Zhang Bowen Strikes Again

The Great Xia Sacred Capital.

Headquarters of the Martial Arts Guild.

A staff member reported:

"Zhang Bowen has initiated a new wave of actions."

"This time, he has uploaded the cultivation method of the 'Sunflower Manual' to the internet."

The Guildmaster's expression darkened, yet he could do nothing about it.

Almost every martial arts technique known to the outside world was already in the possession of the Kunlun Remnants.

In essence, if Zhang Bowen wished, he could teach all of Great Xia's martial arts techniques to foreign nations.

The staff member continued:

"The Devouring Heaven Club has struck again. This time, their target seems to be the Duan Family."

"And the Martial Arts Guild faces an extremely severe problem."

"Now that the 'Star-Swallowing Technique' is widely known, we can no longer distinguish who among the practitioners are members of the Devouring Heaven Club."

This issue plunged the room into silence once more.

Once the Devouring Heaven Club blended into the masses, they became nearly undetectable.

Even the previous method of detecting qi and blood had completely failed.

The only silver lining was that the Duan Family was not as weak as the Yelu Family.

Back then, if the Yelu Family’s ancestral elder hadn’t grown excessively frail, his cultivation dropping to the Martial Master realm,

the Devouring Heaven Club wouldn’t have annihilated the Yelu Family so easily.

Moreover, the Duan Family wasn’t plagued by the same predicament of lacking successors as the Yelu Family.

The Duan Family was vast in wealth and influence, the leader in the alchemy industry.

Among their descendants, talents emerged in abundance.

The staff member went on:

"This year’s opening of Kunlun Mountain not only resulted in the highest casualties in history,"

"but due to the heavy losses, the number of participants who returned was the lowest in three centuries, leading to the scarcest yield of rare treasures."

"As a result, the prices of high-grade elixirs will skyrocket, causing a shockwave across the entire martial world."

Almost all the news was grim.

The atmosphere in the room grew increasingly oppressive.

After a long silence, a voice finally broke through.

"Old Li, I think it’s time we take the initiative."

"We can’t keep defending passively every time."

The Guildmaster glanced at the deputy who had spoken and said,

"If Great Xia launches an offensive, the three continents will immediately unite."

"The combined number of Martial Saints from all three continents is no less than ours."

The deputy fell silent.

Then, another elder spoke up:

"Let us summon the former Guildmaster."

Summon.

At that word, the Guildmaster’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the high-ranking officials of the Martial Arts Guild present.

That word carried a whiff of unease.

The previous Guildmaster had resigned in disgrace.

Back then, in his pursuit to kill Zhang Bowen, he had disregarded the lives of ordinary civilians.

He had engaged in battle right in the heart of the Divine Capital.

Decades later,

the Divine Capital still hadn’t recovered. Once the capital, it had dwindled into a fifth-tier city.

The ruins at its center remained, a testament to the devastation of that day.

Tens of thousands had perished in that battle.

He would never forget the scene.

With a single Lion’s Roar Technique, Martial Saint Zhang Bowen shattered the glass facades of several office towers.

As for the people inside—almost all died on the spot.

Later, the aftershocks of the battle reduced the entire CBD and its surroundings to rubble.

"What do you all mean by this?" the Guildmaster asked, his voice icy.

Another elder of the Martial Arts Guild spoke:

"Liu Shen may act without regard for consequences, but there’s one thing none of us can deny."

"His methods are ruthlessly effective."

"Last time, he came within a hair’s breadth of killing Zhang Bowen."

The Guildmaster slammed the table and roared:

"Have you all lost your minds?!"

"If we reinstate that madman Liu Shen—"

"how will the Martial Arts Guild explain it to the people?!"

A different elder chuckled darkly.

"And when Zhang Bowen leads his forces to attack Great Xia,"

"will you have an explanation for the people then?"

Another elder added:

"Let’s follow protocol. Put it to a vote."

To the Guildmaster’s disbelief,

the majority raised their hands in approval, with only a few dissenting.

After the meeting concluded,

the Martial Arts Guild’s Shadow Division Overseer said to the Guildmaster:

"Old Li, you’ve been dutiful and competent in management."

"But in certain aspects, the gap between you and Liu Shen is still vast."

The Guildmaster’s face darkened.

"I don’t know what you all are planning,"

"but I will never allow a repeat of the Divine Capital incident."

"Killing Zhang Bowen is important, but the lives of ordinary people matter more."

The Overseer gave a helpless smile and shook his head.

"Aside from you, how many truly care about the common folk?"

"Do the noble families care?"

"Zhang Bowen has now leaked the Duan Family’s ancestral technique."

"If he goes on to reveal the techniques of other families,"

"do you think the Eight Great Families will tolerate it?"

The Guildmaster froze.

At that moment, he finally realized—

this meeting had likely been orchestrated behind the scenes by the Eight Great Families.

To protect their own interests, they would stop at nothing.

---

Duan Family Estate.

Xiao Ruohan, having completed her detention, went straight to the Duan Family the moment she was released.

She finally met Wei Guangming, but the answer she received was far from satisfactory.

Wei Guangming’s demeanor also left her unsettled.

"You can’t possibly swallow this humiliation."

"We should join forces to take revenge on Chen Feng."

Wei Guangming watched Xiao Ruohan’s hysterics calmly.

Dressed in a plain women’s robe, he spoke softly:

"Do you want to kill Chen Feng? Humiliate him?"

"Or cripple him, leaving him to suffer for life?"

"Even if you succeed in revenge, what will you gain?"

"I’ve already found what I truly want. Do you know what you truly want?"

Xiao Ruohan stood frozen.

She didn’t understand what had happened to Wei Guangming.

His voice lacked its former sharpness, now carrying an eerie gentleness.

Even more baffling—Chen Feng had crippled him in front of so many.

Yet now, he spoke with such unsettling calm.

Why didn’t he want revenge?

Wei Guangming continued:

"From what I know, the palm technique you’ve learned is missing its final form."

"Perhaps you should consider how to beg Chen Feng for forgiveness—and ask him to teach it to you."

Beg Chen Feng?!

Xiao Ruohan’s face twisted in fury.

Her fists clenched, veins bulging on the back of her hands.

Right now, every tooth on the left side of her face had been shattered by Chen Feng’s slap.

Her cheekbone was fractured.

Every meal was agony, forcing her to chew only on the right side.

Xiao Ruohan fantasized daily about skinning Chen Feng alive, feasting on his flesh and blood.

Seeing her spiraling, Wei Guangming said one last thing:

"If you remain shackled by obsession, pride, and ego like I once was,"

"then you’ll have to abandon your martial future and resign yourself to mediocrity."

"If you can accept that, the lesson is simple."

With that, he had her escorted out.

Snowflakes swirled in the air.

The icy cold against her face was nothing compared to the chill in her heart.

Xiao Ruohan dreamed of nothing but vengeance against Chen Feng.

Every night, in her dreams, she tortured him mercilessly.

But upon waking, she had no choice but to face reality.

Her current strength was insufficient, and she had lost her last pillar of support—Wei Guangming.

Despair spread through her heart.

That lingering resentment toward Chen Feng forced Xiao Ruohan to make a decision.

To have even the slightest chance of vengeance in the future, she needed the capability.

She resolved to endure all humiliation, cast aside her dignity, and beg Chen Feng to teach her the Eighteen Forms of the Dragon-Subduing Palm.

Only by first completing her martial arts training would she have that sliver of hope for revenge.