pjbooks Chapter 24 Remnants of the Liu Family
Chapter 24 Remnants of the Liu Family
The next morning.
Jiang Chen had just finished breakfast when his phone rang.
It was a message from Wang Kai; you could feel his excitement even through the screen.
"Brother Chen!!! I sensed it!!! Spiritual energy!!! I really sensed it!!!"
The string of exclamation marks looked just like someone who had won the lottery.
Jiang Chen's lips curled up slightly as he replied, "Continue, don't stop. Circulate your spiritual energy according to the route I taught you, thirty-six times a day, not even once less."
"clear!!!"
Jiang Chen put down his phone and opened the window.
The morning sunlight streamed in, carrying a hint of coolness.
He took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over the buildings and towards the distant horizon.
Although spiritual energy is scarce in this world, it's not entirely impossible to cultivate. The fact that Wang Kai was able to sense spiritual energy so quickly shows that the natives of this world are not without spiritual roots; they just lack guidance.
If conditions permit, he could even establish his own sect in this world.
But that's for later, and he's not very interested in it.
Now, he has more important things to do.
Jiang Chen withdrew his gaze and took out an ancient jade from the drawer.
That was something he casually picked up from deep in the forest yesterday while at the training ground.
The ancient jade was only the size of a thumb, completely black, and its surface was engraved with dense runes. Those runes were obscure and difficult to understand, completely different from the rune system of the cultivation world, but Jiang Chen could sense the energy contained within them, which, although weak, was extremely ancient.
This piece of jade is at least three hundred years old.
Three hundred years is the age when apostles descend and demons are resurrected.
Jiang Chen held the ancient jade in his palm and closed his eyes.
A wisp of divine sense probed into it.
Instantly, a blurry image appeared in his mind.
A burning earth, the sky torn apart, and countless enormous creatures poured out from the cracks. They were of all shapes and sizes, some like mountains, some like stars, and some like indescribable nightmares.
Compared to them, humans are as insignificant as ants.
Some were crying out, some were running away, and some were kneeling and praying in despair.
But many more are fighting.
Those who awakened, the earliest awakened among humankind, used their newly acquired power to charge towards those invincible enemies.
One, two, ten, one hundred...
They fell one after another, like moths drawn to a flame.
The scene abruptly ends there.
Jiang Chen opened his eyes, and the ancient jade shattered into powder in his palm.
He was silent for a moment.
Demons, and apostles.
These things were more bizarre than any demons he had ever seen in the cultivation world.
No matter how powerful the demons and monsters in the cultivation world are, they cannot escape the scope of the Heavenly Dao. But these apostles, these beings from outer space, have an energy system completely different from that of the cultivation world, and even different from the awakening system of this world.
They come from another dimension.
A hint of excitement flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes.
This is what interests him.
It is not the fate of humanity, nor the survival of the world.
Rather, it is these unknown entities, these forces that have never been explored.
"interesting."
He stood up and shook the powder off his palm.
Three days later, the school reopened.
The matter of the live-fire training was suppressed, with the official report stating that "an unexpected monster appeared on the training ground, but it has been completely eliminated, and there were no student injuries or fatalities."
But everyone knew that seven students had died, but no one dared to say it.
When Jiang Chen walked into the classroom, the students in Class 5 gave him somewhat subtle looks.
"Have you heard? Seven people from Class One died!"
"Zhou Minglang is dead too. An A-level talent, gone just like that..."
"Was Jiang Chen also at the training ground at the time? How come he's alright?"
"Nonsense, that's the advantage of our Class 5. We just need to stay in the safe zone. The ones who die are the classes in front of us."
Whispers rose and fell, but no one dared to speak loudly.
Jiang Chen remained calm and sat down in the last row.
As for Wang Kai...
His mind was completely focused on the circulation of spiritual energy, so he had no time to care about these idle gossips.
These past few days he has been cultivating according to the methods taught by Jiang Chen. Although he has not yet officially stepped into the threshold of immortal cultivation, he can already clearly feel the changes in his body - he is stronger, his reaction is faster, and even his eyesight has improved.
In the past, he would never have dared to dream of this.
A C-level life skills awakener can actually cultivate immortality?
Who would believe that if I told them?
But now, he believes it.
If Brother Chen says it's possible, then it definitely is.
In the first period of the morning, homeroom teacher Ms. Chen walked into the classroom.
There was a person following behind her.
