Grandmaster Just a Slap Away

"So noisy."

Before his voice even faded, Shen Fei raised his right hand.

Inside the assembly hall, Lin Yu still had his hands behind his back, his chin raised slightly.

The Grandmaster true qi radiating from his body was like tangible waves, distorting the surrounding air.

To ordinary people, this kind of power was nothing short of divine.

Even Shen Wanjun, who was sitting in the seat of honor, had an extremely grave look in his eyes.

An ancient martial arts Grandmaster.

Even in a place like the capital, filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers, a Grandmaster in his twenties was more than enough to be treated as an honored guest by all the major aristocratic families.

Kneeling on the ground, Shen Zhenhai looked as if he had grasped a final lifeline. His expression turned fierce.

"Xiaofei! Mr. Lin is a peerless expert from a hidden sect! All the shadow guards around you combined aren't enough to withstand a single hand of his! I advise you had better..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence.

Shen Fei's right hand lashed out without any warning.

There were no flashy lights or shadows of externalized true qi.

There was no violent aura that shredded clothing.

This slap was completely unremarkable, just like an elder disciplining a disrespectful junior.

But the speed was fast to the absolute limit, defying all common sense of physics!

In Lin Yu's line of sight, Shen Fei's arm didn't even leave an afterimage.

One tenth of a second ago, it was still at Shen Fei's side. The next tenth of a second, that palm had magnified infinitely, sealing off all his avenues of retreat.

How could it be this fast?!

Lin Yu's pupils shrank drastically, his heart violently clenching.

His proud ancient martial arts techniques couldn't even muster an instinctive defensive movement at this moment.

He could only watch helplessly as that slap descended.

"Smack!!!"

An incredibly crisp, explosive sound, like a leather whip striking raw pork, erupted within the spacious assembly hall!

Accompanying this explosive sound...

Lin Yu's originally violently externalized Grandmaster true qi was like a balloon popped by a steel needle. With a "poof," it instantly dissipated without a trace.

"Boom!"

Lin Yu's entire body was like a torn sack struck head-on by a speeding dump truck.

His feet instantly left the ground.

He traced a straight parabola in mid-air.

And smashed heavily into the thick golden-thread nanmu doors of the assembly hall, twelve meters away!

The wooden doors let out a teeth-aching sound of splintering.

Lin Yu rolled onto the ground, smashing several cracks into the smooth gold-brick floor.

The entire hall fell dead silent.

Shen Zhenhai's "I advise you had better" was forcibly stuck in his throat, turning into a sound like a duck being strangled by the neck.

The peerless expert who had just been imposing and insufferably arrogant...

Was sent flying with a single slap?

Lin Yu lay sprawled on the ground, his brain buzzing.

Severe pain spread from his left cheek to his entire body; half of his facial bones were completely shattered.

But he was, after all, in the Grandmaster realm, possessing a physique far surpassing ordinary people. Enduring the dizziness, he propped his hands on the ground, attempting to stand up.

"You..." Lin Yu roared indistinctly, his mouth full of blood.

He couldn't accept this!

He was the heir of an ancient martial arts family!

He bore the dual unparalleled inheritances of medicine and martial arts!

His descent from the mountain this time was to sweep through the capital, to make all the powerful and wealthy tremble at his feet!

How could he be slapped to the ground by a worldly, playboy young master?!

"Ah!! Weight of a Thousand Mountains!!"

Lin Yu's eyes were bloodshot as he forcibly reversed the remaining true qi in his body.

He desperately unleashed his trump card.

Slapping his right palm fiercely against the ground, he used the recoil to launch his entire body like a maddened cheetah. Carrying a tragic, murderous aura, he lunged straight for Shen Fei's heart.

This palm strike was said to be capable of splitting open an armored vehicle.

Shen Fei stood where he was, not even batting an eyelid.

He watched Lin Yu leaping over for the kill in mid-air.

"Grandmaster?"

Shen Fei's tone carried an incredibly flat contempt.

"Not enough."

Shen Fei didn't throw another slap.

He slowly raised his right leg, his knee slightly bent.

Right at the instant Lin Yu's palm wind was about to touch his clothes—

"Bang!"

Shen Fei kicked out.

Striking later but arriving first.

This kick landed solidly on Lin Yu's lower abdomen.

More accurately, it kicked his dantian.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

The madness on Lin Yu's face instantly solidified.

Immediately following, a faint crack, like glass shattering, echoed from within his body.

If that slap just now had merely shattered his pride.

Then this kick completely crippled his foundation.

Peak Great Grandmaster true qi surged along the tip of Shen Fei's foot like a violent torrent, tearing into Lin Yu's dantian with an unstoppable force, instantly grinding his once-proud Grandmaster qi vortex into powder!

