Chapter 160: Final Coercion (1)
The Wang Residence.
The Wang Clan’s large courtyard had once been extremely prestigious. Back then, the stone tigers that guarded the front door had been so lively it was as if they had their own spirits that frightened the evil demons away.
However, even the barking dogs within the residence were now silent, let alone the stone tigers.
Large numbers of soldiers had surrounded the entire residence.
They were solemn, quiet, serious, and vicious.
They had surrounded the Wang Residence thoroughly so that no leaks could get through.
This harsh aura and oppressive force had gathered together like a dark cloud above the Wang Palace.
The Wang Palace was where those surnamed Wang lived; it was not just the Wang Patriarch’s residence.
As such, when their residence was completely surrounded by soldiers, everyone knew that something bad was about to happen.
Even the Wang Clan’s Patriarch had made an appearance once earlier.
Unfortunately, he was immediately beaten back.
An Siyuan was sitting in his Peaceful Four Seas Carriage, his bald head glistening as he projected his voice into the palace. “Old Wang, you’ve cultivated for a few hundred years, but it seems that the longer you live the further back you regress. Others have their descendants make offerings to them. As long as the supply of resources doesn’t end, the clan will not fall. This is why you must be detached from outside affairs. But you dragged yourself into these muddy waters and fought on behalf of your descendants. However, you didn’t realize that once the surprise abated, what awaited you was a violent storm.”
Wang Zhanyu stood straight on top of the roof of his house. “You’re absolutely correct. I couldn’t withstand the pleading of my sons and grandsons, and couldn’t bear to ignore their interests. I personally made a move and broke the rules, resulting in this disaster. However, you’ve got quite a long ways to go from wiping out the Wang Clan. An Siyuan, do you really dare attack the Wang Clan? Or do you think that you alone will be enough to defeat me?”
An Siyuan laughed loudly, “You have three Lotus Platforms, while I only have two. How could I be your opponent? However, I am also an official of the empire, and my Chaos and Peace Seal and Peaceful Seas Carriage represent my pursuit of peace. If you really want to fight me, I can risk my life to battle you for a bit if it makes you happy.”
Wang Zhanyu’s expression was cold and determined.
An Siyuan could resist the ten Bloodline Nobility Clans on his own until now not just because of his prestige as a governmental official but also because of his own personal strength, which was further bolstered by the support of the Chaos and Peace Seal and the Peaceful Seas Carriage.
The Chaos and Peace Seal and the Peaceful Seas Carriage weren’t just Origin Tools; they represented the prestige and influence of the imperial family.
He could use these two items to simultaneously attack and defend, with the Chaos and Peace Seal allowing him to attack wantonly while the Peaceful Seas Carriage protected his body.
As long as An Siyuan was sitting in the Peaceful Seas Carriage, Wang Zhanyu couldn’t carelessly attack. Otherwise, he would be committing a crime.
Of course, it wasn’t that Wang Zhanyu couldn’t bear the responsibility. However, he had just used his connections to resolve another issue. If he did this now, it might not be that easy to deal with.
Most importantly, if they fought, he might not be able to win!
Apart from the Chaos and Peace Seal and the Peaceful Seas Carriage, An Siyuan had plenty of experts under his control. Each one was incredibly fierce. He also had sixteen Blood Hands, five hundred Blood-Robed Guards, and three thousand Lightning Martial Artists.
He had brought all of these people with him.
If the ten Bloodline Nobility Clans combined forces — no, if even a single Bloodline Nobility Clan had come to help him out, Wang Zhanyu wouldn’t be afraid.
However, in this isolated situation, Wang Zhanyu couldn’t avoid feeling anxious and afraid.
Even if he were to fight back with all his strength, he would still be trapped here.
Wang Zhanyu stared at An Siyuan and said, “Do you really believe that a single Su Chen will be able to take care of the other nine clans?”
“I don’t believe it, but I can’t discount him either,” An Siyuan replied. “He has already killed Shen Yuanhong, wasted Wei Pei, wiped out the He and Xiong Clans, roped in the Long Clan, and is currently asking the Lin Clan to surrender. As we speak, he’s constantly eradicating, eliminating, and exterminating your friends and allies. Today will be a day of bloodshed, and the heavens and earth will be overturned.”
