Chapter 26: The Best of the Best

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Red River Mansion.

When Alkaid returned to this temporary residence, it was already noon the next day.

He first visited the Heart-Nourishing Hall and claimed the medicinal herbs he had purchased with a heavy sum of gold.

Once in his room, he started to concoct them, one by one.

After the concoction was finished, he took the herbs and began to practice his body refinement techniques.

In the spiritual world.

The fourth branch had already begun to separate autonomously from the main stem.

But as for what this sub-profession was, it had not yet become entirely clear.

Apart from this branch, the remaining one was that of the Martial Artist.

It stood out alone.

"Fourth Rank... in terms of achievement in length, it has reached 45%,"

Alkaid perceived calmly.

His physique had not yet reached the human limit of Grandmaster Perfection, but his realm was already comparable to a Martial Saint with minor accomplishments; this was typical of a realm outpacing actual strength.

For others, this would be a boon desired beyond reach, but for him, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

His physical condition had never kept up with his realm.

After all...

The understanding and growth of the realm had too many avenues.

Demon hunting, martial practice, doing business—all were possible.

But the progress in the body's tempering could only be achieved through his own assiduous effort.

"I need to further compress the time spent on practicing martial techniques."

Alkaid rotated his right hand.

At the moment, the martial technique he focused on was Formless Limitless.

He chose this technique because, according to the "search engine," it was a sect-defining martial skill of a top-tier sect, passed down through a single lineage.

Starting from Nine Palaces, through Eight Trigrams, Seven Stars, to Six Harmonies.

And as the ancient tree discovered more and more information about Martial Saints, the changes of the Five Elements also began to emerge.

In comparison to the Formless Six Harmonies, which mobilizes the energy of the muscles, bones, and viscera within the body, the Five Elements involve the regulation of the five viscera and qi, forming a cycle.

The faster the cycle, the stronger the killing power of the attacks unleashed.

Regrettably, he had the relevant principles in his mind.

It's like someone had already handed you the secret manual; whether you could master it and what kind of power you could exert after mastering it primarily depended on the individual.

And practice of martial techniques was always a process of becoming adept through familiarity, which would inevitably occupy the time for tempering his physique.

In the past, he could practice martial techniques during the body's recovery phases, as the body tempering progressed step by step, but now...

He intended to use medicine to stimulate his body's potential, aiming to achieve the Grandmaster Perfection and reach the human limit as soon as possible, which would certainly delay his martial technique practice time.

However...

It did not matter.

"Technique is merely a supplement to strength. As long as one's power is strong enough, one can break all laws with sheer force. Why bother spending time and effort polishing martial techniques?"

Alkaid applied the medicine on himself.

If he were to gather his qi into a pill and cleanse his marrow in exchange for blood, relying on his superhuman physique, every blow laden with pill energy he struck would shatter any fancy techniques front-on.

...

"Bang Bang Bang!"

Alkaid's practice had not yet ended when a series of loud knocking sounds came from outside.

No!

To be precise, they were sounds of someone pounding on the door.

"Su Alkaid, don't hide inside without making a sound, I know you're home. You've got the nerve to hang up the phone, have the nerve to open the door!"

As the knocking continued, a shouting voice could be heard from outside.

This voice...

Alkaid frowned slightly.

He disregarded it and continued his practice.

Yet the knocking from outside did not cease for a moment.

Someone even volunteered enthusiastically, "Madam, I can pick locks. These Type B locks can be opened very quickly."

"Then what are you waiting for, open it."

Soon after, there was a flurry of activity at the door.

Before long...

"Click."

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The door opened.

Immediately after, a middle-aged woman dressed like a wealthy lady who looked to be in her thirties strode in furiously with several people in tow.

Seeing Alkaid practicing martial arts in the living room, she couldn't contain her anger, "Su Alkaid, are you deaf? I asked you to open the door, didn't you hear me?"

"Arrogant and presumptuous."

Alkaid slowly ceased his practice movements.

He turned his gaze toward the woman, "If you want to talk, do so properly, if not, head out, turn left, and don't come looking for me again."

At these words, the woman's eyes bulged in shock.

