Chapter 319 - 316: Unexpected Helper
"So, you’re Shen Changchuan?"
Halfway there,
in a deserted valley beyond the wilds,
a figure hovered in mid-air. Arms crossed before his chest, he looked down condescendingly at Shen Changchuan, who was at the front of the carriage convoy.
"That’s right. What can I do for you?"
Gazing at the figure in mid-air,
Shen Changchuan’s expression darkened slightly.
The man before him
was none other than Zhou Lingyun, whom he had glimpsed from a distance on the tournament stage in the Shen Clan’s plaza!
’Why is he blocking my path?’
’This can’t be good!’
Shen Changchuan subtly scanned his surroundings.
He could vaguely sense
several other auras
concealed in the area,
their owners yet to reveal themselves.
Shen Changchuan’s heart sank.
"Hmph. Good."
Zhou Lingyun snorted, his voice laced with arrogance.
"I heard some chatter outside. People were saying that if you and that boy, Shen Chong, had been present, I, Zhou Lingyun, might not have been able to completely dominate the younger generation of your Shen Family!"
"So, I came to challenge you myself, just to stop a bunch of fools from spouting nonsense!"
"Heh. Coming all this way just to block my path for a challenge? You’re quite the liar."
Shen Changchuan sneered,
and without wasting any more words,
he cut straight to the point:
"The Great Madam sent you to kill me, didn’t she?"
"I have already joined the Dragon Cloud Sect and severed my family ties. I want nothing more to do with the Shen Family’s affairs."
"I am leaving precisely to escape the Shen Family’s internal power struggles."
"The Great Madam doesn’t need to waste her energy on me."
"You’re surprisingly perceptive. But I refuse!"
"Why?"
"Heh, because I don’t like the way you look at me!"
High in the air, Zhou Lingyun chuckled softly, his gaze on Shen Changchuan already like he was looking at a dead man.
"Is that so..."
Shen Changchuan sighed softly,
but inwardly, nothing had changed.
In truth, he had known all along this would be the outcome.
Judging by the Great Madam Zhou Yi’s arrogant, domineering, and unscrupulous nature, the rest of the Zhou Family couldn’t be much better.
Zhou Lingyun’s relentless mockery on the tournament stage that day was clear proof.
With him now blocking his path,
and with his reckless temperament,
even if he invoked his master, Master Wandering Dragon, there was no way he would just turn back empty-handed.
He had just been holding onto a sliver of hope,
clinging to that slim possibility and trying to avoid a fight.
After all,
he was not alone.
His mother, Han Yue’er, was right behind him.
If a fight broke out,
he might not be able to protect her.
The Zhou Family,
they truly were insufferably arrogant!
A cold glint flashed in Shen Changchuan’s eyes.
He had made it clear he wanted no part of their squabbles, yet they were still relentlessly pursuing him.
’Do they really think I’m a pushover?!’
WHOOSH!
With a flick of his sleeve,
four small yellow flags, glowing with an earthy light, shot out as streaks of light and planted themselves in the ground at the four cardinal directions around the carriage convoy behind him.
Immediately after,
an Array Plate flew out and vanished into the void.
BUZZ!
A brilliant light bloomed, and a dome-shaped, earthy-yellow protective shield materialized,
instantly enveloping the entire carriage convoy behind him!
At this sudden development,
the Cyan Flood Dragon Horses pulling the carriages whinnied uneasily and stomped their hooves, and the coachmen,
along with the maids in the carriages, all wore expressions of panic.
But Shen Changchuan had no time to pay them any mind.
His gaze was locked dead ahead.
This was a Tier One Unmoving Like a Mountain Array,
one of the spoils of war he had obtained from an enemy he’d slain.
He had already forgotten who it belonged to.
But that didn’t matter.
What mattered was that it was a defensive Array, capable of withstanding a certain degree of attack.
In order to obtain the legacy left in the cave abode of a Soul Emergence Realm expert from the Xiangshan Sect in the Border Desolate Forest, Shen Changchuan had spent some time studying the inheritance of a Basic Array Master, grinding his proficiency all the way to the Perfection level.
With the help of an Array Plate, casually deploying such an Array was no difficult task.
But a Tier One Array was still just a Tier One Array.
Faced with their battle,
he didn’t know if it could withstand the blows.
Besides,
that wasn’t the only problem.
The enemies hidden in the shadows had yet to make a move!
He had miscalculated.
He should have either left earlier,
or waited for Zhou Lingyun to leave first.
Then he wouldn’t be in this much trouble.
But even so,
Shen Changchuan felt no regret.
There was no use for regret in this world,
and now was not the time for it.
Reflection was something for after the battle.
The most important thing right now,
was to first consider how to deal with the enemy before him.
Having deployed the Unmoving Like a Mountain Array,
Shen Changchuan didn’t hesitate for a second.
BOOM!!!
Azure lightning erupted around Shen Changchuan’s body.
His figure vanished in an instant.
BANG!!!
Zhou Lingyun, who had been hovering arrogantly in mid-air with a mocking sneer, watching Shen Changchuan set up the Array, had yet to react before a fist rapidly expanded in his vision.
The punch descended with the terrifying force of a meteor!
Vast swathes of air collapsed. The punch pulled in the surrounding air, creating tidal shockwaves as layer upon layer of power, like a raging tsunami, surged forward to crush him!
Under that terrifying power,
it seemed as if the very sky was shaken!
Zhou Lingyun’s pupils shrank to the size of a pinprick!
’This is... Force?!!’
’Not good!’
But unfortunately,
he had gravely underestimated Shen Changchuan,
and Shen Changchuan was simply too fast.
And so,
the fist smashed squarely into his face!
RUMBLE!!!
A terrifying power erupted in an instant, like a volcano!
In mid-air,
the terrifying collision tore open streaks of white lightning,
and a visible shockwave instantly blasted outwards in all directions.
The trees below that were caught in the visible blast wave were instantly vaporized!
A terrifying storm of qi swept through the entire valley!
At the same time,
Zhou Lingyun’s body shot backward like a cannonball, blasting straight through a small mountain hundreds of yards away.
With a deafening roar, a hole was punched straight through the mountain,
and a cloud of dust and debris billowed into the sky!
"You’re courting..."
From a hidden spot among the mountains, a majestic pressure rose, so powerful it seemed to make the very landscape tremble.
Shen Changchuan’s breath caught in his throat.
His entire body went rigid in an instant.
However,
at that very moment,
"Just what I’d expect from another Zhou!"
"This was a fair fight. If you can’t afford to lose, then don’t play. Don’t you dare interfere!"
As a bright, clear voice that was somewhat familiar to Shen Changchuan rang out,
another vast wave of spiritual power swept in, cutting into the battlefield and intercepting the immense pressure that had just risen!