Mr. Ke did not press the matter further. Instead, he said, "It seems this mysterious inheritance truly has an affinity with you. That being the case, I will do everything I can to help you find the last puzzle piece. I’ll also keep an eye on Pulamon’s whereabouts."
"Also, since Mu Wang has been to the mysterious inheritance before, you should get some information from him first when you’re preparing to explore it in the future."
Su Ze nodded. Now that he had Mr. Ke’s puzzle piece, he planned to visit the mysterious inheritance after taking care of his current tasks to claim the contents of the Inheritance Treasure Vault that corresponded to it.
He would also take the opportunity to learn more about the inheritance, in preparation for collecting all four puzzle pieces and exploring its core.
Before he went, he would definitely have to get some information out of Mu Wang.
After chatting with Mr. Ke for a little longer, Su Ze saw there were no other important matters and decided not to disturb him any further.
In Mr. Ke’s current condition, every extra moment he spent asleep was a moment longer he could live.
Leaving the small courtyard where Mr. Ke lived, Su Ze saw the senior members of the Lin Family waiting outside. Chen Suifeng stepped forward and asked, "All done?"
Su Ze nodded. "Mr. Ke is resting now."
At his side, the head of the Lin Family, Lin Tiannan, said, "Young friend Su Ze, I’ve prepared a banquet. Please, stay and dine with the Lin Family before you leave."
It was an offer too gracious to refuse, so Su Ze had to accept.
So he and Chen Suifeng stayed at the Lin Family for a sumptuous lunch.
Aside from Lin Tiannan, only a few of the Lin Family’s clan elders were in attendance.
Throughout the meal, Lin Tiannan made many attempts to win over and grow closer to Su Ze, which was only to be expected.
Lin Tiannan knew Mr. Ke intended to groom Su Ze. If Mr. Ke were to pass away in the future and Su Ze matured into a legendary powerhouse, he could potentially take Mr. Ke’s place as the leader of the Blue Star Party.
The Lin Family was already on good terms with Su Ze, so of course they would seize this opportunity to further consolidate their relationship.
"Young friend Su Ze, if there’s anything you need the Lin Family’s help with, please don’t hesitate to ask," Lin Tiannan said with a sincere expression. "We are eternally grateful to you for recovering our ancestral heirloom."
The Lin Family had already rewarded Su Ze for recovering the ancestral heirloom, so the matter should have been settled. But by bringing it up again, Lin Tiannan was deliberately putting his family in Su Ze’s debt—a clear gesture of goodwill.
Su Ze wasn’t opposed to this. He’d always had a favorable impression of the Lin Family and didn’t mind having another powerful family as an ally. Thus, he graciously accepted their gesture and asked them to help him gather the skill-strengthening materials he needed.
Sometimes, politely refusing a kind offer only creates distance. Accepting it graciously, on the other hand, can bring people closer.
The meal was a pleasant affair for host and guest alike.
After the meal, Lin Tiannan saw Su Ze and Chen Suifeng out.
As they were parting, Lin Tiannan smiled. "Young friend Su Ze, if you can wait in Baihua City for two days, I will mobilize the Lin Family’s entire network to do our utmost to collect the materials on your list. I’ll have whatever we find delivered to you within two days."
"Thank you, Mr. Lin," Su Ze said with a smile.
’If Lin Tiannan and I are calling each other brothers,’ he thought, ’doesn’t that make me part of Lin Luo’s grandfather’s generation?’
There was a several-hundred-year age gap between them, but Lin Tiannan had insisted on the familiar address.
After leaving the Lin Family’s estate, Su Ze returned to Chen Suifeng’s home.
Chen Suifeng said, "Perfect. It’ll take me some time to requisition the materials from the national treasury anyway. Just rest easy and wait. I’ll have all the materials you need from there within two days."
This meant Su Ze would have to stay at Chen Suifeng’s home for a few more days while he waited for the materials from the Lin Family and Chen Suifeng.
Fortunately, he had no other urgent business to attend to.
After Chen Suifeng left, Su Ze found himself with time on his hands, and his thoughts turned to Mu Wang.
His conversation with Mr. Ke that morning had left him with many follow-up questions for Mu Wang.
However, Su Ze knew it would be difficult to get Mu Wang to cooperate as obediently as he had last time.
Last time, Mu Wang had been facing a life-or-death crisis. But thanks to the Spirit-Eroding Fruit, he wouldn’t face the danger of being devoured by the Sun God for at least another six months.
Without that pressure, Mu Wang wouldn’t give in so easily. What’s more, he viewed the information about the mysterious inheritance as his trump card and was completely unwilling to reveal anything about it.
’To make someone talk, you either threaten them or bribe them,’ Su Ze mused. ’And I do have things to bribe him with...’
Su Ze currently had two more types of materials on hand that Mu Wang needed.
’If I just ask him directly, I might not get all the information I want, even if I give him both items. Looks like I’ll have to apply some pressure after all!’
Su Ze took out the Soul Nourishing Jade Stone containing the remnant soul and placed it on the table.
After a moment’s thought, he took a box from his Storage Ring. He opened it to reveal a piece of black charcoal inside.
This charcoal was something Su Ze had acquired from the spaceship’s Central Treasure Vault. It had been created by burning the trunk of a Tier Seven Soul Awakening Wood, making it a Tier Seven natural medicine.
It had only one purpose: to heal soul injuries.
It was so powerful, it was said it could even repair a Consciousness Body.
That’s right. Su Ze was planning to perform an act of "kindness" and help heal the remnant soul of that Nian Race Sun God, just enough to wake him from his slumber sooner.
A Sun God was an immensely powerful being, several tiers of existence above Su Ze.
Furthermore, the Sun God’s soul was so severely damaged that healing it was no easy task. Su Ze’s own healing abilities were but a drop in the ocean.
Previously, even if he had wanted to heal the Nian Race Sun God’s remnant soul to threaten Mu Wang, he wouldn’t have been able to.
But things were different now. The Soul Awakening Wood Charcoal was a Tier Seven medicine that specialized in healing soul injuries. While it might not be able to completely restore the remnant soul, it would definitely have an effect.