The air inside the Lin family mansion was heavy with the metallic tang of dried blood and the suffocating scent of incense. Su Han moved like a wraith, his silhouette flickering against the stone walls as he navigated the labyrinthine corridors.
Suddenly, the rhythmic thud of heavy boots echoed from the turn ahead.
*Clack. Clack. Clack.*
Su Han's pupils constricted. Without a sound, he pressed his back against a cold pillar, his breath held in a state of suspended animation. A group of guards, clad in the distinctive grey tunics of the Lin clan, marched past his position.
His hand instinctively drifted toward the hilt of his blade. Part of him—the part fueled by the Dragon Bloodline's primal rage—wanted to leap out and paint the walls red with their lives. But he forced his fingers to relax.
"Patience," he whispered to his inner demons. "Alerting the entire nest now would be a death sentence for Chu Yao."
As the guards faded into the shadows, Su Han realized the gravity of his situation. Finding one girl in this fortress was like searching for a needle in a burning haystack. He needed a key. He needed information.
He bypassed several main halls, sticking to the servant passages. Fate finally smiled upon him when he spotted a set of ornate wooden doors, slightly ajar. He leaned closer, his enhanced senses picking up a disturbing melody of sounds.
A girl was sobbing, her voice thin and shattered. Accompanying it was the oily, grating laughter of a man.
"Please... stop..." the girl pleaded, her voice trembling.
"Stop? We're just getting started, sweetheart," the man replied, followed by the sickening sound of a struggle.
Su Han's eyes flared with a cold, predatory light. He didn't hesitate. He stepped up to the door and delivered a firm, rhythmic knock.
*Knock. Knock. Knock.*
"Who the hell is it?" a voice barked from inside, dripping with irritation. "I told you not to disturb me!"
Su Han lowered his voice, making it sound urgent yet subservient. "Sir, Master Lin has sent a bottle of the premium aged wine for everyone. It's a reward for tonight's vigilance."
There was a pause. The greed in the man's silence was palpable.
*Slap!*
"Go and get it, you useless brat!" the man yelled inside.
The door creaked open, revealing a young maid with tear-stained cheeks and a bruised lip. Before she could even process the stranger standing before her, Su Han's hand moved in a blur.
*Thwack!*
A precise strike to the back of her neck sent her spiraling into unconsciousness before she could utter a sound. Su Han caught her mid-fall and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him with a soft click.
Inside, a young man from the Lin family—distinguishable by his expensive silk robes—was lounging on a bed, a smug grin still etched on his face. The grin died the moment he saw Su Han.
Before he could even draw a breath to scream, Su Han was there.
*Whoosh!*
The cold edge of a blade pressed firmly against the man's Adam's apple. Su Han's gaze was like two shards of frozen steel, piercing into the man's soul.
"One sound," Su Han hissed, his voice a low, guttural vibration. "And I'll open your throat before you can blink."
The man, who had been so brave while tormenting a defenseless girl, instantly dissolved into a heap of trembling flesh. Sweat poured down his face, soaking his collar.
"Please... mercy... I'll give you anything!" he whimpered, his eyes wide with terror.
Su Han's grip tightened. "Where is Chu Yao? Where did Lin Tianyou hide her?"
The man stammered, his confusion genuine. "C-Chu Yao? I don't know who that is! I swear! I'm just a side branch member... I don't get told the Master's secrets!"
Su Han's eyes narrowed. He delivered a brutal punch to the man's gut, knocking the wind out of him.
*Oof!*
"Don't lie to me," Su Han growled. "Where does Lin Tianyou keep the prisoners? The girls he brings back?"
The man gasped for air, his face turning a sickly shade of grey. "The... the North Annex... but only the Third Elder has the key! He's a Level 9 Body Refiner! You'll never get past him!"
Su Han's mind raced. He squeezed more information out of the coward—the number of guards, the shifts, the locations of the other two Level 9 experts. Once he had what he needed, he didn't leave witnesses.
*Crack!*
With a swift motion, Su Han ended the man's miserable existence. He couldn't afford a loose tongue.
He moved toward the North Annex, his heart drumming a steady, lethal rhythm. As he approached the designated area, a sudden chill raced down his spine. It wasn't cold; it was the instinctual warning of a predator sensing a bigger beast.
