Chapter 246: Impotent Rage

Silence.

The sky and ground sank into utter stillness.

All eyes fixed on the collapsed courtyard wall's rubble, watching Chu Xiaotian struggle to push away the debris and stagger to his feet.

His clothes were torn, blood streaked his lips, his face was pale, and his grip on the spear trembled slightly—he was clearly badly injured, utterly devoid of his former arrogance.

At that moment, everyone widened their eyes, their faces filled with shock and dread.

Though Chen Mu's "last-moment breakthrough" to Eighth Stage Innate during battle was astonishing, compared to the fact that he had directly defeated Chu Xiaotian, ranked ninth on the Dragon's Ascent List, that astonishment paled into insignificance!

Chu Xiaotian, ninth on the Dragon's Ascent List! The name "Astonishing Spear" was no empty boast.

What did it mean that Chen Mu had defeated him?

It meant Chen Mu's true combat power was sufficient to replace Chu Xiaotian, securing a top-ten spot on the Dragon's Ascent List, at ninth place!

"Ninth on the Dragon's Ascent!"

"My god! Inspector Chen defeated Chu Xiaotian!"

"How old is he? Seventeen and already in the Dragon's Ascent top ten?!"

"Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!"

"We are witnesses! We witnessed the birth of a Dragon's Ascent top-ten prodigy!"

…

After a brief silence, the long street erupted like boiling water, instantly bursting into chaos.

Shouts of shock, exclamations, envy, and triumphant roars intertwined, a wave of sound rising to the heavens, nearly lifting the roofs around them.

Every face was alight with excitement and disbelief.

Su Donglai, standing on a nearby rooftop, watched Chen Mu descend slowly through the air, his breath steady, and a deep, unusual glint flashed in his eyes.

With his keen eyesight, he could faintly sense that Chen Mu had not used his full strength—at least some hidden cards remained unplayed.

To defeat Chu Xiaotian, Su Donglai might manage it with all his might, but he would surely pay a heavy price—he could never appear as effortless as Chen Mu had.

"I heard Chen Mu was born commoner? He only joined the Garrison Office midway."

As Su Donglai thought of this, he silently sighed; the faint competitive spirit he'd harbored vanished completely, replaced only by admiration.

Yu Shoujiang and the other Garrison Office guards beamed with flushed faces, their excitement overflowing, bursting into loud, joyous laughter.

"My lord is mighty!"

"Hahaha! Who dares look down on our Zhenzhou Garrison Office now?!"

"…."

A crowd surrounded Chen Mu as he landed, and amid looks of awe and amazement, they marched proudly away from the street.

Though Chen Mu had left, the Hero Pavilion and the entire state capital boiled with excitement over the outcome of his battle with Chu Xiaotian.

The news spread like wings, racing at astonishing speed to every corner of the city.

…

Jing'an Wang Fu.

These past days, Third Young Master Wu Youting, who had been elated and invigorated by Prince Jing'an's hints of naming him heir, now wore an iron-gray, utterly grim expression.

His knuckles whitened from clenching his fists.

Chen Mu!

Again, Chen Mu!

Damn Chen Mu—he had publicly defeated Chu Xiaotian, ranked ninth on the Dragon's Ascent List!

Wu Youting had long resented Chen Mu: the man was his age, yet already a famed prodigy across the land, while Wu Youting remained trapped in Post-Natural, with no hope of reaching Innate.

Wu Youting had once hoped that once he became the "Jing'an Wang Shizi," he could use the Wang Fu's power to overshadow Chen Mu and reclaim some dignity.

But now, Chen Mu had defeated Chu Xiaotian—this meant Chen Mu had already secured a top-ten spot on the Dragon's Ascent List!

A seventeen-year-old Dragon's Ascent top-ten carried far greater weight, far greater future potential, and attracted far more attention from the imperial court and all factions than a powerless "Jing'an Wang Shizi" who owed everything to ancestral privilege!

Thinking of this, Wu Youting felt a searing rage surge straight to his skull, beyond control.

"Boom!"

"Crash~"

Wu Youting screamed, swinging his arms and kicking his legs, overturning and smashing vases, flowerpots, tables, and chairs, roaring in fury, leaving the surrounding servants frozen in terror, not daring to approach even a step.

This outburst of impotent rage quickly spread through the Wang Fu.

The First Young Master, Wu Youqing, happened to be in the mansion.

Hearing the news, Wu Youqing sneered dismissively, "Worthless! Besides smashing things, what else can he do?"

His words dripped with contempt for Wu Youting.

Yet, despite the contempt, Wu Youqing too felt astonishment and a trace of wariness at the news of Chen Mu defeating Chu Xiaotian.

A seventeen-year-old Dragon's Ascent top-ten—such talent and power were truly terrifying.

At that moment, one of Wu Youqing's trusted subordinates slipped from a corner like a shadow, approaching him and whispering via qi transmission.

"First Young Master, we just received secret intelligence: something happened in Baizhu Prefecture. The array beneath the valley has been discovered!"

"What?!"

Wu Youqing's sneer froze, replaced by shock.

For some reason, the first image that flashed in his mind was Chen Mu.

It wasn't that Wu Youqing believed Chen Mu himself had discovered the array—but that Chen Mu, at this precise moment, had arrived in Zhenzhou as Inspector with such conspicuous fanfare…

Now, in Wu Youqing's eyes, Chen Mu's flamboyant conduct carried an entirely different implication.

Deliberately drawing everyone's attention!

As the eldest son of Prince Jing'an, Wu Youqing, though not as calculating as Wu Jianqing, knew some of the Wang Fu's core secrets—secrets he had painstakingly uncovered.

Prince Jing'an hid it deeply, without telling his three sons.

Wu Youqing knew very well that his father, Prince Jing'an, had long been secretly engaged in a forbidden act—

Artificially refining "Blood Locust Stones"!

He even knew that his father deliberately used the "Heir Apparent's Position" as bait to incite conflict among his three brothers, creating killings to collect essence blood.

This point, his second brother seemed to have sensed it; only that fool of a third brother, Wu Youting, remained completely in the dark.

Artificially refining "Blood Locust Stones" is a grave taboo explicitly forbidden by the imperial court!

Wu Youqing had long anticipated that the imperial court would never sit idly by—it would surely send investigators, though he did not know the exact timing.

At this moment, news arrived that the valley's array had been exposed; Wu Youqing's alarm bells rang instantly.

The imperial court's people have arrived!

And they are not just one!

Chen Mu is one of them, but he is placed openly to draw everyone's attention.

In the shadows, even more formidable figures are moving!

"Brilliant—feigning repairs on a plank road while secretly advancing through Chen Cang!"

Wu Youqing's eyes shifted rapidly; he made his decision.

He transmitted qi to whisper an order to his trusted aide.

"Go deliver a letter to Chen Mu! You handle it personally—you must watch with your own eyes until the letter is in Chen Mu's hands!"

"Yes!" The aide replied respectfully, asking no further questions.

Huh~

Wu Youqing exhaled, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.

'Father, for the sake of our lineage's survival, don't blame me…'