The Cause of Su Yu's Father's Death, Devouring the Vermilion Fruit, Breaking Through Two Realms

Su Yu put the vermilion fruit back on the table, pulled over the coarse cloth, and covered the two Blood Stabilizing Grasses and the jug of spirit spring water.

He rose, walked to the door, and drew back the solid wooden bolt with one hand.

Two saber-bearing Demon Suppression Guards stood outside, one on either side, their positions subtly sealing off Su Yu's blind spots and room to exert force.

The patterns on their uniforms, marking them as the commander's personal attendants, gleamed dimly in the night.

The guard on the left gripped his saber hilt tightly, his body even instinctively shifting half an inch outward.

Word of Su Yu taking a saber in a single move outside the armory that day had already spread.

"Lead the way."

Su Yu stepped over the threshold and shut the courtyard gate behind him.

The Demon Suppression Bureau was cold and quiet at night.

Only the three men's staggered footsteps sounded along the bluestone path.

A short while later, they reached the side hall. Its door stood open, spilling dim yellow candlelight.

No incense burned inside; only the pungent smell of cheap tobacco hung in the air.

Lin Xiao sat in the grand armchair at the head of the room, looking down as he fiddled with his teacup.

The white porcelain clinked crisply. An old case file with frayed edges lay across the table.

"Sit."

Without looking up, Lin Xiao casually pointed to the empty chair on his left.

Su Yu walked over, pulled out the chair, and sat with his legs planted wide and his back straight.

"That business in Blackwater Village!"

Lin Xiao set his teacup down with a knock, his voice level.

"You did a clean job. Left no loose ends!"

Su Yu said nothing, neither admitting nor denying it.

Lin Xiao did not mind. He pushed the old case file to the center of the table with his fingers.

"Three years ago, your father, Su Daqiang, led a team to Tiger Head Mountain to exterminate demons. The intelligence said there were only a dozen or so tiger demons at the Mortal Realm Early Stage."

Lin Xiao raised his eyelids slightly, his gaze fixed firmly on Su Yu.

"Instead, they ran into an avatar of a Mystic Realm greater demon. The entire force was wiped out."

"The ones who delivered that intelligence to the Demon Suppression Bureau were the Liu Family."

Not a ripple stirred in Su Yu's eyes. His fingers slowly traced the file's rough edges. Now it made sense.

The chain of death traps targeting him and Wang Tai's attempt to frame him were all rooted here.

Cut the grass and pull out the roots.

"What is the Liu Family trying to cover up?" Su Yu went straight to the heart of it.

"Your father accidentally obtained evidence of the Liu Family colluding with demons!" Lin Xiao leaned back in his chair.

"Unfortunately, I searched your old Su Family residence from top to bottom and found nothing. The Liu Family searched it too, and came away just as empty-handed."

The chain of interests became clear in an instant. Lin Xiao wanted to destroy the Liu Family, but he lacked the killing blade.

The physical evidence Su Daqiang had hidden was that blade.

"I've never seen any evidence," Su Yu said truthfully.

"The old you couldn't have protected it. Even if you'd seen it, you would have forgotten it. Things are different now."

Lin Xiao tapped the tabletop. "The Liu Family already wants you dead. Your current situation is a death trap."

The bargaining chips were on the table.

"I want your protection." Su Yu looked into Lin Xiao's eyes.

"For the escort mission in two days, I'll assign men to keep a close watch on the Liu Family."

Lin Xiao stated his bottom line outright. "If they dare touch you, I'll charge them with being Demon God Cult collaborators and lead men to raze the Liu Family's properties in the eastern city."

"Come back alive with a living captive from the Liu Family's attackers. Leave the rest to me."

This transaction was utterly cold.

"Deal."

Su Yu rose without another wasted word, turned, and strode out of the side hall.

The night wind swept across the threshold.

Lin Xiao picked up the cold tea on the table and took a sip.

Watching Su Yu's retreating figure vanish into the night, he pinched apart half a floating tea leaf.

Even hearing the name of his father's killers had not disturbed his breathing in the slightest.

This boy's temperament was ten times more dangerous than those money-stinking fools of the Liu Family.

Su Yu returned to his private courtyard and slid the bolt back into place.

He sat back down at the stone table and lifted the coarse cloth.

