I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 982 The Storm Subsides

What will the King of Victory do?
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen's gaze shifted, his eyes sweeping across the distance, a meaningful smile appearing in his eyes: "I believe that the Great Victory King is a smart man, someone who is good at assessing the situation. A smart man will naturally make the smartest choice."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Qiu looked at Zhang Chen with a serious expression in his eyes: "You've caught the Great Victory Royal Family completely off guard."

Zhang Chen smiled upon hearing this: "I'm just being myself, always adhering to the rules and regulations, and I've never done anything out of line."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Qiu fell silent. Zhang Chen claimed to be law-abiding? He was simply trying to fool someone!
He didn't believe that Zhang Chen wasn't secretly behind this chaos in Kyoto!
Kyoto was still in chaos, with corpse worms and monsters constantly running rampant and injuring people. Fortunately, the dragon energy suppressed the monsters, turning them into ordinary wild animals. With the intervention of a twelfth-level deity and the help of Kyoto's guards, the monsters were being continuously killed, and the situation was slowly improving.

A group of people arrived at the palace. After being announced, Zhang Chen was escorted into the pavilion by guards.

"Minister Zhang, what's wrong with you? Who was that damned bastard who dared to forge an imperial edict? I, the King, will exterminate his entire clan!" The moment the Great Victory King saw Zhang Chen, he roared angrily, his voice filled with fury.

Zhang Chen was taken aback when he heard what the Great Victory King said. He hadn't expected the Great Victory King to start shifting the blame so soon after they met.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Zhang Chen bowed to pay his respects.

"My dear minister, please do not stand on ceremony. I, the king, will certainly uphold justice for you and bring the murderer to justice." King Dasheng helped Zhang Chen, who was about to bow, to his feet.

"Dugu Qiu, who is it that falsely conveyed the imperial edict and dared to attack the Zhang family behind my back?" King Dasheng shouted.

Dugu Qiu was stunned upon hearing this, never expecting that the Great Victory King would shift the blame to him. Just as he was wondering how to respond, Zhang Chen spoke up, saying, "Your Majesty, I know who falsely conveyed the imperial decree and tried to plunge my Zhang family into utter ruin."

Upon hearing this, the Great Victory King's expression froze for a moment, then he quickly recovered and said, "Who made the move? Tell me, and I will definitely stand up for you."

He knew Zhang Chen was a smart man, and a smart man would make the smartest choice at this time: let the matter rest, turn a big problem into a small one, and let a small problem disappear. The other party would never involve him in the matter.

Upon hearing the words of the Great Victory King, Zhang Chen smiled and said, "This person is none other than the Third Prince, Chai Wenxin. He colluded with Zhang Gaoqiu to falsely convey the imperial edict, intending to put my entire Zhang family to death. I beg Your Majesty to execute him to demonstrate the might of Heaven."

The Great Victory King froze, standing there dumbfounded, his eyes fixed on Zhang Chen, his heart filled with rage. He never expected that Zhang Chen would show him no respect whatsoever and directly try to kill Chai Wenxin.

Chai Wenxin was his most beloved prince; otherwise, he wouldn't have released him from confinement and allowed him to lead troops to eliminate the Zhang family and atone for his crimes. To kill Chai Wenxin now would be like cutting off a piece of his heart.

The Great Victory King did not want Chai Wenxin to die, and his eyes showed embarrassment. He said evasively, "Chai Wenxin has been confined to his residence by my orders. How could he have had the opportunity to stir up trouble and run out to forge an imperial edict? My dear minister, you must have misread it. Perhaps there is some misunderstanding?"

“I am not mistaken, it is indeed Chai Wenxin! I implore Your Majesty to take action and execute this culprit, Chai Wenxin, to clear the name of my Zhang family.” Zhang Chen’s voice was full of force.

He and Chai Wenxin had a long-standing feud, and if given the chance to kill Chai Wenxin, he would not hesitate to do so.

"This... Dugu Qiu, isn't there some misunderstanding? The Third Prince is being kept in the palace by me, how could he have time to run out and cause trouble?" King Dasheng once again shifted the blame to Dugu Qiu, hoping that Dugu Qiu could come up with an explanation that would satisfy both parties and smooth things over.

Dugu Qiu glanced at Zhang Chen, then at the Great Victory King, and a plan quickly formed in his mind: "Your Majesty, it was the Ancestor who ordered the Third Prince's confinement to be lifted and ordered him to arrest the Zhang family. The Zhang family almost ruined our grand plan because they retreated when we were annihilating the Lei family, which displeased the Ancestor, who made this decision in a fit of rage."

Upon hearing Dugu Qiu's words, Zhang Chen turned to look at him, surprised that Dugu Qiu would shift the blame onto the already deceased Seventh Ancestor. Of course, he understood Dugu Qiu's attempt to smooth things over. Although Dugu Qiu was on his side, he had lived in the Great Sheng royal family for decades; the Great Sheng royal family was his home. Upholding the dignity of the Great Sheng royal family, resolving the conflict between himself and the Great Sheng royal family, and extinguishing the flames between them were indeed things he should consider doing.

"Guards! Seize the Seventh Ancestor at once! Bring him here!" King Dasheng roared, then turned to Zhang Chen: "The Seventh Ancestor dared to falsely convey the imperial decree. I will execute him now to restore justice for your Zhang family."

