Su Chen reclined on his back, his gaze fixed on the intricately carved dragons adorning the ceiling above. At last, silence enveloped the room.
The oppressive presence of Meiling had vanished, summoned away by the Clan Leader. The aftermath of the test had stirred considerable unrest among the elders; they were likely deliberating the fate of a broken member of the direct lineage.
He exhaled a long, tremulous breath, his body still feeling as if it had been engulfed in molten lava.
The Spirit-Burning Pill had served as a merciless diagnostic tool, ravaging his meridians in search of hidden strength. To the Alchemist and the Elders, he had been deemed a complete failure.
'Those insufferable fools,' Su Chen seethed inwardly, a genuine anger igniting within him. 'They treat us like mere tools. If you're not sharp enough, they throw you out.'
Thoughts of Master Lu's cold, bony fingers and the Great Elder's indifferent gaze flashed through his mind. They were indifferent to whether the pill would kill him or leave him crippled for life; their only concern was determining if he was a waste of resources.
"One day," he murmured to the empty room, "I will grow strong enough to walk away from this place. And when that day comes, every single one of those old bastards will regret treating me like this!"
he was merely a man ensnared by fate, thrust into a family of psychopaths. He had no desire to conquer the world; he simply yearned for the power to say no without the threat of execution.
Turning his focus inward, he recalled the Alchemist's words—he had to admit, the pill had indeed left a chaotic aftermath. Yet Master Lu had overlooked a vital detail.
By employing the Silent River Method to compress his Qi during the test, he had inadvertently trapped some of the pill's searing heat within him.
Typically, the excess energy from a Spirit-Burning Pill would escape through the skin as steam.
However, Su Chen had sealed his pores and meridians tightly, leaving the heat trapped inside, simmering in his chest like a small, furious sun.
'This is it,' he realized.
The second stage of the Silent River required immense pressure to transform the silver mist into a true liquid. Normally, that pressure was achieved through weeks of tedious meditation.
He closed his eyes and initiated the circulation, no longer resisting the heat but welcoming it.
He gathered the silver mist, forcing it to envelop the crimson spark left by the pill.
The reaction was instantaneous, akin to placing ice on a hot frying pan. His internal realm erupted into chaos, filled with hissing steam and vibrations.
The silver mist reacted violently with the pill's residue. Su Chen clenched his jaw, his fingers digging into the silk sheets beneath him.
'Condense. Hold it together!'
He directed the heat and silver energy through his central meridian, moving it deliberately. He felt the inner walls of his spirit veins stretching, a dull, burning ache coursing through him.
He could sense every inch of the path from his throat, down to his solar plexus, and finally into the Dantian.
In his Dantian, the liquid pool he had begun to form the previous night awaited him. He propelled the hot silver mixture straight into the center of that pool.
Thump.
His entire body jolted as if a heavy drum had been struck within his gut. Purging the last remnants of impurities.
The silver liquid began to transform, shifting from a murky, metallic gray to a brilliant, translucent chrome.
Su Chen watched in a blend of awe and trepidation as he felt his cultivation surge. He was no longer merely inching toward the middle of the Qi Condensation stage; he was pushing toward its peak.
'Almost there. Just a little more.'
He repeated the cycle, drawing more of the trapped heat from his chest and channeling it through the river of his veins. Each pass became easier than the last; his body was adapting.
The Silent River was smoothing the rough edges of his spirit root.
As he cultivated, his thoughts wandered back to the Su family. They were likely still gathered in that hall, discussing stuff about him.
"Forget the trials," he muttered, his eyes still closed. "Forget the sect. If they believe I'm trash, then I will simply kill them."
A sense of merit washed over him as the last traces of crimson heat were consumed. The silver pool in his Dantian morphed into a swirling vortex of high-density energy.
He felt lighter, his senses sharpened. He could hear the gentle rustle of the wind through the cherry trees outside and the distant chatter of the guards.
He had done it.
Taking a deep breath, he allowed the silver Qi to settle, a profound sense of satisfaction enveloping him.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he felt as though he possessed a fighting chance.
But the silence of the room reminded him that his respite was fleeting. He could hear footsteps approaching light, rhythmic, and possessive.
Meiling was returning.
Swiftly, he adjusted his breathing, employing the concealment techniques of the Silent River to mask his newfound strength.
He made himself appear pale and exhausted, slumping back against the pillows, feigning a deep, pain-ridden slumber.
The door creaked open.
"Brother?" Meiling's voice, soft yet laden with an unsettling weight, broke the stillness.
She approached the bed. Su Chen kept his eyes shut, acutely aware of her presence beside him.
She remained quiet for a long moment before the mattress shifted as she settled down.
Her cool hand brushed over his forehead, gentle, almost affectionate. Yet, he knew those same hands could easily snap his neck if she suspected he was plotting an escape.
"The Elders are dreadfully dull, Chen," she whispered, leaning closer, her hair brushing against his face.
"They wanted to send you to the outer estate, declaring you a burden now."
Su Chen's heart raced, but he maintained his steady breathing.
"But I told them no," she continued, a dark giggle escaping her lips. "I threatened to withhold my spirit stones from the clan. It was quite amusing."
She leaned in even closer, the scent of jasmine wafting from her breath as she pressed her lips to his ear.
"You needn't worry about them any longer. I've ensured your safety. You're mine now. Just mine. No trials, no training, no distractions. Just you and me in this room, forever."
A chill coursed through him, one that had nothing to do with his cultivation. He had grown stronger, but her obsession had deepened.
'I must keep pushing forward,' he thought, his mind racing. 'I need to grow even stronger. If I remain at this level, she'll eventually realize I'm not as weak as I appear.'
He heard her begin to undress, the rustle of silk echoing in the stillness. She was staying of course
"I know you can hear me, Chen," she whispered as she slipped under the covers beside him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him tight against her chest.
"I can feel your heart. It beats so well."
She teased him by rubbing her cheek against his shoulder, her body pressing into his side. She was genuinely happy, and that was the most terrifying realization of all.
Su Chen lay there, ensnared in her embrace, while the silver river within him continued to flow.
'Yeah,' he thought grimly. 'I'm definitely going to have to kill some people eventually.'