the rise of the useless son-in-law of a wealthy family

fight

Amidst the crowd, whispers began to spread. They no longer mocked Su Jian. Instead, they started to wonder—who really was this man they had considered useless?

And in the midst of the spotlight, Su Jian continued to walk calmly, as if nothing had happened.

After the duel that shocked everyone, the atmosphere in the grand hall drastically changed. Where the guests had previously mocked Su Jian, now the whispers were filled with curiosity and suspicion.

"How could someone like him win?"

"Is there something strange about him? His movements earlier... they didn’t seem like they belonged to an ordinary person."

In one corner of the room, several elders from the prominent families began to pay closer attention to Su Jian. Their gazes were no longer filled with ridicule, but with caution—almost as if they were investigating something invisible.

The eldest elder of the Zhao family, an elderly man with graying hair seated in the honorary chair, squinted his eyes. His hand tapped the wooden staff he held, the rhythm of his tapping seeming to reflect his swirling thoughts.

"This boy..." he muttered softly, almost inaudible. "...Could it be that he has sealed power?"

On the other side of the room, Su Jian stood amidst the crowd. His body felt strange. The sword mark on his chest pulsed faintly again, as if alive and breathing with him. A warm flow of energy spread through his body—something he had felt since the duel earlier. However, he tried to stay calm and show nothing.

"What is really happening to me?" Su Jian thought to himself, clenching his hand unconsciously, feeling a power he had never possessed before.

Xia Lengyi walked closer, her face full of mixed emotions—anger, worry, and confusion. She couldn’t take her eyes off Su Jian.

"Su Jian," she called coldly, though her voice was almost trembling. "What exactly did you do earlier? That wasn’t the movement of an ordinary person."

Su Jian turned and gave a faint smile, just as usual. "I was just lucky."

"Stop making excuses!" Lengyi cut in quickly. Her sharp eyes bore into her husband. "I know you’re hiding something."

Su Jian wanted to respond, but at that moment, Elder Zhao's voice echoed across the hall, breaking the tension between them.

"That’s enough for today!" he said in a deep voice. "Our meeting ends here. However..."—his sharp gaze stopped at Su Jian—"I want all the families to be cautious. It seems our younger generation will face something significant in the future."

Although Elder Zhao didn’t mention names, everyone knew who he was referring to. Whispers filled the room again as the guests began to leave.

On the way back to the Xia residence, the atmosphere in the luxury car felt heavy with silence. Xia Lengyi sat in the front seat while Su Jian sat in the back. Their driver drove calmly, but the tension inside the cabin was palpable.

"So..." Xia Lengyi’s voice broke the silence. "What are you hiding from me, Su Jian?"

Su Jian stared out the window, refusing to look at his wife. "I really don’t know what you’re talking about, Miss Xia. I just acted without thinking."

Lengyi snorted softly. "That’s nonsense. I saw it with my own eyes. You dodged the attacks in ways even cultivators would have trouble doing. And now, all the elders are starting to pay attention to you."

Su Jian sighed deeply. It was true, he thought. He didn’t know what had happened. The sword mark had appeared after a strange dream some time ago, and today he had felt a power that wasn’t his.

"Honestly, I don’t know the answer." Su Jian finally spoke, his voice soft but honest. "But... something has changed inside me. I can’t explain it."

Xia Lengyi fell silent. She glanced at Su Jian through the rearview mirror, trying to find an answer in his face. But all she saw was confusion and a mysterious calm.

When they arrived at the Xia family residence, Su Jian immediately walked toward his small room at the back of the building. Xia Lengyi, still curious, could only watch her husband’s back.

"Who is he really?" That question kept haunting her mind.

That night, as Su Jian lay on his small bed, the sword mark on his chest pulsed again. This time, it was stronger than before. He unbuttoned his shirt, gazing at the mark, which faintly shimmered in the dark.

"This can’t be," he murmured, his voice almost trembling. "What is really happening to me?"

Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind. It was soft yet authoritative, like the voice from his dream.

"Your time is near, Su Jian. Your power is beginning to awaken."

Su Jian jolted, his body tensing. "You again!? Who are you really!?" he asked, panic in his voice, even though he knew there was no one in the room.

"Know this, the mark is the key. The key to the power that has been sealed within you for a long time. You will soon understand your role in this world."

"No, wait—explain this to me! What does all this mean?"

But the voice vanished just as quickly as it came, leaving Su Jian in confusion and fear. His body once again felt warm, and the energy continued to flow inside him. He clenched his fist, feeling a tremendous power, yet one he couldn’t control.

"What is this mark really?" he thought to himself.

On the other side of the residence, Xia Lengyi sat alone in her room. Her eyes stared blankly out the window. Her mind kept replaying what she had witnessed at the event earlier.

Su Jian’s strange movements, his inexplicable victory, and the mysterious aura she felt. Su Jian was no longer the ordinary man she knew. There was something he was hiding—perhaps even from himself.

"Are you really just an ordinary man, Su Jian?" Xia Lengyi whispered softly.

The next day, news of Su Jian’s duel spread like wildfire among the cultivator families. Many couldn’t believe it, but others began to question the identity of Xia Lengyi’s husband. The elders and heads of the prominent families could no longer ignore his presence.

Amidst the buzz of rumors, Su Jian continued to live his life as usual. But deep in his heart, he knew—his life would never be the same again. The sword mark was not just a symbol, and the power awakening inside him was the beginning of something much greater.