Magic City, suburbs, Qingxi Town.
Here stands a vast and magnificent manor.
Unlike ordinary gardens, this place exudes a strong martial arts aura everywhere.
On the tall gatehouse, a black plaque with gold characters, written by a famous calligrapher, hung, bearing the four large characters "Shen's Martial Arts School" in bold and powerful strokes.
However, this plaque, which once represented glory and splendor, is now covered with a faint layer of dust, much like the current state of the manor, revealing a desolate and declining atmosphere of a hero in his twilight years.
Inside the manor, on the huge training ground capable of accommodating hundreds of people practicing martial arts simultaneously, there were only a dozen or so young disciples, weakly flailing their fists and feet.
Their movements were soft and powerless, completely lacking the spirit and energy that a martial artist should possess.
On the weapon racks nearby, swords, spears, and halberds were all available, but most were covered in dust, and some were even rusty, clearly having been untouched for a long time.
In the center of the field.
A graceful figure in a neat black training uniform was enduring the waves of coldness emanating from within her body, demonstrating a set of Shen Family's ancestral boxing techniques to a few unpromising junior disciples.
She was tall and beautiful, with long black hair neatly tied into a high ponytail, and her brows held a heroic and resilient spirit no less than that of a man.
It was Shen Ning霜, the eldest daughter of the Shen Family.
"Watch closely!"
"This move, Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain, emphasizes the unity of waist and horse, with power originating from the ground! The momentum must be strong, and the punch must be fierce!"
She let out a soft shout and suddenly executed a bow-step punch, her movements incredibly precise, accompanied by a sharp fist wind.
However, this simple movement made her already slightly pale face turn even whiter instantly.
A thin layer of cold sweat also seeped from her forehead, and her breathing became somewhat rapid.
She forced herself not to let her junior disciples see her abnormality, but her slightly trembling body still betrayed her current weakness.
"Alas..."
A sigh full of helplessness and heartache came from not far away.
Shen Tianzheng, Shen Ning霜's father, the current head of the Shen Family, and the master of Shen's Martial Arts School, walked slowly out of the main house with his hands behind his back.
He looked at his daughter, who, despite suffering from a cold illness, was still stubbornly trying to maintain the family's facade, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
"Ning frost, stop practicing, go back and rest."
"Your body can't take such torment anymore."
Upon hearing this, Shen Ning霜 stubbornly shook her head, her voice, though tinged with weakness, was still clear and firm.
"Dad, I'm fine."
"The Shen Family's martial arts cannot be broken in my generation."
Shen Tianzheng looked at his daughter, opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, it turned into another long sigh.
He knew his daughter's personality and the pressure she carried on her shoulders.
He took out his phone from his pocket, handed it to Shen Ning霜, and said in a hoarse voice:
"Something happened to the company."
Shen Ning霜 took the phone, and when she saw the glaring headline on the trending topics, her delicate body trembled violently!
[Shen's Security mission failed, client severely injured, potentially facing astronomical compensation!]
The report detailed how Shen's Security, during a recent security mission to protect an important business magnate, was attacked by a group of armed bandits!
Although the Shen Family's bodyguards were all highly skilled and fought desperately, they were ultimately flesh and blood, no match for gunfire.
Ultimately, the business magnate suffered multiple gunshot wounds and is still in a coma in the intensive care unit, his life hanging by a thread.
And Shen's Security, as a result, faces astronomical compensation of tens of millions, as well as the devastating blow of completely bankrupting its reputation!
"How could this happen?" Shen Ning霜's voice trembled slightly.
Shen Tianzheng's face was full of dejection, and his voice was filled with sorrow and unwillingness.
"Times... have changed."
"Our Shen Family's proud ancestral martial arts are, after all, vulnerable in front of those cold muzzles."
"These years, Shen's Security's business has already been shrinking and struggling."
"This time, I'm afraid it really won't be able to hold on."
...Night, deep as water.
Shen Family Manor, inside a secluded secret chamber.
Shen Tianzheng stood quietly with his daughter, Shen Ning霜.
In the center of the secret chamber, on a stone platform carved from a single piece of white marble, a unique jade stone, crystal clear and emitting a faint blue cold light, was quietly enshrined.
A visible white cold mist rose from the jade stone, making the temperature of the entire secret chamber seem to drop to freezing point.
Shen Tianzheng looked at this jade stone, his eyes filled with extreme complexity, awe, desire, but more, endless helplessness and resentment!
"Ning frost, do you know?"
"The suffering of 'profound yin cold jade' that our Shen Family has endured for generations, and all the difficulties our Shen Family faces today, their root lies in it."
"profound yin cold jade!"
His voice was low as he slowly revealed this family secret hidden for hundreds of years.
This profound yin cold jade was both the supreme treasure that their Shen Family ancestors obtained by chance, enough to make the family rise!
And also the curse that caused their Shen Family to have sparse descendants for generations, their bloodline to be eroded by cold energy, and to suffer endless pain from generation to generation!
Hundreds of years!
The Shen Family's ancestors, over generations, expended countless efforts, and only a few, by chance, managed to improve their martial arts cultivation with the help of this cold jade.
However, although they made rapid progress at the time and quickly became famous, they were all troubled by this cold energy and died young.
It can be said that no one in the entire Shen Family has truly deciphered the mystery of this profound yin cold jade, nor has anyone been able to refine the incredibly domineering cold energy within it!
Now, this curse has been passed down to Shen Ning霜's generation, and it has become even more severe, almost taking her life!
And the Shen Family's century-old foundation, under the dual onslaught of internal and external troubles, has reached the brink of collapse!
Shen Ning霜 stared blankly at the profound yin cold jade, which emitted a bone-chilling coldness, listening to her father's sorrowful narration, and her heart sank to the bottom.
Just in this atmosphere of despair.
In Shen Tianzheng's cloudy old eyes, the last trace of unwilling fire suddenly erupted!
He slammed his fist against the nearby stone wall and said, word by word, in a tone of desperate resolve:
"No! Our Shen Family has not lost yet!"
"Since no one in the family for generations has been able to solve this dilemma, then we will make this hope, this curse, known to the world!"
He turned his head, looking at his equally shocked daughter, his voice hoarse but exceptionally firm!
"I've decided! I will immediately issue a bounty to the public!"
"Firstly! No matter who, no matter what method they use, as long as they can cure your cold illness, Ning frost, our Shen Family is willing to reward them with tens of millions in gold!"
"Secondly! Our Shen Family is willing to cede forty-nine percent of Shen's Security's shares, seeking powerful capital to join us and help our Shen Family overcome this difficulty!"
"I refuse to believe it! In this vast world, we really can't find a capable person or an extraordinary individual who can save our Shen Family?"