Chapter 1341: The Outbreak of War

Zhong Xiang might be praising himself, but Zhang Chen felt the other was cursing him, and in a particularly unpleasant way.

The Zhang Family truly lived up to its reputation as an ancient race with countless years of inheritance, having an expertise in survival strategies. As the direct lineage of the Zhang Family steadily gathered, the Third Uncle opened a mechanism inside the ancestral hall, revealing a secret passage three meters high and two meters wide. The passage was lined with niches, within which lamps made from demon beast oil were burning, illuminating the entire corridor.

The design of the underground passage was extremely intricate; despite being hidden from the daylight, the air circulated normally and didn’t feel stuffy.

As teams of people entered the passage, Zhang Chen stood in a pavilion in the courtyard, overlooking the entire yard from a high vantage point. At that moment, the entire Zhang Family courtyard was under strict security, allowing anyone to enter but forbidding anyone to leave. Anyone who entered the yard would be watched by the guards.

The Zhang Family issued such orders out of helplessness, after all, the spies from the Great Victory Dynasty were everywhere, and many within the Zhang Family had ambiguous ties with the royal family. If another Zhang Shenqi, who was close to the royal family, emerged, the Zhang Family would face extinction that very day.

Though Zhang Chen had cultivated the Immortal Dao and reached the Twelfth Tier, the Great Victory Dynasty was not weak. No matter how strong he was, it would still take time to kill the Dynasty’s experts, and during that time, the Dynasty could destroy the Zhang Family hundreds or even thousands of times.

If Zhang Chen were alone, able to come and go as he pleased, he wouldn’t fear anyone. But once he had family, once he had attachments, he also had weaknesses and more concerns; he could no longer flip the table recklessly and thoughtlessly.

Like the situation in Kyoto this time, if it weren’t for the considerations of the Zhang Family, for his little brothers and sisters, Zhang Chen would have flipped the table directly. Why would he fear the Great Victory court?

Even if the Great Victory court was strong, he could still retreat at will if he couldn’t fight. With his abilities, occasionally causing trouble would be enough to make the court loudly chaotic and uneasy.

As the sky grew darker, the direct lineage within five generations of the Zhang Family silently and discreetly escaped through the passage, leaving only an empty shell.

As for the clansmen beyond five generations? As the saying goes: “The grace of a gentleman is severed by the fifth generation,” beyond five generations, though still relatives, are no longer that closely related, only strangers bound by interests, so the royal court would not hold too much anger.

The members of the Zhang Family left, but Zhang Gaqi stayed behind. He stood beside Zhang Chen and asked, “How will you handle tomorrow?”

“Just summon some clansmen and put on a show, go through the motions, and then let the clansmen withdraw, leaving the six families and the royal family to fight fiercely,” Zhang Chen said.

“Your actions will provoke the Great Victory royal family, causing them to retaliate against those distant relatives. Although their blood ties with the Zhang Family have faded, the same blood flows through our veins, we have the same ancestor, they are ultimately our descendants,” Zhang Gaqi wanted to persuade Zhang Chen to consider a more comprehensive plan.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen replied, “Don’t worry, once the six families are destroyed, the Great Victory royal family will have no opportunity to act against us. I will naturally cause the royal family to suffer losses and expend their foundations, leaving them frazzled in the future. My strategic methods are beyond your comprehension.”

After hearing Zhang Chen’s words, Zhang Gaqi said no more, acknowledging Zhang Chen’s candid truth that his strategic methods were indeed beyond the comprehension of their ordinary minds.

“How did you subdue Prince Pingbian, making him cooperate with your scheme?” Zhang Gaqi was puzzled. Zhang Chen had killed Prince Pingbian’s son, yet Prince Pingbian was still obediently complying with Zhang Chen, which was quite baffling.

Zhang Chen turned to glance at Zhang Gaqi, realizing the misunderstanding that he had plotted to have Prince Pingbian petition the court, use it as a chance to divide the Zhang Family internally, seize power, and simultaneously mislead the Great Victory royal family.

But Zhang Chen did not explain, simply saying, “It’s quite simple; I possessed Prince Pingbian and transformed him into my puppet.”

He did not hide this from Zhang Gaqi because there was no need to conceal such matters; even if spoken aloud, no one would believe it, and no one would have the ability to verify it, for now, the Blood God Child was Prince Pingbian himself, and Prince Pingbian was the Blood God Child.

Zhang Gaqi, upon hearing this, was stunned, staring blankly at Zhang Chen for a moment before finally praising, “Impressive skill!”

Zhang Gaqi asked no further questions, not probing into how Zhang Chen had possessed Prince Pingbian or what state Zhang Chen and Prince Pingbian were in, before turning and disappearing from Zhang Chen’s view.

Standing in the darkness, within his meticulous perception, Zhang Chen sensed a large group from the Gong Family also retreating silently. However, the Gong Family’s method was quite peculiar; they took out a cloth bag and placed their entire direct lineage inside, then blended into the crowd on the street and left the city.

“Who dares challenge me under heaven? In the future, this world will no longer be ruled by the Great Victory Dynasty,” Zhang Chen muttered to himself, before his figure flickered and vanished from the scene.

The next morning

A familiar figure appeared at the Zhang Family, and the old eunuch Dugu Qiu came to see Zhang Chen.

