Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Shed Sweat, Become Stronger
Southern Cang City.
A portly man sat on the ground, surrounded by a litter of gnawed-clean chicken bones. He licked his greasy fingers, then his brow furrowed slightly. In a surprisingly delicate voice, he muttered,
"What’s going on?"
"How did Brother Shui just suddenly die...?"
Priests like them, who all served the same High Priest, possessed a special means of sensing each other’s life and death.
So, the moment Brother Shui’s life was extinguished, he reacted instantly. At the same time, his phone began to vibrate in his pocket; it was undoubtedly calls from the other Priests.
Ignoring his greasy hands, he picked up the phone and swiped to answer. He cleared his throat and said,
"You felt it too?"
"Yes, the Water Priestess is dead too. With the Blood Priestess, we’ve lost two Priests this time. And I just contacted the High Priest. Guess what happened?"
"Heh. Don’t tell me the High Priest abandoned us all because he doesn’t want to expose his position."
A somewhat savage grin spread across the portly man’s face, yet his tone remained unnervingly pleasant. Hearing this, a cold laugh came from the other end of the line:
"You know what the higher-ups are like. We both know it damn well. Sooner or later, this day was bound to come for those of us selling our lives to people like them."
"But what choice do we have? We still have to rely on them to obtain the power bestowed by Him. In the end, we’re still under their thumb. What’s the point of even talking about this?"
The portly man slowly got to his feet. The floorboards beneath him groaned under his immense weight, sounding as if they might give way before finally settling after a few seconds. He then walked to the fridge, pulled out another chicken leg, and started gnawing on it. He spoke as he chewed,
"So, tell me. What’s on your mind? Why’d you call?"
"What else could be on my mind?"
"We need to save our own skins first!"
"Once the special organization pinpoints our locations, they’ll definitely try to pick us off one by one. If we stick together, we’ll be safer than we are scattered."
"Tch. And here I thought you had a good idea. Isn’t this just rats huddling together for warmth?"
"What about the Priests under the other High Priests? What are they saying?"
"Heh. The Spiritual Sect was never a monolith to begin with. Most of the names on the list that got leaked were from our High Priest’s faction. The other factions couldn’t care less about us. Anyway, let’s group up first."
"Fine."
...
On the clifftop.
After receiving news that Su Yu was under attack, Liu Ming rushed frantically in his direction.
Arriving with him was his assistant, Wang Yu.
Watching the two figures gradually appear in his line of sight, Su Yu felt an indescribable sense of resignation. ’Just how am I supposed to spin a reasonable story about my brother’s involvement?’
Fortunately, the persona of the mysterious master was already so deeply ingrained that Su Yu felt he only needed to give a simple description, and Liu Ming and Wang Yu would probably fill in the blanks themselves.
"HUFF... Are you okay, Yu?"
While Su Yu’s mind was racing, Liu Ming arrived in front of him, panting heavily. Clearly, the guy who could liquefy had put a lot of pressure on Liu Ming by breaking through the encirclement.
Su Yu smiled. "I’m fine, Brother Liu."
Seeing that Su Yu was indeed unharmed, the weight in Liu Ming’s heart finally lifted. He gave a light cough, took out the little notebook he always used, and began,
"In that case, start by telling me what just happened."
Seeing Liu Ming immediately slip into work mode, Su Yu recounted the story he had already drafted in his head. Because his tale fit so perfectly with the mysterious master’s past exploits, Liu Ming didn’t doubt him at all.
He just glanced at Wang Yu beside him, tapped his notebook lightly with his pen, and murmured,
"What a pity. We still failed to discover the mysterious master’s true identity this time."
"But judging by the fact he intervened to save Yu, he is definitely on our side. This makes me even more certain that the decision we made at the last meeting was the right one."
The decision from the last meeting naturally referred to abandoning the search for the mysterious master and focusing all efforts on the "beheading operation."
The most important reason for pushing this strategy was that Liu Ming had a crystal-clear view of the potential the mysterious master possessed.
Last time, the mysterious master’s fight with Xue City was an intense, back-and-forth battle.
This time, the interval between the mysterious master’s attack and his departure was only a few seconds—at most, enough time to execute a single sword strike.
But a single sword strike was enough to instantly kill a Tier Three Sequencer. Such a growth rate forced even Liu Ming, a Tier Three Peak expert, to pay double attention.
’We absolutely cannot get on the mysterious master’s bad side.’
Wang Yu listened to Liu Ming’s words and nodded in agreement.
Liu Ming thought for a moment before continuing,
"We’ve launched the ’beheading operation’ this time. After being repeatedly suppressed, the Spiritual Sect’s Priests might launch a final counterattack."
"During a previous meeting, we discussed having Su Yu move out of the Sword Hall and into the department building after this ’beheading operation’ concludes. Since it’s our headquarters, it might be safer."
"But now... I think it’s better for you to stay at the Sword Hall."
"I don’t know the reason, but the mysterious master’s willingness to protect you is a solid fact. And... it’s happened multiple times."
"This also means that living at the Sword Hall grants you his protection. The department building is a conspicuous target and isn’t necessarily safer than the Sword Hall. Of course, it’s still up to you."
Hearing this, Su Yu pretended to think it over, then said,
"In that case, I’ll stay at the Sword Hall. Even though we’ve agreed not to deliberately investigate the mysterious master’s identity, with me living at the Sword Hall, it’s like having an extra pair of eyes on the situation."
Of course, this wasn’t Su Yu’s real reason. He simply wanted to spend more time with his brother. In a little while, he would be heading to the Capital City, and he didn’t know how long it would be before they could see each other again.
’Besides... my brother’s strength...’
Su Yu felt his brother was no weaker than Liu Ming. Staying at the Sword Hall might actually be safer.
After hearing Su Yu out, Liu Ming just nodded and said,
"Alright, then continue staying at the Sword Hall. We’ll keep communicating with you via messages, same as before."
"As for your brother, since he’s an ordinary person, we should do our best to keep things like our missions from him. Don’t get him involved. If the mysterious master is willing to tell him, well, that’s none of our business."
"Okay."
Hearing Liu Ming suddenly mention his brother and the mysterious master in the same breath felt a bit surreal to Su Yu, but he suppressed the thought.
With everything clarified, there was nothing left for them to do there.
After cleaning up the scene, Su Yu and Shen Ruyun returned to the Sword Hall.
...
「The next day.」
Su Xing slowly awoke.
He pushed himself up from the bed with one hand, got to his feet, and after a quick wash-up, casually grabbed a pack of bread and headed for the training hall.
When Su Xing entered the training hall,
Su Yu was already there doing his morning exercises. He glanced over, and Su Xing returned the look.
Though they said nothing, everything was understood.
Standing beside Su Yu, Shen Ruyun was a little puzzled. She pinched the flesh at his waist and asked in a low voice,
"Is it just me, or does it feel like the two of you brothers’ relationship has... improved a lot?"
Su Yu gasped in pain and sputtered,
"Let... let go! What nonsense are you spouting? The first time you came to the Sword Hall, you made fun of me for having a brother complex. When has my relationship with my brother ever been bad?"
"Hm... that’s true."
Su Xing pretended not to hear their hushed conversation. He simply walked to the sword rack, picked up a heavy sword, and began swinging it again and again.
Although he could grow stronger by allocating points through the system, Su Xing knew that true strength came from sweat. He, Su Xing, needed to become even stronger!
