Chapter 23: Backup

Boom!

The iron-like fist penetrated Liu Wuya’s throat, slicing easily through his neck and then exploding.

Raging Inferno Fist!

A powerful surge of energy burst forth in Liu Wuya’s wound. As blood gushed everywhere, a head flew into the air. Su Chen reached out, and an air tentacle wrapped around Liu Wuya’s head and brought it into Su Chen’s hands.

Even if Liu Wuya was in the Light Shaking Realm, he would be dead without a head, much less in the Yang Opening Realm.

Liu Wuya’s corpse toppled over, shocking Long Qingjiang completely.

“You……” He stared at Su Chen in anger before launching a palm strike at Su Chen.

The palm strike seemed to swallow up the sky as its momentum grew to an unprecedented degree.

This was the strength of someone at the peak of the Yang Opening Realm. A single palm strike was enough to badly injure Su Chen.

When faced with this palm strike, however, Su Chen paid it no attention. He turned around and left. A shadow leapt from his right and blocked Long Qingjiang’s blow.

Wei Liancheng.

Bang!

Their blows collided. Wei Liancheng flew backwards, doing a somersault as he flew through the air.

Even though he hadn’t been Long Qingjiang’s opponent in this exchange of blows, he wasn’t injured.

Long Qingjiang’s eyes glinted fiercely. “So you aren’t at the Blood Boiling Realm but at the Yang Opening Realm. Wei Liancheng, what is your purpose in hiding your identity and infiltrating my clan? And why do you want to help Su Chen?”

Wei Liancheng said icily, “Until I get the item, he cannot die to you.”

“You think you can stop me?” Long Qingjiang was infuriated. He waved his hands and said, “Capture him!”

The prepared Long Clan guards and guests yelled as they charged.

Wei Liancheng retreated a few steps, a profound talismanic symbol appearing on his hand as he pressed it to the ground. With a “Bang!” a large amount of black, thick smoke emerged from the ground, shrouding the whole place in darkness.

“This trick again!” Long Qingjiang said savagely. “Did you really think that this type of tactic would be enough to deal with me?”

Wei Liancheng’s voice traveled through the black smoke. “Long Clan Patriarch, you’ve misunderstood me. My tactic is a bit different from Knowledge Executor Su’s. What he released was really smoke, but what I released…… isn’t.”

“What?” Long Qingjiang was stunned.

A guard suddenly screamed from within the fog.

“AHH!” The piercing cry was miserable, causing everyone’s hearts to begin to beat faster.

Following this piteous cry, the sound of chewing could be audibly heard as if something was eating something else. Everyone felt their spines tingle.

Immediately afterward, cries of pain began to ring out.

“There’s something in the fog!”

“A monster, monster! What is this monster!?”

“Please, let me go! AHH…… no……”

The cries came in waves, one after the other.

At the same time, Su Chen got into his carriage.

He waved his hands, and Iron Cliff threw Long Shaoyou into the smoke.

Su Chen said, “I’m a man of my word. Here is the person I agreed to return to you. But whether or not he survives depends on whether or not you, the Long Clan Patriarch, are fast enough to save him.”

“AH!” Long Shaoyou was already beginning to yell.

Originally, Long Qingjiang was still planning on chasing after Su Chen, but now he charged back into the fog to save his son.

Wei Liancheng, upon seeing Su Chen leave, glanced at him coldly. He didn’t give chase; all he did was say, “Knowledge Executor Su, remember you owe me one.”

“Of course. I will wait for your arrival at the Su Residence,” Su Chen said as his voice floated over to Wei Liancheng.

The carriage left peacefully and without incident, the sounds of yelling and fighting still coming behind him.

They hadn’t gotten far when they saw a person standing by the side of the road.

Chief Steward Lao.

The carriage stopped in front of Chief Steward Lao. Su Chen stuck his head out and laughed, “Chief Steward Lao.”

Chief Steward Lao sighed. “Knowledge Executor Su, you’ve won this bet. On behalf of my clan’s patriarch, I can tell you that we are completely convinced.”

Su Chen laughed, “Chief Steward Lao, you’re too kind. Then, about our agreement……”

“Naturally, we’ll go with the second option.”

“Good.” Su Chen disappeared inside the carriage again.

Chief Steward Lao stepped to the side, and the carriage continued to advance.

As he watched the carriage depart, the conversation he had had with Su Chen two days ago surfaced in his mind.

“The Long Clan and I have already agreed to exchange in two days. Though the Long Clan agreed to the exchange, however, they will most likely betray me after the exchange. Even though I have made some preparations and I’m confident that I can escape without being harmed by the Long Clan, it’s best to have some backup plans in place.”

“Knowledge Executor Su wants us to save you? That might not be too good, right? Even though the Lian and Long Clans aren’t related by blood, we are still allies facing a common enemy.”

“I’m not asking you to attack each other, but it’s also not my fault that the Lian Clan came a bit later than the Long Clan, which is why my negotiations with the Lian Clan can only be delayed. In addition, the Lian Clan isn’t saving me but just watching over the process of the exchange. If I’m killed by the Long Clan, who will you go to to find your Young Miss?”

“You…… Su Chen, you’re cheating us!”

“Listen to what you’re saying, like my earlier conditions weren’t cheating you.”

“……”

“So how about it? Have you thought it through?”

“Alright, we’ll help you leave. However, this will create some issues between us and the Long Clan. Even though our patriarch can handle it, you cannot have any other demands.”

“Of course. However……”

“What else is there?”

“Don’t be angry. I just wanted to ask, what if I don’t end up needing your help?”

“This……”

“That’s why we also need to have a supplementary arrangement.”

“What kind of supplementary arrangement?”

“Easy. What about making peace? I can give up on any benefits I might obtain from the Lian Clan, return the Young Miss to you without additional conditions, and even make a public apology to the Lian Clan. However, the Lian Clan must vow on their bloodline that they will never make trouble for me on their own.”

——————————

Su Chen’s words resounded in Chief Steward Lao’s ears. Eventually, he shook his head and sighed.

“Chief Steward Lao, what do you think about this person?” A person asked from behind Chief Steward Lao.

Chief Steward Lao gazed off in the distance as he said slowly, “He’s not simple at all.”

“Definitely. If he could escape from Long Qingjiang’s hand alive, he must have some ability no matter what tactic he used.”

Chief Steward Lao continued, “I’ve seen many people with ability before. But someone who seems so reckless yet has planned every step with pinpoint precision and prepared so many backup measures? That is something rare. Xin Lai, have you ever thought that, apart from us, Su Chen has some other backup measure prepared?”

“Other backup measures?” The man called Xin Lai froze. “You think that Su Chen had something else prepared?”

“That’s what I think is the most frightening part. If he defeats the Long Clan once, that’s not such a big deal; what’s scary is that he might not have used his full strength, and that would be disastrous.” Chief Steward Lao squinted his eyes.

“What other reserves could he possibly have?”

“Who knows. But if he does, I hope that the Lian Clan isn’t the one to force it out.”

“Chief Steward Lao means……”

“If he wants peace, then give him peace.”