Chapter 34: Blood Debts Must Be Paid in Blood

Emerging from the study, Su Xin felt a heavy weight pressing upon his heart.

He did not know exactly what had happened to his father, but the visible changes in his father’s appearance were enough to tell him that his condition was far from good. Then, he recalled the power his father had unleashed the previous night—wiping out so many Void-Breaking realm experts single-handedly, and doing so in an instant. Such terrifying strength had already surpassed the boundaries of the Void-Breaking realm.

Yet, if his father could unleash such formidable power at any moment, why had he tolerated the Pang family for so long? And the same went for Zhao Tianlei. His father could have easily killed him with a flick of his wrist, yet he never made a move. All of this made Su Xin realize that his father was hiding a deep secret—a secret his father was not yet willing to share with him.

"Does he want me to wait until I can trample the entire Situ family under my feet before he is willing to tell me?" Su Xin’s gaze narrowed.

The Situ family was a top-tier noble house of the Tianyan Dynasty, backed by an ancestor in the Nirvana realm. For an ordinary person to trample the entire Situ family underfoot by their own strength would be nothing short of a pipe dream. But for Su Xin, who had awakened the Supreme Bloodline, the possibilities were infinite. As long as he was given time, a mere Situ family was nothing.

"Father, I will meet your requirements soon." Su Xin clenched his fists, silently resolving himself.

...

Inside the Su family mansion, the atmosphere was oppressive. Although the assault from the previous night had been repelled, the losses suffered by the Su family were immense. Too many people had died.

"Young Master!"
"Young Master!"

Su Xin arrived at the largest training ground in the Su estate. A large number of clansmen were gathered there, and on the ground lay rows of cold corpses covered in white sheets. At a glance, there were at least a hundred of them.

"Su Xin, you’re here." Su Baihu, standing nearby, looked over.

"Second Uncle." Su Xin stepped forward to pay his respects, but his expression suddenly changed. He noticed that not only was Su Baihu’s face deathly pale, but at such close range, he could not sense even a shred of spiritual power emanating from him. Ordinarily, unless one was a top-tier expert capable of completely concealing their spiritual aura, it would be impossible to have zero fluctuations at such close range—and his Second Uncle was still far from that level.

"Second Uncle, what happened to you..." Su Xin began to ask.

Su Baihu waved his hand, saying, "In the battle last night, my dantian was destroyed."

"Your dantian was destroyed?" Su Xin was shocked. A destroyed dantian meant the loss of all cultivation; from this day forward, he would be a "cripple."

"Although I lost my cultivation, I can still move around," Su Baihu sighed. "But the Second Elder—both his legs were severed. From now on, even walking will be a struggle."

"The Second Elder’s legs were severed?" Su Xin’s heart trembled. The Second Elder, a man of rugged character who treated the family’s honor as everything and always charged to the front lines—he had lost his legs?

"Actually, both of us are lucky; at least we are still alive. But these clansmen lying before us will never wake up again," Su Baihu said with grief.

Su Xin clenched his fists. Just then, his gaze shifted to a figure kneeling before a corpse, weeping bitterly.

"Sister Ning!"

Su Xin stepped forward and patted Su Yuning’s shoulder, then crouched down to pull back the white sheet covering the corpse.

"Su Qinghong?" Su Xin’s hands trembled inexplicably, and he shook his head slowly.

Su Qinghong was the most outstanding genius of the younger generation in the Su family, second only to Su Xin. During the battle for the Sword Token, before Su Xin had truly revealed his strength, Su Qinghong had been the hope of the entire Su family. After Su Xin killed Zhao Ling, reclaimed the Su family Sword Token, and restored his reputation, Su Qinghong would often come to the training grounds to spar with him. They had a very good relationship.

And now, Su Qinghong was dead?

According to the clansmen nearby, Su Qinghong had sacrificed his life to save Su Yuning and several other young clansmen, single-handedly obstructing two experts from the Pang family at the early stage of the Sea-Transformation realm. One had to remember that Su Qinghong had not even reached the Sea-Transformation realm yet; how could he possibly hold off two such experts? By the time reinforcements arrived, Su Qinghong had already been killed, but his final strike had severely wounded one of the Pang family experts, leading to both of them being finished off by the Su family masters.

Su Xin wandered among the corpses, pulling back sheet after sheet, recognizing many familiar faces. There were elders of the Su family, loyal retainers, and younger clansmen who often came to the training grounds for his guidance. Su Xin’s heart was filled with grief. But beyond the grief, there was something more—fury!

"The Pang family! No, it should be the Situ family!"

Su Xin’s hands tightened. He knew clearly that the Pang family was merely a pawn, and the true mastermind controlling everything from the shadows was the Situ family. They had oppressed and pushed the Su family to such a miserable state. Last night, they had sent a large group of experts to storm the estate, intending to wipe out the entire clan. The number of lives lost was a blood debt, and blood debts must be paid in blood!

...

"Young Master!" A servant rushed over. "The Great Elder asks that you go to the front hall immediately. Master Yuan Qing, the supervisor of the Red Dragon Tower, has arrived."

"Supervisor Yuan Qing is here?" Su Xin’s heart stirred.

"It must be about that matter!" Su Baihu, standing nearby, looked over as well.

Su Xin did not delay and soon arrived at the front hall.

"Su Xin." Seeing him enter, Yuan Qing stood up to greet him. "I heard about what happened last night. Fortunately, you are unharmed."

