Chapter 51: The Grand Wedding of Tang Shirou

"Hahaha, this is what you get for offending the Tang family! Cough, cough, cough..."

Tang Xiangui laughed heartily, choking on the thick smoke and breaking into a fit of coughs.

Hovering beneath the giant swan's wings, they soared straight upward, holding their breath as they fled desperately through the high altitude to escape the catastrophic explosion.

Yang Kai slowly approached Tang Shirou, a leering grin plastered across his face. "Shirou, you might as well resign yourself to me peacefully now. No one can take you away, and you will never escape the palm of my hand!"

Tang Shirou's eyes were devoid of light. She collapsed limply to the ground, her tears completely exhausted.

Elder Yang also shuffled over. "Shirou, once we reach the Yang family estate, you must serve our father and son well. You will be my son's seventy-eighth wife!"

"Hahaha, Dad, say a little less! Don't frighten my little bride!"

Yang Kai laughed loudly, making no effort to conceal his words from the Tang family members.

Tang Xiangui felt a momentary awkwardness, but still spoke up, "Rest assured, the heritage of the Tang family is far beyond what an ordinary city can contain. Within half a month, I will still be the undisputed lord of Jiangnan!"

Yang Kai patted Tang Xiangui on the chest. "Of course I believe you. You even brought out the Orb of Death; I truly recognize the Tang family now."

With that, he strode toward Tang Shirou with a lewd smirk, terrifying Tang Xiangui into hurriedly stepping between the two of them.

What a joke!

If you have your fun right now,

what happens if the wedding doesn't go through later?

Wouldn't the Tang family end up losing both the girl and the battle?

The Orb of Death had already been expended, so this marriage had to happen!

Yang Kai curled his lip in dissatisfaction, naturally understanding what the old man was getting at.

Elder Yang, having recovered from his recent terror, smoothed down his sleeves, his eyes regaining their bright, ambitious gleam.

"Send people to establish the base first. In a few days, we will set off for the capital to hold the grand wedding!"

"The venue will be right at the Yang family stronghold!"

"By then, I will invite the hundreds of elite families of the capital to witness this momentous occasion!"

Joy instantly bloomed across Tang Xiangui's face.

"Good! Excellent, excellent, excellent!"

The Tang family.

In the end, it would flourish and reach new heights under his own hands!

...

Five minutes earlier.

Chen Xiao had already ceased his desperate retreat.

Facing the terrifying, descending torrent of destructive energy,

the only path to survival was to meet it with one's absolute might!

He closed his eyes tightly, channeling every single ounce of power within his body toward his outer skin.

At this moment, the scales covering his entire body gleamed like a suit of divine armor!

Every single scale flashed with an indestructible, chilling luster amidst the blazing light, forming an unimaginably formidable defensive barrier!

This was the ultimate defensive posture of the prehistoric Tyrannosaurus Rex!

Yet, the sheer magnitude of the explosion far exceeded Chen Xiao's imagination!

A blinding white light, resembling a blazing solar corona, instantly engulfed everything in the vicinity!

In a fraction of a second, he felt as though he had been ruthlessly swatted away by an invisible, colossal hand!

A terrifying wave of heat surged forward, reducing everything around him to ash!

Chen Xiao was forced to trigger [Dragonification] once more!

The [Water of All Things] transformed into a thick, watery shroud, tightly wrapping around his body!

Yet, even with Chen Xiao executing his absolute defense with everything he had,

it proved utterly fragile before this devastating, high-temperature inferno.

His scales began to emit a sizzling sound, slowly melting away like liquid metal!

The protective barrier of the Water of All Things was instantly vaporized into nothingness!

His life force was being stripped away and dissipated bit by bit by the horrifying heat!

He seemed destined to become yet another helpless casualty of this apocalyptic cataclysm.

The next instant!

A massive hand abruptly burst forth from the subterranean depths, fiercely dragging him downward!

Thus, he narrowly evaded the searing shockwave capable of obliterating all life.

Immediately afterward, he experienced an unprecedented sense of rapid velocity.

The surrounding soil streaked backward like flowing water, and his body acted like a shooting star driven by invisible forces,

tunneling straight through the layers of the earth's crust!

"I suppose this settles the life I owed you?"

A familiar voice sounded beside him, and Chen Xiao struggled to open his eyes.

Jiang Yunhan?

He was right behind him, accompanying him as they hurtled through the underground tunnels.

A green glow flickered in Jiang Yunhan's hand, continuously infusing him with [Mystic Tortoise Life Force].

Looking ahead, he saw a youth glowing with a brilliant purple light, frantically activating some sort of innate talent.

"His talent is [Earth Tunneling]."

"If it weren't for the abundance of talent in Jianghe Granary, you'd already be dead."

