Chapter 266: The Fall of the Dragon King! A Trap for the Immortal!
Since Han Qi, the Dragon King Son-in-law and Child of Destiny, had his Destiny Value completely plundered and his Child of Destiny Halo shattered into dust...
He was no longer a protagonist. He was just a broken man chained to a chair, staring at his nemesis with hollow eyes.
There was no need to pay him any more attention. No more games.
Shen Anyu's eyes flashed with a cold, golden light.
[God-Level Telekinesis].
He didn't lift a finger. He simply projected his will.
An invisible force bypassed Han Qi's skin and ribs, penetrating directly into his chest cavity. It wrapped around his beating heart like a ghostly hand.
Squelch.
With a thought, Shen Anyu clenched his mental fist.
Han Qi's heart was crushed instantly.
Han Qi's body convulsed once. His eyes widened, then glazed over. His head slumped forward onto his chest.
The Dragon King died in silence, without even a final roar.
Shen Anyu sensed the life fading away completely.
"Clean."
He calmly ordered the guards standing by.
"Send Han Qi's body to Han Xiu in the Capital."
"Tell him... I originally intended for the brothers to meet. A touching reunion of siblings separated by fate. There would have been much to say."
Shen Anyu sighed theatrically, shaking his head.
"But alas... Han Qi had a weak heart. He couldn't handle the excitement of his failure. He passed away just like that. A tragedy. Truly a tragedy."
The female guard stiffened her face, biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing at the Young Master's dark humor.
"Yes, Young Master. We will handle the logistics."
She signaled her subordinates. They unchained Han Qi's corpse from the cross and dragged him out of the cell, his expensive suit trailing on the dirty floor.
Shen Anyu watched them go. His eyes were deep, lost in thought.
Han Qi was gone. But his legacy remained.
The Dragon King Society—a massive underground empire spanning several provinces—and his personal assets worth billions.
Shen Anyu already had a comprehensive plan for this inheritance. He wasn't going to let it go to waste.
"I will hand over the Dragon King Society to Luo Yuhe."
He made the decision mentally.
Luo Yuhe. The Destined Heroine from the "War God Returns" arc. The beautiful widow and mother.
After Shen Anyu detoxified her and fed her a steady diet of [Essence Nourishing Pills] and [Qi Nourishing Pills], her cultivation had skyrocketed.
She had already reached the Grandmaster (Peak) realm. She was only a hair's breadth away from becoming a Great Grandmaster.
Among all of Shen Anyu's women, Luo Yuhe currently held the top spot in raw martial strength. She was talented, ruthless when necessary, and possessed the commanding aura of a matriarch.
Compare her to someone like Liu Mi—a sycophantic, fun-loving rich girl. Liu Mi had poor martial arts aptitude. Even if Shen Anyu fed her pills like candy, she would be lucky to reach the Innate Realm. She was a pet, not a general.
But Luo Yuhe was a sword.
"With Luo Yuhe in control as the new 'Dragon Queen,' and me as her backer... the Dragon King Society will be as stable as Mount Tai."
"It will become my black glove. My shadow army."
The Dragon King Society was useful. There were some unsavory matters—assassinations, smuggling, intimidation—that the Yanxia Shen Family (Political) and the Yanxia An Family (Business) found inconvenient to handle directly. It would stain their reputation.
But a criminal syndicate? They could do the dirty work.
It was especially effective in finding and dealing with future Sons of Destiny who might pop up in the gutters.
"Han Qi poured his heart and blood into building this empire. He wanted to use it to fight me."
"And now... in the blink of an eye... it has become a wedding dress for me."
Shen Anyu smiled.
As for Han Qi's personal assets—the secret accounts, the properties?
"Give them to Liu Qingyue."
The logic was simple. Liu Qingyue was Han Qi's legal wife (soon to be widow). She was the rightful heir.
And since Liu Qingyue belonged to Shen Anyu... the money belonged to him anyway. Plus, the [Licking Dog Cashback System] would trigger when he "gifted" her this wealth.
"I get the money, the woman, the organization, and the cashback. I really am generous to my own people."
...
Following this, Shen Anyu turned his gaze back to the dungeon.
Across the bars of Cell Number One.
Ye Yan was still there.
He had watched quietly as Han Qi's body was carried out. He felt a sense of shared sorrow. A fellow protagonist, fallen.
Ye Yan sighed deeply. He looked at Shen Anyu with cold, dead eyes.
"Shen Anyu. Do it."
His voice was raspy.
"You killed him. Now kill me. Give me a quick death!"
Shen Anyu shook his head, smiling as he walked up to the bars.
"Life is precious, Ye Yan. Why are you in such a hurry to die? Don't you want to see the sun again?"
Ye Yan merely sneered.
Shen Anyu paused. He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"Besides... a family should be together."
