I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 890 The Night Before
As a member of one of the eight great families, Zhang Gaqi naturally knew how profound their foundations were. To think that he could overthrow them all by himself was simply a pipe dream.

And what about Zhang Chen?

As a twelfth-tier powerhouse, how could he fear the eight great families, given the limits of what this world can contain? No matter how profound the foundation of the eight great families may be, they still need to compete to determine who is superior.

The eight major families are incredibly powerful; am I really all alone?

Could it be that my cultivation level is just made of paper?
He did receive Zhang Gaqi's concern, but he absolutely refused to leave when asked to.

Seeing Zhang Chen's stubbornness, Zhang Gaqi turned to Xie Lingyun and said, "Chief Xie, you know how deep the foundation of the eight great families is. You should try to persuade him."

"Persuade him?" Xie Lingyun looked up at Zhang Chen. "He's as stubborn as a mule. How can I possibly persuade him? You're his own uncle, and if you can't persuade him, how can I?"

“You should know how deep the foundations of the eight great families are. Even the royal family of Dasheng wouldn’t dare to act rashly. You should advise him to stop. Now that he has the ability, he can live well anywhere. Wouldn’t it be better for him to find a quiet place where no one can disturb him, marry, have children, and live a peaceful life? The grudges and feuds of the older generation are in the past. Why continue to perpetuate hatred and karma?” Zhang Gaqi looked at Xie Lingyun. He felt that Xie Lingyun was a very unethical person. After all, if Xie Lingyun was willing to help him persuade Zhang Chen, the chances of success were still quite high.

Xie Lingyun knew exactly what Zhang Gaqi was thinking. She wanted Zhang Chen to avoid the limelight and stay away from this vortex, but she felt that Zhang Gaqi didn't understand Zhang Chen's personality at all.

So Xie Lingyun smiled and didn't refute Zhang Gaqi's words, but simply said lightly, "No matter what choice he makes, my Xie family will fully support him and support him at all costs. Through thick and thin, the Xie family will accompany him!"

Upon hearing Xie Lingyun's words, Zhang Gaqi's pupils contracted, realizing that things had gotten serious. He never expected that the friendship between Zhang Chen and Xie Lingyun was so deep that she was willing to bring in everything from the Xie family to support him.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade Xie Lingyun, Zhang Gaqi turned to Zhang Chen and set his sights on him: "Zhang Chen, you should leave! The farther away from the capital, the better. Fratricide will only make you a laughing stock."

"Fratricide? Where is the fratricide? I only know that if anyone dares to mess with me, I will kill them! Anyone who dares to lay a hand on me is not my brother!" Zhang Chen's voice was icy cold.

Zhang Gaqi felt a chill run down his spine as he met Zhang Chen's expressionless face. A coldness instantly surged through him, and neither the Zhang family nor the young man before him could be persuaded.

The atmosphere in the pavilion grew quiet. Zhang Chen poured Zhang Gaqi a cup of tea to ease the awkwardness: "How are my younger brother and sister?"

“They’ve grown into adults and are living well in their families. You can visit them when you have time,” Zhang Gaqi said.

"If I go to the Zhang family to see them, will I ever have a chance to leave the Zhang family again?" Zhang Chen suddenly asked.

Zhang Gaqi was taken aback upon hearing this. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't say anything.

Seeing the embarrassment on Zhang Gaqi's face, Zhang Chen smiled and said, "I was just joking. Fourth Uncle, have some tea!"

"If you are willing to give up all disputes and settle down to cultivate in seclusion within the Zhang family, you can still be guaranteed a life of luxury and wealth. I can guarantee that you will live a peaceful life without anyone disturbing you. We can even deceive the King of Pingbian." Zhang Gaqi still did not give up trying to persuade Zhang Chen.

"It's better to die a quick and painless death than to live a miserable life," Zhang Chen said with a smile.

Zhang Chen's casual remark, however, revealed his sharp edge, making Zhang Gaqi's heart skip a beat. He was about to persuade him further when Zhang Chen said, "I, Zhang Chen, am someone who toils from the mud. I have always believed in one truth: nothing is more important than survival. If anyone makes it impossible for me to live, I will make it impossible for them to live first."

Although his words were very calm, the murderous intent between the lines made both Xie Lingyun and Zhang Gaqi lose their color.

They heard only one meaning in Zhang Chen's words: Better to be a broken piece of jade than a whole piece of tile!

Such fierce determination!

Disappointed, Zhang Gaqi could only return empty-handed. Zhang Chen watched Zhang Gaqi's departing figure with a subtle, unfathomable look in his eyes.

"The Zhang family are your blood relatives, what do you plan to do? Are you really going to tear off all pretenses?" Xie Lingyun asked tentatively.

"What's the big deal about tearing off the mask? If necessary, we can wipe them all out! If they attack me, what kind of blood relatives are we?" Zhang Chen took a sip of tea.

Xie Lingyun looked at Zhang Chen with both eyes. She felt that although Zhang Chen's words were a bit too murderous, they were not without reason.

