“Did you hear the news?” a handsome youth blurted out; he was seated in a luxurious-looking chair. It was made of red plush and seemed to be one of the only kinds you could see in the Tang Gu City. If Su Qingcheng saw this chair, she would accuse it of being anachronistic. Naturally, this handsome youth was Xiao Tie. He was being attended to by two beautiful older women. No one could tell if they were Xiao Tie’s acquaintances or if they were hired by him to ‘attend’ to him. He was facing a rugged man who looked at him with disdain.

“I did hear the news, third brother,” Xiao Hei sighed. “You know, sooner or later, that addiction of yours is going to haunt you. I say this because I care about you.”

Xiao Tie frowned a bit, but after stroking the hair of one of the ladies next to him, his frown turned upside down. “She is but a mere trifle… It doesn’t matter what kind of treasure Su Qingcheng found that helped her recover. Are you telling me she is some kind of monster who can break through four entire ranks in a single year?”

Xiao Hei fidgeted in an uncharacteristically nervous fashion. “I’m warning you, Su Qingcheng isn’t that simple… I think that she might actually be able to do it this time. She even got the notice of Hu Linglei, the Tiger Queen.”

“Huh… She’s strong enough even to make most men jealous of her. How unexpected.” A vicious grin emerged on Xiao Tie’s face. “I should pay this Su Qingcheng a visit one of these days…”

“Third brother, don’t do anything stupid!” Xiao Hei yelled at Xiao Tie, veins bulging out of his forehead. Despite his muscular appearance, Xiao Hei was definitely one of the smarter members of the Xiao clan. He definitely knew something was up with Su Qingcheng and earnestly attempted to warn Xiao Tie not to provoke her further. However, if he still insisted on being a fool, then Xiao Hei couldn’t do any more than this. “If Su Qingcheng really got a treasure from Hu Linglei, that must mean she has the qualification to become even stronger than an elder of our clan in the future. She really can’t be underestimated!”

“Senior Brother Xiao Hei,” Xiao Tie’s gaze suddenly warped into something serious. Xiao Hei had never seen Xiao Tie look this serious before in his life. “I get what I want. If I have to resort to some unscrupulous means, then so be it. Su Qingcheng is a beautiful and smart woman who has no business being like that at her age. Look. Even our sisters have fallen for her. Can you imagine the benefits hooking in someone like that could give us?”

Xiao Tie’s face became sinister. “Elder brother… Not to worry. Everything will be alright. I won’t do anything stupid.”

Xiao Hei turned around at this point, his face looking especially concerned, such that Xiao Tie couldn’t see it. ‘Su Qingcheng… I hope you can get stronger. This guy… He’s really up to no good!’ Xiao Hei muttered inwardly to himself in his heart, trying to convince himself that Su Qingcheng could protect herself.

At that moment…

Su Yanran had been sitting outside Su Qingcheng’s training room in the Tiger’s Den of the clan residence. Whenever someone attempted to grab Su Qingcheng’s attention in the room, Su Yanran would glare at them. In a way, she lowered herself to be a door guard. Whenever someone would ask Su Ran about it, she would deny any responsibility and simply said Su Qingcheng was undergoing closed-door training.

Inside the training room, Su Qingcheng was repeatedly practicing the movements for the Star Vortex Fist. Yao Meiyue had explained that the Star Vortex Fist was the foundational technique for “offense” and would serve as the gateway for more destructive Nightblossom techniques. Though the Star Vortex Fist on its own was incapable of doing direct damage, Su Qingcheng discovered that she could use it to forcefully amplify the Tianqi essence she was grabbing from the environment. Furthermore, Yao Meiyue explained that at higher masteries of the Star Vortex Fist, she could even absorb energy from the weather.

This was absolutely terrifying as it means Su Qingcheng could practice lightning-based moves which was absolutely a one-in-a-thousand occurrence. Lightning energy only circulated in the environment during thunderstorms, and otherwise did not occur naturally. People who had an affinity towards lightning therefore did not normally enjoy the same benefits as regular Tianqi users because despite the insane power of thunder and lightning, it could not be gathered at any time like the typical five elements.

On top of that, Su Qingcheng could also simply get things like sunlight or snow! Such powerful potential made the youth even more excited to practice the technique. Su Qingcheng had been guided up to now by Yao Meiyue who watched approvingly on the side once the girl could easily will or cause the galactic vortex in her arms to dissipate. Every once in a while, Su Qingcheng would have to circulate the Nightflower Tianqi in her body and rejuvenate herself. The more she did this, the more she felt her body throb as the Tianqi essence began to overflow in her veins from the constant exposure. Nightflower Tianqi could be considered to be a unique existence in that it was one of the rare forms of energy requiring three or more elements to create.

Though it was not the only one of its type, Su Qingcheng being as young and as low-leveled as she was, greatly benefited from this exposure as her body over time slowly began to become more refined and increasingly well-built. This empowering feeling made Su Qingcheng very happy and grateful to be under Yao Meiyue’s tutelage, and soon grew increasingly curious as to why Su Ran did not like Yao Meiyue very much. The latter also seemed very disinterested in talking about it, so Su Qingcheng decided not to push the issue and continued her training, which lasted for another month of closed-door training.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

By the time Su Qingcheng left her room properly, Su Yanran stared in awe as her younger sister emerged, looking far better than she did when she first entered the training room. Su Qingcheng’s body was more toned and Su Yanran noticed that the former had abs, noticing the fruits of her labour, Su Yanran gave her a big hug. Smiling, Su Qingcheng hugged Su Yanran back. “Elder sister, I have completed my preliminary training. I should be able to break through to the third rank within a few days.”

“Third rank already? This is really just like my dear sister to pull off such a feat,” Su Yanran pet Su Qingcheng happily. “It took me four months to do the same thing as you who did it in half the time.”

