Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Eliminate
The morning light filtered through the ornate jade-carved window fras of one of Jiang-Shen Family Villa, casting long, geotric shadows across the plush silk carpets.
The villa, a sprawling estate nestled in the heart of the Main City’s most prestigious district, was a testant to the family’s standing, yet the atmosphere inside was heavy with the silence of contemplation.
Shen Xinye sat on the edge of her bed, her posture rigid, her gaze fixed on the bustling city streets visible through the window.
Her mind, however, was miles away, trapped in a loop of the Divine Arena’s dusty floor.
The tournant had ended, the cheers had faded, but the mory of her loss against Shen Haoran remained fresh, like an open wound that refused to cauterize.
It was a defeat so thorough, so surgically precise, that no one, not the branch families, not the elders, not even her own pride, could question it.
However, what frustrated her even more than the loss itself was the insult to her craft.
Her Sword Qi Bullets, a technique she had painstakingly developed over years of secluded ditation, balancing the volatile pressure of her intent with the focus of her spirit, had been dismantled in an instant.
Haoran had not just defeated the technique she took pride in, he had pirated it.
He had mastered it simply by seeing it once, refining it and throwing it back at her with a proficiency that suggested he had known it for decades.
It was so incredibly frustrating that even now, three weeks after the tournant, she has yet to move on.
Beside her, her mother, Shen Xiu, sat in a high-backed sandalwood chair, her hands moving with practiced grace as she peeled a spirit-apple as the silver blade of the fruit knife glinted in the sunlight.
"How is it?" Shen Xiu asked softly, her voice carrying the subtle weight of maternal concern. "The feeling of facing him?"
Shen Xinye let out a long, weary sigh.
"Strong," she whispered, her voice devoid of its usual sharp edge. "He is strong to the point that it will make anyone, even a genius, feel the cold touch of despair. This is truly a disastrous era for the current generation, Mother. The mont he was born, it was if the universe declared that everyone else can only fight for the second place, like we are all just background actors in his legend."
"Hmph," Shen Xiu snorted, dropping a slice of apple into a crystal bowl. "If it weren’t for that wretched curse those demons planted on you, forcing you to marry that useless man, I think you and the young master would have been a match made in heaven."
Shen Xinye’s eyes flickered with a brief, tired annoyance. "Mother, enough of this. He is the Heir, and I am the Fourth Crown. We are colleagues at best, rivals at worst. Do not speak of such impossible unions."
"It’s the truth," Shen Xiu insisted, her eyes narrowing.
Shen Xinye shook her head, "There is no need to think of the what ifs. I am married, and that fact won’t change."
Just then, a frantic, heavy knocking resounded against the heavy oak doors of the chamber.
The rhythm was erratic, signaling an ergency that bypassed the usual palace etiquette.
Mother and daughter turned toward the door in unison.
"Co in!" Shen Xiu commanded, her voice regaining its sharpness.
A female servant burst into the room, her hair disheveled and her breathing ragged and she even nearly tripped over the rug as she bowed frantically.
"Y-Young Miss! Madam! It’s Ye Feng! He’s gotten into a direct conflict with a descendant of the Tai-Shen branch family in the marketplace! And... and the Young Master is there!"
"What!?" Shen Xiu’s eyes widened, the apple peel dropping to the floor.
Shen Xinye didn’t say a word as she was already on her feet, her sword intent flaring for a split second as she vanished into a blur of silver light, heading toward the city center.
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Back in the crowded thoroughfare of the Main City, the atmosphere was thick enough to choke a commoner.
The crowd had pushed back, forming a wide, respectful circle around the three-colored aura of the Heir.
"Married to Shen Xinye?" Haoran wondered aloud, his voice flat, yet carrying a vibration that made the air hum as he looked at the man before him this "Ye Feng
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