Great Clans' 'Shackles'

Imperial Capital.

In a luxurious courtyard, a black-haired young man was continuously practicing his magic accuracy on a moving wooden stake ten meters away.

"Boom~"

"Boom~"

"..."

Black electric currents shot out like snakes, each strike precise. Accompanied by the impact of black lightning, the moving wooden stakes instantly exploded into fragments!

"Young Master Chen Lang, your accuracy has improved significantly!"

Just as Chen Lang destroyed several wooden stakes in front of him with the Power of Lightning, a voice of praise came from the courtyard.

Chen Lang paused at the sound and looked back at the middle-aged man who had spoken. Even with his extraordinary mental strength, he hadn't noticed the man's arrival.

Chen Lang wasn't surprised. He looked at the head steward, Li Yan, who was walking over, and asked, "Uncle Li, why do you have time to visit me today?"

Although the other party was not a member of the Chen Clan, he was a genuine steward with real authority.

Being the steward of a Great Clan as an outsider was enough to prove his status.

"It's like this, Young Master Chen Lang. The Mu Clan has arranged for a direct descendant to enter into a Marriage Alliance with our Chen Clan. The family head has asked me to call you over."

Although Li Yan held a high position in the Chen Clan, he still showed the proper respect to a direct descendant.

"Marriage Alliance..."

Chen Lang's first reaction was a natural inner resistance. However, he had lived in this world for nearly eighteen years.

He naturally understood that being born into a Great Clan, enjoying many conveniences that others couldn't, meant he had to abide by the rigid family arrangements, with everything centered around the family.

He wasn't such a rigid or rule-abiding person, but until his wings were strong enough, he could only comply.

After responding, Chen Lang and Li Yan walked out of the courtyard.

The two walked towards the central courtyard, one after the other.

Along the way, Chen Lang also learned that the direct descendant from the Mu Clan involved in this Marriage Alliance was Mu Tingying.

And the chosen partner was either him or someone else among his peers.

However, according to the family head's wishes, he was the one to be betrothed to a Mu Clan direct descendant.

In fact, this arrangement was not only to consolidate the relationship between the two families but also to allow Chen Lang to receive some help from a Mu Clan direct descendant.

This would further benefit his cultivation to become the next successor.

There was no other way. Although he was the most outstanding among the younger generation, Chen Lang's parents in this world had already ascended to Heaven... Compared to his other cousins, this was a disadvantage.

The family head's preferential treatment towards him might not be entirely due to familial affection. It was also because of the extraordinary talent Chen Lang displayed when he awakened his Magic.

He awakened with a natural 'Spirit Seed' and possessed the talent of 'One Thought Star Track'.

For an ordinary person to possess one of these would already be exceptionally outstanding, but Chen Lang possessed both. It was precisely because of this that he deserved such preferential treatment.

Of course, what no one knew was that Chen Lang's extraordinary endowment wasn't due to his own abilities but to a wisp of black lightning he carried within his body when he transmigrated!

This wisp of black lightning grew with him as he aged.

It even spawned a Lightning Element when his Magic awakened.

It was during his awakening that Chen Lang learned that the wisp of black lightning was called 'Black Annihilation'.

Besides having multiple bonuses to the basic Spirit, Soul, and Heaven of this world, Black Annihilation also possessed extremely strong resistance to Lightning and an additional five levels of explosive power.

The first level could unleash double his own burst power.

The second level could achieve four times the burst.

The third level could achieve eight times the burst.

The fourth level could achieve sixteen times the burst.

And the ultimate fifth level was unrestricted, capable of unleashing any destructive force limited only by his own capabilities!

With such a golden finger, Chen Lang was essentially a born Magic King of Lightning...

The Imperial Capital's Chen Clan, to which he belonged, was not mentioned at all in his original world.

But in reality, the Chen Clan was an old-established Great Clan, no less famous than the Mu Clan. It was just that the Chen Clan's foundation was actually in the west.

