would severely damage his reputation and could very well affect his smooth succession to the position of Sect Master.
Moreover, when he closed his eyes, the image of Ji Xiaolin's bright, beautiful, oval face appeared in his mind. The thought of letting her go, of seeing her with another, sent a fresh wave of possessive pain through him.
Even with this… blemish… she was still the most exquisite piece of mutton-fat jade in the world.
Not to mention, she was the woman he had fallen for at first sight. Their fates were intertwined. He knew, on a fundamental level, that if not for the interference of some outside force, he and Ji Xiaolin would have been the destined male and female leads of this era, the central figures in the grand tale of the Celestial Master Descends the Mountain.
'But that man… that bastard must die!'
A chilling, murderous intent flashed deep within Zhang Zhiyun's eyes, a glint of arctic cold that was gone as quickly as it appeared. He didn't know who the man was, but it didn't matter. He had taken the most precious thing from his fiancée, Ji Xiaolin. He had defiled what was his. For that, he had to be erased from existence.
If he didn't kill him, this thorny obsession would fester in his mind forever. His thoughts would never be clear, his dao heart would be fractured, and he would never know a moment of peace. How could he possibly feel at ease?
"Good, good. Zhang Zhiyun, it's good that you don't mind. That sets my heart at ease."
Hearing his declaration, Zhang Tianen was visibly relieved. A great weight seemed to lift from his shoulders. Since Zhang Zhiyun was willing to look past it, then the alliance could be preserved.
"Yes, Uncle. This incident was entirely my fault. I will take good care of Xiao Lin from now on and ensure nothing like this ever happens again," Zhang Zhiyun said, forcing a sincere, reassuring smile onto his twisted features. His eyes flickered with a dark light only he could feel. "As for that… that kind of thing… in modern society, it's not like the ancient days. It's not important. Really, it's not important at all."
He was careful not to ask for any details about the other man. Doing so would only make Zhang Tianen and Ji Xiaolin suspicious, making them think he held a grudge. He would play the part of the magnanimous, understanding fiancé. After he descended the mountain, he would begin his own, thorough investigation.
'It doesn't matter who you are. I will find you. And you will die.'
The pent-up frustration, the humiliation, and the white-hot rage in Zhang Zhiyun's heart swirled into a raging inferno, a volcano of violence desperately seeking an outlet.
...
'Really? I don't believe you for a second.'
'Zhang Zhiyun, if you truly don't care, then I'm the bloody Pope. Haha~'
Miles away, Shen Anyu watched the entire drama unfold through the feed from a nanometer monitoring robot. A low, amused chuckle escaped his lips as he leaned back in his chair.
These Sons of Destiny were so predictable. Except for bizarre outliers like Wu Ming, that cautious reincarnator who followed the "Path of the Cautious Reincarnator," most of them were pathologically domineering. Those who follow me shall prosper, and those who defy me shall perish. That was their creed. They would kill a man's entire family for a single slight glance, let alone an offense of this magnitude.
Zhang Zhiyun kept his head lowered, and a powerhouse like Zhang Tianen might not sense the subtle shifts in his demeanor. But Shen Anyu had a perfect view. He saw the way Zhang Zhiyun's face contorted into a hideous, distorted mask of pure hatred when he thought no one was looking.
It was practically a guarantee. The very first thing Zhang Zhiyun would do after leaving the mountain would be to hunt down the man responsible. To hunt down Shen Anyu.
But would Young Master Shen be afraid?
Of course not. He was counting on it.
'Speaking of which,' Shen Anyu mused, a thoughtful glint in his eyes, 'that little trinket of a technique could be put to good use. It would be a perfect gift for Zhang Zhiyun. He has a massive amount of destiny, and his spiritual power is immense for his level.'
A flicker of an idea, sharp and wicked, passed through his mind. The Nascent Soul True Scripture and its companion text, the Two-Aspects Life-Death Medical Scripture, were more than just fundamental cultivation methods. They were encyclopedias of profound insights, containing detailed methods for Artifact Refining and Alchemy.
And among them was a particularly vicious Artifact Refining method called the Yin Corpse Devil Sword!
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