I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 939 All-out war

Jiang Nan felt she hadn't done anything wrong. She just wanted to take advantage of her youth to sell herself for a good price to avenge her family. What was wrong with that?

As for Zhang Chen?

Zhang Chen understands and respects Jiang Nan, but he cannot accept Jiang Nan's ideas.

Zhang Chen is a person with ideals and aspirations. He is a flower that grew up under the red sun of the motherland, and his values ​​are the most upright.

Feeling Jiang Nan walk away from outside the door, Zhang Chen breathed a sigh of relief, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. He was about to get married, and of course he didn't want to continue getting involved with Jiang Nan.

"This woman's mind is completely consumed by revenge for her family; I'd better stay away from her," Zhang Chen thought to himself.

Zhang Chen rested in the pavilion for the night without being disturbed. However, as soon as he went down to the first floor, he saw a familiar figure standing by the railing, looking at the scenery in the distance. Sensing Zhang Chen's approach, the person turned to look at Zhang Chen and said, "I have something to say to you!"

"What's there to talk about between us?" Zhang Chen looked at Zhang Gaoqiu, his voice icy cold, devoid of any warmth between relatives.

“I am not here for personal matters,” Zhang Gaoqiu said.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen stopped in his tracks and looked at Zhang Gaoqiu. He was curious about what this guy could possibly say.

"Have you seen Shen Ling?" Zhang Gaoqiu asked.

"So what if I've seen it? So what if I haven't?" Zhang Chen said.

“Shen Ling loves you to the core, you shouldn’t betray her! You and Shen Ling are already engaged, you two are a match made in heaven. This marriage was arranged by your mother when she was alive. Our Great Sheng Dynasty governs the world with filial piety, you should not go against your mother’s wishes! If you want to develop in the Great Sheng Dynasty, you should immediately sever all ties with Zhong Xiang and marry Shen Ling to fulfill your filial duty, otherwise there will be no place for you in the Great Sheng Dynasty.” Zhang Gaoqiu said to Zhang Chen. In fact, he was also very helpless. He had vowed to the Third Prince that he would ruin the marriage between Zhang Chen and Zhong Xiang, and wanted to use the family’s righteousness to force Zhang Chen to break off his ties with Zhong Xiang. But who knew that Zhang Chen would not buy it at all, and had no respect for the elders in the family. He directly scolded the elders of the family, and some of the elders were even bedridden because of Zhang Chen’s scolding.

Zhang Chen's lawless and disrespectful nature left the entire Zhang family helpless; they had no way to deal with him. However, he still had to carry out the task assigned by the Third Prince. The Third Prince wouldn't reason with him, and if he failed to complete the task, the Third Prince would definitely take his anger out on him, causing him to lose his standing in the Third Prince's eyes.

"Isn't Shen Ling the one who likes you the most? Why don't you divorce the little princess and marry Shen Ling instead?" Zhang Chen replied sarcastically.

"Don't be unreasonable. I've already married the princess, and things are impossible between me and Shen Ling now. But you're not married yet, so there's still a great chance for you and Shen Ling!" Zhang Gaoqiu earnestly advised, "Our Zhang family has already wronged that girl once, so let's not wrong her a second time. I owe her from the past, and now I know my mistakes, so I want to find a way to make amends. But I'm already married, and I no longer have the chance to make amends. However, you still have a chance!"

Zhang Chen looked Zhang Gaoqiu up and down. This kid has improved a lot in the past few years; he's even learned to use fallacies.

"I've already broken off my engagement with Shen Ling. We have nothing to do with each other anymore. You owe Shen Ling, but I don't! It's her business if she likes me, but does that mean I have to like her too? That's utterly absurd! Why would I leave a perfectly innocent young woman to be 'of the same ilk' as you? Am I out of my mind? You liked Shen Ling so much back then, why didn't you marry her? Instead, you directly betrayed her! You created this mess and now you want me to make amends for it? Are you out of your mind?!" Zhang Chen sized up Zhang Gaoqiu, his voice laced with disdain: "You're seriously ill! How narcissistic are you to expect me to pick up your unwanted junk?"

As Zhang Chen finished speaking, Zhang Gaoqiu's face turned deathly pale. At that moment, the sound of a teacup falling suddenly came from the next room, followed by a suppressed sob that could be faintly heard from the next room.

Upon hearing the crying, Zhang Chen frowned and stared intently at Zhang Gaoqiu opposite him: "Look what you've done!"

Zhang Chen swore to God that he only wanted to provoke Zhang Gaoqiu, and of course he said whatever was provocative. He never intended to hurt Shen Ling, but who knew that Shen Ling was hiding next door?

Zhang Gaoqiu stared speechlessly at Zhang Chen, never expecting him to say such hurtful things. "Brother Zhang, am I really that worthless?" The door opened, and Shen Ling, her eyes red, walked out, her gaze fixed intently on him.

