Chapter 154: [True Essence Card!]

This He family definitely has secrets.

Su Jingxing knew of the "Champion Tower"; it was a century-old tavern located on an old street between the West District and the South District.

It enjoyed an exceptional reputation by word of mouth, though its commercial operations were quite ordinary.

There were rumors circulating online about the Champion Tower.

It was said that someone once proactively offered to handle commercial promotions for the owner, aiming to expand the influence of the Champion Tower and open a branch in the prefecture capital.

However, the owner of the Champion Tower declined the offer, using the excuse that they were quite satisfied with the status quo and did not want any major changes.

Since the owner had no interest in development and expansion, everyone else naturally lost enthusiasm.

At the time, Su Jingxing had merely glanced at it casually and paid it little mind.

Now, looking back, the Champion Tower was deliberately kept in its current state by the He family!

A martial arts family with a four-hundred-year heritage, yet outwardly running a tavern, with the owner coming from a family of chefs—who would ever guess they were martial arts masters?

"Third-rank..."

Tsk!

While clicking his tongue in amazement, Su Jingxing felt a genuine sense of awe.

The publicly acknowledged number-one expert in Qinghe City was Li Linzhou, and there should be a few others whose strength was on par with Li Linzhou behind the scenes.

For instance, the ancestors of the Li family and the Zhou family.

These martial arts families with centuries-old heritages possessed profound foundations, and there were no lack of formidable experts among them.

Just like Shi Zhinie.

Had he not suffered a deviation in cultivation while practicing the *Blood-Draining Demonic Skill*, his overall strength would never have been weaker than Li Linzhou's.

Similarly, the four-hundred-year-old He family was unknown to the general public, and even Li Linzhou was likely unaware of them.

After all, Li Linzhou had not yet been in Qinghe City for ten years as the commander of the Martial Suppression Bureau.

Yet, the Li, Zhou, and Qi families—these local martial arts forces with centuries of heritage—virtually ninety-nine percent of them knew of the He family's existence.

Including the Shi family.

In order to advance to the third rank, Shi Zhinie had resorted to mass slaughter and cultivated demonic arts, and it was entirely possible that he had been provoked by the He family.

A martial arts family suspected of harboring a third-rank expert—heaven knows if they might suddenly go mad.

Even though they had kept a low profile for four hundred years.

The more low-key such matters were, the more intimidating they became.

The Shi family, the Li family, the Zhou family, the Qi family...

Every faction that knew of the He family's existence was filled with apprehension!

Even Su Jingxing felt a lingering chill deep within his heart.

Before seeing that memory, Su Jingxing would dare to go anywhere in Qinghe City.

Three hundred and fifty-one years of True Qi cultivation made him fearless of anyone.

Yet now, knowing that a hidden third-rank powerhouse might exist within Qinghe City, Su Jingxing decided it was better to maintain a low profile.

Well, if a third-rank bigwig was keeping a low profile, there was no reason for a fifth-rank like him not to do the same.

"It seems three hundred and fifty-one years of cultivation is still not enough!"

Su Jingxing narrowed his eyes.

If his cultivation was not enough, he would simply continue to increase it.

Thinking of this, Su Jingxing unpacked all the True Qi cards he had picked up and absorbed them, converting them into Tiansheng True Qi.

He then took out three more True Qi cards from his reserves, unpacked and absorbed them, bringing his True Qi cultivation to a full four hundred years!

"With four hundred years of True Qi cultivation, how long can I last against True Essence in a direct clash?"

Su Jingxing's gaze flickered.

...

The next day.

Early in the morning, Su Jingxing arrived at the crematorium for work.

The moment he stepped through the gates, he harvested a wave of cards.

Afterwards, instead of rushing to read the information, he first patrolled the grounds, greeted the people he knew, and then returned to his office to pull out the cards one by one and check their functions.

Inner strength card, strength-enhancing card, vitality card, strength-enhancing card, skill card, inner strength card...

