Chapter 89: Breaking Into the Su Family

The letter was sent by Lin Laotou through someone.

The envelope was dusted with windblown sand, its corners crumpled.

He tore it open—three lines of writing. Chen Xiaohu read it twice, folded it neatly and tucked it into his chest, then picked up the big azure-blue blade leaning against the wall and went out the door.

The mountain gate of Lingxi Shan was built grand and imposing.

Green stone steps stretched into the clouds and mist; on the archway, large gilded characters read "Lingxi Su Family."

Two Su Family disciples leaned against a stone beast; one was still cracking sunflower seeds, shells scattered all over the ground.

Spotting Chen Xiaohu coming up the mountain, the seed-cracker lifted an eyelid and glanced him over.

"What do you want?"

"Looking for someone."

"Who?"

"Su Lingwei."

The hand cracking seeds stopped; the two exchanged a glance.

The one who had spoken earlier slowly straightened up, brushed the seed husks from his hands, and stretched one palm forward.

"Su Family rules—outsiders entering the mountain—"

He didn't finish.

Chen Xiaohu walked past him with a blank expression.

That man's face stiffened; he raised his hand and struck out with a palm.

"Bastard! You dare ignore me!"

This palm strike channeled Spirit Power, with no intention of holding back in the slightest.

Without turning his head, Chen Xiaohu caught his wrist with a backhand, and swept him aside.

"Boom—!"

This Su Family disciple slammed into the base of the stone beast, slid down, and collapsed on the ground unconscious.

Sunflower seed shells scattered across the floor.

The other man's face filled with shock. He immediately realized he was no match for the person before him, and hurriedly turned to run toward the grand residence inside the mountain, calling back over his shoulder:

"You dare break into my Su Family—you're as good as dead!"

"Just you wait!"

Chen Xiaohu paid him no heed, letting him go report back, then walked step by step along the stairs toward the interior of the mountain.

A moment later, the sound of a bell rang out from the mountaintop—not one to welcome guests, but a warning.

"Dong—!"

"Dong—!!"

As he pressed deeper into the mountain, the Su Family's courtyard walls emerged from the clouds and mist.

A row of people stood beneath the plaque above the main gate.

The one at the front was a middle-aged man, hands clasped behind his back, his gaze passing over Chen Xiaohu to look down the mountain, brows knit—he seemed unable to believe that this kid, alone, would dare break into his Su Family.

Had he eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard?

Chen Xiaohu stopped before the courtyard gate, his gaze calm.

"My friend has been bound by your Su Family. I've come to take her away. Hand over Su Lingwei."

The middle-aged man did not speak at once.

His gaze finally settled on Chen Xiaohu's face. After studying him closely, he furrowed his brow and asked:

"Just you alone?"

Chen Xiaohu did not answer that question, and said coldly:

"Hand her over, and I'll leave immediately."

"Otherwise…"

He pulled his blade up from the ground, the tip pointing at that row of people, not a trace of fear on his face.

"Today, this Su Family—I'm breaking in whether you like it or not!"

A sneer curled at the corner of the middle-aged man's mouth. He couldn't understand where this fellow, merely at Spirit Sea Realm, got such boldness from. He immediately turned and waved his hand at the people beside him.

"Take care of him quickly. Beat him half to death and throw him out."

"Yes!"

Having said that, the middle-aged man turned and walked toward the interior of the residence.

The captain and vice-captain of the guard were both at Spirit Sea Realm, plus over a dozen Spirit Guidance Realm Martial Artists—dealing with one Spirit Sea Realm Martial Artist should be a cinch.

But before he had walked far, one figure after another flew past from behind and crashed to the ground ahead of him.

One after another, Su Family guard disciples lay sprawled on the ground with bruised and swollen faces; among them were the two Spirit Sea Realm captain and vice-captain, though they were in even worse shape—their arms and legs already twisted.

"S-Steward, something's off about this guy! His strength is freakishly great!"

