Chapter 48: The Destined Son-in-Law (10) |
Su Chen extended a single finger. Mountains and rivers alike trembled beneath it. Heaven and earth became a prison.
No matter how desperately the purple-robed youth struggled, every technique he unleashed proved futile under that one finger. His power dimmed to nothing.
"Stop! Our young master is the son of the Eastern Suppression King!"
An elder roared in fury and struck out, desperate to save the purple-robed youth.
"Eastern Suppression King? And what is that supposed to mean?"
"Our young master is the personal disciple of Prison-Suppressing Sovereign of the Profound Origin Sacred Land!"
"Forget some unheard-of Eastern Suppression King—even if the ruler of your Great Yan Dynasty stood here in person, he would have to show the utmost respect to our young master!"
At the words of the guards flanking Su Chen, the elder's face drained of color. In the next instant, he was suppressed alongside the purple-robed youth.
Su Chen waved a hand casually.
The purple-robed youth struggled to his feet. Hearing those words, rage surged through him until he fainted from sheer fury.
Su Chen intended to leave the Purple-Robed Marquis alive as a whetstone for Fang Bubai.
Fang Bubai's face filled with gratitude.
The surrounding crowd erupted in uproar. That mysterious young man was actually the direct disciple of an Emperor from the Profound Origin Sacred Land.
Xia Yingyue remembered the words Su Chen had once spoken.
"Wait until I have achieved success and fame. Then I will return."
A disciple of the sacred land. Personal successor of a Sovereign. Such an identity shone as brightly as the sun. It made her feel small and unworthy by comparison.
Su Chen walked step by step until he stood before Xia Yingyue. Under countless watchful eyes, he spoke softly.
"I'm back."
Tears of joy streamed down Xia Yingyue's face.
"Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law! Don't forget about me! I missed you too!"
Xia Chenfeng was practically vibrating with excitement. His brother-in-law was a disciple of the sacred land. The personal disciple of a Sovereign!
Su Chen ignored Xia Chenfeng for the moment.
The members of the Water Cloud Sect stared in stunned silence when they realized Su Chen knew Xia Yingyue. The sect master forced an ingratiating smile.
Wang Shuang watched his goddess nestle close to another man. Flames practically shot from his eyes. His fists clenched until his knuckles whitened. His teeth ground together with audible creaks.
The sound drew Su Chen's attention. Su Chen thought for a moment. A familiar name surfaced in his memory.
Wang Shuang, the young master of Green River City's city lord. Like Xia Yingyue, he had joined the Water Cloud Sect. Four years earlier, he had tried to arrange Su Chen's death and failed.
Facing the naked hatred in Wang Shuang's gaze, Su Chen merely glanced at him.
One look. Wang Shuang's mind snapped awake. The fire in his eyes turned to pure terror, as though he had witnessed the most horrifying thing in existence. Then… he went mad.
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No one from the Water Cloud Sect dared speak a word.
The secret realm opened. A ruin left behind by a fallen Sovereign naturally piqued Su Chen's interest. In the Profound Origin Sacred Land, his strength was only average. But here in the Great Yan Dynasty, among the younger generation, no one could withstand even a single move from him. Even if a ninth-layer Spirit Soul Realm expert attacked, Su Chen had methods to kill them outright.
Inside the secret realm, mountains and rivers stretched out like a small independent world. Some lifeforms had even been born within it. They had formed their own races and possessed strange, unique abilities.
Su Chen's longing for realms above Profound Connection grew even stronger. After death, a powerhouse's body could transform into an entire secret realm: blood became rivers, teeth and bones and marrow turned into precious mineral veins, skin and hair became towering ancient trees.
New life was nurtured from the remains. Such might surpassed imagination. The native creatures born inside the secret realm stood no chance against invaders. The cultivation methods they practiced were nothing more than obsolete bloodline inheritances left behind long ago. Diluted and feeble. How could they possibly compare to the accumulated wisdom of countless geniuses refined year after year in the outside world?
Watching an entire race plundered and driven to extinction, Su Chen felt no ripple in his heart.
