Chapter 177: Mother-in-law is too OP!

As Yang Chen made his way back to the academy after meeting with Han Zhenya, a significant event was unfolding at the Zhu family manor.The twelve elders of the Zhu family had invited Zhu Shenyi, the family matriarch, to a dinner. In the lavish dining hall, the elders sat with scheming expressions. Previously, the council had planned to marry Zhu Jia to the son of the Lionheart Guild, the top guild in China.

Before entering the dungeon, Zhu Jia's talent was considered average compared to her peers, and many family members thought she was unfit to lead the Zhu family. However, what they didn't anticipate was Zhu Jia returning from the dungeon as two people.

Logically, the council should have been celebrating the fact that Zhu Jia, a child of the Zhu family, survived a C-rank dungeon and awakened her talents.

Yet, this group of elders now wanted Xie Qingyi, Zhu Shenyi's other daughter, to marry the eldest son of the Wang clan, the number one clan in China.

Their secret plan was to absorb their competition by marrying off both of the matriarch's daughters. In doing so, they were digging their own graves.

Naturally, they wouldn't have dared to scheme like this had they known both Zhu Jia and Xie Qingyi possessed A-ranked talents.

Zhu Shenyi had grown tired of the elder council long ago.

When she made an announcement to the public about her daughters, She concealed the real rank of their talents and revealed it as C-rank. She saw this as the perfect chance, created by her daughters, to finally rid herself of the elder council.

"First Elder, we've been waiting for 30 minutes, and the matriarch is still nowhere to be seen," the Twelfth Elder stood up, her face dark with displeasure.

The others' faces also darkened, but the First Elder remained silent for a moment before speaking, "She's here."

Just as she spoke, footsteps echoed from the stairs leading to the matriarch's study.

Zhu Shenyi descended and hid her murderous intent behind a smile.

Secretary Cha quietly followed behind her, her face emotionless and cold. She had long wanted to eliminate these leeches.

Although not related to Zhu Jia by blood, Secretary Cha had watched her grow from a baby and was often called "Aunt" when Zhu Shenyi wasn't around.

Shortly after, Zhu Shenyi sat at the dining table, holding a glass of red wine. She glanced at the elders before taking a sip.

"Matriarch, I'm sure you know why we invited you to this dinner," the second elder spoke up after receiving a signal from the first elder.

"Oh? And what might that reason be?" Zhu Shenyi asked with an innocent expression, pretending not to know the reason.

"Matriarch, your daughters are not fit to lead our family. So, how about marrying them off to the eldest sons of the Lionheart Guild leader and the Wang clan—" the first elder interrupted, taking over from the second.

*Crash!*

Zhu Shenyi dropped the empty glass on the floor, interrupting her. Her cold eyes locked on the first elder as she spoke.

"Who are you to decide the lives of my daughters?"

She made no effort to hide her murderous intent—there was no need.

At first, she thought the twelve elders had hidden their strength and possessed trump cards. But after using one of Libra's abilities, which determines the battle prowess of an opponent, she found it laughable that these old crones thought they could force her hand.

[Name: Zhu Li]

[Status: First Elder]

[Power: 5450]

The first elder, the strongest among them, only had a power level of 5450, slightly above an average B-rank.

"Matriarch, I advise you to watch your tone," the third elder warned with a dark expression, summoning her contracted spirit.

The Zhu family was known for contracting legendary and mythical spirits, with each family member's status determined by the strength of their contracted spirit.

"And what if I don't?" Zhu Shenyi chuckled, easily seeing through her actions.

"Shenyi, have you grown arrogant after contracting one of the zodiac spirits?"

The fourth elder stood up, drawing power from her contracted spirit—a wild boar.

"Even you can't defeat all of us," she said, stomping the floor with her full strength. Cracks appeared on the special marble flooring.

"Hehe, do you really think so?" Zhu Shenyi giggled at the sight of the small crack.

"Of course! Your contracted spirit, Virgo, is only good for defense, and all of our spirits specialize in offense."

"Should I take this as the twelve of you rebelling against the family?" Zhu Shenyi asked coldly, not even bothering to glance at the fourth elder.

"Hahaha, Matriarch, you know how to joke," the first elder laughed loudly.

"We're merely teaching you a lesson," she said, her laughter fading into seriousness.

"Do you want to know why I let you all live after you tried to use my daughter for your own gain?" Zhu Shenyi asked as she stood up, immediately surrounded by the elders.

At that moment, a group of people dressed in black broke through the windows and doors. These were the forces cultivated by the elders, numbering around 200.

"Secretary Cha, can you handle them?" Zhu Shenyi asked, turning to look at her.

Secretary Cha nodded, drawing her twin daggers.

"Shenyi, do you really think you can take on all of us and deal with us so easily?" the twelfth elder sneered, her face twisted with rage.

A massive phantom of a hyena appeared behind her, sending gusts of wind in all directions. Like her, all the elders summoned their contracted spirit phantoms, and the top four elders' bodies began to transform slightly, mimicking their contracted spirits.

However, their transformation paled in comparison to the spiritual manifestation used by Zhu Jia and Xie Qingyi. After all, the twins' spirits were representations of their true selves—a level far beyond these elders.

"Why aren't you summoning your contracted spirit?" the first elder asked nervously, sensing something was wrong as Zhu Shenyi remained still, her cold gaze unwavering.

"Since you asked for death, I will gladly oblige." As she spoke, a massive twelve-headed phantom formed above her.

The elders immediately sensed danger and backed away. In the next moment, they witnessed a shocking scene, jaws wide open. The twelve phantoms took on the appearances of the twelve zodiac signs.

The phantoms appeared real, and all the zodiac spirits actually knelt, surrounding Zhu Shenyi.

"What!?" The tenth elder exclaimed, horrified, as she saw the spirits kneel before Zhu Shenyi.

She wasn't foolish enough not to realize that Zhu Shenyi was hiding her abilities. If Virgo was A-rank, now she could control all the zodiac spirits.

What truly shocked them was the fact that these legendary spirits bowed down to Zhu Shenyi.

"Try harder and show me your best so that I can at least break a sweat," Zhu Shenyi said, rubbing the head of Leo, a lioness, in an amused tone.

'Everyone, this is too dangerous. We should find a way to get out of here. Otherwise…' The first elder sent a voice transmission to all the elders and borrowed the power of her contracted spirit, a one-eyed tigress.

'All of us will die here.'

The elders quickly understood her intentions and launched themselves at Zhu Shenyi all at once.

Seeing this, Zhu Shenyi shook her head in response and muttered,

"Spiritual manifestation: Aquarius."

Immediately, Zhu Shenyi and the mermaid began to fuse, and the surroundings were covered in brilliant light.

"Leo, Capricorn, and Taurus, defend against their attacks."

"And the rest of you, protect me until I complete the transformation."

Leo leaped and clashed with the first and second elders, Taurus dealt with the third and fourth elders, while Capricorn stood still, taking all the hits.

Because Capricorn's body was covered in thick fur, their attacks didn't even reach its main body, as the fur absorbed all the damage.

Leo's body was made of divine light, while its mane and paws were covered in flames. The first and second elders couldn't even get close to Leo, fearing that golden flame.

Taurus handled its opponents with sheer brute strength, tearing apart the phantoms of its opponents' spirits.

The reason Zhu Shenyi chose Aquarius over the other spirits was simple.

Aquarius had the best AOE attacks among the zodiacs. She was confident that she could wipe out everyone with just a single attack, including the elders' forces.

In no time, she completed her manifestation, and the light surrounding her body disappeared, revealing a breathtaking beauty floating in mid-air. S~eaʀᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.