Then erupted in rage, "Who let you speak to me like this!? Is it the Su Family, isn't it!? What did they tell you? Speak up…"

"Silence!"

Alkaid shouted in a low voice.

The Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound Technique, accompanied by the shaking of his diaphragm, directly induced resonance in the internal organs of the surrounding people.

For a moment, everyone, whether it was the woman before him or the three people she brought, felt discomfort and weakness throughout their body.

"Is this a Martial Path Secret Technique!?"

One of the middle-aged men who came with the woman was instantly taken aback, his eyes showing disbelief as he looked at Alkaid.

He was Zhang Ya's cousin, Zhang Hong.

In his youth, he had also studied Martial Path, dreaming of becoming a Martial Saint and being recruited by the Royal Family as an honored guest, establishing his own Noble Family.

However, he later failed to endure the hardships of the Muscle-Tendon Strengthening and gave up at the threshold of becoming a martial master.

Although he didn't become a martial master, he still had the necessary insight.

Alkaid's ability to shake the diaphragm and affect the functioning of the human body...

Could it be a Grandmaster Secret Technique!?

A year ago, he had heard that this younger relative was fond of practicing martial arts. Who would have thought that he actually had some success?

He didn't believe that Alkaid could have reached the level of a Grandmaster in just a year, but this technique alone showed that his knowledge of Martial Path was not shallow.

At the very least, his body was extremely strong.

Otherwise, he wouldn't possess such strong pulmonary power.

"Alright, enough, speak your piece."

Alkaid glanced at the woman Zhang Ya...

That is, his biological mother, "The fact has proven that without you all, I can live quite well, so there's no need to apply the same tactics you use against Su Anping to me. Otherwise, we'll part ways and go our separate paths."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ya's face was a picture of disbelief followed by a burst of uncontrollable anger, "Su Alkaid! How dare you speak to me like this!? I am your mother!"

"You should be thankful for that status, otherwise, I would have already kicked you out."

Alkaid said bluntly.

"You're rebelling against heaven itself!"

"Cousin, calm down. Alkaid has grown up and has his own ideas now. If you try to treat him like a child as before, it will naturally provoke his rebelliousness, and if the Su Family deceives him again, won't we just be benefitting them for nothing?"

Zhang Hong hastily advised on the side.

Upon hearing the words "benefitting the Su Family," Zhang Ya managed to suppress the flames of her anger.

After all, Alkaid now indeed had another choice, and if she pushed him too hard, he might actually join the Su Family, and from then on draw a clear line between himself and the Zhang Family.

"Listen well, I'm taking you to the Su Family now, I don't care whether Su Huaifeng lives or dies, but as the only heir to his line, what belongs to you shall not be short a penny, our Zhang Family will think of every possible way to win it over for you."

Zhang Ya spoke, seemingly unwilling to explain further, and simply waved her hand, "In any case, just follow our arrangement when the time comes."

Alkaid's gaze fell back on Zhang Ya.

This mother of his original self, he had already understood through residual memories and descriptions from others.

Su Huaifeng was a well-known playboy in the capital of Tian Nan when he was young.

Zhang Ya, against the opposition of the Zhang Family, insisted on marrying him, giving birth to Su Yaoyu in hopes of using her charm and family warmth to change Su Huaifeng.

The effort was in vain.

Especially when Zhang Ya was pregnant with the original self, he was even more extravagant in his ways with other women.

Finally, in a fit of rage, Zhang Ya left home and soon after spitefully got together with the honest and also her classmate Su Anping.

This action infuriated the Su Family and even forced the Zhang Family, which was weak at that time, to distance themselves from Zhang Ya.

Husband and wife became enemies, and it also affected their families.

One could imagine the hatred in Zhang Ya's heart.

Two years ago, when the Zhang Family's fortunes rose, Zhang Ya proudly returned to the Zhang Family.

Coming to find him now...

Was she unwilling to accept that her deep feelings had been utterly betrayed back then and that she wanted to use this son of hers to take a fierce bite out of the Su Family?

"Whether you want to take revenge on Su Huaifeng, or the Zhang Family wants to rectify past humiliations, that's your own business; just don't involve me," Alkaid said calmly, and then pointed toward the door, "I won't see you out."