Chapter 725: Thunder from a Clear Sky
"Brother Shen, you... you should stay at my house. I'll have the old man protect you." Ji Xiaolin bit her lower lip, her voice tight with worry as she proposed the idea.
Her father was Zhang Tianen, the strongest cultivator in all of Yanxia and a grandmaster at the Celestial Master Peak. Surely, he could keep Shen Anyu safe.
"I doubt your uncle wants to see my face every day," Shen Anyu replied, a faint laugh escaping him.
That old man, Zhang Tianen, always looked at him as if he were some delinquent who had led his precious daughter astray. It was a proof of his restraint that he hadn't already lashed out; he certainly never offered a pleasant expression.
"He has to protect you, even if he doesn't want to," Ji Xiaolin huffed, a stubborn glint in her eyes. "Otherwise, I'll just elope with you."
When it came to the safety of her man, her father's preferences were irrelevant. He would offer his protection, one way or another.
The news of Zhang Zhiyun's annihilation of the Yu Clan had left Ji Xiaolin deeply unsettled. If he could be so ruthless as to wipe out the Yu Clan, with whom he had only a minor grudge, what would he do to Shen Anyu?
Ji Xiaolin knew that Shen Anyu had a powerful master by his side, one she suspected was in the Heavenly Human realm. Even so, she couldn't shake the feeling that her own father was stronger, that he was the only one who could truly guarantee Shen Anyu's safety.
"There's no need for that," Shen Anyu said with a gentle smile. "I'm not afraid of Zhang Zhiyun."
After all, every trump card Zhang Zhiyun possessed had been given to him by Shen Anyu himself. What was there to fear?
"Brother Shen, you can't be so careless! Zhang Zhiyun is..." Ji Xiaolin's anxiety spiked, her words tumbling out.
Shen Anyu simply lowered his head, silencing her frantic stream of words with a soft, firm kiss on her crimson lips.
He pulled back slightly, his warm breath ghosting over her skin. "Trust your man," he murmured, his voice a low chuckle.
The sudden intimacy sent a blush creeping up Ji Xiaolin's neck, staining her beautiful face a deep rose. Her eyes grew hazy, a little intoxicated. She pouted, her voice now a mumbled complaint. "If you die, I'll never forgive you."
Shen Anyu let out a wry laugh. 'If I'm dead, what does it matter if you forgive me or not?'
Just then, his expression shifted. As if sensing a subtle change in the air, his eyes flickered, and he suddenly asked, "Xiaolin, what has the Tianshi Sect's reaction been to Zhang Zhiyun wiping out the Yu Clan?"
"The Tianshi Sect denied it immediately," Ji Xiaolin answered without hesitation, her focus snapping back to the serious matter. "They issued a statement saying their Young Sect Leader could never have done such a thing, and that he didn't have the power to slaughter thousands of people from the Yu Clan overnight."
Shen Anyu wasn't surprised. Even for a extraordinary power like the Tianshi Sect, which held immense sway over the Yanxia cultivation world, the fallout from the Yu Clan's extermination was too much to bear. It represented thousands of lives, many of them influential figures. Though the Tianshi Sect was powerful, it was not more powerful than the state itself.
However, with Yu Guannan as a living witness, their attempts at denial were nothing more than wishful thinking. They would have no choice but to shoulder this blame.
A cold sneer formed in Shen Anyu's mind as his gaze drifted eastward.
At that moment, Ji Xiaolin continued, "But the Tianshi Sect is taking this very seriously. Their Sect Master, Zhang Tianjiu, has already left the mountain. He even paid a visit to my father, hoping he would help investigate."
"Zhang Zhiyun has vanished," she added. "Even the Tianshi Sect can't get in touch with him."
Ji Xiaolin let out a dissatisfied snort. "That has to be a lie. The Tianshi Sect raised Zhang Zhiyun from the time he was a child. How could they not know where he is? They must have hidden him away."
Her father, Zhang Tianen, had once been a disciple of the Tianshi Sect before leaving over a dispute involving his wife and daughter. Because of this, Ji Xiaolin already harbored a deep-seated resentment for the sect. Now that their prized disciple wanted to kill her man, that resentment had curdled into outright hostility.
She secretly wished Zhang Zhiyun would die a swift death, just so she could stop worrying about the safety of her reckless man.
"Xiaolin, your martial uncle isn't lying."
