My Ares Son-in-Law

"Here's your stuff back."

Xiao Chen's voice was calm and even, yet it carried an irresistible force. As soon as he finished speaking, the dart suddenly flew out of his hand, transforming into a streak of dark blue light that was several times faster than when it came, heading straight for Jiang Xueren!
"Pfft...!"

Before Jiang Xueren could even contract his pupils, he felt a chill on his right arm, followed by excruciating pain! The dart pierced straight through his arm, spraying blood, and embedded itself in the trunk of the sycamore tree behind him, its fletching still trembling.

"Consider this a lesson for you," Xiao Chen sneered. "This injury will heal in a month or two."

He paused, his tone suddenly turning icy, each word like a knife: "Go back and tell the Blood Demon Society... old scores can be wiped clean, but don't cross any new lines. If anyone dares to lay a finger on anyone close to me again..."

Xiao Chen stepped out of the deep pit, his figure landing instantly, his aura completely subdued. However, Jiang Xueren felt an even more terrifying killing intent locking onto him, his soul feeling as if it were being pressed against by ice spikes, with waves of stinging pain.

“I will come to your door in person.” Xiao Chen’s eyes were sharp as swords, and his words were clear and penetrating. “I will raze your Blood Demon Society’s stronghold to the ground.”

"If you don't believe me, feel free to try it."

The wind rose, sweeping away the last wisp of dust. The tree-lined path was left with only a mess: broken trees, cracked ground, and a drop of cold sweat slowly sliding down Jiang Xueren's jawline beneath his mask, landing on the bluestone slab and spreading into a small damp patch.

Xiao Chen turned and walked towards the car, where Xiao Wang had already respectfully opened the back door.

"Back to the villa."

The car drove away from the tree-lined road and disappeared into the night. A streak of light flashed past the window, illuminating Xiao Chen's calm profile, a faint smile playing on his lips… The so-called New Martial Arts Tournament, if it were to press forward relentlessly, would only be courting its own demise.

Deep in the tree-lined avenue, until the red light of the car's taillights completely disappeared around the street corner, Jiang Xueren slowly loosened his clenched fist, which had turned white. Four deep bloodstains on his palms revealed the bone, with beads of blood seeping out.

The wound on his right arm had stopped bleeding, but the excruciating pain made him acutely aware of how terrifying Xiao Chen was.

"Xiao Chen..." A hoarse whisper escaped from beneath the mask, carried on the night wind, carrying a morbid excitement and trembling, "For so many years, I haven't seen a monster who could catch my Shadow Dart with his bare hands..."

He had seen countless geniuses in the Dragon Kingdom, some with their talents readily apparent, others with hidden depths, but none of them had ever given her this chilling feeling of gazing into the abyss only to be devoured by it, and... a fatal attraction.

"A born killer, yet he insists on imprisoning himself." Jiang Xueren chuckled, his laughter sounding particularly eerie in the empty street.

What you let go today, you will have to pay back with interest sooner or later... and you will have to pay for it yourself. Time is on my side.

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure leaned back, disappearing like an ink droplet into the dark night, leaving only the dart embedded in the tree trunk, still trembling slightly.

Inside the carriage, a cell phone suddenly started ringing.

Caller ID: Li Can.

Xiao Chen answered the phone, and a familiar but noticeably hoarse and tired voice came through the receiver: "Mr. Xiao, I'm sorry to bother you so late at night."

"It's alright, what is it?" Xiao Chen asked calmly.

Li Can spoke very quickly, getting straight to the point:

"It's about Jiyin Island. At 14:35 PM today, we detected a suspicious vessel approaching from the East China Sea. Its route was concealed, and there were life signals from more than twenty core members of Jiyin Island on board. Based on the route and intelligence analysis, their target... is very likely you."

Xiao Chen raised an eyebrow slightly, and after a moment's thought, he remembered that Li Can had mentioned this matter a few days ago... He hadn't taken it seriously, as it was just some clown from a tiny place.

What is the current situation?

“The ship has been located and intercepted by our side, but…” Li Can paused, his voice lowering.

"When we boarded the ship for inspection, it was completely empty. All life signals disappeared as it approached our territorial waters. I'm calling to remind you to be vigilant. We are doing our best to investigate the cause and are continuing to track it down." "Disappeared en masse?" Xiao Chen's fingertips twitched slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"Yes. The specific cause is still under investigation, please be careful."

After hanging up, Xiao Chen set his phone aside, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the lines on his palm. A moment later, the screen lit up again, and a new message popped up:

"The target has reappeared and has been re-locked. I will personally lead the assault team to handle it, Mr. Xiao, please rest assured. ... Li Can"

Xiao Chen scanned the information, his expression softening slightly. He did indeed have some respect for Li Can... Since the conflict in the ancient city, the soldierly spirit and efficient execution that this man had displayed were quite to his liking.

A few days ago, he even considered giving this person some pointers if the opportunity arose.

The night is getting darker.

Xiao Chen and Yun Yuyan had just finished dinner and were about to go for a walk when their phone rang again.

The moment Xiao Chen caught a glimpse of the caller's name, his fingertips abruptly stopped stroking... Zhuang Yuan.

This high-ranking officer of the Western Martial Arts Army would never call him directly unless something major happened.

Xiao Chen pressed the answer button.

“Mr. Xiao,” Zhuang Yuan’s voice came through the receiver, heavy with suppressed emotion, as if frozen solid, “something has happened.”

Those three short words instantly wiped away the ease in Xiao Chen's eyes, turning his gaze sharp as a blade.

"explain."

"It's not convenient to go into details over the phone," Zhuang Yuan said, lowering his voice even further. "There's a black SUV outside your villa; I'll be waiting for you in the car."

"wait for me."

Xiao Chen turned around and gave Yun Yuyan a few brief instructions before his figure darted out the door like a gust of wind.

On the street, a black SUV was parked quietly in the shadows, like a lurking beast. The window was rolled down, revealing Zhuang Yuan's solemn face.

Xiao Chen opened the car door and sat in the back seat. As soon as he closed the door, a heavy, suffocating sense of oppression hit him.

Inside the carriage were only Zhuang Yuan and a sharp-looking young soldier in the driver's seat. Both of them had faces as dark as ink, and even their breathing was heavy and stagnant.

"What exactly happened?" Xiao Chen stared directly at Zhuang Yuan, his tone calm, yet carrying an undeniable sense of pressure.

Zhuang Yuan took a deep breath, his Adam's apple bobbing violently, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying an undisguised sorrow:
"Li Can... and his ten-man Western Martial Arts Army assault team lost contact while carrying out a mission to intercept targets on Jiyin Island."

"Lost contact?" Xiao Chen's pupils suddenly contracted, and his aura instantly turned cold. "He sent me a message a few hours ago, saying that he had locked onto the target."

"It happened right after he sent the message." Zhuang Yuan clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white and almost transparent.

"At dusk, they stormed into the target waters to carry out the capture as planned. Two hours earlier, all communications of the team were suddenly cut off, and even the life monitoring chips implanted in each soldier's body lost their feedback signal."

His voice grew increasingly hoarse, tinged with despair: "Based on the Martial Arts Army's past experience... after losing communication and life signals for so long, I'm afraid... the odds are against them." (End of Chapter)