Volume 4: Hidden Struggles, Chapter 159: The Shackles Unbound

As Chu Tianyu neared the end of the corridor, he stopped in his tracks and silently counted, “One, two, three…” Sure enough, Orsini’s footsteps followed, along with his voice: “Chu, please wait. I want to talk to you!”
Thus, the two sat down again in their original positions, but their expressions were vastly different this time. Chu Tianyu looked as if he had expected this, while Duke Orsini seemed hesitant. He took two deep puffs from his cigar before declaring, “Chu, I’ve made up my mind. Regardless of whether others agree or not, my family and I will fully cooperate with you and support you unconditionally!”
Chu Tianyu smiled and nodded. “Have you thought it through?”
“Yes. Alas, as one gets older, sometimes one dares not seize opportunities when they arise,” Orsini said sheepishly. After a pause, he continued, “To be honest, I’ve carefully weighed things. Given the current situation, not to mention those so-called allied families, if we really follow your plan, even my own daughter Sophia should be kept in the dark!”
“If you can think like that, I believe we can communicate smoothly from now on!” Chu Tianyu said with a smile.
“Do you have any plans?” Orsini asked first.
“It’s not that we have plans; it depends on what our opponent does next and what outcome we ultimately want to achieve!” Chu Tianyu replied calmly.
“I suppose my ears have always been at your service…”
“Actually, those allied families of yours—though they can’t say it yet—surely Archbishop Thorne won’t let them go! I wonder what specific conflicts exist between your families and him. Why would he, as the supreme ruler, still resort to such tactics against his subordinates? I believe Mr. Orsini must be very clear about this himself…”
“That’s right. To be frank, these ancient families are only loyal to the church. In our eyes, the archbishop is merely the representative of each church council. His actual power isn’t as great as people imagine; otherwise, that brute from Scandinavia wouldn’t have been able to resist him for so many years!”

“Yes. In China, this is called loss of control over power! Since he’s now colluding with Gleir of Britain to eliminate those who aren’t under his control—even those family forces that could restrict his power—we can easily imagine that with Britain’s help, the attacks on you will become even more fierce. And if nothing goes wrong, in the end it will be his power that turns the tide and secures firm rule overthe whole Europe!”
“Hmph, I’m afraid he’ll burn himself out. Gleir, the Eagle of Britain, is no simple person!”
“Hehe, that’s not something we need to worry about! We’ve basically analyzed everything clearly now. All we need to do is carry out our tasks!”
“Mm, Chu, just speak up if you have any ideas!”
“First, we should stay put. Mr. Orsini, I think you should focus on reorganizing your forces. Taking advantage of your injuries, you can rest and regroup for now. Second, we should subtly reveal some of Archbishop Thorne’s despicable actions to various churches and families, so they can prepare as well. It’s best to do it subtly, so they don’t believe it at first. Once they suffer, when they recall these rumors, hehe, that’s when we’ll achieve the effect we want. Third, the secrets of Ischer Castle have been uncovered, and the seal of the War Shackles has been broken…”
As Chu Tianyu said this, Duke Orsini’s expression changed, and he exclaimed, “What? The seal of the War Shackles has been broken? Weren’t they only opened a little? So, what exactly is that War Shackles? Are the claims about Europe’s fate and future true?”
Faced with Orsini’s series of questions, Chu Tianyu inwardly sighed. To some extent, with the War Shackles broken like this, perhaps Europe’s fate had already begun to change…
Moreover, aside from Chu Tianyu and his closest allies, not even Duke Ret knew the full details about the War Shackles. So now, everything was up to Chu Tianyu to manipulate.
Thus, Chu Tianyu replied in a mysterious tone, “What the War Shackles are isn’t important. What matters is that we’re preparing to change this fate now, right?”
“What do you mean?” Orsini asked instinctively.
Chu Tianyu smiled without answering. Watching his expression, Orsini shifted from initial confusion to deep thought. Eventually, as if realizing something, he stared at Chu Tianyu with gleaming eyes, even the deep wrinkles on his forehead seeming to smooth out.

