Chapter 779: Master of Chen

With a splash.

The water surface broke into fine ripples, a silver scale flashed, and the struggling fish tail slapped up water spray, only to be gripped tightly by the cold hook tip, unable to break free.

Chen Yan placed the caught fish into the water basin beside him, his pair of bright eyes watching the sparkling lake surface.

He had indeed influenced Chen Youqing's cognition, secretly employing 【Royal Decay - Sacred Condensation Primordial】.

However, the Master of Chen would certainly detect such methods.

Chen Yan understood that regardless of how righteous the Master of Chen's words to him originally were.

The Master of Chen did not kill him, but instead let him continue to live, which meant there was a purpose of his own.

Chen Yan himself was a treasure vault.

Whether it was the peculiar Will Martial Dao or the True Martial Dao, as Chen Youqing said, both were treasures of the human race.

The Master of Chen did not torture Chen Yan or coerce Chen Yan because the Master of Chen knew these methods were useless against someone with an extremely strong will.

Chen Yan's only weakness right now was not Chen Yu and Chen Yuhu.

It was that Chen Yan himself was still alive.

Once Chen Yan died, no matter what other schemes the Master of Chen had against Chen Yan, they would be useless.

But if Chen Yan committed suicide, it would also make the Master of Chen detect where the problem lay.

Because Chen Yan was definitely not a person who would commit suicide when facing a predicament.

Only if Chen Yan committed suicide would it bring true disaster to Li Zhiyi and the other two.

"Blood Brand..."

Chen Yan muttered to himself.

Previously, Chen Youqing had already informed Chen Yan of the Blood Brand's function.

That Li Zhiyi would obtain the Blood Brand and become a Blood Gu was something Chen Yan had not expected.

Even though Li Zhiyi and the other two each had their own missions, the process that occurred in between still had many things that exceeded Chen Yan's expectations.

For example, the Master of Ji was still alive, and for example, the Blood Brand.

Chen Yan frowned; he originally did not intend to personally interfere with the development of Li Zhiyi and the other two.

But now, it seemed that interfering would be better.

The next instant.

Chen Yan's pupil color changed, and a certain connection was generated in the dark.

Li Zhiyi and the other two were originally transformed from Chen Yan's Will Domain and were a part of Chen Yan; Chen Yan and they had a connection to begin with.

It was just that for this period of time, Chen Yan had always severed this connection.

At this moment, the connection was restored.

At the same time, three streams of memories rushed into Chen Yan's mind.

All the experiences of Li Zhiyi, Zhang Huizhi, and Zhao Zhugui during this period were taken into Chen Yan's mind.

And Chen Yan's perception arrived at Li Zhiyi.

At this moment, Li Zhiyi was staying on Green Mountain with Zhang Yu and the others.

The Blood Brand was seized by Li Zhiyi, and the high-level combatants of the Great Xia and the Five Clans had not joined in.

Once the high-level combatants of the Great Xia joined in to protect Li Zhiyi as he left.

Then the Eighth-Rankers of the Five Clans would also join in.

The scene would once again reach a white-hot state.

The Blood Brand was a divine artifact, but it was not yet a divine artifact that could trigger a peak war of the human race or cause the fall of Eighth-Rankers.

The predicament belonging to Li Zhiyi still existed.

And at this moment.

Li Zhiyi leaned against an ancient tree, observing the scarlet long blade in his hand.

The blade of the Blood Brand was soaked in scarlet throughout, as if the congealed blood had not yet dried, and also like the deep cold of a ten-thousand-year blood pool.

The edge was as thin as a cicada's wing, yet it emitted a cold light, as if it could shred the airflow when the wind passed. With fingertips slightly close, he already felt his skin go numb from the invisible sharp edge.

It was sharp to the extreme, to the point that even with extreme focus, one could not lock onto the blade of the Blood Brand, because it was too thin and too sharp.

Sharp to a certain degree, the Blood Brand could even sever rules, sever divine artifacts, and all martial arts.

Chen Yan perceived the Blood Brand through Li Zhiyi, and his heart stirred slightly.

Li Zhiyi might not be able to detect it, but Chen Yan could feel that the Blood Brand had already established some kind of connection with Li Zhiyi.

