Chen Yuan found a secluded corner to inventory his spoils. He discovered that Yu Yan carried very few valuables on his person. The sole coin pouch contained less than twenty taels of silver, alongside a few Bone Strengthening Pills and Blood Replenishing Pills. He destroyed the remaining hidden darts, leaving absolutely no trace behind.
Calculating it all, he earned quite a bit over the past few days. First, during the banquet hosted by Yu Yan on the first day, he obtained three Bone Strengthening Pills and twenty taels of silver. The next day, because of the incident with Yu, he conveniently scooped up another sixty taels. Adding today’s harvest from Yan’s body, the total value exceeded one hundred taels of silver. This equaled his monthly allowance for two whole months.
Only the sum of less than twenty taels from tonight lacked a clear origin. He could spend the rest of the silver openly. Thus, he could maintain his current resource consumption: Elephant Bone Soup brewed from three taels’ worth of medicinal herbs, and two Bone Strengthening Pills a day. His ability to reach Minor Achievement in both Bone Refining and Elephant Bone so quickly stemmed from two factors: his improved Root Bone and his abundant resources.
With a mere thought, he summoned his interface:
[Comprehension: 60]
[Root Bone: 88]
[Cultivation: Bone-refining Stage (Minor Achievement); Manifest Force (Great Success)]
[Cultivation Technique]
[Rocky Pile Skill (Great Success): 23/2000]
[Heart Intent Six Harmonies Fist (Minor Achievement): 785/1000]
[Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppression Body, First Layer (Elephant Bone): 571/1000]
[Low-key Points: 3]
[Evaluation: Keeping a low profile, avoiding enmity, and understanding the philosophy of biding your time. You have grasped the basics of the low-key path. Daily Low-key Points +5]
The changes in his interface clearly reflected the rapid surge in his strength over the past month. He invested all his acquired Low-key Points into improving his Root Bone, which was on the verge of breaking the one-hundred mark.
Based on his deductions, raising his Root Bone would only grow more difficult. A score of over one hundred was likely required to reach the Upper-Second-Grade Root Bone tier. Regardless, he was close. It would only take another month for his Root Bone to stand equal with Xu Heng’s! Once his foundation improved further, the gap between them would rapidly narrow.
Through relentless daily practice, his Rocky Pile Skill finally reached Great Success a few days ago. His stance grew incredibly stable. He stood as immovable as a mountain and as hard as a boulder. The greatest benefit, however, was the increased efficiency in cultivating his vitality and blood, which sped up by at least thirty percent. With the backing of his Great Success Rocky Pile Skill, reaching Great Success in Bone Refining was just around the corner.
His Heart Intent Six Harmonies Fist steadily improved through mandatory daily practice. In another month or two, it would reach Great Success, officially elevating him into the ranks of Hidden Force masters. Yet, the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppression Body proved to be his fastest-improving Cultivation Technique. In a single month, its progress skyrocketed by nearly three hundred points. If his resources kept pace, his Elephant Bone would reach Great Success in less than two months. By then, his mastery in the Bone-refining Stage would hit a terrifying height, providing the most significant boost to his overall combat prowess.
In terms of Bone Refining and technical mastery, he held no clear advantage over Yan; they were evenly matched. While his recent battle certainly involved an element of a sneak attack, he managed to suppress Yan entirely during their subsequent direct clashes. He beat the man until he was utterly defenseless—a feat intrinsically linked to his near-Great Success Elephant Bone. Their skeletal density and physical strength simply existed on different levels. Meeting fist with fist, Yan’s arm would go numb, while he felt absolutely nothing. The advantage was absolute. His Elephant Bone provided the ultimate confidence required to ambush and kill Yan.
After scanning the interface, he nodded in satisfaction, though a slight frown marred his face when he noticed his final Low-key Points. His rash actions tonight undoubtedly left flaws behind and would likely be judged as straying from the low-key path. Judging by his previous experience of provoking Yan at the Gu Family estate, he would almost certainly forfeit his daily Low-key Points. Both times were because of that bastard! The thought only made the revenge taste sweeter. Fortunately, a single violation wouldn’t affect his overall low-key evaluation.
