Chapter 774: Shen Haoran's Trump Card

After Shen Haoran left, the rampaging thousand-year-old Spirit Vein underground slowly calmed down. The massive fissures closed up, and the disciples of the Yao Sect began to clean up the aftermath.

By now, Shen Haoran had already brought Zi Yuexi to the Yao Sect’s reception hall, where Zi Mo and the others were waiting anxiously. They had just felt a violent tremor, and if Shen Haoran hadn’t instructed them beforehand, they would have charged out long ago. Seeing Shen Haoran and Shui Ruolan return safely, they all breathed a long sigh of relief.

When Zi Mo saw the woman beside Shen Haoran—dressed in purple, with purple hair and purple eyes—he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Holy crap, Boss, isn’t that Zi Yuexi from the Purple Luo Palace!”

“That’s right. She’s here as our guest!” Shen Haoran nodded and then began introducing Zi Mo and the others to Zi Yuexi.

Hearing Shen Haoran’s introductions, Zi Yuexi gave a slight bow to the group as a greeting. Seeing her bow to them, Zi Mo and the others were rather flattered. After all, Zi Yuexi was known as the Southern Domain’s “ice beauty.” Few people had ever seen her true face, yet here was this icy goddess, bowing to them today.

Seeing their pathetic display, Shen Haoran couldn’t help but shake his head. He invited Zi Yuexi to take the seat of honor, then gazed at her with a wide smile. This made Zi Mo and the others’ faces darken. ‘She’s a beauty, after all. Staring at her like that… Isn’t that beneath someone of your status?’

“Why are you staring at me?” Shen Haoran’s gaze was making Zi Yuexi’s skin crawl. She set down her teacup and asked. At the same time, she laughed bitterly to herself. ‘Usually, I’m the one watching others. It’s rare for someone to stare at me like this, especially a young man around my own age.’

“I’m waiting for you to speak. You chose to cooperate with us. Surely you have some other motive, don’t you?” Shen Haoran asked with a light chuckle, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

“You really are direct. If I said I just acted on impulse at the time, would you believe me?” Zi Yuexi said, her expression serious as her purple eyes met Shen Haoran’s.

“On impulse?” Shen Haoran was a bit surprised. He knew a little about the Purple Luo Palace—it was the Southern Domain’s largest intelligence-gathering organization. As its successor, Zi Yuexi was certain to take it over one day. Impulsiveness was the greatest taboo for someone in that line of work; what they needed was a calm mind and powerful analytical skills. Shen Haoran would sooner believe a man could get pregnant than believe Zi Yuexi had acted on impulse!

Seeing Shen Haoran’s skeptical expression, Zi Yuexi gave a wry smile. She really had acted on impulse at that moment. The word ‘impulse’ wasn’t even in her vocabulary; the Purple Luo Palace’s training had turned her into the calmest of machines. Even in a life-or-death situation, she would analyze her predicament with the coolest of heads. This urge she felt upon first seeing someone was definitely not the real Zi Yuexi. She had no idea why she had been so impulsive when she met Shen Haoran!

“Fine. After seeing your strength, I do have a request. I want to use our cooperation to achieve a win-win situation!” Zi Yuexi knew Shen Haoran and the others probably wouldn’t believe her explanation, so she went straight to the thoughts she’d had after calming down.

“A win-win situation? What are you referring to?” Shen Haoran asked faintly, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“If you want to know, you’ll have to show me your final trump card. Only by knowing the full extent of your strength can I make the best choice!” Zi Yuexi’s gaze locked onto Shen Haoran, her tone becoming lofty. At that moment, she was like an Empress masterminding a grand strategy.

This behavior was an instinctive reaction for Zi Yuexi. When the Purple Luo Palace exchanged information with others, negotiations were inevitable. Her training allowed her to seize the most advantageous position in any negotiation, using her aura to pressure her opponent and ultimately obtain the most valuable information for the lowest price. In this state, Zi Yuexi was absolutely dominant, absolutely cold and ruthless. Anyone negotiating with her would find themselves at a disadvantage without even realizing it.

However, that was only true for others. Against Shen Haoran, Zi Yuexi’s aura had no effect at all. His own aura was even more domineering, more powerful. Before him, her imposing presence was like that of a child.

“And if I refuse?” Shen Haoran released his domineering aura, instantly tearing apart Zi Yuexi’s lofty presence. In that moment, Zi Yuexi felt as if she were facing the master of heaven and earth, and her body couldn’t help but tremble.

Fortunately, that domineering aura vanished as quickly as it appeared. After withdrawing his aura, Shen Haoran’s face once again wore that perfectly harmless smile. His reaction had been purely subconscious; after all, it was natural for him to reflexively refuse anyone who tried to probe his trump cards. But then, Shen Haoran agreed. Zi Yuexi was using him, but wasn’t he also using Zi Yuexi?

Seeing the change in Shen Haoran’s expression, Zi Yuexi felt a pang of frustration. It was no exaggeration to say that if she wanted to incite a war between all the major powers of the Southern Domain, it would be a simple matter for her. Yet, even though she held the fates of all the Southern Domain’s powers in her hands, she couldn’t seem to gain the slightest advantage over Shen Haoran. It was as if he had no weaknesses at all, leaving her with no opening to exploit.

“I can show you my trump card, but you’d better be prepared,” Shen Haoran said faintly.

Hearing this, Zi Yuexi nodded. ‘A trump card that Shen Haoran would rather risk death than reveal must be incredibly powerful.’

Seeing the anticipation in Zi Yuexi’s eyes, Shen Haoran focused his thoughts. Changmao and Fire Vajra abruptly appeared beside him, and a terrifying aura instantly swept through the reception hall.

“Spirit… Spirit Emperor Powerhouses!” Feeling those two terrifying auras, Zi Yuexi’s expression instantly turned grave. She had already witnessed Changmao’s power outside, but now there was another hidden expert of the Spirit Emperor Tier beside Shen Haoran. And this new aura… it was even stronger than Changmao’s!

A Spirit Emperor Powerhouse was a figure who stood at the Peak of the Southern Domain. If a Sect had a single Spirit Emperor Powerhouse, it could instantly leap to the status of a super-power. If it had two, then as long as the Sect’s foundation wasn’t weak, it would be only a matter of time before it dominated the Southern Domain. No wonder Shen Haoran dared to challenge all the Sects of the Southern Domain by himself. So this was the kind of trump card he was hiding. Even though Zi Yuexi had prepared herself, she never imagined Shen Haoran could pull out yet another Spirit Emperor Powerhouse…