"No, I have to speed things up!"
Su Xiaobai made his decision at once.
Two hundred days—more than six months. In the past, he wouldn't have thought that was very long... After all, his progress was already faster than that of every warrior outside!
But now, the crisis was closing in.
An invisible sword was hanging over his head, liable to fall at any moment... If things went badly, a Martial Master might come knocking before he had even finished cultivating this technique!
"Perfect. I just sold a batch of Fierce Beast Materials and exchanged them for 3.8 million Ten Thousand Spirit Coins. A Level 4 Automated Skill Training space needs � million. That's enough!"
"System, upgrade Automated Skill Training!"
Su Xiaobai issued the order directly.
"Upgrade complete!"
With the system's feedback, the mark in the upper-right corner of the Automated Skill Training space changed from "*4" to "*8"!
In an instant, the shadowy progress of Automated Skill Training accelerated to eight times the speed!
"At the current speed, it'll still take � days to finish this technique... I have to speed things up further!"
"Upgrading Automated Skill Training to � level costs � million. I only have � million left, which definitely isn't enough... Level 3 Automated Monster Hunting costs � million, which is even more out of reach... I can only wait for the next wave a week from now!"
"I'll use the remaining � million to upgrade Automated Cultivation Space!"
Su Xiaobai decisively poured all his remaining money into Automated Cultivation Space.
This was no time to save money.
These few days of waiting might be the very days in which his strength increased... So if he could improve as quickly as possible, he had to do it!
"Upgrade complete!"
As the system's notification rang out, the mark in the upper-right corner of the Automated Cultivation Space also changed from "*4" to "*8"!
With cultivation speed multiplied eightfold, it went without saying how fast Su Xiaobai's cultivation progress was now!
What others would have to struggle for several years to raise by one level would take Su Xiaobai only a few months—or even a few days!
"All done!"
"The only problem left is finding a new place to stay as soon as possible!"
Since they had been able to find the villa, it meant they already knew where he lived. Staying any longer would be unsafe... He had to find a secure place first. Only after he wiped out the Yuan Family would this crisis alert be lifted!
At the same time, Zhang Hengde had already returned to the Zhang Family.
"Big brother!"
Zhang Hengde hurried in. Along the way, the servants respectfully greeted him, but he ignored every one of them. His eyes were as wide as copper bells, and panic filled his face.
He went straight to Zhang Henglong's study and shoved the door open.
"Why have you come back? Didn't I tell you to keep watch over Guest Elder Su?"
Zhang Henglong, who had been handling family affairs, raised his head and frowned.
"Big brother, I have something extremely important to tell you!"
Zhang Hengde cautiously glanced around several times before quickly closing the door.
Feeling that it still wasn't hidden enough, he pulled the curtains shut as well.
"This is my study. Everything here is under my watch at all times. If even this place has been infiltrated, then there's nowhere safe left in the entire Zhang Family."
Zhang Henglong calmly said this as he closed the documents in his hand. "Go on. What exactly is this important matter?"
"The Yuan Family has made a move!"
After confirming that there was no problem, Zhang Hengde leaned close to Zhang Henglong and lowered his voice, speaking with utmost seriousness.
"You were attacked?"
Zhang Henglong's gaze sharpened, and his expression turned grim.
"I was. The Yuan Family is cunning. They didn't use their own people, but found Madman Drake instead!"
"Madman Drake? The Yuan Family is really willing to pay a huge price!"
Zhang Henglong's eyes grew solemn.
Of course he had heard of Madman Drake. Hiring him required not only an exceptionally generous reward, but also a challenge worthy of him... Clearly, this task was right up Madman Drake's alley!
"You came back specifically, which means Madman Drake's assassination failed, right?"
Zhang Henglong cast Zhang Hengde a glance.
He knew his second brother's personality well.
Although he was reckless and hot-tempered, he would carry out any task assigned to him meticulously.
Zhang Hengde's return was enough to show that everything was fine on Su Xiaobai's end... Madman Drake had failed!
"It didn't just fail. Madman Drake lost his life!"
"You're an Intermediate Martial Master, after all. Killing an Advanced Warrior isn't anything unusual."
"No... Madman Drake wasn't killed by me. He was killed by Guest Elder Su!"
The moment Zhang Hengde said this, Zhang Henglong jerked his head up, his eyes widening as he stared fixedly at Zhang Hengde.
The meaning in his eyes was simple: How was that possible?!
Zhang Hengde swallowed hard.
"What exactly happened?"
At this moment, Zhang Henglong could no longer maintain his earlier composure.
Su Xiaobai was only a Senior Quasi-Warrior.
Madman Drake, on the other hand, was a genuine Advanced Warrior.
Although there was only one word's difference between their realms, the gap represented by that one word was as vast as heaven and earth!
He had never heard of a Senior Quasi-Warrior being able to kill an Advanced Warrior... It was simply too shocking to believe!
"It happened like this..."
Zhang Hengde carefully recounted everything that had just happened, breaking it down and explaining every detail.
The more he spoke, the deeper the shock on Zhang Henglong's face became.
Especially when he heard that Su Xiaobai had unknowingly broken through to become a Beginner Warrior and had even blocked Madman Drake's Poison Needle, his pupils suddenly contracted!
But that wasn't the end.
When he heard that Su Xiaobai had fought Madman Drake in the alley, actually matching an Advanced Warrior blow for blow as a Beginner Warrior, his entire body trembled involuntarily!
A Beginner Warrior confronting an Advanced Warrior.
The difference of one level alone was enough to create an overwhelming advantage.
With a difference of two levels, there was practically no chance of victory!
Yet Su Xiaobai had managed to withstand him head-on... It was simply inconceivable!
However, that still wasn't the most inconceivable part.
"What?!"
Zhang Henglong abruptly rose from his chair. The aura of an Advanced Martial Master unconsciously burst out in his shock, throwing the entire study into chaos... His face was filled with horror, as if he had seen a ghost!
"You... you said Guest Elder Su... he... he mastered an Attribute Technique?!"
Before you continue