Chapter 42: The Destined Son-in-Law (4) |
Three days later, just as Su Chen had expected. Wherever a Child of Destiny appeared, trouble was never far behind. Without warning, the once-calm mountain range erupted into a beast tide.
Su Chen ran into a group of panicked Xia family juniors. They told him the Xia contingent had been ambushed by demon beasts, and he naturally rushed to help.
"Young Master Mu Chen… that's a Spirit Vein Realm demon beast!"
Xia Rou hesitated. Though Mu Chen had changed from before and had even defeated the Xia family's top genius, Xia Chenfeng, old prejudices died hard.
'People carry mountains of bias in their hearts,' Su Chen thought with exasperation.
"Hurry up and lead the way. If we're too late, we'll only be collecting corpses."
Under Su Chen's urging, Xia Rou guided him toward Xia Chenfeng's position. The Xia family juniors had suffered heavy casualties. Their opponent was a newly advanced Spirit Vein Realm demon beast: the Gale Demon Wolf King, accompanied by over a dozen lesser wolves.
The Xia juniors stood no chance. Even with Xia Chenfeng's many trump cards, the cunning wolf king methodically wore them down. Once those cards ran out, the entire group would become nothing more than food for the pack.
"Damn it! How could a Spirit Vein Realm wolf king appear here?"
Xia Chenfeng did not want to die. Yet reality offered no mercy.
From a hidden patch of grass, Fang Bubai's old grandfather watched in surprise.
"This is actually a mutated wolf king. There must be something good nearby! Perhaps a rare heavenly treasure. Little Bubai, your luck is truly something else."
Fang Bubai observed Xia Chenfeng being slowly drained by the wolf king and considered whether to intervene and save him.
Xia Chenfeng was the son of the current Xia family head. Rescuing him from the wolf king would almost certainly forge an alliance between the Fang and Xia families.
The Xia patriarch's reputation for integrity was impeccable.
Just as Fang Bubai searched for the right moment to act, someone else charged into the fray first. A silver spear flashed as its wielder skewered several demon wolves in quick succession.
"It's him!"
Fang Bubai recognized the figure at once.
Su Chen.
Xia Chenfeng also spotted him. Seeing Su Chen surrounded by the wolf pack, he shouted desperately, "Mu Chen, I don't need your help! Get out of here now!"
That was a Spirit Vein Realm wolf king. No matter how strong Su Chen had become, he could not possibly match it.
Su Chen merely smiled carelessly. "Don't flatter yourself. I came here to hunt this wolf king and claim the Spirit Vein in its body. That's all. Now get lost. You're in my way."
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Xia Chenfeng's face flushed crimson with embarrassment and anger. Even if he couldn't defeat Su Chen, he wasn't some weakling, was he?
He had worked hard and reached the sixth layer of Spirit Gathering. But soon Xia Chenfeng noticed something strange. The wolf pack that had tormented them for so long was slaughtered effortlessly by Su Chen, leaving only the wary wolf king.
The wolf king waited patiently for Su Chen to expose an opening. Yet Su Chen's reactions were impossibly fast. He killed the lesser wolves without the slightest flaw.
The wolf king grew wary, but rage soon overpowered caution. Its pack had been wiped out, leaving it alone. Yet its strength far surpassed this mere human. It decided to fight.
A green imprint surfaced on the Gale Demon Wolf's body. Its speed exploded; only a streak of green light remained where it had stood.
Xia Chenfeng's heart leaped into his throat. "Watch out—behind you!"
In a flash, the wolf king appeared at Su Chen's back, its claws sharper than any blade.
In that split second, Su Chen reversed his spear in a blur. A white glow flared along the tip as he thrust backward toward the wolf king.
He lacked a powerful spiritual body, but his combat experience—against both men and beasts—was vast and honed over centuries. The sharp spear stabbed straight toward the leaping wolf king's underbelly.
The wolf king snarled ferociously, determined to drag Su Chen down with it even at the cost of its own life.
"Trying for mutual destruction?"
A disdainful smile curved Su Chen's lips. Heavenly Yang vital energy surged out of his body, forming a protective barrier.
The wolf king's paw slammed down. The defensive barrier groaned under the impact, cracks spiderwebbing across its surface as it teetered on the verge of collapse.
Su Chen reacted instantly—he slid low in a smooth dodge, evading the razor-sharp claws, then thrust his spear in a rapid series of stabs.
The wolf king let out several weak, anguished howls before collapsing to the ground, lifeless.
A Spirit Vein Realm wolf king… dead, just like that?
The surviving Xia family members stood frozen, mouths agape. The scene before them felt like an illusion.
Su Chen calmly peeled the Spirit Vein from the Gale Demon Wolf's body. Though the vein held little value to him personally, it would still fetch tens of thousands of gold coins on the market.
Xia Chenfeng stared, mouth still open, struggling to find words. After a long pause, he finally managed two.
"Thank you."
Su Chen stored the Spirit Vein away and addressed the group. "All of you should leave the mountain range at once. A beast tide is about to erupt here."
Xia Chenfeng asked, "What about you?"
Su Chen glanced at him.
"I'm heading deeper into the mountains."
He had already sensed that a treasure must be nearby. And where treasure appeared, he never walked away empty-handed.
The Xia family juniors exchanged uneasy looks before turning to Xia Chenfeng in unison.
Though Xia Chenfeng had no idea why Su Chen insisted on pressing deeper, he knew one thing clearly: he could not stop him.
"Take care of yourself!"
Xia Chenfeng gathered the surviving Xia members and began the journey back.
Su Chen, meanwhile, advanced toward the heart of the mountain range.
Fang Bubai trailed silently behind. He, too, had no intention of letting the opportunity in Green River Mountain Range slip away. The demon beasts of the range were stampeding in one direction, driven by the beast tide. That made locating the source of the disturbance easy for Su Chen.
Claiming it, however, proved far more difficult. Dozens of Spirit Vein Realm demon beasts guarded the perimeter. Deeper in lurked four at the Spirit Sea Realm.
No matter how capable he was, snatching the treasure right under the noses of several Spirit Sea Realm beasts was impossible. Then it hit him.
Su Chen's eyes lit up. He turned his head and spoke calmly toward the empty air behind him.
"You've followed me this entire way. Isn't it about time you showed yourself? It's getting impolite."
The surroundings remained perfectly still.
On the surface, Fang Bubai nearly jumped at Su Chen's sudden words.
"Master, he noticed us?"
He asked through mental transmission.
"He's bluffing. Stay calm!"
Seeing no one emerge, Su Chen continued.
"Brother, I know you've been tailing me. You've probably guessed by now that a treasure has appeared in these mountains. Why don't the two of us join forces, take it together, and split it according to contribution?"
After a brief silence, a masked figure dropped down from a tall tree.
"Ahem… Brother, your senses are truly sharp. I'm impressed."
Neither Fang Bubai nor his grandfather could fathom how their presence had been detected.
Su Chen's expression remained unruffled, as though he had expected this outcome all along.
'Holy crap, he really was following me the whole time!'
Su Chen felt a wave of speechlessness mixed with relief at his own caution. If he hadn't stayed vigilant, once he made his move, he might have fought tooth and nail only to end up with nothing.