Chapter 159: The Scholar's Pavilion! (Part Two)

On the ground.

Feng Tiejian's eyes widened even further and grew rounder.

In the small grove.

Li Linzhou, who had just managed to sit up, experienced a twitch at the corner of his eye and a look of astonishment on his face.

A spiritual weapon...

Spiritual weapons, which were rarely seen even once in several years under normal circumstances, had actually appeared twice tonight!

A kitchen knife, emanating a transparent blade-image, possessed a terrifyingly destructive lethality.

Had Li Linzhou's physical body not been tempered, and had the true qi he practiced not possessed defensive capabilities, that barrage of blade-images just now would have already taken his life.

In other words, this kitchen knife spiritual weapon was sufficient to obliterate the vast majority of fourth-grade martial artists.

However.

Facing the other small, short sword spiritual weapon, the attack of the kitchen knife spiritual weapon was simply as fragile as paper.

The all-encompassing blade-images shattered within seconds and vanished into nothingness.

The lethality of the thick lightning bolts released by the sword spiritual weapon...

No, to be precise, it should be described as an even more formidable destructive power!

Li Linzhou could sense that the destructive force carried within those glowing electric serpents was just like genuine heavenly thunder.

This was a terrifying spiritual weapon possessing the power of heavenly thunder!

The capabilities of the kitchen knife spiritual weapon were suppressed dead in its tracks from the very first round.

In most cases, the power of heavenly thunder truly could restrain the majority of spiritual weapons.

Li Linzhou had thought of this, and the true form of the black shadow had thought of it as well.

The latter immediately dropped Feng Tiejian, its figure shifting at high speed. While changing positions, it split from one into two, two into four, and four into eight.

The eight figures first gathered together, weaving back and forth as they ran, and then suddenly scattered, charging off in all directions.

Su Jingxing watched this unfold without stepping in to intercept, once again controlling the "Startling Thunder" to strike.

He simply watched as the eight figures plunged into the darkness and vanished from sight.

Firstly, the energy of the "Startling Thunder" was limited, so it had to be conserved wherever possible.

Secondly, even if Su Jingxing continued to utilize the "Startling Thunder," there was no guarantee of subduing the opponent with absolute certainty.

After all, the opponent also possessed a spiritual weapon, despite its abilities being suppressed by the "Startling Thunder."

However, the uses of the "Startling Thunder" were limited, whereas Su Jingxing had no idea how long the opponent's kitchen knife spiritual weapon could sustain its explosive output.

What if the energy of the kitchen knife spiritual weapon could be emitted endlessly?

In that scenario, once the "Startling Thunder" depleted its power, it would be Su Jingxing's turn to face the barrage of all-encompassing blade-images.

Thirdly, the opponent was moving far too quickly. Splitting into eight, all eight figures maintained the same speed and sprinted hundreds of meters away within seconds.

If Su Jingxing wanted to catch up, he would have to use the ability of the "Startling Thunder."

As fast as lightning!

Fast like true, literal lightning.

However, doing so would exhaust the power of the "Startling Thunder" at an even faster rate.

Synthesizing these various factors, Su Jingxing chose to let the opponent leave.

After all, Feng Tiejian was still here.

This fellow was lying on the ground, maintaining a vacant expression and remaining completely motionless.

Su Jingxing put away the "Startling Thunder," descended to his side, and untied his bindings.

Throughout the entire process, Feng Tiejian wore a dull expression, acting like an idiot who had yet to recover his wits.

"Slap~"

Su Jingxing simply gave him a pat, landing it on his shoulder.

"Ah!"

Feng Tiejian shrieked in fright, springing up and sprawling flat on the ground as he cried out with a mixture of agitation, anxiety, and pleasant surprise, "Thank you, senior! Thank you, senior, for saving my life! Thank you, thank you..."

"What have you been doing this entire period?" Su Jingxing lowered his voice and questioned him in a deep tone.

"I... I haven't been doing anything."

Feng Tiejian's body stiffened. With a tearful and aggrieved face, he lamented bitterly, "To be honest with you, Senior, I truly have no idea what I've done to be targeted by these people. I just eat, drink, and make merry like always, slack off at work like always, never offend anyone, and never argue with others. How on earth did I end up being targeted?!"

