Chapter 21: Vice Steward Xu

Xu Xiaohan was completely numb.

He knew Lord Su was formidable, but he never imagined he would be *this* formidable! These were five Third-Rank experts, not ordinary martial masters guarding a street corner—and he had killed them all single-handedly?

Could it be that Lord Su was a Second-Rank expert!

A Second-Rank at nineteen?

How was that possible!

His godfather, Zhang Gui, was twenty-four or twenty-five when he stepped into the Second-Rank Nu Gang Realm. Even then, he was a peerless genius who caused a sensation throughout the world; countless sects and factions, even those of the First Rank, remembered that Director of the Eastern Depot.

If word got out about a nineteen-year-old Second-Rank, the world would likely erupt in chaos, drawing the attention of the First-Rank experts.

"Am I really that powerful?"

Looking at the corpses of the Deputy Directors scattered across the ground, Su Chen was also somewhat surprised.

While staying low in the Library, he rarely took action.

He had always assumed he could barely manage to kill weaker Third-Rank experts. Yet, with one move, he had directly slain five veteran Third-Ranks. Even if they were old and frail, they were still five Third-Ranks...

"Lord Su, these were all Imperial Deputy Directors. You've killed them all. If Emperor Jianwu or the Lord of the First Supervision finds out..."

Xu Xiaohan's legs were trembling uncontrollably.

This was going to turn the world upside down.

The entire Imperial Palace would likely suffer a massive earthquake.

Third-Rank experts, and Deputy Directors at that—each one held high authority. They weren't common cabbage that could just pop up anywhere, yet they had all been wiped out in one fell swoop.

"So what if they are Imperial Deputy Directors? It's not like I haven't killed people before," Su Chen said indifferently.

However, he had indeed killed quite a few this time.

If this leaked, there would likely be no good consequences. Right now, forget fighting First-Ranks; without using the Heart-Devouring Powder, he feared any random Second-Rank could beat him into a frenzy.

Thinking of this, Su Chen felt a flicker of unease. He hoisted the five corpses onto his shoulders and ran toward the Library.

"Lord Su!"

Xu Xiaohan jogged along behind him.

Fortunately, with the rebellion in Nanyang Prefecture and major sects like the Xuanyang Sect involved, the palace's most elite forces were all guarding the vicinity of the Imperial Study. Su Chen and Xu Xiaohan managed to run back to the Library without being detected.

Digging, burying—it was done in one seamless motion.

After tossing the five corpses into the pit, Su Chen buried them with practiced ease.

"Lord Su..."

Xu Xiaohan swallowed hard. Looking at the efficient Su Chen and the faint glimpses of bones emerging from the medicinal field, he shuddered.

He hadn't expected that the unassuming Lord Su was actually a ruthless killer.

No wonder the seeds of exotic plants from all over the world could all be planted and survive in this medicinal field; it turned out the quality of the fertilizer was just that good.

"Lord Su, I won't say a word."

"Please don't kill me to silence me!"

Xu Xiaohan's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground in terror.

"Why would I kill you to silence you?"

Su Chen looked at Xu Xiaohan as if he were an idiot.

After a long silence, seeing that Lord Su was still the same Lord Su, Xu Xiaohan breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but ask

"Lord Su, when did you step into the Second Rank?"

"Second Rank?"

"I'm only Fourth Rank."

"I understand! Lord Su, you are Fourth Rank!"

Xu Xiaohan nodded repeatedly with an ambiguous expression, acting as if he understood Su Chen's true meaning.

Su Chen was speechless.

He really was Fourth Rank!

A Second-Rank could instantly kill five Third-Ranks with a wave of a hand; was it too much for him, a "slightly stronger" Fourth-Rank, to suppress and kill five Deputy Directors? Su Chen felt it wasn't excessive at all.

And so, Xu Xiaohan spent the night in the Library, trembling with fear.

Su Chen, meanwhile, remained perfectly composed.

The next day, the Imperial Palace erupted.

The five Deputy Directors had vanished without a trace—neither seen alive nor found dead. Even the most foolish person knew something must have happened last night.

"Investigate!"

"Investigate thoroughly!"

Emperor Jianwu was furious.

The Imperial Guards and the Secret Guards were deployed to search every corner of the palace, but they found nothing.

Rumors even began to circulate within the palace.