"Supervisor Yuan Qing, you have come today—I assume there is news from the Tianyan Palace?" Su Xin asked directly.

"Yes," Yuan Qing nodded, his expression looking somewhat troubled. "I am sorry, but it is bad news."

"Bad news?" Su Xin’s brows furrowed.

"The master who guards the Seeking Dragon Tower did indeed make a personal trip to recommend you to the Tianyan Palace. It went quite smoothly at first; after all, your talent in clearing the first level of the Seeking Dragon Tower at the early Sea-Transformation stage fully met the requirements for a special recruitment."

"But just as the final decision was being made, we met with resistance. It seems an external force intervened," Yuan Qing said.

"External force? Is it the Situ family?" Su Xin’s gaze turned icy. In his view, the only enemy he had in the entire Tianyan Dynasty was the Situ family.

"It is not the Situ family," Yuan Qing shook his head. "Su Xin, you may not know this, but the Tianyan Palace holds an incredibly transcendent status within the dynasty. While the Situ family is a top-tier noble house, they are not qualified to interfere in the affairs of the Tianyan Palace. Those with the authority to interfere are inevitably members of the royal family, and they must hold significant power."

"The royal family?" Su Xin was startled. Among the dozen Void-Breaking realm experts who attacked last night, there was a squad of ten, possessing immense combat power and impeccable coordination. If Su Xin was not mistaken, that was the legendary Yinglong Guard. And the Yinglong Guard could only be deployed by members of the royal family.

"When did my Su family offend someone from the royal family?" Su Xin narrowed his eyes.

Yuan Qing continued, "With the interference of external forces, combined with the fact that you offended His Majesty over three years ago, the decision of the higher-ups at the Tianyan Palace was influenced. Consequently, your special recruitment quota has been temporarily shelved."

"The intention of the Tianyan Palace higher-ups is to observe you for a while longer. If you can maintain such astonishing performance, they will reconsider your special recruitment."

"Is that so?" Su Xin understood. He had indeed offended the Tianyan Emperor three years ago, to the point where the Emperor had ordered him imprisoned in the Demon-Sealing Prison. It was only natural for the Tianyan Palace to be cautious. After all, the Tianyan Palace was tasked with cultivating top-tier geniuses for the dynasty, and those cultivated must be loyal—or at the very least, they could not harbor hostility or enmity toward the dynasty or the Emperor.

"Su Xin, the master who guards the Seeking Dragon Tower sent word that he will visit the Tianyan Palace again in a while to try and advocate for you once more," Yuan Qing added.

"There is no need," Su Xin waved his hand. "Supervisor Yuan Qing, please thank that master on my behalf. Tell him that I, Su Xin, will remember this favor and will repay it in the future!"

"But the Tianyan Palace..." Yuan Qing frowned.

"The Tianyan Palace is fine, and it would certainly be a great help to my cultivation, but if I cannot get in, I will not force it, nor will I beg repeatedly," Su Xin smiled. "Besides, entering the Tianyan Palace for training is not the only path."

"The Imperial City Hunt is about to begin, is it not?"

"The Imperial City Hunt?" Yuan Qing was stunned. "Su Xin, it is true that you can enter the Tianyan Palace through the Imperial City Hunt, but do you know how many geniuses gather from every prefecture and county every time it is held? Only the top ten—the ones who make it to the very end—are qualified to be admitted."

"Although you cleared the first level of the Seeking Dragon Tower, you are still too young, and your cultivation is only at the early Sea-Transformation stage. If you go to participate in the Imperial City Hunt, wanting to make it to the end... it is difficult, difficult, difficult!"

Yuan Qing repeated the word "difficult" three times. Su Xin was not surprised. It was true; he could not even clear the second level of the Seeking Dragon Tower right now. Such strength, let alone the entire Tianyan Dynasty, would not even rank in the top ten in Yun Prefecture alone. But he was not worried; there were still two full months until the Imperial City Hunt preliminaries.

Two months might be short for others, but for him... it was enough to undergo a earth-shattering transformation in his strength. Not to mention anything else, in terms of cultivation alone, with the speed of his bloodline inheritance cultivation method and the aid of Grade-One Sea-Transformation Pills, he could fully break through from the early stage to the late stage of the Sea-Transformation realm. Once his cultivation increased, his strength would undergo a qualitative change.

"Su Xin, are you truly determined to participate in this year’s Imperial City Hunt?" Yuan Qing looked at him again.

"Yes." Su Xin nodded heavily, then suddenly asked, "By the way, Situ Yu will be participating in this Imperial City Hunt as well, right?"

"Situ Yu?" Yuan Qing’s brows arched. Having known about Su Xin’s past, he naturally understood the grievances between Su Xin and Situ Yu.

"That’s right. Situ Yu is the top genius of the Situ family. Although he has immense talent, he was not granted a direct special recruitment quota, so he only has this one path to enter the Tianyan Palace," Yuan Qing said.

"Very well." A corner of Su Xin’s mouth lifted, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "Situ Yu, the final battle that has been delayed for over three years... this time, I will not 'flee without a fight'!!"

Three years ago, the Su family ancestor had sought a marriage alliance with the Tianyan Emperor to wed the Ninth Princess. And he, as the Su family’s greatest genius, was meant to face off against the Situ family’s Situ Yu in a duel to decide the outcome!