Chapter 579: Broken Engagement, Zhang Zhiyun and Zhang Tianen break up!
"Stop it." Ji Xiaolin seemed to sense something, and a blush flashed across her bright, beautiful, oval-shaped face. Her beautiful eyes glared fiercely at Shen Anyu.
Immediately after, Ji Xiaolin turned to her father, Zhang Tianen, and said impolitely, "Old man, I'm telling you, I must be with Shen Anyu."
"The man who was with me in the Wan Fa Sect basement before was Shen Anyu."
"In this life, I will marry no one but him."
"If you try to stop me, then just pretend you don't have a daughter. Anyway, you haven't cared about me for the past decade or so."
Speaking of this, Ji Xiaolin said to Shen Anyu, "Shen Anyu, take me away."
"Okay." Shen Anyu said with a smile, his hand already moving towards the ignition, his foot hovering over the accelerator, ready to whisk her away into the night. The powerful engine of the Rolls-Royce Phantom hummed softly, a low growl of anticipation.
"Wait." A figure blurred, and Zhang Tianen planted himself directly in the path of the luxury car, his body a human barricade. He first shot a glare at Shen Anyu, a look so filled with suppressed violence it could have curdled steel. The air crackled with unspoken threats, and for a moment, it seemed as if arcs of lightning would once again burst from his skin. He wanted to curse this boy, to drag him from the driver's seat and show him the wrath of an Artificer True Person. But his gaze fell upon his precious daughter, Ji Xiaolin, and the inferno of his rage was instantly doused by a wave of desperate fear. He could only swallow the vitriol, forcing the fury back down into the pit of his stomach.
He knew his daughter's personality all too well. Stubborn, fiercely independent, and holding a decade-long grudge against him. If she truly drove away with this man tonight, under these circumstances, it was more than likely she would sever all ties, vanishing from his life forever.
Who was to blame? The fault was his. He had neglected her, prioritized his own obsessions over her well-being. Now, the consequences were staring him in the face. He didn't dare utter a single harsh word, terrified of pushing her away for good.
A profound sense of helplessness washed over Zhang Tianen. He, the renowned number one Artificer True Person in the entire Yanxia Artificer world. He, the man who had single-handedly confronted the Master of Myriad Dharma Sect, an ancient peer, and incinerated him and his cohorts into piles of ash. He stood at a pinnacle of power few could ever dream of reaching, yet here he was, rendered utterly impotent by a family drama. He couldn't even raise his voice, forced to plaster a pained, placating smile on his face.
"Xiao Lin, calm down, please calm down." His voice was softer, laced with a pleading tone he hadn't used in years. "Dad didn't mean that. How could Dad ever break off relations with you? You… you can date whoever you want. I won't object. Just… don't leave yet. Everything can be discussed. We can talk this through."
In that instant, his priorities underwent a seismic shift. The engagement, the alliance with the Tianshi Sect, his reputation, Zhang Zhiyun's future—all of it faded into insignificance. The only thing that mattered was preventing his daughter from leaving. The top priority, the absolute mission, was to stop Ji Xiaolin from driving out of his life. If she left now, winning her back later would be an insurmountable task. For Zhang Tianen, especially after his recent, profound enlightenment, his daughter had become more precious than the Dao itself, more important than his own life.
He had no other choice. He had to concede, one painful step at a time.
"Then you agree to Shen Anyu being my boyfriend?" Ji Xiaolin's voice was sharp, a test. She shot a quick, triumphant glance at the dishonest man beside her, a look that said 'See? I've got him,' before turning her hopeful, questioning gaze back to her father.
Inside, Zhang Tianen felt a hundred, no, a thousand blades twisting in his gut. His daughter? His precious daughter, sharing a man with a whole gaggle of other women? The very thought was an insult, a desecration. But looking into her determined eyes, feeling the crushing weight of her ultimatum, he knew he had no leverage. He could only nod for now, buying time, planning to slowly, gently persuade her later.
"I agree," Zhang Tianen said, the words tasting like ash in his mouth. He sounded utterly dejected. The faint, residual crackle of lightning that once danced around his form had long since dissipated, leaving him looking like just another tired, defeated father.
Ji Xiaolin immediately let out a visible sigh of relief. The tension drained from her shoulders, and a genuine, radiant smile bloomed across her pretty face, lighting up the dim evening.
Shen Anyu also smiled, his expression one of perfect sincerity. He leaned slightly out the window and said, "Uncle, I will take good care of Xiao Lin."
The word "Uncle" was like a spark on a short fuse. Zhang Tianen was seething, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. He didn't want to spare this smooth-talking charlatan a single glance, let alone a word.
Noticing the barely-contained hostility, Shen Anyu's lips curled into a subtle, wicked smirk. He turned to Ji Xiaolin with a look of feigned disappointment. "Xiao Lin, it seems your dad still doesn't agree to our relationship. He won't even talk to me."
Ji Xiaolin's newfound joy immediately vanished. Her expression soured, and she shot her father a look of renewed displeasure, accompanied by a soft, accusatory snort.
Zhang Tianen's eyelids twitched violently. He was being played, expertly and ruthlessly. With a monumental effort, he forced his facial muscles into another smile, this one even more strained than the last. He turned his eyes to Shen Anyu, the words grinding out from between his clenched teeth. "My… son-in-law. I trust you with Xiao Lin."
A flicker of triumphant amusement danced in Shen Anyu's eyes. He savored the sight of the utterly frustrated powerhouse for a moment before turning his attention back to Ji Xiaolin. "Xiao Lin, now that I think about it, you still have a marriage contract, don't you? With some… Zhang Zhiyun. That's not quite right. It feels a bit messy. Why don't we just break it off?"
