When he felt the fierce Sword Intent, the old man used the Flying Car's bouncing mechanism to fly out at once.

Had he waited until the white light suddenly appeared, by then he would not have been able to escape.

What awaited him would have been a tragic fate, split in two just like that black Kirin Flying Car.

Crack!

The wrecked body of the Flying Car slammed heavily onto the grassland of the Hundred Beast Garden, shattering into pieces.

The old man stood dozens of meters away, looking up at the young man in white who appeared high in the sky.

Shen Xinglan.

Was this the might of the sword he had slashed out?

He had long heard that Shen Family's pride, Shen Xinglan, had broken through the Mountain Gate and advanced to Grandmaster, and now it seemed his strength truly was extraordinary.

Fortunately, his own lad was not far behind, and even somewhat superior...

This was the true chosen child of the heavens.

It was a pity, his old friend could not see this, how great would it be if they could see their son so outstanding?

At this thought, the old man felt a little heavier inside, and bitterness filled his mouth.

The old man raised his head to look at Shen Xinglan, who hovered in mid-air, and asked aloud, "What? Has Shen Wuxiang changed his mind?"

"This has nothing to do with Grandpa; it's my personal idea," replied Shen Xinglan.

"Your idea?" the old man snorted with disdain and rebuked, "When nations go to war, envoys are not to be killed; doesn't Shen Wuxiang even understand that much? Has he lived all these decades in vain?"

Shen Xinglan's face was frosty, and even upon hearing someone insult his Grandpa, his emotions did not show any fluctuation, "I've said before, this is my own decision, and it has nothing to do with Grandpa..."

"Heh..."

The old man chuckled coldly, "If Shen Wuxiang had straightforwardly admitted it, I would have respected him as a true hero."

"Wishing to kill me but fearing to bear the infamy and the mockery... such petty conduct is truly contemptible."

"Tang Li is a God of War; he is also hailed as a God of War, and some busybodies even compare the two... He is not even fit to carry Tang Li's shoes."

Shen Xinglan's brows furrowed slightly, and he explained again, "As I've said, this is my personal action, Grandpa does not know of this matter."

The old man looked at Shen Xinglan thoughtfully and asked, "If that's the case... why do you explain so much?"

Why need explanations to kill someone?

"To kill you is to dispel my inner demons."

"Dispelling your inner demons? You have demons within?"

"Yes," Shen Xinglan nodded earnestly and said, "Master said I do not understand human warmth or cold, I have not faced life and death, lack love and hate, and am missing solitary courage..."

"Grandpa also said... said that this temperament of mine is only suitable for transcendence, not for worldly affairs. I have only the way of the noble, not the polish of the mundane. Able as a Martial Artist, difficult to manage a family or clan."

The old man was silent for a moment, then looked at Shen Xinglan and said, "I understand now, you want to be the Emperor."

"..."

Shen Xinglan was silenced by this statement.

He did indeed want to be the Emperor.

But, you don't have to put it so bluntly.

It was well-known that the Zhong Royal Family was about to step off the political stage of the Phoenix Empire.

Even if they could still sit at the forefront, they would be nothing more than puppets of the Shen Family, with the real power of the Empire in the hands of the Shen Family...

That is to say, the sons of the Shen Family had a chance to become King.

Given Shen Xinglan's valued status within the Shen Family, and his Grandpa, Shen Wuxiang, who held great military and political power, he originally had the best chance to rise to the position.

However, his temperament...

It was too calm and moderate.

To put it nicely, this was the bearing of a gentleman.

To put it bluntly, this is... being kind-hearted but lacking the resolve to be ruthless.

As an individual, that is certainly admirable.

However, as the leader of a nation...

That is an utterly terrible thing.

Even for his own grandson, Shen Wuxiang had to consider the feasibility of this matter.

After all, he could not ignore the interests of the entire clan for his own personal desires.

Recently, the young people in the family had been demonstrating extremely strong desires to perform, and although Shen Xinglan disapproved of such behavior, he was well aware that it was time for him to change.

