Chapter 793: Just a Little Dust
"Zhang Zhiyun, you heartless, master-betraying, ancestor-forsaking scoundrel! Today, your Martial Uncle will cleanse the Tianshi Sect!"
A furious roar echoed across the blood-soaked grounds. Zhang Tianen, with Xiao Lin in tow, descended from the sky, his eyes widening in horror at the scene below. Piles of bleached bones were strewn across the courtyard, skeletal remains of men and women he had known his entire life. They were all members of the Tianshi Sect. His gaze fell upon a single, severed head, its eyes still wide with disbelief even in death. It was his Martial Brother, the Sect Master of the Tianshi Sect, Zhang Tianjiu—Zhang Zhiyun's own master.
Doubt warred with the ghastly reality before him. Zhang Tianen found it impossible to believe that Zhang Zhiyun, the young prodigy he had once favored as a future son-in-law, could be capable of such monstrous cruelty. But the facts were laid bare, obvious and absolute.
A torrent of rage erupted from Zhang Tianen. He lunged toward Zhang Zhiyun, his body exploding in an powerful aura of lightning. Arcs of pure, crackling energy, like furious dragons, coiled around him. How could the man once recognized as the strongest practitioner of Esoteric Arts in all of Yanxia be undeserving of his reputation?
The legendary lightning techniques of the Tianshi Sect had been honed to perfection in Zhang Tianen's hands. Though he had retired to care for his daughter, he had never once ceased his cultivation. Over the years, his power had only grown, becoming increasingly unfathomable, bordering on the legendary world of a Land Immortal.
Scorching bolts of lightning tore through the air, blasting toward Zhang Zhiyun with enough heat to melt steel.
"Zhang Tianen?" An Zhiyue, standing with the Special Department forces, instantly recognized the attacker. With a top-tier expert of his caliber joining the fray, she thought, dealing with Zhang Zhiyun should be much easier.
But in the next moment, An Zhiyue and everyone else present were left utterly speechless.
Under the incredulous gazes of Zhang Tianen and the assembled crowd, the lightning bolts—each capable of vaporizing refined iron—struck a barrier three inches from Zhang Zhiyun's body and dissipated into nothing. He simply stood there, ignoring the assault as if it were a gentle spring breeze, completely unharmed.
A translucent, crimson membrane of light shimmered around him, emanating from the sinister Yin Corpse Devil Sword in his grasp.
'As expected of a half-step treasure. It can automatically protect its master. What a fine weapon...' Shen An observed, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes. The Yin Corpse Devil Sword, refined through Zhang Zhiyun's hand, had exceeded all his expectations. If not for the inferior quality of the raw materials, it might have even rivaled true treasures—artifacts meant for cultivators of the Golden Core Stage.
A piercing shriek cut through the air. A figure was violently thrown from the direction of the Tianshi Sect's main hall, hurtling back with the speed of an arrow loosed from a bow. It tore through the air for several miles before crashing heavily into the earth, bouncing once before skidding to a halt precisely beside Shen An, carving a long, deep furrow in the ground.
"Uncle, are you alright?" Shen An asked, a faint smile playing on his lips as he looked down at the dust-covered man.
Zhang Tianen scrambled to his feet, brushing himself off and trying to regain the dignified air of a collected expert. He let out a cold snort.
"It's nothing. Just a little dust on my robes."
"Old man, stop pretending. You can't even stand steady," Xiao Lin grumbled impatiently, rushing over to support her father. She could see his legs trembling uncontrollably beneath his robes.
At that moment, Zhang Zhiyun's chilling voice rang out, devoid of any emotion. "Zhang Tianen, for Xiao Lin's sake, I will spare your life this once. If you attack me again, you will die."
Zhang Tianen no longer bothered with his airs. His face was ashen as he stared at the young man he once knew.
"Zhang Zhiyun, how could you become so heartless? You slaughtered the entire Tianshi Sect! This sect painstakingly raised you for twenty years and never once wronged you!"
Zhang Tianen had known that Zhang Zhiyun might move against Yanxia's Yu Clan, but he had assumed it was due to some deep-seated blood feud. He never, in his wildest nightmares, imagined that Zhang Zhiyun would turn on the Tianshi Sect—his own home.