Before Su Qingcheng could continue her personal celebrations, one of the Su clan servants rushed over to Su Qingcheng and Su Yanran. “Uhh, young ladies!! There’s been an emergency.”

“What emergency?” Su Yanran tilted her head and asked quizzically.

“No time to explain… See your parents now!”

Su Qingcheng and Su Yanran looked at each other with worried expressions as they rushed to see Su Zhan and Su Ran. Upon further inquiry, they found out that something had happened to Su Mujian when he went to the Tang Gu Market to buy some herbs and other medicinal ingredients. He was resting in his room, where the parents were also. When they entered the room, they were shocked to see Su Mujian in a miserable condition as he rested in bed.

“What happened?” Su Qingcheng frowned.

Su Zhan looked at his daughters. “Fortunately he has not been poisoned. Otherwise we would have been in even more trouble. His injuries are quite serious but Doctor Qian just said he needed rest. He was suddenly attacked by several cloaked men after he got his herbs and was returning home.”

Su Qingcheng furrowed her brows. “Did we get any clues as to who those guys were or where they came from?”

“Mujian’er was able to defend himself for a bit but there were too many of them. He ripped off one of their cloaks and said they were wearing robes with the Xiao clan emblem on it!!” Su Zhan clenched his fists.

“Impossible,” Su Yanran scowled. “We’re in a good relationship with the Xiao clan. How could they attack Mujian’er like that!!”

“Calm down,” Su Qingcheng said. “This isn’t the Xiao clan doing it on purpose. I can take a guess as to who was responsible for it, but I feel like…”

Su Ran sighed. “Are you sure it was him, that little lecherous brat?”

“I think so. But I don’t have any proof it was him... Even then, I still want to believe it was that silkpants master.”

Su Zhan and Su Yanran didn’t need any names, they knew immediately that they were talking about Xiao Tie. He was a handsome man with many connections, and he was the only one who stood anything to gain out of annoying the Su clan. He definitely had a motive to have some of his friends bully somebody else with numbers. Su Qingcheng clenched her fists.

“I really want to teach that guy a lesson.”

Su Ran eyed Su Qingcheng and noticed something about her. She smiled, but once Su Qingcheng declared her intention to attack, she frowned. “Qingcheng’er, you’re about to break through to the next rank. If Xiao Tie really was the one responsible for putting Su Mujian into this state, you’re simply falling into his trap!! Don’t delay this matter. Su Yanran will be strong enough to send a message!”

Su Qingcheng looked at Su Mujian with a concerned gaze. “It’s all my fault. It’s because I declared that challenge. He’s so underhanded and rotten, it’s increasingly more difficult for me to believe that Xiao Tie wasn’t the one behind this. If he’s so insistent on conquering me, he can do it over my dead body.” Su Qingcheng said quietly, but with a defiant rage that even scared Su Zhan. Su Ran on the other hand could only see herself in Su Qingcheng’s serious expression.

“Qingcheng’er, don’t tell me you’re going to willingly walk into that trap.”

“I need to take responsibility for my words and actions,” Su Qingcheng felt her entire body trembling with rage. “I know the Xiao clan is better than this. That young silkpants guy is really the disgrace of the clan,” she continued. “Sooner or later he will know the real meaning behind ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,’” Su Qingcheng growled as she immediately left the room.

Su Yanran and Su Ran looked at each other as if they had just witnessed an incredulous scene. How could Su Qingcheng be so hasty? “Yanran’er, follow Qingcheng’er and make sure she doesn’t do anything rash. If you have to, come out to save her. She’s growing cocky ever since the training began.” Su Ran instructed her remaining daughter, who nodded dutifully and also left the room.

Su Zhan looked at his wife. “Dear, are you sure those two are going to be alright? If Qingcheng’er causes a scene, this will cause extra tension between our two clans.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve heard some words on the grapevine. Qingcheng’er is popular among the young ladies of the Xiao clan, and the news that she survived a one-on-one encounter with Hu Linglei had already spread. The elders will definitely not reprimand her on sight for being so rash. They will have to listen to both sides of the story first.” Su Ran exhaled deeply. She said these words and meant it but a flame of doubt still lingered in her heart.

Su Qingcheng meanwhile was rushing out of the residence. She immediately stomped her way through the Tang Gu Market, causing multiple eyes to lock onto her as they could feel a strange, mysterious Tianqi leaking out of her fists. They instinctively stepped aside. Su Qingcheng was no longer wearing a cloak to conceal her body, so everybody could recognize this young lady who was once the cripple of the Su clan.

“Who offended her? This Tianqi is really too terrifying.”

“Yeah, she can’t be underestimated anymore. Did you hear she came back safe and sound after asking for fighting pointers with Hu Linglei the Tiger Queen?”

“No way!”

Many private conversations erupted as they saw Su Qingcheng walk angrily through the market. However this youth simply ignored them. The Xiao clan residence was on the other side of the market. She failed to notice Su Yanran tailing her from behind stealthily as she was too angry. This Xiao Tie brat was really too sinister. His aim was to rile up Su Qingcheng, but in order to do so he deliberately had Su Mujian, her elder brother, ambushed by several men who wore clothes with the Xiao clan emblem on it.

It was definitely a significant group otherwise Su Mujian wouldn’t have been beaten to such an extent. Such underhanded tactics enraged Su Qingcheng. By the time she reached the front gates of the Xiao clan residence, she cleared her throat.

“Xiao Tie, you piece of trash! Come out if you value your life!” Su Qingcheng yelled out in a fury. By the time Su Yanran also arrived, hiding behind a tree, she was watching in pure horror as she saw the straightforward way in which Su Qingcheng provoked the young silkpants master of the Xiao clan.