Some said a First-Rank expert from the Xuanyang Sect had launched a night raid to threaten Emperor Jianwu! Next time, they wouldn't just kill five Deputy Directors, but the head of the Emperor himself.

Initially, Emperor Jianwu did not believe it.

But he had no choice but to believe it.

Because, in the entire palace, not a single trace of the five Deputy Directors could be found.

No one suspected Su Chen's Library.

After all, who would have thought that a nineteen-year-old Sixth-Red-Robed Director, who was unable to cultivate, would actually show such contempt for imperial authority, killing five Deputy Directors at will, and truly possess the strength to suppress five Third-Rank experts?

"The Xuanyang Sect!"

"They dare threaten me!"

"In that case, I shall let them see the true foundation of my Great Liang..."

Emperor Jianwu truly believed the rumors. Late that night, he entered the Tianwu Tower, and his wavering heart instantly chose war. The following day, the date for the military mobilization was finalized in the imperial court.

As for the culprit behind it all, Su Chen was in the Library, calmly sipping tea, acting as if the disappearance of the five Deputy Directors truly had nothing to do with him.

"Lord Su, after Godfather disappeared, the Deputy Director who was his confidant left in charge of the Martial Bureau directly defected."

"The Eastern Depot outposts abroad are also in turmoil."

"Facing recruitment from various factions, the brothers in charge within the Eastern Depot are also wavering. That night, I heard some rumors and went to investigate..."

"Even the merchant houses selling perfume and soap are preparing to seize control..."

"The Eastern Depot, the Martial Bureau, and the merchant houses—the money bags—are all the legacy Godfather left behind. Since you have this strength, Lord Su, and you were Godfather's brother, why don't you step forward and take over all of this?"

Xu Xiaohan was persuading him.

Zhang Gui's faction seemed to be at its zenith, but it was entirely held together by Zhang Gui himself. With Zhang Gui missing, this vast empire was already showing signs of collapse.

In less than half a month, the people's hearts were already shifting; clearly, Emperor Jianwu had a hand in this.

Zhang Gui was the blade in his hand.

But he was also a fattened pig!

Clearly, Emperor Jianwu also believed Zhang Gui might have fallen at the hands of the Xuanyang Sect. He was eager to take over everything Zhang Gui owned: the massive wealth, the foundation of the Eastern Depot, and the many cultivators who were loyal to Zhang Gui.

In fact, Zhang Gui's death might even have been his doing.

As the new Emperor, his maternal kin had long been wiped out by the previous Purple-Robed Ninth-Thousand-Year, so he lacked a foundation.

In Great Liang, a First-Rank expert was enough to stand on equal footing with the Emperor.

If Zhang Gui had truly become a First-Rank expert with immense power and countless godchildren following him, Emperor Jianwu might have become a puppet emperor.

"You have served me for three years; how could you not understand my desire to stay away from conflict?"

"And yet you persuade me so much."

"Do you want a piece of Zhang Gui's legacy? Do you want me to promote you?"

As Su Chen sipped his tea, he saw right through Xu Xiaohan's intentions.

In an instant, having his thoughts exposed, Xu Xiaohan felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He knelt in terror, banging his head against the ground, trembling.

"Lord Su, I was wrong! I shouldn't have harbored such delusions!"

Within Zhang Gui's faction, Xu Xiaohan had served Su Chen for years. While he was called one of Zhang Gui's godchildren, it was more accurate to say he was Su Chen's. He was constantly marginalized by the sons of Zhang Gui's true confidants.

Being a Blue-Robed Manager was his ceiling.

If Xu Xiaohan had no ambition, he wouldn't have flattered Zhang Gui to become one of his first batch of godchildren.

That night, after learning of Lord Su's true strength, the ambition in Xu Xiaohan's heart burned fiercely. He tossed and turned for several nights, unable to sleep. He was also a godchild; why shouldn't he get a share of the pie!

After a long time, Xu Xiaohan's eyes became determined, and he kowtowed heavily.

"Please, Lord Su, promote me!"

He was done pretending!

He, Xu Xiaohan, had been submissive before the other godchildren for three years. Today, he would ride the wind of Lord Su's power to make his mark!

"Why?"

"Is power really that good?"

Su Chen sipped his tea, showing neither joy nor sorrow, asking indifferently.

"Lord Su!"

