Volume 4: Hidden Struggles, Chapter 275: Attacking from Both Sides

Chu Tianyu couldn’t figure out this question for the time being, but he believed that as events progressed, the answer would eventually come to light. From last time he followed them and overheard Aoxue’s conversation with her master, although he couldn’t hear the specifics because they were speaking in local dialect, and by considering what Aoxue had said earlier and later—initially saying she wanted to send Ningshuang back as soon as possible, but not mentioning it again after answering the phone—it was likely that Aoxue and Ningshuang had been given a new mission, or perhaps their mysterious master was finally about to appear!
Considering their current situation—staying at home and not getting involved in the conflict between the Zhan family and Lord Qin, it didn’t seem like they had a new mission, making the latter possibility much more likely!
After all, at the end of the day, the conflict was essentially about Aoxue and her group dealing with Lord Qin, while the Zhan family initially seemed to play a supporting role. But now, the main characters have stepped back, while those who were supposed to support them have ended up in the spotlight—showing just how complicated the relationships really are.
Yet as complicated as it was, Chu Tianyu already had a firm decision in mind: no matter what the relationships were or how complicated things were, none of that mattered. The most important thing was to use force, attacking from both sides with a combined assault—neither the Zhan family nor Lord Qin’s forces could be spared!
Whether it was to address the tragedy of the Qin family or to uncover the truth, the best way was to “fight it out.” Only by causing both sides severe damage and making them tremble would their backers become restless and reveal themselves. With the current chaotic situation and the endless opportunities among various factions…
Although he had decided to attack from both sides, his first target was undoubtedly the Zhan family!
Chu Tianyu didn’t go straight to Dragon Soul to trouble Zhan Yupeng, as there were many lay disciples of Shaolin in Dragon Soul, and he couldn’t act recklessly. Even if he could, if he got carried away and killed everyone, including Shaolin’s disciples, it would be a great disservice to Master Buzhan.

So Chu Tianyu decided to start by targeting the Zhan family’s own forces. In particular, those elite members of the family said to possess the Qilin bloodline. But before taking action, Chu Tianyu still had one thing to do: call his grandfather. It wasn’t to seek his support, but to explain that the current situation was beyond the scope of ordinary regulatory agencies—even powerful supernatural organizations like the Six Departments could at most serve as pawns. It was better to avoid Lu Lan’s involvement to prevent unnecessary casualties…

In the following days, the capital indeed became a scene of chaos and bloodshed. After several brutal massacres, not a single survivor remained in those bloody incidents. Confused and on high alert, both the Zhan family and Lord Qin retracted their forces, and the entire capital suddenly fell silent. The madness of previous days vanished as if all those with supernatural abilities had disappeared overnight.

The Zhan family suffered the heaviest losses. With their strength, they had substantial support and latent power in both legitimate and underground circles. But when it came to super experts possessing the power of heaven and earth, they were far inferior to Lord Qin. Moreover, the three elders from the Bloodline Clan who had come to assist recently were wiped out in a single operation. Not only were they killed, but it was said not even a trace of their bones could be found.

This blow was devastating for the Zhan family. These three elders possessed the same strength as the patriarch, Zhan Tian, and the highest level of Qilin bloodline. It was unimaginable—who could have killed them all at once?

Because of this, Zhan Yupeng was repeatedly scolded by Zhan Tian for his incompetence. He was blamed for creating complications at such a critical moment, pursuing personal vendettas that led to the deaths of the three elders and caused severe losses to the Zhan family, as if their arms had been severed.

Facing his grandfather’s reproaches, Zhan Yupeng could only listen and smile bitterly inwardly. He thought, “It was your idea to assign the three elders to deal with that Qin family girl temporarily. You once said she was cunning—considering the unknown forces behind her and her relationship with the Chu family, as well as Vice Chairman Han, we couldn’t act rashly. If we had to act, it had to be a decisive strike, clean and efficient. With this opportunity to confront Lord Qin, the three elders were the perfect choice. It might be using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but it was safe, quick, and foolproof!”

The old man’s decision was actually one that Zhan Yupeng wholeheartedly supported, yet the final outcome was something the Zhan family father and son never could have imagined. As for the situation at the time, since the three elders and their men were completely wiped out, the Zhan family had to investigate various sources to piece together some clues. It seemed that six groups were involved, with Wuhen from the Blade Group leading them; it was said they just happened to encounter each other by chance.

Zhan Yupeng certainly didn’t take those six groups seriously. They might have happened to be there at the right time, but with their strength, they were far from formidable, let alone capable of causing any impact.

However, they did obtain some information from those six groups. It seemed that Qin Nianran had fought against three opponents alone. When the battle was evenly matched, three glowing figures appeared in the air and entered the fight. Without causing much of a disturbance, they flew away again, killing all of the three elders’ men with their finger strength. Once the smoke cleared, only three piles of charcoal left, which turned to ash upon touch—presumably the bodies of the three elders…

This outcome not only left Zhan Tian and Zhan Yupeng shocked and filled with doubts but also filled them with fear. While dealing with Qin Nianran, they had also sent people to carry out brutal revenge and massacres against the Qin family of Fudu Industry in Shanghai. That operation went smoothly, but later they encountered resistance from unknown attackers. Since the operation was nearing its end, they didn’t engage further.

The simultaneous attacks on both sides yielded different results, leading Zhan Tian and Zhan Yupeng to conclude that the forces behind Qin Nianran did not come from her own family but had another backing!

Just as Zhan Tian was still blaming Zhan Yupeng, a phone rang suddenly. Glancing at the number on the phone, Zhan Tian’s face immediately lit up with joy…