Right now, every single gaze in the Confucius Temple was locked onto Ryan Ling. No one had expected the Shen Family—one of Jinling’s four great clans—to barge in and interfere. With Shane Shen throwing his weight around, even General Kenneth Li had to stop and consider: Was this Shane deliberately making trouble, or was his father Shen Tiexiong pulling strings behind the scenes? Or maybe the whole Shen–Fang–Qin alliance was up to their usual tricks? The situation was a tangled mess—no one could see through the layers of intrigue!
And honestly, Ryan’s display today was so outrageous it was practically shaking the heavens—almost every heavyweight in East River State had shown up, plus Void Realm powerhouses from other provinces, and the entire upper brass of the Jinling Military Region were here to cheer him on. With a lineup like this, outsiders couldn’t help but think this wasn’t just a slap at the Ling Family, but a warning shot aimed straight at the other three great clans.
So with all that tension in the air, Shane Shen’s dramatic entrance actually kind of made sense.
Peter Ling, seeing Shane Shen reach out a so-called 'helping hand,' immediately went into full crybaby mode—groveling, crawling, and wailing: "Young Master Shen, save me! It’s him, he’s the one who broke Jinling’s rules! I’ll change my surname, become a Shen, be your family’s slave for eternity—just spare my life!"
Watching Peter Ling grovel like that—sniveling, crawling, practically licking Shane’s boots—everyone present felt a wave of disgust so strong it bordered on hatred.
He’d sunk so low, he wasn’t even a person anymore—he was lower than a dog, not even fit to be called a beast.
Shane Shen just snorted coldly, not even sparing Peter a glance, and moved to drag him away like he was hauling out the trash.
But right then, the System’s Ghost Elder piped up inside Ryan’s mind: "Absolutely do not let him take Peter away. I’m picking up something seriously off about your parents’ car crash—and it’s got this old bastard’s fingerprints all over it."
"What? Something off? What do you mean, off?" The words hit Ryan like a thunderbolt—his whole face went pale on the spot.
"That wasn’t just some random accident—it was a setup. Someone wanted your parents dead, plain and simple." Even the Ghost Elder sounded rattled as he said it.
Everyone swallowed hard—the Shen Family’s strength was undeniable, and all four of Jinling’s great clans were clearly not to be trifled with.
“Ryan, take it easy. You just got to Jinling—there’s no need to fall out with the Shen Family!” General Li hurried over as the two sides looked ready to throw down.
“Yeah, Ryan, it’s not worth it to go to war with the Shen Family over Peter Ling. Besides, the Qin and Fang families are involved too. Peter’s already lower than a pig or dog—Shane just wants him as a trophy to show off their status. We don’t need to really go to war over this!” Serena Yan chimed in.
Everyone else kept quiet—even Void Realm experts didn’t dare butt in. This was a conversation at Jinling’s highest level. The temple attendant was so terrified, he hid behind the statue of Confucius, desperately praying the two sides wouldn’t start a fight. If they did, the whole temple would be wrecked.
“Young Master Shen, I think you misunderstand me. I have no intention of fighting the Shen Family—I’m new to Jinling, and if I’ve been disrespectful, I’ll apologize in person someday. But right now, I’m handling Ling Family business. I hope the Shen Family won’t interfere—you’re a top clan in Jinling, after all.” Ryan knew the Shen Family was powerful, and he didn’t want a fight. All he cared about now was finding out what really happened to his parents.
“Ryan, I know this is your family’s business, but today I’m taking him away—what can you do about it? You might be number one in East River State, but don’t forget this is Jinling!” Shane sneered, ignoring Ryan and grabbing Peter Ling, heading for the temple exit.
“Bold words! You think the Shen Family is so special? You really think I’m afraid?” Ryan had just swallowed his pride for the first time, but that didn’t mean he was a pushover.
His strength had grown a lot since his battle with the ten “Death Gods” in East River State—especially after treating Professor Tina Tian’s kidney disease, when her spiritual energy mostly flowed into his Heavenwood Spirit Root, causing it to start sprouting.
The Ancient Heavenwood was no ordinary treasure—even a tiny bit of growth gave Ryan a huge boost. Right now, he could feel his Foundation-Building Stage getting stronger and more mature.
The power of the Foundation-Building Stage was on a whole different level from ordinary Void Realm. If you tried to compare him to a Profound-Tier Void Realm expert, you’d be way off.
More importantly, the Ghost Elder, Granny Soul, and a whole crew of ghost-path brothers were already prepped and ready—not for showing off this time, but to target Shane Shen directly. To them, the three great clans of Jinling meant nothing.
In an instant, Ryan’s Foundation-Building aura surged out, surrounding Shane and his men. Ghostly qi filled the air, swirling overhead like the ancestors of the Ling Family had all crawled out of their graves, staring down Shane and Peter.
Peter Ling passed out cold, and a bunch of his relatives collapsed to the ground as well.
“Boss, this kid’s aura is weird—it’s definitely not just martial arts. We should back off!”
“Yeah, he’s acting crazy—we don’t need to mess with him right now!”
The two Void Realm experts beside Shane could feel the threat bearing down on them.
“Hell no! You think I’d bow to him? Who does he think he is? This aura is nothing. Even if he called up all eighteen generations of the Ling Family ancestors, my Shen Family wouldn’t be scared. Does he even dare touch me?” Shane sneered, stepping forward, his arrogance on full display.
But as soon as he moved, a terrifying force slammed down, cracking the ground half a meter in front of him. The crack shot outward, even collapsing a section of the ancient wall in the distance.
“If you don’t get lost, you’ll die!” Ryan glided forward like a ghost, stopping right in front of Shane.
Suddenly, it felt like countless invisible blades were aimed at Shane. His two Void Realm bodyguards rushed to help, but were instantly blasted away by two surges of peak-level power.
“So strong! This kid’s even tougher than I thought!” Even General Kenneth Li, a veteran of countless battles, felt cold sweat soaking his back.
"Was it Peter Ling who killed my parents?" Ryan demanded, his killing intent surging until it blanketed the entire Confucius Temple.
A lot of people were left utterly stunned.
Everyone knew Ryan was tough—he’d fought sixteen Void Realm masters single-handed—but no one had ever seen him like this. The murderous aura was so intense, even the Void Realm experts felt crushed by it.
“Impressive,” gasped several Void Realm masters from other provinces. Even General Kenneth Li, a veteran of countless battles, couldn’t help but marvel—he’d thought his own killing intent was unmatched, but next to Ryan’s, it seemed like child’s play.
Meanwhile, Peter Ling shrank behind Shane Shen like a puddle of mud, terrified out of his wits.
Shane Shen’s teeth were chattering uncontrollably.
He couldn’t believe an eighteen-year-old newcomer to Jinling dared provoke the Shen Family’s authority. Sure, Ryan had killed a few Yellow-Tier Void Realm experts, but that was nothing to the Shen Family—they had Profound-Tier guardians, and among the three great clans, even Earth-Tier masters. Those were the true heavyweights.
Jinling’s depths were beyond anyone’s imagination—there was always someone stronger. In the Void Realm, even a tiny gap in cultivation could mean a massive difference in power. Against a Profound-Tier master, even sixteen Void Realm experts might not stand a chance. And within Profound-Tier, there were further distinctions between lesser and greater completion.
Shane had already sized Ryan up before coming—at best, Ryan had barely scratched the edge of Profound-Tier, nowhere near invincible. That’s why Shane felt so bold about demanding Peter.
“So, you’re publicly challenging the Shen Family now?” Shane snapped, spinning around as several bodyguards rushed to his side—all of them Void Realm experts.