Ambush, Exposed

Xiasheng Restaurant, secret room.

Duan Hongyan and Ji Haoyang met here to exchange information.

Most of the people at the restaurant had moved to a new base. This place was now used only to pass messages to Su Yuan.

But they had always been on the receiving end of the messages, never getting a chance to contact Su Yuan themselves.

It wasn't that they hadn't considered tracking him down. He had always managed to avoid them—and even warned them off.

So no one dared risk angering this expert again.

The list of lackeys' crimes in the letter was ranked from most to least important to the Liang People.

Ji Haoyang read the names, his teeth clenched. "Song An, Zhang Shun, Lin Mengnian... Su Yuan!"

To conceal his identity, Su Yuan had even included himself, noting that he was not yet a Martial Warrior.

"Junior Brother Duan, why don't we hunt down Su Yuan first?" Ji Haoyang suggested.

"I'm afraid that wouldn't be wise. The Su brothers are highly valued by the Chai Family, and they're strong in their own right. They won't be easy to take down. Our chief goal, Senior Brother Ji, is to break into Void Cloud Horse Ranch and rescue our people. Dealing with these lackeys is just a ruse to draw their forces away, making it easier for us to save them," Duan Hongyan advised.

They didn't just need to rescue Yun Xu; they also had to save their fellow clansmen, who were being tortured at the ranch.

They believed that the contrast between the Liang People's brutal oppression and their own desperate rescue efforts would eventually awaken the people of Ji City to resist.

"I understand. But precisely because those two are so highly valued, spreading word of an attack might draw in even more troops to protect them. And that Su Tieniu... I'd like to meet him too, and see which of us is stronger," Ji Haoyang said.

Beyond his hatred for the enemy nation, he also wanted to pit the martial arts of the two countries against each other. The Jing People's martial arts were far superior to the Liang People's. Otherwise, how could Great Liang have been stopped by the Cloud Mist Sect?

Someone like Su Tieniu was wasting his gifts on the wrong path.

Duan Hongyan didn't agree right away. "We'll have to discuss it first and see how Master and the Jiguang Society want to handle things."

"Fine."

Su Yuan and Tie Niu returned to their home on Shangning Street, near the Chai Family Martial Academy.

It had been Tie Niu's suggestion. Fengxing Street was simply too dangerous, so the two had rented another large courtyard on Shangning Street.

Though it was close to West City, being right by the Chai Family Martial Academy made it convenient to get all kinds of supplies. It was just expensive.

The rent was two taels of silver a month.

After the last incident, Su Yuan had brought all four children and Granny Lu to live with them. At least they could look after one another.

Children's laughter rang through the courtyard as they played. Tie Niu often joined in, treating them like younger siblings.

At last, the house had regained some of the lively warmth it had been missing for so long. For a moment, it felt as though they had returned to the days when the Su Family had been thriving.

But Su Yuan had no idea where his parents and younger brother were now, or whether they were alive or dead.

Granny Lu came over and lowered her voice. "Master, New Year's Eve is just seven days away. Should I buy some festive decorations and New Year's goods?"

"It's almost New Year?" Su Yuan was slightly taken aback.

The whole of Ji City was under the Liang People's iron-fisted rule. The city was bleak and oppressive, with not a hint of festive cheer despite the approaching holiday.

"Just buy whatever you like. Get plenty of food, too, so the children can build up their strength." He handed her five taels of silver.

"All right." Granny Lu accepted it.

When she had first arrived, she had heard the rumors about Su Yuan's ill repute and felt uneasy.

But after spending time with him, she had learned that although her master was a little cold, he treated people generously and kindly. He was nothing like the rumors made him out to be.

The two returned to the Martial Academy.

Several people were walking out through the academy gates, heads bowed, coarse cloth bundles slung over their shoulders.

In recent days, more disciples had tried to break through to Blood Condensing.

Few had succeeded. Lin Fan was the only one.

He had shamelessly pestered Tie Niu again and again for advice, but in the end, the most crucial hurdle had been his to overcome alone.

Some had failed their breakthroughs and damaged their foundations. Others had run out of money and could no longer afford to continue. They had no choice but to leave in dejection.

Zhou Xun'er was among those leaving.

She looked haggard, with dark circles beneath her eyes.

Qin Ming hadn't just lost his leg; he hadn't survived, either.

When the terrible news arrived, she had seemed to lose her soul. This time, her mind had been scattered as she tried to break through her bottleneck, and she had naturally failed.

She took one last look at the Martial Academy's tall gates, then turned and joined the sparse stream of people leaving, without looking back.

Su Yuan could only sigh at the sight. He stayed at the academy for a short while, then slipped out and returned to his old home on Fengxing Street.

There was barely a month left until the Wolf God Festival.

In his messages, he had already suggested striking while the Liang People's attention was elsewhere during the festival.

It was an important tradition in Great Liang. At that time, both the troops and the people's attention would be focused on the festival and the hunt.

[Fate: Climb a hundred-foot pole and advance further]

[Golden Horse-Head Technique: 427/1000 (Second Layer)]

[Origin-Returning Finger: 573/1000 (Great Accomplishment)]

[Flying Horse Leg: 106/1000 (Great Accomplishment)]

[Cloud-Covering Art: 375/500 (Minor Accomplishment)]

[Horse Spear Technique: 215/500 (Minor Accomplishment)]

[Painting: 1987/2000 (Perfected)]

[Literacy: 1432/2000 (Perfected)]

His cultivation had now firmly reached the second layer of Blood Condensing, also known as Two-Blood.

