Chapter 123: Silver Law Sequence 121, Instant Bloom

"You might not have heard of the Nangong surname," she said. "It vanished decades ago, and all information about the Nangong Family was erased by the Royal Family of the Chiyan Empire."

Nangong?

Su Mu had indeed never heard of a noble family by that name. He knew little about nobles to begin with; they were far too distant from the Lower District.

"The Nangong Family was once the first noble house of the Chiyan Empire, and the empire's strongest expert hailed from their ranks," she continued. "When the Chiyan Empire went to war with other empires, the Royal Family relied heavily on them. On the battlefield, the Nangong Family Head single-handedly slew three Gold experts from an enemy nation, achieving unparalleled glory. But once the war ended..."

"His achievements threatened the throne?"

Murong Mengli nodded, a trace of hatred surfacing in her eyes. "Exactly. There is nothing new under the sun, and similar scenarios have played out countless times in history. This time, it was the Nangong Family's turn. The family head had already retreated at the height of his power, willingly surrendering his military authority after the war ended, but he still suffered the Royal Family's purge!

"The Royal Family simply couldn't tolerate a Gold expert who had the power to kill them at any moment.

"Do you remember what the Highest Sequence of the Silver Law is?"

Su Mu pondered slightly before slowly stating the highest known Sequence of the Silver Law: "Silver Law Sequence 121, Instant Bloom. At the cost of one's lifespan, it alters one's timeline, placing the user in a state of time acceleration."

"The Nangong Family were the ones who mastered Instant Bloom. There were even instances of a Silver Stage 3 transcendent from the Nangong Family crossing tiers to kill a Gold transcendent. You could say that the Nangong Family's power was inseparable from Instant Bloom. It was the core of their entire Transcendent Path. The other Laws they possessed essentially all served Instant Bloom."

"Then what is the Nangong Family's Gold Decree?" Su Mu was somewhat curious. If members of the Nangong Family could challenge those above their tier just by relying on Instant Bloom, their Gold Decree would only be stronger.

To his surprise, Nangong Mengli shook her head. "I don't know." The hatred on her face deepened, and she clenched her delicate fists. "When the Nangong Family was annihilated, the Gold Law was lost with them. My mother was the one who told me all of this.

"My mother was a member of the Nangong Family, and the only one to escape that purge. To avoid the Empire's pursuit, she went as far as crippling her own transcendent power to become an ordinary person. Later, while fleeing, she was abducted by human traffickers, turned into a slave, and finally bought by the Murong Family Head."

"And your father?"

"My father was also a member of the Nangong Family. My mother was already pregnant with me when she fled. It's laughable that Murong Zhuo always believed I was born prematurely, raising me on the Nangong Family's behalf for twenty years." At the mention of Murong Zhuo, the hatred on Nangong Mengli's face intensified.

Su Mu saw through the situation. "It seems your true goal isn't to offer the Eye of Gold to Murong Zhuo?"

"I wouldn't give the Eye of Gold to that old thief Murong even if I died!" A bone-deep hatred surfaced on Nangong Mengli's exquisite face. "He was the one who forcefully took my mother and caused her death. If it weren't for that old thief, she never would have died!"

"Then what do you need the Eye of Gold for?"

Nangong Mengli calmed her agitated emotions slightly and looked at Su Mu with utter seriousness. "Susu, the moment you gave me the Eye of Gold, I chose to trust you. Since you already know my origins, I might as well tell you my entire plan. The truth is, I didn't take the Eye of Gold for that old thief Murong, but for myself.

"The greatest use of the Eye of Gold is to unlock one's own bloodline. It has no effect on ordinary people, but it is something nobles dream of. Nobles are all descendants of Gold experts. Reaching the Gold tier is a qualitative transformation; once someone becomes a Gold transcendent, their very essence changes, and the power they possess is passed down to their descendants through their bloodline.

"In other words, every noble possesses the potential to reach the Gold tier!

"Of course, the prerequisite is being able to perfectly draw out the power hidden within a Gold Bloodline. The Eye of Gold is the exact miracle drug needed to unlock it. Otherwise, that old thief Murong wouldn't have desired it so much to advance to the Gold tier.

"I sought the Eye of Gold to awaken the power of the Nangong Family's bloodline. I've worked desperately hard all these years, hoping to awaken my Gold Bloodline on my own, but my talent is too poor. Without external help, I simply couldn't do it. Now that I have the Eye of Gold, I can recreate the Nangong Family's Instant Bloom!"

Su Mu frowned slightly. "Instant Bloom is a Silver Law. Can you directly advance to the Silver tier after consuming the Eye of Gold?"

Nangong Mengli smiled faintly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear to reveal her exquisite profile. "Even though I detest nobles now, I have to admit their superiority. As the descendants of Gold experts, nobles have golden blood flowing through their veins. The moment they awaken their bloodline, their starting point is Silver 1!

"This is the foundation laid down by their ancestors, and it's the very reason nobles have always stood above the masses. Does it sound terribly unfair? But that is just how the world works. Some people are born with a starting line far ahead of the common folk. You could even say that a noble's starting point is the finish line an ordinary transcendent spends their entire life striving to reach.

"Of course, all of that depends on whether these nobles can actually awaken their Gold Bloodline."

Su Mu swirled the red wine in his glass and said mildly, "From a genetic standpoint, it makes perfect sense. The descendants of highly intelligent people have a high probability of having highly intelligent children. It's even more logical for the descendants of legendary Gold experts. That explains everything. If nobles didn't have this kind of deep foundation, they would have been overthrown by the people beneath them long ago, given their typical behavior.

"After all, this is a world of transcendents, and transcendents don't care whether you're a noble or not. Since the nobility hasn't been overthrown, it proves they must have the power to suppress transcendents from common backgrounds."

"You really are different, Susu," she said. "I've met some transcendents from ordinary backgrounds. When they learn about the true foundation of the nobles, their first reaction is usually jealousy or anger. They think it's unfair, wondering why they have to survive extreme peril just to claw their way up to the Silver tier.

"Meanwhile, nobles only need to awaken their bloodlines to advance to Silver. They don't even need to search for a Transcendent Path afterward; they just have to follow the road paved by their ancestors, taking it one step at a time to slowly develop their Gold Bloodline, and they'll have a chance at reaching Gold."

Su Mu remained noncommittal. "I don't think jealousy and anger are absolutely negative emotions. In fact, under many circumstances, they are the driving forces behind human progress. As long as you maintain a sense of balance and don't lose yourself to jealousy, it's fine."