The news spread faster than anyone expected.
By afternoon, the hidden circles already knew—the declining Su family had tied itself to a rising corporate force through marriage. Some laughed at it. Some ignored it.
Some… paid attention.
Because even a dying clan could still have value.
And sometimes, value needed to be tested.
Night came quietly again.
Su Chen stood by the window in his room, looking out at the distant lights. His expression was calm, but his senses were no longer the same as before.
Everything felt clearer.
Sharper.
The faint movement of air, the subtle shift of presence within the estate, even the hidden formations embedded in the walls—all of it revealed itself naturally to him.
This was Qi Condensation Peak.
But not the kind this world understood.
His hand rested behind his back.
"Too quiet," he said softly.
Then—
A ripple.
So faint it would have been ignored by anyone below Foundation Establishment.
But to Su Chen, it was obvious.
Someone had entered.
The figure moved like a shadow along the outer walls of the estate, avoiding the main formations with practiced precision. Whoever it was, they weren't amateur.
They stopped near Su Chen's courtyard.
A pause.
Then a single step forward—
And they were inside.
No alarm.
No sound.
Just silent intrusion.
Su Chen didn't turn around.
"Since you're here," he said calmly, "you might as well stop hiding."
Silence.
Then—
A figure emerged from the darkness.
Black clothing. Covered face. Aura restrained but not perfectly hidden.
Foundation Establishment Realm.
Early Stage.
Strong enough to crush ordinary cultivators in the Su family.
The assassin looked at Su Chen carefully.
"You noticed me," the man said.
Not surprised.
Just confirming.
Su Chen turned slowly.
"Yes."
The assassin's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You don't match the reports."
Su Chen tilted his head.
"And you came anyway."
A brief silence passed.
Then the assassin spoke again.
"The order was simple."
His voice was flat.
"Test the Su heir."
"And if necessary… eliminate him."
Su Chen's expression didn't change.
"Then test me."
The assassin moved first.
Fast.
Faster than most could react.
His figure blurred as he crossed the distance in a single step, hand striking toward Su Chen's throat with lethal precision.
Foundation Establishment cultivators didn't waste movement.
They ended things quickly.
But—
His hand stopped.
Not because he chose to.
Because it couldn't move forward.
Su Chen had caught his wrist.
Effortlessly.
The assassin's pupils shrank.
Impossible.
A Qi Condensation cultivator shouldn't even be able to see that attack clearly, let alone stop it.
"Too slow," Su Chen said.
Then—
He squeezed.
Crack.
The sound was quiet.
But final.
The assassin's arm bent unnaturally as pain shot through his body.
He tried to pull back—
But he couldn't.
Su Chen's grip was like iron.
No.
Not iron.
Something denser.
Something that didn't belong to this realm.
"You're Foundation Establishment," Su Chen said calmly. "And yet your control is unstable. Your energy leaks at every movement."
The assassin gritted his teeth.
"You—"
Before he could finish—
Su Chen stepped forward.
Not fast.
Not explosive.
Just one step.
But in that step, the distance disappeared.
His other hand moved.
A simple strike to the chest.
No technique.
No visible power.
Just contact.
The assassin's body froze.
Then—
His entire energy circulation collapsed instantly.
Not disrupted.
Not scattered.
Collapsed.
As if something had crushed the structure holding it together.
His knees hit the ground.
Hard.
Blood rose in his throat.
"What… did you do…" he forced out.
Su Chen looked down at him.
"I showed you the difference."
The assassin's vision blurred.
This wasn't just strength.
It was suppression.
Complete.
Absolute.
Even though they were technically within comparable realms, the gap felt like standing before something that existed on a completely different level.
Su Chen leaned slightly closer.
"Who sent you?"
Silence.
The assassin clenched his jaw.
Refusal.
Expected.
Su Chen didn't insist.
Instead, he placed his hand lightly on the man's shoulder.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
The assassin's eyes widened in horror.
His internal energy… was being drained.
Not absorbed.
Not refined.
Just erased.
"No—!"
It lasted only seconds.
Then his body went limp.
Lifeless.
Su Chen released him.
The body fell forward.
Silence returned.
Footsteps rushed in moments later.
Guards.
Then elders.
Then—
Su Mu.
He stopped when he saw the scene.
The broken body on the ground.
The faint lingering pressure in the air.
And his son… standing there, completely unharmed.
"Chen'er," Su Mu said, his voice low.
"What happened?"
Su Chen turned slightly.
"An assassin."
"That much is obvious," one elder said sharply. "But how did you—"
Su Mu raised his hand, stopping him.
His eyes remained on Su Chen.
"Explain."
There was no anger.
No suspicion.
Just seriousness.
Su Chen looked at his father for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"I broke through last night."
Silence.
The elders stiffened.
"To Qi Condensation Peak," Su Chen added.
Shock spread instantly.
"That's impossible—"
"In one night?"
"Even geniuses—"
Su Mu didn't react outwardly.
But his aura tightened.
"Continue," he said.
Su Chen nodded slightly.
Then, for the first time, he said it directly.
"My body is different."
A pause.
Then—
"I have an Ancient Primordial Body."
The words fell quietly.
But the effect—
Was explosive.
Every elder froze.
Even Su Mu's expression changed.
"…Are you certain?" he asked slowly.
"Yes."
Su Chen's voice didn't waver.
"I confirmed it myself."
Silence stretched.
Heavy.
Unbelievable.
Ancient Primordial Body.
That wasn't something that should exist in this era.
It wasn't even something most people believed was real.
One elder whispered:
"That… is a myth…"
Su Chen looked at him calmly.
"So was everything beyond Saint Realm."
No one responded.
Because they couldn't.
Su Mu finally stepped forward.
He looked at his son closely.
Not as a father looking at a weak child anymore.
But as someone looking at something unknown.
Dangerous.
And extraordinary.
"Can you control it?" he asked.
"Yes."
That answer came without hesitation.
Su Mu held his gaze for a moment longer.
Then nodded once.
"Good."
He turned slightly toward the elders.
"This matter does not leave this room."
His voice hardened.
"Anyone who speaks of it… answers to me."
No one argued.
They couldn't.
Because they all understood what this meant.
If word spread—
The Su family wouldn't just rise.
They would be hunted.
Su Chen looked down briefly at the assassin's body.
Then back at his father.
"This won't be the last."
Su Mu nodded.
"I know."
A pause.
Then he added:
"But next time… don't leave one alive outside your control."
Su Chen's expression didn't change.
"Understood."
Outside, the night deepened.
And somewhere far away—
The people who sent the assassin had no idea…
They had just tested something they were not prepared to face.