Shen Songshan’s words were potent. They held three layers of aning:
First, I admire you, but you are not a mber of the Shen Family. Even if you align yourself with us in the future, you must rember that we will be your masters.
Second, I admire you and am willing to welco you into the Shen Family. We can provide you with resources, and you can even have your pick of the won in our family, on one condition: you must forgive Shen Shihao.
Third, if you do not forgive Shen Shihao, you are an enemy of the Shen Family.
These words were a calculated mixture of an olive branch, temptation, a warning, and a threat.
"Grandfather, I was wrong!" Shen Shihao sincerely apologized, then turned to Ye Xiu. "Give a straight answer. Will you forgive , or will you make an enemy of the Shen Family?"
Shen Monong ran over, tugged on Ye Xiu’s arm, and whispered, "Quickly, say you forgive him! If you beco an enemy of the Shen Family, then we..."
She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence, but the implication was clear: if he made an enemy of the Shen Family, there would be no future for them.
"Ha, you people from the Shen Family are certainly interesting," Ye Xiu said, so angered he laughed. "It was clearly Shen Shihao who threw into a pit of fire, intending to kill , yet now it’s sohow my fault. Does the Shen Family have any concept of right and wrong?"
"Right and wrong?" Shen Shihao scoffed disdainfully. "In today’s world, power, status, money, and force are the truth. If you possessed power, status, money, and force comparable to the Shen Family’s, then I would reason with you."
Hearing this, Ye Xiu glanced at the other mbers of the Shen Family, only to see that all of them looked as if they fully agreed with Shen Shihao. He was secretly disappointed. He had thought that the Shen Family, as mbers of the Long Family Alliance, would be a family of high intellect, discreet and adept at sches and intrigue. It turned out there was no real difference between them and the Tiansha Association.
"Young man, don’t let my age fool you. I have no patience," Shen Songshan said, his wrinkled face eerily calm. "Give a definitive answer. Do you forgive Shen Shihao and befriend the Shen Family, or do you not forgive him and beco our enemy?"
Ye Xiu genuinely wanted to say he would forgive Shen Shihao and befriend the Shen Family. It would be the perfect opportunity to infiltrate them. But his pride and self-respect wouldn’t allow him to grovel and compromise. There were many paths to success. Ten years ago, Ye Xiu had not chosen to kneel in humiliating submission; now that he had everything, he was even less inclined to do so.
Dignity was his bottom line!
"You’re going to choose to forgive him, right?" Shen Monong asked, her large eyes filled with a mixture of worry and hope.
"I have this nasty habit," Ye Xiu said with a smile. "Anyone who tries to have killed, I kill their entire family."
The color drained from Shen Monong’s face, leaving it as white as paper. The expressions of the other Shen Family mbers also changed drastically.
"Since you have made your choice, you must die today. Your talent is terrifying. If we don’t kill you now and allow you to grow, you will surely beco a great enemy of the Shen Family," Shen Songshan’s voice was as cold as a devil’s whisper from Hell as he ordered, "Shen Shihao, kill him!"
"Yes!" Shen Shihao’s eyes blazed with fervor as he shouted, "Everyone, stand back! Watch slay this once-in-a-century genius."
The Shen Family mbers quickly retreated, most of them wearing expressions of confusion. They had all heard that Ye Xiu had killed Lian Zhengrong’s Great Grandmaster bodyguard last night. And today, he had kicked Lian Zhengrong to death and captured the Great Grandmaster Lian Chengbi. Clearly, Ye Xiu was also a Great Grandmaster.
Shen Shihao, an ordinary man, killing a Great Grandmaster?
"Kid, this is the first ti in my life I am openly revealing my strength. To die by my hand is an honor for you," Shen Shihao said, overjoyed.
Extrely overjoyed!
