Chapter 613: Master Shen Shows His Might!
"Hmph, pretty boy, you have no strength whatsoever. Do you think those talismans of yours can do anything to an Artificer True Person like me?"
Tanaka Hikaru disdainfully swept a glance over Shen Anyu. He had secretly observed for a long time and hadn't found any traces of a Martial Arts Grandmaster or a high-level Artificer on Shen Anyu.
Even though those talismans were powerful, how could they deal with him?
Even among Artificer True Persons, Tanaka Hikaru was quite formidable, close to an Artificer True Person, otherwise he wouldn't have committed so many evil deeds and still remained at large.
"Kid, I'll deal with you first, then I'll abduct this beauty and enjoy myself."
Tanaka Hikaru sneered, his patience wearing thin. He decided to stop wasting words, lest some unforeseen complication arose. He was a creature of opportunity, and this was a prize he would not let slip away.
In the space of a single breath, the world outside the armored car warped. A domain of chilling malevolence descended, severing them from the mortal world. The air temperature plummeted, and a layer of crystalline frost instantly spiderwebbed across the bulletproof windows. The faint city lights of Hangzhou vanished, swallowed by an oppressive, inky darkness. A suffocating pressure, heavy with the stench of death and decay, pressed in from all sides, seeking to crush their very souls.
From the heart of this manufactured night, ghostly wails tore through the silence. White-robed specters materialized, their forms indistinct and wavering like heat haze. They howled, their silent screams carving trails of pure yin energy through the air as they lunged towards the vehicle. The reinforced steel and composite armor of the car might as well have been smoke; the ethereal figures phased directly through the doors, their passage bringing an extreme, bone-deep chill into the cabin.
These were no ordinary ghosts. Each one pulsed with a evident aura of malice. Their faces were twisted masks of agony, their shadowy claws promising an agonizing end. If a creature as mighty as a Siberian tiger or a Kodiak bear were to be swarmed by these entities, the concentrated yin energy would invade its body in an instant, freezing its lifeblood and extinguishing its vital spark before it could even roar. Even a seasoned Martial Arts Grandmaster, a warrior capable of shattering stone with their fists, would find themselves facing a nightmarish battle for survival against such a relentless, otherworldly legion.
Zhang Yaqian's pretty face, already pale from the ordeal, turned a deathly white. The cold wasn't just physical; it was a spiritual poison seeping into her marrow. She squeezed her eyes shut, a tear of despair tracing a path down her frozen cheek. It was over. Death was not the worst fate she faced. The villain's words echoed in her mind—she would be captured, her spirit broken, and her body refined into a ghastly, seductive corpse, a puppet for his vile pleasures. What could she do? Who could possibly save her from a monster like this?
"An ant trying to shake a tree; overestimating your own abilities."
The voice was calm, almost lazy, laced with an unshakable confidence that cut through the cacophony of spectral wails like a blade. Shen Anyu shook his head, a soft, dismissive chuckle escaping his lips. He didn't even bother to rise. With a casual flick of his finger, as if shooing away a fly, a single point of fiery light bloomed in the darkness.
It erupted.
What began as a spark exploded into a river of liquid flame, a crimson ribbon of pure, righteous power that unfurled with breathtaking speed. It wasn't the chaotic fire of destruction, but a brilliant, sacred light that radiated an overwhelming, purifying warmth. The white-robed specters, which had been lunging forward with ravenous hunger, suddenly shrieked—this time, an audible, piercing sound of pure terror. They recoiled, their ethereal forms smoking and sizzling where the light touched them. They tried to flee, to dissipate back into the ghost domain, but how could they possibly escape?
The crimson ribbon of light moved with a mind of its own, sweeping through the air with elegant, lethal grace. It engulfed the nearest specter, and the creature vaporized without a trace, its terrifying wail cut short. Another was caught, then three more. They were consumed instantly, their yin essence annihilated by the sacred flame, turning into drifting motes of weightless Ash. There was no struggle, no resistance. It was an absolute cleansing. Even the few particularly fierce ghosts among them, whose auras brushed against the power of a Martial Arts Grandmaster, were erased with the same contemptuous ease.
The light didn't stop. It continued its elegant dance, tearing through the artificial darkness. The eerie and cold ghost domain, which had felt so absolute and inescapable moments before, was ripped open like a cheap paper screen. Faint, comforting light from the distant streetlamps of Hangzhou pierced through the rents in reality, banishing the suffocating pressure. The frost on the windows evaporated in a hiss of steam.
