Chapter 439: I Want One Too
Shen Anyu looked at Yang Luoluo and asked with a smile, "You call my Aunt An 'Sister An'? How does that work out the seniority? Are you also my aunt?"
Yang Luoluo's cheerful expression faltered for a half-second before she broke into a sweet, dazzling smile, revealing two charming dimples. She swayed playfully on the plush velvet sofa, the fine silk of her qipao rustling softly with the movement. Her bare, jade-like feet, exquisitely pedicured, kicked gently in the air, a picture of carefree innocence.
"If we calculate seniority from Master Brother's side," she giggled, her voice as light and sweet as honey, "then I should call Sister An 'Master Aunt-Grandmother'. But Sister An is so young and breathtakingly beautiful! How could I possibly call her that? It would make her sound ancient!"
Her logic, while convoluted, was delivered with such earnest charm that it was hard to fault. "So, Luoluo decided to follow Sister Ruyan's lead. Sister Ruyan and Sister An are the best of friends, so I call her Sister An too. It makes things simpler, right?"
As she spoke, Yang Luoluo risked a fleeting, secretive glance at Shen Anyu from beneath her long lashes. Her heart hammered against her ribs. 'What I really want is to call her 'Aunt',' she thought, a blush creeping up her neck. 'To follow you, Master Brother. To feel like I truly belong here, with you.'
But the thought was as terrifying as it was tantalizing. She didn't dare voice it. The courage simply wasn't there. Her gaze flickered nervously toward the woman lounging beside her, her Second Senior Sister, Liu Ruyan. The mere proximity to that predatory grace was enough to make her feel small and timid. Her cheeks burned hotter.
Second Senior Sister Liu Ruyan was, after all, Master Brother's supposed girlfriend. And both she and Fifth Sister Zhong Lingyin… were very, very bad women.
An Zhiyue, however, seemed entirely unbothered by the tangled web of seniority. Her strikingly beautiful face, usually etched with the stern focus of a commander, broke into a bright, carefree smile. The warmth in her eyes melted away her martial austerity, revealing the affectionate aunt beneath.
"That's fine too," she said, her voice carrying a rich, melodic tone. "We'll each calculate our own connections. Luoluo calls you Master Brother, and she calls me Sister An. It works."
Shen Anyu theatrically patted his forehead, a rare look of mock exasperation crossing his handsome features. "Is my little disciple trying to climb the generational ladder?"
But the thought was fleeting, dismissed almost as soon as it formed. He didn't truly care about such trivialities. Whatever she called herself, Yang Luoluo was his. What was the worst she could do? Tear down the manor? The most she could aspire to was getting on top, and he certainly wouldn't complain about that.
His playful mood subsided, replaced by a focused intensity. His dark, penetrating gaze settled on An Zhiyue.
"Aunt, I have a great treasure to show you," he said, his voice lowering slightly, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "I have a feeling you'll be very interested."
This was the true purpose of his visit.
"A great treasure?"
The phrase hung in the air, electric. An Zhiyue's smile tightened with intrigue. Yang Luoluo's playful kicking ceased, her full attention captured. Even Ruan Lingshan, the quiet maid, looked up from her tasks. Liu Ruyan, who had been pouting with a theatrical boredom, straightened her posture, her foxy eyes narrowing with curiosity.
An Zhiyue's mind raced. A flicker of recognition, of fervent hope, lit up her stunning phoenix eyes. "Could it be," she breathed, her voice barely a whisper, "a hundred-year zhu fruit?"
The memory of the last one Shen Anyu had given her surged through her veins like a phantom current of energy. The raw, untamed power that had flooded her meridians, shattering her bottleneck and catapulting her from the late stage of a Grandmaster directly to its peak. The experience had been nothing short of miraculous. Her beautiful face flushed with a mixture of excitement and anticipation. That single fruit was a true heavenly treasure. If she had another… the legendary world of Heavenly Human Unity, a goal that had seemed a lifetime away, would be within her grasp.