"I can't send you off alone. It would be lonely."
"At least... I have to kill your Master, Tian Yunzi, before I send you on your way. You can hold hands on the Road to the Yellow Springs."
Ye Yan's expression changed. He forced a mocking laugh, looking at Shen Anyu with disdain.
"My Master? Hah!"
"That old man is profoundly knowledgeable! He is a Heavenly Human (Tian Ren) expert! He can fly! He can shake mountains!"
"You, Shen Anyu... a despicable and shameless scoundrel who relies on tricks... you cannot possibly kill him! He will crush you like an ant!"
Shen Anyu, instead of getting angry, smiled wider.
He looked at Ye Yan with a dissecting gaze.
"Are you trying to provoke me?"
"Are you trying to make me angry... so I kill you quickly?"
Shen Anyu's eyes pierced through Ye Yan's soul.
"Are you afraid that I will use you as a hostage to lure your Master into a trap?"
"Are you worried in your heart that I will actually succeed in killing Tian Yunzi?"
Boom!
Shen Anyu's three rhetorical questions hit the mark.
Ye Yan's expression changed drastically. His mask of disdain crumbled, replaced by panic.
That's right. He was deliberately provoking Shen Anyu. He was begging for death.
Why?
Because he knew the danger.
He knew that if he remained alive, he would be the ultimate weakness of Tian Yunzi.
Although a Heavenly Human Unity level expert is powerful... this is no longer the era of cold weapons. It is the era of technology.
In the ancient times, a Heavenly Human could roam freely in the Imperial Palace, killing the Emperor amidst a hundred thousand guards. No one could stop them. They were gods among men.
But in the 21st century?
No matter how powerful a Heavenly Human is... can his body withstand a cruise missile? A fuel-air bomb that burns all oxygen? A neutron bomb? Or even a tactical nuke?
No.
There would be nothing left but ash.
This was why modern Martial Arts World experts were increasingly low-key and reclusive. They hid in deep mountains or served the state. They knew that the true power lay in the hands of those who controlled the "Button."
Of course, the State wouldn't just nuke a city to kill one man. That would be insane.
But Shen Anyu... he had the resources of the Shen and An families. He had access to private armies, heavy weaponry, and... his own experts.
Shen Anyu's maternal grandfather was a Heavenly Human expert himself. A legend of the military. If he acted, combined with a trap using Ye Yan as bait...
Tian Yunzi would die.
And Ye Yan knew his Master. Tian Yunzi was a "Good Master." He was loyal to a fault. If he knew Ye Yan was being tortured, he would come. He would walk into the trap.
"I cannot let that happen," Ye Yan thought desperately.
"I must die. If I die, Master will sense it. He will know it's too late. He will seek revenge from the shadows instead of walking into a trap."
But... he had no way out.
His cultivation was crippled. His limbs were useless.
He was bound by heavy alloy shackles.
He had been injected with enough high-grade anesthetic to sedate ten African elephants. His body was numb.
He couldn't even bite his tongue to commit suicide. The guards watched him 24/7.
Ye Yan felt an indescribable sense of powerlessness.
Despair!
It was suffocating.
Facing this Young Master of the Yanxia Shen Family... he couldn't think of a single way to break the situation. He was checkmated.
[Ding! The Child of Destiny, Ye Yan, is in absolute despair and powerlessness!]
[Ding! Plundering +9,999 Destiny Value!]
...
Shen Anyu saw the light die in Ye Yan's eyes. He nodded, satisfied.
"Take good care of him."
Shen Anyu chuckled and gave an order to the guards.
"Don't let him die. Don't let him sleep. Keep him... fresh."
Then he left the dungeon, his footsteps echoing on the stairs.
Behind him, several female guards, their faces filled with anger at Ye Yan's insults towards their master, stepped forward.
They brandished barbed steel whips and red-hot branding irons.
"Damn it! How dare you insult our Young Master?"
"You piece of trash! We'll teach you some manners!"
Crack! Sizzle!
Ye Yan's screams rose and fell in the darkness, a symphony of suffering.
...
[Location: Guyun Mountain, Jiangbei Province]
Thousands of miles away.
In a deep, ancient mountain shrouded in clouds and mist all year round.
An old man sat on a rock, meditating. He had white hair and a long beard, exuding an otherworldly demeanor that merged with nature.
It was Tian Yunzi.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes.
His heart palpitated. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Why... why do I feel so uneasy?"
He looked towards the direction of Magic City. The clouds there seemed dark, tinged with blood.
"Could something have happened to Yan'er?"
"He has the Netherworld Token. He has my blade. He should be invincible in the secular world."
But the feeling of dread only grew stronger. It was a premonition of doom.
Tian Yunzi stood up. His aura exploded, scattering the clouds around the peak.
"No. I cannot sit here."
"I must go down the mountain."
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