My Ares Son-in-Law

Just as Xiao Chen was about to walk up to him...

"Oh!"

With a muffled thud, Zhang Lin's mangled body, not far away, suddenly exploded without warning! Blood and flesh flew everywhere!
Even more chillingly, a thick, inky black shadow struggled out from the bursting flesh and blood, quickly coalescing in the air into the outline of a blurry, aged human face. That face was etched with the lines of time, yet its illusory eyes were sharp as an eagle's, coldly "looking" at Xiao Chen with an aura of dominance and disdain for all living beings.

Xiao Chen paused, slowly turned around, and his gaze, like two solid icicles, locked onto the face formed by the shadows.

"Oh? What kind of evil magic is this, that it can actually allow one's divine sense to reside in another person's body?" His tone carried a hint of surprise.

The face formed by the shadowy figure twisted, and a deep, angry voice echoed in the room, as if from a distant place: "Who are you? Why did you commit such a heinous act, killing my subordinate and destroying his soul? Isn't that... too cruel!"

"Ruthless?" Xiao Chen seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. His eyes flashed with a cold light, and his chill intensified. "You touched my people, offended my bottom line, and you dare to talk to me about ruthlessness? What do you think you are?"

"I am 'Extreme Yin,' the leader of the 'Shadow Gods'!" The shadowy figure's voice roared, and his oppressive aura intensified.

Xiao Chen's expression remained unchanged. He simply said, "I've remembered. Listen, I'll only say this once: if any member of your 'Shadow Gods' dares to set foot in the Dragon Kingdom again, I will kill them all. Get lost!"

The shadowy figure seemed to want to say something more, but Xiao Chen had already grown impatient. He raised his right hand, his five fingers deftly forming a profound hand seal, and golden light instantly shone from his fingertips, condensing into a complex and ancient phantom rune!

"Edict!"

He gave a soft shout, flicked his wrist, and the golden rune shot out as if it had a life of its own, accurately imprinting itself on the black shadow in the air!
"Zizzi——!"

The shadowy figure seemed to have encountered its natural nemesis, letting out a shrill, inhuman, and ghostly howl as it twisted violently in an attempt to escape, but was firmly enveloped by the golden light! Runes were imprinted on it, instantly igniting golden flames that scorched the condensed soul power!
The shadowy figure rapidly thinned and twisted within the golden flames, its hissing growing weaker and more painful, until finally, with the dissipation of the last wisp of black energy, it vanished without a trace.

Meanwhile, on a secluded island in the Pacific Ocean, deep within a somber building surrounded by towering ancient trees.

This is the Island of Extreme Yin!

On the island of Extreme Yin, in the most secluded quiet room of the building, an old man dressed in traditional black martial arts attire, with a withered face, sat cross-legged in the center of an ancient altar with his eyes closed.

His aura was obscure and profound, like an ancient pool with no bottom. Around the altar, dozens of powerful martial artists also sat cross-legged with their eyes closed. The wisps of black energy emanating from their bodies flowed into the old man's body like rivers flowing into the sea, helping him cultivate a secret technique.

Sudden……

"Ugh!"

Ji Yin, who was sitting in meditation, suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes filled with horror! On the center of his forehead, a golden rune exactly the same as the one on the face of the black shadow that had been formed in the air was flashed by!
"puff--!"

An indescribable, terrifying backlash struck his soul like a heavy hammer! His body trembled violently, and he spat out a mouthful of bright red blood. His originally powerful aura rapidly declined like a tide, his face turned ashen, and he slumped down.

"Lord Island Master!"

"Master!"

The surrounding martial artists, startled by this sudden turn of events, rose to their feet, their faces filled with horror and bewilderment. Ji Yin struggled to raise his head, his cloudy yet still sharp eyes fixed on the west—the direction of the Dragon Kingdom! Boundless rage intertwined with a hint of fear he himself refused to acknowledge, and he practically forced out a blood-stained roar through clenched teeth:

"Who is it?! How could there be such a terrifying being in the Dragon Kingdom?!"

……

The scene shifts back to the ancient city, inside a luxury suite at a clubhouse owned by the New Martial Arts Association.

Xiao Chen stood silently in front of Zhao Qiming, just looking at him quietly.

This silence terrified Zhao Qiming more than any torture. There was no one else alive in the room except him! What would this demonic man do to him?
"Mr. Xiao! Mr. Xiao, I was wrong! I really know I was wrong!" Zhao Qiming collapsed and scrambled over to grab Xiao Chen's leg and beg, but was bounced away by an invisible wall of air.

He could only prostrate himself on the ground, kowtowing frantically, tears streaming down his face. "It was those people! They bewitched me! I was blinded by greed, blinded by the benefits they promised! Please spare my life! I'll serve you like a slave from now on, I'll work for free at Xunjiang Group, I won't take a single penny! I just beg you to give me a chance to reform!"

Looking at his humble and begging appearance, Xiao Chen suddenly laughed, but there was no warmth in that laugh.

"Xunjiang Group?" He tilted his head slightly, his tone nonchalant. "Do you think... you're even qualified to step into that place?"

Zhao Qiming was taken aback, then shook his head vigorously: "No! No! That's not what I meant! I wanted to... I wanted to atone for my sins! Yes, atone for my sins!"

"Atony?" Xiao Chen walked to the only remaining single sofa that was still relatively intact, sat down elegantly, slowly lit a cigarette, took a puff, and then slowly said, "Why do you want to atone?"

“I…I shouldn’t have betrayed the group, I shouldn’t have stolen the core data of the ‘Spark’ project…” Zhao Qiming answered in a trembling voice.

Xiao Chen slowly exhaled a smoke ring, his eyes growing colder and sharper amidst the swirling smoke: "Those data are nothing to me."

His voice suddenly turned cold, like the Siberian wind: "What is truly priceless are the lives of those who sacrificed themselves for your foolish betrayal!"

"What can you use to redeem these lives? And what is your life... worth?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a terrifying ferocity forged in mountains of corpses and seas of blood, striking Zhao Qiming's heart heavily.

Xiao Chen himself didn't realize that when he thought of the security guard who clutched the clue button until his death, and the families and attachments that might exist behind them, a long-dormant, almost uncontrollable rage surged in his chest. He had risen through the ranks of killing, and thought he had long since hardened his heart to the bone.

Zhao Qiming's face turned ashen, and he collapsed to the ground, too weak to even beg for mercy.

Xiao Chen didn't intend to kill him. For Zhao Qiming at this moment, death was a relief, a mercy.

He wanted Zhao Qiming to live.

Watching helplessly as the Xunjiang Group, having lost its core data, not only doesn't collapse but rises even stronger under his leadership, standing atop the Dragon Kingdom! He wants Zhao Qiming to have to face the grief-stricken and resentful gazes of the deceased's families every single day for the rest of his life!
He wanted regret, fear, repression, and the scorn of those around him to become an eternal prison for the rest of Zhao Qiming's life! (End of Chapter)