"We couldn't even take one punch from him. He must be hiding his true strength. Oww, my leg…"

The middle-aged man's surname was Zhou. He had been with the Su Family for thirty years; though of a different surname, his standing within the Su Family was by no means low.

He turned to look at Chen Xiaohu, completely unharmed, and his gaze finally grew solemn.

To be able to instantly kill two Martial Artists of the same realm in the span of a moment—such strength could never belong to some unknown nobody. Only the Four Great Academies could produce a monster like this. But…so what!

The era of the Four Great Academies had already passed. Now was the era of ancient clans like theirs!

"Arrogant junior may have some skill, but the Su Family is not something you can break into just because you wish to."

Steward Zhou drew out a blood-red great blade. The aura of Spirit Sea Peak erupted from him. Without the slightest pause, he launched straight into an A-grade Wuji, the frenzied blade-edge cleaving straight down toward Chen Xiaohu's face.

But Chen Xiaohu had no intention of dodging.

That blade landed solidly on his head, yet there was no gory scene as imagined — instead came a clash of metal on metal.

"Clang—!"

The edge stopped at the surface of his skin; no matter how hard he pressed, it could not advance a single inch.

Just as Steward Zhou was reeling in shock, Chen Xiaohu's fist slammed violently into his abdomen, blasting Steward Zhou flying out, crashing into the Su Family compound, smashing through over a dozen walls in succession before finally coming to a rough halt.

The Su Family guard disciples lying on the ground wore looks of terror.

What terrifying monstrous strength — Steward Zhou was at Spirit Sea Peak, someone who could exchange dozens of moves with even the outstanding prodigies of the main family; out in the world, he would be a bona fide expert.

Yet now, he had been taken down in a single strike.

Such a huge commotion quickly shook the entire Su Family. Several dozen auras no weaker than Spirit Sea Peak rose from deep within the compound, hurrying toward this spot, surrounding Chen Xiaohu completely.

An elder with a child's face and white hair stepped through the air, frowning as he stared down at the silent young man below.

He had already learned the whole story from the juniors around him, so he did not make a move right away.

"Junior, you came for that girl Su Lingwei. I want to know — is this an order from the Zhenling Bureau, or your own doing?"

Chen Xiaohu raised his greatsword and pointed it at the elder: "I didn't come here today to waste words with you. Either you release her today, or I die here. Being able to drag your entire Su Family down with me, my life would be worth it."

The moment those words left his mouth, someone immediately could not stand hearing it and roared angrily:

"What outrageous nerve! Who do you think you are, daring to say you'll drag my entire Su Family down with you? Do you really think it's still like it used to be!"

"Third Elder, just make a move! Stop wasting words on this kid."

There were also students from Zhenling Academy within the Su Family.

A young man recognized Chen Xiaohu's identity and hurriedly whispered into another clan elder's ear.

The two clan elders exchanged a glance, their brows furrowing deeply.

Killing this kid would be as easy as turning over a hand — but the consequences…

In this cohort of Zhenling Academy, apart from that mysteriously vanished Jiang Qin, there were only two remaining prodigy seeds left. And now one of them had already been placed under house arrest by his Su Family and was half-crippled; even if questioned, they could fob it off as Su Family internal affairs.

But if they crippled this last prodigy seed as well, it would be tantamount to a full-scale declaration of war against the Zhenling Bureau and Zhenling Academy.

In such troubled times, no matter how dire the situation on the Frontier, the higher-ups would certainly spare the effort to wipe out the Su Family and warn the petty rabble.

Now was not yet the time to tear off all pretense.

"Someone, go bring Su Lingwei out."

"But Elder, this…"

"Go now!"

"…Yes!"

One of the middle-aged men who knew the inside story turned around with difficulty and ran toward the depths of the compound.

Not long after.

He dragged out a person covered in wounds.

When Chen Xiaohu saw Su Lingwei's current state, fury burst forth in his eyes…