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Chapter 522: The Manor Lord's Speculations
Chapter 522: The Manor Lord's Speculations
December 16, 2024
Within the side chamber of Wulan Manor, Fan Chengyan was left speechless by the continuous accusations.
Initially, she had expected to compete with others upon her arrival.
But the series of interrogations left her at a loss for words.
The entire Wulan Manor was significantly impacted by this incident, and to make matters worse, they gained almost no advantage from it.
Fan Chengyan, usually assertive, found herself without a rebuttal on this day.
Especially when the issue of the manor's reputation was brought up.
As one of the elders of Wulan Manor, she naturally understood the importance of reputation.
She was a person who valued fame and cared about her image.
She could empathize with this even more.
Even the assertive Fan Chengyan chose to admit her mistake regarding this matter.
In the side chamber, several core elders took turns expressing their thoughts.
They listed the potential consequences of this incident one by one.
Fan Chengyan, deep in thought, did not offer any arguments in response.
Instead, she displayed a somewhat apologetic attitude.
The sudden change in attitude from someone usually so dominant caught the crowd off guard.
The anger they felt inside seemed to dissipate at that moment.
Before coming, everyone had prepared for a heated argument with Fan Chengyan.
Her behavior naturally made the crowd feel much more at ease.
In the side chamber, the manor lord, Hao Yuan, seemed to have calmed down as well.
Fan Chengyan didn't need to explain much; she didn't argue with them.
The core members of Wulan Manor were satisfied with her admission of fault.
That's how the world works; when a powerful person puts down their weapon, it's considered a great act of goodness.
Even a hint of an evil thought from a good person is considered wicked.
The other elders around had basically said all they wanted to say.
Their anger subsided, and they had vented all their complaints and grievances.
Next, it was time for Manor Lord Hao Yuan to provide a summary.
"Since the incident has already occurred, complaining and blaming each other doesn't hold much meaning.
You are the pillars of the manor.
It is because of your unity and dedication that Wulan Manor has achieved its current success."
Manor Lord Hao Yuan set the tone by asking everyone to refrain from arguing.
He scanned the room, ensuring no one had opposing views, before formally addressing the matter.
"For some time now, I've been pondering a question.
What exactly is this Su Chen up to? When I heard he was going to accept the challenge, I became even more perplexed, unable to understand his motives.
Could it be that Su Chen is willing to take on the risk and accept our challenge just for the conditions we've offered?"
The elders surrounding him listened intently.
They had expected Manor Lord Hao Yuan to directly discuss countermeasures, but to their surprise, he brought up the topic of Su Chen.
Although unexpected, these elders were indeed curious about this as well.
From the start, they couldn't understand why Su Chen dared to accept the challenge.
At that time, the person Fan Chengyan sent clearly didn't put enough pressure on Su Chen.
When facing the crowd from Wulan Manor, Tian Gang City showed no signs of retreat, and they didn't feel overly threatened.
Hao Yuan paused for a moment before sharing his judgment.
"The moment I heard the result of the duel, I finally understood.
All of this was deliberately orchestrated by the young man, Su Chen.
We issued the challenge, and he accepted.
As long as he wins, it's a disaster for us.
Not to mention that we didn't keep our promise in the end.
Even if we had, it would still have a significant impact on Wulan Manor.
Look at our disciples in the manor.
Due to Su Chen's performance, they have been greatly constrained.
This is precisely what he aimed to achieve.
It's his revenge on us; he wants Wulan Manor to be cautious from now on.
Our younger generation will leave the manor with fear and anxiety."
Upon hearing these words, the crowd's expressions turned solemn.
The elders had never considered the situation from Su Chen's perspective.
Their hearts had always held a sense of disdain for him.
And this disdain was deeply rooted.
After hearing their manor lord's words, they reevaluated the situation.
Initially, they believed that the circumstances caused by Su Chen were accidental.
It was an unforeseen, unfortunate situation.
But if Hao Yuan's words were true, then everything was part of Su Chen's plan.
It was all calculated.
"Manor Lord, do you mean
that our challenge played right into his hands?"
In response to Elder Dong's question, Hao Yuan nodded.
"Without this challenge, this young man named Su Chen would have continued to seek other means to strike at us.
Elder Fan's unease was something Su Chen intended to return in full.
Let's also experience that sense of fear and worry.
And his plans had indeed achieved the desired effect; Wulan Manor was genuinely starting to worry.
Being manipulated by a young junior like this, for the entire Wulan Manor, was not only a matter of concern and worry but also a loss of face.
Immediately, Manor Master Hao Yuan made some arrangements in response.
In the following period, the Transcendent Powerhouses of the Manor would likely face increased hardships.
They would need to step forward, and many of the disciples' travels would require their protection.
However, Wulan Manor currently lacked effective means to deal with Su Chen.
Hao Yuan's arrangements were more about restoring the Manor's reputation and prestige.
It wasn't about how to handle Su Chen.
Regarding the solution for Su Chen, although Hao Yuan didn't explicitly state it, his intention was still quite clear.
He wanted Fan Chengyan to handle it herself.
Upon hearing these arrangements, Fan Chengyan didn't reject or shirk her responsibilities.
She directly took on all the various issues she was currently facing.
At the same time, Su Chen had already settled down in a small city of Jin State.
Originally, he came to this place to receive letters.
Zhu Ming Palace would periodically send him messages and intelligence.
But after arriving here, Su Chen didn't find the expected letters.
It seemed that Zhu Ming Palace's attitude towards him was becoming increasingly cold.
At first, they maintained a monthly letter.
Then, it changed to one letter every two months.
Now, after more than two months, not a single letter had been sent.
Zhu Ming Palace seemed to have become quite unreliable.
Since he was no longer a favored person among the higher-ups of Zhu Ming Palace, those below would act insincerely.