"I was born a beggar. I have always been stepped on, my life as worthless as grass—no one would care if I died! But I entered the palace, followed Godfather, and met you. Only then did I know what power is! What glory is!"

"I have no roots, and no home! I want to be a Deputy Director, a Director, to hold power in my hands! To possess strength! So that no one ever dares to look down on me, Xu Xiaohan, again!"

As he spoke, Xu Xiaohan kowtowed heavily once more.

"Please, Lord Su, promote me!"

In a daze, looking at the ambition in Xu Xiaohan's eyes, Su Chen was reminded of the look Zhang Gui had when they first met.

Xu Xiaohan was no longer a child.

He already knew what he wanted.

With a flick of his finger, a strand of Longevity True Qi from Su Chen's body was injected into Xu Xiaohan.

"Tonight, you will break through to the Third Rank!"

"The next day..."

"Go see Emperor Jianwu and declare your intentions. He lacks a talented figure to bolster his prestige, and you are just the man..."

Tears streamed down Xu Xiaohan's face as he kowtowed heavily.

"Thank you, Lord Su!"

He had even prepared himself to be cast out by Lord Su and never seen him again, but he never expected that Lord Su would actually help a mere speck of dust like him.

His aptitude was mediocre; attempting to break through to the Third Rank was a death sentence.

There was no miraculous method in this world that could guarantee someone would reach the Third Rank.

But he believed in Lord Su.

That night, he began his attempt to break through to the Third Rank.

This caused a massive stir within the Martial Bureau and among the other eunuch managers.

"Xu Xiaohan? Heh, everyone knows his talent is mediocre. Relying on pills to reach the peak of the Fourth Rank at his age has already exhausted his potential. And he dares to attempt a breakthrough from the Qi-Bursting Realm to the Nu Gang Realm..."

"Tsk, he really doesn't know the heights of the heavens or the depths of the earth. I wonder if he knows how to write the word 'death'!"

"Well, this is great. Another Blue-Robed Manager position will open up. I bet if he forces a breakthrough to the Third-Rank Nu Gang, his heart meridians will surely rupture, and he'll die."

Countless sneers and mocking eyes converged on Xu Xiaohan.

But Xu Xiaohan remained in seclusion.

The next day, Xu Xiaohan successfully emerged from seclusion and went straight to the Imperial Study. After three kowtows and three bows, Emperor Jianwu sat with him for a long conversation.

And then, Emperor Jianwu personally appointed the Third-Rank Nu Gang expert, Xu Xiaohan, to the position of Deputy Director of the Martial Bureau, acting on behalf of the Director, overseeing all the cultivating eunuchs and Blue-Robed Managers!

The palace eunuchs, from the Red-Robed Directors down to the ordinary eunuchs, were in an uproar, filled with shock and horror.

"That Xu Xiaohan, with such meager talent, didn't have his Qi go berserk or his heart meridians rupture? Instead, he became a Third-Rank? And as a Third-Rank, he's acting as the head of over a thousand cultivating eunuchs in the Martial Bureau? The last person with such power was Zhang Gui..."

"What kind of god-awful luck is this!"

"A person of meager talent breaking through to the Third Rank—the success rate is one in a thousand, and he actually gambled his way to victory."

Countless jealous gazes seemed ready to swallow Xu Xiaohan whole.

In the Library, the sixty-eighth strand of Longevity True Qi in Su Chen's body had finally, after a day and a night, slowly and completely recovered.

Over the years, he had consciously reduced his use of Longevity True Qi.

Before him, Xu Xiaohan, dressed in the inner blue-and-red robes of a Deputy Director, stood respectfully by Su Chen's side. Acting with the etiquette of a son, he was moved to tears of gratitude and wished to brew tea for Su Chen.

"Lord Su..."

Xu Xiaohan knew in his heart that if it weren't for the method Su Chen had used on him last night, he would have been torn to shreds by his raging Qi. He wouldn't have had the chance to smooth out his Qi and stabilize his Third-Rank realm.

Lord Su had actually done it—he had single-handedly elevated him to the Third Rank and secured his position as Deputy Director! And a Deputy Director of the Martial Bureau at that—a position second only to the Imperial Director.

Last night, he was a lowly Blue-Robed manager; today, he was the rising star of the palace, Deputy Director Xu.

All of this had been accomplished with a mere flick of Su Chen's hand.