Under the cover of night, he returned to his room without making a sound. Midnight soon passed, and the system’s daily settlement evaluation appeared:
[Detected that the host failed to suppress inner anger and rashly struck out to kill Yu Yan. This increased unnecessary risks and violates the low-key principles. Low-key Points +0.]
He was completely unsurprised, but another notification popped up right beneath it:
[Laying low is what I desire, yet there is that which I desire more than laying low; thus, I will not lay low at all costs. Acting rashly is what I despise, yet there is that which I despise more than acting rashly; thus, there are perils I will not avoid. Host, you violated the low-key path and received punishment, but you have earned the system’s recognition. If you pass the low-key evaluation next time, your base Low-key settlement points will permanently increase by 2.]
His eyes instantly lit up. This was a truly unexpected delight. This meant that once he broke through the Muscle-refining Stage, his base settlement points would increase to seven—a level originally requiring the Marrow-refining Stage to achieve. He could boost his attributes by twenty-one points in a single month! Reaching the First-Grade Root Bone tier was now well within reach.
He exhaled a long breath, ruthlessly suppressing his inner excitement. "No, I can’t laugh now! I have to maintain my composure," he reminded himself. Just like that, he drifted off to sleep with a faint smile on his face.
The next day.
A vast expanse of frozen land stretched out, with snow drifting endlessly across the miles. Leisurely falling snowflakes landed on Chen Yuan’s thin shoulders, quickly melting against his body heat. He arrived at the Huo Courtyard for breakfast just like any other day.
Before long, Xue Anping hurried over. He rushed straight toward him without even grabbing a plate of food, his words tumbling out in a panic.
"Brother Chen! Something terrible has happened!"
Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow, feigning ignorance. "What is it?"
Anping glanced around before lowering his voice to a grave whisper.
"Brother Chen, Yu Yan is dead! He didn’t return home last night, and the Gu Family grew worried. They immediately sent search parties and finally found his corpse just before dawn.
"Word has it he was tossed into a trash heap, frozen solid. His death was gruesome—completely unrecognizable!"
Chen Yuan frowned, his tone solemn. "Who would have the gall to murder the Gu Family’s son-in-law right before his wedding? Isn’t this a direct slap to the Gu Family’s face?" He normally maintained a stable temperament, so he didn’t need to put on an exaggerated show of shock.
Anping let out a long sigh.
"Exactly! Patriarch Gu is furious. He flew into a rage, smashing countless tables and swearing to tear the killer limb from limb and scatter their ashes.
"He’s mobilized the entire Gu Family’s resources to investigate and reported it to the Government Office. A Captain of the Constabulary has probably already arrived at the estate to look into the case.
"I feel terrible for Third Miss Gu. Her wedding was right around the corner, only for this disaster to strike. If she’s forced to live out her days as an unwed widow to honor her deceased fiancé, her life is basically over."
Chen Yuan could completely understand Gu Changfeng’s fury. The Gu Patriarch had invested tremendous energy, manpower, and resources into nurturing Yan with blood, sweat, and tears, only for the man to be brutally murdered right before the wedding. Who could endure such a thing? This wasn’t just a slap in the face; it was someone taking a dump directly on his head and asking him to admire the smell!
Of course, he didn’t feel the slightest bit of remorse for his actions. Yan had provoked him time and time again. Out of a desire to keep a low profile and give face to the Gu Family, he had repeatedly compromised. He had already done everything humanly possible. Unfortunately, the bastard insisted on crossing his bottom line.
He did feel a bit guilty toward the Third Miss Gu, whom he had never met. After all, she had taken good care of Yu and done absolutely nothing wrong, yet she was dragged into this mess. If he ever got the chance in the future, he would definitely compensate her properly.
He sighed. "I hope the Gu Family finds the killer soon and gets justice for Brother Yu. We were acquaintances, after all."
