’So fast, I already have one full point!’

A thought crossed Su Yu’s mind, and he summoned his panel to check it.

[Martial Arts]: White Ape Fist (Level 1) (Major Achievement 1950/12000)

[Martial Arts]: Spiritual Ape Demon-Slaying Saber (Level 1) (Minor Achievement 6150/7000)

[Martial Arts]: Black Stone Body Forging Skill (Level 1) (Minor Achievement 2000/10000)

[Martial Arts]: Seven Fiends Thunder Collapse Step (Minor Achievement 1600/3000)

[Martial Arts]: Bibo Fish Dragon Skill (Level 1) (Skilled 1300/1500)

[Breakthrough Point]: 1 point (Progress 1%)

...

’Martial arts are a rich man’s game!’

Su Yu mused once more. With the dual supplements of precious fish and Black Rock Iron-Backed Crocodile Meat, he had filled up over half of his Breakthrough Point progress bar in a mere five days. His Martial Arts progression had also accelerated considerably, allowing him to once again revel in the joy of his power advancing by leaps and bounds.

’This time, I’ll aim to save up three full Breakthrough Points! Based on my experience Breaking the Limit with Casting Net three times before, the third Breakthrough might trigger some sort of qualitative change. The two Traits I’ve gained from Breaking the Limit with the "White Ape Six Changes" have been a huge help, so it’s worth prioritizing investment in more Breakthroughs!’

Su Yu’s gaze fell upon his Martial Arts again. ’My White Ape Fist is progressing quickly, but I definitely won’t be able to break through to the next level before the Yuan Lantern Festival. If I want a significant boost in strength before then, I should focus on cultivating the Spiritual Ape Demon-Slaying Saber. I might be able to reach Major Achievement with it in time!’

...

White Ape Martial Arts Hall, Tea Room.

Qin Fangqiong summoned Chen Fan to her side and asked, "Disciple, how has your Martial Arts training been coming along?"

A flash of confidence appeared in Chen Fan’s eyes. "Master, I have now reached the Second Acupoint! I definitely won’t disappoint you at the Yuan Lantern Festival!"

Qin Fangqiong nodded, a hint of admiration in her eyes. "Excellent. I am pleased that you’re keeping pace with your senior brother, Su Yu."

’Su Yu again!’

The muscles on Chen Fan’s face tensed, and the venomous snake of jealousy writhed madly in his heart, flicking its forked tongue.

’Damn him! I’ll crush him under my heel soon enough and show Master who the true number one genius of the White Ape Martial Arts Hall is!’

Qin Fangqiong sighed and produced a bottle of medicinal pills from her sleeve. "From now on, your monthly allowance of Black Scale Blood Orifice Pills will be ten, the same as Su Yu’s. This extra portion was left behind by your eldest brother. Be sure to remember his generosity."

"Thank you, Master! I will never forget!"

Chen Fan accepted the pills, bowing his head low to hide the glint of joy in his eyes.

’Good riddance! If Qi Linfeng hadn’t died, how would I have gotten these extra resources?’

"One more thing."

Qin Fangqiong’s tone shifted. "Tomorrow, you will accompany me on a trip to the Huyan Family to meet their third daughter, Huyan Tong. If this is successful, your future path in the Martial Arts will be wide open!"

"I am entirely at your disposal, Master!" Chen Fan’s voice trembled, and he was overcome with excitement.

The Huyan Family!

’This was the Huyan Family they were talking about!’

They were one of the top military families in Black Stone City, and rumor had it they even had significant connections and influence in the Inner City. If he married Huyan Tong, he would never again lack for cultivation resources. He wouldn’t have to take on miscellaneous posts everywhere, scrambling for money like those lowly common Martial Artists.

...

「The next day. Black Stone Avenue, Huyan Mansion.」

The carriage stopped before a grand and imposing mansion.

Unlike the opulence of other great families, the Huyan Mansion exuded a grim, martial aura of iron and blood.

The main gate stood over twenty feet tall, forged entirely from black ironwood and impossibly thick. Instead of stone lions, two ferocious black iron suanni crouched at the entrance, their beastly eyes inlaid with rubies that glinted with a bloodthirsty light in the sun.

Two rows of guards clad in Heavy Armor and holding long halberds stood as still as statues. The suffocating, murderous aura they projected made passersby instinctively take a wide detour.

"Hall Master Qin, please, come in!"

From inside the main gate, a middle-aged man strode out to welcome them.

This man had a long, flowing beard and a fair, refined face. Dressed in a blue scholar’s gown, he seemed entirely out of place in such a forbidding, military-style mansion.

But this was none other than the Huyan Patriarch himself, Huyan Muyuan.

"You are too kind, Patriarch Huyan," Qin Fangqiong said, clasping her hands in return. She then led a nervous yet excited Chen Fan into the mansion.

In the main hall, host and guests took their seats.

After a few pleasantries, Qin Fangqiong spoke at an opportune moment. "Brother Huyan, this is my unworthy disciple, Chen Fan. Though he comes from a humble background, he possesses a genuine Top-Grade Root Bone. He is not yet twenty and has already reached the Second Acupoint."