The voice, calm and ancient, seemed to come from the air itself. Ji Xiaolin started, her gaze snapping toward the east. There, a white-haired old Daoist priest slowly shimmered into existence, his form solidifying out of thin air.
"Brother Shen, that's Zhang Tianjiu, the Sect Master of the Tianshi Sect," Ji Xiaolin sent a hurried mental message to Shen Anyu. "He's an expert at the Celestial Master Peak, not much weaker than my father. You have to be careful."
Shen Anyu gave a subtle nod, his expression completely unsurprised. He smiled faintly. "I have long heard of Celestial Master Zhang's esteemed name. Seeing you today, it is clear your reputation is well-deserved."
"And I, this old Daoist, have long admired Young Master Shen," Zhang Tianjiu replied, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the young man before him.
So this was Shen Anyu, the young master of Yanxia's Shen Clan. It was this man who had pushed his prized disciple, Zhang Zhiyun, to the brink, causing such a drastic change in his character that he would commit the heinous act of slaughtering the entire Yu Clan.
Zhang Tianjiu had personally visited the Yu Clan's ancestral home. He had seen the field of corpses, each one drained of its essence blood. The horrific scene was a clear sign of a demonic cultivation technique. The sight had left him both heartbroken and aghast. How could his good disciple, his Zhang Zhiyun, have done such a thing?
His investigation soon revealed the catalyst: Zhang Zhiyun's fiancée, Ji Xiaolin, had been stolen away by this very man, Shen Anyu.
Could that be it? Zhang Tianjiu wondered. Was a broken heart the reason for his disciple's drastic transformation, the reason he had fallen to the Demonic Path? He could scarcely imagine any other cause. His disciple had been on the mountain for years, only to change so completely after descending for such a short time.
Further inquiries revealed that Shen Anyu had killed Qin Haitian, the strongest man in Hangzhou, with a single strike, displaying the terrifying power of the Heavenly Human realm. Zhang Tianjiu now suspected that his disciple's severed arm was also Shen Anyu's handiwork.
To gain the power needed to defeat Shen Anyu, Zhang Zhiyun had walked a crooked path and entered the demonic arts.
Publicly, Zhang Tianjiu denied everything, claiming Zhang Zhiyun was being framed. But his own investigation had confirmed the horrifying truth. It was no frame-up; his disciple was guilty.
Yet, a master's affection runs deep. Zhang Zhiyun was his most beloved and proudest disciple, the man he saw as the future Sect Leader of the Tianshi Sect, his own successor. He had to clear his name of this stain.
But how? Even a man of Zhang Tianjiu's stature was at a loss. Too many powerful eyes were watching. Even as the Sect Master of the Tianshi Sect, he could not simply cover up the truth and disregard the facts. After all, if Zhang Zhiyun could annihilate the Yu Clan yesterday, he could annihilate other clans today or tomorrow. No one would tolerate such an unbridled madman.
Zhang Tianjiu also desperately wanted to find Zhang Zhiyun, worried sick about his current state. Since his disciple had not contacted him, Zhang Tianjiu had gambled that he might find a lead through Ji Xiaolin. That was why he had followed them.
He dispensed with all pleasantries. His clouded eyes, which had seen a century of change, suddenly blazed with an inner light, fixing on Shen Anyu. "Young Master Shen," he questioned, his voice low and heavy, "my disciple had a conflict with you. Do you know his whereabouts?"
Yu Guannan had omitted the details of the battle between Shen Anyu and Zhang Zhiyun in his report, but Zhou Yunhu had previously informed the Tianshi Sect of their initial clashes.
Shen Anyu's smile never wavered. "How would I know where Zhang Zhiyun is?" he replied leisurely. "If I did, I would have already brought him to justice."
With that, he turned and began to walk away, completely ignoring the darkening expression on the face of Zhang Tianjiu, the august Sect Master of the Tianshi Sect.
Ji Xiaolin was stunned. That was the Sect Master of the Tianshi Sect! And Shen Anyu treated him with such utter disregard? Even she, who feared little, held the man in considerable awe.
After walking five or six meters, Shen Anyu glanced back at Ji Xiaolin and smiled. "Linlin, come on."
"Huh? Oh, okay." Ji Xiaolin finally snapped out of her stupor.
The next moment.
CRACK!
A terrifying bolt of lightning descended from the clear sky, streaking down directly toward Shen Anyu!
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