Suspicion

Shan Xiongqing learned of the matter and ground his teeth in fury. He went to Shan Lie for help. "Second Uncle, this is outrageous! That brat Su Yuan really broke through to Savage Strength! I hope you can—"

Before he could finish, Shan Lie smacked him on the forehead and said displeasedly, "Xiongqing, what nonsense are you talking about? You want me, a Vein-Splitting expert, to bully a junior who just broke through to Savage Strength? Su Yuan has only just entered this realm. You've been at mid-stage Savage Strength for how long? Can't you handle him yourself?"

The slap brought Shan Xiongqing to his senses. "That's right. Our cultivation levels aren't that far apart. He must hate me, so he won't surrender right away. As long as he fights me, I can take the chance to cripple him—or even kill him."

Only then did Shan Lie nod. "If you're still worried, have Shan Feng challenge him too. Why would I need to enter the ring myself?"

Shan Feng was the strongest Savage Strength martial warrior the Shan Family had sent to fight in the two-nation Martial Arts Tournament. He was already at the late stage, not far from breaking through to Vein Splitting.

Shan Xiongqing nodded repeatedly, then turned and headed to where Gao Mian was imprisoned.

"Madam, I've brought you some good news today." His voice was full of mockery.

Gao Mian acted as if she hadn't heard him and continued practicing.

Some time ago, she had finally broken through to mid-stage Savage Strength.

Shan Xiongqing often came by these days to frighten her with a mix of true and false news, so she simply stopped paying him any attention.

If anything really happened to Su Yuan, she would avenge him someday.

Shan Xiongqing continued, "Who would've thought that brat was lucky enough to reach Savage Strength? They say the Su Family's Blood Bone Pill did the trick and improved his constitution. Madam, you train so hard, yet you've made no progress at all. Don't you want that pill? But I'm afraid his good luck is about to run out. I'll personally crush him at the Martial Arts Tournament."

"Xiongqing, please let him go, all right?" Gao Mian unexpectedly softened her tone.

But Shan Xiongqing saw through her at once. "Madam, are you trying to act weak for your dear younger brother again, so we'll let our guard down? I won't give you that chance. Even if I can't take him down, the Shan Family has plenty of people. We'll challenge him one after another. Sooner or later, we'll get him!"

Gao Mian let out a long breath, the helplessness in her heart weighing ever more heavily.

She could only comfort herself: The Chai Family would have someone protect Yuan'er.

After Chai Nian and the others had moved to another private room to discuss matters at Baoma Restaurant,

Su Yuan and his companions finally got to sit down and eat the leftovers.

But aside from Su Yuan, none of them touched their chopsticks.

Su Yuan picked up a piece of snake meat.

He recognized it as meat from a Star-Falling Python, which greatly benefited the cultivation of Flying Star Strength.

The meat was firm and springy. Once it entered his stomach, it turned into a stream of scorching energy that spread through his limbs and bones.

"Tie Niu, want some?" Su Yuan ate half and left the other half for Tie Niu.

He already felt a warm, tingling current surging through his stomach, so he simply took up a stance in the room and began practicing the Heavenly Horse Flying Star Fist.

Yuan Jingfan muttered inwardly, Brother, you're laying it on a bit thick.

But then he remembered Su Yuan had a poor constitution and could only catch up through hard training, so he swallowed his words.

Huang Tong furrowed her brow slightly. Was all this really necessary?

Rong Yuzhi was even more baffled, and her face showed her distaste. She was about to speak when she saw Tie Niu sit down too, quietly eating the leftovers. He didn't touch a single piece of the Star-Falling Python, leaving it all for Su Yuan.

When he had gone out of the city on an excursion with Chai Nian, Chai Nian had taken him hunting this monster.

When Chai Nian and the others returned after finishing their discussion, they saw the Su brothers had already polished off most of the leftovers.

Wei Xian couldn't help sighing. "Chai Nian, when it comes to training dogs, I really can't compare to you."

Chai Nian laughed softly as he waved his fan. "Since you know you're inferior, then learn properly."

He walked up to Su Yuan and lightly tapped his shoulder with the fan. "Why settle for leftovers? Come back with me. I'll make sure you get your fill of Star-Falling Python meat."

"Sounds good!"

On the carriage ride back, Chai Nian suddenly said, "There's new information about the Ghost-Masked Man."

Su Yuan's heart tightened, but he kept his expression unchanged.

