Rebirth of the Supreme Immortal Emperor

Chapter 1598 - 1595: Underlying Currents Surge

After Li Chen left with Little Shitou, the entire hall fell into an eerie silence.

After a long while, Wang Chao finally asked, "What do you all think of this young man called Li Chen?"

His brother, Wang Hee, replied indignantly, "This boy is too arrogant. To put it bluntly, he’s like someone who can’t recognize a good opportunity when it’s given to him!"

Sunx Heng, looking slightly displeased, interjected, "Second Master, the young man has his reasons for being arrogant. At such a young age, he already possesses the strength to defeat Jifeng. I ask you, how many in the younger generation of the entire Great Wu Dynasty can achieve that?"

Hearing Sunx Heng’s words, Wuo Tian and Zhao Ze nodded in agreement.

Wang Hee scoffed, "So what if he’s exceptionally talented? A tall tree in the forest always faces the fiercest winds. If he doesn’t learn to restrain himself and continues to act so high-profile, he will surely meet a tragic end. Besides, haven’t there been enough fallen geniuses over the years? Li Chen would just be another one in the list."

Many who were displeased with Li Chen nodded in agreement at Wang Hee’s words.

Seeing that he hadn’t gotten the answer he wanted, Wang Chao turned his attention to his treasure, Wang Jin.

"Jin’er, what do you think?"

Wang Jin pondered for a moment before responding with a gentle smile, "Mr. Li is a prodigy rare to find even in a millennium. If we could use him for our Wang Family, then if we truly end up breaking ties with the Wu Family in the future, we would have the strength to protect ourselves."

The Wu Family, of course, refers to the royal family of the Great Wu Dynasty.

Back then, the ancestors of the Wu Family and the Wang Family were sworn brothers who shared life and death.

They rose with 800 men and fought battles for fifty years before conquering the vast lands of the Great Wu Dynasty.

When the ancestor of the Wu Family ascended the throne, he warmly held the hand of the Wang Family ancestor and, in front of countless subjects, proclaimed loudly, "Wang and Wu, together rule the world."

However, ever since the ancestor of the Wu Family passed away, the new monarch, King Wu Badao, viewed the Wang Family, this giant entity difficult to control, as a thorn in his side, desperately wanting to diminish its power, to the extent of completely uprooting it.

Of course, as the most powerful family in the Great Wu Dynasty after the royal family, the Wang Family isn’t easy prey.

After numerous open and covert conflicts, the relationship between the Wang Family and the Wu Family has deteriorated to a point of irreconcilable differences.

Nevertheless, due to various concerns, neither side has completely broken ties yet, maintaining a facade of cordiality.

In reality, beneath the calm waters, turbulent undercurrents are surging.

Currently, the Wu Family is leveraging its royal power to suppress the Wang Family vigorously. They even support other families to seize the Wang Family’s Medicine Workshop market, significantly reducing its income, making their affiliates and subjects uneasy.

Of course, the Wang Family hasn’t surrendered passively. While resisting the Wu Family, they are also secretly recruiting experts to swiftly bolster their strength.

However, the results aren’t very satisfactory.

Though the Wang Family is the foremost family of the Great Wu Dynasty, it still significantly lags behind the royal Wu Family.

No one is blind. Everyone can clearly see the changes in the political landscape within the Royal City.

If anyone boards the Wang Family’s ship during this time, once the royal Wu Family decides to suppress them, wouldn’t they also become collateral damage?

To everyone’s surprise, the Family Head Wang Chao personally sought to invite Li Chen to become a Heavenly Level Guest Elder, only to be mercilessly rejected, leaving Wang Chao and the Wang Family feeling inexplicably defeated.

"Hmph, we may say this, but if Li Chen dismisses our Wang Family, what can we do?"

Wang Hee’s words were filled with resentment towards Li Chen.

Wang Jin quickly responded, "Uncle, you are mistaken. In my opinion, Mr. Li may simply be accustomed to a free and unrestrained lifestyle, not wanting to be bound, with no ill intentions!"

"Moreover, if what Uncle said is true and Mr. Li despises our Wang Family, why would he stay at our house during such a sensitive time?"

Wang Jin’s words were logical and convincing, leaving Wang Hee speechless.

However, having already spoken, he couldn’t admit his mistake in front of a junior. That was absolutely unacceptable.

Wang Hee scoffed again and said, "Hmph, who knows, maybe he has some hidden agenda coming to our Wang Family!"

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Wang Chao cleared his throat twice and said, "Alright, let’s end today’s discussion here. It’s getting late, everyone has worked hard. Let’s all go rest!"

Following Wang Chao’s words, Wang Hee, Sunx Heng, and others began to take their leave.

Wang Jin also wanted to leave but was stopped by Wang Chao.

"Father, is there something you need from me?"

Wang Chao gestured for Wang Jin to sit and asked, "Jin’er, recount once more how you met Mr. Li, don’t leave out any details!"

Wang Jin nodded, carefully recalling, and recounted the story in detail again.

Wang Chao keenly captured a key point, asking, "Jin’er, did you say Mr. Li asked you to help him find someone?"

"Yes, he wanted to find a woman named Xie Wanwan."

At this point, for some reason, Wang Jin felt a pang of inexplicable bitterness.

She couldn’t quite understand why she felt this way either.

Wang Chao stroked his goatee and said, "Jin’er, do as he asks. Mobilize all of our Wang Family’s resources to help him find her!"

Afterward, he added an instruction.

"Even send out the Shadow Guard!"

Upon hearing this last instruction, Wang Jin was taken aback.

It was well-known that the Shadow Guard was the Wang Family’s trump card, only to be used as a last resort.

No one expected that in an effort to win over Li Chen, her father would even play the Shadow Guard card.

Wang Chao seemed to understand what was on Wang Jin’s mind and sighed as he said, "Jin’er, there might be things you still don’t know. Just a few days ago, the Lianyun Eighteen Villages, led by the Kee Family, secretly pledged allegiance to the royal family."

"If things continue to develop this way and we don’t take action, our Wang Family will only survive another decade at best before meeting the same fate as the Zhou Family, facing complete annihilation!"

Mentioning the Zhou Family caused both Wang Chao’s and Wang Jin’s expressions to darken with a heavy somberness.

Similar to the Wang Family, the Zhou Family was once a founding hero of the Great Wu Dynasty.

However, compared to the Wang Family, the Zhou Family’s strength was much weaker.

Thus, when the new ruler, King Wu Badao, decided to purge the vassals, he targeted the Zhou Family first.

Twenty years ago, Zhou Kuang, the Zhou Family Patriarch, was deceived into the Royal Palace by Wu Badao and executed on a fabricated charge.

That night, the royal family dispatched a contingent of 100,000 troops to surround the Zhou residence.

Except for Zhou Kuang’s direct descendant, Zhou Wenlong, who was traveling outside at the time and thus escaped the massacre, over three hundred direct Zhou Family members were slaughtered indiscriminately.

Even the Zhou Family’s collateral relatives and affiliated forces did not escape the disaster, suffering countless casualties.

Wang Chao could still envision the great fire that erupted two decades ago.

The blood of over ten thousand Zhou disciples stained the sky red above the Royal City, a harrowing sight.

Reflecting on this, Wang Chao felt an inexplicable sense of doom.

Simultaneously, it strengthened his resolve to fight against the Wu Family to the very end, refusing to be subjugated, lest the entire Wang Family become lambs for the slaughter...