"A hundred-year zhu fruit?"
The words struck Liu Ruyan like a physical blow. Her heart clenched with a sharp, bitter pang of envy. She shot a resentful glare at Shen Anyu, her crimson lips tightening.
'You bastard,' she fumed internally, her mind a whirlwind of indignation. 'You have something that miraculous, a treasure that could change a martial artist's destiny, and you don't even think to offer one to me? Your girlfriend?'
The title felt hollow, a lie that had backfired spectacularly. Initially, she had claimed the position only to protect her naive Junior Sister from Shen Anyu's predatory reputation. But in the end, she was the one who had been thoroughly and utterly 'harmed' by him. His touch, his scent, the memory of his overwhelming dominance, had branded itself onto her soul.
For a long while after, she hadn't been able to face him, fleeing Magic City to put distance between them. It was only the news of his supposed demise—surrounded and besieged by three Heavenly Human Giants from the Martial God Hall—that had drawn her back. She'd rushed to the River View Manor, uncertain if she was driven by worry or a morbid sense of schadenfreude.
Now, seeing him alive, powerful, and casually discussing legendary treasures, all she felt was a burning, corrosive envy. She had been stuck at the peak of the Grandmaster realm for what felt like an eternity. A single hundred-year zhu fruit would be the key to her breakthrough. And he had one. But not for her.
'I was played for nothing!' The thought was a raw, open wound.
Yang Luoluo and Ruan Lingshan, by contrast, were fine. Shen Anyu had already promised a future opportunity to his little disciple, and the maid's cultivation was still far too low to withstand the violent potency of such a treasure. To even attempt to consume a hundred-year zhu fruit, one needed the robust constitution of, at the very least, a Martial Arts Grandmaster.
Shen Anyu simply smiled, a hint of mystery playing on his lips. "No," he said, his voice calm and steady, sending another shockwave through the room. "It's better than a hundred-year zhu fruit."
With a smooth, deliberate motion, he reached into his sleeve—a seamless cover for retrieving an item from his System space. When his hand emerged, a small, radiant object rested in his palm.
It was a pill, the size of an infant's fist, glowing with a soft, internal golden light. A faint, almost imperceptible warmth radiated from it, and the air grew thick with a subtle, ancient fragrance of rare herbs and condensed spiritual energy. The women stared, utterly captivated.
Better than a hundred-year zhu fruit? What on earth could it be?
Shen Anyu let their curiosity build for a moment longer, enjoying the rapt attention on their faces. Then, he chuckled softly. "This is a Heavenly Human Breakthrough Pill," he explained, his tone as casual as if he were describing a common candy. "It allows a martial artist at the peak of the Grandmaster realm to perfectly integrate their essence, qi, and spirit. It shatters the shackles of the mortal coil, opens the secret treasury of the heavens, and allows one to achieve the world of Heavenly Human Unity."
His words fell into a cavern of stunned silence. For a second, no one moved. No one breathed. Then, as one, the women gasped, their eyes wide with sheer, unadulterated shock.
"Heavenly... Human Breakthrough Pill? It can help someone break through to the Heavenly Human Unity Realm?"
The concept was staggering, world-shattering. Their minds struggled to process the sheer magnitude of his statement. The blood drained from their faces, only to rush back in a tidal wave of disbelief.
An expert at the Heavenly Human Unity level was known as a Heavenly Human Giant. They were living legends, beings capable of dominating entire regions. Their influence and prestige far surpassed even the highest-ranking officials, for their power was not granted by title or station—it was absolute, inherent to their very being.
Ye Yan, the so-called Child of Destiny, had relied almost entirely on the fearsome reputation of his Heavenly Human Master, Tian Yunzi, during his initial descent from the mountains. Shen Anyu's own maternal family, the An Family of Yanxia, possessed a foundation far shallower than the Shen Family, yet they stood proudly among the top aristocratic clans. Why? Because his grandfather, An Youmin, was a Heavenly Human Giant who had carved a legacy through countless meritorious deeds on the battlefield. A single top-tier Heavenly Human expert had elevated his entire clan to the apex of society.