They were all ordinary cards. Even the skill card was neither a martial art nor a secret technique, but rather culinary mastery.

Such daily life skills were often picked up repeatedly, so Su Jingxing simply tossed them into a corner of his palm space.

The other inner strength cards accumulated, while the strength-enhancing cards and vitality cards were unpacked one by one, yielding Mighty Pills and Vitality Pills, which he stored separately.

After a flurry of activity, he continued refining his True Qi while polishing his secret techniques.

Every two hours, he would head out to patrol the grounds once more.

Upon returning to the office, another wave of cards appeared in his palm space.

As usual, Su Jingxing took them out one by one, held them in his palm, and read the information.

Strength-enhancing card, strength-enhancing card, vitality card, vitality card, inner strength card, strength-enhancing card, True Essence card, vitality card...

It was still the same—all ordinary cards, with the sole exception being True Qi...

Wait!

Abruptly, Su Jingxing's body shuddered, astonishment flashing in his eyes.

He quickly fished out one of the cards and read the information again.

As a result, he hadn't misread it; it was indeed a True Essence card!

And it was a True Essence card representing three years of cultivation.

"True Essence card, True Essence card..."

Su Jingxing murmured, unable to conceal the shock on his face.

A True Essence card, as the name implied, yielded a cluster of attribute-free True Essence when unpacked.

However, was True Essence something an ordinary martial artist could possess?

Upper three ranks!

Only martial artists of the upper three ranks possessed True Essence.

Cards do not lie.

This meant that among the corpses he had harvested earlier, one of them was the body of a third-rank powerhouse!

Had a third-rank expert died in Qinghe City?

No.

If one had, the entire city would undoubtedly have been in an uproar; it could not have happened in complete silence.

Then, did a third-rank expert exist in Qinghe City?

Before midnight, Su Jingxing would have said no.

But after reading Geyuzi's memories, Su Jingxing knew one might very well exist in Qinghe City.

The previous head of the He family, who had maintained a low profile for four hundred years!

Lu Chen of Ci'en Bank could not be certain whether that old family head was still alive.

Now, Su Jingxing was ninety-nine percent certain.

He was dead!

The True Essence card he had picked up practically originated from this former head of the He family.

Although this news was immensely shocking and hard to believe.

It could be verified.

The verification method was very simple: Su Jingxing put away all the cards, walked out of the office, went to the archives room, and pulled up all the data and information regarding those who had died recently.

Comparing the records one by one, he successfully found a suspicious file.

He Gurin!

This was an elderly man named He Gurin, ninety-eight years old.

The cause of death was the complete failure of major organs due to old age.

In other words, a normal death from old age.

In the eyes of others, this file held nothing remarkable, at most evoking a sigh that He Gurin had passed away peacefully, reaching the true end of his natural lifespan.

In Su Jingxing's eyes, however, it was riddled with doubts.

He Gurin—He, He [referring to the surname He]!

Dying of old age at ninety-eight?

He probably needed another twenty years added to that.

When Lu Chen saw the previous head of the He family in his childhood, that third-rank bigwig was already in his nineties.

If that person had lived until now, they had undoubtedly reached the ultimate limit of their lifespan.

One hundred and eighteen years old!

As for why the He family forged the records, and even had the relatives seeing He Gurin off bear the surname He—

It was obviously to avoid drawing unexpected attention, staying true to their four-hundred-year tradition of keeping a low profile.

After all, once word got out that a third-rank powerhouse had died, the resulting commotion would be unimaginable.

For a quiet passing of affairs like this, the He family was likely already well-practiced.

Had Su Jingxing not possessed his cheat and picked up the True Essence card, he would never have known.

Of course.

Whether He Gurin was indeed the former head of the He family still required a final step of confirmation.

To verify the real name of that old family head!

"If I can be a hundred percent certain that He Gurin is the former head of the He family, I imagine the Li family will be very pleased!"