This was a one-sided connection; the Blood Brand had taken control of Li Zhiyi.

Even if Li Zhiyi could not detect it now, the current Li Zhiyi had indeed become a Gu insect that could be continuously fed killing intent by the Blood Brand.

When the Blood Brand no longer needed Li Zhiyi to accumulate killing intent, the Blood Brand would completely devour Li Zhiyi.

Of course, Li Zhiyi was not simple to begin with; he was an incarnation of one-third of Chen Yan's Will Domain.

Even if the Blood Brand was the Fifth Divine Artifact, it was almost impossible to control Li Zhiyi.

Because Li Zhiyi was human and yet not human.

Chen Yan had long since made preparations; if Li Zhiyi failed in the end, or even died.

Then he would directly transform into the Will Domain and become Chen Yan's Will Divine Body.

The Will Domain was originally evolved from the Will Divine Body, and even one-third of the Will Domain was far stronger than Chen Yan's former Will Divine Body.

Likewise, Zhao Zhugui and Zhang Huizhi were the same.

Chen Yan needed them to bring him rebirth, so naturally, he had also prepared for failure.

But at this moment, Chen Yan's attention was attracted by the Blood Brand.

Within the entire Blood Brand, streams of substantial killing intent were flowing.

The more intense the killing intent, the sharper the Blood Brand becomes.

Yet the more he looked, the more astonished Chen Yan became.

Because the killing intent had actually materialized, becoming tangible energy.

Chen Yan's eyes narrowed slightly.

At this moment, he finally understood why the Blood Brand had chosen Li Zhiyi.

Because, in a certain sense, killing intent and the power of will have similarities.

Both are a mysterious form of energy.

It can be understood that will is a higher-tier killing intent.

Even, will can actually be transformed into killing intent.

To call it killing intent, killing desire is more accurate!

Chen Yan sighed inwardly; there are many wonders in the human world, and he had truly broadened his horizons today.

It turns out that before the Dao of will appeared, the human world already possessed something similar to the power of will.

Killing desire!

Chen Yan's eyes flickered.

"The subtlety of the Blood Brand lies in killing desire; if the power of will could imitate it, it would absolutely evolve into a powerful martial art surpassing the Blood Brand."

Chen Yan whispered in his heart:

"The Blood Brand uses killing desire as energy, and through the subtle structure of the blade body, uses killing desire to hone the blade's edge.

Like this... why can't the power of will do the same?"

Chen Yan revealed a smile, having suddenly discovered a massive secret.

If Li Zhiyi could thoroughly master the mysteries of the Blood Brand using the power of will, then Li Zhiyi would not need the Blood Brand.

Li Zhiyi himself would also master a powerful method far exceeding the Blood Brand.

Chen Yan's consciousness flashed, subtly transferring his previous thoughts to Li Zhiyi.

These thoughts would be considered by Li Zhiyi to be his own conclusions, and he would be completely unable to detect Chen Yan's existence.

In essence, Li Zhiyi is Chen Yan, but Chen Yan in a different environment.

Chen Yan did not want to interfere directly, but was willing to give Li Zhiyi and the other two the opportunity for autonomous development.

At the same time.

Where the Chen Lord resides.

"He has indeed influenced you."

Inside the room, the Chen Lord stood with his hands behind his back in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his deep eyes scanning the vast Chen Prefecture.

His gaze reached very far, as if he had already seen Chen Yan, who was still fishing.

Behind him, Chen Youqing's expression was calm:

"Father, we must reduce the opportunities for Chen Yan to come into contact with others; I am worried... he will unknowingly control the core layer of our Chen Prefecture."

The Chen Lord chuckled:

"You are afraid of this?"

Chen Youqing shook her head:

"Just as a precaution."

The Chen Lord took out a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and said:

"Do you know what kind of person I hate the most?"

Chen Youqing's expression stiffened, and she shook her head.

"Whether it is the Great Xia, Chen Yan, or myself, our methods are different, and we are even mortal enemies, but our goal is the long-term survival of the human race.

But many people, such as the Pool Lord, the Land Lord, or those who have attained longevity, are all too selfish, thinking only of themselves.

If I have a benevolent thought, why should I hand it over to them?"