Vermilion fruit. Blood Stabilizing Grass. Spirit spring water.

The escort mission in two days would definitely be a bloody battle. There was no way the Liu Family would send just a few Mortal Realm Sixth Stage lackeys to their deaths.

Count on Lin Xiao sending men to protect me?

Hanging his life on someone else's promise was the stupidest rule for survival.

Only crushing, absolute martial power could trample every scheme to pieces.

Su Yu grabbed the jug, tipped back his head, and gulped fiercely, pouring the entire jug of spirit spring water down his throat.

Extremely pure Spiritual Qi exploded in his stomach on the spot.

Without pausing, he grabbed both Blood Stabilizing Grasses, stuffed them into his mouth along with the dirt on their roots, and chewed furiously.

The rank, astringent, fiercely bitter juices slid down his throat, and his blood and Qi instantly boiled.

Every bone in his body was scoured by the violent medicinal power, giving off harsh grinding sounds.

Finally, Su Yu picked up the fist-sized vermilion fruit and bit into it.

Scalding medicinal juice crashed into his dantian like magma. Three utterly different torrents of violent spiritual power collided and tore at one another within his Mortal Realm Fifth Layer meridians.

His flesh visibly swelled.

An ordinary person consuming resources so recklessly would likely have exploded and died on the spot, but Su Yu would not.

He had a cheat!

"System, use all Slaughter Points to extrapolate Suppressing Prisons and Subduing Demons."

Without the slightest hesitation, he conveyed his command mentally.

[Consumed 200 Slaughter Points. Supreme-grade cultivation technique Suppressing Prison and Subduing Demons (Mortal) extrapolated to major accomplishment!]

Boom!

An invisible force descended with brutal might.

Before this supreme suppressive power, the medicinal power that had been on the verge of running wild was forcibly crushed in an instant.

A terrifyingly vast quantity of Spiritual Qi began violently widening his meridians along the technique's new circulation route.

His fascia tore and reformed.

A series of muffled thunderclaps erupted deep within his marrow.

The barrier to the Mortal Realm Sixth Stage collapsed beneath a single surge of that raging torrent.

Break!

But this was only the beginning.

The supreme-grade technique at major accomplishment was like a bottomless black hole, greedily squeezing out the last trace of potential from the vermilion fruit and spirit spring water.

Blood and Qi scoured his limbs and bones, while a faint, dark-gold film of light completely enveloped his internal organs.

Mortal Realm Seventh Layer-break!

The swelling sense of power from consecutive breakthroughs filled his entire body. Just as everything was about to settle down.

A strange contraction suddenly came from the very center of Su Yu's dantian, and an exceedingly faint Qi vortex slowly formed out of nothing.

A Qi vortex.

It was an embryonic form of spiritual power that Mortal Realm Ninth Layer martial artists could barely condense only after honing their bodies to perfection, the foundation for walking the path of Qi refinement.

Yet now, relying on the domineering properties of his supreme-grade technique, Su Yu had forcibly smashed through that threshold at the Mortal Realm Seventh Layer.

Beneath the night sky, Su Yu opened his eyes.

He stood and casually rolled his neck.

Rumble...

Explosive cracks rang out without end.

All the rough calluses on his body split and peeled away, exposing tough skin beneath that gleamed like refined steel.

His right fist clenched sharply.

The surrounding air was forcibly compressed by his immense strength, bursting with a muffled bang.

A gray panel appeared at the edge of his vision.

[Host: Su Yu]

[Cultivation: Mortal Realm Seventh Layer (Qi sense developed)]

[Cultivation technique: Suppressing Prisons and Subduing Demons (supreme grade), major accomplishment]

[Martial arts: Vajra Fist...]

[Current Slaughter Points: 0]

Although his Slaughter Points were exhausted, what he gained in exchange was a terrifying, exponential surge in his physical combat power.

If he faced last night's Blood Baleful Intent Demon Corpse now, he would have no need to look for its blood core weakness.

One punch.

That alone would be enough to smash the entire corpse into pulp.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, pounding sounded at the courtyard gate, and the rough wooden door shook violently.

"Squad leader! Something's happened!"

Tang Shan's hoarse, frightened voice came from outside.

Su Yu walked over and drew back the bolt with one hand.