Molten Stone Power

I wonder if Su Chen managed to draw out Qi Chuan's people.

When Jiang He returned to the academy, she saw Su Chen leaving with Bai Fengxi.

She had long learned from her father about the appearance of the ruins. This city patrol had only lasted a day or two, so Qi Chuan's people probably had not made their move yet.

Or perhaps they already had. She would find a chance to ask him.

Perfect...

"Have you ever seen a pack of Azure-Scaled Lions, with a second-tier mutant as their leader? At the most dangerous moment, it was less than half a meter away from me..."

"You have no idea how dangerous things were then. Luckily, Brother Su turned the tide..."

Jiang He halted and glanced toward a small group that had just gathered in the distance, where someone was spitting words with great enthusiasm.

"Liu Liang..." Jiang He recognized him. He was also one of the students who had left the city this time.

"Who's Brother Su?" someone asked blankly.

"You don't know Brother Su?" Liu Liang's eyes widened. "Su Chen!"

"Oh, Instructor Jiang He's pretty boy!" someone said in realization.

"What pretty boy? Watch your mouth!" Liu Liang snapped angrily. "Brother Su wiped out the entire Azure-Scaled Lion pack by himself, except for the leader. The whole fight took less than ten minutes."

"What? Really?"

"He's that strong?"

Cries of surprise rose one after another. Jiang He's pupils contracted. He had wiped out the Azure-Scaled Lion pack?

That brat was actually that powerful.

"Not only that..." Liu Liang wore a mysterious expression. "You know about the theft case at our school some time ago, right?"

Everyone nodded like pecking chickens.

"Brother Su solved that too!" Liu Liang said proudly. "Brother Su is Vice Principal Yuan's student. He secretly infiltrated the city patrol team and found the stolen items in one go. Even the City Lord praised him highly."

Jiang He turned her head stiffly. Yuan Chenyang's student? Secretly infiltrated? What kind of nonsense was that?

"Ah..." Liu Liang's eyes sharpened as he spotted Jiang He standing at the edge of the crowd. He immediately shouted excitedly, "Sister-in-law!"

Sister-in-law? Jiang He's face darkened, and she hurried away.

It was not as though no one had called her sister-in-law before, but no one had ever called her that from Su Chen's side. She had her pride too.

The crowd reluctantly withdrew their gazes from Jiang He's graceful retreating figure. Someone suddenly said, "So Su Chen isn't Instructor Jiang He's pretty boy?"

"Bullshit!" Liu Liang barked. "Brother Su is a dashing man of the world. He and Instructor Jiang are a perfect... no, a loving couple. How is he a pretty boy?"

"From now on, anyone who calls Brother Su a pretty boy is picking a fight with me!"

Yuan Chenyang's home was also a standalone villa deep within Southwind City. There was no mistress of the house, and it felt empty and spacious, with many rooms.

"Old Bai..." Su Chen called out. After learning Bai Fengxi's identity, he did not mind calling her Martial Uncle, but Bai Fengxi seemed unable to accept it and still had him call her Old Bai.

"We're family, so no need to stand on ceremony. Do you have any powerful spiritual meditation methods?"

He really knew how to push his luck... Bai Fengxi grumbled inwardly, then pondered. "You want to cultivate both physical and spiritual professions at the same time?"

"Isn't that standard for geniuses?"

"What kind of theory is that?" Bai Fengxi shook her head. "First, let's see what your spiritual talent is like. If it isn't very good, don't waste your time."

Su Chen was rather curious. "Does this talent have any standards for classification?"

"Ordinary talents are generally classified as Bronze, Brilliant Silver, Red Gold, and so on..." Bai Fengxi explained. "The quality of one's talent mainly determines the speed at which one cultivates a Training Method, while also affecting the progress of profession development."

"There are also some special talents..." She paused before continuing, "For example, talents that are extremely compatible with certain professions, though those are very rare."

The two discussed it for a while. Before long, the door opened.

But the one who returned was not Yuan Chenyang. It was...

"Brother Su Chen?" Little Pigeon ran over excitedly, then abruptly stopped in front of Su Chen. "Why are you here?"

Su Chen grinned and pinched Little Pigeon's cheek. "I came to see how you were doing. Living in such a big house must be nice."

Little Pigeon slapped Su Chen's hand away unhappily. Bai Fengxi, meanwhile, said gently, "He'll be living here from now on."

"Huh?" Little Pigeon looked startled. She suspiciously sized up the two of them and frowned. "Brother Su Chen, what did you use your body for this time?"

Bai Fengxi's fair cheeks visibly stiffened. Su Chen said irritably, "Kids shouldn't talk nonsense."

"When you made me carry bricks before, you didn't think I was a kid. You even made me carry two more." Little Pigeon looked disdainful.

"The more you carry, the more you earn."

"Miss, sir, will you be having dinner tonight?" the maid who had returned with Little Pigeon asked.

Bai Fengxi came back to her senses. "He needs nutrient solution too. Was only Little Pigeon's portion prepared?"

Su Chen closed his mouth, which he had just opened. That had been what he was about to ask as well.

The three of them chatted noisily for quite a while, though Little Pigeon did most of the talking.

After dinner, Yuan Chenyang still had not returned. Bai Fengxi led him to the room that had been prepared for him.

"Do you have any body-tempering potions?" Su Chen called after her.

Bai Fengxi glanced at him. "Wait."

Before long, she brought over a bottle of Blood-Activating Potion.

"Blood-activating..." Su Chen was slightly disappointed, but he still said, "Thanks."

Bai Fengxi left speechlessly.

The room was not small. After taking a quick look around, Su Chen assumed his stance and poured the Blood-Activating Potion into his mouth. A familiar surging sensation echoed through his body.

For four or five days straight, Su Chen stayed there. For some reason, Yuan Chenyang never returned.

He drank seven or eight portions of Bai Fengxi's Blood-Activating Potion, to the point that her face turned dark every time she saw Su Chen knocking on her door.

That day, Su Chen sat cross-legged on the floor. His skin had turned crimson, and magma-like patterns had nearly spread across his entire body. His teeth were clenched tightly, and the moment sweat emerged, it turned into vapor and vanished.

Suddenly, Su Chen froze. He felt stabbing pain all over his body as the magma patterns on his skin completely spread across him. Then, it felt as if his entire body had entered a hot spring.

[Molten Stone Training Method--Master]

[Ability acquired--Molten Stone Power: lava coursed through the body, skin tough as stone]

After the [Molten Stone Training Method] entered the Master level, the ability it granted took effect immediately. Su Chen felt an intense tingling in his skin, as though ants were crawling through his muscles. The sensation lasted for quite some time before finally fading.

"Tough as stone..." Su Chen stroked his skin and could clearly feel his outer layer hardening.

He casually picked up a dagger and tested it against his skin. It only left a white mark.

"Even first-tier professions known for their defense probably aren't much better than this." Su Chen could not help thinking this, and his gaze toward the panel grew even more fervent.

He had already figured out that other Training Methods could indeed produce unusual abilities.

But all of them required extensive time and study, and there was no guarantee such abilities would appear. There was a great deal of randomness involved.

All he needed to do was raise it to the Master level, and an ability would naturally emerge. No one could compare to such an advantage.