Chapter 32: The Joseon Dynasty (Part 8)

Su Chen's consciousness entered the Xuan Yuan Ancient Stele as the Dao Platform rose.
In the pitch-black world, countless runes appeared.
Each rune contained obscure and difficult-to-understand mysteries.
Su Chen and the others needed to comprehend these runes.
The more runes one was qualified to comprehend,
the stronger the inheritance they would receive.
Su Chen was immersed in the process of comprehending the runes.
When he opened his eyes,
"Seventy-three runes, is that my limit?"
Su Chen murmured to himself.
His expression calmed down.
In this life, without any great opportunities, his talent was at most at the Tongxuan Realm.
Seventy-three runes yielded a fragment of the inheritance of a Tongxuan Realm expert named King Frost.
"I knew the Xuan Yuan Holy Land wouldn't be so kind!"
Su Chen's face darkened.
The inheritance he received was only a part of it.
Fortunately, he received the inheritance of a martial skill called "Sealing Heaven and Earth" from the Winter King.
This was a half-step King-level martial skill, extremely rare, and perfectly suited to Su Chen's own spiritual patterns.
Su Chen looked at his points; they had increased by five hundred.
A quarter of the platform remained around the ancient stele.
A quarter of the people there were like him.
Lin Wu was one of those three-quarters.
"Looks like this favor wasn't a loss!"
Su Chen smiled, feeling no jealousy.
Life after life.
He would eventually crush these geniuses under his feet!
Lin Wu was a man of principle.
Pretending to be the successor of this life in the next would be very useful.
Su Chen left; he still had other opportunities to seek.
Half a month later, Su Chen accidentally encountered the geniuses of the Canglan Kingdom.
Upon seeing Su Chen, their faces turned pale, and they immediately tried to flee.
How could Su Chen let them escape?
The geniuses of the Canglan Kingdom all died at Su Chen's hands.
However... he also learned a piece of information from the Canglan Kingdom's geniuses:
The news of a legacy passed down by a powerhouse above the Transcendent Realm!
Su Chen decided to go and see.
A deep cave entrance concealed a magnificent underground palace, protected by an array, making entry impossible.
This made Su Chen feel very regretful.
He couldn't obtain the opportunities within for the time being.
He would seek them in his next life.
Su Chen concealed the palace thoroughly.
Soon, the Hundred Kingdoms Trial came to an end.
Many people died.
A King-level treasure appeared, sparking a fierce battle among many geniuses.
Su Chen did not participate.
"In that case, I probably won't be able to enter the Xuan Yuan Holy Land!"
The Xuan Yuan Holy Land was something Su Chen naturally longed for.
But Su Chen knew that even with his talent, going to the Xuan Yuan Holy Land would only make him an ordinary disciple. He'd cultivate for a few hundred years, become an outer sect elder, and die somewhere, or be used as a cannon fodder by other holy land prodigies.
There were many like him in the Xuan Yuan Holy Land; no one would remember him.
He wouldn't gain many Fate-Defying Points.
But in the Tianfeng Kingdom, it was different.
If he became a King of the Tongxuan Realm, he would be a powerful patriarch.
And he had many opportunities with the Li family to scheme for!
The final results were in.
The top fifty could join the Xuan Yuan Holy Land.
Su Chen ranked fifty-seventh.
He didn't join the Xuan Yuan Holy Land.
"Could I have misread it?"
Ao Jin's eyes flashed with deep disappointment.
He believed Su Chen's strength was more than enough to enter the Xuan Yuan Holy Land.
So he wanted to befriend him.
Now it seems... he was wrong.
This person will eventually fade into obscurity.
He won't be able to enter the Holy Land, even if he's only seven places short.
They're not from the same world.
Su Chen was unaware of Ao Jin's thoughts.
He saw Lin Wu's list.
Lin Wu successfully entered the Xuan Yuan Holy Land.
And that monstrous genius at the ninth level of the Spirit Sea Realm, Su Chen also learned his name.
Lang Chaotian.
A bit melodramatic.
Su Chen stopped paying attention.
Li Hongwen was somewhat disappointed that Su Chen hadn't entered the Xuan Yuan Holy Land.
Only seven places short.
What Li Hongwen didn't know was...
All of this was Su Chen's deliberate arrangement.
Lin Wu also approached Su Chen, believing Su Chen was more qualified to enter the Xuan Yuan Holy Land and wanting to give his spot to Su Chen.
Su Chen waved his hands repeatedly, "This is Brother Lin's good fortune. You should focus on your cultivation in the Holy Land."
He had finally given up on entering the Holy Land.
Lin Wu immediately pulled Su Chen along.
"Brother Li, from now on you're my elder brother!"
"If you have any requests, I, Lin Wu, will definitely do what I can for you!"
A hint of guilt flashed in Lin Wu's eyes.
He thought it was because his fight with Su Chen had exposed Su Chen's strength, making him a target for other geniuses and preventing him from obtaining a spot in the Xuan Yuan Holy Land.
Su Chen took Lin Wu's hand, and the two swore a blood oath, becoming sworn brothers.
Lin Wu left, heading to the Xuan Yuan Holy Land with the elders.
Su Chen and the others also began their return to the Tianfeng Kingdom.
Ten people came.
On the way back, only five remained.
The other five had died in the Xuanling Secret Realm.
The losses were neither significant nor insignificant.
This is far better than the Canglan Kingdom and the Moman Kingdom.
The Canglan Kingdom's prodigies were all killed by Su Chen.
None of the Moman Kingdom's prodigies survived either.
Half a year later, Su Chen and his group returned to the Tianfeng Kingdom.
......
Tianfeng Kingdom
The Li Family of Taiyuan.
Since Su Chen left the Li family, Li Yuanfa had begun to recover, doing many things for the family and earning the respect of many elders.
But all of this was soon shattered.
"What? My brother is back?"
Li Yuanfa listened to his trusted elder's report, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty. After a long while, he managed a weak smile.
"Is this some kind of joke?"
Li Yuanfa had been counting on Su Chen to join the Xuan Yuan Holy Land so that he could become the future head of the Li family.
But all of this changed after news of Su Chen's return to the Tianfeng Kingdom spread.
The elders who had initially favored him all fell silent.
This infuriated Li Yuanfa with jealousy.
At the same time, he also harbored a sliver of hope.
But when Su Chen stood before him,
all of Li Yuanfa's hope vanished.
He glared at Su Chen with resentment.
Su Chen merely smiled faintly.
He completely ignored Li Yuanfa's resentment.
The position of head of the Li family could only belong to him.
Upon learning that Su Chen was only seven places short of being admitted to the Xuan Yuan Holy Land, many elders were slightly disappointed.
If Su Chen could be admitted to the Xuan Yuan Holy Land, then their Li family could also establish itself there.
The Hundred Kingdoms Trial was filled with geniuses.
A ranking of fifty-seventh was already quite remarkable.
Having realized this, the Li clan elders, though regretting Su Chen's failure to join the Xuan Yuan Holy Land, valued him even more.
Li Yuanfa was once again relegated to the sidelines.
Some time passed, and the president of the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce personally visited,
wanting to marry Wan Miao'er to Su Chen, thus establishing a marriage alliance between the two families.
Marriage alliances are something that become familiar with over time.
Su Chen did not object, after all, the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce was the wealthiest in the world.
With the support of the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce, he completely controlled the lifeline of the Tianfeng Kingdom.