A sense of the vicissitudes of time flashed through his deep eyes.

"Father does not kill him, just because of a benevolent thought?"

Chen Youqing was extremely astonished; she knew very well that the Chen Lord had no benevolent thoughts, and even if her own talent was peerless, if she were to die here, her father would not show a trace of sorrow.

The Chen Lord has no benevolent thoughts.

Or rather, the Chen Lord's benevolent thoughts have long since transcended human ethics.

What the Chen Lord plays against is the rules of nature, not humanity.

"It is a benevolent thought." The Chen Lord looked at his daughter:

"Your father..."

He paused, then sighed deeply:

"Often thinks of those who died because of me and feels extreme pain, as if my flesh and body were being shredded by blades and swords.

Your father has also constantly questioned whether I am selfish or selfless, feeling extremely lost."

He exhaled blue smoke:

"Perhaps, it is precisely because of my confusion that I left Chen Yan, who is perhaps the strongest enemy of my destiny, alive."

Chen Youqing was stunned; the Chen Lord rarely had such an expression.

"Father, this is raising a tiger that will cause trouble."

"Raising a tiger?" The Chen Lord chuckled:

"In my view, Chen Yan's methods are currently extremely childish.

Even if he controlled the entire Chen Prefecture, so what?"

"If this is the extent of his methods, he will only disappoint me and cause the last shred of my goodwill toward him to vanish."

As Chen Youqing listened, a layer of sweat beaded upon her snow-white forehead.

The words of the Chen Master actually made her back turn cold.

The Chen Master was not killing Chen Yan because, as it turned out, he wanted Chen Yan to defeat him.

He was even more expectant of his own failure than Chen Yan was, yet Chen Yan's current actions were still too childish for the Chen Master.

Why is this?

Chen Youqing gritted her teeth, and a trace of anger actually surfaced in her eyes.

It was you who united the Five Clans to breach the Great Xia, and it was you who ravaged Ten Thousand Aspects Island and deceived the world.

Everyone knows you are sinister, and everyone knows you are terrifying.

Yet the Five Clans still recognize you as their leader and do as you say.

Because the Five Clans believe you are right.

It is because of this that the Five Clans have a righteous cause and can be called an army of justice.

And now, you tell me that you actually look forward to your own failure more.

Could it be that deep down, you feel you are wrong?

Could it be that the faith of the Five Clans is also wrong in your heart?

Even though Chen Youqing is the daughter of the Chen Master, anger surfaced in her heart at this moment.

The Chen Master slowly turned his gaze toward Chen Youqing, as if seeing through her thoughts, and waved one hand.

Whoosh!

A faint glimmer brushed past, pouring over Chen Youqing's heart like clear water.

Chen Youqing was stunned for an instant and hurriedly lowered her head.

She became fearful, having just been unable to restrain herself from exposing her own emotions.

The Chen Master said with a smile:

"Chen Yan not only altered your perception for a moment but even secretly influenced your personality.

It is quite a decent method."

Chen Youqing's face turned deathly pale; the Chen Master had previously cleansed her perception.

She had not expected that it had not been cleansed thoroughly.

The influence Chen Yan had on her actually went even deeper.

At this moment, Chen Youqing's wariness of Chen Yan deepened further.

Not only could he see through the thoughts of others, he could even influence them.

This method was too terrifying.

It was practically omnipotent, capable of changing anything.

The Chen Master said indifferently:

"Even with such methods, it can only be called average.

What I am truly curious about is why he would go to Ji Province to seek death on his own, as if me killing him would better align with his plan."

The afternoon sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, carving light and shadow onto the side of the Chen Master's face.

Ash hung from his fingertip, trembling slightly with his breath, and the smoke floating in the light spots coiled around the lines at the corner of the Chen Master's eyes.

At this moment, the Chen Master's expression was calm, half-immersed in the warm light and half-sunk in the shadows of the smoke.

"Father means that Chen Yan going to Ji Province is intentionally seeking death?" Chen Youqing asked in surprise.

"High probability," the Chen Master laughed:

"Or perhaps, the Master of Will told him to do so; I am only guessing.

But in the dark, I can feel that if I were to truly kill him, I might be the one falling into a perilous situation."