Shan Hu's Apartment. Living Room.
The air in the room seemed to freeze. The only sound was the obnoxious smack-smack-smack of Shan Hu chewing on a lamb skewer, a noise that grated on the nerves in the otherwise deadly silence.
Ye Qingcheng's exquisitely beautiful face transitioned through a spectrum of emotions: shock, disbelief, and finally, the icy rage of humiliation.
Who was she? The jewel of the Ye family in Beijing, a renowned business prodigy, a goddess whom countless heirs lined up just to glimpse. Today, she had lowered herself to visit this dilapidated neighborhood to offer this "loser" a contract worth millions a year—plus a fifty-million breakup fee—and he... rejected it?
And he dared to quote the "Sparrow and Swan" idiom at her?
"Shan Hu, do you have any idea what you are saying?" Ye Qingcheng stood up, her voice trembling slightly with suppressed anger. "Do you think this is still twenty years ago? The current Shan family isn't even fit to carry shoes for the Ye family! By rejecting me, you are rejecting the only chance you will ever have to turn your life around!"
Shan Hu grabbed a napkin, wiped the grease from his mouth, and spoke with maddening nonchalance. "Turn my life around? Why would I want to do that? I'm pretty comfortable lying down."
"You—! You are impossible! You're mud that can't be plastered on a wall!" Ye Qingcheng lost her composure entirely.
Behind her, the bodyguard in black finally snapped. He was a sworn protector of the Ye family, an Early Grandmaster. How could he tolerate some street-rat in a cheap T-shirt insulting his Young Miss?
"Insolence! How dare you disrespect the Young Miss! You seek death!"
The bodyguard roared and took a step forward, his aura exploding outward. He didn't use his full strength—after all, the target was a civilian—but he intended to grab Shan Hu's shoulder and force him to kneel and apologize.
However, the grip of a Grandmaster, even at twenty percent strength, was enough to shatter a normal man's shoulder blade.
"Ah! Xiao Hu, look out!" Wang Fang screamed in terror.
Facing this vicious grab, Shan Hu didn't even lift his eyelids. He simply picked up a used bamboo skewer from the table.
"Can't even eat a meal without you buzzing in my ear. So noisy."
Shan Hu's wrist flicked casually.
Thwip—!
The bamboo skewer, coated in cumin and chili powder, vanished into a blur, actually emitting a high-pitched shriek as it broke the sound barrier!
A split second later.
Thud!
A dull impact echoed.
The aggressive Grandmaster bodyguard froze in mid-air, as if someone had hit the pause button.
The fragile bamboo skewer had pierced right through his protective Qi—which was harder than steel—grazed past his Adam's apple, and embedded itself deep into the concrete wall behind him. It sank three inches deep, the tail end still vibrating violently!
On the bodyguard's neck, a thin line of blood appeared. One millimeter to the left, and that skewer would have severed his carotid artery.
Cold sweat instantly drenched the bodyguard's back. He held his forward-lunging pose, paralyzed by fear. The anger in his eyes was replaced by absolute terror.
Picking leaves and flying flowers—anything can be a lethal weapon!
This… was this a Great Grandmaster?! No, even a Peak Grandmaster couldn't use a piece of trash bamboo to pierce his protective Qi like that!
The living room fell into a deathly silence.
Ye Qingcheng's eyes widened, staring at the vibrating skewer on the wall, then back at Shan Hu, who was calmly reaching for a chicken wing. Her mind went blank.
Shan Hu took a bite of the wing and mumbled, "That was a warning. Next time you try to get physical in my house, it won't be a skewer pinned to the wall. It'll be your head."
He looked up, his gaze sweeping indifferently over Ye Qingcheng.
"Take your contract and get out. Don't make me throw you out. That wouldn't be a good look for either of us."
Ye Qingcheng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the storm in her heart. She looked at Shan Hu deeply, as if seeing him for the first time.
"Fine… Shan Hu. It seems that in these ten years, you weren't the waste I thought you were. You are a martial artist, and a strong one."
She regained a shred of her cold arrogance and collected the contract.
"But remember this: personal strength is still insignificant before true power and authority. You rejected me today. I hope that when you face the coming storms from Beijing, you do not regret it."
With that, she turned and left, her high heels clicking sharply against the floor. The two bodyguards followed her out in a panic, clutching their necks as if escaping execution.
Once the group had left, Shan De and Wang Fang finally snapped out of their daze.
"Xiao Hu! You… you know kung fu?" Shan De stared at the skewer on the wall in shock.
