https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-504-Recent-Affairs-in-the-Capital/12995409/
Chapter 503: A Predilection for Theft
Chapter 503: A Predilection for Theft
The people who hurt you the most are often not your enemies, but those closest to you.
Jun Han had a deep understanding of this.
Ever since his injury, the treatment he received made him feel the coldness of the world.
His junior brothers and sisters, who used to be so polite, now spoke to him rudely.
Especially his second and third junior brothers, and a few others.
Jun Han could clearly tell that their words often carried a mocking tone when they spoke to him.
As the senior brother, his injury required a year of rest, and his rank was downgraded.
Many of his junior brothers and sisters, who used to be so respectful, no longer spoke with the same politeness as before.
Given the stark contrast, it was no wonder that dark thoughts would arise in Jun Han's mind.
Of course, on the surface, Jun Han maintained a cheerful smile.
But deep inside, he secretly wished that Su Chen would beat them all to death.
At Wulan Manor, Su Chen was considered a mediocre martial artist.
He might have slightly better body techniques and skills, but aside from ambushes, he had no other means.
Martial artists injured by Su Chen were either of lower cultivation realms, being suppressed by him, or were caught off guard by his ambushes, which was understandable.
The other type was someone like Jun Han, who had a higher cultivation realm but was still heavily injured by Su Chen's ambush.
This was a matter of capability and strength.
This kind of talk filled Wulan Manor during this period.
In the face of such talk, Jun Han sided with Su Chen.
He sincerely hoped that Su Chen would teach his junior brothers and sisters a lesson.
He wanted them to see Su Chen's true strength.
Being injured by Su Chen's ambush was not embarrassing; it was normal!
At this moment, Sun Xuerong led the group from Wulan Manor to Jiang'an Town.
For Su Chen, this was his hometown, but one he could never return to.
"How did a martial artist from such a poor place gain such courage?"
"If you're also a doomed soul, then your courage is admirable, Fourth Senior Brother."
A group of disciples from Wulan Manor wandered around Jiang'an Town.
They had heard the news and knew that this place was Su Chen's hometown.
Seeing the scenery of Jiang'an Town, they couldn't help but comment.
"It's true, the worse your fate, the less you value your life.
This Su Chen probably felt hopeless and became a reckless fugitive."
"I hope Su Chen shows up this time. If he keeps hiding, it'll be troublesome.
After all, we're all doomed souls; isn't it tiring to keep living?"
The disciples of Wulan Manor weren't worried or afraid of Su Chen.
Instead, they felt annoyed by his presence.
Because of Su Chen, they often had to stick together when going out.
They had to stay vigilant and cautious at all times.
These top young disciples of Wulan Manor weren't afraid of Su Chen; they just found him bothersome.
After touring Jiang'an Town, the group gathered in a restaurant for dinner.
The entire restaurant was booked for them.
During the meal, Sun Xuerong brought up Su Chen to the other disciples of Wulan Manor.
She had never liked Su Chen.
Back at Yunyang Sect, due to her despicable actions, Su Chen left the sect.
The direct reason for his departure was Sun Xuerong.
"To some extent, Su Chen does have some abilities.
His talent isn't exceptional, and his comprehension is average.
But he's very lucky, and he does have some skill in dealing with demonic beings."
If the other elders of Yunyang Sect were here, they would be surprised to hear these words.
This was probably the first time Sun Xuerong acknowledged Su Chen's ability in dealing with demonic beings.
In the past, she had always denied his skills, even when Su Chen publicly admitted to being Chen Su.
After arriving at Wulan Manor, she seemed to no longer care about these matters.
What good is being skilled at dealing with demonic beings in Jin Kingdom? It's not important.
"If Su Chen had stayed in Zhou Kingdom, he probably wouldn't have been able to reach the Fifth Rank in this lifetime.
It's just that in Jin Kingdom, he happened to encounter many opportunities."
Sun Xuerong's evaluation made the other disciples nod in agreement.
"He's quite lucky. Before, I don't know what he relied on.
He even managed to connect with the Jade Ming Palace and during the Xuan Ying Conference, the Jade Ming Palace personally protected him."
When a disciple mentioned this, their second senior brother smiled.
"You don't know what he relied on, but I do.
He stole the secret refinement techniques for jade essence pills from the Strange Tower and Crystal Pavilion.
