Inside the side room.
Su Chen sat cross-legged on the bed.
His mind settled on the Vajra Primordial Force technique he had obtained earlier.
At Yuchun Courtyard, Su Chen had been a true wastrel.
He had done no cultivation at all.
But now that he had returned to Su Mansion, he needed to cultivate.
Vajra Primordial Force was a technique for refining the body, with thirteen levels.
It used the inner energy within the body to temper oneself.
The first through third levels tempered the skin.
They made the skin as hard as steel.
The fourth through sixth levels tempered the flesh, the seventh through ninth tempered the marrow, and the ninth through twelfth tempered the internal organs and viscera.
As for the thirteenth level, it unified the body into one.
"The first three levels of Vajra Primordial Force temper the skin and membranes. They use the Vajra Primordial inner force generated within the body to compress them continuously, making them as hard as iron."
"That will be easy enough. I can complete it today."
"But the next stage, tempering the flesh, will probably require a huge amount of Qi and Blood Pills!"
Su Chen thought to himself.
Then he put those thoughts aside. There was no use dwelling on them now.
The most fundamental thing was to cultivate hard and raise his strength.
He circulated Vajra Primordial Force, turning it into inner force to begin tempering his skin and membranes.
He cultivated cross-legged, losing track of time.
Boom!
Suddenly, a clap of thunder sounded outside.
Then raindrops began pattering down from the sky.
Su Chen woke from his cultivation and opened his eyes. He slowly walked to the window and glanced out at the night.
The rain had made everything look dim.
He had no idea how long he had been cultivating.
"But this rain is perfect. A rainy night is good for killing. The question is, will I be the one killing tonight, or the one being killed?"
Su Chen sighed inwardly.
Creak.
The gate to the courtyard opened.
Steward Fu pushed it open and walked in.
Knock, knock!
Someone rapped on the side-room door.
Su Chen was standing by the window. He already knew Steward Fu had entered the courtyard.
He opened the door.
"Young master, I saw that your light was still on, so I came by. I had the servants prepare some food for you."
Steward Fu set the food basket he was carrying on the table.
He gently opened it and began taking out the dishes to set them on the table.
"Also, Manager Han and Manager Lu came by today and asked me to pass something on to you."
"If you need anything, young master, you can notify them right away. They'll do everything they can to help."
"Young master, they were the people your father trusted most while he was alive. You can trust them."
Steward Fu spoke as he took out the food.
Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower controlled a third of the shops in Qingcheng City.
Eighteen managers handled those shops.
Manager Han and Manager Lu were two of them.
Su Chen nodded at Steward Fu's words.
"Steward Fu, thank the two uncles for me. If I need anything, I'll ask them for help."
"Don't take the food out. I don't have much of an appetite today."
Su Chen spoke.
At a time like this,
he wouldn't trust anyone—not even Steward Fu standing right in front of him.
Perhaps the previous Su Chen would have trusted him.
But the Su Chen of now was wary of everyone.
Hearing this, Steward Fu could only put the food back.
"What time is it?" Su Chen asked.
"Young master, it's almost the start of the Hai hour."
"The Hai hour already? Has any news come out recently?"
Su Chen asked.
At Yuchun Courtyard, Su Chen had been sorting through the memories in his mind.
He hadn't paid attention to what was happening outside.
And even if he had wanted to, he wouldn't have been able to find out.
"In the evening, I heard a piece of news from the black market. It said that while he was alive, Master had obtained a Fifth-grade Lotus Platform."
Steward Fu answered.
"A Fifth-grade Lotus Platform? How could my father have such a treasure? Whoever spread this is targeting our Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower. Are they trying to destroy it?"
Su Chen's expression changed as he spoke.
He knew exactly what kind of treasure a Fifth-grade Lotus Platform was.
His father had some reputation in Qingcheng City, but there was no way he could have obtained a treasure like that.
"It seems someone couldn't sit still and spread that rumor. Steward Fu, go back and get some rest."
Su Chen said gravely.
"Then this old servant will take his leave."
Steward Fu bowed to Su Chen, then left the courtyard beneath an umbrella.
Watching Steward Fu walk away, Su Chen narrowed his eyes.
"Was that a warning to me, or something else?"
"Now's not the time to think about it. I'll muddy the waters first and see if any fish show up."
He snuffed out the lamp and went to bed fully clothed.
As he lay there, he thought about whom to target tonight.
According to the memories he'd inherited from the previous Su Chen,
Ling Tianhe had three trusted subordinates.
Jiang Chendong was one of them.
The other two were named Song Yuan and Lu Kang.
He couldn't kill Jiang Chendong for now. After all, Jiang Chendong had just helped him buy Qin Lan's freedom from Yuchun Courtyard.
That left Song Yuan and Lu Kang.
Song Yuan lived not far from Su Chen's residence.
"Don't blame me. Blame the fact that you live closest to me."
Su Chen murmured.
Elsewhere.
In the back courtyard of Su Mansion.
There was still a little light in Second Madam Shangguan Ziyun's pavilion.
"Miss, word has come from the black market that Su Mengbai once obtained a Fifth-grade Lotus Platform."
Xiao Lan, standing beside Shangguan Ziyun, spoke.
"A Fifth-grade Lotus Platform!"
Shangguan Ziyun's face darkened.
"Put people to work. Find out exactly who spread the rumor, and tell me how Su Chen reacted when he returned."
Shangguan Ziyun said coldly.
"After he came back, he stayed in the side room of his courtyard and hasn't come out. What a coward."
Xiao Lan replied.
"He hasn't come out? Su Chen, are you waiting for an opportunity?"
"But you have no strength. Waiting won't do you any good."
"Still, I'd like to see how you get through this. If you do, I'll give you a chance to join the Holy Church."
Shangguan Ziyun said in a low voice.
Time passed bit by bit.
Lying on the bed,
Su Chen continued practicing Vajra Primordial Force.
He needed to reach the third level as quickly as possible.
Before long, the Zi hour arrived.
Su Chen waited and waited, but no one came.
He waited another hour. When there was still no movement, he got up from the bed.
Outside, the light rain was still falling.
Su Chen gently pushed open the window and slipped out of the courtyard.
Before long, he reached the residence of Song Yuan, a manager of Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower.
Outside the residence, Su Chen had changed into black clothes. He studied the place before him,
recalling the layout of Song Yuan's residence.
Song Yuan was one of the eighteen managers of Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower.
Before Su Chen had gone to Mountain River Sect, he had visited here several times.
"The west wing is Song Yuan's bedroom. I'll check there first."
Su Chen leaped into Song Yuan's residence.
The place was quiet, and the only sound was the patter of rain.
Following his memories, Su Chen made his way to the west wing.
He landed outside the room.
He listened intently.
From inside came the sound of someone breathing in their sleep.
"He's here. Perfect."
A killing intent appeared on Su Chen's face.
Boom!
He smashed through the door with a single punch and charged straight into the room.
Inside the room,
Song Yuan was sound asleep. When he heard the crash,
he sprang up from the bed and grabbed the long saber beside it.
"Who's there?"
He barked the question and instantly swung his saber.
"Someone here to take your life!"
Su Chen lowered his voice and spoke coldly.
His left hand clenched into a fist. A wave of icy energy burst from his palm, and he struck out.
His palm collided with the saber. A layer of ice rapidly formed across its surface.
"Cold..."
Song Yuan had just managed to utter the word when
the chill on the saber spread rapidly over his body.
He felt his heartbeat stop in an instant.
Thud!
Then he fell rigidly to the floor.
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