They've already tried to kill Zhang Chen, so what kind of blood relatives are they? If they're not blood relatives, what's wrong with killing him?
"If we unite, we will not be afraid of facing the eight great families, so you can rest assured," Xie Lingyun said to Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen smiled upon hearing this: "I'm not afraid of the eight great families. It's fine if they just stand by and watch the feud between me and the Pingbian Prince's Mansion, but if they dare to be so audacious as to interfere, then they can't blame me for being ruthless! Whoever stands in my way will die!" Zhang Chen's words were filled with killing intent, which startled Xie Lingyun. She then nodded solemnly: "Whoever stands in our way will only face death."

Zhang Chen settled down in the Inspectorate, and he could feel a wave beginning to surge in Kyoto.

Seven days later, Xie Lingyun arrived at Zhang Chen's resting place and saw a happy look on his face: "We have already secretly made arrangements. The Grand Steward has already sounded out the King's opinion. We can resolve your troubles in front of the civil and military officials at tomorrow's court assembly. However, the King has set a condition: if you can meet it, you will be pardoned; if you cannot, we will have to act according to the law."

"What are the conditions?" Zhang Chen asked, a hint of curiosity on his face.

Xie Lingyun said, "Didn't the Great Victory Royal Family issue an edict to recruit talents from all walks of life for the Jixia Academy, intending to develop a new world? Right now, the development of the new world has encountered a big problem. The Great Victory King needs you to activate the Zhang family's bloodline and suppress a certain strange phenomenon. Only your Zhang family's bloodline can suppress that strange phenomenon, but the Great Victory King doesn't trust the Zhang family..."

Xie Lingyun looked at Zhang Chen and asked, "Do you agree to the Great Victory King's conditions?"

“I have no choice but to agree! However, once the treasure is retrieved, who it belongs to will depend on their own abilities. As long as I can buy some time and establish myself in the capital, then everyone will have to rely on their own abilities. I’m quite curious about how deep the foundation of the Dasheng royal family is!” Zhang Chen said with a smile.

What is he afraid of? He has the Eye of Heavenly Punishment; there's probably no one in Kyoto he can't kill, right? At worst, he'll just flip the table!
The Great Victory Royal Family wanted to use him, and he wanted to use the Great Victory Royal Family to spy on that newly opened world.

"In that case, you will come with me to the morning court tomorrow. We will have a debate there to shut up the officials and see what tricks these demons and monsters are up to," Xie Lingyun said. "We need to make a clear distinction between who are enemies and who are friends."

"Okay!" Zhang Chen nodded, agreeing with Xie Lingyun's words.

At this point, Zhang Chen looked at Xie Lingyun: "There's something I'll need to trouble you with, sister, for tomorrow's court debate."

"What is it?" Xie Lingyun asked.

“Please invite Princess Pingbian to come out and confront him. At the very least, let King Dasheng see Princess Pingbian, even if it’s just for a glance!” Zhang Chen said solemnly.

Upon hearing this, Xie Lingyun looked at Zhang Chen with surprise: "What do you want to do?"

“Since we want to debate in the imperial court, we certainly can’t do without the main group represented by the Pingbian Prince’s Mansion.” Zhang Chen didn’t tell Xie Lingyun the truth, after all, the truth was too horrifying. The Pingbian Princess was actually possessed by a fox spirit and wanted to devour the human dragon vein and consume the human race’s destiny. If he told her, Xie Lingyun probably wouldn’t help him. Xie Lingyun would never betray the human race. No matter how good their relationship was in private, Xie Lingyun would never betray the human race.

"I always feel like you're hiding something from me." Xie Lingyun stared at Zhang Chen with her clear black and white eyes, her gaze filled with suspicion.

"Anyway, I won't harm you." Zhang Chen smiled and changed the subject.

Just as the two were talking, at the Zhang family mansion in Kyoto, Gong Chun had already arrived and was standing with Zhang Shenqi.

"I have received news that Zhang Chen and the Chai family have reached an agreement. At tomorrow's court assembly, the King will pardon Zhang Chen's crimes and order him to atone for his sins through meritorious service. The King believes that the situation in the North is beyond saving, so he has chosen another path," Gong Chun said to Zhang Shenqi.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shenqi's face darkened: "Is this really true?"

“You’re not unaware of the methods my Gong family uses, and whether it’s true or not, we’ll find out at tomorrow’s court assembly,” Gong Chun said.

"If Zhang Chen doesn't die, the Pingbian Prince's Mansion will get out of control, and the lives of hundreds of thousands of people from the eight great families of the capital will be in danger!" Zhang Shenqi took a breath.

"So I was thinking, could we get rid of Zhang Chen beforehand?" Gong Chun looked at Zhang Shenqi.

"How do we get rid of him? He's hiding inside the Inspectorate; who would dare attack the Inspectorate?" Zhang Shenqi frowned.

“He’s hiding inside the Inspectorate right now, and we can’t do anything about him, but what if we force him out?” Gong Chun said.

"You have a way?" Zhang Shenqi was taken aback.

"I have no way, but you should have a way," Gong Chun said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)