He offered these secrets to the Jade Ming Palace and even obtained the title of Honor Elder."
"Now you understand why he's being taken seriously, right?"
With these words, everyone around nodded in agreement, and the pieces fell into place.
"He's truly formidable. This person is indeed connected to thievery."
"He ambushed us, and he even stole techniques from the Strange Tower and Crystal Pavilion. He's truly skilled."
"I'll give him the title of 'Thief God'."
These words elicited laughter from the crowd.
In truth, their words were lighthearted, as if Wulan Manor was some grand and prestigious place.
But during the Xuan Ying Conference, Sang Moyuan and Jun Han had worked together to ambush Su Chen.
At the Mingying Battlefield, Sang Moyuan had directly ambushed Su Chen to snatch the treasure of Immortal Tranquil Wave.
One by one, they portrayed themselves as noble and virtuous.
It wasn't just them; Fan Chengyan's ambush and injury to others were even more common.
Many feared her, but she didn't care.
She would strike whenever she wanted, and ambushing was a regular occurrence.
During the conversation, Sun Xuerong waved her hand, indicating that they shouldn't underestimate Su Chen.
"During the Xuan Ying Conference, he performed quite well and showed some abilities.
Although I believe there was some luck involved, we should still be cautious."
Sun Xuerong, like an elder, seriously reminded the younger generation.
However, her words seemed to fall on deaf ears.
She was merely a newly arrived Transcendent Realm cultivator at Wulan Manor, and they were being polite by addressing her as Elder.
In reality, Sun Xuerong held no real power.
One's power and status are determined by the resources they can control.
When Sun Xuerong first arrived at Wulan Manor, what qualifications did she have to control resources?
It was normal for the younger generation to ignore her.
If she could handle this matter well and Fan Chengyan gave her a push, perhaps she would have some opportunities in Wulan Manor in the future.
No one responded to her, and for a moment, Sun Xuerong felt slightly embarrassed.
She glanced at the others nearby, looking for a way to save face.
Sitting not far away, Jun Han was directly chosen by Sun Xuerong.
"Jun Han, you're the disciple from Wulan Manor who fought Su Chen head-on.
You saw him during the Xuan Ying Conference too.
Tell everyone about his techniques and methods, so we can all be on guard.
If we have a chance to fight him, we'll have some confidence."
Sun Xuerong directed her words to Jun Han.
The logic was sound—knowing oneself and the enemy is the key to victory.
The more they understood Su Chen, the greater their chances of success.
Jun Han paused upon hearing this, about to speak, but as the senior brother, he wanted to remind everyone.
He could clearly sense that Su Chen's strength was not to be underestimated.
He wasn't someone they could handle casually.
But before Jun Han could finish his first sentence, the laughter of the second senior brother, Che Yanchang, filled the air.
"Elder Sun, please don't force our Jun Senior Brother to say these things.
Jun Senior Brother was injured by that Su Chen. How can he give an impartial evaluation?
If he says Su Chen is incompetent, isn't he insulting Jun Senior Brother's abilities?
And if he praises Su Chen, it's like he's making excuses for himself.
Let's forget about it and not put Jun Senior Brother in a difficult position."
Che Yanchang's words brought smiles to many faces in the crowd.
Such teasing had occurred several times in the manor.
Today, they were saying these things in front of so many people.
As the person involved, Jun Han's anger surged, reaching the top of his head.
But at this moment, he didn't even have the right to lash out.
As the one who brought up the topic, Sun Xuerong laughed along.
The awkwardness was shifted to Jun Han, so she didn't mind it.
"Jun Senior Brother, don't mind it. The junior brother was just joking."
Every time Che Yanchang teased Jun Han, he would add a similar remark.
If Jun Han were to get angry, he would seem petty.
Everything was due to Jun Han's current status being inferior to before.
Even in the future, he didn't see any potential for improvement.
Wulan Manor's evaluation of disciples directly affected the resources allocated to them.
With his previous slow progress and now a lowered evaluation, no one cared if he got angry.
In the past, who would dare to tease Jun Han like this?
The previous Jun Han had the ability to retaliate.
Suppressing his anger, Jun Han forced a smile.
"Actually, Elder Sun has already explained everything clearly.
"Be a little vigilant, and everything will be fine."
