"Where did he go?"
More than a dozen thugs sent by Lin Zihao waved steel pipes in confusion. Just a second ago, Jiang Che had been standing right in front of them—now he had vanished into thin air.
"Behind you."
A cold, quiet voice echoed from their backs.
A'Biao, the leader, spun around—but before he could focus his eyes, Jiang Che's figure blurred again. The sharp cracks of joints and muffled groans erupted one after another at the school gate.
Jiang Che moved with effortless grace. Every step carried him several yards, his body flickering through the crowd like a phantom. He didn't throw wild punches. Instead, he extended two fingers—index and middle—precisely striking underarms, elbow joints, and the backs of knees.
This was a Daoist pressure-point technique. It didn't break bones—it severed the flow of qi through their meridians.
In less than thirty seconds, the dozen thugs who had just been shouting threats lay collapsed on the ground. Their bodies trembled helplessly, unable to muster even a shred of strength.
"Is… is this a movie shoot?"
"I didn't even see him move—did he just teleport?"
The surrounding students stood frozen, mouths open, barely remembering to breathe.
Lin Zihao was terrified out of his mind. He turned and scrambled toward his Ferrari.
"Did I say you could leave?"
Jiang Che snorted coldly. From fifteen feet away, he flicked his hand casually.
Smack!
A crisp slap rang through the air. Lin Zihao's body spun twice like he'd been hit by a freight train before crashing into his car door. Half his teeth flew out along with a spray of blood.
"Jiang Che! D-Don't do anything crazy! Killing someone is illegal!" Su Qing screamed, hiding behind the car, her face ghostly pale.
"Illegal?" Jiang Che walked forward slowly, looking down at Lin Zihao like a puddle of mud. "Your so-called background is already rubble. Tell me—who's going to stand up for a bankrupt nobody like you now?"
Clutching his face, Lin Zihao shouted in panic, "That's bullshit! My dad just said Wand鼎 Group was investing in us—"
Before he could finish, his cracked phone rang again. The broken speaker blasted the furious voice loud enough for the entire campus to hear:
"You idiot! The Shen family just issued an industry-wide blacklist! Every Lin Real Estate project has been frozen—the courts are already here… we're finished! Who the hell did you offend at school?!"
Lin Zihao's pupils shrank. He collapsed to the ground, the stench of humiliation filling the air once more.
Su Qing's body trembled violently. The disgust in her eyes toward Jiang Che instantly turned into pleading desperation. She rushed forward, trying to grab his sleeve.
"Jiang Che, I was wrong! Lin Zihao tricked me! You're the one I really love! Please forgive me… You're so powerful now—the Shen family must listen to you, right…?"
Jiang Che stepped aside with visible disdain. She stumbled and crashed hard onto the concrete.
"Su Qing, cultivators believe in cause and effect," Jiang Che said coldly, without a trace of emotion. "Your cause was greed. Your result is emptiness. Don't pollute my space."
Just then, a Bentley Mulsanne bearing license plate 00001 screeched to a halt at the school entrance.
The door opened. Shen Qingqiu stepped out first—long legs wrapped in black stockings. Ignoring the stunned stares around her, she hurried toward Jiang Che. She had moved so quickly that beads of sweat dotted her forehead.
"Mr. Jiang! I finally found you!"
She stopped in front of him and bowed deeply, her tone humble to the extreme. "We've located the 'five-hundred-year ancestral beam' you asked about! It's at Jiangcheng University's Institute of Ancient Architecture. It was rescued two years ago from a demolished Ming dynasty royal residence—the last surviving piece."
The entire crowd fell into stunned silence once again.
The Shen family's ice-queen heiress—the goddess of Jiangcheng's business world—was treating Jiang Che, once known as a pathetic simp, with absolute respect.
Lin Zihao and Su Qing could barely breathe. A bone-deep despair told them one undeniable truth: Jiang Che had become someone far beyond their reach—even to look up at.
Jiang Che raised an eyebrow. "That fast? Lead the way."
…
Jiangcheng University, back mountain—Institute of Ancient Architecture.
The place was filled with broken walls and decaying wooden relics. Inside a sterile lab, a massive purple-black wooden beam lay across a workbench, emitting a faint, strange fragrance.
An elderly professor wearing thick glasses held an electric saw, measuring the beam carefully.
"The structure is highly unusual," the professor said. "We need to slice samples to uncover the secrets of Ming dynasty preservation techniques." He adjusted his glasses and prepared to start the saw.
"Stop!"
Jiang Che burst through the door, his voice like thunder.
Inside his mind, Laozi was already shouting furiously. "This wood contains five hundred years of imperial fortune and the people's faith—it's a perfect 'spiritual anchor.' If that mortal cuts it with iron, he'll destroy the balance and shorten his own lifespan!"
"Who are you? Who let you in?" the professor snapped, irritated. "This is a provincial research project!"
Shen Qingqiu entered behind him, her voice icy. "Professor Wang, the Shen family is purchasing this beam. Name your price."
The professor hesitated, recognizing her but still stubborn. "Miss Shen, this isn't about money—it's scientific research…"
Jiang Che smirked and walked directly to the beam. He gently tapped the purple-black wood with his palm.
Hummmm—!
A deep, dragon-like resonance echoed from within. Every instrument in the lab erupted into shrill alarms.
Pointing at a tiny red mark in the center of the beam, Jiang Che said coldly, "One cut here and five hundred years of accumulated killing aura will burst out. The first person to die… will be you."
Professor Wang's face turned pale. "Y-You're talking nonsense! It's just a piece of wood!"
Jiang Che didn't bother arguing. He pressed his palm firmly onto the beam.
[Ding! Five-hundred-year Fortune Wood detected. Absorb excess energy to strengthen Sacred Body?]
"Don't absorb it—seal it," Jiang Che thought.
Innate qi surged from his palm into the beam. The once-dull wood glowed with warm golden light. Cracked grain patterns began miraculously healing before everyone's eyes.
The professor stared in disbelief. The electric saw slipped from his hand and clattered onto the floor.
"A… a miracle…"
Jiang Che turned to Shen Qingqiu. "I'm taking this beam. Also—I sensed the old monk's fang you mentioned. It's at Wolong Temple nearby. But I need to handle some personal matters first. Arrange transport to the Shen family estate—and absolutely no metal near it."
"Yes! I'll personally oversee the transport!" Shen Qingqiu's gaze had shifted from respect to something bordering on fanatical reverence.
Jiang Che left the institute and walked along a quiet campus path.
With the first artifact secured, he knew the hidden forces lurking in Jiangcheng's shadows would soon notice him. He needed to break through to the second level of Qi Refinement before acquiring the next artifact.
Back at the dormitory building, he looked up at the familiar window. Just one day ago, he had been the campus laughingstock. Now he carried twenty million dollars and could decide the fate of powerful families with a gesture.
"Ancestor, what's next?" he asked inwardly.
Laozi chuckled. "If someone's targeting the Shen family's dragon vein, they're probably eyeing the 'unclean things' in this school too. At midnight tonight, visit the hospital morgue. There's a little friend there who can help you break through quickly."
Jiang Che's mouth twitched. "The morgue? Ancestor… your training methods are definitely… down to earth."