Chapter 24: Night Demon

Before Su Han's furrowed brows could smooth out, Prince Jing and the Princess Consort were already standing together in front of him.

Glancing at the bloodstains on the ground, the Princess Consort's expression shifted slightly. She pulled Su Han over and inspected him from head to toe. Only after seeing that he had no injuries did she breathe a small sigh of relief.

"Han, what happened?" Prince Jing, who had also secretly breathed a sigh of relief after the inspection, asked with a solemn expression.

It was late at night. The two of them had already fallen asleep when they suddenly heard a commotion coming from Su Han's side. They had rushed over without the slightest hesitation, only to see Su Han standing alone in the darkness of the night, along with a pool of blood on the ground in front of him.

"I got up to use the restroom during the night. When I came back, I found a person dressed in black hiding in the darkness, plotting something..."

Concealing the existence of the Moon Shadow Step, Su Han gave a rough account of the incident. Hearing his words, Prince Jing and the Princess Consort exchanged a glance, both of their expressions turning somewhat grave.

"Father, Mother, do you know the identity of the person in black?"

Prince Jing shook his head. "Without seeing it with my own eyes, I can't be sure for now. But according to what you just said, after you severely injured that person in black, he retreated into the darkness and vanished completely without a sound. That kind of ability seems to belong to a certain organization."

"What organization?"

"The Night Demons."

The Princess Consort picked up the topic. "The Night Demons. Not just in Jing Country, but throughout the entire Qing Province, and even the lands of Jiuzhou, this organization maintains an active presence. They wander the fringes of the gray areas, standing between darkness and light. They act without scruples, yet they seem to adhere to a certain bottom line.

"Almost no one knows their true background, but their presence can often be found in major events. Some say the Night Demons are an organization—a terrifying colossus hiding in the shadows, ready to leap out and devour its prey at any moment. Others say the Night Demons are not an organization at all, but a race."

"A race?" Su Han furrowed his brows slightly.

"In ancient records, the Night Demons might be a branch of the Demon Race."

"The Demon Race?" Su Han was somewhat speechless. "Then is there also a race that is naturally opposed to the Demon Race, called the Divine Race?"

The Princess Consort gave him a strange look and shook her head. "There is a race recorded in ancient texts that once fought a great war with the Demon Race, but that race isn't called the Divine Race; it's called the Immortal Race."

"The Immortal Race?"

Divine Demon?

Immortal Demon?

Su Han rolled his eyes weakly. In his past life, when he read web novels, he frequently complained about how third-rate stories by failed authors always featured these two races. He never expected to actually encounter them now.

He wondered if he was actually the male protagonist in some hack author's third-rate novel.

However, the sarcastic thought only flashed by for a moment. With the memories of his past and present lives completely intact, he would never truly consider himself a fictional character.

"So, whether it's the Night Demon organization or the Night Demon race... is there anything in Prince Jing's Residence that could attract the prying eyes of such a colossus spanning across Jiuzhou?"

Hearing Su Han's question, the expressions of Prince Jing and the Princess Consort both changed, and their gazes fell squarely upon him in unison.

If there really was something in Prince Jing's Residence worth the Night Demons' prying, it would probably... only be their own biological son.

If the method their son used to achieve Perfection in Foundation Establishment within a single day were to spread, let alone the Demon Race, perhaps all the major powers across the lands of Jiuzhou would forcefully intervene, desperate to get their hands on such a Foundation Establishment method.

Prince Jing opened his mouth to say something, but after a moment of hesitation, he held his words back.

He spread his Divine Sense out to cover the entirety of Prince Jing's Residence. After finding no anomalies, Prince Jing took out an Array Plate and activated it. An invisible barrier completely enveloped the three of them.

Only after doing this did Prince Jing look at his son with some hesitation.

"Han, did you let a fourth person know about your Foundation Establishment?"

Su Han shook his head. "If we're just talking about my strength, then Su Xiao'Er, Sister Qin, Hua, and many people from the Governor's Residence should know a little about it today. But as for how long it took me to reach Foundation Establishment, absolutely no one other than you, Father and Mother, knows about it."

Seeing that Su Han didn't seem to be hiding anything, Prince Jing nodded.

He and the Princess Consort naturally wouldn't spread a matter that concerned their very lives. As for falling into a trap and having their memories spied upon without their knowledge, that was even more impossible.

Being able to probe his and the Princess Consort's memories unknowingly was something an ordinary Immortal Platform Realm expert couldn't do. Perhaps only a legendary existence who had glimpsed the realm of a Celestial Being might be able to achieve it.

And if such an existence knew of this secret, they definitely wouldn't send a subordinate who couldn't even defeat Su Han to investigate. Instead, they would directly strike and take what they wanted from Su Han.

With the methods of such an existence, let alone a mere Prince Jing's Residence, even looking across Jing Country or the entire Qing Province, there might not be anyone capable of stopping them.

Therefore, the possibility of the Foundation Establishment method being leaked was basically ruled out.

If it wasn't the Foundation Establishment method, then what other reason could draw an organization like the Night Demons to investigate?

Prince Jing and the Princess Consort were thoroughly puzzled. Only Su Han felt a layer of gloom secretly clouding his heart.

A heavens-shaking secret like the Foundation Establishment method might be a huge deal to Prince Jing and the Princess Consort, but to him, it was merely the tip of the iceberg among his secrets. Setting aside his heaven-defying ability to obtain skills simply by lighting up the Skill Tree, just the Heaven and Earth Melting Furnace—a Fragmented Technique rejected by the world—could bring about the peril of total annihilation for the entire Jing Country if leaked.

Naturally, Prince Jing and the Princess Consort had no way of knowing Su Han's worries.

After discussing the matter for a while longer without reaching a conclusion, the two had no choice but to leave, filled with doubts.

Returning to his room and lying in bed, Su Han couldn't fall asleep for the rest of the night.

Early the next morning, after washing up and changing his clothes with the help of Xi and Qiao, Su Han left his small courtyard to pay his respects to his father and mother.

During breakfast, Su Muyan arrived at the dining hall alone.

"Yan, why did you come alone? Where is Miss Feng?" Seeing Su Muyan approach by herself, the Princess Consort asked in passing.

Su Muyan greeted Prince Jing and the Princess Consort before replying, "Feng is feeling a bit unwell, so she won't be coming over for breakfast."

The Princess Consort nodded and didn't ask further.

After the events of last night, the meal was rather somber. Prince Jing, the Princess Consort, and even Su Han were all preoccupied with their own thoughts. This heavy atmosphere made even Su Xiaoyan feel somewhat uncomfortable.

After eating, Su Han practiced the Moon Shadow Step in the courtyard a few times. He had a mind to practice some hand-to-hand combat techniques or pick a weapon, but considering that out of all his current skills, only the Moon Shadow Step could be used for combat, he could only resentfully drop the idea.

As for choosing a weapon, he would wait until he unlocked an overpowered weapon-related skill first.

As for hand-to-hand combat... what a joke. If he had been able to settle down and patiently practice his fists and kicks, he wouldn't have ended up reaching the age of sixteen without the slightest bit of cultivation.

After practicing the Moon Shadow Step a few more times, Su Han called out for Su Xiao'Er, preparing to go out and look for more Skill Trees again.

He had only taken a few steps out of the courtyard gates when he ran into Su Muyan and Miss Feng, who were also preparing to head out.

"Sister, Miss Feng, are you two heading out as well?"

As he greeted them, Su Han's gaze subconsciously landed on Miss Feng's face.

Her complexion... seemed a bit paler than last night.

He sniffed the air. Faintly... it seemed a light scent of blood wafted over.