Opening

The campfire crackled, the beast meat sizzling as it roasted, filling the air with a rich, savory aroma.

The group sat in a circle to share the meal, their blood energy rising in tandem.

Tie Niu's hunting hauls were increasing day by day, and the others had finally learned to keep their mouths shut.

Although he relied on Su Yuan's guidance from the sidelines, Tie Niu's own hunting techniques were also steadily improving.

Chai Nian, however, had been elusive these past few days, leaving only his personal guards to watch over the group.

Seeing Tie Niu's performance, Chai Feng knew how highly Chai Nian valued him, so he smiled and said, "Brother Tie Niu, I have a younger sister. How about I introduce you two?"

"Huh?" Tie Niu looked blank.

"The Wolf God Ritual isn't just for the big shots to observe; noble daughters from various families will also come to choose their husbands. With your talent, Tie Niu, you are sure to rank among the best. When the time comes, the family will naturally arrange a marriage for you. Your future will be boundless," Chai Feng explained.

Tie Niu scratched his head, remaining silent with a constrained expression, not knowing how to respond.

Noble daughters choosing husbands? Su Yuan sneered inwardly.

This was undoubtedly a tactic used by the Great Liang to rope in martial arts geniuses. He feared that these so-called noble daughters were not legitimate heirs of the main branch, or perhaps merely maids from a side branch.

To put it bluntly, it was mostly a scheme for him to marry into their family.

"Brother Feng, let's talk about that later," Su Yuan declined on his behalf.

Chai Feng shot a cold glance at Su Yuan.

He thought highly of Tie Niu, but that did not mean he thought highly of Su Yuan.

Even if he were lucky enough to become a martial artist, his ceiling had already been reached.

The gap between superior and inferior bone structure was as vast as the difference between clouds and mud.

"Tie Niu, I'll bring her to meet you once we return to the city." Chai Feng couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Su Yuan.

After participating in the hunting rehearsals for over ten days, Chai Nian returned, and the group finally began their journey back.

On the return trip, the residual snow on the ground gradually melted, and a faint, imperceptible warmth began to stir in the wind—spring was coming.

Su Yuan and Tie Niu returned home.

Before leaving, they had entrusted Master Liu and Master Chai to look after the place.

Everything had been fine during their previous returns.

But this time, as they pushed open the door, both men were stunned.

The house was in a state of chaos, with clear signs of a struggle.

The children were nowhere to be seen.

Their hearts pounded with shock, and they rushed back to the Martial Academy to inquire.

Chai Lang said, "Remnants of the Xingyun sect attacked your residence. Fortunately, it was discovered in time, and the culprits have been captured. The children are safe; Lady Gao has taken them into the Inner City."

Su Yuan was truly angry now: Hadn't they been told not to touch his home? To think they would actually target the children.

Su Yuan immediately rushed to the Inner City.

Qingya Pavilion was much livelier than usual, filled with the sounds of children playing.

Su Yuan found Gao Mian; she was still wearing her purple dress, her ample bosom swaying, her waist slender, and her charm captivating.

"Sister Mian, thank you so much. I've troubled you again," Su Yuan thanked her.

"Then how do you intend to thank me?" With the children watching, Gao Mian pulled Su Yuan into a side room.

"Big Brother and Big Sister..." Shen Qingqing's eyes lit up, as if she had discovered some great secret, and she huddled outside the door with the other children to eavesdrop.

It wasn't until Granny Xu came over that she hurriedly led them away.

Gao Mian had already laid down comfortably, enjoying Su Yuan's massage.

During the days Su Yuan was away, she had sought out other martial artists skilled in finger techniques, but none had the same effect as Su Yuan.

She didn't know why Su Yuan was so special.

Under Su Yuan's care over these past few months, that bottleneck had indeed loosened.

"Yuan, what exactly is special about your massage technique? Over these past few months, my cultivation has actually made progress, and even my bone structure has improved," Gao Mian asked bluntly.

Su Yuan hadn't expected that [Smoothing Edges] could actually work on others.

He was first delighted that he could help Gao Mian, but then a sense of alarm arose.

This was a heaven-defying ability capable of improving bone structure; it could not be leaked.

