Chapter 401: You, the Future Unfulfilled

Chapter 401: You, the Future Unfulfilled

2024-08-31

After two consecutive encounters, Su Chen had gained a deeper understanding of the martial prowess of the Jin Kingdom's warriors.

Martial prowess was closely tied to one's mental state.

In the past, Su Chen had listened to others' teachings and lectures.

He had also felt that the Jin Kingdom's martial prowess was noticeably stronger than that of the Great Zhou's warriors.

But from Tianfeng Valley to his battle with Sang Mo Yuan, and now injuring two guards from the Wulanshan Mansion, Su Chen realized that the Jin Kingdom's warriors were not as formidable as he had imagined.

The more he feared them, the more vigilant he became, which only added pressure to himself.

He couldn't fully utilize his various countermeasures.

As Su Chen left Xiangyuan City and headed towards the Great Zhou's capital, his mind was constantly occupied with thoughts of his mother and younger sister.

It seemed that finding a smaller city might be safer.

However, these small cities were easily targeted by the Wulanshan Mansion, making it difficult to hide.

As he approached the capital, Su Chen sought out another information broker.

From them, he inquired about the Wulanshan Mansion's activities in the capital.

Compared to Xiangyuan City, the people from the Wulanshan Mansion had more restrictions in the capital, as it was the central city of the Great Zhou with various connections.

"Ever since Su Chen injured the guards from the Wulanshan Mansion, the attitude towards them in the capital has become even more hostile than before.

They left four people in the capital, but their influence has diminished significantly.

Many people are no longer willing to cooperate, and in the past two days, they've only managed to inspect a dozen households."

Hearing this, Su Chen further inquired about the situation in the Great Zhou.

"There are rumors that the Yunyang Sect is trying to unite with other sects to support Su Chen, but it's still uncertain, and there are only minor whispers."

"The Yunyang Sect is supporting Su Chen?"

Su Chen's face showed surprise.

This news sounded so unfamiliar.

"Rest assured, our information is quite reliable.

The Yunyang Sect, the Celestial Capital, and even the Great Zhou court might join forces to pressure the Wulanshan Mansion.

Their recent actions have offended three major powers.

It's not surprising that they're opposing the Wulanshan Mansion."

This wasn't wrong.

The Wulanshan Mansion's reckless actions in the Great Zhou had affected the reputation of all major sects.

Each city had its own sect backing it.

Their unruly behavior in the city was a slap in the face to their sect.

Not to mention, they were acting recklessly in the capital.

This was a direct insult to the court and all the sects of the Great Zhou.

After asking all his questions, Su Chen went to check on his mother and younger sister.

As he arrived in the capital, Su Chen coincidentally saw people from the Wulanshan Mansion leaving.

Four members of the Wulanshan Mansion were no longer wearing their sect's outer robes.

Su Chen couldn't recognize them, but he noticed the people from Jiang'an City behind them.

These people from the Wulanshan Mansion didn't know Su Chen or his family.

They had to rely on the people from Jiang'an City for identification.

It seemed that they were finally preparing to leave the capital.

Even their own sect's outer robes were not worn, clearly fearing that Su Chen might take action against them.

Combining this information with what he had heard, Su Chen concluded that the people from the Wulanshan Mansion had likely all left the capital.

Upon entering the capital, Su Chen found a wine pavilion and sat down.

As he ate, he observed the surrounding situation.

Seeing people chatting, Su Chen joined them without hesitation and engaged in a conversation about the Wulanshan Mansion.

From this conversation, it was clear that the common people of the Great Zhou sided with Su Chen.

The arrogance of the Wulanshan Mansion had bred resentment among many.

Hearing that Su Chen had severely injured their people, the commoners applauded.

As night fell, Su Chen discreetly visited the courtyard where his mother and younger sister resided.

Su Chen didn't want to startle them during this tense time.

Upon hearing Su Chen's voice, his mother and younger sister rushed out of the door.

His younger sister immediately hugged Su Chen.

The two of them had just heard his voice and quickly hid in the secret room.

During this period, they had become increasingly worried.

The three of them entered the secret room and lit a candle.

Su Chen inquired about the situation over the past period.

"They're searching slowly, only managing to inspect a few households each day.

Although we're worried, it's not easy for them to find us."

"Can the people from Jiang'an City recognize you and my younger sister?"

Su Chen was still concerned about this.

Hearing this, his mother was relatively certain.