"Pfft—"

Lin Yu tilted his head back and sprayed a three-foot-high geyser of blood.

He flew backward once again.

This time, he didn't crash into the doors.

Instead, he flew straight out of the assembly hall, crashing heavily into the courtyard outside and smashing a white marble bonsai planter to pieces.

Lin Yu twitched on the ground a few times like a dying loach.

To his horror, he discovered that the true qi in his body, which he used to command as easily as his own arms, had disappeared.

Completely empty.

He had become a cripple, worse off than even an ordinary person.

"No... my cultivation... my dantian..."

Lin Yu wailed in despair.

But his voice was so weak that it couldn't even drown out the sound of the wind outside the door.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations to the host! Successfully defeated SS-rank Child of Destiny, Lin Yu!]

[Lin Yu's core reliance, his Ancient Martial Arts Cultivation, has been crippled! Belief collapsed!]

[Destiny Points cleared to zero!]

[Reward obtained: Complete Ancient Martial Arts Inheritance (Saved to system space, host can choose to integrate it)!]

[Villain Points obtained: 10,000 points!]

The system's cold notification sound rang out in his mind.

Shen Fei retracted his leg.

He casually adjusted the cuffs of his suit.

His movements were elegant and unhurried.

Even the frequency of his breathing hadn't changed in the slightest.

It was as if he had just casually kicked aside a pebble blocking his path.

Inside the assembly hall.

You could hear a pin drop.

Everyone was frozen in place, as if hit by an immobilization spell.

Especially those few elders from the branch families who had opposed Shen Fei earlier; their legs were shaking like leaves. Two of them had even peed their pants and slumped onto the floor.

Is he a fucking human?!

Even a peerless expert from a hidden sect was crippled by a single kick from him.

What were they, mere mortals, in front of Shen Fei?

Ants?

Shen Fei turned around.

And once again looked at Shen Zhenhai, who was kneeling on the ground.

Shen Zhenhai had completely lost the ability to think at this point.

He looked at Shen Fei as if looking at a demon crawling out of hell.

Lin Yu was crippled.

His final trump card had been stomped to dust by Shen Fei's foot.

"Second Uncle."

Shen Fei's voice remained calm.

"Your backing doesn't seem to be very good."

Shen Zhenhai's entire body shuddered, and he violently began to kowtow.

"Xiaofei! Young Master Fei! I was wrong! I'm your biological Second Uncle!"

"I haven't touched a single cent of that money! And I haven't signed the contract for the mine in South Africa either! Spare me! For the sake of your father, spare me this once!"

Shen Zhenhai kowtowed while crying bitterly. His forehead struck the gold bricks, quickly seeping blood.

Where was there even the slightest hint of his previous imposing manner as the helmsman of the wealthy family's second branch?

Shen Fei looked down at him from above.

There was not a shred of pity in his eyes.

Family ties?

In the power struggles of top-tier aristocratic families, such things were thinner than paper.

If it weren't for his overwhelming strength today, and he had been knocked down by Lin Yu instead, Shen Zhenhai would not only have usurped the position immediately but would also have thrown his nephew into the moat to feed the fishes without hesitation.

Since he was playing the villain.

He would leave no loose ends.

"Ling Shuang," Shen Fei said lightly.

Ling Shuang, who had been standing outside the door, appeared behind Shen Fei like a ghost.

"Young Master."

"Pass down my orders. The entire Second Branch is stripped of the Shen family surname. All shares and assets under their names are to be unconditionally confiscated by the main branch."

"Give them two hours to pack their bags."

"Exile them to Feizhou. Without my permission, they are never to step half a foot back into this country for the rest of their lives."

Every word from Shen Fei was like a blunt knife, slowly slicing Shen Zhenhai's heart apart.

Stripped of their surname.

Exiled to Feizhou.

This was a punishment crueler than death.

It meant he went from a high and mighty capital elite to a homeless dog with absolutely nothing in an instant.

"Shen Fei! You can't be this ruthless! I am your elder!" Shen Zhenhai roared in despair.

Shen Fei ignored him completely.

Ling Shuang waved her hand.

Two hidden guards in black combat uniforms walked in silently, grabbed Shen Zhenhai by his left and right arms, and dragged him straight out.

Shen Zhenhai's curses echoed in the courtyard, but he was quickly gagged, and the sound disappeared.

Having dealt with the Second Branch.

Shen Fei's gaze slowly swept over the collateral branch members standing on both sides.

Thud.

Thud.

A series of kneeling sounds echoed.

The few elders who had just been clamoring for Shen Fei to be a vice president to gain experience were now all kneeling on the floor, pressing their heads firmly against the ground, not even daring to breathe loudly.

