108: The person behind the scenes, Zhao Qi

Li Chang's body trembled slightly, his eyes filled with fear.

Su Chen!

This was the second time he had seen Su Chen, but Li Chang was absolutely certain that the person before him was that incredibly mysterious Young Lord of the Su Family.

The last time he saw Su Chen was when he joined the Su Family; at that time, two Dao-Entry Realm experts were willing to offer their Divine Soul marks to serve the Su Family, and he was one of them.

The Su Family happened to be discussing matters then, and the two of them were waiting outside the hall. When Su Chen came out, they caught a glimpse of him by chance.

Just now, while patrolling in the distance, he noticed a crowd gathering here and took a casual look.

As it turned out, that one look nearly scared the soul out of him.

Su Chen had actually come to Wangyun City!

This was a truly Heaven-Defying powerhouse.

Upon hearing those words, the surrounding people were instantly stunned, their eyes filled with disbelief.

What did he just say!?

Young Lord!?

In the entire Su Family, there was only one person Li Chang would call 'Young Lord', and that was Su Chen.

That meant this young man was the mysterious Heaven-Defying powerhouse of the Su Family.

Su Chen!?

Shock and fear spread through the crowd; the shock was at Su Chen's identity, while the fear was the natural reaction to a powerful expert.

He was a legendary figure whom they had only heard of, but almost no one had ever seen.

Seeing Li Chang's reaction, Zhao Peng and Zhao Ming were also dazed, but they quickly snapped out of it, their faces turning pale with terror.

Their bodies even went limp, and they unconsciously sank to their knees on the ground.

“Young... Lord.”

“Su Chen!”

Zhao Ming's eyes were full of panic; he never imagined that the person in front of him would be Su Chen.

If anyone else had claimed this was Su Chen, Zhao Ming might not have believed it, but Li Chang had knelt directly, and his expression was one of extreme terror.

This left Zhao Ming with absolutely no reason to doubt.

The person before them really was Su Chen!

Moreover, Su Chen's appearance perfectly matched the descriptions: as handsome as a jade tree, with an extraordinary bearing, and accompanied by a young maidservant.

It's all over!

Zhao Ming's heart hammered. If it had been someone from a Collateral Branch of the Su Family, there might have been a way out, but with Su Chen, it was completely different.

If Su Chen truly wanted to kill him, the person backing him would never be able to protect him.

At this thought, Zhao Ming hurriedly kowtowed to Su Chen.

“Greetings, Young Lord! This lowly one did not know it was you. I beg the Young Lord to be magnanimous and spare my life!”

The person before him was the true master of the Su Family; in terms of status, even the Elders of the main lineage could not compare.

Having offended such a figure, he had nowhere to run and was certainly doomed.

Zhao Peng also hurriedly knelt on the ground, kowtowing incessantly.

This massive reversal caught everyone around them completely off guard.

Su Chen's gaze was indifferent. He didn't bother with Zhao Peng and the other; if they were part of the Su Family, then the Su Family's punishments would naturally deal with them.

What level of person was he?

Did he really need to waste his energy on such minor characters?

Su Chen looked toward Li Chang and said calmly, “This Young Lord took the lead in setting up the Enlightenment Stone and explicitly ordered it to be free. Why is someone here charging fees?”

Li Chang's heart jolted at the words. Although Su Chen didn't release any aura, he couldn't stop himself from trembling like a startled fawn.

Forget facing Su Chen; even when facing the direct descendants of the Su Family, he was always filled with trepidation.

Now that the most powerful person in the Su Family was before him, Li Chang found it impossible to remain calm.

Li Chang kowtowed quickly, his face full of panic: “This fee was not my doing, nor did I profit from it. I beg the Young Lord for forgiveness.”

Su Chen glanced at him, then turned and walked toward the Enlightenment Stone. With a wave of his hand, the fence shattered instantly.

The people meditating beneath the Enlightenment Stone moved aside one after another, looking at Su Chen with awe-struck expressions.

Is this Su Chen!?

After approaching the Enlightenment Stone and examining it closely, Su Chen said indifferently, “So, you know who did it?”

