chapter 95

Bang!

The Harpy who had just attacked had his head blasted backwards as a wave of flames engulfed his face.

His head hadn’t exploded, but his skin was badly burnt. Even if he wasn’t going to die, his condition looked quite severe.

“Bastard!” the other Harpy yelled with anger.

“Don’t!” Youthful Abundance yelled.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Su Chen gestured with his palm, and that Harpy was immediately slammed against the wall.

Arcanist’s Hand was an incredibly simple Arcana Technique, but it seemed to gain extraordinary powers under Su Chen’s control.

That Harpy was a Third-Ring Arcana Master, but Su Chen was able to manhandle him with a First-Ring Arcana Technique. No matter how the Harpy struggled, he was unable to extricate himself.

Su Chen casually waved his hand, and the Harpy was sent flying.

Su Chen walked in through the front door of the clan with large strides.

The Wind-Gathering Clan’s alarms immediately began to sound as hundreds of guards charged out, surrounding Su Chen.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Waves of razor-sharp arrows flew through the air at Su Chen.

Given Su Chen’s speed, he could completely ignore those arrows.

But since he was assuming the identity of a powerful Arcana Master, he was going to use Arcana Techniques to resolve the problem.

Su Chen applied a projectile barrier to himself, a Second-Ring Arcana Technique. This barrier was especially useful against projectiles.

The arrows rained down from the sky, uselessly clattering off of an invisible wall.

A moment later, Su Chen grunted as the nearby air suddenly seemed to congeal. A large wave of frosty air surged forwards at the nearby Harpies.

However, this was not Su Chen’s true goal. The frosty air began to gather into the forms of multiple sharp blades.

Third-Ring Arcana Technique, Frost Razor.

However, while most Arcana Masters could only form seven or eight at a time, Su Chen was able to create seventy or eighty instantly.

He was able to extract the full power out of many of these Arcana Techniques unless there was no distinction for them in terms of cultivation base.

When Youthful Abundance saw these Frost Razors appear, her expression drastically changed. “Prince Azure Mark, please don’t!”

Unfortunately, her plea had been a step too late. Su Chen waved his arm, and the Frost Razors pierced in the direction of those Harpies.

The sounds of twanging strings could be heard everywhere. Su Chen had managed to cut all of these Harpies’ bows at once.

A few of the Harpies still wanted to try and fight back. Su Chen harrumphed.

A formless wave of pressure crashed down on them.

His consciousness was powerful enough to force all of the Harpies present to their knees, but Su Chen didn’t want to reveal his full strength just yet. As such, he only used one-tenth of his full strength. This caused fear to spread into the heart of that Fourth-Ring Arcana Master, causing a chill to run up his spine. Su Chen didn’t try to forcefully suppress them, but they all strongly felt that fear seep into their hearts. Some of the weaker-willed Harpies immediately threw down their bows and ran.

Thankfully, there were some Arcana Masters on the other side who could handle this. A clear, radiant hum began to sound out as Su Chen’s fear-inducing pressure was nullified.

Even so, the faces of these Harpies were quite pale. The nullifying effect was not complete, and traces of fear still remained in the hearts of these Harpies. In this exchange of blows, it was quite clear that Su Chen was the victor.

“Who are you?” one of the Wind-Gathering Clan’s elders barked at him.

“The savior of your clan. But before then, you must demonstrate to me that you have value saving,” Su Chen replied brusquely. As he spoke, he turned to glance at Youthful Abundance, who hurriedly stepped forwards. She first sent the uninvolved Harpies away before explaining to the rest what had happened to her.

This was how everyone realized how the secret of Jade Clearmist’s hidden treasure spread. Everyone panicked when they realized that Fate’s Hands was now targeting them.

One of the elders said, “Since Fate’s Hands has their sights fixed on us, how will you, a person who doesn’t even dare show his real face, save us?”

“Didn’t I already say? Hand over Jade Clearmist’s map. This way, Fate’s Hand will come after me, not you, and the danger to you will be greatly mitigated.”

“So you are the same as those Fate’s Hands bastards! You want to forcefully seize our treasures!” the old Harpy yelled angrily.

“No, there is an important difference. Fate’s Hands will kill people to take their treasures, but I can promise you that, as long as you are willing to give me the map, I will give you all of the treasures inside the secret realm. All I want is the corresponding knowledge.”

Hm?

Everyone was taken aback when they heard this.

He only wanted knowledge?

Everyone glanced at each other, clearly not fully convinced.

One of the Harpy elders said, “You? On what basis can you claim to handle Fate’s Hands? I don’t think you can even deal with me.”

As he spoke, an arcane light began to shine as he unleashed an attack at Su Chen.

Su Chen sighed. “So there’s no way around fighting? But since you have decided to attack me, then I will ask for more than that.”

Su Chen’s figure flickered as he disappeared, reappearing in another location – Whitetower teleportation. At the same time that he appeared, he unleashed Killing Blow at the Wind-Gathering Clan’s elder.

Even though Fifth-Ring Arcana Masters could all use teleportation techniques, the amount of control they had varied wildly.

Most Arcana Masters weren’t able to unleash any techniques when teleporting. As a result, they would only teleport to defend themselves, not really to counterattack

.

Su Chen’s Whitetower Teleportation, however, was engraved on his Lotus Platform, similar to an Innate Origin Skill. Given that his understanding of spatial powers had also increased, it was only natural that his teleportation abilities were superior to those of many others. Su Chen had prepared an offensive Arcana Technique during the process of teleportation. The streak of light slammed into the Wind-Gathering Clan’s elder’s back, sending him flying.