"We left Jiang'an City over a year or two ago.

The people they found, who used to not be close to us, only knew us by name.

Upon seeing our appearance, I think it's quite possible for them to recognize us.

However, wanting to recognize us just by our figures and backs, that's not easy.

As she spoke, Mother brought out some roasted cakes she had made for Su Chen to try.

The familiar taste filled Su Chen's heart with even more guilt.

After hesitating, Su Chen told Mother and Little Sister about his current troubles.

Su Chen had thought about bringing Mother and Little Sister to the Jin Kingdom to avoid these dangers together.

The Jin Kingdom definitely had many ordinary people, and many cities where they could settle down.

However, Su Chen was concerned about their living habits and the differences with the Jin Kingdom.

Would these differences cause them to unintentionally expose themselves?

The Jin Kingdom was large, and news spread slowly.

But Su Chen couldn't be certain that the relevant news wouldn't reach Wulanshan Mansion.

Mother and Little Sister also shared their thoughts with Su Chen.

Relatively speaking, they were unwilling to leave the Great Zhou.

Every time they moved to a new city, it took a long time to get used to.

Not to mention now, they would have to go to the Jin Kingdom.

Without continuing to discuss this, the family started talking about lighter topics.

Su Chen shared all that he had seen and heard with them.

The New Year had just passed, and although they hadn't spent it together as a family, they were reunited during this season.

Su Chen stayed here for a few days before heading to the Jin Kingdom again.

Before leaving, Su Chen found two information brokers.

He asked them to regularly send messages to Hongshi City in the Jin Kingdom and gave each of them a letter.

According to the letter, they would place the monthly messages in the designated location.

The messages were mainly about Su Chen's whereabouts, Wulanshan Mansion's situation in the Great Zhou, and some major events in the Great Zhou.

The two information brokers thought Su Chen was from Wulanshan Mansion, gathering information for their response.

At the same time, they were also monitoring their people in the Great Zhou.

After handling everything, Su Chen didn't stay in the Great Zhou any longer.

He wanted to truly resolve these crises, so he and his family wouldn't have to keep hiding.

This cultivation path couldn't be stopped.

In addition to cultivation, Su Chen had some other ideas this time.

Wulanshan Mansion wasn't a small sect or force.

The number of powerful experts in their mansion was not to be underestimated.

Relying solely on himself, he might need to reach the top-tier realm of the third rank to be truly safe.

He had previously heard that the Yunyang Sect wanted to gather the Tianhe City and the imperial court to support them.

This news gave him some inspiration.

He could also borrow power in the Jin Kingdom.

This world was full of exchanges of interest; you help me, I help you.

He had shown his value to the Yunyang Sect and Tianhe City and had connections with the sect.

So, despite the danger, they were willing to protect him.

He could also show his value to the forces in the Jin Kingdom.

Let the Jin Kingdom's forces compete with Wulanshan Mansion for him.

On the way back, Su Chen kept thinking about this.

The primary target was naturally the Taihe Sect.

He had inquired about the Taihe Sect before.

Their relationship with Wulanshan Mansion wasn't good, and they even had some conflicts.

But that didn't mean the Taihe Sect would definitely protect him.

Especially if Wulanshan Mansion wanted to take action against him, if he didn't have enough value, they wouldn't waste resources to help him.

How to move them was what he needed to do next.

During Su Chen's journey back to the Jin Kingdom, news of Cai Zheng's injuries had already reached Wulanshan Mansion.

Fan Chengyan was in the small courtyard when she heard the news and thought it was a joke.

After repeated confirmation, Fan Chengyan was convinced it was true.

She immediately called Sang Moyuan and his fellow disciple over.

"The person who injured you before has some skills.

The people we sent out have now injured two of our guards.

This is them putting pressure on us, forcing us to leave."

Fan Chengyan's face had a smile, and she didn't seem too angry.

However, her two disciples had surprised expressions.

Sang Moyuan had been injured by Su Chen's sword at the Mingying Battlefield, and although the injury wasn't severe, he had lost face.

He didn't expect that the people they sent out wouldn't only fail to find Su Chen but also get injured by him.

Upon hearing this, Sang Moyuan's face still had some disbelief.

"Master, Cai Zheng is a Fifth Stage Snow Essence Realm guard with perfect strength, right?

This Su Chen, how could he possibly..."

Fancheng Yan was not satisfied with this answer.

"Don't worry about whether it's possible or not, what means he used, or what plots and schemes he might have, it doesn't matter.