Ji Xiaolin's gaze immediately shifted back to her father.
Zhang Tianen wore an expression of profound bitterness. This was not a simple agreement between two families. The marriage contract had been forged with the Master of the Tianshi Sect himself, witnessed by a host of senior uncles and elders. To break it would be a huge slap in the face to the entire sect. It was an incredibly difficult knot to untangle. But what choice did he have? With his daughter threatening to elope—no, to publicly run off with another man—the so-called sacred contract was already a piece of waste paper. Though he had retired from the Artificer world, he was once the Tianshi Sect's number one expert. The sect owed him a debt of gratitude, a bond of incense and sentiment that had lasted for decades. But even that couldn't trump his daughter's happiness.
"Sigh… I'll think of a way. I'll discuss how to properly break off the engagement," Zhang Tianen said, his voice heavy with resignation. A daughter grows up and is no longer under her parents' control. He had to admit, he had brought this disaster upon himself. If he had only known how much his daughter detested Zhang Zhiyun, he never would have played the villain in her life.
Shen Anyu smiled warmly. "Why put off till tomorrow what you can do today? Why don't we just break it off now? Xiao Lin, what do you think?"
Ji Xiaolin glared at Shen Anyu, but she understood his point. It was better to strike while the iron was hot, to resolve this matter completely before her old man had a chance to change his mind. She immediately locked her gaze onto Zhang Tianen, her eyes conveying an unwavering demand.
The veins on Zhang Tianen's forehead throbbed. He felt a white-hot urge to summon a bolt of heavenly lightning and smite this infuriating pretty boy into oblivion. But his daughter's piercing stare held him in check. He could only swallow his incandescent rage, forcing the anger down until it felt like a burning coal in his chest. "Okay," he said, his voice a muffled growl. "We'll break off the engagement now."
With a heavy sigh, Zhang Tianen took out his phone. His fingers, usually so steady when crafting intricate artifacts, trembled slightly as he found and dialed Zhang Zhiyun's number.
"Senior Martial Uncle, what's the matter?" Zhang Zhiyun's voice came through the speaker, cool and detached.
Listening to that somewhat cold tone, Zhang Tianen sighed again. He had once held such high hopes for this young man, seeing in him a boundless future. But now, that path was irrevocably severed. "Zhiyun… since my Xiao Lin already has a boyfriend, your marriage with her isn't quite suitable anymore. This matter… let's just drop it. Senior Martial Uncle will compensate…"
Before Zhang Tianen could finish his offer, Zhang Zhiyun's voice cut him off, sharper and colder than before. "There's no need for compensation. Senior Martial Uncle killed the Master of Myriad Dharma Sect, which can be considered revenge for me. As for the engagement, I will speak to my Master. We'll just drop it."
The moment the words left his mouth, Zhang Zhiyun hung up. The call ended with a stark, final click.
[Ding! Child of Destiny Zhang Zhiyun and important helper Zhang Tianen have completely broken ties, plundering +100,000 destiny value!]
[Ding! Child of Destiny Zhang Zhiyun is furious, plundering +9,999 destiny value!]
…
Through the nanometer monitoring robot, Shen Anyu had a front-row seat to the aftermath. On the other side of the city, Zhang Zhiyun slammed his phone down, his face a mask of rage. He proceeded to sweep everything off his desk—ancient texts, precious jade talismans, intricate tools—sending them crashing to the floor. He paced the room like a caged tiger, fuming, his aura churning with humiliation and exasperation.
'However, this is a bit unexpected,' Shen Anyu thought, a pleased smirk playing on his lips as he watched the system log scroll. 'All in all, this cheap father-in-law breaking ties with Zhang Zhiyun actually plundered a total of 180,000 Destiny Points. 80,000 from before, and 100,000 just now. An 'important helper'… this cheap father-in-law seems to have a lot of potential. I wonder if he'll be able to reach the Land Immortal realm, or maybe even higher, in the future?'
Shen Anyu pondered this, his gaze briefly sizing up the dejected Zhang Tianen. He weighed his options. Should he cultivate and invest in this unexpectedly valuable father-in-law, or should he wait a bit? 'This old man still holds quite a grudge against me. He needs to be disciplined first!'
If Zhang Tianen could somehow read Shen Anyu's mind—to know that his new "son-in-law" was actually plotting to discipline him—he would probably have an aneurysm. The sheer audacity might trigger thoughts of deceiving the heavens, destroying his ancestors, and rebelling against the Heavenly Constellations. He would undoubtedly try to blast Shen Anyu with the Five Thunders Righteous Law. Though, of course, he couldn't actually succeed~
After breaking off the engagement, Zhang Tianen felt a strange emptiness, a sense of loss that went beyond a simple failed alliance. He looked at Shen Anyu, the source of all his troubles, and forced another weak smile. "My son-in-law, it's getting late. You should… go back."
He absolutely did not want Shen Anyu staying the night. What if this scoundrel insisted on staying in his precious daughter's boudoir? The thought alone was enough to make his blood boil again.
Shen Anyu also had no intention of staying. He was planning to properly deal with Zhang Zhiyun tonight.
Zhang Zhiyun had left an Artificer mark on Shen Anyu, preparing to use an Artificer spell to curse and kill him. Shen Anyu would let him know what a real surprise—and what true, unexpected terror—really meant.
"Shen Anyu, I'll see you out…"
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