Chapter 665: Liu Ruyan's Ambition!
Liu Ruyan took several deep breaths, then said to Zhang Yaqian with an indescribable expression and tone: "In ancient times, a Land Immortal could depose emperors and was unrivaled throughout the land! They could easily break the sound barrier with their physical bodies, cause celestial phenomena with a wave of their hand, shatter a small hill with a kick, and stir up great river tides with a single hand! Even in modern times with powerful hot weapons, a Land Immortal cannot be countered without an elite army. If a Land Immortal were to infiltrate a major city, they couldn't be killed unless there was a carpet bombing with missiles. But who could bear such a cost? Not to mention, if a Land Immortal became an assassin, they would be unstoppable! It can be said that at the level of a Land Immortal, one is a transcendent, independent superpower! And even more so, because a Land Immortal's power comes from within themselves, not from external things like wealth, power, or connections. Aside from weapons of mass destruction, a Land Immortal is virtually invincible!"
Speaking of this, Liu Ruyan's gaze drifted back to Shen Anyu, her eyes a complex mix of awe, affection, and a sliver of bewilderment. This man, the one she thought she was beginning to understand, was once again becoming an enigma wrapped in layers of terrifying power.
As An Zhiyue's closest friend and a prominent daughter of the Liu family from the Imperial Capital, Liu Ruyan had crossed paths with Shen Anyu on numerous occasions in their shared social circles. Back then, her assessment of him had been swift and dismissive. He was nothing more than a 'pretty boy,' a man whose only assets were his devastatingly handsome face and an illustrious family name. In her eyes, he was the quintessential pampered fop, destined to live a life of meaningless luxury, utterly devoid of substance.
But then came their first true encounter at the Magic City River View Manor—a moment that shattered her perception into a thousand pieces. With a single, almost casual move, Shen Anyu had utterly suppressed her. Her, Liu Ruyan, a cultivator at the very peak of the Grandmaster realm, had been rendered completely helpless, unable to muster even a shred of resistance against the suffocating pressure of his aura. The shock had been electric, a physical jolt that recalibrated her entire understanding of him.
Liu Ruyan had been more than surprised; she was flabbergasted. The man she had written off as a decorative piece, a weakling hiding behind his family's prestige, was secretly a monster of profound strength, possessing a level of power that dwarfed her own. That single, shocking revelation ignited a burning curiosity within her, a fascination that quickly blossomed into a deeper, more complicated attraction. It was the moment she started to fall.
From that day forward, Shen Anyu's actions became a relentless series of impossibilities that left her breathless.
He had killed the Heavenly Human titan, Tian Yunzi, the former head of the dreaded Netherworld Palace. The news had sent shockwaves through the entire martial world, and she had felt a thrill of both terror and pride.
Then, he had single-handedly defeated and slaughtered the three Heavenly Humans of the Martial God Hall, a feat so outrageous it bordered on the mythological.
And now, this. He had not only defeated a Land Immortal—a being she had just described as a living, breathing superpower—but had subjugated her, turning a legend into a personal servant. The sheer scale of it was difficult to comprehend.
'Just how powerful has my man become?' The question echoed in her mind, a mix of pride and a hint of vertigo. The distance between them was growing at a terrifying pace.
"Shen Anyu," Liu Ruyan's voice was a hushed whisper, her gaze fixed on him, sharp and intense. "You… just what level have you reached? A Martial God?" She recalled the Martial God Art he possessed. The legendary technique that was said to lead to the pinnacle of martial arts. Could it be? Had he actually cultivated it to the point of Perfection and broken through that final, mythical barrier?
If someone had posed that question a few months ago, she would have laughed in their face. But now? Now, watching him sit there with that infuriatingly calm smile, if Shen Anyu claimed he had transcended into a Martial God, she would believe him without a second of hesitation.
Hearing Liu Ruyan's staggering description of a Land Immortal—one person equivalent to an entire superpower—Zhang Yaqian's perfectly shaped cherry lips parted in silent astonishment. Her beautiful apricot eyes, wide with wonder, also turned to Shen Anyu, searching his face for answers. Zhong Lingyin was in the same state, her mind reeling from the implications.
Under the combined, curious gazes of the three stunning women, Shen Anyu simply smiled and shook his head.
"A Martial God? I'm not yet; I'm only at the Early Stage of Land Immortal."
Only at the Early Stage? The word hung in the air, a proof of an arrogance so profound it was almost charming.
"I don't believe it," Liu Ruyan snorted, the sound playful yet firm. Her narrow, seductive eyes, naturally alluring, curved into beautiful crescents as she rolled them at him.
Beneath the heavy tablecloth, a game was unfolding. A slender, elegant foot, encased in fine black silk stockings, had slipped out of its high-heeled prison. It found Shen Anyu's instep, pressing down with a light, teasing pressure before beginning to grind gently against him. The friction was a secret language, a private challenge.
"Confess!" Liu Ruyan whispered, a triumphant smirk gracing her lips. A wave of satisfaction washed over her. No matter how impossibly strong Shen Anyu became, no matter if he could topple nations or command legends, she could still do this. She could still step on him. She could even ride him. 'Hmph, hmph.'
Sitting beside Zhong Lingyin and Zhang Yaqian, a faint blush bloomed on Liu Ruyan's exquisite face, dusting her cheeks with a rosy hue. Her eyes, half-lidded, seemed almost intoxicated.
"Yes, yes, Brother Shen," Zhong Lingyin chimed in, though she didn't understand the intricacies of cultivation, her intuition was sharp. "If you're only at the Early Stage of Land Immortal, how could you defeat Sister Wu Shenyun so easily?" She felt it in her gut; her man's strength was far greater than he was letting on.
