6: early stage of foundation building

While Qin Zhu was wondering if Su Yu had been beaten into a fool, Father Su's investigation into what had actually happened at the banquet had finally yielded news.

That day, he had sent people to investigate exactly who had injured Su Yu.

The result he received was that Su Yu had shone brilliantly at the banquet and had secretly offended Cui Wuhe of the Qinghe Cui Clan, one of the Seven Great Clans and Five Surnames.

Father Su was startled upon hearing this news.

If it really was Cui Wuhe who acted, he feared this matter would not be so easily resolved!

After all, that was the Qinghe Cui Clan; their power was immense!

It was not a force he could take revenge against!

At the same time, through his investigation, besides finding that Cui Wuhe might be the culprit...

He had also discovered something quite extraordinary.

And that was that the Chief Steward of the Prince of Huaians Mansion, a confidant of Prince Huaian, had actually appeared secretly at the banquet.

Presumably, they were holding a secret discussion about something.

Could it be that Attendant Li intended to seek refuge with the Prince's Mansion?

Regardless, it was none of his business; he had already sent someone to deal with the person who had uncovered this specific piece of information.

The Su Residence was backed by the Prince of Huaians Mansion, and as Prince Huaian's purse, this matter absolutely could not be known by the Prince.

Otherwise, other variables might arise.

As for Su Yu's grudge, it could only be set aside for now; the Qinghe Cui Clan was not someone the Su family could afford to offend.

But that did not mean Father Su would forget; he had noted this matter down and would settle the debt sooner or later!

...Half a month later.

A pitch-black night, with dark clouds obscuring the moonlight.

A figure darted and shifted through the streets.

This figure was none other than Su Yu.

During this half-month, Su Yu's strength had improved significantly.

Su Yu had purchased a most basic Qi Refining Cultivation Technique from the System Mall.

It only cost ten Spirit Stones.

This technique had no offensive power; it merely allowed one to better circulate the Qi within the body and perform daily basic Cultivation.

For the current Su Yu, it was enough.

Dressed in night-traveling clothes, Su Yu traveled swiftly and went unnoticed.

In just fifteen minutes, he reached the corner of the Imperial Palace walls.

The palace's security was even tighter than that of the Prince of Huaians Mansion.

Guards patrolled everywhere, and every single guard was at least of the Seventh Rank.

Furthermore, every hundred paces, there was a Grandmaster standing guard, and deeper within the palace, there were even one or two Xiantian Experts presiding.

This undoubtedly brought great trouble to Su Yu's intrusion.

Once detected, under the siege of so many experts, Su Yu feared he could only die with regret on the spot.

Fortunately, as a Cultivator's control over himself was so precise, as long as he made no sound, even a Xiantian martial artist would find it difficult to detect him.

With a leap, he cleared the thirty-foot-high wall and landed softly on the ground.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, his speed exploded again, and in the blink of an eye, he was a hundred feet away.

The area was filled with pavilions and corridors; under the cover of the dark night, Su Yu blended perfectly into the shadows.

He then hurried along, bypassing countless patrolling guards, and arrived near the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Unlike the inner treasury of the Prince of Huaians Mansion, which was heavily guarded and obviously contained gold and silver treasures...

The Imperial Palace's inner treasury was likely not so easy to find, as there were too many places under heavy guard.

He couldn't possibly try them one by one.

So, after sneaking into the Directorate of Ceremonial, he found a room occupied by only one person and seized him.

"Who—who are you!"

The man was grabbed by the throat by Su Yu and woke up instantly.

However, Su Yu gave him no chance for nonsense.

He spoke in a raspy voice: "Where is the Imperial Inner Treasury? Don't scream, or I will kill you instantly!

You'd better think about whether your life is more important, or the treasury!"

The eunuch's face was filled with terror upon hearing this, but in the face of a life-and-death crisis, he could only nod in agreement.

"The inner treasury is in the Chongming Hall. Go straight to the left from here, and after you see the Imperial Garden, turn right!"

To save his life, the eunuch blurted everything out, even shedding tears.

"This is the Heart-Breaking Pill, the foremost poison in the world. If you don't have the antidote within seven days of taking it, your intestines will shatter, you will bleed from your seven orifices, and your death will be incredibly miserable. If you dare to lie to me, you're dead!"

