Chapter 0003

Chapter 3: I Don’t Buy It. I’m Leaving!

The scene fell silent. Time felt frozen. Only the bright red mark on the contract burned into the eye.

The pact was formed.

Light flared. The contract split in two and fell into the hands of Zhou Tong and Mo Liu Su.

Mo Liu Su broke the silence first. Cold air poured off her, so icy it seemed to freeze the very air, and she said: “How dare you!”

Her face went blank, hard as a block of unmoving Mystic Ice. Her pupils turned dark and deep, with no bottom in sight. Everyone’s heart skipped.

They knew it was past saving. Zhou Tong’s hard choice had completely angered Mo Liu Su.

Tang Qi, Jiang Yu Yao, and Ge Hong Qiu traded a glance and caught the joy in each other’s eyes. Once their master reached this state, she would never show mercy.

Mo Liu Su spoke like a judge dropping a hammer and said: “Zhou Tong, from this day on you are expelled from the sect. You may not call yourself a disciple of the Jade Purity Sect. You may not use the sect’s supreme arts. If you dare to break this, I will not forgive you.”

Zhou Tong answered without fear as he said: “That is what I asked for.”

He took a Jade Pendant from his robe. The piece was simple and fine. A warm, gentle light seemed to rest on it. It was clearly well cared for, proof that its owner treasured it.

Mo Liu Su’s pupils tightened. She knew that pendant. She had given it to him when he bowed and entered her tutelage. It was only common jade then, yet he had carried it with him all this time. She tried to keep her voice flat as she said: “What are you doing with that?”

Zhou Tong held it out with steady hands and said: “Returning it to its owner.”

Mo Liu Su flicked her sleeve. A thin blade of force shot out and shattered the pendant to dust as she said: “A filthy thing touched by you. Why would I want it?”

Zhou Tong did not flinch. He lifted his hand and said, serious and clear: “Then please return my token too.”

Mo Liu Su’s face stilled for a beat. She faintly recalled that he had carved a small wooden bead by hand and given it to her as his token. She had thrown it away long ago. She lifted her chin and said, full of mockery: “Trash like that? Do you think I would carry it? What, do you plan to blackmail me?”

Zhou Tong rolled his shoulders in a small shrug and said: “Whatever.”

He turned to leave, but the cold in Mo Liu Su’s eyes grew sharper as she said: “Wait. Your cultivation came from the sect. If you are leaving, you should leave all of it behind.”

Gasps swept through the elders. She was telling Zhou Tong to cripple himself. How ruthless.

Zhou Tong stopped and looked back at the stunning woman, his face turning cold as he said: “How bold of you. When have you ever taught me? Even the spirit stones for practice were earned by me with great effort. What does any of that have to do with you?”

Many people sucked in a breath. Was Zhou Tong’s road really that bitter? No teacher’s guidance. No resources. Worse than a menial servant. If that was true, and he still reached such heights through self-study, then his talent was terrifying.

Mo Liu Su stepped higher in tone and said: “Stop with the useless talk. You look like a stray dog.”

She lowered her voice and spoke like an order as she said: “No matter what, the sect protected you for years. Otherwise you might not be alive now. You cannot walk away so easily. If you will not cripple your cultivation, then you will serve in the sect for ten years as the lowest menial servant. Ten years, and then we will write it off.”

She took out a token. Three golden characters shone upon it: Sect Master Order. With this token, Mo Liu Su could act with the sect master’s authority. In the Jade Purity Sect, her words were decree. For Zhou Tong to leave today, crippling himself seemed the only path.

Mo Liu Su felt a tight pride. She was sure she had him. In her mind, no one could bear to cast away their life’s cultivation.

Zhou Tong’s voice stayed even as he said: “I don’t buy it. If this is what it takes to cut you out of my life, I count that a win.”

That line struck Mo Liu Su like thunder. She curled her lip and said: “Hah. Stop pretending. Do you think this will win my pity? Keep dreaming.”

A fierce pressure burst from Zhou Tong’s body and shot upward. It climbed to the peak, and it kept going.

Immortal Maiden White Crane cried out as she said: “Little one, stop!”

He was burning his spiritual power past its limits. This was a common way to cripple oneself.

With a heavy bang, Zhou Tong’s aura collapsed and fell into a dead calm. In a breath, he became an ordinary person.

The Heavenly Dao’s projection carried the scene to all eyes. No matter the distance, people watched with shock. The unrivaled champion of the last Hundred Sects Tournament had thrown away his own cultivation. What a brutal end to a legend.

Old voices sighed from different halls as they said: “So firm. He must be fully disappointed.”

Other voices spoke with respect as they said: “What spirit. Not everyone has the courage to start from nothing. He is truly a genius.”

A cold voice scoffed back as it said: “Spirit? Laughable. He is a boy who cannot bend. The hardest wood snaps first. He will achieve nothing.”

Inside the Hall of Punishments, tension hummed.

Mo Liu Su stood stunned. Zhou Tong’s act had once again gone beyond what she imagined. For a brief breath, mist rose in her eyes, but a rush of spiritual power boiled it away. Her gaze turned cold again.

Tang Qi kept his face flat, but joy raged in his heart as he thought: [He is finally crippled. From now on, I am the sect’s strongest genius.] He had been a top talent himself, quick to learn anything. He should have been the one under all the lights, but Zhou Tong always stood one step above him. The jealousy had sunk deep. Now the burden in his chest was gone. And it had been easier than he dreamed.

Mo Liu Su flicked her sleeve and said: “You can get out. Leave the sect today and never come back.”

Zhou Tong did not look back as he said, crisp and loud: “I’m leaving.”

Immortal Maiden White Crane wavered, then looked at Mo Liu Su and said: “Isn’t this too cruel to him? In recent years he has done so much for the sect. The next Hundred Sects Tournament is close. Without him, almost no one can carry the main burden.”

Mo Liu Su snorted and said: “Stop making a fuss. His results all came from the sect’s support. Besides, my little disciple Tang Qi has the bearing of a god-king. Compared to him, Zhou Tong is a sparrow before a phoenix. They cannot be spoken of together.”

She raised her voice on purpose so Zhou Tong would hear. And she never took her eyes off his back.

In the past, if he heard such a judgment, Zhou Tong would have trembled and lowered himself even more, afraid of being cast aside. Now, she said it to watch him waver or ache, even a little. But she could only be disappointed. Zhou Tong’s steps were steady and strong. He walked farther and farther until he passed beyond her sight.

Yet Mo Liu Su still stared in that direction for a long time, her gaze reaching and reaching.

At last she spoke like ice cracking and said: “Bring the Omniscient Heavenly Mirror. I want to watch his every move and make it public.”

The elders jolted at once. One stepped forward and said: “That breaks our rules. In a public trial only the judge must accept the Heavenly Dao’s questioning and watch. The accused does not.”

Mo Liu Su’s answer was flat as she said: “This case is special. He has left the sect. He may not use the sect’s supreme arts again. I must monitor him.”

Immortal Maiden White Crane frowned and said: “That is not wise. Zhou Tong has no rivals among his peers and has made many enemies. Now that he is crippled, he is weak. If we expose his trail, people will come for him.”

Mo Liu Su’s eyes stayed cold as she said: “So what? His life and death have nothing to do with me.”

A chill ran through many hearts. It was clear Mo Liu Su meant to push Zhou Tong to the edge, using death itself to force him to bow his head. She wanted to break his pride to the last piece.