With a crying sob in his voice, Feng Tiejian whined, "I don't have money, I don't have any family heirlooms, I'm not good-looking, and I have zero talent for martial arts. My favorite thing in the world is eating. Could it be that loving to eat is a crime?"

"Granted, I eat every single day, yet I have a constitution that doesn't make me put on much weight. But I'm not the only person with this kind of constitution! Why did those people have to target me?"

"If they want something, they should just tell me straight! I'll change, alright?!"

Su Jingxing remained silent.

His gaze fixed on Feng Tiejian, shifting rapidly.

There was definitely something wrong with Feng Tiejian, but the fact that even he himself couldn't point out what was wrong made the situation extremely suspicious.

If he had simply witnessed an event he shouldn't have seen, the mastermind behind the scenes could have easily silenced him.

There was no need to go to such lengths and dispatch a fourth-grade expert to capture him.

They insisted on taking him alive, which implied that the problem lay with Feng Tiejian himself. Could his body, his blood, or perhaps even his organs have caught someone's eye?

Su Jingxing set his mind to work, guessing at all sorts of possibilities.

He channeled his true qi outward, transforming it into a sharp edge of force that sliced a cut across Feng Tiejian's cheek, causing a bead of blood to well up.

Controlling the true qi, he wrapped it around the droplet of blood and brought it before his eyes, carefully sensing whether there was anything abnormal about it.

And sure enough, upon this sensing, he truly did detect a trace of anomaly.

Hidden within Feng Tiejian's blood seemed to be a strand of energy.

It wasn't the bloodline power of the Three-Yin Candle Blood, but rather resembled a rich medicinal potency.

Medicinal potency in the blood?

What kind of heavenly treasure or spiritual medicine had Feng Tiejian eaten?

No!

This medicinal potency felt wrong. As for what exactly was wrong about it, Su Jingxing couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Have you ever eaten any rare treasures or spiritual herbs?"

Su Jingxing stared at the blood and spoke in a deep voice.

Startled and having just clamped his mouth shut, Feng Tiejian shuddered and shook his head tremblingly, saying, "N-No."

"Are you certain?"

"Certain, positive, I really haven't eaten any!"

Feng Tiejian gritted his teeth and said, "I either eat at the crematorium cafeteria or at restaurants. How could there possibly be rare treasures or spiritual herbs in those two places?"

That was true; heavenly treasures and spiritual herbs were hardly likely to appear in cafeterias and restaurants.

So how did the medicinal potency get into Feng Tiejian's blood?

"Guest Minister Lin."

Li Linzhou's voice sounded from the rear right. "Is there something wrong with this young brother's blood?"

Guest Minister Lin?

Hearing this, Feng Tiejian carefully raised his head to look at Su Jingxing, who was clad in a cloak and wearing a mask, and instinctively swallowed his saliva.

He knew Li Linzhou.

The Martial Suppression Bureau's Envoy of Governing the City and the top expert of Qinghe City had actually turned out to be no match for that black shadow wielding the kitchen knife just now.

Yet this "Guest Minister Lin" before him had driven the black shadow back with swift and fierce moves. For some unknown reason, he had slashed a cut across his face and fished out a single drop of blood.

Did this drop of blood have some kind of problem, too?

Wait, there was something wrong with the blood in his body?!

At this thought, Feng Tiejian trembled even more violently.

"Senior Lin..."

Whoosh~

A fierce wind swept up, surging straight into the sky.

Su Jingxing channeled his true qi outward, enveloping Feng Tiejian and sweeping him up into the high heavens.

Executing the *Eight-Step Dragon Ascent*, he accelerated to his utmost speed. Amidst the air friction that sounded like a dragon's roar, he vanished into the horizon.

On the ground, Li Linzhou opened his mouth, gazed up at the night sky, and let out a long sigh after a moment.

His strength was inferior to others, so he had no one else to blame.

...

High in the sky.

Su Jingxing knocked Feng Tiejian unconscious at the very first instance and, carrying him, headed straight for the Qingyun Mountain Range.

As for ignoring Li Linzhou, it was simply because there was really nothing to discuss about this matter.

He couldn't very well expose the fact that he knew Feng Tiejian, could he?