By the time of the festival, he was confident he could break through to Three-Blood.

The Horse Spear Technique was a spear art that was especially effective when used on horseback.

From Gao Mian, he had learned that Great Liang would still have Jing Martial Warriors at the Blood Condensing Realm take part in this year's Wolf God Festival.

For the Liang People, it was both a grand display of martial strength and a way to win over and divide the Jing People.

The results of the competition would affect not only the participants, but also the resources allocated to several young masters by the people at the top.

That was why they took it so seriously.

"When the time comes, I should be able to handle most of them in a fight."

However, this was ultimately a hunting competition, and the final outcome would depend on everyone's hunting skills.

Su Yuan couldn't leave the city at the moment, so he had no way to practice.

He had once asked Tie Niu to request a pass for leaving the city from Chai Nian. Chai Nian had only said that before the festival, he would take everyone outside the city to practice hunting and prepare in advance.

But Su Yuan had thought of another way.

He had bought fur, bones, and even droppings from several low-level Monsters, then carefully identified their scents.

This was the feces of an Iron-Claw Mountain Cat, rank and pungent. That was the tail fur of a Red-Eyed Wolf, carrying a sharp, acrid stench. And here was a patch of shed Black-Scaled Python skin, giving off a damp, rotten smell.

[Scent Discrimination: 3/1000 (Great Accomplishment)]

Ugh!

Su Yuan fought back the urge to retch and mocked himself inwardly: I'm identifying Monsters by their stink.

Just as he bent over and kept sniffing, two figures silently slipped into his home.

They were Duan Hongyan and Zhang Li.

After several rounds of discussion, they had decided to capture Su Yuan first and use him to pressure Su Tieniu into switching sides.

They had been planting spies, but few could get close to the core group.

If they could seize the Su brothers, they might be able to stop relying so heavily on that mysterious informant and cultivate trusted followers of their own.

Just as the two closed in on Su Yuan, he suddenly flung two dark, lumpy objects over his shoulder and straight at their faces!

Their cover was blown, and shit was about to hit the fan.

They had no choice but to dodge in a hurry.

"People from Cloud-Striding Martial Hall?" Su Yuan's heart tightened.

He had assumed that with Tie Niu and the Chai Family backing him, and with his own importance downplayed in his messages, the other side wouldn't dare touch him even if they discovered his identity.

He hadn't expected them to target him anyway.

Thinking it over, all he had done was carve a few statues and paint a few pictures. He had never gone out of his way to harm anyone.

It seemed Yun Xu meant far more to them than he had expected.

In a flash, Su Yuan had no intention of fighting. He sprang backward, smashed through the door, and bolted outside!

"So fast!" Zhang Li cried.

"He's trained in leg techniques!" The two chased after him for a while, but failed to close the gap.

"How is that possible? Could he already be a Martial Warrior?!"

They realized something was wrong. No ordinary person could move that fast.

"Help! Remnants of Cloud-Striding Martial Hall! Someone, come!" Su Yuan burst out of the alley, shouting as he ran straight for the Martial Academy.

"Damn, our information was wrong. We didn't know this kid was hiding his strength. Retreat!" Duan Hongyan ordered urgently.

Though their attempt had failed, they had still learned a little about his capabilities.

Their original plan had been to draw the Liang People into splitting up their forces to protect the Su brothers. Now that they had alerted their target, they could only give up.

Su Yuan sprinted all the way, leaving several squads of Liang soldiers who had come running at the news behind him. He ran straight back to the gates of the Chai Family Martial Academy before finally stopping.

He straightened his slightly rumpled robe.

He was probably done hiding his identity as a Martial Warrior.

But... the timing was about right, too.

Everyone inside the academy had been startled by the shouts. Tie Niu charged out through the gates at the head of the pack.

Huang Jiangyue, Lin Fan, Jiang Yu, and the other disciples followed, along with the instructors Chai Lang and Liu Chang, all armed with weapons.

They saw Su Yuan standing alone outside the gates, while a large group of Liang soldiers panted their way toward him from farther down the road. The scene looked rather comical.

Rong Qi, the officer leading them, gasped for breath as he demanded, "Where are the remnants of Cloud-Striding Martial Hall? Where are they?"

"I was at home, identifying scents, when two people suddenly broke in and attacked me. Luckily, I reacted quickly and drove them off with a display of skill. Their techniques were unmistakably Cloud-Striding Palm. But it turned out they had more people waiting nearby. Another three or four came after me, so I had no choice but to run. I must have lost them on the way here." Su Yuan patted his chest, feigning lingering fear.

Rong Qi regarded him with suspicion. "The remnants of Cloud-Striding Martial Hall are almost all Martial Warriors. How did you get away?"

"It's simple. I became a Martial Warrior." Su Yuan answered coolly, then turned toward the people from the Martial Academy and smiled.

He looked at Tie Niu, that smile carrying the lightness of a burden finally lifted.

"Tie Niu, I made it."