Chapter 316 - 313: Majesty
High in the sky,
Zhou Lingyun’s voice was nonchalant.
The sarcasm in his words was completely undisguised.
The faces of the Shen Family members in the surrounding square burned with a certain shame.
Upon seeing this, some of the older-generation Shen Clan Elders—Family Elders whose Cultivation was in the Middle to Late Stage of the Soul Emergence Realm—wore grim expressions.
Some clenched their fists,
desperate to teach that arrogant blowhard a harsh lesson.
But considering the reality of the situation, they ultimately had no choice but to restrain themselves.
That Zhou Lingyun was just a young man in his twenties.
By challenging the younger generation of the Shen Family under the age of fifty, he was, in a way, already making a concession.
But if they, his seniors, were to take action,
at over a hundred years of age, using their Cultivation at the Middle to Late Stage of the Soul Emergence Realm to fight him...
...that would be a case of the strong bullying the weak!
The nature of the situation would change completely!
And if they provoked the thunderous wrath of the Zhou Family,
the humble Shen Family would likely be reduced to ashes in a single day!
Thus, no matter how furious they were,
the older-generation Shen Clan Elders present could do nothing.
Meanwhile,
high in the sky,
Zhou Lingyun had not stopped. He continued,
"My aunt has told me that she has been very unhappy staying in this tiny place all these years."
"There are always insolent fools who don’t know their place, offending her dignity, defying her orders, surrounded by enemies who oppose her..."
"I was just thinking, for my aunt to marry down into your Shen Family was the greatest honor you could have received. So how dare you? Not only did you fail to treat her well, but you actually made her angry?"
"With your pathetic level of skill, you’d be the lowest of the low among the servants in our Zhou Family!"
"No matter what, my aunt is still a Legitimate Daughter of the Zhou Clan from the Central State Immortal Cultivation World!"
"She is a great lady whom you can only look up to for your entire lives!"
"After today, if I hear that my aunt is unhappy again, my Zhou Clan will make you pay the price!"
"Alternatively, you can step forward and challenge me. Defeat me, and prove you have the right to stand before me, the right to speak with my Zhou Clan as equals!"
Zhou Lingyun looked down on them, his gaze cold and indifferent.
In an instant, a piercing aura swept out in all directions, followed by a vast and powerful presence that unfurled across the square!
In that moment,
the onlookers in the crowd all felt an extremely powerful pressure!
The invisible pressure was as heavy as a mountain,
making it almost impossible to breathe!
This wasn’t just because of Zhou Lingyun’s strength, but more so because of the terrifying might of the Zhou Family that stood behind him!
This Zhou Lingyun was merely from a side branch of the Zhou Clan.
A mere junior from a side branch, barely in his twenties, was able to suppress the entire younger generation of the Shen Family so thoroughly they couldn’t even lift their heads!
With such power on display,
just how terrifying must the Zhou Clan behind him be?
It was almost too frightening to imagine!
Imperceptibly,
a sliver of fear began to grow in the hearts of the surrounding Shen Clan Cultivators.
At that moment,
"This is trouble!"
Many of the older-generation Shen Clan Elders frowned deeply,
their hearts sinking.
"What is the Zhou Clan trying to do?!"
"Backing up that woman, Zhou Yi... are they trying to seize power?!"
"Damn it! The Ancestor should never have agreed to this marriage alliance in the first place!"
"This is not a good omen!"
Having lived for the better part of a century, these Family Elders, who stood in higher positions,
could naturally see far more than the average person.
This was no longer a simple matter of losing an exchange.
Power,
comes from the people.
No matter the method, no matter the means,
the more people who listen to you, the more power you have!
And now,
the clan members, intimidated by the Zhou Family’s might,
would likely not dare to disobey Madam Zhou Yi’s orders in the future!
When more people obey,
this trend will build momentum,
and then even those who inwardly object will have no choice but to be swept along by the tide!
In this way,
the power of the Shen Clan will imperceptibly shift into that woman’s hands!
Unless the Ancestor steps in,
and uses his absolute power and prestige to halt this transfer of authority.
But,
’Was that even possible?’
The Ancestor hadn’t involved himself in clan affairs for many years.
Why would he stoop to fighting over power with a female junior over such a trivial matter?
If he actually did make a move, he’d become a laughingstock to outsiders!
For a moment,
all the branch Elders watching from the sidelines wore worried expressions.
"Excellent!"
"Xiaoyun, it wasn’t a waste for your aunt to dote on you so much back then!"
Elsewhere,
surrounded by a retinue of maids and servants, Madam Zhou Yi’s face was alight with glee as she watched from her high seat.
She wasn’t particularly adept at power struggles.
After all, the fact that she hadn’t been able to seize control of the Shen Family’s power for so many years, despite her background with the Central Zhou Clan, was a clear testament to that.
But she wasn’t a complete fool, either.
She could clearly perceive the change in the way people were looking at her—
the sense of awe and fear in their eyes was immeasurably greater than before!
She had a vague feeling that,
after the scene her nephew Zhou Lingyun had caused today, her power within the Shen Clan would expand dramatically!
’Hmph! Those bitches in the mansion, just you wait...’
A vicious glint flashed in Madam Zhou Yi’s eyes.
...
Shen Changchuan watched from a distance.
His brow furrowed slightly.
Even though he had lived two lives,
he was not the type to excel at power struggles.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had to run away several years ago to escape the vortex of the Shen Family Mansion.
But even if he wasn’t skilled in the art of political intrigue,
he could still vaguely sense the change in the atmosphere.
’In the future, the Shen Family is probably in for a major upheaval... Before, that Madam would have found it difficult to command Soul Emergence Realm Cultivators. After this battle, it probably won’t be so hard for her...’
’Once a tacit understanding is broken, what follows will likely be a matter of course...’
A profound light shimmered in Shen Changchuan’s eyes.
But very quickly,
he shook his head again.
’Forget it. Who cares?’
’I’m leaving with my mother soon anyway, getting out of this vortex.’
’After that, they can scheme and struggle all they want. It won’t have much to do with me.’
As for the Shen Family,
Shen Changchuan didn’t feel much attachment.
Aside from Shen Tingchu and the Ancestor, with whom he was relatively close, he barely knew anyone else.
Why should he care so much about them?
This was also why Shen Changchuan had no intention of stepping into the ring to fight Zhou Lingyun and win back the Shen Family’s honor.
Of course,
if the Shen Family were to face a great disaster in the future,
and if he had reached a certain level of power and had the ability to help, Shen Changchuan wouldn’t mind lending a hand to protect them, as repayment for the protection the Shen Clan’s banner had afforded him when he was weak.
But for now, he’d rather not.
’Speaking of which, if the Madam’s power surges, the one who will be most affected... isn’t that Shen Fuxing, the one who has been hiding his true self all this time?’
’Heh. I don’t know what you’re plotting, but after failing in your scheme against me, you’re the one who’s going to suffer the most now.’
Thinking of Shen Fuxing, whom he had just seen, and their previous conversation,
Shen Changchuan let out a cold laugh,
and turned to leave without a backward glance.