Killing Blow was meant to be a direct-attack skill, but in Su Chen’s hands it became a tool useful for launching ambushes. His attacks were so fast and his movements so agile that they greatly exceeded what any of the Harpies had expected.

This single sequence of moves was more than enough to stun all of the Harpies present.

There were still some Harpies who weren’t satisfied, however. Three more of the clan elders attacked, sending three Arcana Techniques flying in Su Chen’s direction at the same time.

Su Chen dodged with ease, at the same time forming an Absolute Zero Icicle. This was an upgraded version of Frost Razor. Not only was it more powerful, but he actually was able to form twelve of them at the same time, which he then hurled at the three elders.

“NO!” Youthful Abundance and the other members of the Wind-Gathering Clan yelled.

Just as the three elders were about to be slashed to pieces, the Absolute Zero Icicles shattered automatically, only leaving behind a chilling impression in the onlookers’ hearts.

“Have you had enough now?” Su Chen asked calmly.

The male Harpy standing at the very center of the group, who was likely the clan head, nodded. “Enough…… Enough. The Wind-Gathering Clan is willing to cooperate with you.”

Su Chen had managed to defeat three elders in the blink of an eye, and they would’ve been badly injured or even killed if Su Chen hadn’t shown them mercy at the last moment. Even the clan head wasn’t that powerful. And given how Su Chen’s consciousness alone had been strong enough to suppress the remaining clan members, it was entirely likely that they would lose even if they were to attack him all at once.

Since they weren’t strong enough, it was no surprise that the Wind-Gathering Clan gave up on trying to force things.

Su Chen said, “But this time, the terms of our agreement have changed. In addition to all of the knowledge, I want to choose three of the treasures inside before anyone else. The rest will belong to you.”

“What? Don’t be too excessive!” Everyone was infuriated.

“If you aren’t satisfied, then I am willing to fight you all at once. But if you fail again, then I will be the one choosing three items to give to you, and everything else will belong to me. Think carefully.”

The Wind-Gathering Clan was very small and didn’t have many powerful experts to speak of. Given Su Chen’s shady appearance and how effortlessly he had been able to suppress some of the strongest members of the clan, they were all aware that trying to take Su Chen on by force wouldn’t benefit them in the slightest.

“Then what about Fate’s Hands?” the clan head asked.

“Leave them to me,” Su Chen replied.

The matter was settled easily.

Su Chen ended up living with the Wind-Gathering Clan for a period of time.

The Harpies treated him, who was powerful enough to suppress their entire clan single-handedly, with immense respect.

This was not that strange. After all, strength reigned supreme in this world.

Su Chen resumed his old habits – reading.

Even though the Wind-Gathering Clan was a small clan, and their library was quite small, they did still have some unique information on hand.

Su Chen was interested in all kinds of knowledge. The more knowledge he had, the easier it would be to apply it in the future.

The rate at which he was able to pick up Arcana Techniques was proof of this. Even though the consciousness crystal contributed significantly, the breadth of knowledge that he already possessed was equally important.

Youthful Abundance followed him dutifully – since the clan had agreed for her life to belong to him, there was nothing she could do about it even if she didn’t agree.

Su Chen was still in the library reading. Youthful Abundance carried over a cup of tea, respectfully placing it in front of Su Chen before leaning closer to him. “What are you reading now?”

Her movements were slightly intimate by this point, and the natural fragrance of her body wafted transiently towards Su Chen.

Su Chen, however, was completely oblivious and continued to read his book. “I’m reading about the elemental distributions of Origin Energy.”

“That’s very basic knowledge,” Youthful Abundance said.

“The more basic it is, the more important it is. This book has some unique explanations that I can’t find anywhere else. It’s very interesting,” Su Chen replied.

“Well, I can’t understand it one way or another. My only job is to give you tea.” Youthful Abundance gently placed a cup in Su Chen’s hand. “Will you really not take off your mask?”

“This is for your good,” Su Chen replied. He brought the cup to his lips and took a gentle sip. “This tea tastes pretty good. It seems that you’ve added Serene Moonlight Orchids?”

“You have quite a sensitive tongue. I added one other thing. Can you tell what it was?” Youthful Abundance chuckled.

“It’s not one – it’s three. Jade Root Grass, Demon Branch, and Soaring Serpent Fluid. Am I right?”

Youthful Abundance’s expression drastically changed as she began to tremble.

Su Chen’s hand holding the cup was incredibly stable. “Using Jade Root Grass and Soaring Serpent Fluid together would make it hard for me to use Origin Energy, and Demon Branch would affect my consciousness, allowing you to control me. The most shocking part is that the Seven Nights Flower you added, when paired with Serene Moonlight Orchids, can suppress strange tastes. That way, the poison would enter my circulation without me even noticing it. Am I correct?”

Youthful Abundance trembled. “You…… How did you know?”

“Sorry, I forgot to tell you…… I am not only an Arcana Master but also a pretty good alchemist. I do have some understanding of the Dao of Alchemy,” Su Chen said with a slight smile.

“Yet you still drank it?”

Su Chen picked up the cup and downed it. “If I didn’t drink it, would you fully give up? This is the last chance I will give you. Since you have failed, then according to our agreement, you are only allowed to take three items out of the treasure realm. If you try to do anything else to me…… I will kill you all.”