Chapter 443 - 425: Honor and Reward

"Haha, Younger Brother Su, you’re unbelievable! You nearly cut Tiemu Chuan down in a single blow. You really gave your big brother here a shock!"

Li Jingxuan laughed heartily, slinging an arm over Su Yu’s shoulder and waving away the crowd of Captains that had gathered.

"Go on, get out of here! Hurry up and get a physician to take a look at our dear Tiemu Chuan. We wouldn’t want him to die and have them blame our Public Security Bureau just because he wasn’t good enough."

On the stage, Tiemu Chuan had just managed to staunch his wounds. The moment he heard this, he spat out another mouthful of blood and passed out from rage.

"Commander Su, what an impressive display. By taking down Tiemu Chuan, we’ve managed to fight them to a draw. I wonder what the Mansion Master and the others will decide."

Wang Lingran’s beautiful eyes curved into a smile, and her tone, as she spoke to Su Yu, unconsciously took on a flirtatious edge.

Li Jingxuan and the others couldn’t help but marvel internally.

This beautiful woman from the Inner City’s Wang Family had always treated them with an icy demeanor.

’For her to suddenly change her attitude toward Su Yu like this... she doesn’t have ideas about him, does she?’

’After all, even though she isn’t officially married, she’s already in a marriage alliance with an expert from the Chen Family.’

Su Yu, unaware of all this and having no particular designs on Wang Lingran himself, simply smiled and replied:

"You’re too kind, Commander Wang. I just got lucky today and relied on an external power."

But Ye Xiaohong chimed in, "Commander Su, you’re being too modest. You fought Tiemu Chuan from the Ape Tendon Realm, spanning a gap of two realms. Even though you were at a disadvantage initially, your overall strength is clearly on the same level. That’s not something an ordinary person can do!"

"With your talent, it won’t be long before you reach the Tiger Tendon, Jiao Tendon, or even the Profound Bone Realm. I, Ye, had better start getting on your good side now, hahahaha!"

Ye Xiaohong’s words seemed like a joke, but they were a true acknowledgment of Su Yu as his peer.

Wang Yungui also chimed in with a few agreeable words, his attitude warm and friendly.

Of everyone present, only Zhao Sen’s face was taut with a tension he couldn’t conceal.

"Commander Zhao, the physician is here! You were injured too, so you should have him take a look. We wouldn’t want it to turn into a chronic problem."

Li Jingxuan said with a look of mock concern, motioning for the physician to check on Zhao Sen.

"Get lost!"

Zhao Sen’s composure finally snapped. With a furious shout, he cursed out the bewildered physician and stormed away on the spot.

The comments from behind him made his face turn even more livid.

"Honestly, that Commander Zhao... He always looked down on Commander Su. And now look. Commander Su single-handedly turned the tide, and Zhao Sen got his face slapped good and proper."

"Sigh, Commander Zhao is just too petty. This is all for the honor of the Public Security Bureau. When Commander Su performs a great service, he should be happy for him!"

"Speaking of which, Commander Su’s strength is astounding. At his age, he can already rival some of the Great Commanders. His future is boundless."

As they said this, various thoughts flashed through the eyes of the many Captains present.

’Perhaps the Flying Feather Guard would be a good place to go.’

As Tiemu Chuan was carried away, everyone from the Inspection Bureau fell silent.

Many of them had never expected such an outcome today.

It was one thing for Zhao Sen to snatch a draw through a cheap trick, but for Su Yu to actually turn the tables and defeat Tiemu Chuan?

He might have used an external force—the Taibai Primordial Magnetic Power—but his head-to-head clashes with Tiemu Chuan before that were very real.

And that astonishing speed he displayed at the very end... no one else in the Muscle Forging Realm could possibly achieve that!

A genius!

The Outer City has produced a true genius!

As for Tiemu Chuan being crippled, many seemed to think it was only natural.

In an arena match between opponents of similar strength, you naturally have to go all out. How could anyone control their power with such precision?

Besides, Su Yu had clearly held back at the last second. They all felt he had done nothing wrong, and no one intended to cause trouble for him.

However, it also went to show that the law of the jungle in the Inner City was perhaps even more brutal.

"Mansion Master Pang, so the result of today’s competition is a draw?"