Shan Hu smiled, walked over, pulled the skewer out of the wall, and tossed it in the trash. "Dad, I told you I learned some self-defense in the expedition team. Lots of wild beasts in the jungle, you know? Practiced a bit and got good at it."
"Self-defense gets you that good?" Shan Qing ran over, eyes full of adoration, hugging Shan Hu's arm. "Bro! That was so cool! That woman's face turned green! Hahahaha!"
Shan Hu ruffled her hair. "Alright, enough laughing. That woman is proud; she's gone for now, but the Beijing side will probably cause trouble later."
He looked around the apartment they had lived in for decades. Peeling paint, old furniture.
"Mom, Dad. We can't live here anymore. That woman found us, which means others can too. Since we have money now, I've prepared a new home for you."
Wang Fang paused. "A new home? You mean that river-view apartment you mentioned?"
Shan Hu shook his head. "That apartment is nice, but it's too noisy and the air is bad. I'm taking you somewhere actually good."
One hour later.
A taxi stopped at the end of the main road at the foot of Dragon's Hidden Mountain.
The Shan family got out and looked at the mist-shrouded forest, confused.
"Xiao Hu, are we going hiking? At this time of night?" Wang Fang asked nervously.
Shan Hu smiled. "Mom, just follow me."
He took out a freshly carved Jade Talisman and handed it to his father. This was the key to passing through the "Myriad Poison Sky Net Array" and the illusion mist.
The family walked into the fog.
A magical scene unfolded. The moment they crossed an invisible line, the thick fog vanished instantly, replaced by a brightly lit, fairyland-like scene!
On the mountainside, the rustic buildings that once belonged to the Martial Association had been renovated overnight by Su Qingxue's team. Though not a modern villa, the classical courtyard with its sweeping eaves, nestled against the mountain and water, looked incredibly elegant under the moonlight and the soft glow of the array.
More importantly—the air!
Shan De took a deep breath. A cool, refreshing current rushed into his lungs. His old smoker's cough and shortness of breath seemed to ease instantly.
"This… where is this? Why does the air taste so sweet?" Shan De marveled.
"This is Dragon's Hidden Mountain. From now on, this is our home." Shan Hu pointed to the courtyard. "I bought it."
Just then, Su Qingxue, dressed in training robes, hurried over with a few Su disciples.
"Welcome home, Mr. Shan, Elder Mr. Shan, Madam, and Young Miss!" Su Qingxue bowed respectfully.
Wang Fang looked at this incredibly beautiful, noble-looking girl, then at her son, her eyes lighting up.
"Xiao Hu… who is this?"
Shan Hu introduced her casually. "Oh, she's the housekeeper for this property, Xiao Su. If there are any chores around the house, just ask her."
The number one female Grandmaster of Longcheng, the heiress of the Su Clan, introduced as "Xiao Su, the housekeeper for chores."
Su Qingxue showed no displeasure. Instead, she nodded with a look of honor. "Yes, Auntie, I am the housekeeper. Dinner is prepared. Please, follow me."
The family walked into the courtyard in a daze.
Shan Qing tugged on Shan Hu's sleeve, whispering, "Bro, tell me the truth. Are you being kept by a sugar mama? The way that sister looks at you… it's like she's looking at a god!"
Shan Hu flicked her forehead. "Stop imagining things. Your brother is a god."
Late that night, after settling the family.
Shan Hu went alone to the highest peak of the back mountain.
He sat cross-legged at the core of the Spirit Gathering Array, holding the card containing the five hundred million yuan he had "scammed" from the Lu family.
"With the resources this money can buy, plus this array, I can barely support my cultivation to the Peak of Qi Refining, maybe even attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage."
Earth's Levels: External Force, Internal Force, Grandmaster, Innate.Cultivation Levels: Body Refinement, Qi Refining.
Shan Hu's current strength, though not fully recovered, made him invincible in this world thanks to his Emperor-level body and combat experience. But to return to his peak, to tear through the void and return to the Immortal Realm for revenge, the road was long.
"But before that…"
Shan Hu pulled a tattered piece of black cloth from his pocket—the only remnant of the Black Fiend Elder, containing a faint wisp of a soul imprint.
He formed a seal, golden light flashing in his eyes.
"Soul Search and pathfinding!"
A blurry image floated in his mind: a frozen wasteland in the far north. Deep within the ice, a sinister black palace loomed. In the center of the hall, a blood-red coffin was slowly vibrating.
Shan Hu smirked coldly.
"Found you. The Black Fiend Sect's nest."
"Since you made a move on me, it's time I return the favor."
"Once I secure everything here, I'll head north and pull you out by the roots."