Huyan Muyuan set down his teacup and studied Chen Fan with a gentle gaze.

"Indeed. A fine-looking young man with pure Qi and Blood. He is a promising talent."

He beckoned to a nearby maidservant. "Go and inform Tong’Er to come out and meet our guests."

"Yes, Master."

A short while later, the delicate tinkling of jade pendants announced an arrival.

A young woman in a pale pink silk dress entered, moving with the light, graceful steps of a dancer. She was strikingly pretty, with a delicate oval face and slender, willow-leaf brows. Her every gesture exuded the gentleness and poise of a lady from a great house.

"Greetings, Uncle Qin. And... Master Chen." Huyan Tong offered a graceful curtsy. Her voice was soft and sweet, and after a brief glance at Chen Fan, she shyly lowered her head.

Chen Fan felt as if his mind went blank, and his bones seemed to melt.

’So this is the third daughter of the Huyan Family? So beautiful, so gentle, and with such a powerful family backing her?’

"Tong’Er, take Master Chen for a stroll in the rear garden. You young people should chat for a while," Huyan Muyuan said with a smile and a wave of his hand.

In the garden.

Huyan Tong’s tone was gentle and considerate. "Master Chen, I hear that practicing martial arts is terribly bitter. You must have suffered a great deal, haven’t you?"

"I’ve been frail since childhood, so I admire genius Martial Artists like you more than anyone..."

"If I could have someone like you to look after me in the future, I would be more than content..."

After just a few of her gentle, affectionate words, Chen Fan was utterly ecstatic.

"Miss Tong’er, please rest assured. If I am fortunate enough to win your favor, I will never let you down!"

...

An hour later, Qin Fangqiong took her leave, a jubilant Chen Fan trailing behind her.

The scholarly smile vanished from Huyan Muyuan’s face, instantly replaced by an icy indifference.

"Follow me."

He led Huyan Tong to a study in the rear courtyard.

Once inside, he twisted a bronze beast’s head on one of the bookshelves. With the dull rumble of a mechanism, the shelf slowly slid aside, revealing a deep, dark corridor leading underground. A bone-chilling, sinister wind, thick with the stench of blood, rushed out to greet them.

Huyan Tong, clearly long accustomed to this, simply lifted the hem of her dress and followed her father into the darkness.

The underground chamber was not large. Its walls were embedded with stones that cast a ghastly, green fluorite glow.

In the center of the chamber stood a black stone statue, twice the height of a man. The idol had countless eyeballs and numerous tentacle-like arms, a horrifying figure that was neither man nor beast.

In front of the statue was a sculpted map, like a sand table, depicting Black Stone City and its surroundings.

Huyan Muyuan walked up to the statue and took a teacup from his sleeve—the very one Chen Fan had just used.

With a pious expression, he gently placed the teacup upon one of the strange statue’s outstretched tentacles.

Then, he bit the tip of his finger and let a drop of his blood fall into the dregs of tea remaining in the cup.

BUZZ—

The countless carved eyeballs on the statue seemed to come alive, swiveling in unison to stare intently at the teacup.

At the same time, Huyan Muyuan jerked his head up to meet the gaze of those bizarre eyes.

SHING!

His pupils instantly vanished, turning his eyes a ghastly, dead white. Within the sclera, countless black veins as fine as silk threads writhed madly.

In the eerie spiritual vision granted by his transformed eyes, a wisp of gray mist, invisible to ordinary people, rose from the teacup.

Although the mist was murky, at its very core, it nurtured a faint speck of light, like a firefly’s glow. It was minuscule, but undeniably real.

HUFF...

A moment later, the white receded from Huyan Muyuan’s eyes, and his dark pupils returned. He turned to his daughter, a greedy smile spreading across his face.

"There’s no mistake. This Chen Fan is indeed a person of spiritual nature. That spark of spiritual light hasn’t awakened yet, shrouded as it is by his murky Qi and Blood, but with a little... preparation, he’ll become a first-rate tonic. If you devour him, you will be able to awaken your own spiritual nature!"

"Wonderful!" A fervent glint flashed in Huyan Tong’s eyes. "Finally, I’ll have a spiritual nature too!"

Having confirmed that Chen Fan was a person of spiritual nature, Huyan Muyuan was about to turn and leave.

Just then, the grotesque statue, which had fallen silent, suddenly came alive again. Its countless eyes moved in unison, staring intently at the sculpted map.

POOF!

On the sculpted map, a ball of spectral fire, so vividly green it seemed about to drip, erupted out of thin air and shot a foot into the air!

This was no ordinary flame; it gave off no heat. It flickered wildly on the map, its light so intense that it bathed the dim chamber in a ghastly green glow. Before this brilliant green fire, the other scattered, faint gray-white specks of light on the map were instantly eclipsed.

Huyan Muyuan lunged toward the map, his gaze fixed on the spot where the green fire burned. An unprecedented greed and ecstasy erupted from his ghastly white eyes. "A spiritual awakening? And one so potent? HAHAHAHA! The heavens are helping the Huyan Family!"

"Quick! Send men to Jin Yu Street in the eastern district! Investigate this residence!"