"You're a good girl. What I said just now was just a joke, meant to provoke Zhang Gaoqiu. Don't take it to heart. But there's no future for us. Don't make a fuss. What's done is done. You had your choice back then, and I have my choice now. I'm about to get engaged to Zhong Xiang. In terms of cultivation, looks, and family background, I have no reason to give her up for you!" Zhang Chen looked at Shen Ling, his voice filled with coldness.
"Besides, I am marrying a legal wife. Even if she is not from a respectable family, she must at least be a pure and innocent virgin. If I marry someone who is not clean, wouldn't I become the laughing stock of the capital? How can I hold my head up in the future?"

Seeing Shen Ling's pale face, Zhang Chen softened his tone and comforted her, "I know you're a good girl who dares to love and hate. You met a scumbag, but what can you do? Everything has already happened, there's no going back, and you can't get rid of the stain on your record. We're impossible now, and I don't want to leave you with any illusions, lest it ruin your life. Since you've heard what I said today, let's just end it directly. From now on, we'll be complete strangers. Take care of yourself!"

After finishing his sentence, Zhang Chen gave Shen Ling and Zhang Gaoqiu a cold look, then turned and disappeared into the pavilion.

"Zhang Chen, you are too heartless! How can there be such a cold-blooded person as you in this world!" Zhang Gaoqiu roared angrily as he looked at Zhang Chen's back, his voice filled with rage.

He then turned to Shen Ling and said, "If you really like Zhang Chen, then keep pestering him and create a scandal with him. Make it a big deal that everyone in the city knows about. When the Zhong family hears the news, they will feel that it is a disgrace to the family and they may break off the engagement. Then you will have another chance."

"As the saying goes, even a virtuous woman fears a persistent suitor, and a good husband also fears a woman's gentle touch," Zhang Gaoqiu said to Shen Ling.

"You're such a scumbag!" Shen Ling turned to look at Zhang Gaoqiu.

"I'm scum? Then you're blind!" Zhang Gaoqiu looked at Shen Ling with a grin, completely shameless, and even tentatively reached out to touch Shen Ling's palm, but was startled by the knife that Shen Ling pulled out of her bosom, and stopped in his tracks.

"Look at you! What are you doing? I'm just giving you advice, and you're pulling knives at me? Besides, it's not like we haven't been intimate before. You've been thirsty for so many years, haven't you wanted it already? We're just getting what we need... Hey, hey, don't pull the knife!" Zhang Gaoqiu ran away as fast as he could. He knew Shen Ling really wanted to kill him, and he didn't dare to provoke her any further. He still needed Shen Ling's help to ruin Zhang Chen's reputation and destroy his marriage.

"Zhang Chen saved my life, how could I harm him? Don't be delusional." Shen Ling coldly snorted as she watched Zhang Gaoqiu's retreating figure, then walked away with a pale face, her figure disappearing into the pavilion.

Zhang Chen walked out of the pavilion and came to a rockery to admire the scenery. The fox spirit Nannan brought him the latest information: "There's more to the story of the Zhang family and the Gong family."

"Hmm?" Zhang Chen turned his head to look at the fox spirit Nannan.

"Although the Zhang and Gong families in Kyoto have temporarily ceased hostilities under the Emperor's suppression, outside Kyoto, they have completely broken off relations and begun a full-blown war, with blood flowing like rivers. Countless direct descendants of the Zhang family left Kyoto overnight to destroy the Gong family's strongholds and businesses across the country. After the Gong family pledged allegiance to the royal family, the other members of the seven major families have secretly begun to undermine the Gong family. Although the Gong family has the support of the Great Victory Royal Family, the Great Victory Royal Family cannot openly send experts and large armies; they can only provide covert assistance. But what use is covert assistance? The Gong family is currently busy putting out fires in various places, showing signs of decline. However, the Great Victory Royal Family has surprisingly produced three twelfth-tier deities, which has indeed intimidated many people. The actions of the various regional vassal kings have quieted down considerably, and the previously crumbling Great Victory Empire now appears somewhat stable again."

“Three twelfth-order deities can indeed frighten many people. It’s reasonable that the Great Victory Dynasty, which controls the incense offerings of the world, could cultivate three twelfth-order beings.” Zhang Chen was not surprised that the Great Victory Dynasty could have three twelfth-order deities.

"Keep a close watch on the Zhang family's every move. If anything happens to them, inform me immediately," Zhang Chen said to the fox spirit Nannan.

Upon hearing this, the fox spirit Nannan nodded and disappeared from the artificial hill, leaving Zhang Chen to leisurely stroll through the mountains. However, after walking for a while, he stopped, as a familiar dog bark echoed from afar.

Zhang Chen followed the sound of the dog barking and saw a girl in a blue dress leading a large black dog, enjoying the scenery from a pavilion in the distance.

"Young Master Zhang, I didn't expect you to be out enjoying the scenery too." The girl looked like a skeleton, waving at Zhang Chen from afar.

Zhang Chen looked at Ji Feihua and walked over with a smile: "How are you feeling? How's your recovery going?"

(End of this chapter)