Chapter 70: Rebirth as the Great Villain (8) |
Su Chen emerged from the ancient empire's ruin alone. Every other young genius of the Gu Clan had perished in the frenzied battle for the saint herb. Fortunately, the journey had yielded him immense gains. News of the saint herb's appearance in the ruin spread rapidly across the domains.
Su Chen soon learned that the herb had ultimately fallen into the hands of a true disciple from the Primordial Origin Sacred Land in the Central Continent. As long as Lin Zhan had not obtained it, Su Chen cared little who finally claimed the prize.
Upon returning to the clan, the heavy losses among their prodigies left the elders heartsick and bleeding inside. Only Gu Yixian breathed a long sigh of relief. "Thank the heavens Chen'er is safe."
Everyone else could die. His grandson could not.
Back in the clan, Su Chen threw himself into cultivation with even greater ferocity. He understood clearly: allowing Lin Zhan to escape this time meant that one day in the future, Lin Zhan would inevitably march against the Gu Clan. That day would mark the clan's final war of annihilation.
Twenty years passed swiftly. Su Chen successfully broke through to the Void Refining Realm. The Heavenly Origin Body proved far superior to the Acquired Imperial Sword Body. Cultivation progressed almost without bottlenecks.
Within the clan, aside from the few supreme techniques and martial skills reserved exclusively for the clan leader, Su Chen had studied every single cultivation method and combat art the Gu Clan possessed.
"Killing Lin Zhan with my own strength alone will never be enough."
The mysterious War God Art, the legendary saint-grade artifact—these were Lin Zhan's greatest trump cards.
From time to time, he lectured the younger generation, sharing his cultivation insights without reservation. Even the other elders frequently attended his talks and occasionally gained sudden enlightenment. Outside the clan, Su Chen started forging connections with geniuses from every corner.
A century slipped by. Su Chen successfully became the Young Clan Leader of the Gu Clan. Barring any unforeseen disasters, he would be the next clan leader. He never ceased searching for traces of Lin Zhan, yet the outer starfield was impossibly vast. A hundred years was barely enough to scratch the surface.
Several waves of the clan's scouts had already perished in the attempt. On this day, a major figure arrived in the Azure Profound Dynasty. Su Chen descended directly upon the dynasty.
Under the resources Lin Zhan had once left behind, combined with the protection of the Azure Profound Martial Mansion, the Lin family had risen dramatically in power. They had even produced a Spirit Soul Realm cultivator.
Su Chen sensed several powerful auras sweep over him. Then a black-robed elder appeared before him.
"Greetings, Young Clan Leader."
Su Chen nodded. He had long ago ordered surveillance on both the Lin family and the Azure Profound Dynasty. The moment Lin Zhan showed himself, an inescapable net would close around him. Yet a full century had passed without the slightest sign of Lin Zhan.
Su Chen estimated that Lin Zhan's current cultivation was no weaker than his own—perhaps even stronger. Patience had finally run dry.
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At the Lin family estate, every member of the clan knelt trembling on the ground, staring up at the terrifying young man who had descended without warning.
"My lord… what is the meaning of this?"
Lin Zhan's father, Lin Yunpeng, asked in confusion. He could not fathom how they had offended such a fearsome figure.
Su Chen gave a cold, mirthless smile. "Blame only your excellent son. I once gave your Lin family a path to survival. Unfortunately, your son refused to take it."
Lin Yunpeng tried to protest, but the Gu Clan powerhouses suppressed him instantly. Everyone with deep ties to Lin Zhan was dragged away and imprisoned in the clan's dungeon.
As for the remaining Lin family members, Su Chen showed no mercy. He ordered them executed on the spot. Next, he paid a visit to the Azure Profound Martial Mansion. There, he rounded up Lin Zhan's closest friends from those days, along with one of his former confidantes, and had them all transported to the Gu Clan's prison. Even a prince of the Azure Profound Dynasty who had once been acquainted with Lin Zhan was not spared—he too was locked away in the dungeon.
Yet still, Lin Zhan did not appear.
This turn of events left Su Chen feeling deeply troubled. The once hot-tempered and impulsive Lin Zhan had apparently learned the art of patience. He now lurked in the shadows like a venomous serpent, quietly biding his time and cultivating in silence.
Hatred had tempered him, shaving away his sharp edges and forging something far more dangerous. An enemy blessed with immense destiny and capable of such restraint was undoubtedly one of the most difficult kinds to face.
Five hundred years passed in the blink of an eye, and Lin Zhan still had not appeared.
Su Chen's cultivation had reached the ninth layer of Void Refining Realm—only one step away from Nirvana. What surprised him most was that this very year, his grandfather Gu Yixian had also broken through once more, advancing to the seventh layer of the Nirvana Realm. He now stood second only to the clan leader in power.
The old clan leader's lifespan was nearing its end. He had sealed himself in the ancestral land to await his final moments. Gu Yixian assumed the role of acting clan leader.
…
In the outer starfield.
After escaping the ancient empire's ruin all those years ago, Lin Zhan had endured countless trials, both great and small. One after another, members of the War God Hall had died shielding him. His former confidante had perished protecting him as well.
The failure to seize the saint herb had left his master in his twilight years, weakened and vulnerable. When powerful enemies besieged him, the old quasi-saint had died right before Lin Zhan's eyes. These repeated losses had forced Lin Zhan to grow.
He learned to become steady, cold-blooded, and utterly ruthless in seizing every opportunity that would make him stronger. He rebuilt the War God Hall from the ashes. Its name soon echoed across the outer void. Even true disciples from the sequence lists of sacred lands had fallen to his halberd. He attracted countless followers. The War God Hall now brimmed with powerful experts.
Deep in the starfield, Lin Zhan was locked in combat with a formidable extraterrestrial powerhouse. They exchanged only a handful of blows before Lin Zhan's single halberd strike reduced his opponent to a bloody mist.
After the kill, not a trace of excitement crossed Lin Zhan's face. His eyes remained calm and indifferent, as though such victories had become routine.
At that moment, a being with long antennae approached and dropped to one knee in reverence.
"Venerable, the War God Hall's hundred-thousand-strong army has finished mustering. We await only your command to march together back to the Heavenly Profound Domain."
A faint smile finally touched Lin Zhan's icy features. He had waited far too long for this day. To exact vengeance upon the Gu Clan, he had endured more than anyone could imagine.
He had learned of his father's capture. He knew his friends and loved ones in the Heavenly Profound Domain had been imprisoned by the Gu Clan. Yet he had remained unmoved, repeatedly reminding himself that any return would walk straight into a meticulously prepared trap.
He had even accounted for the possibility that the Gu Clan would activate their guardian saint artifact. His opponent was the same man who, back when Lin Zhan had been a mere Spirit Soul Realm cultivator, had summoned two Nirvana Realm Venerables to hunt him down without hesitation.
Cautious. Ruthless. Resourceful beyond measure.
Lin Zhan had to admit—even compared to the sacred sons of sacred lands, in some ways, Su Chen was the more troublesome foe.
"Father… Grandfather… Qing'er… I will annihilate the entire Gu Clan. I will offer Gu Chen's head in sacrifice to your spirits!"
The War God Hall's hundred-thousand-strong army set out for the Heavenly Profound Domain.