Before he could reply, Chai Nian continued on his own. "Remember Du Hengfeng? He was wounded by a Ghost-Masked Man back then. There's no faking an injury like that. It seems Du Hengfeng wasn't a traitor after all, right, Su Yuan?"

Su Yuan had already prepared for this question. He answered respectfully, "Young Master, you're perceptive. Du Hengfeng truly wasn't a traitor. But it's also true that he led his men to surround and kill us. We merely went along with the situation and took the chance to strike at the Shan Family."

Whether Du Hengfeng was a traitor or not, the Shan Family knew perfectly well.

The key was that he had offered up Duan Hongyan's head back then. Only then had he gotten through that ordeal.

"So the Ghost-Masked Man didn't kill Du Hengfeng back then. At the time, his cultivation was probably still below External Force. But during the South City case, he already had External Force cultivation and was very powerful.

"He could be a rogue martial warrior, or he might be hiding right among us. Only a handful of people have broken through to Savage Strength recently. Wei Xian, look into it carefully." Chai Nian spoke slowly.

Tie Niu cut in, "Young Master, it definitely wasn't me or Brother Yuan. I've been with you ever since I broke through, and Brother Yuan only broke through recently."

Chai Nian naturally knew their circumstances and was certain the Ghost-Masked Man had nothing to do with them. He was only using the opportunity to issue a warning.

If he had to pick one of the two brothers as suspicious, it would only be Su Tieniu. After all, a Vein-Splitting martial warrior had examined Su Yuan's condition, and it couldn't be faked. Besides, the Blood Bone Pill had him firmly in hand.

Su Yuan: loyal.

"I don't care about your personal grudges with the other clans. In fact, I'm happy to see you tear into each other. But remember, don't let me catch you betraying the Chai Family. The Martial Arts Tournament is a little over a month away. Prepare well. The Shan Family will definitely challenge you, and there'll be a reward for every win." Chai Nian's voice turned cold.

Over the next month or so, every martial warrior set to compete in the tournament did everything they could to improve.

Su Yuan and Tie Niu trained under Chai Nian.

Su Yuan spent his savings buying Star-Falling Python materials from the Chai Family, nearly exhausting his funds.

Fortunately, Yun Xu helped support him, and his progress was rapid. His Heavenly Horse Flying Star Fist surpassed his Golden Horse-Head Technique.

[Golden Horse-Head Technique: 788/2000 (Third Layer)]

[Heavenly Horse Flying Star Fist: 911/2000 (Third Layer)]

[Cloud-Striding Palm: 503/2000 (Third Layer)]

But the technique that advanced the fastest was still the Cloud-Covering Art.

As he continued to refine his strength, the art reached complete mastery.

[Cloud-Covering Art: 2000/2000 (Complete)]

[Acquired Trait: Cloud-Covering Qi Transformation]

[Qi changes with the clouds, gathering, concealing, and blending into one.]

[The qi throughout the body is like drifting clouds. It can be gathered, dispersed, circulated, and transformed at will. It can conceal fluctuations in one's own qi channels, as well as harmonize different kinds of power and smoothly unify qi of different attributes.]

Su Yuan's thoughts stirred. He directed the three currents of strength in his body and tried to fuse them, then threw a punch at the bluestone in front of him.

At the movement of his will, his strength shifted with it. The other two currents of strength in his body actually transformed into pure Flying Star Strength!

His fist landed, and the half-man-high bluestone shattered with a thunderous crash.

"This!" Su Yuan was shocked too.

This trait could completely transform the strength within his body!

He could either transform it all into one kind, or retain the properties of all three currents while merely concealing them.

Su Yuan marveled at it.

If he'd known this trait was so powerful, why would he have gone to so much trouble trying to figure out how to fuse them?

But then he understood. If he hadn't first explored how to fuse them and then cultivated the art to completion, he might not have unlocked this trait.

"With this, I can go all out at the Martial Arts Tournament."

Su Yuan already had a powerful foundation and abundant qi and blood, so he naturally generated more strength than others at the same cultivation level.

Now that his three currents of strength were stacked together, their total volume should be no less than that of someone at late-stage Savage Strength.

A bold thought quietly took root: I wonder if I'll get the chance to knock all those arrogant young masters and young ladies flat on the tournament stage?

Even a dog would bite hard when driven into a corner!

At the very least, he wouldn't hold back against anyone from the Shan Family.