Su Yu didn't know if he was telling the truth or not, so he rubbed a 'Stiff-Legged Staring-Eye Pill' from his bosom, stuffed it into the eunuch's mouth, and threatened him.

"Don't worry, I know what's important! I won't joke with my life!"

The eunuch said with a face of terror; the foul smell in his mouth made him feel as if his liver and intestines were trembling, as if he truly had been poisoned.

Seeing this, Su Yu nodded with satisfaction, then knocked him out with a punch before quickly running toward the location the eunuch had described.

Fifteen minutes later, based on the eunuch's directions, Su Yu successfully found the Chongming Hall.

However, the guards there were simply too tight.

Five Grandmaster experts and twenty Ninth Rank experts, all clad in armor, and even ten Repeating Crossbow Machines; even several Xiantian Experts wouldn't dare to charge in.

However, Su Yu only had Spirit Stones in his eyes, so he made up his mind to settle it quickly!

He circulated his Dantian, condensing all the Qi within it into his body, and then with a step, he flew out.

The area around Chongming Hall was open, with a clear, unobstructed space of over a hundred feet.

As soon as Su Yu appeared, he was spotted by the keen-eyed Grandmaster experts.

"There's an intruder!" a Grandmaster shouted loudly.

By the time the others reacted, Su Yu had already closed within thirty feet of them.

Then, the five Grandmasters besieged Su Yu, while the others ran to the repeating crossbows, aiming them at him.

As long as the five Grandmasters kept Su Yu entangled, they could use the repeating crossbows to kill him.

Only, Su Yu's speed was faster than theirs!

As soon as those five Grandmasters approached, they were sent flying by Su Yu, along with their blades.

He was like a hundred-ton king; the five Grandmasters didn't even have time to fight back before they were knocked unconscious.

Seeing this, the Ninth Rank experts were scared out of their wits and hurriedly aimed the crossbows at Su Yu, about to fire.

But how could Su Yu give them the chance?

He repeated his previous move and crashed into the group once more.

This time, both the men and the crossbow machines were sent flying.

Then, taking advantage of the opening, he ran straight to the hall's entrance, smashed the door open, and burst inside.

While the others were still in shock and fear, Su Yu had already begun to convert all the Spirit Stones inside into credits.

"I'm rich!" Su Yu looked at the over ten thousand Spirit Stones on the System panel, his face split into a wide grin.

It seemed that the accumulation of the imperial family over hundreds of years was all here!

Unfortunately, Mortals could not absorb Spirit Stones, so it all went to Su Yu.

Next, he directly began purchasing cultivation levels in the mall.

Ten thousand Spirit Stones could buy the Foundation Establishment Realm; although it was only the Early Stage, compared to a Mortal, it was a world of difference.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call a Foundation Establishment Cultivator an Immortal.

A powerful surge of energy was injected into Su Yu's body, and his Realm began to soar.

Fifth level of Qi Refining, sixth level, seventh level!

It was still rising!

Eighth level... twelfth level... Early Stage Foundation Establishment!

A terrifying power erupted directly inside Chongming Hall, its fearsome pressure enveloping everything within a thousand-foot radius.

The guards had fired a signal arrow when Su Yu broke in, and now, seeing the signal explode in the sky...

The several Xiantian Experts guarding the palace immediately rushed toward the location.

When they arrived, a pressure akin to heavenly might erupted directly from within Chongming Hall.

A power that inspired despair suppressed them all, forcing them to collapse onto the ground.

At this moment, they were like ants in a storm; just a tiny ripple of wind or wave could kill them.

Fortunately, after Su Yu reached Foundation Establishment, he immediately dissipated the pressure and restrained his aura.

Then, the vast Qi within his body surged out; even though he didn't know flight techniques, he could fly through sheer force of Qi.

He then flew out of the hall, and in just a few breaths, he disappeared within the Imperial Palace.

"How can it be an Immortal! Why would an Immortal break into the Chongming Hall!"

Those several Xiantian Experts felt as if they had escaped death, their entire bodies drenched in sweat.

They looked at each other and screamed in disbelief.

Meanwhile, within the palace, everyone had been startled awake by that pressure, even though they weren't within its direct range.

Even the tiny bit of aura leaking from the pressure was more than they could bear.

Luckily, Su Yu had withdrawn his aura, otherwise, some people in the palace might have been killed because they couldn't withstand the pressure.