Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

Thanks to the heightened senses greatly enhanced by the Nourishing Spirit Pill, Su Mu could clearly "see" the noble, purple-gold, and inviolable imperial aura in the air. He took a deep breath and carefully tried to draw it in, using the abundant true energy in his dantian as a guide.

"Buzz—!"

The moment the first wisp of imperial dragon energy entered his body, Su Mu trembled violently, as if a mountain of immense weight was pressing down on him, or as if an invisible blade was scraping his meridians! But he was prepared. His true energy surged out from his sea of ​​qi, transforming into the most resilient shield and warm bed, wrapping and slowly refining this domineering power layer by layer.

Become!

A wisp, two wisps, three wisps… Pure imperial dragon energy began to continuously flow into his body. Under the scouring of this supreme power, his muscles, bones, and skin emitted a subtle yet resolute hum, their intensity increasing at a rate imperceptible to the naked eye. Furthermore, an indescribable aura of majesty quietly began to grow between his brows. The true energy within his body, having merged with imperial dragon energy and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, suddenly rose in quality, becoming more condensed, pure, and domineering!

Driven by this new force, the operation of the Imperial Body Technique suddenly accelerated, and the expansion speed of the Qi Sea space also skyrocketed!

However, just as Su Mu was immersed in the thrill of his rapidly increasing strength—

"Um?"

His brows furrowed suddenly, and his mind abruptly pulled away from his introspection!

Just as he was fully absorbing the imperial dragon energy, an extremely faint yet chilling killing intent, like a venomous snake in the dark, suddenly entered his perception range and was rapidly approaching the library from dozens of feet away!

It will be dawn in another hour or two. Who would sneak here at this most tiring and relaxed time?

---

Thanks to the miraculous effects of the Nourishing Spirit Pill, Su Mu's mental perception was now comparable to that of a high-level innate expert! Although the owner of that killing intent had tried his best to hide it and acted silently, within Su Mu's expanded "mental domain," his movements were as clear as a candle in a dark room!

A cold glint flashed in Su Mu's eyes, but his movements were even lighter than a ghost's. He silently got out of bed, pushed open the door, and disappeared into the deep shadows of the courtyard, his aura as concealed as that of an unyielding rock or ancient tree.

Almost the instant he concealed himself—

"Whoosh!"

A figure as black as ink, like a weightless kite, glided lightly from the wall into the courtyard, landing with only a barely audible "whoosh." This agility was no ordinary thief; it must be a formidable expert at the Acquired Realm!

The library was empty, so this person's target was obvious—either he, Su Mu, or Cheng Ping'an!

Sure enough, the shadowy figure ignored the library and crept stealthily towards the window of Cheng Ping'an's room. In the moonlight, he pulled a slender bamboo tube from his robes and expertly aimed it at the gap in the window paper—

Poison! It's a deadly and insidious method that can kill instantly! The other party doesn't even want to engage in direct combat, but instead wants to use poisonous fog to silently kill a child in his sleep!

Su Mu's pupils constricted sharply, and his killing intent surged like an icy spring! At this moment, the dark figure, who was completely focused on poisoning, finally revealed a trace of true energy fluctuation as it moved and climbed over obstacles—the Acquired Realm was confirmed!

"He's courting death!"

In the shadows, Su Mu's heart roared with a cold, thunderous anger. He didn't even need to get close; he simply flicked his right finger from his sleeve!

"call out--!"

A barely visible silver line flashed by in the moonlight, moving faster than the eye could perceive! It was the needle that pierced the heart!

"Well!"

The dark figure outside the window froze, the poison canister falling from his hand with a clatter. He struggled to turn around, but saw only deep darkness. The light of life quickly faded from his eyes, and his body collapsed like a tattered sack. The piercing needle had precisely struck his vital point in the back of his heart; the domineering true energy attached to the needle instantly shattered his heart meridian, and death was imminent!

"Whoosh!"

The silver thread flew back and landed in Su Mu's palm, without a drop of blood on it.

"Who?! Godfather!"

Almost simultaneously, Cheng Ping'an was startled by the slight thud. He sprang from the bed, threw on his coat, and rushed out. When he saw the black-clad corpse by the window, his face turned deathly pale, but his first reaction was to rush to Su Mu's side, his voice trembling: "Godfather! Are you alright?"

The father and son approached the corpse. Su Mu's gaze was icy as he stared at the bamboo tube that was still faintly oozing a thin mist of poison—if he hadn't broken through in time and greatly enhanced his senses, Cheng Ping'an would probably be a cold corpse by now!

"They're Yang Mao's men." Su Mu's voice was devoid of any warmth. "They're at the Acquired Realm, sent specifically to silence us."

"Father...you...you killed him?" Cheng Ping'an stared at the lifeless body, then at the calm Su Mu, utterly shocked. He knew his father was practicing martial arts, but he never imagined that his father's strength had reached the point where he could so easily kill a post-natal martial artist!

"Otherwise what?" Su Mu glanced at him, his tone indifferent yet carrying an undeniable air of dominance. "Keep him here to invite him for tea and ask him why he sent a gift so late at night?"

"I... let me see who he is!" Cheng Ping'an steadied himself, squatted down, and tried to remove the other person's mask.

"No need." Su Mu placed his hand on his shoulder, the pressure light but firm. "Remember, this person did not appear tonight."

Cheng Ping'an was taken aback, then suddenly realized, and immediately stood up straight: "Yes, Godfather!"

"We bear the 'guilt,' but our voices carry little weight. Even if we make accusations, who will believe us? Yang Mao could turn around and falsely accuse us of murder to cover up our crimes and of defilement within the palace. At that point, we'll be unable to defend ourselves and will face certain death!" Su Mu analyzed calmly, his eyes flashing with a cold light that revealed his understanding of the ways of the world and its rules.

As he spoke, he grabbed the man in black by the back of his collar with one hand and lifted him up as easily as if he were a bundle of straw. The heavy body of a martial artist was nothing in the face of his current strength.

Cheng Ping'an immediately understood and took the initiative to silently open the courtyard gate.

With a flick of his arm, Su Mu tossed the black-clad corpse in an arc, precisely into the shadowy corner of a secluded alleyway not far away. Within the imperial palace, countless sentries and guards were present; the body would be discovered soon. But then, it would be an unsolved mystery, utterly irrelevant to this desolate academy.

The night remained deep, as if nothing had happened. Only the faint, almost odorless stench of poisonous mist in the air and a few drops of rapidly congealed black blood on the ground told the story of the deadly exchange that had occurred in the blink of an eye. Su Mu stood in the courtyard, gazing in the direction where the corpses had disappeared, his eyes unfathomable.

Yang Mao... your revenge came faster and was more vicious than I expected.

This is also why Su Mu wasn't in a hurry to kill Yang Mao—the palace was teeming with experts, including many grandmasters. Eliminating Yang Mao silently and undetected would be extremely difficult. To fail without a 100% guarantee of success would be tantamount to suicide!

Su Mu returned to the courtyard of his study, closed the gate, and solemnly instructed Cheng Ping'an: "Remember, no matter who comes to inquire, tell them we haven't seen this man in black robes, and we don't know the cause of his death! Understand?"

"Yes!" Cheng Ping'an nodded seriously, keeping Su Mu's words firmly in mind.

……