He froze, merging with the shadows of a large ornamental vase. He watched as guards cycled through in a strict, 10-minute rotation. They were focused on one specific room.
Su Han waited for the gap. When the guards turned the corner, he blurred across the open space and peered through a high window.
Inside, an old man sat in a cross-legged position. His breathing was slow, deep, and heavy, vibrating the very air around him.
*Vrrr... Vrrr...*
"Level 9 Body Refiner," Su Han whispered. The sheer pressure coming from the old man was immense.
Su Han realized the trap. If he attacked now, the noise would draw the other two Level 9 experts from the main hall. He would be surrounded and crushed. He needed to divide them
.
He recalled the coward's words: the Third Elder often traveled back to the main Lin estate for reports.
Su Han retreated, heading back toward the hall. He hid behind a cluster of thick tapestries and waited. Fortune favored the bold.
"That greedy old bastard," he heard a guard grumble nearby. "The Third Elder just left for the main estate again to claim his 'bonus' from the Patriarch. We're stuck here doing the grunt work."
Su Han's lips curled into a predatory smirk. This was his chance.
He hurried toward the mansion's exit, hoping to intercept the Elder on the path. But as he reached the outer courtyard, a guard spotted him.
"Hey! You! Stop right there!" the guard shouted, drawing his sword.
Su Han didn't waste a second. As the guard approached, Su Han reached into his robes and drew a hidden dagger.
*Squelch!*
In one fluid motion, he drove the blade through the guard's throat, stifling his cry with a blood-slicked hand. Two more guards emerged from the shadows, their eyes widening in shock.
Su Han didn't give them time to think. He lunged forward like a coiled spring.
*Slash! Slash!*
Two clean arcs of silver light followed by two heavy thuds as their bodies hit the floor. He dragged them into a nearby storage room, his heart racing. Time was running out.
He sprinted toward the outer gates. Just as he reached the perimeter, he saw him—the Third Elder, moving with a brisk, arrogant stride back toward the mansion. The old man must have noticed the lack of guards at the gate.
Su Han's mind worked at lightning speed. A direct confrontation here was too risky. He needed to lead the old man away.
He stepped out from behind a tree, deliberately making noise.
The Third Elder spun around, his eyes locking onto Su Han. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Su Han didn't answer. Instead, he let his shoulders slump. He made his hands tremble and allowed a flicker of genuine-looking fear to wash over his face. He turned and began to run—not at full speed, but just fast enough to stay ahead.
"Stop, you little rat!" the Elder roared, his ego piqued.
The Elder saw a weak boy, barely Level 7 by his estimation, fleeing in terror. He didn't suspect a trap; he saw an easy kill to vent his frustration.
Su Han led him deep into a desolate, abandoned alleyway far from the mansion. The silence of the night was broken only by their frantic footsteps.
*Thud. Thud. Thud.*
Finally, Su Han reached a dead end. He stopped and turned around, his chest heaving, his eyes still wide with "fear."
The Third Elder stepped into the alley, a cruel, mocking smile on his wrinkled face. "Nowhere left to run, boy. Tell me who sent you, and I might make your death quick."
Su Han's expression shifted instantly. The fear vanished, replaced by a cold, terrifying emptiness. The "weakness" in his posture evaporated, replaced by the coiled tension of a dragon ready to strike.
"You're right," Su Han said, his voice now steady and lethal. "There's nowhere left to run... for you."
Before the Elder could process the change, Su Han's foot slammed into the ground.
*BOOM!*
The stone beneath him cracked as he launched himself forward with the full force of his Dragon Bloodline. He didn't use a normal strike; he swung his blade with a ferocity that tore through the air.
*SHIIIING!*
The Elder's eyes bulged. The "weak boy" had vanished, and in his place stood a demon.
The Elder barely managed to raise his arms in a defensive block, but the sheer momentum of Su Han's ambush caught him off guard. The real battle had finally begun.
Would Su Han be able to kill a Level 9 expert before the others realized their comrade was missing?
"Enjoying Su Han's rise to power? Make sure to add this to your collection so you never miss a breakthrough!"