"Was he really that weak?"
Su Chen knew Song Yuan's strength. He was at the Postnatal Peak and had yet to enter the Innate Stage.
Although Su Chen knew his opponent was no match for him, he was still a little dumbfounded by how easily he had taken him down.
Why hadn't he tried to assassinate him earlier?
Because Su Chen couldn't pull off a killer's method of sealing someone's throat with a single sword strike.
He would definitely have been discovered. A head-on fight was better.
So when they clashed,
Su Chen had gone all out from the very start.
He had used the Ice Qilin Arm he'd obtained.
Only after they fought did he realize
that the power unleashed by the Ice Qilin Arm when driven by his inner strength was far too great.
His opponent had only said, "So cold," before dying.
[The host's first kill in this life. Reward: one single-use skill card, 20-year Blade Cultivation Technique, and 3 White Draw Cards.]
"Hmm! A single-use skill card, the 20-year Blade Cultivation Technique."
Su Chen had thought there might be some other reward. He hadn't expected to get only this.
A single-use skill card.
No need to think about it. He could use it just once.
"But 3 White Draw Cards is pretty good. That makes 6 with the ones I already had. If I complete this body's revenge mission, I'll have 9 White Draw Cards."
"Maybe I can draw 2 White Draw Cards first and see what I get!"
Su Chen thought to himself.
Just then, all around the Song residence,
because of the commotion earlier,
the lights in the entire courtyard were gradually coming on.
Some people hurried toward the scene.
Sensing them approaching, Su Chen flashed out of the room and swiftly leaped away.
He could have easily dealt with these people, but there was no need.
After all, someone might come for him tonight. He'd better get back as quickly as possible.
He made it back in no time.
Before long, Su Chen had returned to his room.
He changed into another set of black clothes and quickly hid them away.
Then he lay down on the bed.
"So this is the martial arts world?"
After killing someone for the first time—and beating a martial artist to death with one punch—Su Chen felt a surge of excitement coursing through him.
The martial arts world, where grudges were settled and vengeance swift.
That was exactly what it was like.
The oppressive frustration he'd felt from being bullied earlier was released in that moment.
Su Chen drifted off to sleep.
But not long afterward, Su Chen's eyes snapped open.
A black figure had appeared outside.
The person stood beyond the window without entering the courtyard.
Lying on the bed, Su Chen narrowed his eyes and grew wary.
He had no idea why the person was standing by the window.
Time passed slowly.
The person didn't move. Still lying on the bed, Su Chen continued pretending to sleep.
After a while, the figure quietly left.
Once the person was gone,
Su Chen opened his eyes. "Who was that? What did they want? Why just stand there without moving?"
For a moment, Su Chen couldn't make sense of what the person had been thinking.
But now that they were gone,
the tension that had been gripping him eased.
However, he was no longer sleepy.
With sleep out of the question, Su Chen thought of the White Draw Cards.
He decided to draw 2 White Draw Cards and see what he got.
He opened the 2 cards.
[Obtained 2 bottles of Qi and Blood Pills and 1 3-cubic meter Space Ring.]
The 2 White Draw Cards had given Su Chen these rewards.
Two pill bottles and a ring appeared in his hand.
He put the ring on.
Then he stored the 2 bottles of pills inside it.
Afterward, he got up and put away all the night clothes and shoes he'd worn when he went out.
Nothing was as useful for hiding them as a Space Ring.
"The Space Ring is a little small, but at least it solves some of my problems for now,"
Su Chen thought.
He wasn't living alone at the moment. There were too many people around him.
A lot of things could give him away.
With this, things would be much more convenient.
Meanwhile,
the shadow who had just left Su Chen's courtyard appeared in a pavilion in the rear courtyard.
The shadow who had gone to Su Chen's courtyard was none other than Shangguan Ziyun.
After removing her black clothes, Shangguan Ziyun furrowed her brows slightly.
