Chapter 168: Give Me Back My Son's Life!

"What's wrong?"

Without looking inside the wooden box, Han Zong frowned as he saw Liang Yiqing frozen in place. "Why are you standing there like an idiot? Take the ancient text out."

"Don't worry about damaging the ancient text," Ma Shifeng chimed in as he hurried over. "The hidden map is definitely sealed within the book using some kind of secret technique—"

His words cut off abruptly as well. His eyes widened in shock, his face frozen in disbelief.

"What is wrong with you—"

Han Zong stepped forward, asking in puzzlement, only to see the completely empty wooden box. He, too, froze in place, unable to finish his sentence.

The strange behavior of the three men was not lost on the others in the auditorium, and everyone's expression shifted.

"President Ma, what are you all gawking at? Take *An Introduction to True Qi* out of the box," someone shouted.

Ma Shifeng’s eye twitched; his mouth opened and closed.

However, things had escalated to a point where they could no longer conceal it.

He slowly reached out, picked up the box, and lowered his voice to question Liang Yiqing.

"What is going on here? Weren't you the one keeping watch over the box all this time?"

"It... it was in my custody... No, wait!" Liang Yiqing’s body jerked as a realization struck him. "An hour ago, President Liu said he wanted to inspect the ancient text to make sure no mistake had been made, and temporarily took it into his custody. When I got it back afterward, I never checked inside the box!"

"Liu Jufen?"

Han Zong’s expression turned grim. "Dammit, I knew that old bastard had issues!"

"What is wrong with you people? Does it really take this long just to fetch an old book?" someone urged from the audience.

Meanwhile, Su Jingxing, who had been quietly monitoring the three men's movements, wore a slight smirk at the corners of his mouth.

Xuantian University was about to get very interesting.

*An Introduction to True Qi* had actually been stolen right before it could be deciphered!

Out of a total of four ancient texts, the first three were already missing.

They had been banking on the last one to salvage their reputation, and now, the fourth one was gone too.

What else was there left to decipher?

Nothing at all!

President Liu? Liu Jufen?

As far as Su Jingxing knew, there was no vice president named "Liu Jufen" at Xuantian University.

This person either held an honorary title or came from the Xuantian Main Campus!

If he was from the Xuantian Main Campus, things were going to get even more entertaining.

As Su Jingxing pondered this, Ma Shifeng made his decision on the podium, turning the empty wooden box to face everyone.

At the same time, speaking with a mix of fury and humiliation, he shouted, "I am ashamed to admit that *An Introduction to True Qi* was also taken away an hour ago. The person who took the ancient text is named Liu Jufen, and he is from Xuantian Main—"

"Hahaha..."

Before Ma Shifeng could finish, mocking laughter erupted from the audience.

"I knew it would come to this, I just knew it! What a brilliant excuse you've cooked up!"

"It just went missing an hour ago? What a convenient coincidence."

"I'm out of here. I'll go look for it myself. Everyone, we all start from the same place and rely on pure luck to find the ancient texts. Whoever finds it first keeps it! I hope you all stick to the rules."

"Ha, since when do you get to make the rules, Old Third Lu? Do you even have the qualifications?"

"At least more qualifications than you!"

...

Uproar broke out instantly. Those who had been waiting stood up en masse. Those who came alone headed straight for the windows, those in groups began whispering among themselves, and old rivals locked horns in verbal sparring.

The cavernous auditorium became a bustling marketplace, and no one was listening to Ma Shifeng anymore.

Even within the Li family, Li Lilou quickly pointed toward several figures wearing cloaks or masks, prompting Xu Tailong's furious roar to reverberate through the entire hall.

"You surnamed He! Give me back my son's life!!!"

Xu Tailong unleashed a terrifying aura, his murderous intent splitting into four distinct strands that slammed toward the four figures Li Lilou had indicated.

Among them was Helie Ren, standing less than three meters away from Su Jingxing.

In Su Jingxing's perception, Helie Ren’s heartbeat quickened slightly. Almost instinctively, his figure flashed, and he bolted through the window.

In contrast, the other three figures turned their heads in shock and stared coldly at Xu Tailong.

One of them even growled in a low voice, "Xu Tailong, what do you—"

"Found him!"

Li Lilou’s joyful shout rang out first. Pointing excitedly at the window through which Helie Ren had escaped, he yelled, "Director Xu, that person over there is running!"

"Pursue them!!"

Before the echo of his voice could fade, Xu Tailong’s figure had already vanished from his spot, diving through the window in hot pursuit out of the auditorium.

Flying out the window right behind him were three others, all of them martial arts masters boasting extraordinary movement techniques.

Before Su Jingxing could even catch a clear glimpse of their faces, the four figures had already flashed past his eyes and vanished into the night sky.

By the time Li Lilou rushed over with his men, gave a hurried nod, and leaped out the window after them, only a handful of people remained in the auditorium.

Along with Su Jingxing, a few others deliberately stayed behind to wait until Ma Shifeng, Han Zong, and the others finished their rapid discussion.

Then, they trailed closely behind Ma Shifeng, Han Zong, and their entourage as they bolted out of the auditorium.

While some people refused to believe Ma Shifeng’s words, others did.

Those who stayed until the very end were the ones who believed!

Liu Jufen had taken *An Introduction to True Qi*, and Ma Shifeng’s group had immediately launched a pursuit. Su Jingxing and a few others followed closely behind without a second thought.

Compared to Xu Tailong’s personal vendetta—which the Li family was only aiding to clear their own name—catching up to Liu Jufen and reclaiming *An Introduction to True Qi* was undoubtedly far more exhilarating.

At least, that was how Su Jingxing felt, and that was exactly what he did!

...

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The night wind blew gently.

Moonlight bathed the earth.

Above the university town, a dozen figures flashed rapidly through the air, one after another.

In no time at all, they cleared the boundaries of the university town and entered the forested outskirts of eastern Qinghe City.

Seeming the slowest and bringing up the rear, Su Jingxing was actually completely relaxed, trailing far behind the main group.

Uncertain of how Ma Shifeng had deduced that Liu Jufen was heading east, Su Jingxing did not rush forward.

If they were chasing in the wrong direction, turning back would waste precious time.

However, facts proved that they were on the correct trail.

Risking a massive consumption of their true qi, the group pursued frantically toward the east for over ten minutes.

On the road below, a car driving without headlights suddenly came into view of everyone, speeding along the mountain path.

"Boom!"

Han Zong, leading the pack, spotted the vehicle first. With a wave of his hand, he struck out through the air. A massive fist imprint condensed from blazing flame true qi tore through the night sky and shattered the air, plunging downward like a falling meteor and whistling straight toward the car.

Boom!

The moving car suddenly accelerated at that exact moment, roaring as its speed spiked just in time to dodge the descending flame fist imprint.

"Bang...!"

A thunderous explosion seemed to echo across the mountain road.

Mud splattered and shattered stones flew through the air as a crater four to five meters wide was instantly carved out by the flame fist imprint.

"Liu! Ju! Fen!"

Han Zong’s furious roar reverberated through the mountain forest.

Boom, boom, boom!

The air exploded.

Flame true qi materialized into fist imprints once more, launched into the open air to smash toward the ground below.

The violent aura friction against the air produced a shrill, piercing shriek.

The simultaneous release of five fist imprints successfully intercepted the speeding vehicle, blowing it up and sending it tumbling on the spot.

Yet, amid the wreckage of the burning, airborne car, a single figure flashed out instantly and vanished deep into the mountain forest...