“What brings you here, godfather?” Zhang Chen expressed surprise upon seeing the arriving Dugu Qiu.

“I am the one responsible for annihilating the Lei family this time, and your Zhang Family will be under my command,” Dugu Qiu said.

Zhang Chen, upon hearing this, looked at Dugu Qiu with a bewildered expression: “Didn’t your innate spiritual treasure already get destroyed? Why are you still leading the team?”

He never imagined that he actually set up a trap for Dugu Qiu. If Dugu Qiu led the Zhang Family to fight, but in the blink of an eye, the Zhang Family people fled and sold him out, wouldn’t Dugu Qiu be doomed?

Zhang Chen truly didn’t expect that Dugu Qiu would be leading the team. In principle, there are only two Innate Spiritual Treasures left in the Great Victory Dynasty, which should be controlled by the dynasty’s own people and not given to outsiders.

Upon hearing this, Dugu Qiu sighed deeply, understanding the meaning behind Zhang Chen’s words. He wasn’t foolish; he clearly heard the awkwardness in Zhang Chen’s words, and thus he said, “I am also bound and restrained by that banner.”

When Zhang Chen heard this, he understood why the Great Victory Dynasty trusted Dugu Qiu. However, Zhang Chen could not betray Dugu Qiu either; what if he inadvertently caused Dugu Qiu’s death?

So Zhang Chen asked, “Godfather, are you the only one here? What about the masters from the royal family? What about the ancestors?”

“They are holding the line at the rear,” Dugu Qiu replied.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen felt reassured. Even if he led the Zhang Family’s forces to retreat, Dugu Qiu likely would not die from being trapped.

“Gather the troops, let’s move,” Dugu Qiu ordered.

Zhang Chen nodded upon hearing this and said to a servant in the distance, “Inform Fourth Uncle, we can act now.”

With Zhang Chen’s command, under Dugu Qiu’s leadership, the Zhang Family gathered tens of thousands of people, dispersing into hundreds of groups rushing towards the Lei family’s enterprises in all directions. Zhang Chen instructed these people to scatter, mainly to seize the Lei family’s wealth.

Zhang Chen himself led over ten thousand people, arriving at the old house of the Lei family, and without another word, he led the Zhang Family to attack and directly slay the Lei family members.

The other side caused trouble on his wedding day; he must avenge this great vendetta.

“How dare you, who dares to be unruly in my Lei Family?” A rebuking voice echoed, and in the void, thunder flashed, as someone maneuvered a lightning-lit orb to attack Zhang Chen and others.

“An Innate Spiritual Treasure! And it’s thunder attribute!” Zhang Chen showed an astonished expression.

As thoughts flashed through his mind, Dugu Qiu beside him made a move, transforming into a golden-yellow small golden figure, rushing towards the lightning: “The Lei family has rebelled, by order of the Great Victory Human King, all Lei family members will be executed immediately!”

Zhang Chen looked at Dugu Qiu, who had transformed into a figure of pure gold, with a touch of astonishment in his eyes: “What a peculiar treasure, an Innate Spiritual Treasure of the Golden Body type.”

The two entangled, and extraordinary energy erupted, startling everyone to stay away from the battlefield. Zhang Chen led the Zhang Family in rampant slaughter at the Lei family, plundering their treasures.

The Lei family wanted to ally with Prince Pingbian’s Mansion against him, and he certainly wouldn’t be merciful.

“Bastards! How dare the Great Victory Dynasty openly attack my Lei Family! Prince Pingbian will never let you off easily!” The Lei family’s old ancestor, seeing his continually slaughtered family members, began to curse furiously.

With calculated planning against an unsuspecting opponent, one side gathered elites early, while the other was caught off guard, resulting in a nearly one-sided massacre.

As the slaughter of the Lei family began, the other six families now had cries of battle reaching the sky, with extraordinary power erupting continuously, and Kyoto plunged into chaos.

Zhang Chen stood in place, his eyes looking into the distance, sensing the terrifying killing intent from the six families, with a hint of curiosity in his gaze: “It has finally begun!”

Once begun, there is no turning back, just a relentless path to death, and the Great Victory Dynasty cannot intervene.

Zhang Chen’s eyes revealed a cunning glint: “All Zhang Family disciples retreat, the Lei family’s reinforcements should be arriving soon, let’s withdraw before they come and plunder the Lei family’s properties in the city.”

With a battle at the Lei family, as long as the Lei family’s disciples in the city aren’t foolish, they will all come to help, and Zhang Chen wouldn’t have the Zhang Family disciples fight to the death with the Lei family members. He chose to raid the other treasure troves while the Lei family’s experts left their own properties.

As for how the Great Victory court might think?

Zhang Chen doesn’t concern himself with such matters!

With Zhang Chen’s words, the Zhang Family disciples began an orderly retreat, and Dugu Qiu, engaged in battle, immediately sensed something was wrong, understanding that he was probably being set up. He could roughly guess Zhang Chen’s plan but couldn’t figure out where Zhang Chen got the courage, wasn’t he afraid of the royal family’s retribution afterward?

How Zhang Chen would evade the royal family’s retribution, Dugu Qiu did not know, but at this moment, the old ancestors of the Great Victory Dynasty hiding in the shadows saw the Zhang Family disciples retreating continuously and were instantly enraged, their eyes ablaze, filled with anger and unable to resist directly rushing out and chopping Zhang Chen to pieces.