"Sister Mian, I don't know. I'm just massaging you according to the Origin-Returning Finger method. Perhaps it's because you've been practicing diligently lately, and your bone structure has undergone a second growth spurt?" Su Yuan said vaguely.

"Hmph!" Gao Mian let out a soft hum, pinned Su Yuan down again, and carefully examined him.

But she truly couldn't see anything special; Su Yuan's own bone structure was much the same as before.

It's a good thing the Cloud-Covering Art has reached perfection. As for his own bone structure, Su Yuan understood that consuming large quantities of Blood Origin Pills would damage his foundation.

The bone-improving effect brought by the trait just happened to offset that.

He was the one who consumed the most medicinal pills in the Martial Academy; after the drawbacks of the Blood Origin Pill became apparent, Tie Niu had long since switched to other secret medicines provided by the Chai Family.

Gao Mian could not fathom the reason, but she knew that as long as she kept Su Yuan by her side, she would be the one to benefit.

She would have to investigate this further in the future.

If it truly was because of Su Yuan, then he was far more than just a younger brother; he was a treasure, a beacon of hope for her to reclaim her path in martial arts.

"Yuan'er, the one who raided your residence was Han Gui. He has fallen out of favor with Shan Xiongqing and hoped to use you as a stepping stone to regain his standing," Gao Mian said, speaking of the children's affairs.

Han Gui!

The Shan Family again!

Sensing Su Yuan's fury, Gao Mian took his hand and said softly, "I have grown to despise the Shan Family as well. In a few days, I intend to leave Ji City and return to the heartland of Great Liang. Would you be willing to come with me?"

Su Yuan's eyes brightened at her words: this was a golden opportunity to leave this den of trouble, but...

Gao Mian seemed to sense his hesitation and propped her head up with her hand: "It is fine for Tie Niu to stay with the Chai Family for now. Once I return to the Gao Family, I can arrange to have him brought over. I can properly settle all these children..."

Gao Mian's plan was so meticulous that Su Yuan found it difficult to refuse.

"Sister Mian, I will listen to you."

"Mm." Gao Mian's lips curved slightly as she lay back down, even shifting her body slightly to rest her head on Su Yuan's lap. "Then let us continue; these days have been exhausting."

It was late at night when Su Yuan left the Inner City, shaking out his sore fingers.

He had learned from Shen Qingqing that it was indeed a pockmarked man who had tried to seize them, and they were only saved because another martial artist had intervened in time.

Su Yuan went to the tavern as usual to make contact.

The place was familiar, but the person was not.

It was the scholar-dressed man from the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall he had first encountered.

"A change of personnel?" Su Yuan grew vigilant, sending a message via a flying leaf.

The man received the note and sighed softly: "Senior Green Ghost, Junior Brother Duan has been captured. I am the only one left to handle the contact."

Su Yuan did not rush to reveal himself, observing from the shadows for a long time before finally appearing.

This was Ji Haoyang's first time seeing Green Ghost.

Wrapped in a black robe with a ghost mask covering his face, his aura was deep and unfathomable—truly eerie and terrifying.

Ji Haoyang was eager to test him.

As the last remaining hope of the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall, he had broken through to the External Strength realm a few days prior and was keen to gauge this senior's depth.

"Greetings, Senior Green Ghost. Please, have some tea." He bowed with great respect, handing over a cup of tea.

Su Yuan saw the man holding the cup, the tea inside bubbling and churning, and found it strange: Is this tea some kind of rarity? But this guy is a bit dim, isn't he? How am I supposed to drink with a mask on?

He isn't afraid at all? He really is an External Strength martial artist, Ji Haoyang speculated to himself.

Su Yuan took the cup and immediately felt a numbing force permeate through it.

Hm? It's internal force! I was careless; this person is actually an External Strength martial artist? Su Yuan realized then that the other party was testing him.

Fortunately, his finger strength had been specially trained by Gao Mian, so he withstood the pressure and set the cup down steadily.

Seeing this, Ji Haoyang's expression became even more respectful.

Su Yuan handed over the intelligence gathered recently, mostly regarding the arrangements for the Wolf God Ritual, and asked indifferently: "What happened to Duan Hongyan?"