Jiang Yunhan sighed, speaking leisurely from behind Chen Xiao.

"Rumble, rumble—"

Deafening explosions echoed endlessly above their heads!

Jiang Yunhan continued, "Now you finally know how terrifying the Tang family truly is."

"No matter how much you resemble a superman, you ultimately struggle to contend with such a colossal behemoth."

Before Chen Xiao could utter a response, a sweet taste rose in his throat, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

His entire body was now severely burned and drenched in blood, with excruciating pain piercing every single cell.

Jiang Yunhan muttered, "If Chuxue hadn't insisted on coming along, you wouldn't have had a single chance of survival today..."

Listening to Jiang Yunhan's endless chatter, Chen Xiao finally reached his limit and lapsed into a deep, heavy slumber.

Seeing Chen Xiao pass out completely, Jiang Yunhan sighed helplessly and muttered under his breath, "This kid... what kind of monster is he anyway?"

He had witnessed it with his own eyes: Chen Xiao descending like a deity, slaughtering everything in his path.

Fighting an entire city single-handedly!

Under the edge of his blade, the Tang family had been as fragile as paper.

Had it not been for that final cataclysmic explosion, the Tang family would have perished today!

Unfortunately, there were no ifs in reality.

The Tang family had willingly sacrificed half their forces just to take down Chen Xiao.

That alone could be considered the ultimate acknowledgment of Chen Xiao's terror.

...

Jianghe Granary, Master Bedroom.

When Chen Xiao opened his eyes once more, it was already the following day.

He carefully inspected his physical condition and was astonished to find that his injuries had already healed by more than half.

The skin that had been scorched black during the explosion had completely renewed itself, replaced by tender, delicate new skin.

His final [Dragonification] had proven to be the absolute right choice.

It had granted him terrifying vitality and regenerative abilities, allowing his skin burns and internal injuries to heal almost continuously.

Naturally, Jiang Yunhan's [Mystic Tortoise Life Force] must have played a significant role as well.

Chen Xiao walked out into the reception hall, where Jiang Yunhan and several others were currently studying intelligence regarding the Jiangbei triangular forces.

Opposite him sat the five S-rank transcendents and a few other familiar faces.

These individuals were the core figures of Jianghe Granary, and by now, they had all pledged allegiance to Jiang Yunhan.

The moment they saw Chen Xiao enter, they immediately straightened their postures,

resembling junior corporate employees undergoing a sudden inspection by top management.

"You're awake. I honestly didn't expect you to recover so quickly."

Jiang Yunhan raised his head and gave a light chuckle.

Chen Xiao rubbed his temples and casually pulled up a chair to sit down.

"You're all dismissed. The Jianghe region is to be completely sealed off; keep a low profile lately."

Jiang Yunhan issued a direct command to the group, ordering them to leave.

Chen Xiao knew he was doing this to prevent news of his survival from leaking out.

Jiang Yunhan walked over to Chen Xiao, poured him a cup of tea, and avoided direct eye contact.

"The Tang family's Orb of Death practically obliterated their entire base."

"Right now, they are sparing no expense to massively recruit personnel, rebuild the city, and offer extremely lucrative incentives."

"As for you..."

"They have branded you a villain who colluded with New Humans."

"They claim to be heroes who acted for the sake of all humanity by deploying a nuclear weapon to annihilate a demon."

"And those innocent people who died have been re-cast as pioneers who fell while fighting the demon."

Chen Xiao felt no surprise; this was entirely in character for the Tang family.

Controlling the narrative.

Turning black into white.

Since virtually everyone who had witnessed the event had perished, whatever the Tang family claimed became absolute truth.

"What about Tang Shirou?"

"She is already on her way to the capital. Chuxue and I went to check on her once; she has been placed under house arrest by Tang Xiangui."

"You didn't tell her I'm still alive?"

"No. Some truths, if spoken too soon, only breed unnecessary grief."

Jiang Yunhan continued, "What are your plans for the future? You might as well remain the shadowy lord of Jianghe and stop meddling in the affairs of the capital."

Chen Xiao shook his head. "Are you suggesting I should abandon Tang Shirou?"

Jiang Yunhan let out a helpless sigh. "Chen Xiao, Miss Tang is Chuxue's dearest friend; I take no pleasure in seeing her like this either."

"But she has already accepted her fate. She doesn't want to drag you and the rest of us down."

"I didn't tell her the news of your survival precisely to help her hold onto her resolve."

"Otherwise, everything would plunge into chaos all over again."

Chen Xiao picked up his teacup and drained it in a single gulp. The water was scalding hot, yet he showed no reaction whatsoever.

"Is there any other news?"

"Uh..."

"Stop hesitating. Out with it if there is news."

"Seven days from now, Tang Shirou's grand wedding will take place..."

"The venue is in the capital!"