"Impossible! You… you actually possess such strength?"
Tanaka Hikaru's voice was a choked cry of disbelief. He stared at Shen Anyu, his eyes wide with shock and a dawning, frantic horror. He had been so sure, so certain. How could this pampered young master command such terrifying power? Was he a Martial Dao Grandmaster who had hidden his aura perfectly? An Artificer True Person of a far higher rank? Or one of those rare and powerful A-rank ability users from the government agencies?
It didn't matter what he was. The only thing that mattered was the sheer, unadulterated terror radiating from that crimson fiery light. It was a power that made his soul tremble, a fundamental force that promised not just death, but utter obliteration. He knew, with the chilling certainty of a predator who has suddenly found itself prey, that he could not contend with this.
Hearing Tanaka Hikaru's panicked cry, Zhang Yaqian forced her eyes open. She was just in time to witness the breathtaking finale. The crimson light, now a flowing river of fire, swept around the last of the white-robed specters, cleansing the air of their filth. Her beautiful apricot eyes widened, her small mouth falling slightly agape. She was completely and utterly stunned.
'Master Shen… Master Shen is so powerful…?'
"Run!" Tanaka Hikaru was a veteran of the underworld, a survivor. His long and sordid career was built on a foundation of extreme caution. If Zhang Yaqian's otherworldly beauty hadn't clouded his judgment, causing him to take this uncharacteristic risk, he would have investigated his target far more thoroughly.
Now, instinct screamed at him. Realizing that Shen Anyu was not just a threat but an apex predator, he didn't hesitate for a second. Without another thought, he poured all his energy into a desperate escape. His body began to dissolve into a cloud of black, shadowy mist, preparing to merge with the remnants of his failing domain.
A hint of pure disdain flashed in Shen Anyu's eyes. A mere Artificer True Person thought he could escape? How amusing.
He didn't move a muscle. Under the silent, inescapable command of Shen Anyu's Divine Sense, the sky full of crimson fiery light converged. It moved faster than lightning, faster than thought, collapsing from all directions to form a cage of incandescent energy around the dissipating shadow that was Tanaka Hikaru.
Tanaka Hikaru let out a mournful, soul-tearing shriek as the light made contact. Before he could even form a single word to beg for mercy, the flames consumed him. His shadowy form was incinerated, and his physical body within it was rendered to nothing. He turned into wisps of green smoke that vanished in the cleansing crimson blaze, leaving not a single shard of bone behind.
Witnessing a living person burn to Ash before her very eyes, Zhang Yaqian showed no fear. The terror that had gripped her moments ago was gone, replaced by a deep, exhilarating thrill that pulsed in the very depths of her soul. A profound excitement washed over her, hot and dizzying.
This was it. This was the true world she had only ever dreamed of. A spell battle between high-level Artificers. And Master Shen… Master Shen was magnificent!
Once the life-and-death crisis had passed, Zhang Yaqian quickly regained her composure, though the storm inside her was just beginning. In fact, this violent, supernatural scene didn't repel her; it excited her on a primal level. A hazy, heated mist shrouded her eyes, and she felt a strange tension coiling deep in her belly. Unconsciously, her two long, fair legs pressed together, a shiver of pure adrenaline—or something more—coursing through her.
'Master Shen is too amazing! Too strong! Too… too… too incredible!!!'
Zhang Yaqian's beautiful eyes were fixed on Shen Anyu's handsome profile. He was just sitting there, calm and composed, as if he had just performed the most mundane of tasks. Her gaze sparkled with a light that had never been there before, and a charming, rose-pink blush bloomed on her fair, delicate cheeks.
Her father's strict demands, the endless etiquette lessons she had received since childhood—be elegant, be noble, be reserved, follow the rules—had shaped her entire existence. Zhang Yaqian had never overstepped the boundaries, always speaking softly, always smiling demurely. She was the perfect princess template, hailed by the high society of Hangzhou as its First Miss. Since she was a child, she was always 'the child of another family,' the overachiever who excelled in everything she tried.
But deep down, a part of her yearned to break free. Zhang Yaqian secretly wanted to do all the things her status wouldn't allow—to sit at a greasy roadside stall and eat skewers, to push a sports car to its limits on an empty highway, to visit certain special websites and watch those blush-inducing, inappropriate videos that her friends whispered about.
