strokinit Chapter 51 Suspicion of an Internal Traitor
Chapter 51 Suspicion of an Internal Traitor
That afternoon, Lin Chen was practicing his boxing alone in the training ground.
He was practicing an advanced move from the "Star Martial Basic Fist Manual"—Star River Reversal. He had been practicing this move for two months, but he was still just a little bit short of mastering it.
The punches grew faster and heavier. Silver starlight surged from his fists, weaving into a net of light in the air. He fought with increasing ease, his fists seeming to come alive, propelling his body forward.
Suddenly, the Star Martial Core in his dantian jerked violently.
A surge of heat erupted from his dantian, flowing through his meridians throughout his body. He felt every meridian in his body expand in that instant, like a long-blocked river suddenly opening up. His blood and qi surged, and his stellar energy skyrocketed.
boom--!
With a muffled thud, a silver beam shot out from above his head, shooting straight into the sky and exploding into a burst of silver light on the dome of the training ground.
Peak of the late stage of Qi and Blood Realm → Early stage of Meridian Opening Realm!
Lin Chen slowly withdrew his fist and exhaled a long breath. The breath was white and dissipated in the cold air.
He looked down at his hands. The silvery star power in his palms flowed like water, more than twice as thick as before. His meridians were all open, and the star power flowed quickly and smoothly through his body without any obstruction.
He clenched his fist, a slight smile appearing on his lips.
Congratulations, Lin Chen.
Su Muyue and Su Qingyue arrived at the entrance of the training ground at some unknown time.
Su Muyue, dressed in a white robe imbued with array formations, her hair held back with a wooden hairpin, and carrying several exorcising flags, walked over with a smile, her eyes brimming with joy: "Finally, you've broken through. Now you have enough strength to face the joint trials."
Su Qingyue followed behind her without saying a word, but the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
"Thank you," Lin Chen said. "I'm so grateful for your and Mu Yue's help these past three months."
"No need to thank me," Su Qingyue said. "But don't be too happy yet. Wang Xiaotian has already broken through to the late stage of the Transformation Realm, and he's very strong. The Evil Clan might send even more powerful experts. One early stage of the Meridian Opening Realm isn't enough to deal with him."
Lin Chen nodded, about to speak, when his phone rang.
It's Jiang Chen.
He answered the phone, smiling, and said, "Director Jiang, is there good news?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.
Then Jiang Chen's voice came through, his tone different from usual, more serious: "Young friend Lin Chen, something's happened. We just intercepted encrypted messages between Liu Kun and Wang Xiaotian. They know our entire plan."
The smile on Lin Chen's face vanished instantly.
"What?" He gripped his phone tighter. "How did they know?"
"There's a traitor within our inner circle," Jiang Chen said, emphasizing each word. "The secret letter detailed the location of our counter-ambush, the exact time to break through the formation, and even the exact number of members in the Su family's exorcism assault team. Only the four of us knew these things."
Lin Chen's mind went blank for a moment.
The inner circle consists of only four people: Su Zhennan, Jiang Chen, Su Muyue, and him.
Su Zhennan couldn't possibly be the traitor. If the old man wanted to harm him, he wouldn't have given him the Star Pattern Jade Pendant and the cultivation notes. Jiang Chen couldn't be either. The military personnel are impeccably trained; they've been investigating the Wang family for three months. If he were the traitor, he would have been exposed long ago.
Who is that?
Lin Chen subconsciously glanced at Su Muyue beside him.
She was looking up at him, her eyes clear, and the smile from before still lingering on her lips.
Impossible. He immediately dismissed the thought.
"Director Jiang, are you sure about the authenticity of the secret letter?" Lin Chen asked.
"Absolutely true. The password is the Wang family's secret code, there's no mistake," Jiang Chen said. "Moreover, Wang Xiaotian has changed his plan. They won't wait for the joint training; they're going to act on the first day—detonate the evil array and simultaneously launch a rebellion in the city, working together from the inside to directly break through the evil-suppressing array."
Lin Chen's heart sank.
Start early. All preparations were scheduled according to the original timeline, but this early start meant that many aspects had to be changed.
"What do we do now?" Lin Chen asked.
"Don't panic," Jiang Chen said. "I've already come up with a solution. Bring the Su sisters to the military headquarters now, and we'll discuss this again. Elder Su will also come."
"Okay, I'll be right there." Lin Chen hung up the phone and turned to look at Su Muyue and Su Qingyue.
Both of their expressions changed.
"A traitor?" Su Muyue's face turned pale instantly. "How could that be? Our plan was so meticulous; only a few of us knew about it..."
"Stop guessing," Lin Chen interrupted her. "Let's go to the military headquarters first. Director Jiang is waiting for us."
The three of them quickly walked out of the training ground and ran towards the school gate. Lin Chen ran in the lead, taking long and fast strides. Su Qingyue followed behind him, while Su Muyue, carrying the bundle of evil-breaking flags, struggled to run but gritted her teeth and didn't fall behind.
On the way, Lin Chen's mind was racing.
Who is the traitor?
He glanced at Su Muyue again. She was panting heavily, her forehead covered in sweat, holding the flag in one hand and lifting the hem of her robe with the other, as if afraid of tripping and falling.
It couldn't be her.
What about Su Qingyue? Even less likely. Although she doesn't talk much, she's always at the forefront of everything.
It's even less likely that Grandpa Su and Jiang Chen will get together.
Who could it be?
He shook his head, suppressing the thought. Regardless of who the traitor was, the most important thing now was to stabilize the situation and thwart the Wang family's new plan.
The seal that Chen Feng risked his life for, the hope that Li Mo had waited thirty years for, he couldn't let these things be destroyed in the hands of an insider.
In the direction of the northwestern forest region, dark clouds rolled across the horizon, and the faint sound of thunder could be heard.
The joint training hasn't even started yet, but the storm has already arrived ahead of schedule.