Chapter 16: Stubborn

The next morning, Su Chen made his way to the stone room near the river once more.

This time, Shi Kaihuang wasn’t messing around with a giant beast.

He sat in an empty area of his room, drawing out strange, profound lines on the ground. They formed an Origin Energy Inscription filled with profound mysteries.

At first glance, Su Chen didn’t feel anything. He carefully inspected the Origin Energy Inscription and the more he did, the more interesting it became; the amount of mysteries it contained just kept on increasing. He slowly sank into it, becoming unable to extract himself.

He finally realized something wasn’t right, so he slapped himself viciously, extracting himself from the illusion. Su Chen knew the inscription was too profound for him. It was not something he could understand right now, so he hurriedly averted his gaze.

Shi Kaihuang let out an exclamation of surprise. Evidently, he did not expect Su Chen to regain consciousness on his own. “You brat, why’d you come here again?”

Su Chen didn’t say anything. His figure flashed like lightning toward a nearby tree. He reached out to grab a handful of leaves, then tossed them out. They flew through the air like darts, puncturing multiple holes in a distant tree.

“The Flying Flower Hands and Snaking Mist Steps are both Bloodline Origin Skills of the Gu Clan from Longxi Country.” As Su Chen spoke, he grabbed another handful of leaves and stomped on the tree. He took multiple steps in midair, as if walking on clouds. Simultaneously, the leaves in his hands shot out.

Whoosh!

This time, the leaves penetrated the tree entirely, leaving behind much larger holes.

Su Chen slowly floated down from the air, his steps unhurried. “That was also the Flying Flower Hands and Snaking Mist Steps. That is the absolute limit that someone with a mixed bloodline can achieve.”

Shi Kaihuang finally began to reveal a trace of interest.

Su Chen calmly pulled out a medicinal vial from his Origin Ring. “This is an Origin Substance Medicine for the Soaring Snake Bloodline. I extracted it from the Frigid Water Herb and refined it twice. After using it, I was able to break through the non-bloodline limit. In addition, in the past half year, my research in the Soaring Serpent Bloodline and Origin Energy changes has also had a few breakthroughs. So...”

Su Chen’s figure shifted again. This time, he was retreating.

He retreated onto the surface of the lake, walking on it without getting his feet wet.

Previously, Su Chen could only take a few steps in midair so long as his speed was fast enough. But now he was walking backwards on the water ever so calmly. His proficiency in the Snaking Mist Steps was clear to see; he had made a lot of progress.

After further improving the Soaring Snake Origin Substance Medicine and nearly a year’s worth of research, Su Chen finally understood the Origin Energy changes in the bloodline. As such, he was able to replicate it on himself.

His ability to walk on water was a logical outcome of this improvement. In truth, this already surpassed the level achievable by someone with a mixed bloodline. His results were unbelievable. Most others could only increase their speed; they couldn’t make themselves as light as a feather.

This was the first time Su Chen had displayed the Soaring Serpent altered Origin Energy in front of anyone. However, he was not using it in battle, but rather to show off.

Su Chen stared at Shi Kaihuang confidently as he floated on the water. “I’ve successfully broken through these bloodline restrictions.”

This was Su Chen’s tactic. He would display his own excellence to move the other party.

However, Shi Kaihuang only raised his eyebrows ever so slightly.

He gazed at Su Chen with his muddy eyes. After a moment, he said, “Stop moving.”

“What?” Su Chen stared at him blankly.

“Stand there and stop moving,” Shi Kaihuang repeated.

Su Chen was bewildered, but did as he was told and came to a standstill on the water.

His body slowly began to sink.

It was as though he was standing in a swamp. First his feet sank into the water, followed by his knees, thighs...

Su Chen became flustered. He wanted to stabilize himself, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t prevent himself from sinking.

He sunk deeper and deeper into the lake. Even his head was mostly underwater now.

Shi Kaihuang shook his head. “You’re not quite there yet.”

He lowered his head, then continued to analyze the inscription below him.

Another failure!

Two days later, Su Chen returned.

This time, he didn’t try to show off.

Although he did still have a few more small tricks up his sleeve, there wasn’t much point in revealing them to Shi Kaihuang.

After all, Shi Kaihuang didn’t really seem to care about whether or not a student was outstanding.

Su Chen knew he had made a mistake. Shi Kaihuang wasn’t a personal instructor who cared about status or reputation. If he did, he would’ve taken in a student already. Displaying his own strength to Shi Kaihuang was useless. No matter how talented he was, he wouldn’t be able to attract Shi Kaihuang’s attention.

With that in mind, he began to try out different tactics.

The first thing he did was to clean Shi Kaihuang’s room. When the old man left his place, Su Chen sneaked in and went about cleaning it.

Shi Kaihuang had lived on his own for a long time, and his room was extremely dirty. Su Chen tidied up the place; there was not a single speck of dust left. Afterwards, he prepared a marvelous feast for Shi Kaihuang, and then awaited his return.

When Shi Kaihuang returned and saw this scene, he twitched his lips.

He scarfed down the sumptuous feast, then went to sleep, completely ignoring Su Chen.

Su Chen was not discouraged. He returned the next day.

Su Chen repeated this process for the next 10 days, and Shi Kaihuang enjoyed it.

When Su Chen came on the 11th day, Shi Kaihuan sighed.

“Don’t blame me for not telling you, kid. Someone tried the tactic you’re trying now 12 years ago. I told him that doing so was useless, and that if I said I wasn’t accepting any disciples, I wouldn’t. He didn’t believe me. He thought that if he pampered me a little bit, as though I was a little girl, my heart would change. I let him do it, yet I never gave him the go-ahead even until the end of the first year, the deadline for choosing a personal instructor. He wasted his time, even losing his status as a seedling of the Institute. His cries were very tragic,” Shi Kaihuang giggled.

Su Chen’s face tightened.

Shi Kaihuang continued, “Of course, you can choose to not believe me and continue. I do enjoy your services a lot. The roasted chicken you made for me yesterday was pretty good. I’d appreciate it if you made it for me more often.”

Su Chen thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Since Senior has made his stance clear, there is no need for me to continue down this path. I’ll listen to Senior’s advice this time.”

“Is that right? You’re going to give up so easily? What a pity. Why not try it a little longer? Perhaps my attitude will change tomorrow.”

Su Chen shook his head slowly yet firmly. “Since I know it’s only a dead end, I will give up when I need to give up.”

“What a pity.” Shi Kaihuang tilted his head back and laughed. “I will miss your services a lot. After all, it’s been a long time since someone has done this for me.”

Su Chen said, “But I won’t give up on becoming Senior’s disciple.”

“Get the hell out of here! I’m not like the Beast Emperor Mountain, waiting for you to try and conquer me.”