My Ares Son-in-Law

Zhuang Yuan's hand felt like it had been struck by electricity, and he abruptly released Xiao Chen's arm, his fingertips still feeling stiff.

His pupils shrank to pinpoints, and the color drained from his face instantly. His lips moved several times, but he couldn't utter a sound.

Xiao Chen's words had already exceeded his understanding of "weighing the pros and cons." This was not dealing with a crisis; it was clearly an attempt to overturn the chessboard!
Xiao Chen didn't look at him again, turned around, and continued walking down the fire escape, her back still as straight as a pine tree, without the slightest hesitation.

"I will remember the kindness shown by the Western Martial Arts Army in today's events."

His voice came from ahead, piercing through the emptiness of the passage, clear and calm, without any deliberate gratitude, yet carrying immense weight.

"From now on, if there are any difficult matters, I will not refuse to do them as long as it is within my power."

Zhuang Yuan stood frozen in place, watching the figure gradually disappear into the darkness below. He opened his mouth, but in the end, it only turned into a very soft sigh.

That sigh was a mixture of shock, relief, and a hint of relief.

He suddenly recalled the comment heavily circled in red at the end of the top-secret assessment report: "This young man's character is like an ancient sword hidden in its sheath, sharp yet restrained, but with a clear bottom line; touching it will surely result in bloodshed. His logic of action cannot be measured by ordinary gains and losses; he should be treated with 'reverence'."

He used to think it was just alarmist talk, but now that he has seen it with his own eyes, he is completely convinced.

……

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, in the remote and secluded heartland of Zhongnan Mountain.

The thick fog that never dissipates is as thick as milk. An ancient stone fortress, blending seamlessly with the gray-brown mountain rocks, stands silently within it, as if it has existed since the beginning of time.

Outside the stone fortress, on a smooth, mirror-like black stone platform, more than thirty people knelt in a dense mass. Each of them possessed a refined aura and bulging temples, clearly indicating that they were all martial arts masters who cultivated both internal and external skills.

They have been kneeling here for nine days.

Without food or drink, relying solely on their internal energy to sustain their lives, everyone's face was ashen and their appearance emaciated. Even maintaining their kneeling posture had exhausted most of their strength.

The middle-aged man at the head of the group had a deathly pale face. A hideous scar running diagonally from his brow to his jawline had turned an eerie bluish-black due to excessive consumption of his internal energy, adding to his ferocity.

He was none other than Lü Zhuo, the head of the Lü family in the western region!

Kneeling beside him was his only son, Lü Fengxian, who had suffered a crushing defeat in the provincial capital not long ago, damaging his meridians. At this moment, he was trembling all over, his teeth clenched, and he was only holding on to the ground by sheer willpower.

"Father...Father...how much longer do we have to wait?" Lü Fengxian's voice was hoarse and dry, like sandpaper rubbing against wood, each word exhausting his remaining strength.

Lu Zhuo didn't even lift his eyelids. His gaze was fixed like nails on the two incredibly heavy black iron gates of the stone fortress, which were carved with ancient beast patterns. His voice was low but carried an unwavering determination: "Wait until the gates open, or we die here."

His ambitions have never been limited to just the Northwest.

For the Lü family to truly rise, they must attach themselves to a colossal tree that can blot out the sky. The existence within this stone fortress is the only clue he has pieced together from countless tiny details, a clue that can lead to the "transcendental realm," a clue he has exhausted half his life's efforts to glean. Even if it costs the lives of his entire clan, he will never give up.

About an hour later, the fog thickened, and several of the weaker members of the Lü family on the stone platform were swaying precariously, on the verge of fainting.
"Clang...clang clang..."

A deep, resounding crash suddenly came from inside the black iron gate, as if a mechanism that hadn't turned for a thousand years had finally awakened. The sound pierced through the thick fog and echoed through the empty valley, instantly invigorating all the members of the Lü family!
With their last ounce of strength, they stared intently at the door. The heavy door slowly opened a crack, just wide enough for one person to pass through.

No light shone from behind the door; instead, a chilling aura, as if it had been accumulated over countless ages, surged out, causing the temperature on the stone platform to drop sharply, and the mist to condense into tiny ice particles.

A figure slowly emerged from the boundless darkness behind the door.

He was a man whose exact age was hard to discern. His face was so ordinary that he would be easily forgotten in a crowd. He wore an unremarkable gray linen robe and walked barefoot on the cold, black stone ground without making a sound.

He possessed none of the aura or fluctuations expected of a martial artist; even the life force of an ordinary person was almost nonexistent. Yet, when his indifferent eyes, devoid of any human emotion, slowly swept over the kneeling members of the Lü family on the stone platform…

Everyone, including Lü Zhuo, involuntarily shivered, as if an invisible hand had gripped their throats, making even breathing incredibly difficult.

It was a suppression originating from the level of life itself, like an ant looking up at the sky, unable to even conceive of the slightest thought of resistance.

Lu Zhuo suddenly slammed his head against the ground, his forehead hitting the black stone platform with a heavy thud. His voice was distorted by extreme excitement and fear: "Junior Lu Zhuo, on behalf of the entire Lu family, pays his respects to Your Excellency!"

The members of the Lü family behind them also bowed their bodies in unison, shouting with their last breath, "Greetings, Venerable One!"

The man in gray's gaze fell on Lü Zhuo, lingering for a few seconds before slowly speaking. His voice was flat and dry, like two stones rubbing against each other, devoid of any emotional fluctuation: "What is it?"

Lu Zhuo dared not raise his head, his hands raised high above his head, holding something in his palms. It was not gold, silver, or jade, but a strange token the size of a palm, neither gold nor wood, with a dark color like congealed blood.

The token's surface is naturally covered with extremely complex patterns, which twist and intertwine as if they contain the ultimate truths of the universe, making people dizzy from looking at them.

"This junior...this junior humbly begs Your Excellency to come out of seclusion and oversee the Lü family!" Lü Zhuo's voice was choked with sobs, yet still resolute. "This item was obtained by my Lü family ancestor by chance in an extremely dangerous place and has been enshrined here ever since. I wish to offer it all to Your Excellency, asking only for Your Excellency's protection of the Lü family!"

The moment the gray-robed man's gaze fell upon the token, his eyes, which had been as indifferent as still water, finally showed a noticeable fluctuation for the first time. A faint yet extremely sharp glint flashed by, so fast that it seemed like an illusion.

He made no move, but the token in Lü Zhuo's hand vanished into thin air.

The next instant, the token lay quietly in the gray-robed man's withered palm.

His fingers gently traced the patterns on the token's surface. After a moment, he let out a barely audible murmur: "'Blood Abyss Guide'... It's this thing... I never imagined that a token leading to the 'Ancient Sea Secret Realm' still existed in the mortal world..."

He raised his eyes and looked again at the Lu family members who were bewildered and terrified because of his whisper. The fluctuation in his eyes had subsided, and he had returned to that indifferent look of looking down on ants.

"This item is somewhat useful to me." He simply put the token into his robes, his tone completely indifferent. "I can grant your request and leave the mountain once. The time limit is one month." (End of Chapter)