Hou Congsheng was shocked when he heard this.
"Yes! Exactly him! Dad, do you know him?" asked Hou Kexin.
Hou Congsheng shook his head, "I don’t know him. I heard this name today itself."
"Then why are you surprised?" Hou Kexin asked, puzzled.
Hou Congsheng explained, "Today the Dragon Soul Office updated the Top Ten Experts List of Lin Jiang, and Su Chengyu is ranked fifth."
"What?! He ranks fifth on the experts list? How is that possible?"
Hou Kexin was astonished. She couldn’t believe her ears.
Hou Congsheng handed her a newspaper from the side. She glanced at it and said angrily, "Why is that damn man ranked even higher than you? He pushed you out of the top five. Who does he think he is? I have never even heard of him before."
Coldness flared in Hou Congsheng’s eyes as he said, "I originally planned to find some time to challenge him, to see how this young man managed to surpass me. But I never thought he would dare to take things from you and bully you. He completely disregarded me, Hou Congsheng."
Hou Kexin angrily shredded the newspaper in her hands and tossed it into the trash bin.
"No wonder he’s so arrogant! After I revealed my identity, he indeed said he didn’t consider you at all. We must teach him a lesson!" exclaimed Hou Kexin, fuming with rage.
"Young people, they have no idea of the bounds of heaven and earth. Since he thinks he’s above everyone else, I will meet him and see the actual strength he possesses. If he’s only boasting and his capabilities are superficial, I will personally cripple him."
Hou Congsheng couldn’t believe his rank was surpassed by a man in his twenties. He felt the urge to reclaim his position.
After getting the Purple Vine, Su Chengyu went straight home. He called Lin Zhiyuan to ask how many medicinal materials had been collected.
"Mr. Su, the hundred-year-old Purple Vine is indeed hard to find, and the other two kinds of materials are not old enough to match your standard," Lin Zhiyuan reported hesitantly.
"No matter. I already have the Purple Vine. Just send over the other materials as soon as possible. It’s okay if they are a little younger."
Su Chengyu was desperate to enhance his strength. For a ninth-grade master, Chengyu didn’t have complete confidence to win.
Although he would be able to defeat Hou Congsheng who was just lower ninth-grade, he was not aware of the exact strength of Fang Qing’s elder brother. He guessed it should be at least a ninth-grade, or even higher.
If Cui Yan was a semi-grandmaster, then zero chances of winning for Su Chengyu; only by growing stronger would Su Chengyu have absolute confidence.
With imminent danger, his opponents wouldn’t give him much time. Especially Fang Qing’s elder brother, who was targeting his life. If he loses, he would suffer greatly.
So, Su Chengyu did not have time to gather enough old medicinal materials anymore.
Luckily, he had obtained the three most critical materials, which were more than a hundred years old, for making the Heavenly Pill.
"Okay, Mr. Su, I’ll get them there by tomorrow at the latest," Lin Zhiyuan promised.
Outside Jade View Garden, Fang Qing had no choice but to bring her older brother, Cui Yan, over.
"This kid lives in such a shabby neighborhood?" Cui Yan sneered.
The world of martial arts was a high-profile one, and wealth was not in short supply among its practitioners. Who would live in such an old neighborhood?
"Elder brother, why don’t you wait in the car first? I’ll go check if he’s home to avoid a wasted trip," Fang Qing suggested.
"Alright, you go ahead."
Cui Yan leaned against his seat and closed his eyes to rest.
Fang Qing walked into the neighborhood alone, praying inwardly, "Su Chengyu, I hope you’ve already escaped. Otherwise, I won’t be able to help you."
"Huh? His car is still here!"
Fang Qing instantly recognized the car parked there from the night before when she saw Su Chengyu drive it home.
Disappointment crossed Fang Qing’s face as she hurriedly ran into Su Chengyu’s apartment building and knocked on his door.
Su Chengyu was arranging the materials for tomorrow’s alchemy session, and upon hearing the knock, he used his Divine Sense to verify that it was Fang Qing.
"Looks like, my mortal enemy is on the doorstep."
Su Chengyu’s face grew stern. As of now, if he fought with Cui Yan, he had less than a fifty percent chance of winning.
He packed up the materials and walked over to open the door.
"What are you doing here?" Su Chengyu asked coldly.
"Why are you still home? Didn’t I already warn you last night? Why didn’t you run away?"
Fang Qing was hopping mad, reproach echoing in her words.
"Your elder brother is here, right? Come on, let’s fight. I, Su Chengyu, fear nothing," said Su Chengyu bravely.
"Don’t you know that stubbornness will get you killed? You can’t beat my elder brother! Do you think this is child’s play? Just having hotheaded enthusiasm won’t change anything. He will kill you!"
Fang Qing was very worried.
"You need not worry about me, Captain Fang," Su Chengyu didn’t display any courtesy towards Fang Qing.
"You...You’re a thankless wretch! I won’t argue with you, but I’ll try my best to hold my brother back. You should disappear as fast as you can, or no one will be able to save you."
After delivering her warning, Fang Qing headed off.
Su Chengyu didn’t say much else, his heart, however, felt somewhat wronged, his enemies were knocking on his front door. Did they really think he was that easy to bully?
When Fang Qing returned to the car, she readjusted her expression before climbing in.
"Is he home?" Cui Yan asked.
"He’s not! This kid is really a coward. He must have guessed that our sect was going to get revenge for Master Hua. I asked one of his neighbors, and they said they haven’t seen him these past couple of days. He must have fled in the night," lied Fang Qing.
"Damn it! He actually got away?"
Cui Yan squinted, his face filled with anger.
"Go back to the station immediately and conduct an investigation. I want to know where he’s hidden. Even if he has fled to the ends of the earth, I will pursue him!" threatened Cui Yan with murderous intent.
"Alright! I’m on my way."
Fang Qing started the car and drove away with Cui Yan.
"Su Chengyu, this is all I can do to help you. I hope you can take care of yourself," Fang Qing silently wished.
Once she returned to the station, Fang Qing went straight to her office. She opened her computer and saw a discussion in a group about the updated Top Ten Masters list of Lin Jiang. Su Chengyu was mentioned.
"The Masters list has been updated? Su Chengyu is ranked fifth? Is this a joke?"
That Su Chengyu made it to the list was not surprising to Fang Qing, after all, he had defeated Hua Zhantang. However, jumping straight to the fifth position had taken her by surprise.
Su Chengyu quickly opened the official website of the Dragon Soul Agency and looked for the published list. There it was, Su Chengyu’s name right ahead of Hou Congsheng’s.
"Su Chengyu, have you become a ninth-grade master as well? No wonder you didn’t seem afraid of my fourth brother. Is this what’s giving you such confidence? It’s a pity that my fourth brother is an upper ninth-grade, half-step grandmaster. In front of him, you’re still on a road to death!"