[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s":3,"chapter-immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-16":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Immortal Through Martial Path, I Who Cannot Die Shall Ultimately Be Invincible",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2325234,4549,"Chapter 16: Master Su","immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-16",16,"\u003Cp>After returning home, Chen Guanlou practiced swordplay for half an hour, then spent another hour practicing the Heaven Zen Divine Art.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Immortal Dao Fruit mitigated the physical damage from cultivating internal martial arts, but the pain of the practice itself could not be erased—he had to endure it completely. The sensation was beyond words. Who in their right mind would willingly endure such torment without extraordinary willpower?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He dreamed every night of possessing a Martial Vein.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d heard that those with a Martial Vein cultivated internal martial arts as naturally as water flowing down a channel, effortlessly smooth. He couldn’t imagine what that felt like—only envy, pure and unadulterated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes he comforted himself by thinking Heaven had opened one door for him but slammed a window shut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he finished practicing, his entire body was soaked as if pulled from water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stripped naked and washed himself directly with well water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was the only one in the house, and no tall buildings surrounded him—he had no fear of being seen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only consolation was the rapid progress of the Heaven Zen Divine Art—he had already successfully reached the third level. Combined with the swordplay technique gifted by the head steward, even ordinary sword forms now crackled with power in his hands, capable of splitting tree trunks with a single slash. He didn’t know how many moves he could withstand against a Rank One martial artist, or what his odds of victory might be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was truly curious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe someday he’d have to find someone to spar with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What tormented him most was the Ascension Scroll—and especially the final pages of its sword manual. He coveted them desperately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was infuriating. He was a graduate of a second-tier college, consistently ranking in the top five percent of his major, yet in this life he’d become semi-literate. He’d studied for years, could read and write, could handle official documents at the yamen—but he couldn’t understand the Ascension Scroll! Where could he even complain?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He must find a way to crack the Ascension Scroll as soon as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xiaolan’s father-in-law, Su Dacheng, had a cousin who ran a private school, known as Master Su.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his youth, Master Su had been renowned for his talent, a celebrated prodigy in the region. He passed the scholar examination at a young age and possessed a Martial Vein, determined to enter the Jixia Academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Master Su seemed destined for greatness and his family for wealth, disaster struck. His Martial Vein was destroyed; the Jixia Academy became an impossible dream, his future shattered overnight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since then, Master Su had sunk into decay, grown cynical, content to be a waste rather than lift a finger to improve. Over ten or twenty years, he had turned a brilliant young talent into a middle-aged, greasy failure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after his parents died and the household lost all means of income—when starvation loomed and he faced death unless he rose again—did he finally accept the suffering fate had dealt him. He stepped outside, opened a private school with relatives’ support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though his reputation was ruined, his scholarly fame still circulated among neighbors. Seeing his redemption, they trusted him and sent their children to be taught.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus the school took root, earning enough to feed and sustain his family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The matchmaker seized the chance and introduced him to a pretty widow with two stepchildren.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Su readily accepted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his career and family established, the widow bore him two children. Together with the two stepchildren, his household now had four kids—life seemed lively and prosperous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Near noon, Chen Guanlou arrived at Master Su’s house carrying a five-pound piece of pork belly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mistress Su was under forty, and thanks to good care, she looked younger than her age—undoubtedly beautiful. In his prime, Master Su could have married a virgin maiden; countless poor rural families would have gladly given up a girl for a modest bride price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Su chose Mistress Su precisely because of her beautiful face and supple figure. He could afford to raise the two stepchildren.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any era, beauty and handsomeness were scarce resources.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You came, you came—no need to be so generous,” Mistress Su muttered, but her hands moved swiftly. She snatched the pork belly, weighed it, and knew at once it weighed at least five catties. She nodded in satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forgive me for troubling you, Mistress. I came to pay respects to Master Su—I couldn’t show up empty-handed.” Chen Guanlou smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No need to apologize. Master Su is in the study—go on in. I’ll cook two dishes for wine; you two can eat and talk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Meat! We’re having meat!” Master Su’s youngest son shouted with delight at the sight of meat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mistress Su scowled at her son’s rudeness and scolded him in front of Chen Guanlou: “You shallow little brat—do I ever starve you? Get out, get out, don’t interfere with your mother’s work.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou: …\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pretty woman’s beauty instantly halved because of that mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou found Master Su in the study.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Su’s private school clearly thrived; his life was comfortable. His desk was made of rosewood, its patina indicating it was an old piece.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he lived with his elder sister Chen Xiaolan in the Su household, he had studied here for two years. Master Su was his true teacher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was only natural for a student to seek guidance from his teacher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou had memorized the entire Ascension Scroll. He scrambled the order and randomly selected four characters to ask Master Su about.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Su was delighted that Chen Guanlou still cared for learning. He answered thoroughly, explaining the origins of each character.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou took notes with his brush—memory fades, but writing endures. He planned to visit a bookstore after returning home and buy the reference books Master Su mentioned, studying them in his spare time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard you took over your father’s post and joined the Tianlaomiao. I thought you’d abandoned scholarship for a lowly trade. Now that you’ve come to seek knowledge, I’m pleased. Learning has no bounds—you still study despite being in the prison, that’s commendable. When the chance arises, you must escape that pit as soon as possible. Don’t waste your life.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you for your teaching, Master. You know my family’s situation—I need to eat. The Tianlaomiao suits me fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You—you should have studied harder back then. You might have passed the imperial exams. If you needed money, you could have joined a merchant guild. No need to go to the Tianlaomiao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou smiled: “In the eyes of the world, working for a merchant guild is also a lowly trade. Both are lowly, but the Tianlaomiao has fewer complications, less social entanglement. Relatively speaking, the Tianlaomiao is better.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You…” Master Su was furious. Though both were lowly trades, merchant guild work was clearly more respectable. Tianlaomiao jailers were despised creatures—only able to bully inside the prison, earn a few coins, and behind their backs, be cursed as men who’d bring ruin to their lineage. Merchant money was at least clean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Master Su’s anger, Chen Guanlou quickly soothed him: “I know you care for me. But I’m already in the Tianlaomiao. One day as a jailer, I’ll serve one day well. As for the future—that’s for the future to decide.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmph!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Su remained displeased, continuing his sermon—even at dinner, he kept lecturing, desperate to scrub Chen Guanlou’s mind clean and force his own worldview into it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou didn’t care. His purpose for visiting had been achieved, and he’d laid the groundwork for future lessons. He ate well, drank well, grunted in agreement, wiped his mouth, and left without delay.\u003C\u002Fp>",1283,"2026-06-20T17:39:56.967Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","a56f5f414d5ab5f7aebcb664845cf9a8e210dfbcd5cb2a6c38004e68288d4291","immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-17","immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-15",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fimmortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-cover.jpg"]