But she only ever thought about it. She couldn't bring herself to disappoint her father, or the circle of people who held her up as a paragon of virtue.
However, Shen Anyu's appearance had shattered her carefully constructed world. He had kicked down the door and shown her a universe of impossible power and breathtaking danger.
When he first appeared, he had brazenly stopped her car, smilingly told her she would suffer a bloody calamity, and then demanded a hundred million for a peace talisman he'd scribbled on a napkin. At the time, Zhang Yaqian had only found it amusing. 'What a novel way to strike up a conversation,' she had thought.
The subsequent horrific car accident and the miraculous protection of that very napkin talisman had astonished her, planting a seed of wonder in her heart.
And tonight… tonight's spell battle between high-level Artificers had detonated that seed, blasting open her mind. A door to a new world had been thrown wide open for her, and it was more terrifying and exhilarating than she could have ever imagined.
And Shen Anyu… Shen Anyu was the god who had descended from the heavens to save her.
If not for Master Shen, she would have been abducted by that vile Artificer True Person, Tanaka Hikaru. She would have been trapped in a state where she could neither live nor die. Even after death, her body would be defiled, refined into a seductive corpse and humiliated for eternity. Her life would have been a living nightmare beyond comprehension.
Master Shen had saved her. Twice. And in doing so, he had brought her into a completely different, infinitely more exciting world.
Gratitude. Adoration. Love.
The emotions swirled within her, a potent cocktail that left her breathless. Zhang Yaqian's gaze towards Shen Anyu couldn't help but become utterly infatuated.
[Ding! Detected that Destined Heroine Zhang Yaqian's favorability +10, plundering +30000 destiny value!]
[Ding! Detected that Destined Heroine Zhang Yaqian's total favorability is 89, extra plundering +30000 destiny value!]
"Master Shen, what… what's wrong with you?"
At this moment, Zhang Yaqian's keen eyes noticed that something was amiss. Shen Anyu's posture hadn't changed, but his condition had. She leaned forward, her voice laced with genuine concern.
At this time, Shen Anyu's face was alternately pale and green, and faint wisps of white mist, like steam, rose from the top of his head.
"Oh, so hot." Zhang Yaqian reached out and touched Shen Anyu's skin. She recoiled slightly at the contact. It was incredibly hot, radiating heat like a furnace—at least seventy or eighty degrees Celsius. "Master Shen, are you injured?"
Shen Anyu turned to her, his expression feigned solemnity, his voice carefully controlled to sound strained.
"During the day, I fought with a high-level Artificer by the lake in Jinxiu Mountain Villa, and I sustained some injuries."
"If not for that, Tanaka Hikaru, a mere Artificer True Person, would have been annihilated long ago."
"Now, making a move against Tanaka Hikaru has triggered some of my old injuries."
Of course, it was all fake. He had sustained no injuries from his little game with Wu Shenyun, and crushing an ant like Tanaka Hikaru had expended almost no effort.
'Please call me Master Shen, the great actor!'
Fighting with a high-level Artificer by the lake in Jinxiu Mountain Villa during the day?
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yaqian's starry eyes widened even further, filled with disbelief. A sudden realization struck her.
"Those… those waterspouts that connected heaven and earth? The ones that were hundreds of meters high… that was the result of Master Shen fighting someone?"
"That's right," Shen Anyu said, his voice laced with apparent difficulty as he forced out a pained breath.
Zhang Yaqian was utterly shocked into silence. Those colossal waterspouts, which experts on the news had dismissed as a rare but natural weather phenomenon, were actually the collateral damage from his battle. What kind of power was that? How was that any different from the gods and Buddhas of legend?
"Oh, Master Shen, how can I help you now? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
Zhang Yaqian heard Shen Anyu let out a low, painful groan. It snapped her out of her shock, and her pretty face filled with deep concern and worry. Her tender small hand gripped Shen Anyu's large one, refusing to let go even as the searing seventy-degree heat threatened to burn her.
"I have a secret method for healing that requires a woman. You need to take me to find a woman now," Shen Anyu said, suppressing a victorious smile, his expression a perfect mask of great pain.
"Eh? Eh???" Zhang Yaqian's starry eyes widened, and she was dumbfounded
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