the rise of the useless son-in-law of a wealthy family

Awakening

Lengyi gritted her teeth, realizing her opponent was far stronger than she had anticipated. Their attacks grew fiercer, and she began to tire. A shallow cut appeared on her arm after one of the attackers broke through her defense.

Just as Lengyi was about to lose her footing, Su Jian suddenly appeared from the side, panting heavily but with an unusual determination in his eyes. “Lengyi!” he shouted. “What’s going on?”

Lengyi glanced at him briefly, her eyes wide with shock. “Su Jian, get out of here! It’s too dangerous for you!”

Before Su Jian could respond, one of the thieves lunged at him with a blade. Time seemed to slow down. In that moment, Su Jian felt his body move on its own, as though guided by an unseen force. He dodged the attack in a way he couldn’t even comprehend.

“Wait, what am I doing?” he thought in panic.

The mysterious sword he had found a few days earlier suddenly trembled on his back, as if reacting to the situation. A faint blue light surrounded Su Jian as he unsheathed the sword. The chilling aura radiating from it caused the attackers to pause, their gazes filled with caution.

“That fool... has a weapon like that?” one of them muttered.

As Su Jian gripped the sword, something within him shifted. A familiar voice echoed in his mind. “It is time, Master. Rise and protect what matters to you.”

Without fully understanding his actions, Su Jian stepped forward. His movements were awkward, but the sword seemed to guide every swing. When one of the thieves attacked with a dagger, Su Jian instinctively swung his sword, releasing a wave of blue energy that pushed his opponent back.

Lengyi, watching in astonishment, was both baffled and impressed. “Su Jian… how are you doing that?”

“I… I don’t know!” Su Jian replied honestly. All he knew was that he couldn’t bear to see Lengyi get hurt. The fear that usually paralyzed him was slowly being replaced by an urge to protect.

The thieves began to take Su Jian more seriously, realizing he wasn’t a minor threat. But the sword in his hand continued to glow, deflecting every strike with uncanny precision. Although his body remained weak, Su Jian felt as though the sword was granting him strength he had never possessed.

Still, the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming. Even with the sword’s help, Su Jian began to falter. One of the thieves managed to kick him, sending him sprawling to the ground. The sword slipped from his grasp and clattered several meters away.

“Su Jian!” Lengyi cried out. She tried to protect him, but the burly man with the black blade blocked her path.

“Enough playing around,” the man said coldly. He raised his weapon, poised to strike the defenseless Su Jian.

In those final moments, Su Jian felt something inside him erupt. A surge of energy he couldn’t explain coursed through his body. Trembling, he reached for the sword and drove it into the ground.

A massive wave of blue energy erupted from the blade, knocking back every attacker nearby. Even the burly man staggered several steps, his eyes narrowing with fear.

“What… what is this?” the man muttered, clearly not expecting someone like Su Jian to unleash such power.

Lengyi seized the opportunity to launch a decisive attack. With her ice spear, she froze the man’s legs, immobilizing him. The remaining Xia family guards arrived to secure the scene, and the surviving thieves fled into the night.

After the battle, Su Jian collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Lengyi knelt beside him, inspecting his condition. “Are you okay?” she asked, her voice filled with concern.

“I… I don’t know what happened,” Su Jian replied weakly. “I just… didn’t want to see you get hurt.”

Lengyi looked at him with a mix of gratitude and emotion. “Su Jian, whatever happened just now… thank you for protecting me.”

The sword in Su Jian’s hand glowed once more before dimming. He gazed at it, a mix of fear and curiosity filling his heart. He realized that tonight wasn’t just about defending the Xia residence—it was also about uncovering something new within himself, something long hidden.

.

“Su Jian, you’re utterly pathetic!” The voice was sharp, cutting through the silence of the night.

Su Jian looked up to see the speaker. It was a tall man with long silver hair. His robe shimmered like gemstones under the moonlight, and his piercing eyes seemed to see through Su Jian entirely.

“What do you mean by pathetic? I didn’t even do anything!” Su Jian retorted, clearly confused. He had no idea why he was here when he should have been resting in his room after a long day.

“Exactly—you’ve done nothing. But that changes tonight,” the man said with a sly grin. He raised his hand, and the blue sword Su Jian had found days ago appeared, floating in mid-air.

“Why is the sword here? I left it in the secret chamber,” Su Jian thought.

The silver-haired man stepped closer. “This sword has chosen you, Su Jian. The world may see you as a fool, but within you lies something even you cannot fathom. Something only this sword can recognize.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about,” Su Jian replied, shaking his head in frustration. “I just want a simple life. I don’t want to get involved in weird things like this.”

But the man ignored Su Jian’s protests. He stepped even closer, and the sword began spinning in the air before flying toward Su Jian.

“Hey! What are you doing? Keep that thing away from me!” Su Jian tried to back away, but his body refused to move as he wanted. The sword shot straight at him, piercing his chest in a burst of bright blue light.

Su Jian screamed, but strangely, he felt no pain. Instead, there was warmth, like a gentle embrace. The light from the sword gradually faded, and as he looked down, he saw the sword had vanished, replaced by a glowing symbol on his chest—a tattoo of a sword, intricately detailed and alive with energy.

“What… what is this?” Su Jian gasped, his hand touching the tattoo.

“It is your mark of destiny,” the silver-haired man said. “From now on, the power of this sword is yours. But remember, with great power comes great responsibility. Do not squander this chance.”

Su Jian wanted to ask more, but the world around him began to spin. The man, the moonlight, and the night sky all dissolved into darkness.