This pill… this single, golden orb… was a key to that legendary realm. It was no longer a mere treasure; it was a strategic weapon, a miraculous elixir capable of forging a legend. Its value was incalculable, priceless. It was something that could ignite wars, topple dynasties, and redraw the maps of power.
Even An Zhiyue—the ever-composed, decisive, and free-spirited Female War God of Yanxia, the General Instructor of the elite Fire Phoenix Special Forces—felt the air leave her lungs. Her breathing became rapid and shallow, her fierce phoenix eyes locked onto the golden pill with an intensity that bordered on reverence.
Beside her, Liu Ruyan and Yang Luoluo were completely transfixed, their beautiful eyes glistening, reflecting the pill's soft, hypnotic light. They were utterly mesmerized, unable to tear their gazes away. Even the little maid, Ruan Lingshan, stood frozen, her eyes wide with an awe typically reserved for deities.
Before the women could even begin to recover from the initial shock, Shen Anyu turned his gaze back to his aunt. "I used one of these to break through to the Heavenly Human realm myself," he stated plainly. "So, this one is useless to me now."
He extended his hand, offering the glowing orb to her.
"Aunt, this Heavenly Human Breakthrough Pill is for you. It will help you step into the world of Heavenly Human Unity."
His tone was so calm, so utterly devoid of pomp, that it was as if he were offering her an apple from a tree. The sheer nonchalance of the gesture was almost as shocking as the pill itself. An Zhiyue's mind went blank. Her lips parted, but no sound emerged. Finally, she managed to stammer, "An'yu… you're… you're giving it to me?"
Shen Anyu let out an amused chuckle. "If not for you, then who else?"
His decision had been a simple one. He had already reached the Heavenly Human realm, rendering the pill obsolete for his own use. He still had two more in his possession. Such extraordinary treasures were meant to be bestowed upon his most valuable assets—his women and his closest family. Among them all, his aunt was the nearest to the threshold of the Heavenly Human realm.
In the original novel and in this new reality, An Zhiyue's loyalty and affection for him were absolute. She had, and would, risk her very life for him without a moment's hesitation. Elevating her strength was a direct investment in his own security and power.
The heroic, always resolute An Zhiyue was, for the first time in a long time, completely at a loss for words. Her thoughts were a chaotic jumble. "This… this is too precious!" she finally managed to say, her voice trembling slightly.
She knew, better than anyone, what this pill represented. It was a treasure that could provoke a bloody storm across the entire martial world, a prize whose value dwarfed that of colossal gold mines or oil fields.
Shen Anyu's gaze remained fixed on her beautiful, stunned face. A faint smile touched his lips. "If one day I fall into trouble, surrounded by danger, will you save me, Aunt?"
"Of course I'll save you!" An Zhiyue's response was instantaneous, instinctual, a soldier's vow delivered from the heart.
She paused, the words echoing in the silent room. Her gaze met Shen Anyu's knowing smile, and understanding dawned. The shock receded, replaced by a wave of warmth and determination. She pursed her lips, and the vibrant, indomitable spirit that defined her blazed back to life. Her heroic sharpness returned, her phoenix brows rising with regal authority.
"Give it to me."
"Good."
They smiled at each other, a perfect, unspoken understanding passing between them. The polite refusals and formalities were cast aside.
Watching this profound exchange, Liu Ruyan muttered under her breath, a bitter taste in her mouth. 'How is it that Aunt An Zhiyue is more in sync with Shen Anyu than I am? His supposed girlfriend?'
Damn it all. A hundred-year zhu fruit, a Heavenly Human Breakthrough Pill… she wanted them. She wanted them so badly it was a physical ache in her soul.
Liu Ruyan's long, charming fox eyes lifted. 'I can't let Shen Anyu play me for nothing. No, I must get my hands on them. That scoundrel Shen Anyu definitely has more in stock...'
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