Chapter Seventy-Four: A Chance Encounter

In the days that followed, Su Yi spent nearly all his time cultivating in the pool behind the mountain, and the massive, hard stones nearby gradually shattered into heaps of rubble under his relentless strikes. Ever since the battle energy within him disappeared, Su Yi had thrown himself into strengthening his physical body with a near-maniacal fervor. Though he knew that breaking through to a physique as powerful as a second-tier magical beast was still out of reach, he pressed on—every increment of strength, however small, was a gain worth pursuing.

While he hadn’t achieved a true breakthrough, Su Yi, with his unique soul power and ability to perceive his own body from within, could still sense subtle growth in his strength. The multicolored medicinal energy lingering within him seeped ever deeper into his muscles, nerves, bones, and cells with each session of cultivation, further enhancing his power.

Now, with the sudden vanishing of his battle energy, the many combat techniques stored in his spatial ring had become little more than decorations. Having just advanced to the level of a Battle Practitioner, Su Yi had been excited to train in these advanced and even earth-ranked techniques, so this outcome left him disappointed for days.

Yet after the initial dejection, Su Yi chose to face reality rather than run from it.

During these focused days of cultivation, subtle changes were quietly unfolding in Changling City. The Qina family had received numerous visits from other clans seeking to form ties, which significantly boosted their reputation. Meanwhile, the long-standing positions of the Liet and Auburn families had become the focus of a tense standoff. Liet family launched various schemes to suppress and squeeze the Auburn family’s businesses.

Liet’s business prowess already outstripped Auburn’s, and though they had suffered financial losses recently, their martial strength remained unshaken. Through threats and coercion, they deterred merchants from trading with the Auburns—no one dared intervene. Moreover, the Auburns had lost a hefty sum at the auction, tricked by Liet Chen, and their situation was hardly better. It wouldn’t be easy for them to resolve these troubles anytime soon.

Perhaps it was because they were too distracted that the Auburn family hadn’t come to trouble Su Yi again. In that sense, he benefited from their distraction. Of course, the undercurrents in Changling City meant there were many other factions eager to profit from this secret war.

Though this was a war without gunpowder, its dangers were no less real. A single misstep in choosing sides could bring about total ruin. But as the saying goes, fortune favors the bold—wasn’t that exactly what this situation entailed?

...

That noon in the mountain’s rear.

The sun hung directly overhead, banishing the shadows cast by the forest and bathing the ground in brilliant light. The pool sparkled under the sun’s rays, its smooth, mirror-like surface reflecting the dazzling white sun, as if a second sun were embedded within, facing the real one in the sky.

At first, the sun’s reflection lay undisturbed, but then, subtly, it began to ripple outward in gentle rings. The ripples grew larger and more intense, until the surface churned like boiling water. Something seemed poised to burst from the water at any moment.

Suddenly, a deep, thunderous sound rumbled up from the pool’s depths. In an instant, a towering column of water erupted skyward, shooting straight toward the heavens—a sword of water standing tall between earth and sky.

The column lasted a while before dispersing, raining down as countless droplets—a shower that, in some places, shimmered with rainbow hues in the sunlight. The falling water sent ripples and whirlpools racing across the pool, and from amidst the waves, a figure slowly emerged.

It was Su Yi. These days, he had been carrying heavy stones into the pool and smashing them underwater as part of his training. With his mutated skin, he could now remain comfortably in earth or water. Yet attacking underwater was far more difficult than in air—only in the past day or two had he mustered enough force to send such a pillar of water skyward.

Resting in the earth and training in the water, after such prolonged, intense physical conditioning, he was already seeing significant results. Today’s outcome was far beyond his initial attempts, when he could barely create a splash.

"But the cost is truly exhausting..." Su Yi muttered, collapsing weakly onto the sun-warmed ground, arms spread wide to soak up the heat. "I wonder if it’s just my imagination, but I feel as if I could now match a level-eleven Battle Adept..."

A peak first-tier magical beast, thanks to its formidable body, was already stronger one-on-one than a peak level-ten Battle Practitioner. Perhaps, due to a similar reason, he could now stand against a level-eleven Battle Adept?

Having lived in this world for three years, Su Yi’s understanding of battle energy was still lacking in nuance, and he had never truly witnessed the power of a level-eleven Adept. He could only guess, and, with even less understanding of the so-called “soul power,” he had no way to accurately judge his own strength.

Still, his instincts told him that the body of a peak first-tier beast was stronger than a peak level-ten practitioner. Whether it compared to a level-eleven adept, he couldn’t be sure.

Once he had recovered most of his strength, Su Yi rose and made his way back to his small house. After changing into fresh clothes, he immediately felt reinvigorated. He touched the Dragon Tendon coiled around his arm and his spatial ring in his pocket. Hesitating for a moment, he murmured, “Even though the ring can’t be used for now, I should still prepare...”

Last time, Su Yi had wanted to buy supplies for his journey to seek the Blood of Heaven and Earth, but the Auburn family’s covert interference had foiled his plans. Now, with some free time, he decided to go out and take a look around.

He locked his door and chose a shortcut toward the auction hall’s entrance. He encountered few people along the way, and after nearly ten minutes, finally passed through the guards at the gate—who looked at him with a mix of respect and awe—and left the auction grounds.

Strolling through the city, Su Yi noticed the atmosphere had grown tense and strange. Remembering the recent shadow war between the Liet and Auburn families, he could not help but ponder. “From what Sister Meiya said, the Auburns are in a tough spot lately. I’d better avoid the central markets, just in case I run into any Auburn people and invite unnecessary trouble...”

Thinking it over, Su Yi decided not to venture too far out of his way and instead head for Old Zhang’s marketplace. He recalled finding the mysterious white mask in that market. Though it looked ordinary and seemed useless, Su Yi knew firsthand it was anything but simple: the fact that it could suppress the evil soul within him to some degree proved its extraordinary nature.

“If I didn’t have that evil soul, I probably would have overlooked the white mask entirely... Heh, the way things work in this world really is unpredictable…” Su Yi smiled to himself. Just as this thought crossed his mind, he sensed a ripple from the evil soul within him—an instant later, the feeling vanished without a trace.

Su Yi’s expression darkened. Ever since that incident with Liet Feifei, it seemed the evil soul within him had broken a shackle. He could now sense its presence more and more clearly, like seeing his own shadow on the ground. The feeling just now was as if his shadow had briefly twisted and writhed before returning to normal. If before he only suspected the existence of the evil soul, now he was certain: two souls truly coexisted in his body.

Fortunately, for the moment, the evil soul had yet to seize control.

As he walked toward Old Zhang’s market, the oppressive city atmosphere waxed and waned. The Liet family’s recent troubles and maneuvers had cast a shadow over Changling. The faces of passersby and merchants were etched with worry, and even the once-loud cries of street vendors had grown subdued or vanished entirely.

Su Yi, affected by the gloom, frowned slightly. But as he neared the marketplace, the crowd thinned. When he arrived, Old Zhang was, as always, dozing off in his usual spot.

This struck Su Yi as odd. The market belonged to the currently-rising Qina family, so business should be good. Perhaps he rarely came by, or his timing was off, but every time he visited, the place seemed deserted.

Shaking his head with a faint smile, Su Yi stepped forward to greet Old Zhang, but suddenly paused, his expression shifting. From behind him came a pleasant, surprised voice—

“Su Yi, what are you doing here?”

Martial Way’s Pinnacle, Chapter Seventy-Four: An Unexpected Encounter, end of update.