“To be honest, I don’t know why, but being with you makes me feel full of confidence and impulse—blind impulse that shouldn’t exist at my age!” Duke Orsini finally smiled slightly in relief.
“I’ll be honest too—talking with you is truly pleasant. There’s no need for any unnecessary words!”
“Haha…”
“By the way, Mr. Orsini, regarding the third point I mentioned earlier, what I really want is for you to spread this news…”
“Understood!” Orsini replied with an understanding expression.
“Also, about my identity and my powers, as you just said, it’s best to keep Miss Sophia in the dark as well. The more people who know, the worse it will be for you and our future cooperation! At the same time, I’d like to seriously remind you that if there are any issues with profit distribution in the future, Europe’s fate might change once again…”
“Happy cooperation!” Faced with Chu Tianyu’s “reminder” and subtle threat, Orsini promptly extended a friendly hand and spoke sincerely.
“Happy cooperation! Hehe…” Chu Tianyu also smiled knowingly.
……
In the Paris airport lounge, Ouyang Ziyi and Li Rou were reluctantly saying goodbye to Chu Tianyu. After returning, Chu Tianyu had explained the complex situation in Europe and the whole sequence of events, allowing Ouyang Ziyi and the others to understand his intentions.
However, among those seeing him off was a beautiful woman with blond hair, blue eyes, and a tall figure, looking gloomy. Her gaze kept sneaking toward Ouyang Ziyi from time to time…
“Tianyu, this time you’re going to face the entire power of Europe. No matter how strong you are, hidden threats are hard to guard against! And without Qianfeng, it’s like having no eyes or ears. I’m always worried—maybe after we return, I should arrange for Qianfeng and the people from Wutang to come over…” Ouyang Ziyi asked anxiously in a low voice.
Although Li Rou didn’t fully understand what Qianfeng and Wutang were, she knew they were meant to help Chu Tianyu, so she quickly nodded in agreement.
Chu Tianyu knew Ziyi was just worried too much. He smiled and reassured her, “Ziyi, you guys can go back with peace of mind. Not to mention sending people over, even if we brought all the disciples from Wutang, what good would it do since they’re unfamiliar with the place? On the contrary, having such a large group standing among foreigners would only invite exposure.”

Seeing Ouyang Ziyi and the others still hesitating, Chu Tianyu added, “Actually, I’m not alone either. Isn’t there also the cooperation with Duke Orsini? By the way, Ziyi, take a look at that Sophia. How did she figure out your true identity? And why does she keep looking at you that way? Hehe, she really doesn’t even consider me as a man! You’d better go and talk to her clearly. That resentful look of hers is truly chilling!”
Chu Tianyu successfully shifted the topic, and everyone’s attention indeed turned to Sophia. They all glanced at her with mockery, occasionally looking at Ouyang Ziyi as well…
Ouyang Ziyi glared fiercely at Chu Tianyu and helplessly walked over to Sophia. Seeing Sophia’s embarrassed expression, Ouyang Ziyi herself didn’t understand what was going on anymore.
“You, uh, hey, I’m really, really sorry!” Ouyang Ziyi tried hard to find something to say.
“You’ve said that many times already!” Sophia replied softly, looking at her.
“Is that so? Hehe, actually, this is just a beautiful misunderstanding. Besides, I already have someone I love very deeply. And since you’re so beautiful, there must be a line of cool guys pursuing you, haha…” Ouyang Ziyi kept making jokes.
“Here, this is the Ring of Holy Power you gave me last time. I… I can’t accept it!” Sophia said softly, as if not hearing Ouyang Ziyi’s words, and reluctantly handed the ring back to her.
Ouyang Ziyi immediately pushed it away and said, “What are you talking about? Even if I hadn’t been saved by you back then, I wouldn’t have known how to repay you. As for this ring, I gave it to you willingly. How could I ask you to take it back?”
“But… its meaning is different now…” Sophia said resentfully, looking into Ouyang Ziyi’s eyes.
Ouyang Ziyi really couldn’t take it anymore. Had Sophia been traumatized? It seemed like this was turning into some kind of terrifying homoerotic situation!
“Sophia, keep the ring for now. I… I need to board the plane. I’ll be leaving first. Chu Tianyu, no need to see me off. Go back with Sophia! We’re boarding now!” Ouyang Ziyi started speaking to Sophia at first, but later she kept shouting at Chu Tianyu as she backed away. Her reluctance toward Chu Tianyu had long been forgotten. All she wanted now was to leave quickly without looking back. Otherwise, if she had to talk a few more words with this affectionate Sophia, she’d get chills all over her body—her emotional impact was simply too strong!

After Chu Tianyu waved his hand smilingly to see Ouyang Ziyi and the others off, he turned to Sophia, who was head bowed in silence, and said, “Sophia, shall we go back?” Seeing no reaction from her, Chu Tianyu called out a few more times before Sophia finally raised her head, her eyes red with anger, and glared at him before shouting, “I hate you to death!” With that, she turned and ran away without looking back…

Confused, Chu Tianyu felt aggrieved and muttered to Sophia’s retreating figure, “What does this have to do with me?” But then he remembered that Sophia had come with him to see them off this time, and there was an even more important task: to maintain direct contact with Duke Orsini through her. Given her attitude, awkward interactions would surely be inevitable from now on.