He knew of this Li Chang; with his Divine Soul held by the Su Family, the man wouldn't have the guts to do such a thing.

Unless he didn't want to live anymore.

Li Chang was momentarily speechless. He naturally knew who was behind the road toll, but it was someone he couldn't afford to offend, so he had simply ignored it.

However, to avoid being implicated, he hadn't dared to get involved either.

After all, when he joined the Su Family, he had offered up his Divine Soul mark; his life was now entirely in the Su Family's hands.

Of course, the Su Family had also helped him achieve a cultivation Breakthrough and extended his lifespan.

Therefore, Li Chang would never dare to do anything against the Su Family's wishes.

Yet, he was also somewhat afraid to name the person behind Zhao Ming. He couldn't afford to offend Su Chen, but he couldn't afford to offend the person behind Zhao Ming either.

Seeing Li Chang hesitate, Su Chen frowned. Seeing this, Ruoxi immediately stepped forward and shouted sharply:

“Speak up, now!”

Li Chang's body jolted. It was truly rare to see a Dao-Entry Realm expert so flustered.

After taking a deep breath, Li Chang finally confessed the truth:

“Young Lord, it is the Su Family Manager, Zhao Qi.”

He couldn't afford to offend Zhao Qi, but he could afford to offend Su Chen even less. If he offended Zhao Qi, at most his days in the Su Family would be difficult.

But if he disobeyed Su Chen, it would cost him his life.

Besides, would Zhao Qi even have a tomorrow?

Su Chen's attitude made him tremble with fear; he suspected Zhao Qi might be killed on the spot.

Zhao Qi?

It was a familiar name; Su Chen seemed to have heard it somewhere.

Since he had some impression of the name, the man's status in the Su Family likely wasn't too low. It made sense that Zhao Peng dared to charge fees here.

Ruoxi, however, was startled: “Zhao Qi!”

Su Chen turned to look at her and asked with some confusion, “You know who he is?”

Ruoxi didn't say it out loud but sent a Divine Soul transmission to Su Chen: “Young Lord, the Third Elder's second wife is named Zhao Wanwan, who is Young Miss Su He's biological mother. She has a younger brother named Zhao Qi, who has been with our Su Family since we were in Bright Moon City.”

Su Chen's eyes narrowed instantly. He cast a cold gaze toward Zhao Ming and the other man in the distance.

The latter's hair stood on end, and he quickly buried his head in the ground, his eyes filled with terror.

Su Chen withdrew his gaze.

Fourth Aunt's younger brother?

He suddenly recalled this Zhao Qi. Back in Bright Moon City, the man had used the Su Family's prestige to act like a tyrant, bringing a lot of gossip upon the family.

Now that the Su Family had become stronger, it was only natural for Zhao Qi to become even more arrogant.

This was evident from Zhao Ming and Zhao Peng.

However...

Su Chen's expression grew colder. There were some lines the Su Family could not cross, and he absolutely could not allow a scourge like Zhao Qi to act recklessly.

If it were a minor matter, he might have overlooked it for the sake of his relationship with his Fourth Aunt.

But this concerned the Enlightenment Stone, which was a major matter.

Most importantly, these two little punks actually tried to charge *him* a fee.

He casually walked into a nearby tavern while saying to Li Chang:

“Captain Li, send a message to the Third Elder for me and inform him of what happened here.”

With that, Su Chen entered the tavern.

Since it was a family matter, he had to consider Su Yuanba's opinion after all; he didn't want such a small thing to affect the relationships within the Su Family's main lineage.

Li Chang swallowed hard, hurriedly bowed, and then turned to head toward Mount Wangyun.

Zhao Peng and Zhao Ming continued to kneel, not daring to lift their heads. Without Su Chen's command, they wouldn't dare to stand up even if given a thousand times the courage.

On the other side.

The tavern Su Chen entered was called Huaxiang Pavilion, and it was extremely famous throughout Wangyun City.

Seeing Su Chen approach, the shopkeeper walked over with a terrified bow, speaking with extreme humility:

“Greetings, Young Lord Su. Young Lord Su, please, this way.”

...