Jun Han kept his words brief and did not remind them further.
He appeared calm, but in fact, the hatred in his heart had reached an extreme intensity.
His peripheral vision glanced at his junior brothers and sisters, and his heart was filled with curses.
At this moment, he desperately wanted Su Chen to appear.
Then, he wanted to kill all his junior brothers and sisters, one by one.
If they weren't killed, he hoped they would be more severely injured than him!
The person Jun Han hated the most was no longer among the top ten on his list.
In fact, he no longer felt any hatred towards Su Chen.
Previously, when he assisted Sang Moyuan in attacking Su Chen, he felt it was justifiable revenge.
He found it normal and reasonable.
However, these junior brothers and sisters, he, as their senior brother, had never really harmed them.
Yet, at this moment, they were trying to get rid of him.
Su Chen had only injured people, but his junior brothers and sisters wanted to destroy his heart.
Moreover, Jun Han's current injuries were also directly related to Sang Moyuan.
But Sang Moyuan had been unaware of this matter for so long.
Without value, there was no point in remembering.
Anger and hatred filled his heart, and his appetite diminished significantly.
However, Jun Han knew his current state and understood the need to take care of his body.
Even with a poor appetite, he forced himself to eat more.
After the meal, some people continued wandering around Jiang'an City.
Jun Han, on the other hand, returned to his room in the inn and lay on the bed, carefully thinking and planning.
He considered how he could help Su Chen.
If he could talk to Su Chen, that would be even better.
As he thought, Jun Han even got up and wrote down the strengths and weaknesses of his junior brothers and sisters.
Looking at the content on the paper, he began to strategize.
He planned how he could pass this information to Su Chen.
The team from Wulan Mountain Villa was large, and wherever they went, they attracted attention and were not low-key.
The news had spread throughout the entire Zhou Kingdom.
The borders of the Zhou Kingdom were not that large.
With a slight increase in speed, Martial Practitioners could cross the entire country in about three days.
The small border area meant that news spread quickly, and almost all the major sects in the Great Zhou Kingdom had already received the news.
Yunyang Sect, the Great Zhou Court, and other major sects like Wanli Sect, Tianmu Assembly, and Blue Horse Mountain had all sent people to Heaven's Pivot City.
The last time Wulan Mountain Villa came, they had caused trouble with the Great Zhou Royal Family.
If they had succeeded then, it would have greatly impacted the other sects in the Great Zhou Kingdom.
This time, no matter what Wulan Mountain Villa proclaimed, the sects of the Great Zhou Kingdom would be extremely vigilant.
If Wulan Mountain Villa tried to manipulate the situation in the Zhou Kingdom again, the various sects of the Zhou Kingdom might genuinely reach out to the Chu Kingdom.
After a leisurely journey of about eight days, the team from Wulan Mountain Villa finally reached the outskirts of Heaven's Pivot City.
Meanwhile, people from other major sects had already arrived and were waiting in Heaven's Pivot City.
Yunyang Sect's Taiwu Zhenren, the Grand Elder, and Liu Xingwan had all arrived and were staying in the city.
At the same time, Su Chen had returned to the Zhou Kingdom and reached the capital.
As he approached the outskirts of the capital, Su Chen felt that the city had undergone significant changes.
Instead of immediately looking for his mother and younger sister, Su Chen decided to stay and chat with the locals.
Back in the Zhou Kingdom, Su Chen felt much more at ease.
Having lived in the Zhou Kingdom for many years, he shared similar customs and habits with the locals.
Communicating with the locals, he didn't stand out as odd or make any mistakes.
On the first floor of the restaurant, Su Chen observed the lively conversation of the people beside him.
He ordered two dishes and a pot of wine and joined them.
"Brothers, I haven't been to the capital for a while, and it seems like there have been some big changes.
The style of the city seems different from before."
Seeing Su Chen's generosity, they smiled and made space for him.
"Young brother, you look like a businessman.
If I'm not mistaken, it's been almost two years since you've been in the capital, right?"
"You're right, I've been busy with other businesses and haven't been back to the capital."
The people around him smiled and continued, no longer holding back.
"In the past two years, there haven't been any major disturbances in our Zhou Kingdom, but there have been significant changes behind the scenes.
The court has essentially changed hands."
(End of Chapter)
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