And in terms of overall strength, the Chen Clan was in no way inferior to the Mu Clan.

Two behemoths were not necessarily enemies. Two families of the same level fighting each other would only allow others to benefit.

Cooperation and mutual benefit was undoubtedly the best choice.

Throughout history, the best form of alliance was naturally a Marriage Alliance...

Soon, Chen Lang was brought to the family's reception hall.

The hall was spacious, and though not many people were present, they were all core members of the Family.

Seated at the head of the lowest table was an elder from the direct lineage of the Family, Chen Jun.

A few seats below the Family Head were several elders from the direct lineage within the Family.

Chen Lang's gaze then shifted to the seats on the other side, where there were two men and two women. The older one among them should be the representative from the Mu Clan this time.

The remaining one man and two women were Mu Tingying and her parents.

Mu Tingying's appearance was decent. Those 'produced' by Great Clans naturally had few ugly women. But she could only be described as decent; she didn't inspire any particular amazement in Chen Lang.

Furthermore, Chen Lang knew Mu Tingying's character all too well, and he truly didn't want anything to do with her from the bottom of his heart.

When Chen Lang arrived, Elder Chen Jun gave Li Yan a look. Li Yan then began to introduce Chen Lang to Mu Tingying and said to Chen Lang, "Young Master Chen Lang, this is Miss Mu Tingying..."

After the mutual introductions, naturally, they were given time to interact...

The two left the hall. Chen Lang could tell that the woman's eyes were filled with arrogance and disdain.

Chen Lang couldn't be bothered to care, let alone bother with conversation. He planned to simply take her on a brief tour and then report back.

But after they walked for a while, Mu Tingying, who had been ignored the entire time, finally spoke first, "Where are you taking me?"

She was somewhat impatient, feeling that Chen Lang was ungrateful.

Although she had heard some things about him, Mu Tingying believed she was no worse than any of her peers.

Moreover, if he didn't cherish a beauty like herself, then this marriage alliance was not worth pursuing!

"Miss Mu is visiting for the first time, so I'm just taking you around." Chen Lang had absolutely no feelings for this woman, but out of the 'rotten' etiquette he had learned since childhood, he continued to go through the motions.

"Don't you know why I'm here?" Mu Tingying asked, frowning.

She was already becoming impatient, even showing displeasure.

Chen Lang grew somewhat impatient and gave her a look as if she were an idiot, then nodded.

Mu Tingying immediately bristled at Chen Lang's attitude, her voice rising considerably, "So this is your attitude?"

Seeing Mu Tingying's questioning tone, Chen Lang certainly wasn't going to indulge her. He said indifferently, "I noticed you weren't speaking much, so I thought Miss Mu was a woman of few words."

"You..."

Was she a woman of few words?

She just liked to be flattered!!

"Miss Mu, it's getting late, we can head back." Chen Lang glanced at the time, not intending to give her any more opportunities to speak. He turned and gestured.

Mu Tingying was furious, but in the end, she just let out a cold 'hmph' and, disregarding her image, quickly walked back towards the reception hall.

Soon, the two returned to the reception hall, one after the other.

Compared to their cold interaction, the hall was quite lively.

Chen Lang could even see that Mu Tingying's parents wore a hint of fawning, clearly wanting this marriage alliance to succeed.

Both the Mu Clan and the Chen Clan naturally had internal competition. Therefore, compared to the foolish woman Mu Tingying, her parents understood what was more important.

Seeing the two of them return, the harmonious conversation among the parties temporarily ended.

Mu Tingying's mother looked at Chen Lang with great satisfaction and asked, "Xiao Lang, what do you think of our Tingying?"

"Tingying sister is very good..."

Although Chen Lang disliked Mu Tingying, this kind of matter was not suitable for him to voice.

As expected, before he could finish speaking, Mu Tingying immediately interjected, "Mom, I don't want to marry him!!!"