The servant glanced at Su Changfeng impatiently and said irritably, "Let go quickly, it’s none of your business, is there a need for you to worry?"

Su Changfeng shrugged helplessly, recalling how the servants at the Shen Family Mansion never regarded him highly. He hadn’t expected to be treated the same way upon arriving at the Tianyuan Continent.

"Brother, I’m just too curious. Just tell me, please, or I’ll really feel upset," Su Changfeng said with a smile.

The servant had many tasks to attend to and naturally had no time to tangle with Su Changfeng. Seeing Su Changfeng reluctant to let go, he had no choice but to explain, "The master and the eldest young master are returning soon, and we definitely need to prepare well."

Knowing what he wanted to know, Su Changfeng released his grip decisively.

Su Changfeng knew almost everything about the Shen family’s situation. Shen Rushuang’s father was Shen Yaowen, and her brother Shen Yunlong. For many years, Shen Yaowen focused his efforts on helping Shen Yunlong find an esteemed mentor, hoping to find a powerful teacher who could help Shen Yunlong achieve a breakthrough in strength. As for the Shen family’s trivial matters, they were left to Shen Rushuang to handle.

Unfortunately, over the years, Shen Yaowen had not found a particularly powerful mentor for his son, and Shen Yunlong was oblivious to what a true elite was like.

Despite continuous failure, Shen Yaowen did not give up. After all, in the Tianyuan Continent, under imperial power, one must have exceptional strength to rise to prominence. Money and being a small family in Tianshui City meant nothing.

Shen Yaowen harbored grand ambitions and was not willing to let the Shen family persist in clinging to a small Tianshui City. His vision was a place under imperial power, above thousands of others, where the Shen family’s influence could be seen.

Early in the morning, Shen Rushuang was waiting outside when a carriage slowly approached in the distance, and she hurried to welcome it.

A middle-aged man stepped out of the carriage, exuding a formidable presence—he was Shen Yunlong, the eldest young master of the Shen family and Shen Rushuang’s brother.

"Brother, you’re finally home," Shen Rushuang said, taking Shen Yunlong’s arm in girlish excitement.

Shen Yunlong pettingly smiled and teased his sister, "Seriously? I just left half a year ago, and you’re this eager to see me?"

"Of course I missed you, brother," Shen Rushuang pouted and admitted frankly.

Only in front of her brother did Shen Rushuang show the demeanor of a young girl, different from her usually cold, domineering, and strong-willed self.

"Alright, let’s hurry home," Shen Yunlong said.

"Brother, that person woke up," Shen Rushuang said.

Upon hearing this, Shen Yunlong frowned, knowing well that this person was Su Changfeng.

"Didn’t they say he’d never wake up? Did he bully you?" Shen Yunlong asked sternly, as if he would tear Su Changfeng apart if something improper had happened.

"Brother, what are you thinking? But indeed, many things have happened recently, and I’ll tell you later."

Shen Yunlong nodded and didn’t inquire further.

At this moment, a slightly aged voice filled with a hint of jealousy came, "Ah, having the brother is everything, and even forgetting the old father, I really feel too sad."

Shen Rushuang blinked and quickly stepped to Shen Yaowen’s side, saying, "Father, what are you talking about? How could I forget you? You’ve been gone for so long, and I’ve been thinking of you every day!"

"Hmph, only you have a sweet mouth!" Shen Yaowen couldn’t help but laugh.

The family returned to the Shen residence, and Shen Rushuang relayed the events that transpired during this period to the father and son, starting with the mysterious disappearance of a Fourth-Rank Expert, and then the unexplained absence of over a dozen Second-Rank Experts, which left them both feeling strange.

In Tianshui City, Second-Rank Experts were fairly numerous, with Shen Yunlong himself being one. However, Fourth-Rank Experts were quite rare.

"Rushuang, are you suggesting that their disappearance wasn’t a coincidence and might be related to that Su Changfeng?" Shen Yunlong asked, frowning.

"Although I also think he doesn’t have that capability, these two incidents are too bizarre, there must be some unknown happenings," Shen Rushuang replied.

She couldn’t determine whether the disappearances were associated with Su Changfeng, but the two events couldn’t be unrelated to him, suggesting there was more beneath the surface.

"A waste who has been unconscious for months, and can defeat a Fourth-Rank Expert, it’s really quite unbelievable," Shen Yaowen frowned, evidently skeptical of Shen Rushuang’s words.

"Dad, if you want to find out if these events are related to Su Changfeng, it’s actually simple." Shen Rushuang suddenly looked at Shen Yunlong as she spoke.

Shen Yunlong immediately understood Shen Rushuang’s intent and asked, "Are you hinting for me to test that guy’s strength?"

"Yes," Shen Rushuang nodded.

"Where is he? I’ll go now," Shen Yunlong said promptly.

"Brother, hold on. If he wants to conceal his strength, direct confrontation definitely won’t work, so we must catch him off guard to probe his true level," Shen Rushuang advised.

Shen Yunlong nodded, saying, "You’re right, only by catching him off guard can we see his real strength, so today is not the time."

"Did you gain anything from this trip?" Shen Rushuang asked.

Shen Rushuang’s father and brother couldn’t help but sigh at the question; there was no harvest, not even a shadow of an expert. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Over the years, Shen Yaowen wanted to help Shen Yunlong find a Seventh-rank Expert as his mentor, but this task wasn’t easy.

"No harvest, but I will continue to persevere," Shen Yunlong said.

"Brother, it’s alright. If you can’t find one now, you’ll find one eventually," Shen Rushuang encouraged her brother.

The next morning, in the City Lord Mansion.

When Wang Junyi woke up, he was blank-faced, seemingly shocked into a stupor, staring at his life-bound magical artifact in a daze, unable to react.

In the Tianyuan Continent, everyone would have their own life-bound magical artifact, and its rank would often be reflected in the artifact. Wang Junyi’s artifact was a knife, which had followed him since he was young.

Though his strength was average, he and the knife were old companions, almost as if they were integrated.

"Two ranks up overnight?" Even now, he had difficulty processing that. Wang Junyi had reached the Second Rank years ago and hadn’t broken through since; indeed, many found it impossible to advance further.

In the City Lord Mansion, there were over a dozen Second-Rank Experts, mostly people who struggled to upgrade. Even Wang Junyi himself had resigned to the likelihood of remaining a Second-Rank all his life.

...