All eyes turned to that direction, and gasps of astonishment filled the air.
She was a young girl, so beautiful she seemed unreal. She was tall and slender, with long, jet-black hair tied in a neat ponytail, revealing her fair and slender neck.
She was wearing the Jiangzhou College uniform, but on her, the uniform seemed like haute couture. She stood there, exuding a subtle chill that made people afraid to look directly at her, yet unable to look away.
"Classmates, this is our new transfer student, Shen Qingxue," Teacher Chen said with a smile. "She transferred from the capital. Please welcome her."
Sparse applause rang out in the classroom.
The boys stared wide-eyed, while the girls wore complex expressions.
Shen Qingxue nodded slightly as a greeting.
Her gaze swept across the classroom, finally settling on the last row by the window.
There sat a boy, looking down at his phone, without even looking up.
Shen Qingxue frowned slightly.
Everyone in the classroom was looking at her, but the boy didn't even lift his eyelids.
Is he feigning composure, or does he genuinely not care?
"Shen, please take a seat..." Teacher Chen was about to arrange seats.
"There," Shen Qingxue pointed to the empty seat next to Jiang Chen in the last row, "Can I sit there?"
The classroom fell silent instantly.
Everyone's eyes widened.
That's Jiang Chen's spot! The only person in the world without superpowers! The plague that the whole class avoids like the plague!
This new transfer student actually asked to sit next to him?
Teacher Chen was also a little surprised, but quickly recovered: "Okay, then you can sit there."
Shen Qingxue walked towards the last row.
With each step she took, tiny ice crystals would form beneath her feet, reflecting a cold light under the lamp.
"Wait, this transfer student has awakened a combat talent?"
"Is it related to ice-type magic?"
As everyone knows, Class Five is at the very bottom of the academy. They have no awakened combat talents, only life skills, and their future prospects are only so-so.
As for Shen Qingxue, putting aside her appearance, the chill emanating from her entire body was enough to tell that she was an Awakened One.
Hearing these whispers, Teacher Chen took the opportunity to offer an explanation.
"Shen Qingxue has awakened an S-level ice-type talent. For some reason, she will be studying in our class for the time being."
S-rank? Study in a class full of useless people?
Who would believe such a statement?
The students looked at each other in shock.
As for Teacher Chen, she was quite helpless. She didn't know the reason behind it, only that it was an arrangement made by higher-ups. As a teacher, although she felt it was unreasonable, she could only obediently follow it.
The pressure of the S-rank ice-type talent was released silently, causing the surrounding temperature to drop sharply, and the students in the front row couldn't help but shiver.
She walked over to Jiang Chen and sat down quietly.
Jiang Chen was still looking at his phone, without even looking up.
Shen Qingxue waited a moment, then finally couldn't help but ask, "You're Jiang Chen?"
Jiang Chen hummed in agreement, his eyes never leaving the screen.
Shen Qingxue's expression changed slightly.
She has always been the center of attention wherever she goes since she was a child, and has never been ignored like this before.
"The world's first person without capacity?" Her tone held a hint of amusement.
However, she was met with Jiang Chen's indifference.
Shen Qingxue wasn't annoyed. She had traveled all the way from the capital to Jiangzhou, not to argue with a "powerless person".
She came with a purpose.
Three days ago, the Shen family's intelligence network intercepted a top-secret report—the complete investigation report on the massacre of the Liu family in Jiangzhou. The report contained only a few lines, yet it shook the entire Shen family leadership:
"The entire Liu family of 269 people died overnight. There was no residual spiritual energy, no signs of combat, and no third-party intervention at the scene. The only suspect is Jiang Chen, the world's first person without any abilities."
After reading the report, the patriarch of the Shen family remained silent for a full quarter of an hour.
Then he said, "This boy is not to be trifled with. Qingxue, go to Jiangzhou and befriend him."
Shen Qingxue didn't understand at the time. Why would a person with no abilities, even if a little strange, need the eldest daughter of the Shen family to personally go and befriend them?
But the old man's next words silenced her completely.
"You think Jiang Chen wiped out the Liu family? No. What truly deterred the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs from taking action wasn't the Liu family's massacre—but Liu Mingxuan's sister, Liu Mingxia."
Shen Qingxue's pupils contracted slightly.