Reminding Wu Shouhan to arrange for Feng Tiejian to enter the Martial Suppression Bureau had been done precisely to sever ties with his own true identity!

For Feng Tiejian's sake, Li Linzhou had already sustained an injury tonight; there was no need to trouble him any further.

Taking Feng Tiejian away under the guise of Guest Minister Lin was for the best as far as Li Linzhou was concerned.

The mastermind who had targeted Feng Tiejian possessed a strength far surpassing Li Linzhou's.

If Feng Tiejian were allowed to remain in Qinghe City and his location became known, more people would undoubtedly show up later to forcefully abduct him.

Therefore, what Su Jingxing needed to do was to eradicate the root of the trouble once and for all by taking Feng Tiejian out of Qinghe City.

With the person completely gone, let's see what the mastermind could do about it!

Su Jingxing had also already chosen the relocation destination: Changyang Prefecture City.

However, before heading to the prefecture city, he would first make a trip to the Qingyun Mountain Range, to the valley where the big white goose resided.

The situation with Feng Tiejian might be even deeper than Su Jingxing had guessed.

Since Su Jingxing himself couldn't discern the specifics, he thought of potentially enlisting the big white goose's abilities.

The hidden contents on the final pages of the two martial arts manuals, *Eight-Step Dragon Ascent* and *Nine-Step Heaven Treading*, had been brought to light thanks to the big white goose.

Could the anomaly on Feng Tiejian be revealed by the big white goose as well?

Pondering this, Su Jingxing increased his speed.

Four hundred years of true qi cultivation gave him more than enough reserves to consume without holding back.

Flying at full speed all the way, he arrived at the valley.

Carrying Feng Tiejian, Su Jingxing landed directly by the riverbank where the big white goose stayed.

Subsequently, while calling out to the big white goose, he stripped the clothes off Feng Tiejian's body.

Leaving the fellow completely bare and face-down on the ground, he placed him there.

"Honk! Honk~!"

Hearing the calls, the big white goose ran over from not far away, dashing towards them at high speed.

Seeing Su Jingxing, who had removed his mask and artificial skin face, it flapped its wings in excitement.

"Apologies, Brother Goose, I've been a bit busy lately and haven't come to see you."

Su Jingxing apologized first, took a large handful of Vitality Pills from his palm space, and tossed them to the big white goose.

"Whoosh~"

With a sweep of its wings, the big white goose leaped into the air and swallowed all the Vitality Pills into its beak.

Landing back on the ground, it flapped its wings vigorously a few times and raised its head to call out twice.

"Honk!"

"Haha, don't worry, there are plenty of medicinal pills." Su Jingxing chuckled softly, once again taking out a large handful of Vitality Pills and tossing them to the big white goose.

The big white goose swallowed every single one of them, flapping its wings excitedly.

Seeing this, Su Jingxing took out yet another large handful, and the big white goose swallowed them all once more.

After this third batch, the big white goose did not call out again. Instead, it wagged its tail, looked at Su Jingxing, and let out a soft cry.

"Uh, I do indeed have a bit of a matter that requires your trouble."

Su Jingxing felt a twinge of embarrassment.

Every time he came over, it really did seem to be to ask for a favor.

However, judging by the big white goose's appearance, it seemed quite happy, so he gave a dry laugh and stopped dwelling on it himself.

Giving a light cough, he pointed at the unconscious Feng Tiejian and signaled for the big white goose to approach and radiate its glow.

The big white goose readily agreed, emanating a silvery-white luster that enveloped Feng Tiejian.

True to expectation, a layer of hazy red-and-green halo surfaced from Feng Tiejian's skin.

It wasn't just in one or two spots, but all over his entire body, from head to toe!

"What on earth is going on with this fellow?"

Su Jingxing narrowed his eyes as he watched.

Feng Tiejian had never eaten any rare treasures or spiritual herbs, yet anomalies had occurred in his body and blood.

Could it be that he had mutated?

To mutate out of nowhere—was it due to innate reasons, or was it caused artificially?

If it were innate, it couldn't have remained completely dormant with no reaction until now.

Yet if it were acquired, why hadn't Feng Tiejian himself felt anything?

Furthermore, how had the mastermind who captured him known that a mutation had occurred in Feng Tiejian?