Zhang Chen was speechless upon hearing this. The Great Victory King's acting was utterly absurd. He simply couldn't believe that the other party was unaware of the passing of the Seven Ancestors, yet he was still putting on this pretentious act, trying to use a dead man to smooth things over. It was utterly ridiculous. A guard left to carry out the order, and Zhang Chen watched him retreat from the pavilion before speaking, "There's no need for Your Majesty to take action. The royal ancestors have already perished."

"Ah? All our ancestors have perished? Ancestors!!!" The Great Victory King first showed a shocked expression, then cried out, his voice full of grief, as if shocked by the death of his ancestors.

"The Great Victory Ancestor is dead and has already suffered retribution. How about we let this matter drop? I can divide the profits of the other six families among your Zhang family as compensation," the Great Victory King said to Zhang Chen.

This move would not only demonstrate his sincerity but also appease Zhang Chen.

As for the businesses of the eight major families?

After Zhang Chen displayed extraordinary power, the assets of the eight major families became irrelevant. Whether or not those assets were given to Zhang Chen would not affect the current situation. For the Great Victory King, appeasing Zhang Chen and buying himself time was the most important thing now.

"The Zhang family doesn't care about the properties of the other six families, nor do we lack that little bit of money. Your Majesty can keep them for yourselves. All I want is the life of the Third Prince. I beg Your Majesty to kill the Third Prince and give my Zhang family an explanation. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain to my clansmen. If my clansmen cause any trouble in the future, none of us will be able to handle it." Zhang Chen stared at the Great Victory King expressionlessly, threatening him with a sinister tone.

Did they really think Zhang Chen was a fool? The assets and wealth of the six major families in the capital had already been looted by Zhang Chen long ago. As for the assets of the six major families outside the capital? Those were things that the Zhang family had to seize personally. Otherwise, why would the six major families obediently hand over their assets to him?
Zhang Chen stared at the Great Victory King, a threatening look in his eyes. How could he let that third prince get away with coveting his wife?

Thankfully, I have the ability to turn the tide. If I didn't have that ability, wouldn't I have been completely dominated by the other side? What will become of the Zhang family? What will become of Zhong Xiang?
Therefore, Zhang Chen, having gained power, is ruthless, and today the Third Prince Chai Wenxin is doomed to die.

"I implore Your Majesty to execute Chai Wenxin and give my Zhang family's countless disciples an explanation. Otherwise, I cannot predict what the Zhang family's disciples might do in their anger," Zhang Chen said coldly.

Faced with Zhang Chen's aggressive attitude, the Great Victory King clenched his fists in his sleeves, but wore a warm smile on his face: "What you say makes sense. Since Chai Wenxin has gotten involved in this matter, he can no longer extricate himself. With all the ancestors dead, someone has to step forward and give the Zhang family an explanation. Chai Wenxin has the blood of the Great Victory royal family flowing through his veins, and he should contribute to the Great Victory royal family. Let's use his head to quell the Zhang family's anger."

After finishing his speech, the Great Victory King said, "As for those six properties, they will all be given to the Zhang family as compensation."

His decision to give the remaining six businesses to the Zhang family was also ill-intentioned. After a bloody massacre, the Zhang family became the biggest winner. What will the six major families think then? They will definitely hate Zhang Chen to the bone, thinking that the Zhang family secretly plotted against him and joined forces with the royal family to wipe out the six families. At that time, Zhang Chen will have another group of enemies.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen's eyes flashed with a mocking light. He was an extremely intelligent man and of course knew about the Great Victory King's scheme. However, he did not take the other party seriously. No matter what schemes the other party had, with the Blood God Child by his side, he held an absolute advantage.

"Your Majesty is wise! May the Great Victory Dynasty's rule be everlasting." After flattering the Great Victory King, Zhang Chen added, "If Your Majesty has nothing else to say, then I shall take my leave."

The Great Victory King nodded: "Go ahead, my dear minister!" He then turned to Dugu Qiu and said: "Send the Zhang family back, and be sure to apologize properly to resolve their resentment."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Qiu bowed respectfully and then followed Zhang Chen down the pavilion.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, the Great Victory King finally lost his temper. He smashed a nearby table and shattered a vase. His roar shook the entire palace: "You scoundrels! You scoundrels! How dare you bully me! I swear I will never let you get away with this!"

Seeing the enraged Great Victory King, Bai Cang quickly stepped forward to comfort him, saying, "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. Zhang Chen is so powerful; how could the major powers of the world allow such an awesome person to exist? Even if he is invincible, he still has weaknesses. Your Majesty should unite all the forces that can be united and fight Zhang Chen to the death. There will always be someone in this world who can subdue him! Your Majesty should send people to excavate the great tomb, or ask the ancient clans to help, or find the sleeping ancient gods and demons and invite them to help."

While Bai Cang spoke, he secretly thought to himself, "The more you pressure Zhang Chen, the greater the chance that my demon race will win him over. Once my demon race has won over Zhang Chen, it will be the time for your human race to perish. At that time, this prosperous and beautiful land of China will eventually have to be given up to my demon race."

"Ancient race? Sleeping old guys?" Upon hearing this, the Great Victory King's anger subsided, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face: "This matter does indeed have some possibility of being a scheme."

He thought of his flag again, but then gave up. Zhang Chen had shown such skill today, the flag might not be reliable. If it couldn't kill him in one blow and instead alerted the enemy, that would be troublesome. It would be better to keep it to cooperate with the encirclement and kill in the future, and to ambush the enemy at the critical moment.

(End of this chapter)