It was highly unlikely that the elders of Zhu Ming Palace were specifically targeting him.
But once a sect became too large, various processes would become bloated.
This was a typical problem of large sects.
For those not in charge of the sect, many matters would experience delays and procrastination.
Without receiving any news or intelligence, Su Chen prepared to stay temporarily in this place.
He wanted to see if Zhu Ming Palace would send him any messages.
If not, he would go to the Array Alliance's headquarters to see if he could gain any insights.
After purchasing a small courtyard from a local family, Su Chen moved in.
With some free time recently, Su Chen reevaluated his Martial Dao strength.
After stepping into the Fifth Stage Realm, each step of improvement became increasingly slow.
Advancements in the Fifth Stage Realm naturally led to fewer strength increases.
With less strength improvement and a challenging realm advancement, many people would become lazy and stagnant at the Fifth Stage.
Lacking positive feedback, even warriors would lack motivation.
This was when a warrior's perseverance was truly tested.
Those with insufficient perseverance during this time would become extremely lazy.
Due to this laziness, their strength improvement would further slow down.
Many young warriors were trapped at the Fifth Stage for over a decade, or even several decades.
Su Chen had a special plan in mind.
That day, the celestial demon I encountered was of average intelligence.
More so, it wanted to solve things with brute force.
With the help of the Chaos Sphere, the influence of the turbulent flow was already very apparent.
Yet, this celestial demon still failed to react in a timely and correct manner.
Su Chen was clear that he couldn't underestimate them all because of this one celestial demon's performance.
Many celestial demons were still very cunning.
Furthermore, there should also be differences in the strength levels of celestial demons.
But at present, whether it was the Jin State or Da Zhou, their understanding of celestial demons was not thorough enough.
There was still no clear classification of the strength levels of celestial demons.
Within the Sea of Consciousness, Su Chen's clashes with the celestial demon continued.
Although this celestial demon's strength was not considered powerful, it was still a celestial demon.
Through their clash, Su Chen at least confirmed one thing.
That is, with the help of the Chaos Sphere, his current strength could now contend with celestial demons.
To some extent, he also had the ability to contend with Profound Realm beginners.
But when facing Transcendent Powerhouses, he still needed to be more vigilant.
There was still a difference between humans and celestial demons.
After experiencing those turbulent flows, these Transcendent Powerhouses would immediately react and realize it was the effect of some kind of treasure.
Thus, they would start thinking of ways to counter it.
To truly resolve the troubles caused by Transcendent Powerhouses, one's own strength was always the top priority.
But in any case, with the help of the Chaos Sphere,
Su Chen had some ability to deal with those more formidable experts.
Within the Sea of Consciousness, Su Chen continued to clash with the celestial demon.
Without the assistance of formations and the restraint of the Chaos Sphere, he was torn apart time and again.
A Fifth Stage Warrior had almost no chance of matching a celestial demon.
Relying on the Serpent Ensnarement Technique and Cloud Walking Steps, he could only slightly delay the inevitable.
When he came back to his senses, the sky had already completely darkened.
The training within the Sea of Consciousness was also very exhausting.
The consumption of spiritual power was often faster than physical fatigue.
After eating some food, Su Chen did not choose to cultivate.
Instead, he struck while the iron was hot and manifested Liu Siyun's figure and appearance within the Sea of Consciousness.
Compared to Liu Siyun's strength, Su Chen had already surpassed her.
Her defeat in the previous duel also indicated this result.
But Su Chen had some ideas about her techniques and body maneuvers.
In the eyes of onlookers, Liu Siyun's sword techniques and body maneuvers seemed to be seamlessly integrated.
She was one of the young generation who excelled in these aspects.
However, in Su Chen's eyes, she was still far from perfection.
There was too much pattern and predictability in her body maneuvers and sword techniques.
If her opponents were fearful and evasive,
These patterned maneuvers and techniques would indeed make it easy for her to gain the upper hand.
Her sword techniques, aided by her body maneuvers, were sharp and unpredictable.
Her body maneuvers, protected by her sword techniques, became even more swift and mystical.
What Su Chen valued was not the routines and techniques Liu Siyun displayed,
But rather the concept of integrating her sword techniques and body maneuvers.
If this concept were to be described more profoundly, it would be called Intention.
As the heart intended, so would the techniques manifest.
The core of Su Chen's previous techniques and routines was rooted in the interplay of reality and illusion.
This was the most profound and deeply understood Intention that Su Chen had grasped.
His blade was sharp, yet it held the interplay of reality and illusion.
It could reach the heavens in length and touch the earth in its brevity.
Silver light penetrated through the fusion of reality and illusion.
And now, Su Chen was attempting to grasp a new Intention.
This comprehension might not manifest directly in his realm,
But in actual combat, it greatly enhanced his strength.
Besides this newfound comprehension, there was further improvement.
Liu Siyun's understanding of this Intention was too shallow.
As soon as Su Chen gained a glimpse of insight, he saw through her flaws.
The integration of techniques and maneuvers should never be this patterned.
Even more so, it should not be so patterned that during a clash, it could be seen through at a glance.
Such integration would become a burden, a useless burden.
Within the Sea of Consciousness, Su Chen clashed with Liu Siyun's phantom once more.
Their blades clashed again.
And this time, Su Chen fully integrated his body maneuvers and blade techniques.
He made his techniques exhibit a state of unified advance and retreat.
As he practiced, he reaped some benefits.
But the more he delved into it, the more patterned it became.
He started to align with Liu Siyun's techniques and routines.
In fact, even if he forced the integration of his body maneuvers and techniques to be rigid and patterned,
He could still sense its profound and mystical qualities.
No wonder Liu Siyun's strength still held a significant advantage over other young cultivators.
(End of Chapter)
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