Hearing that cold, mechanical voice from the system, Su Han froze in his tracks for a moment.
Ding!
"Host has triggered a new mission: Rescue Chu Yao."
"Objective: Save Chu Yao and eliminate the three 9th Level Body Refining warriors of the Lin family."
"Additional Task: Defeat all other Lin family members present in the mansion."
"Reward: Based on the host's performance in defeating enemies and ensuring Chu Yao's safety without a single scratch."
"Warning: If the host fails to kill the three main targets or fails to rescue Chu Yao, the skill 'Invincible Supreme Dragon's Wrath' will be permanently revoked."
Su Han didn't feel any joy hearing this; instead, the rage in his eyes flickered like a dark flame.
"Dammit!" he cursed under his breath.
"Instead of helping in a crisis, you just send these messed-up messages!"
The mission was a clear trap—it meant he had to become a sworn enemy of the Lin family at any cost.
If he slaughtered their three top warriors and wiped out the rest, someone would surely escape or leave a trail.
The Lin family would eventually find out who turned their mansion into a river of blood.
His current strength wasn't enough to face the entire Lin family head-on.
He was only at the 7th Level of Body Refining, while the family's real power lay in Qi Refining experts.
Rumor had it that the old Patriarch of the Lin family had already reached the 7th Level of Qi Refining.
Initially, Su Han only came here to rescue Chu Yao, but the mission was forcing him to stain his hands with their blood.
However, a part of him didn't care anymore.
By touching Chu Yao, the Lin family had already climbed to the top of his blacklist.
He wanted to teach Lin Tianyou a lesson he'd never forget, so why not start right here?
As for the old fogies of the family, he would deal with them when the time came.
They wouldn't be able to find him easily anyway.
Once he finished things here, he planned to stay away from Linkshan Town for a while.
The Clan's Annual Competition was only 25 days away.
He knew the Grand Elder was plotting to make his own son, Su Chen, the next Clan Head.
In these 25 days, Su Han was determined to grow strong enough to crush that competition.
If the Lin family came looking for trouble then, he wouldn't be a pig waiting for the slaughter.
He would strike back with everything he had.
While he wouldn't be completely safe from the Lin family's wrath, a brilliant performance at the competition would change everything.
Those old Elders who called him 'trash' after his Dantian broke would be forced to witness his bravery and skill.
They would have no choice but to support the rightful Young Master of the Su family once again.
In that state, the clan would see him as their pride and honor.
They would protect him not only from the Lin family but also from the Grand Elder's internal schemes.
The Grand Elder's dream of becoming the Head and his son's dream of being the Young Master would be shattered.
But that was still a distant goal.
If he wiped out everyone in this mansion right now, who would even know it was him?
His hatred for Lin Tianyou was pure and raw; that bastard had dared to touch the person Su Han held closest to his heart.
He wanted to tear them all into pieces.
If he had to kill every family member standing in his way, he wouldn't lose a second of sleep over it.
Plus, the experience points would be a massive boost to his cultivation.
He needed 2200 EXP to reach the next level.
Suddenly, his eyes brightened as he remembered something important.
He had received five drops of Blood Essence earlier.
Since getting the reward, he had been so busy that he hadn't found a single moment to check it.
He moved quickly to a deserted corner, hiding in the shadows for a couple of minutes.
With a thought, he summoned the system interface and pulled up the information on the Blood Essence.
What he saw made a wave of genuine excitement wash over him.
This Blood Essence was the perfect fuel for his Invincible Supreme Dragon Bloodline.
A single drop was the concentrated essence of low-level ferocious beasts.
This wasn't just ordinary blood; it was the core power and spirit of the creature.
Only a single drop of such essence exists within a beast, and only in those at the Low-Level High-Grade rank.
Finding it in anything lower was practically impossible.
It required special techniques to compress a beast's entire life force into a single, potent drop.
Even then, it was rare to find it even in high-grade creatures.
A sudden thought crossed his mind, and he felt a slight wave of nausea.
"Wait... do I have to drink this stuff to upgrade my bloodline?"
His bloodline was currently at Level 1, and he had no idea how many drops he would actually need.
Even though the thought of drinking it made his stomach turn, he pulled out the small bottle containing the five drops.
He tilted it carefully, letting one drop fall onto his palm.
The moment the blood touched his skin, a searing sensation surged through his entire body.
Sizzle!
It was incredibly hot and heavy, like liquid lead.
Suddenly, he felt something racing through his veins.
His own blood began to boil, and his arm started glowing with an intense heat right where the drop landed.