On the body of their high priest, he discovered a crystallization left behind by the fallen Sovereign from long ago. It contained an inheritance called the Divine Yang Sword Scripture—a low-grade Sovereign-level technique. He even found several fist-sized inferior spirit crystals. The discovery filled Su Chen with unexpected delight.
The others inside the secret realm had also reaped considerable gains. Fang Bubai, in particular, had benefited greatly. His old grandfather's soul had overexerted itself and fallen into a deep slumber. Fang Bubai had chanced upon a stalk of Star Spirit Grass—perfect for healing the divine soul.
"If another century had passed, this secret realm might have collapsed entirely under the weight of time," someone remarked with lingering relief.
Outside the secret realm, the Great Yan Emperor himself had not come. Instead, Eunuch Huang appeared at his side. The eunuch faced Su Chen with utmost deference, his smile ingratiating.
"His Majesty has heard of the young master's arrival and has already prepared a banquet. May I ask if the young master would be so gracious as to attend?"
Even the ruler of an entire dynasty had to tread carefully before a disciple of the sacred land. His tone remained humble and cautious.
Of course, Su Chen understood the real reason. All of this stemmed from the figure standing behind him: Prison-Suppressing Sovereign. A ninth-layer Void Refining Realm powerhouse. Only one step away from the Nirvana Realm. The deepest foundation of the Great Yan Dynasty could at most reach the third or fourth layer of Void Refining.
Su Chen nodded. "Please inform His Majesty that I will attend."
Since the Great Yan Emperor wished to befriend him, Su Chen saw no reason to refuse. Eunuch Huang beamed with satisfaction and departed at once.
Su Chen still had to make arrangements for the Xia family. When he returned to the Xia residence once more, the changes were striking.
Thanks to the technique Su Chen had left behind, Xia Hongcai had kept it secret and cultivated alone. He had broken through repeatedly and now stood as the undisputed strongest in Green River City. Half-step Spirit Soul Realm. The Xia family had risen to become the foremost clan in Green River City.
"Chen'er has returned!"
Xia Hongcai was overjoyed beyond words. Seeing Su Chen again, tears shimmered in his eyes.
Xia Chenfeng felt utterly baffled. He was the biological son here, wasn't he? Yet the old man clearly overlooked his own flesh and blood in that moment.
Facing Xia Hongcai once more, Su Chen bowed deeply and respectfully. In this life, though his birth father had perished early in the beast tide, he was not without a father. Xia Hongcai had become his father in this life. If Su Chen were honest with himself, even he could not have done the same—treating an outsider as his own child for more than a decade, day after day, without fail.
When Xia Hongcai learned that Su Chen had entered the Profound Origin Sacred Land, his joy knew no bounds. When the Great Yan Emperor heard of Su Chen's background, a piece of news arrived as Su Chen reached the capital.
Twenty years earlier, the demon king who had triggered the beast tide had finally been surrounded and slain by the Great Yan Dynasty's army.
Su Chen understood immediately. That demon king was the true culprit responsible for the death of his parents in this life. Now it had been executed at last. Countless people who had lost everything in the beast tide's chaos wept with joy at the news.
Inside the Great Yan Imperial Palace, Su Chen found himself surrounded and feted by everyone. The center of attention, like the moon encircled by stars. Powerful nobles clustered around him on all sides.
Su Chen remained perfectly calm. He had long grown accustomed to such scenes. Yet in the eyes of those nobles, this was a sacred land genius who remained unruffled by favor or disgrace. Truly worthy of coming from the sacred land. His bearing was on another level.
When the conversation finally turned serious, the dignified Great Yan Emperor forced a smile onto his face.
"This is my youngest daughter, Yan Qimeng. She has always admired heroes—especially outstanding talents like yourself from the sacred land."
The stunningly beautiful young woman spoke in a soft, delicate voice. "This little girl has admired the young master for a long time. I wish to follow by your side and accompany you always."
Su Chen: "…"
What nonsense. Did they really think he, Su Chen, was that kind of person?