I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 1004 The world is in chaos
Marquis Yinbo is dead. A dignified marquis was beheaded amidst thousands of troops for a fabricated crime. If word got out, he would be ridiculed by the world.

Zhang Chen's eyes were fixed on the distant battlefield. With the death of Silver Foil Marquis, the battlefield was in chaos. After killing Silver Foil Marquis, the twelfth-tier god seemed to sense Zhang Chen's gaze. He turned his head and looked in the direction of Zhang Chen's gaze. In an instant, their eyes met. A murderous intent flashed in the twelfth-tier god's eyes, but he quickly withdrew it and disappeared from the spot.

Zhang Chen is also a twelfth-level powerhouse, and has even broken through to the twelfth level. The backlash he suffers from the heavens and earth is greater, and he will definitely die before them. Therefore, Zhang Chen is not a threat to the Great Victory Royal Family in the future, so there is no need for him to oppose Zhang Chen.

On the contrary, if he were to fight Zhang Chen at this moment, given Zhang Chen's ability to kill the Corpse Ancestor with a single slap, he would most likely be no match for him. If he were to get himself killed, it would be disastrous.

So the deity vanished in a flash.

“He’s gone!” Zhang Gaqi breathed a sigh of relief. “I just saw his gaze fall on me, and I was really afraid he would kill someone.”

"He won't lay a hand on me," Zhang Chen chuckled softly, his voice full of certainty.

Zhang Gaqi was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, wondering where Zhang Chen's confidence came from. However, Zhang Chen did not explain, nor did he press for an answer.

"With the death of Marquis Silver Foil, his sons will surely fight for the throne, plunging into a civil war. Even the various lords around Marquis Silver Foil will take the opportunity to send troops to devour his territory. This region will be in great chaos in the future." Zhang Gaqi's voice was filled with inexplicable melancholy.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen did not respond, but turned and walked back to the cabin. He had no interest in the chaos of the world.

The large ship continued northward, but after a month, it had to stop again.

In the distance, a terrifying aura swirled, shaking the heavens and seemingly about to tear the earth apart and pierce the sky.

Zhang Chen sat upright in the cabin, sensing the fluctuations outside, and couldn't help but frown: "Is it the twelfth-level god of the Great Victory Royal Family making a move again?"

At this moment, a scout reported to Zhang Gaqi: "Sir, the waterway ahead is blocked. A powerful figure has intervened and cut off the river. Our ships will be stranded if we continue to travel."

"Stop for now, and I will make a decision after informing the head of the family." Zhang Chen was on the large ship, and Zhang Gaqi did not dare to act arbitrarily. He turned and arrived at Zhang Chen's cabin. The door opened, and Zhang Gaqi walked directly into the cabin, where he saw Zhang Chen reading a book.

"Master, the Great Victory Dynasty is ahead..."

Zhang Gaqi was halfway through his report when Zhang Chen interrupted him: "I already know what happened. It was the twelfth-tier deity of the Great Victory Royal Family who made the move. Let's wait a few hours, and then the outcome will be decided." Zhang Chen said without looking up.

"Yes!"

Zhang Gaqi replied and then went to instruct the boatman outside.

Sure enough, three hours later, the battle subsided, the river, which had been diverted, resumed its course, and the large ship set sail again. Zhang Gaqi, his face grim, came to Zhang Chen's cabin to report: "I've gathered information that this place is the territory of Marquis Tongbei. That twelfth-tier deity killed Marquis Tongbei and left directly. I've even heard that more than a hundred kings and marquises who don't live near the river have died in just one month. It seems that the twelfth-tier deity was targeting them one by one, sweeping away the kings and marquises from the capital towards Jinling. All the kings and marquises along the way have perished."

"Such a thing is true?" Zhang Chen was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, his eyes filled with astonishment: "Has the Dasheng royal family gone mad? Why would they turn on their own people?"

His eyes were filled with astonishment and confusion. Logically, this shouldn't be the case.
"The Great Victory Royal Family has gone mad! After the various lords were suppressed and killed by the Great Victory Royal Family's experts, their territories have fallen into complete chaos. Some lords have rebelled, some have their sons vying for the throne, and the fighting has continued unabated, plunging the land into utter chaos. Blood has flowed like rivers, and the government's orders are completely ineffective." Zhang Gaqi's voice was full of incomprehension. He simply couldn't understand why the Great Victory Royal Family would do such a thing.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen had some speculation. After all, when the ancestors of the Chai family were nearing the end of their lives, they had dragged the eight great families into the mess. Now that the end of the Dharma era has arrived, the Chai family will naturally rely on their advantages to drag the whole world into the mess.

If the world descends into chaos, and only the Chai family remains steadfast, then the Chai family can launch a military campaign to sweep across the land, bringing all the major lords under the complete control of the royal family. At that time, the Chai family will not only be a nominal lord, but the true ruler of the world who controls the core of the human race.

“This is nothing. All the vassal kings within the territory of the Great Victory Royal Family will be beheaded; not a single one will be left alive,” Zhang Chen said to Zhang Gaqi.