The Young Master of the Tianshi Sect, a man with such a brilliant future, had become this cruel and twisted simply for power. It was utter madness.
"Zhang Zhiyun, you have cultivated demonic arts and murdered so many innocent people! Surrender now and await your punishment!" An Zhiyue stepped forward, her voice ringing with righteous authority.
He stood against the furious glares of Zhang Tianen, An Zhiyue, Xiao Lin, Yu Guannan, and all the others. He faced the condemnation of a thousand accusing eyes.
Zhang Zhiyun, however, remained utterly indifferent. A placid, unnerving smile touched his lips as he calmly replied, "My master and my martial uncles loved me so dearly. Isn't it a wonderful thing that they have now transformed into my power?"
As his horrifying words fell, the smile vanished. He pointed his longsword directly at Shen An, his calm expression twisting into a mask of vicious, unhinged obsession.
"Kill Shen An! As long as Shen An dies, everything will be alright! Xiao Lin and Zhang Yaqian will both return to my side..."
"Zhang Zhiyun, you... you lunatic!" Xiao Lin cried out, her voice a mixture of fury and terror. She was enraged by his heartlessness but terrified that he might actually succeed in killing Shen An.
The power Zhang Zhiyun now wielded seemed truly unstoppable.
"You're wrong, Zhang Zhiyun," Shen An said suddenly. He reached out and grasped Xiao Lin's hand, his grip firm and reassuring. He looked straight at Zhang Zhiyun, a slight, mocking smile playing on his lips. "Even if you killed me, Xiao Lin wouldn't go back to you, because the one she loves is me. Besides... you can't kill me."
[Ding! The Child of Destiny, Zhang Zhiyun, has entered a state of extreme fury! Plundering +9999 Destiny Value!]
'This is bad...' An Zhiyue's heart sank. She knew what was coming.
As she predicted, Shen An's taunt was the final spark. Zhang Zhiyun completely snapped, his rage boiling over as he drew his sword and charged.
"Move!" An Zhiyue didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second, raising her hand and shouting the command.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A storm of anti-tank sniper rounds tore through the air, converging on Zhang Zhiyun from all directions. The Special Department snipers, who had long held him in their sights, had received An Zhiyue's order through their earpieces and immediately pulled their triggers.
These were the most advanced armor-piercing rounds in their arsenal, each possessing immense power capable of punching through several meters of thick alloy steel.
A dense curtain of thousands of these bullets, like a torrential downpour of steel, enveloped him. A Grandmaster would be shredded instantly; even a Celestial would feel their scalp prickle with dread.
But Zhang Zhiyun paid them no mind. His figure flickered, instantly breaking the sound barrier as he dodged the hail of projectiles, his speed a blur as he continued his charge. The few rounds that did manage to find their mark were simply vibrated away by an unseen force before they could make contact.
The distance of several miles was closing in an instant under Zhang Zhiyun's peak Land Immortal speed.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Just then, several pencil-thin beams of scorching red light shot out from a pair of black containers the size of large trucks. This was the Houyi System, the most advanced laser weapon platform developed by the Yanxia Special Department.
The speed of light was three hundred thousand kilometers per second. A Land Immortal couldn't react to it. Even a Martial God would be too slow.
Of course, Zhang Zhiyun couldn't react either. The searing red laser struck him dead-on.
"Yes...!" The eyes of the Special Department members lit up, a cheer already forming on their lips. This was their strongest single-target weapon, the result of countless man-hours and an astronomical budget. But in the next instant, their hope turned to sheer horror.
Almost simultaneously with the laser's impact, the crimson light membrane emanating from the Yin Corpse Devil Sword on Zhang Zhiyun's right arm expanded violently. A deep, bloody color pulsed, and the shield met the laser head-on, completely absorbing its power.
The Yin Corpse Devil Sword had automatically protected its master.
Zhang Zhiyun was utterly unharmed.
"How is that possible?" Li Yuan Shi, a senior member of the Special Department, was so shocked he nearly tore out his own beard.
An Zhiyue and the others stared in disbelief. Even their ultimate laser weapon couldn't harm him?
Amidst the collective shock and despair, Shen An revealed a faint, satisfied smile. The Yin Corpse Devil Sword had passed its test. Now, it was time for it to return to the hands of its true master.
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