“They’re not going to just watch and let him do it.”
“That’s right. We have also prepared for this. Lu Qingguang, the Origin Bureau, and even the Third River Army – Su Chen has a lot of backup, and I have some as well. Perhaps we won’t be able to succeed every step of the way, but for every step we take, the number of the ten clans will be reduced by one. That’s good enough.”
An Siyuan spoke quite cordially as he chuckled.
He continued, “The deeds are done by Su Chen. Any consequences and grudges will be borne by him, but I will receive all of the benefits. As such, the only question of this matter is how hard we will win. There’s no such thing as failure.”
Wang Zhanyu felt a chill in his heart.
He knew that what An Siyuan said wasn’t wrong. They had already lost this battle; the only thing that mattered now was how much they lost by and how many of their members could survive.
They couldn’t kill off all the Bloodline Nobility Clans.
Su Chen knew this, An Siyuan knew this, and Wang Zhanyu also knew this.
However, Wang Zhanyu didn’t want to surrender yet.
That was because he still had a bit of hope.
He still hoped that the other nine clans could break through the encirclement and rescue him.
However, only bad news came one after another, and Wang Zhanyu felt his heart grow cold.
The Lin Clan surrendered.
Chen Wenhui died.
The Lian Clan was massacred.
The Lai Clan surrendered.
The bad news came without stopping as if they were all strung together on a single line. He didn’t even have enough time to take a breath.
When Wang Zhanyu heard that the Wei Clan had also surrendered, he finally gave in.
He knew that he couldn’t wait any longer. Any more and there wouldn’t be any need for them to surrender.
As such, he said, “The Wang Clan is willing to surrender and serve City Lord An in the future. The resources we give, the taxes we pay, and the territory we hand over won’t be lacking. We will pay the whole price. We can even hand over the rights to the waterways and the West River Forest.”
An Siyuan sighed, “The West River Forest and waterways don’t belong to you anymore. They belong to Su Chen. Why are you trying to pull these kinds of schemes now?”
Wang Zhanyu gritted his teeth. ”The Wang Clan is willing to hand over all its businesses for the City Lord to deal with.”
An Siyuan shook his head. “There’s no point. If you can hand them over today, you can take them back tomorrow. Money is only worth something in the hand — you know this, I know this, everyone knows this.”
Wang Zhanyu stomped his feet. “The Wang Clan can also add on two hundred Origin Stones.”
An Siyuan replied, “Su Chen’s intention is that everyone can live but not you. Clear River doesn’t need that many Light Shaking Realm cultivators.”
“The Wang Clan’s Fragmentation Blade, Jade Dragon Shuttle, and Hundred Refinements Divine Armor can also be gifted to City Lord.”
An Siyuan’s smile became even more self-satisfied. He quickly said, “Then you can also add on the King-Battling Fists, the Wind Candle Palms, and the Annihilating the Heavens technique.”
Wang Zhanyu felt a pain in his heart.
Even so, he couldn’t refuse.
If he didn’t agree, he would die.
If he didn’t agree, his entire clan would be wiped out.
If he agreed, all of their businesses, assets, treasures, and even techniques would all be taken.
But at the very least, they could survive.
It was good enough if they could survive.
If they survived, there would be more opportunities.
An Siyuan was absolutely correct. Wang Zhanyu hated Su Chen.
Even though all of the benefits had gone to An Siyuan, all of the overwhelming hatred had fallen onto Su Chen’s shoulders.
This was An Siyuan’s craftiness on display.
He didn’t need to do much to finish off his opponents or even Su Chen, whose influence was reaching a point that it could already threaten his own position.
Was An Siyuan totally trusting of Su Chen?
Of course not.
A superior that didn’t know how to be suspicious of his subordinates wasn’t worthy of being a superior.
At the very least, that was how An Siyuan thought.
However, he wasn’t as rash, incapable, impulsive, or idiotic as Lu Qingguang.
He would choose the best opportunity and do things in the calmest and most composed manner.
If Wang Zhanyu survived, then he and Su Chen would continue to fight.
While they fought, he could watch from on high while the two of them exhausted themselves.
This was called an equilibrium.
Only in this way could he make his position more stable and increase his influence.
At this moment, however, he received bad news.
Lu Qingguang had died.