Losing to Tang Fei had been a huge shock to him, and the mental pressure he bore was tremendous.

How could he have been defeated by Tang Fei?

Perhaps there is indeed something wrong with his character?

If he did not know where to start changing, he would start with killing.

Kill those who should be killed, those his grandfather wants to kill.

Clearly, Lu Yu was the one who should be killed the most.

He studied at his grandfather's side all day, no one knew his grandfather's thoughts better than he did.

To kill a person that even his grandfather had not decided to kill...

Was this considered fierce and resolute?

Seeing Shen Xinglan at a loss for words, the old man sighed lightly and said in a deep voice, "Well, if you want to overcome your inner demons, that boy needs to truly grow up too..."

"Heh, it seems that this old life of mine still has some use."

Shen Xinglan's Taia Sword raised slightly as he called out sternly, "I'll borrow your head for a moment."

"I can't just let you take it without a fight."

The old man pressed the silver watch on his wrist, and a silver light shield enveloped his body, then a layer of silver armor appeared on him.

"I am not a petty person, but for someone from the Shen Family, even if they want a single hair from me... they need to offer something in exchange..."

"Light Armor?" Shen Xinglan clearly knew his stuff.

Light Armor technology was the Empire's most cutting-edge and most top-secret research direction; it was said that Lu Ban Mountain and the Empire's Science and Technology Research Institute had been striving and developing in this direction for many years.

Unfortunately, no new research achievements had been disclosed, and the outside world mistakenly thought they had encountered a technological bottleneck.

It now appeared that the Lu Family had achieved great success in this field and even produced substantial products.

How much had the Lu Family hidden from the Empire and the Royal Family?

Damn it!

Shen Xinglan felt Lu Yu was even more of a threat that must be eliminated.

And the whole Lu Ban Mountain...

If they were unwilling to share their latest research results, then the Shen Family would not hesitate to eradicate them all.

Science and technology are the primary productive force and also the primary combat force. If Lu Ban Mountain were to equip the Qin Family-controlled army with their most advanced weapons and armor, the two joining forces could truly have a chance to turn the tables.

Previously, everyone could suppress the Lu Clan underfoot, mainly because they only had technology and no opportunity to control the army.

For a commercial company, no matter how much money you make, in the face of absolute military force...

What's yours is mine, and what's mine is still mine.

As long as you have it, as long as I want it.

You must give it up.

This is also the reason why the Lu Clan has become increasingly inconspicuous over the years; one is that they deliberately kept a low profile, and the other is that they were suppressed and weakened by the Royal Family and the other major clans.

If it weren't for allowing them to focus on technology, the position of Mechanical Minister wouldn't have been given to them.

Obviously, the Qin Family's change of sides made up for their deficiency.

Thinking of this, Shen Xinglan felt even more intense unease for the future of the Shen Family.

"Light Armor," the old man said with not a little pride.

"You, the Shen Family, may control a vast army, but the technology of our Lu Family is the number one in the world."

Before he finished speaking, he had already raised his hand and fired a cannon at Shen Xinglan.

He knew Shen Xinglan's strength; in a martial arts contest, he was no match for him.

So he had to win with technology.

Even though he came to negotiate with Shen Wuxiang with the resolution to die, he was not completely unprepared.

For instance, the set of Light Armor on his body...

It was the first and only set of Light Armor developed by Lu Ban Mountain.

Even though the Heavenly Mechanism Laboratory of Lu Ban Mountain had overcome the technical barriers, the scarcity of energy left them helpless and made mass production impossible.

That was also the reason why they had always kept information hidden from outsiders.

Boom!

Silver Energy Bullets exploded in the sky, making a hissing noise.

After a bout of thick smoke, the nostrils were filled with a scorched smell; the air was burnt by the Energy Bullets.

Several long-haired rats and tailless leopards that had been poking their heads in the bushes to spy were startled by the noise; the long-haired rats burrowed into the soil while the tailless leopard sprinted away hundreds of meters with a whoosh.

The figure of Shen Xinglan, however, had vanished without a trace.

The old man's shot went astray, and his Flying Boots immediately sent him flying backwards.