Ouyang Ziyi’s act of disguising herself as a man really caused trouble. What was worst was that she created all the mess and just left without a care, leaving him as the scapegoat who was hated to death!

…

Five days later, one night, in the hall of an ancient castle in Paris, a group of people were discussing something when suddenly a chill swept in. Puzzled, they looked out the windows but saw nothing. Just as they were about to turn away, their vision blurred—as if in a hallucination—a figure appeared out of thin air right in the center of the hall.

A few people in the front rubbed their eyes and glanced at the others, trying to confirm it wasn’t just an illusion or a trick of the eyes.

“What kind of creature are you?” one of them asked in English.

In a flash, the shadow moved, and that person clutched his abdomen, slowly bending over. When he reached 90 degrees, he collapsed to the ground, his fate unknown.

By the time the others realized they were under attack, five more figures had silently appeared on the ground.

The invading shadows didn’t stop attacking just because they had reacted. Instead, taking advantage of their confusion and fear from the sudden assault, they used their speed and unknown close-quarters combat skills to knock down eight more people.

Only then did the remaining people manage to organize an effective defense. They gathered together in layers, forming small defensive circles to resist the shadow’s terrifying speed and lethality.

But once they were fully prepared, they saw that the shadow simply stood quietly across from them, not taking the chance to attack.

“You, who are you?” the leader asked in English.
“Sword of Death…” Before the shadow could finish speaking, his attack began. The group at the front, seeing the shadow charge at them at such speed that they hadn’t even had time to attack, felt two fingers as hard as steel clamp around their throats almost simultaneously. With a slight crunching sound from their necks, their bodies collapsed like cut straw.
After that, no matter how the defenders attacked or tried to pull away, the outcome was the same as for the first group. Some smarter ones moved to the sides, clearing space for the defense in the middle. It was clear that the shadow’s target was the leading group.
On the periphery of the leading group, several strong men suddenly had their clothes burst open, revealing upper bodies covered in black hair. Their eyes turned blood red as they roared continuously, saliva dripping uncontrollably—clearly insane. With a few furious shouts, they threw punches at the approaching shadow.
But this time, the shadow’s movements weren’t as swift. Instead, it suddenly slowed down, wrapping its arms around itself to form a circular energy field. Driven by the swirling energy within, the fists of those enraged fighters struck their own comrades instead. With both their full strength and the force of the circular energy field, even their extremely robust bodies couldn’t withstand such blows. The hit areas collapsed instantly, blood gushing out as they died on the spot.
Seeing such a formidable enemy, the leader had no hope left for those in front. A yellow glow appeared in his hand, and as soon as the shadow knocked down those men, he launched an attack. With his other hand, emitting a buzzing electromagnetic sound, he leaped forward toward the shadow, whose tactics seemed exhausted.
Unfortunately, whether it was the yellow glow or his electromagnetic attack, all that appeared before him was a single fist. That fist effortlessly shattered the yellow glow and remained unaffected by the electromagnetic waves, breaking his arm and landing silently on his face…
After that strike, the shadow stopped attacking. It vanished with the wind, appearing and disappearing once again before the remaining people, as if everything had been an illusion—except for the bodies scattered everywhere…

That shadow was none other than Chu Tianyu. At that moment, his heart was filled with excitement, once again experiencing that sense of freedom and pleasure as if he could destroy everything at will!
In fact, apart from the reasons mentioned for staying in Europe alone, Chu Tianyu also had a personal need. This need had already shown signs back in his home country, but he had suppressed it.
This “need” was to unleash his power and act without any concerns, doing as he pleased! When Chu Tianyu first sensed it, he was actually shocked by his own “need”—it was completely contrary to the state of natural mastery he had achieved after growing stronger. Could it be a sign of obsession?
Later, Chu Tianyu deduced that his current condition was likely related to the possession by the Mo Long energy and the self-sealing of the Zi Xu Zhen Long core. Clearly, the violent nature of the Mo Long energy was affecting him, driving him to want to vent his emotions recklessly.
But back home, with so many restrictions and responsibilities, Chu Tianyu could only suppress these impulses, allowing himself to indulge slightly only on special occasions, like dancing with Feifei without caring about the consequences, acting purely on impulse…
Thus, this “simple” task of accompanying Zi Yi to Europe had led to such turmoil, suddenly giving him a sense of freedom akin to a dragon swimming in the sea. He could vent his anger however he wanted, destroy whatever he wished, without too many concerns. Unlike back home, where there were so many conflicts and constraints, here he could kill or destroy as he pleased, create chaos, and even leave like Zi Yi—two words: “incredible!”
As for Archbishop Thorne or the Eagle of Britain, Gler, well… sorry for you guys…