Internally, however, he couldn’t care less. So what if a Captain of the Constabulary was involved? Even if suspicion somehow fell on him, they likely couldn’t produce a shred of concrete evidence. Moreover, he had the massive backing of the Li Family. Even the Government Office would have to give him some face.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere within the Gu Family estate was thick and oppressive, suffocating everyone like a crushing tidal wave. Gu Changfeng sat in the master seat, his face a livid shade of green as if he had just lost his own flesh and blood. All the prominent figures of the Gu Family had gathered below, including Gu Ye, Huang Yan, the Third Master of the Gu Family, Gu Changrong, and the eldest son, Gu Ning. Even the individuals linked to the incident—specifically the friends who had drank with Yan the night before—had all been invited from the Changhong Martial Arts Hall to assist with the investigation. As Yan’s acquaintances, Gao Mingchang and Cao Yan were also present to cooperate and see if they could provide any clues.
"Well? Have you discovered who the killer is?" Changfeng demanded, his tone dripping with ice.
Gu Changrong stepped forward and spoke in a deep voice. "Changfeng, I sent men to investigate the rival families in our business sector. We haven’t found any obvious anomalies, but we can’t rule out the possibility that they hired an assassin."
Entangled interests were the most common catalysts for vendettas. Yan was now a Martial Artist with a Bone Refining Minor Achievement and Manifest Force Great Success. He wasn’t far off from becoming a Second-class Martial Artist at the Muscle-refining Stage and Hidden Force realm. Furthermore, with the wedding fast approaching, he could essentially be considered a member of the Gu Family. As competitors, those rival families naturally wouldn’t want to see Yan grow safely into a major threat. They had the perfect motive to strike, making them the primary suspects.
Changfeng’s brow furrowed deeply. "Keep investigating," he ordered coldly. "If it really was them, the Gu Family will not rest until they are destroyed." He then turned his gaze toward the group from the Changhong Martial Arts Hall. "You all drank with Yan last night. Do you know if he offended anyone recently? Do you have any leads?"
A young man dressed in brocade robes stepped forward. He gave a slight bow, his expression solemn. "Brother Yu was always righteous and had many friends. There were only a few ignorant fools in the Martial Arts Hall who couldn’t get along with him, but they absolutely lacked the ability to murder him. It shouldn’t be the disciples from the Kaisan Martial Arts Hall."
Yan had an eccentric and arrogant personality, but once someone figured out his temperament, he was incredibly easy to deal with—they just had to go along with whatever he said. The brocade-robed young man had maintained a good relationship with him purely to leech benefits. He simply hadn’t expected that their ordinary farewell after drinking last night would become a permanent goodbye. Yan’s final warning still echoed in his ears.
Gao Mingchang and Cao Yan nodded in agreement, proving that the young man’s words held truth. Yan was domineering, but he wasn’t stupid. He exclusively bullied lowly peasants who lacked both background and talent, just like how he had initially oppressed Chen Yuan. These victims possessed zero ability to fight back, much less exact revenge.
Changfeng’s frown deepened further. The gruesome image of Yan’s corpse remained vivid in his mind. Whoever killed him had to be exceptionally cruel and likely harbored a deep grudge.
At this moment, his eldest son, Gu Ning, took a step forward and spoke slowly. "Father, I heard that Yan clashed with a Huo Courtyard disciple named Chen Yuan a few days ago, and even paid out a significant amount of silver in compensation. Could he be the culprit?"
He knew about this incident because he had recently taken over the family’s finances. Any silver paid out as compensation had to pass through his hands, prompting him to take notice. Upon further inquiry, he discovered that the two possessed a long-standing grudge. Back then, Yan had leveraged his impending status as a live-in son-in-law to force Chen Yuan out of the Gu Family. It was inevitable that the young man harbored resentment. Coupled with the two conflicts that had erupted over the past few days, one could argue that Chen Yuan had ample motive for murder.
After listening to his son’s deductions, a vicious glint exploded in Changfeng’s eyes.