"Those from the Third and Fourth Branches who participated in this matter,"

Shen Fei's tone was flat.

"All core positions will be replaced. You are demoted, and you will hand over half of the resources in your hands."

"Any objections?"

"N-No! Everything is up to the Family Head!" The old men shouted in unison, louder than anyone else.

Being able to keep their lives and half of their wealth and glory was already Shen Fei showing mercy.

This was power.

This was absolute strength.

If he didn't strike, so be it, but once he did, he would sweep away everything and make an example out of them.

In the main seat.

Shen Wanjun watched all this quietly.

From beginning to end, he didn't interject a single word.

It wasn't until Shen Fei had handled everything cleanly and the entire power structure of the Shen family was reshuffled.

A trace of a satisfied smile finally appeared on the old man's face.

He stood up and walked over to Shen Fei.

"Good."

Shen Wanjun patted Shen Fei heavily on the shoulder.

"I am at ease leaving the Shen family in your hands."

The old man turned around and looked at the trembling collateral members and executives in the hall.

"From today onwards. Shen Fei is the actual person in charge of the Shen family. Treat him exactly as you would treat me. If anyone dares to feign compliance while acting in opposition..."

Shen Wanjun paused, his tone chilling.

"He won't even need to lift a finger; my old bones will personally peel off their skin."

"Yes!!!" The crowd responded in unison.

A crisis was brutally and completely crushed within less than an hour of Shen Fei's return to the capital.

The crowd gradually dispersed.

Inside the assembly hall, only Shen Fei and Shen Wanjun remained.

Shen Fei, who had just been like a god of death, now completely retracted his imposing aura.

He walked over to an armchair on the side, sat down, picked up a teacup, and took a sip.

"Grandpa, who brought in that guy wearing the long gown just now?" Shen Fei asked casually.

"Lin Yu. Someone from the ancient martial arts Lin family." Shen Wanjun walked to the main seat and sat down. "Your Second Uncle was desperate and turned to anyone for help. I don't know what benefits he gave the Lin family to invite this kid down the mountain."

The old man glanced at Shen Fei with profound eyes.

"But Xiao Fei, that move you just pulled..."

"Peak Martial Arts Grandmaster. Perhaps even stronger."

Shen Wanjun sighed.

"It seems you had some extraordinary encounters in Jinling that even I don't know about. This is a good thing. If the Shen family wants to survive the muddy waters ahead, money alone won't be enough."

"Muddy waters?" Shen Fei sharply caught the term.

Shen Wanjun put away his smile.

His expression became extremely solemn.

"Yes. Muddy waters."

The old man walked over to the safe at the back of the hall, entered the password, and took out a classified red-headed document.

He placed it on the table in front of Shen Fei.

"Take a look at this."

The file envelope was unsealed.

Shen Fei pulled out the documents inside.

On top was a photograph.

In the photo was a dead man.

The deceased was wearing the uniform of a top-tier private club in the capital; he was likely a security guard there.

But the state of his death was extremely bizarre.

His entire body looked like a mummy drained of all moisture, nothing but skin and bones.

His face was twisted to the extreme, and his eyes bulged out, as if he had seen something utterly terrifying before he died.

Even stranger.

A thick layer of white frost had condensed on the surface of the corpse.

"This is the bodyguard who died outside when Third Young Master Wang was assassinated in a private room at the club last night."

"The Wang family is considered one of our partners. People in the capital have been in a state of panic these past few days."

Shen Wanjun said in a deep voice.

"The forensic doctor performed an autopsy. The cause of death was not poison or physical trauma."

"He froze to death."

"A residual extreme cold of minus seventy degrees was detected in his internal organs. Moreover, his blood and life force seemed to have been 'sucked' dry by something in an instant."

Shen Fei stared at the photo.

In his mind, the system's voice suddenly rang out again.

[Ding!]

[Residual special energy fluctuations detected!]

[Determined Type: Eerie Yin Energy!]

[Matching with database...]

[Match successful!]

[SSS-Rank Eerie Lifeform: Traces of a Red-Clothed Vengeful Spirit's Activity!]

Shen Fei put down the photo.

An incredibly sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

As expected.

This world was indeed not as simple as he had thought.

Ancient martial arts and commerce could only be considered the pinnacle of the secular world.

And now, in the dark side of the capital, things that did not belong to the human dimension were starting to enter the fray.

"Grandpa." Shen Fei looked up at Shen Wanjun.

"Leave this matter to me."

"No matter what kind of thing is playing the devil. As long as it dares to touch the Shen family's territory..."

Shen Fei leaned back in his armchair.

"I will chew it to pieces and swallow it whole."