"Brother Shen, I believe you!" Zhang Yaqian said, her voice a soft, gentle murmur that seemed to carry an unwavering, almost saintly faith.
'Green tea!' Zhong Lingyin shot an indignant glare at Zhang Yaqian from the corner of her eye before quickly turning her attention back to Shen Anyu, her tone sweetening. "Brother Shen, Lingyin believes you too, of course! I'm just… I'm just too curious."
Shen Anyu raised a single eyebrow, his gaze flickering down towards Liu Ruyan with an amused glint. Meeting the inquisitive looks of Zhang Yaqian and Zhong Lingyin, he smiled. "What? Is the Early Stage of Land Immortal not enough?"
Liu Ruyan snorted again, a delicate, haughty sound. She lifted her chin, her fair, slender neck creating a graceful arc. Her voice took on a lazy, nasal tone, dripping with playful challenge. "As fellow Land Immortals, how could you be so much stronger than that Wu Shenyun? Is she just really weak?"
As she spoke, her stockinged foot moved with the subtlety of a wisp of smoke, its movements almost imperceptible. It traced circles around his instep, slid up to caress his ankle, a constant, distracting caress that promised more.
Shen Anyu's mind briefly wandered. 'It's smoother than Dove chocolate.'
With a swift, decisive motion, his large hand disappeared under the table. It found its target, closing around her small, beautifully arched foot. His grip was firm but gentle as his thumb began to stroke the delicate silk covering her sole, sending a jolt of electricity straight up her leg.
Liu Ruyan's already faintly red face instantly flushed a deep, vibrant crimson. The heat was so intense it felt like it could singe the air around her.
"Sister Ruyan, why is your face so red?" Zhang Yaqian, ever observant, sensed the sudden shift in the atmosphere and asked, her voice laced with suspicion.
"Oh! I… I just had a little wine. I'm not good with alcohol," Liu Ruyan managed a strained chuckle, her voice a little breathless.
Zhong Lingyin, suddenly struck by a thought, darted her eyes downward, trying to peer under the table. But from her angle, everything appeared perfectly normal. Liu Ruyan had already snatched her foot back with lightning speed, her posture once again composed and elegant, as if nothing had ever happened.
But seeing the lingering suspicion in both Zhang Yaqian's and Zhong Lingyin's eyes, Liu Ruyan knew she had to divert their attention. She quickly seized control of the conversation, pressing her original point. "Since that Wu Shenyun is so strong, how were you able to defeat her so easily? Shen Anyu, are you truly not a Martial God?"
Zhang Yaqian and Zhong Lingyin, finding no evidence of foul play, let their suspicions subside for the moment. Their curiosity rekindled, they both turned their intense gazes back to Shen Anyu.
"Of course, I am not a Martial God for now," Shen Anyu replied with that same easy smile. He let the statement hang in the air for a moment, savoring their disbelieving expressions. Then, with a light chuckle, he added the payload. "However, if a Martial God were before me, I could also fight him."
His martial arts prowess had indeed reached the Land Immortal stage, but that was merely one pillar of his strength. He was also at the tenth level of immortal qi cultivation, a power source from an entirely different paradigm. He possessed the God-level Steel Body, granting him a defense that bordered on absolute invulnerability. His God-level Telekinesis was a terrifyingly versatile weapon. His combat capabilities were a monstrous fusion of multiple systems, making battling above his supposed level a simple affair. And that didn't even account for his true trump card: the Divine Ability, Two-Aspects Life-Death Mystical Light, a conceptual attack that could directly erase a target's Lifespan—a lethal move against which there was no defense.
Upon hearing Shen Anyu admit he could fight a Martial God, Liu Ruyan, Zhong Lingyin, and Zhang Yaqian were all struck dumb, their minds short-circuiting. A profound shock, deeper than any before, washed over them.
A Land Immortal was already a being capable of single-handedly rivaling, or even surpassing, a modern superpower. The concept was already staggering. But a Martial God? It was impossible for them to even imagine what level of existence that represented.
Shen Anyu watched their stunned expressions with a measure of amusement. He leaned back, teasing them gently. "I said I'm at the Early Stage of Land Immortal, and you don't believe me. But now I say I'm comparable to a Martial God, and you do believe me? A Martial God… it's not that simple, you know?"
Liu Ruyan glared at him, a mix of exasperation and fondness in her eyes. "You scoundrel! If you say you're weak, of course I don't believe it. But if you say you're strong, I'll believe it every time. You hide far, far too much."
Saying this, Liu Ruyan stretched languidly, the movement deliberately slow, accentuating every curve of her graceful figure. She cast a seductive, sideways glance at Shen Anyu, her voice dropping to a husky, lazy purr. "I need to catch up on sleep. A lack of rest is a woman's greatest enemy. Some bad person kept me up all night."
The implication was clear, and both Zhang Yaqian and Zhong Lingyin immediately shot resentful glances at Shen Anyu.
Zhong Lingyin's pique was short-lived; yesterday had been her birthday, after all, and Shen Anyu had spent the day with her.
Zhang Yaqian, however, felt a sharp pang of jealousy. But she masterfully concealed it, her outward demeanor becoming even more delicate and pure. She smiled sweetly, her voice like honey. "Brother Shen, are you free tonight?"
"Hmm, I'm free tonight, but I'll be back a bit late," Shen Anyu replied with a smile.
Zhang Yaqian's heart leaped. An opportunity. Her eyes flickered with determination. She had to do something. She made up her mind then and there to prepare a special surprise for Shen Anyu, something to secure her place and keep her man's heart. Otherwise, with competitors like the bold Liu Ruyan and the cherished Zhong Lingyin, she feared she would be left behind.
Afterward, Shen Anyu drove a low-key Bugatti Veyron to the Ling Group building.
With a loud bang, he was rear-ended.
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]