"Is his awareness really that poor? I stood outside the window for so long, and he didn't notice me?"
"But if Su Mengbai's death really had something to do with the Fifth-grade Lotus Platform, then as his only son—and someone who returned at just this time—he might know something about the Fifth-grade Lotus Platform."
"If so, he can't die yet. The Fifth-grade Lotus Platform is very useful to me!"
Shangguan Ziyun said in a low voice.
Then she returned to her bed.
While the Su Mansion remained quiet,
the Song residence outside was crowded with people.
News of Song Yuan's death soon reached Ling Tianhe. He brought two other trusted subordinates with him and hurried to Song Yuan's residence.
When they saw Song Yuan's condition,
the middle-aged man beside Ling Tianhe quickly examined the cause of death.
As soon as his hand touched Song Yuan's corpse,
a bone-piercing chill surged from Song Yuan's body into his palm.
He hurriedly pulled his hand away.
But a layer of frost had already formed on the hand that had touched Song Yuan.
"What terrifying cold qi!"
A burst of inner energy appeared in the middle-aged man's hand, dispersing the cold qi.
The middle-aged man was named Lu Wencang. He was a martial artist who had only recently entered the Early Innate Stage.
Of Ling Tianhe's three trusted subordinates, he was the strongest.
Seeing this, Ling Tianhe and Jiang Chendong both looked startled.
"Deputy Tower Master, Steward Song's heart meridians were frozen and shattered. Judging from his expression before death and the state of the room, the attacker moved quickly. Steward Song had no chance to fight back."
"And the cold qi left in Steward Song's body is exceptionally domineering. Judging by it, the attacker's strength is terrifying!"
Lu Wencang drew a breath as he spoke.
At his words, Jiang Chendong looked shocked.
He felt even more uneasy. Song Yuan's strength wasn't much different from his own.
If the attacker came for him,
he would probably end up just like Song Yuan.
But when Ling Tianhe heard Lu Wencang's report, his expression darkened.
He moved beside Song Yuan and reached out.
A violet inner force appeared in his palm. He slowly pressed it against Song Yuan's body, wanting to feel the cold qi for himself.
A moment later,
a thread of cold qi rose from the violet inner energy in his palm.
Only then did he pull his hand back.
His face was filled with shock.
Although not much time had passed between Song Yuan's death and their arrival,
the cold qi left on Song Yuan's body still hadn't dissipated.
It could even corrode his inner energy. The attacker's strength was far too terrifying.
He rose to his feet and said gravely, "When the Tower Master died, I examined the traces. Judging by them, he was killed by a single sword thrust through his heart meridians. He wasn't given the slightest chance to react."
"It was definitely the work of a seasoned killer. But what happened to Song Yuan is strange."
"Is this a warning to us, or an attempt to make us panic?"
Ling Tianhe felt a sense of dread.
"Have we learned anything about the news that came out of the black market today?"
As the Deputy Tower Master of the Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower, he naturally knew about the news that had surfaced on the black market that day.
"We haven't found any leads. But this subordinate finds it strange. What is the person who spread the news trying to achieve?"
"If the Tower Master really obtained the Fifth-grade Lotus Platform before he died, then those people should be trying to keep it for themselves, not letting everyone know about it."
Lu Wencang said.
"Could it be that more than one group is fighting over the Fifth-grade Lotus Platform? Maybe the attacker is killing people now to warn us to hand it over?"
Jiang Chendong said from the side.
"That's quite possible. If so, we're in trouble."
Ling Tianhe's expression grew dark and grave.
They had no idea about the Fifth-grade Lotus Platform.
"Do you think Su Chen knows anything about the Fifth-grade Lotus Platform? Otherwise, why would he return at a time like this?"
"Maybe that's why he seemed so calm!"
Jiang Chendong spoke up.
He knew how Su Chen had acted at Yuchun Courtyard. Su Chen hadn't seemed nervous at all.
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