The courtyard still carried the faint scent of blood.
Two bodies lay on the stone ground, already being taken away by the guards under strict orders. No noise. No questions.
Only silence.
Su Chen stood where he had been since the fight ended, his expression unchanged.
Behind him, footsteps approached.
Su Mu.
The moment he entered the courtyard, his gaze fell on the broken stone, the subtle cracks, the lingering pressure in the air.
Then on his son.
"You handled it quickly," Su Mu said.
"Yes."
No explanation.
No detail.
Just fact.
Su Mu didn't press immediately. Instead, he walked closer to where the second assassin had fallen and crouched slightly.
His fingers brushed against the ground.
A faint trace of energy lingered.
Different from the first one.
Stronger.
More refined.
"This one wasn't a simple probe," he said quietly.
Su Chen nodded once.
"Foundation Establishment. Mid Stage."
Su Mu's eyes darkened slightly.
"That level… isn't sent without reason."
Silence followed.
Then Su Chen spoke.
"They changed targets."
Su Mu looked up.
"Explain."
"They came for her."
A pause.
Then—
"Lin Yanyan."
The air shifted slightly.
Even Su Mu didn't respond immediately.
That detail alone changed everything.
"The first assassin tested the Su heir," Su Mu said slowly.
"The second targeted your wife."
His gaze sharpened.
"This is no longer a simple matter of probing strength."
Su Chen didn't disagree.
"It's escalation."
Su Mu stood up.
"And it means someone wants to see how far we'll react."
A brief silence passed.
Then he asked:
"Did the assassin say anything?"
Su Chen shook his head.
"No."
That wasn't entirely true.
But what mattered wasn't spoken words.
It was what he felt.
When he crushed the assassin's energy—
There was resistance.
Not from the man.
From something deeper.
A mark.
A connection.
A trace of something hidden behind him.
Su Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"They're not independent," he said.
Su Mu looked at him.
"You sensed something?"
"Yes."
A pause.
Then Su Chen added:
"There's an organization behind them."
Su Mu didn't look surprised.
Only serious.
"There always is."
He turned slightly, pacing once across the courtyard.
"In the hidden cultivation world, no one moves without backing."
He stopped.
"But the question is… which one?"
Su Chen remained silent for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"Their energy wasn't from orthodox cultivation."
Su Mu's gaze sharpened.
"Explain."
"It's unstable," Su Chen said. "Forced refinement. Not natural progression."
A faint pause.
"Like something was given to them."
Not earned.
Given.
That alone was enough to make the implications clear.
Su Mu's expression darkened.
"There are only a few forces that operate like that…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
But both of them already understood.
Forbidden cultivation.
Artificial elevation.
Organizations that didn't follow the normal path.
Organizations that…
Didn't fear consequences.
At that moment—
An elder rushed into the courtyard.
"Patriarch!"
He stopped when he saw Su Chen, then lowered his voice slightly.
"We've identified the assassin's mark."
Su Mu turned.
"Speak."
The elder hesitated for a fraction of a second.
Then said:
"It's from the Black Veil."
Silence.
Heavy.
Even the surrounding guards stiffened.
Su Chen's eyes didn't change.
But Su Mu's did.
"The Black Veil…" he repeated quietly.
A name that didn't belong in normal conversations.
A hidden organization that existed between the lines of the cultivation world.
Assassins.
Information brokers.
Experimenters.
They didn't just kill.
They studied.
They tested.
They pushed limits—
Until something broke.
Or evolved.
"They don't act without purpose," Su Mu said.
"And they don't send failures."
He looked at Su Chen again.
"Which means… you've already been marked."
Su Chen didn't react.
"I know."
That answer made the elder look at him in shock.
But Su Mu only nodded slowly.
"Then we prepare," Su Mu said.
"Reinforce the formations. Restrict movement. Increase internal security."
The elder nodded immediately.
"Yes, Patriarch."
He turned and left quickly.
Silence returned.
Only father and son remained.
Su Mu looked at Su Chen for a long moment.
Then asked:
"Can you handle what comes next?"
No hesitation.
"Yes."
The answer was calm.
Certain.
Not arrogance.
Not confidence.
Just truth.
Su Mu exhaled slowly.
"Good."
Then he added:
"But this won't be like the others."
A pause.
"The Black Veil doesn't stop after two attempts."
Su Chen's gaze shifted slightly toward the distance.
"I wouldn't expect them to."
At that moment—
A faint sensation passed through his body.
Not external.
Internal.
The Primordial Core within his dantian pulsed once.
Stronger than before.
As if reacting to something approaching.
Or something awakening.
Su Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Interesting."
Su Mu noticed the change.
"What is it?"
Su Chen didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
"They're coming again."
A pause.
"But next time… it won't be this level."
Far away—
In a place hidden from both modern society and ordinary cultivation families—
A figure stood in darkness.
Before him lay two extinguished lights.
Two failed signals.
The assassins.
Dead.
The figure didn't look angry.
Didn't look surprised.
Only… interested.
"So the Su heir survived twice…"
A faint chuckle echoed.
"And killed them without resistance."
He raised his hand slightly.
Another presence appeared behind him.
"Kai."
"Yes, sir."
"Send the third one."
A pause.
Then—
"Let's see how far this 'useless young master' can go."
Back at the Su Residence—
Su Chen stood in silence.
The wind moved lightly through the courtyard.
Everything seemed calm.
Normal.
But beneath that calm—
Something had already begun.
And this time…
It wasn't a test.