Ji Haoyang took the intelligence, scanned it, and tucked it away with a look of joy, which quickly turned to grief and indignation: "It was the Su Family's doing again! He was just observing the Su Family as usual, but someone tried to sneak in to abduct those children. Hongyan has too soft a heart; he actually stepped in to stop them and ended up captured by the Chai Family martial artists."

"Why would he do such a thing?" The more Ji Haoyang spoke, the more he hated. "The entire Su Family are nothing but disasters!"

In his eyes, the many tribulations of the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall—from Yun Xu to Duan Hongyan—were all inextricably linked to Su Yuan. He truly hated him to the bone.

Su Yuan remained silent.

He had not expected that the one who saved Qingqing and the others was Duan Hongyan, and he couldn't help but whisper: "Why would he do that?"

When he saw Duan Hongyan again, it was in a dark prison cell.

Du Hengfeng was using a copper-wrapped short club to methodically strike his finger bones and kneecaps, producing a teeth-gritting, dull thud.

Su Yuan stood to the side, sketching.

"Duan Hongyan, do you regret it? You ended up in my hands after all. You saved your junior sister and let me go back then, and now you've been caught trying to save a few useless children. You really are a fool, aren't you?" Du Hengfeng's voice was mocking, not caring in the slightest that Su Yuan was standing right there.

In any case, Su Yuan, along with Su Tie Niu, wouldn't be jumping around for much longer.

Duan Hongyan spat out a mouthful of blood, spraying it toward those who were torturing and recording him: "I have no regrets! Everything I have done, I have done for my comrades and the people of Great Jing! It is but death; if my blood stains the yellow sands, what is there to fear?

I have always believed that we will eventually drive you barbarians out! And you, Du Hengfeng, along with that traitor Su Yuan who is so willing to be a lapdog—sooner or later, you will meet your retribution... you will be hacked into a thousand pieces!"

Du Hengfeng was splattered by the blood and laughed in a rage: "Hacked into a thousand pieces? You aren't worthy! I will let you taste what it means to be unable to live and unable to die right now!"

Splat!

Su Yuan watched as the blood spattered onto his legs and feet, and for once, he did not feel any disgust or move to clean it off.

He stared coldly at Du Hengfeng, his gaze fixed upon that baby-faced visage twisted with excitement, as if looking at a dead man.

The Wolf God Ritual had finally begun.

Su Yuan did not travel with the Martial Academy, but instead followed a group of ceremonial officials to escort a sculpture wrapped in golden silk toward the outskirts of the city.

There was no helping it; his craftsmanship was too exceptional, and he had been invited once again to serve as free labor to carve this Wolf God statue.

Su Yuan scanned the golden text before his eyes.

[Fate: Furthering Progress at the Peak]

[Golden Horse-Head Technique: 902/1000 (Second Layer)]

[Origin-Returning Finger: 102/2000 (Perfected)]

[Flying Horse Leg: 12/2000 (Perfected)]

[Cloud-Covering Art: 17/1000 (Minor Success)]

[Horse Spear Technique: 215/500 (Great Success)]

[Abyssal Sea Technique: 45/1000 (Second Layer)]

[Literacy: 1971/2000 (Perfected)]

[Hibernation: 1056/2000 (Perfected)]

[Current Traits: Slippery Escape, Engraved in the Bones, Split in Two, Skillful Ease, Ox-Subduing Stability, Smoothing Edges, Ink-Dyed Floating Life, Scent-Based Breath Tracking]

He had managed to grind Literacy nearly to perfection in his spare time, but Su Yuan had not yet decided what the final characters to identify should be, so he had temporarily paused.

Opportunities to acquire traits were precious and required careful deliberation.

The Golden Horse-Head Technique was nearing the peak of the Third Blood realm, and his other two martial arts had also reached the Second Blood realm.

Combined with the Abyssal Sea Technique and the various trait bonuses, Su Yuan felt that his own blood energy was at least comparable to two Third Blood martial artists.

This was not merely as simple as one against two; it was a near-crushing advantage over martial artists of the same realm.

He raised his eyes to gaze at the vast, wild forests outside the city; that would be the hunting ground for the ritual, and also the place for a final reckoning.