Within the Shen Family, only the Main Lineage secretly practiced martial arts from a young age. Those from the branch families with martial talent were sent to Ancient Martial Families or Sects to train. Shen Shihao had always dread of telling the world that he, Shen Shihao, was a Martial Artist—and one who possessed the strength of a War God at that. Unfortunately, Shen Songshan and Shen Qilin had never allowed it.
But today! To kill this once-in-a-century genius, Ye Xiu, Shen Songshan had actually allowed him to reveal his strength in front of so many mbers of the branch families.
Haha! He could finally show off in front of his family!
"My, aren’t you pleased with yourself," Ye Xiu said, amused by Shen Shihao’s lodramatic behavior. "Stop dawdling and make your move. Let see what this ultimate technique of the Shen Family, hidden for so many years, truly is."
"Witnessing my true strength will scare you to tears," Shen Shihao declared proudly. With that, he charged impatiently toward Ye Xiu.
He simply couldn’t hold it in any longer, so eager was he to show off.
Ye Xiu didn’t wait for Shen Shihao to reach him; he took the initiative and charged forward himself. He had no intention of revealing his identity, so he didn’t use his full strength.
"This kid is indeed a monster," Shen Songshan remarked with a sigh as he watched Ye Xiu locked in a fierce battle with Shen Shihao. "What a pity we can’t make him ours."
"Although Shihao is a War God, he severely lacks combat experience. To think he can only fight this kid to a draw," Shen Qilin said with disappointnt.
"This kid is a Great Grandmaster with unpredictable blade techniques and a wealth of combat experience. Even a typical War God couldn’t kill him in just one or two moves. With Shihao’s inexperience, it’s even harder for him to land a killing blow. Still, this is a good opportunity for Shihao to gain so combat experience," Shen Songshan noted.
Shen Qilin nodded. The Shen Family’s ultimate technique was powerful, but a lack of combat experience was its weakness.
The other mbers of the Shen Family were completely dumbfounded. None of them had ever imagined that Shen Shihao was a Martial Artist, let alone one so powerful.
"Dad, what’s going on? How can Second Uncle be a Martial Artist?" Shen Monong asked Shen Shijie in shock.
"You’ll have to ask your grandfather and great-grandfather. I can’t answer that question," Shen Shijie replied evasively. As a mber of the Main Lineage, he had also been forced to practice martial arts as a child, but his only passion was painting, so Shen Songshan and Shen Qilin had eventually given up on him.
Shen Monong didn’t dare to ask them. Soone else, however, mustered the courage. "Grandfather, Great-grandfather, when did my dad beco a Martial Artist?"
"The fact that Shen Shihao is a Martial Artist is a secret. It must not be spread. Anyone who disobeys this order will be killed!" Shen Songshan didn’t answer the question, instead issuing a gag order.
The Shen Family mbers exchanged glances. They suddenly realized that despite being part of the family, they had never been privy to its true core secrets.
"Are you using the Shen Family’s ultimate technique?" Ye Xiu asked as he fought Shen Shihao.
"That’s right!" Shen Shihao replied, his face a mask of pride and satisfaction.
"Is this the full extent of the Shen Family’s ultimate technique?" Ye Xiu asked again.
This ti, Shen Shihao didn’t answer. He felt humiliated. He, a formidable War God, was fighting a re Great Grandmaster to a standstill even after using his full power. What a disgrace!
Seeing Shen Shihao fall silent, Ye Xiu knew he had his answer. At the sa ti, he ford a precise judgnt of the Shen Family’s ultimate technique.
The mont he had arrived on the rooftop, he had noticed a strange aura emanating from Shen Qilin and Shen Songshan—a presence that transcended that of a War God. It was now clear: the Shen Family’s ultimate technique indeed possessed the ability to break through the limits of the human body. This technique allowed one to disregard the rules of the Ancient Martial Circle, which required creating one’s own martial arts to advance to Great Grandmaster and War God. Instead, one could cultivate it directly, allowing for continuous advancent.
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