You, Sang Moyuan, are my disciple, Fancheng Yan, and you are a martial artist who will reach the Jin Kingdom in the future.

Transcendent Realm, Unity Realm.

These are all positions you will reach in the future. Do you need to bother with whether he's capable or not?"

Sang Moyuan was at a loss for words after his master's statement, unsure of how to respond.

"I've thought about it, and this person might be a test for your cultivation growth.

Perhaps he's not up to par in terms of strength and talent, but in terms of experience, he's far superior to you and your fellow disciples.

The fact that even several of your guards were injured is proof that he's not completely useless.

So, for the next two years,

I'll continue to send people to inquire about his whereabouts.

If we hear any news about him, you and your fellow disciples should go and take a look.

Only by dealing with him will you truly be considered grown up."

Naturally, the two of them did not argue and were even somewhat excited.

"Does this mean that if we deal with him, Master, you'll allow us to arrange our own cultivation schedule?" asked Mo Liuzheng, one of the disciples.

Hearing his young disciple's words, Fancheng Yan glared at him.

"If I let you arrange your own schedule, you'll spend twenty out of thirty days traveling and playing.

If, by then, you still can't handle someone like Su Chen, you'll see how I punish you."

After saying this, Fancheng Yan turned to look at her two disciples again.

"I might have to make a trip to the Zhou Kingdom.

I've sent so many people from the mountain villa to support you two, and now there's a problem.

I need to go and take a look.

At the same time, I should also teach those martial artists from the Zhou Kingdom a lesson.

I've heard that because of this matter, they've started to look down on us."

After the two guards were injured in Xiangyuan City, the morale of the Wulanshan Mansion had taken a significant hit.

However, they believed that they had gained something valuable.

Su Chen and his relatives were definitely nearby in Xiangyuan City; otherwise, they wouldn't have struck twice in a row.

After this incident, they became even more vigilant.

But they still chose to continue their search in the south, being even more thorough than before.

By the time Su Chen returned to Hongfeng Canyon, it was already the end of the first lunar month.

The borders of the Jin Kingdom were vast, and traveling back and forth took a considerable amount of time.

Wang Shanlin and the other elders had not yet returned from the Great Zhou Kingdom.

Taking advantage of this free time, Su Chen settled down to cultivate.

After reaching the Sixth Stage Perfect Realm, he had overcome a significant hurdle.

The blazing fire within his body was now under his complete control.

Additionally, in the secret realm left behind by Jingbo Immortal, Su Chen had gained a profound understanding of his mental state.

With these advancements, his cultivation progress became more stable and secure than before.

As he practiced the Xuan Tian Dao Heart Canon, he attempted to break through to the Fifth Stage.

However, he had only recently entered the Sixth Stage Perfect Realm.

Even with these aids, the speed at which he was advancing was somewhat startling.

After cultivating for about ten days, Wang Shanlin and the other elders returned.

This time, Wang Shanlin personally invited Su Chen to join them, but he had broken his promise and didn't even bother to find them.

To be fair, Su Chen acknowledged his mistake.

But there was nothing he could do; upon hearing that his mother and younger sister were in danger, he couldn't possibly return to Mo Jia Valley.

Su Chen was well aware that matters had their priorities.

He just needed to go and apologize.

The next day, Su Chen visited Wang Shanlin.

Upon his arrival, the other elders were also present, discussing their gains from their recent trip.

As seasoned martial artists, they were in the habit of summarizing their experiences after each journey.

When Wang Shanlin received the report about Su Chen's arrival, he immediately invited him into his courtyard.

Greeting the group, Su Chen first apologized and then briefly explained the reason for his absence.

He didn't go into detail, simply mentioning that he had encountered some troubles.

Among the elders, Wang Shanlin was the most understanding towards Su Chen. After interacting with him for several months, Wang Shanlin found him to be quite reliable.

However, the other three elders merely humphed lightly.

"Matters have their priorities, and you can't even distinguish between what's important and what's not.

Someone like you won't go far."

Seeing that this elder seemed rather angry, Su Chen decided to offer a more detailed explanation.

"Elder Jiang, my family encountered some difficulties, and I had to deal with them."

"It seems that in your eyes, helping your family is more important than the opportunity to travel with us.

You won't get such an opportunity again in the future.

If I had this chance when I was younger, I would have set everything aside.

You, on the other hand, will never amount to anything."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end