Or rather, could the abnormal mutation in Feng Tiejian have been engineered by the mastermind in the first place?!

At this thought, Su Jingxing's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Pig-farming!

A single term abruptly popped into his brain.

Feng Tiejian had openly stated that his favorite thing was eating.

Capitalizing on this trait, the mastermind had secretly conducted a specialized form of "pig-farming," mutating his body into the exact mold they desired.

Now that the "pig" was fat and ready to be slaughtered, they had come to capture him!

"Hiss~"

Deriving this startling conclusion, Su Jingxing's eyelids twitched incessantly.

If Feng Tiejian was truly being raised like a "pig" by someone, then who was the one doing the raising?

Possessing a spiritual weapon and a true qi cultivation level even higher than Li Linzhou's—

Just who on earth was this mastermind behind the scenes?

A sharp gleam flashed rapidly in Su Jingxing's eyes.

After a moment, he took a deep breath, suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind.

He put Feng Tiejian's clothes back on him, then performed a simple disguise on his face and altered his hairstyle as well.

During the makeover process, sensing that Feng Tiejian showed signs of waking up, he knocked him out once more.

Once everything was settled, Su Jingxing disguised himself back as Yang Jian, bade farewell to the astonished big white goose, and hoisted Feng Tiejian up. Consuming large amounts of true qi as he pushed the *Eight-Step Dragon Ascent* to its absolute limit, he sped straight toward the prefecture city.

The Qingyun Mountain Range was less than three hundred kilometers away from the prefecture city.

Traveling like the wind and lightning the entire way, Su Jingxing arrived at a secluded corner within the city before dawn.

Donning his mask, he slapped Feng Tiejian awake.

The awakened Feng Tiejian looked around in fearful suspicion, feeling himself all over with his hands.

The corner of Su Jingxing's mouth twitched. Without explaining further, he simply informed Feng Tiejian that they had already arrived at the prefecture city. Following that, he brought the shocked and dazed Feng Tiejian out of the alley and headed straight for a luxurious hotel nearby.

He anonymously opened a luxury suite, paying for two months upfront, which included meals.

Su Jingxing led Feng Tiejian into the room and stated bluntly, "If you don't want to die, stay right here for the next two months and don't go anywhere."

"Okay, okay, Senior, you can rest assured! I guarantee I won't step even half a step outside this door!"

Feng Tiejian raised his hand to swear an oath, then asked, "Senior, why are you helping me like this?"

As he asked this, Feng Tiejian raised his head cautiously, sizing up Su Jingxing, whose face remained obscured.

"I feel like it. Is there a problem?"

Su Jingxing lowered his voice and retorted flatly.

Feng Tiejian shut his mouth, not daring to utter another sound.

"Cut the crap. Let me ask you: you said you either eat at the cafeteria or at restaurants. Which restaurant did you visit the most often?" Su Jingxing inquired.

"The one I went to the most?"

Hearing this, Feng Tiejian scratched his head in thought. "It seems to be... the Top Scholar Tower! Yes, that's it, the Top Scholar Tower! Senior, you might not know this, but while the Top Scholar Tower isn't top-tier in terms of fame, it's also a century-old establishment. Many of their dishes are exceptionally delicious and reasonably priced. I would go there to eat about once every week. Come to think of it, it's been going on for nearly five years now."

"You go once every week, and this has been going on for five years?"

A brilliant light flashed in Su Jingxing's eyes.

"Yeah, pretty much five years,"

Feng Tiejian nodded and said, "Although I missed a few times in between, generally speaking, I went there almost every single week."

"Is something wrong, Senior?" Feng Tiejian asked with a puzzled expression.

"Nothing at all."

Su Jingxing controlled his aura and said calmly, "I'll be leaving first. Remember one thing: if you don't want to die, do not step outside!"

With those words, he opened the door and departed swiftly.

Behind him, Feng Tiejian did not dare to say anything else. After calling out a goodbye, he hurriedly slammed the door shut.

...

Stepping out of the hotel lobby and returning to the secluded corner, Su Jingxing soared into the sky. No longer concealing his expression, an look of utter disbelief burst forth in his eyes.

The Top Scholar Tower—the He family!

The low-key He family of four hundred years had actually been "pig-farming" Feng Tiejian!