One person: Starting with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, his grandmaster uncle emerges from seclusion.

A black, round hole, less than a meter in diameter, appeared silently at his waist.

A hand reached out directly from that black hole.

He grabbed Shen Yichen by the neck.

"what?!"

Shen Yichen didn't even have time to turn around; he only felt an irresistible, enormous pulling force coming from behind him.

"Third Young Master!"

Shen Zhong, who was standing nearby, noticed something was wrong and was about to reach out to grab it.

But that hand was moving way too fast!

"Go away!"

Accompanied by Zhang Chulan's low shout.

Shen Yichen was forcefully pulled into the black hole by that hand!

next interest.

The air rippled again.

Shen Yichen stumbled out in a sorry state, landing headfirst in the thick snow and getting completely disoriented.

Before the third young master of the Shen family could even come to his senses, he got up from the snow.

"Don't move around, Young Master Shen."

A watermelon knife, crackling with lightning and exuding a chilling aura, was firmly held against his neck.

Zhang Chulan squatted down next to him, a sly smile on his face.

And behind Zhang Chulan.

Feng Baobao, holding a shovel, stared blankly at the back of his head.

Zhang Chulan patted Shen Yichen's astonished face with the back of his sword, then looked up and shouted loudly at Shen Yan in the distance:

"Hey old man over there! Can you hear me?!"

Zhang Chulan cleared his throat, his voice echoing across the vast, icy surface of the Heavenly Lake, exuding utter roguishness and arrogance:

"Negotiations should be based on fairness and equality!"

"Now, let's talk about... exchanging hostages, shall we?"

Shen Yichen lay prone in the snow.

The watermelon knife held to his neck, pressed against his skin, sent waves of tingling, stinging pain through him.

The third young master of the Shen family, who had been pampered and adored since childhood in a prestigious family and was always a strategist, finally couldn't keep his gentle and refined face in check.

"you……"

Shen Yichen gritted his teeth, a hint of humiliation and rage flashing in his eyes, as he tried to activate the true qi within his body:

"Using such despicable means to launch a sneak attack, is this how your Celestial Master's Mansion operates?!"

"boom!"

He hadn't finished speaking.

Feng Baobao swiftly tapped him on the back of the head with the handle of her shovel.

Zhang Chulan told you not to move around.

Feng Baobao looked at him expressionlessly, her tone very serious:

"If you don't listen to me, I'll crack your skull open."

Shen Yichen was knocked so hard he saw stars and felt a chill on the back of his head. He could only give up struggling in humiliation.

"presumptuous!"

Shen Que and Shen Zhong were furious when they saw their young master fall into enemy hands.

The two stepped forward simultaneously, their true qi surging.

"Zhang Chulan! If you dare to lay a finger on the Third Young Master, my Shen family will fight you to the death!"

Shen Zhong roared angrily, pointing the short dagger in his hand directly at Zhang Chulan.

"Oh my, you scared me to death."

Zhang Chulan didn't panic at all; instead, he sat down cross-legged in the snow.

He tapped Shen Yichen's delicate face with the knife, the movement as light and flirtatious as if he were patting a watermelon:

"Uncle, what era are we living in? Why are you still playing this 'fight to the death' game?"

"Is your Shen family always this unreasonable when doing business?"

Zhang Chulan's playful smile vanished, and his eyes sharpened.

He looked at Shen Yan, the patriarch of the Shen family, who was holding Liu Tianxian hostage, his tone revealing a ruthless and unscrupulous nature:

"Old man, the rules are simple."

"One thing for another, one life for another."

"You release this fairy-like lady, and I'll return your precious young master safe and sound. Is that a fair deal?"

Shen Yan stared intently at Zhang Chulan.

Then, his gaze slowly shifted to Zhang Tianyi, who was standing on the ice.

A mocking sneer suddenly appeared on the lips of this centenarian shrewd man.

"Hehehe..."

Shen Yan did not loosen his grip on the [God-Devouring Thorn] even slightly; instead, he thrust it even closer.

“Master Tian Shu, the disciple you taught has quite a bit of your unruly and shameless behavior back then.”

"However, you seem to have misunderstood one thing."

Shen Yan's gaze swept over the crowd and landed on Shen Yichen, who was lying in the snow. There was not a trace of pity for the junior in his eyes.

“I have lived for over a hundred years, and the Shen family has at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, descendants.”

"Although Yichen is a clever child and a good ruler who can maintain the status quo, if I were to give up this once-in-a-century true dragon fortune just because of his life..."

Shen Yan shook his head cruelly:

"Then his life is far too valuable."

"Ancestor?!"

Upon hearing this, not only Shen Zhong and Shen Que were stunned, but even Shen Yichen, whose neck was held to the shovel, froze.

Shen Yan ignored the shock of his clansmen and looked coldly at Zhang Chulan:

“Young man, you think you can use him to threaten this old man? You’re too naive.”

"You can just cut off his head right now!"

This almost cold-blooded statement brought the atmosphere in the room to a freezing point.

Zhang Chulan's smile froze.

He had planned everything, but he never expected that this old bastard would be so wicked.

They can even discard their own most important heir without hesitation.

That old guy is a complete madman!

"Old Zhang, this trick won't work anymore."

Wang Ye concealed his aura, his brows furrowed.

Feng Baobao held the shovel steadily in her hand.

She blinked her big eyes, turned her head to look at Zhang Chulan, and asked very seriously:

"Zhang Chulan, that old man is ignoring him. Should I just kill him now?"

Shen Yichen: "..."

Although he was known for his composure, cold sweat still uncontrollably trickled down his forehead when he heard the girl calmly discussing whether or not to crack open his skull.

"No, no, no, Bao'er, keep it for now. You might need it later."

Zhang Chulan waved his hand impatiently, his heart pounding like a cat on a hot tin roof.

The hostage exchange tactic has failed. What should be done next?

That old monster on the other side has a firm grip on Liu Tianxian's life; this is simply an unsolvable dead end!

Just when everyone felt helpless.

Zhang Tianyi stood silently on the ice.

It suddenly moved.

He ignored Shen Yan's shouts.

Instead, he slowly unbuttoned his coat, took it off, and casually tossed it onto the snow beside him.

She was wearing only a thin white shirt.

Zhang Tianyi flexed his wrists and looked at Shen Yan with a calm gaze.

"Old man, you're quite enlightened."

Zhang Tianyi's voice wasn't loud, but it could be heard clearly in the wind and snow:

"Since you don't like playing childish games like hostage exchanges."

"Then let's play it like adults."

The words fell.

Zhang Tianyi completely disregarded Liu Tianxian, who was still in Shen Yan's hands.

He strode off.