"Huh? How could this be? Is the Great Victory Royal Family going to destroy its own Great Wall?" Zhang Gaqi was shocked to hear this, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Not so! The Great Victory Royal Family believes in the principle of 'no destruction, no construction.' They want to sweep across the world and establish a kingdom entirely ruled by the Great Victory Royal Family. If the leaders of the various lords don't die, how can the Great Victory Royal Family have the opportunity to sweep across the world?" Zhang Chen said with a smile.

"The Great Victory royal family is a wolf in sheep's clothing, causing chaos throughout the land for their own selfish desires. They are truly unworthy to be the rulers of our human race. Aren't they afraid of being condemned by all the lords? Aren't they afraid of inciting public outrage and causing the lords to become disloyal?" Zhang Gaqi angrily retorted. "The Great Victory royal family became the rulers of the human race by virtue of their supreme military might. In the end, everything in this world will be decided by force." Zhang Chen glanced at Zhang Gaqi: "Let's continue sailing. In the future, my Zhang family will rule the northern lands, and our descendants will certainly spare no effort to maintain the legitimacy of our rule."

The large ship continued its journey, and after another three months, a cry of alarm rang out, prompting Zhang Chen to go out and look. He saw the Zhang family members surrounding the railing, looking down. Zhang Chen went closer to look and saw that the river at his feet had turned red with blood, and the stench of blood was overwhelming and made it hard to breathe.

"How did the river water turn into blood? How many lives have died to cause such a tragic scene?" Old Master Zhong stood on the deck, staring at the river water, speechless.

"Go and find out what's happening ahead." Zhang Gaqi quickly ordered the guards to go and find out the news. Before long, a guard returned and reported: "Reporting to the master, a great battle has taken place in the territory of Marquis Rende ahead. Millions of people have died, and the blood is flowing from the territory of Marquis Rende."

Since traveling from Kyoto to the northern regions involves going upstream, it's not surprising that blood would flow there.

"Millions of people died in the territory of Marquis Rende? What calamity happened?" Old Master Zhong asked with a look of horror.

The guard said solemnly, "It is the deity of the Great Victory Royal Family who has made a move."

The cabin fell into a deathly silence. After a long while, Zhou Qiucheng gritted his teeth and said, "The Great Victory Royal Family has gone mad! They're all a bunch of lunatics! How dare they commit such a tragedy? Our human race has already suffered heavy losses from the invasion of the demon race, and now the Great Victory Royal Family has stirred up internal strife. I'm afraid our human race's position is in jeopardy!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen fell silent, momentarily at a loss for words to judge the actions of the royal family, finding no suitable words to describe them other than calling them a bunch of madmen.

“They’ve all gone mad!” Zhang Chen sighed softly.

Zhou Qiucheng turned to look at Zhang Chen, who was taken aback: "Why is the old man looking at me like that?"

“He can take his place, solve the suffering of all people, and end this chaotic world.” Zhou Qiucheng said to Zhang Chen, “Even if I have to risk my old bones, I will lend you a hand.”

Zhang Chen smiled bitterly upon hearing this: "I have no ambition for royal power or hegemony. Besides, the world has changed drastically. All I seek is self-preservation. I have no desire for royal power or hegemony."

"You may wish to live a secluded life in a corner of the world, but when the tide of history truly rolls down, can you truly escape it?" Zhou Qiucheng earnestly advised Zhang Chen.
"It would be better to seize this opportunity and sweep across the world while it is in chaos."

“There are still countless experts and many old masters hiding in the world right now. Even if I wanted to sweep across the world, this is not the best time to make a move.” Zhang Chen rejected the other party’s suggestion.

For Zhang Chen, resolving the tribulation he was about to face was the real big problem; everything else was trivial compared to life and death.

“If you are determined to conquer the world and avert the catastrophe that has befallen our human race, you might as well choose a wise ruler. In that time, there may be hope to restore peace to our human race.” Zhang Chen advised Zhou Qiucheng in return.

Zhou Qiucheng shook his head upon hearing this: "A person's ability is limited only by the amount of food they can eat. I know my own abilities. If you ask me to educate a region, I can do it, but if you ask me to manage a region, I cannot do it. You should know that the chaos in Jinling City back then is right before our eyes. I couldn't even manage Jinling City well, so how could I have the ability to manage the world?"

Zhang Chen glanced at Zhou Qiucheng; this old man did have some self-awareness.

However, the world is too vast. Zhang Chen had a premonition that if the future truly marks the end of the Dharma, the world will inevitably be torn apart. As for the unification of the world? That would be almost impossible!

It would take ten years to travel from Kyoto to the northern region and back. How could information be transmitted?
To want to unify the world is a pipe dream.

Zhang Chen, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, changed the subject: "Since we have nothing to do, would you two gentlemen be willing to play a game of chess with me?"

Zhong Wubai became interested: "I'll do it! I'll do it!"

He became interested; he was bored on the ship and decided to pass the time by playing chess.

Just as the two set up the chessboard and were about to start a game, a guard rushed over and said, "Master, someone has blocked our way with a small boat. They say they are an old acquaintance of yours and a friend of yours. They specifically asked to see you by name."

(End of this chapter)