Liu Mingxia is from the Wang family of the capital. The Wang family is one of the four great families of the capital, and its power far surpasses that of the Shen family. Although Liu Mingxia was not favored after marrying into the Wang family, she still held the title of a Wang family daughter-in-law.
With the Liu family wiped out, how could Liu Mingxia possibly let it go?
"Liu Mingxia has already made her move." The old ancestor's voice was deep. "The C-level monster that appeared at the Jiangzhou Academy training ground a few days ago was arranged by her through the Wang family. The target is Jiang Chen."
"And the result?" Shen Qingxue asked.
The ancestor remained silent for a long time.
"That C-rank Blackscale Wolf is dead. Its death was exactly the same as that of the Liu family members: no signs of battle, no residual spiritual energy, and it turned into a blood mist in an instant."
Shen Qingxue was stunned.
Annihilating a C-rank monster in an instant, leaving no trace, is a feat that no ordinary person could accomplish.
"So, your trip to Jiangzhou this time isn't for observation, it's for making friends," the old patriarch concluded.
"Furthermore, we must tell him about Liu Mingxia. This is our way of showing our sincerity."
Shen Qingxue looked at the boy beside her who was playing with his phone with his head down, and felt a mix of emotions.
This is the person who wiped out the entire Liu family, instantly killed a C-level monster, made the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs bow down, and made the Shen family patriarch wary.
She's good-looking, but her temper is really strange; she completely ignores me.
But she knew that this ordinariness was the most extraordinary thing.
"Jiang Chen." She spoke again, her voice low, so that only the two of them could hear her.
"I know about the Liu family's matter."
Jiang Chen's finger paused on the screen for a moment, then continued to swipe.
"And the Blackscale Wolves at the training ground a few days ago, that wasn't an accident."
Jiang Chen finally raised his head and glanced at her.
"so?"
Shen Qingxue was stung by that look.
She took a deep breath, took out a jade talisman from her pocket, and pushed it onto Jiang Chen's table.
"This is a token from the Shen family. The patriarch asked me to tell you that the Shen family will not interfere in the affairs of the Liu family. The incident at the training ground was not an accident."
She paused, looking into Jiang Chen's eyes.
"It's Liu Mingxuan's younger sister, Liu Mingxia. She married into the Wang family in the capital, and it was through her connections with the Wang family that she managed to get the Black Scale Wolf into the training ground. Her target is you."
Jiang Chen glanced down at the jade talisman on the table but didn't touch it.
"The Wang family?"
"One of the four great families of the capital, their strength far surpasses that of the families in Jiangzhou." Shen Qingxue lowered her voice even further.
"Although Liu Mingxia is not favored in the Wang family, she is still a member of the Wang family. You destroyed the Liu family, so she will not let it go."
"This time it was only a C-rank monster, but next time it might be a B-rank, A-rank, or even an S-rank monster."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Jiang Chen quietly, waiting for his reaction.
He simply lowered his head again and continued looking at his phone.
"understood."
Just two words.
Shen Qingxue was stunned.
She prepared a lengthy speech, thought of various response plans, and was even prepared to be rejected.
That's it? Just a simple "I understand"?
Did he even know what the Wang family meant in the capital?
"Aren't you worried?" she couldn't help but ask.
"What are you worried about?" Jiang Chen asked without looking up.
"The Wang family! Liu Mingxia! They are..."
"Just ants."
Shen Qingxue's words stuck in her throat.
Ants?
In his eyes, the four great families of the capital were nothing but ants.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but suddenly remembered what her ancestor had said.
"This boy is not to be trifled with."
The person who could make the patriarch say such things—call him arrogant or confident—at least one thing is certain: he had the confidence to back it up.
Shen Qingxue remained silent for a moment before putting away the jade talisman.
"I have conveyed the Shen family's sincerity. If you need anything in the future, you can contact the Shen family through this jade talisman." She
"There's one more thing, Liu Mingxia won't let this go easily. I'll keep an eye on the Wang family for you."
"Okay, then thank you very much."
Jiang Chen finally reacted, but it didn't seem like he was really expressing gratitude; instead, he seemed to want to end this boring conversation as soon as possible.
His lips curled up slightly, forming a meaningful arc.
Liu Mingxia, from the Wang family in the capital...
If she behaves herself, Jiang Chen won't bother looking for her. After all, she's just an ant; it doesn't matter whether he steps on her or not.
But if she's reckless and insists on coming to us...
He wouldn't mind letting the people of the capital know what despair is.