The warmth spread rapidly from his palm to his chest.
Instead of needing to be swallowed, the Blood Essence grew even hotter and simply sank into his skin.
It merged directly with his boiling blood, sending a wave of comfort through his limbs.
Huff... huff...
He took a deep breath, a small smile forming on his face.
At least he didn't have to drink it.
Encouraged, he poured the remaining drops onto his palm and let his body soak up the power.
He felt the energy flowing, but to his disappointment, the Invincible Supreme Dragon Bloodline didn't level up yet.
It seemed he was going to need a lot more than just five drops to reach the next stage.
Even though Su Han felt a bit of disappointment, he quickly shook it off.
He knew the Invincible Supreme Dragon Bloodline was no ordinary thing.
It probably needed more Blood Essence to reach the next level, and he hoped this mission would provide just that.
His eyes grew sharp as he began circling the mansion.
He was looking for a blind spot where he could slip inside without being noticed.
His first priority was to check on Chu Yao's condition before making his next move.
He noticed that the security at both the front and back gates was incredibly tight.
There were guards everywhere, watching every corner.
Finally, he found a spot on the left side where no guards were stationed.
He jumped up, grabbing the edge of the wall to peek inside, but immediately ducked back down.
"Dammit!" he cursed silently.
"There are guards patrolling the inner grounds too!"
After a few moments, he peeked again and saw that the guards had moved on.
He realized these were internal patrols moving in a specific cycle.
He didn't rush in; instead, he stayed hidden to study their pattern.
He spent about half an hour carefully watching how many guards were in a team and how long it took them to return.
He discovered there were two teams of five guards each.
They passed through this specific area every five minutes.
Each of these five guards had the strength of a 6th or 7th Level Body Refining warrior.
Su Han quickly did the math in his head.
He realized he would have to face at least one of these teams to get inside.
"Killing five of them at once without making a sound... it's almost impossible," he thought.
Even worse, he would only have a five-minute window before the next team arrived.
He thought for a long time but couldn't find a simple way through.
He wasn't afraid of fighting them, but if they raised an alarm, the powerful experts inside would be alerted.
If someone tried to hurt Chu Yao because of him, it would be a disaster.
His mission was to save her safely, and he wasn't going to take any unnecessary risks.
Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he opened the System Store.
He navigated to the medicine section, searching for something specific.
A cruel smile appeared on his face, but his heart ached when he saw the price.
"Is this system trying to rip me off?"
He had found a special powder that, when released into the air, would prevent anyone within 10 meters from making a sound.
The effect lasted for ten minutes—exactly what he needed.
But the price was steep: 80 System Store Points.
He only had 110 points, and spending 80 felt like a heavy blow.
Still, he bought it without a second thought and used 20 more points to buy a high-grade Healing Pill.
Knowing how dangerous this mission was, he tucked the pill between his teeth for quick use.
He pulled out his Wolf Tooth Dagger, his eyes glowing with focus.
He waited for the exact moment the guards passed and then slipped over the wall.
He moved quickly toward the guards' path and hid behind a thick tree, lying low in the tall grass.
Scanning the area, he realized there was no other cover near the inner gate.
He would have to fight them in the open and finish it within five minutes.
He was worried about anyone coming from the inner part of the mansion.
He carefully checked to see if any other guards were hiding nearby, making sure his plan wouldn't be ruined.
Once he was sure, he prepared to strike.
Su Han saw the new team of guards approaching the area.
He quickly took out the powder and scattered it silently into the air.
As the guards walked into the zone, they didn't notice anything different.
Su Han burst out from behind the tree like a shadow.
His Shadow Steps were now at 77% mastery, making him nearly invisible.
He appeared behind one guard before the man could even blink.
Squelch!
The sound of tearing flesh echoed as his dagger pierced the guard's heart.
The man tried to scream, but thanks to the silencing powder, not a single sound left his throat.
Before the others could react, Su Han was already behind the second guard.
Slash!
His dagger cut clean through the second man's throat, ending his life instantly.
As the two bodies hit the ground with a soft thud, the remaining three guards spun around.
Their eyes widened in shock as they tried to reach for their weapons.
One guard, who was a bit slower than the others, froze in terror.
Su Han was right in front of him, his blood-red eyes and a jagged smile haunting his vision.
The dagger was already flying straight toward his chest.
Clang!
One by one, they fell without a whisper... but can Su Han reach Chu Yao before the silence breaks?
"Enjoying Su Han's rise to power? Make sure to add this to your collection so you never miss a breakthrough!"