Where he had just been standing, a huge trench now appeared.

Soil churned, and blades of grass flew.

Such was the might of a single sword.

Shen Xinglan swung his sword into the empty air and, not giving the old man any time to react, followed up like a ghostly apparition with a second strike.

The old man, relying on the reaction speed of his Flying Boots and the AI sensor system of the Light Armor, darted left and right, continuously evading Shen Xinglan's assaults.

Shen Xinglan unleashed over three thousand swords in one breath, yet failed to injure the old man in the slightest.

This frustrated Shen Xinglan; if he let himself get dragged on like this, he would end up in a passive position.

Although advancing to Grandmaster level meant the Yin Yang Qi inside his body circulated endlessly, nourishing itself,

inevitably, he would get tired.

How could a mortal body compare with mechanical might?

Machines don't get tired; they just run out of energy.

With Lu Ban Mountain's usual standard of technology, draining the energy of their Light Armor in a short period of time was no easy task.

Shen Xinglan understood that his inability to hit the target was due to the sensory system installed inside the Light Armor.

Bolstered by data on heat, attacks, wind speed, breathing, and more, the AI could analyze and predict in advance the trajectory of each of his sword strikes, thereby guiding Lu Yu to defend and dodge.

He wasn't just fighting the old man; he was battling a surprisingly powerful AI machine.

The Light Armor was too intelligent, making his smart seem rather inadequate...

"I must strip him of that Light Armor."

That's what Shen Xinglan was thinking in his mind.

Strip the Armor!

Must strip the Armor!

His body split in two, two into three, and from three, all things were born.

Countless Shen Xinglans appeared before the old man's virtual helmet.

Beep, beep, beep...

For a moment, countless red dots jumped non-stop on the old man's virtual helmet display.

Strike when the enemy is sick, take their life.

A white flash of light sped like lightning.

Crack!

The sword once again missed its mark.

Shen Xinglan incredulously watched the old man floating to his left, a look of astonishment on his face.

What happened?

How did he dodge it?

With so many clones... how did he recognize my real body?

Shen Xinglan could reach such high Martial Arts achievements because he was an extremely intelligent person.

After a moment's thought, he understood the crux of the matter.

Conservation of energy.

Those clones were mere afterimages, but they did not carry Yin Yang Qi.

While the real body was hidden amongst countless clones, it carried a vast amount of Yin Yang Qi, along with that lethal Sword Intent.

Therefore, after data analysis and recognition, the AI system locked onto his real body instantly.

Data feedback was different.

While all other data remained the same, only the real body was 'abnormal.'

And that abnormality was the true self.

AI is not easily deceived.

Understanding the problem, Shen Xinglan once again multiplied himself.

Moreover, every clone carried a fragment of Shen Lianglan's dispersed Yin Yang Qi... and equal portions of Sword Intent.

In other words, every clone was the real Shen Xinglan, and at the same time, none were.

The AI system stuttered.

Beep, beep, beep...

It took an unusually long time to lock onto the real target.

The old man's face showed a look of horror; he had not expected Shen Xinglan to be able to deceive the AI, rendering the intelligent system incapable of identifying his real body.

A ghastly wind was howling around, and shadows loomed everywhere.

"Ghostly Despair!"

The supreme movement technique in the world, the Shen Family's Ultimate Skill.

He threw a punch, aiming to use the backlash force to fly backwards out of the battlefield.

But a shadowy wind clung to him like a shadow.

A white light flickered.

Crack!

A crack appeared on the Light Armor.

It was like a heavy stroke from a dagger on silver paper.

Bang!

The silvery glow faded, and the Light Armor shattered into pieces!

The distance between the two grew, and their eyes met.

The old man looked at Shen Xinglan with cold eyes, then a fine line appeared on his forehead.

The fine line thickened, resembling a red worm squirming and spreading.

Then, blood flowed down his face, his nose, his mouth...

Shen Xinglan's sword had not only shattered his Light Armor but also left a cut on his forehead.

A little deeper, and even the bone might have been cleaved open.

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