Liu Longyu watched as Tiemu Chuan was carried away, then shot Su Yu a curious glance before finally speaking in a neutral tone.

Pang Xuan took a deep breath as well. "Fine. Then it’s a draw!"

’Today’s outcome was beyond his expectations. The schemes of those influential figures had been perfectly clear.’

’The Public Security Bureau wasn’t strong enough; eventually, they would have to concede some of their interests.’

’Arranging for Li Jingfeng and Tiemu Chuan to fight was supposed to be the safety net.’

’But he never expected that this surefire victory would be completely upended by Su Yu.’

’An idea began to form in his mind. Perhaps he should arrange for the young women of his clan to meet Su Yu again.’

’His niece may have looked down on him, but surely some other woman would see his worth.’

’A genius subordinate like him, even if he couldn’t compare to the small handful of top prodigies in the Inner City, was more than capable of establishing a firm foothold there on his own.’

After the competition ended, Su Yu exchanged a few more pleasantries with the others. Mansion Master Pang personally came over to offer some words of encouragement, stating that once the final outcome was decided, rewards would be distributed according to merit. This gave Su Yu something to look forward to.

Afterward, he cited exhaustion as a reason to leave, preparing to depart with his senior sister.

Just then, Chen Ling suddenly appeared before them and called out, "Hey, Su Yu!"

They both stopped. A flicker of wariness crossed Lin Wanzhu’s face as she looked at Chen Ling.

"What is it, Miss Chen?"

Su Yu’s tone softened slightly. Chen Ling had warned him that Tiemu Chuan planned to cripple him, which allowed him to be on guard. In a way, she had helped him.

If he hadn’t activated his Flesh Healing in time, he might have truly been wounded by Tiemu Chuan’s domineering and insidious Fist Stance.

Chen Ling’s large, almond-shaped eyes sized up Su Yu. ’This guy is actually pretty handsome and easy on the eyes,’ she thought.

"Um... that is... *ahem*. Su Yu, I’m sorry. I underestimated you before."

Having said her piece, she crossed her arms over her chest, putting on a haughty, tsundere-like air.

Over by the Inspection Bureau, the jaws of the few Captains who hadn’t yet left dropped in astonishment when they saw her acting this way.

"Hey, did the young miss of the Chen Family just apologize to someone? Am I seeing things?"

"Damn, who the hell is this Su Yu? He actually got that little spitfire Chen Ling to apologize!"

"Keep your voice down! If she hears you, she’ll beat the crap out of you!"

Seeing this unfold, the men seemed even more shocked than when they had watched Su Yu defeat Tiemu Chuan.

Su Yu, for his part, was also rather surprised that Chen Ling was apologizing to him.

’A spoiled, willful young lady from the Inner City like her... you could tell just by looking that she had a terrible temper.’

’I can’t believe she actually apologized.’

Since that was the case, he wasn’t one to hold a grudge.

He reached into his robes, making it look as though he were retrieving something from his breast pocket when he was actually taking the bell from his Sumeru Mustard Seed.

JINGLE JINGLE JINGLE!

Su Yu offered the bell to Chen Ling. "Here, this is yours."

But Chen Ling just pouted and didn’t take it. "I’m giving the bell to you. When you get to the Inner City, I’ll come find you."

With that, Chen Ling spun around and skipped away.

Su Yu looked at the bell in his hand, puzzled.

’This girl was so insistent on getting the bell back before. Why doesn’t she want it now?’

’Women are so hard to figure out.’

He casually returned the bell to his Sumeru Mustard Seed. He had examined it closely before; its materials were all top-tier.

When Chen Ling had activated it, it seemed to have amplified her power.

This showed that the bell was no ordinary item; it seemed more like a Magic Artifact from the Ancient Era.

’The Inner City really is full of treasures,’ he thought. ’There was the Bone and Marrow Cleansing Pill I had saved up for so long to acquire, various Cultivation Techniques, and now this inscrutable Magic Artifact...’

All this made Su Yu look forward to the Inner City even more. If he could secure a piece of territory there, he could probably obtain even more resources.

His sense of urgency to increase his strength grew ever stronger. He felt as if he were being drawn into a vortex, as if someone had him in their sights.

It might just be his imagination, but a Martial Artist’s intuition could sometimes be unnervingly accurate.

Regardless, he had to increase his strength faster. That could never be the wrong move.