Chapter 0017

Chapter 17: Zhou Tong: Kneel to Me!

Mo Liu Su and Chen Ling’er’s faces turned ugly on the spot. Ge Hong Qiu and Jiang Yu Yao went straight to fury, jabbing fingers at Zhou Tong as they cursed. They could not accept either condition. For years they had looked down on Zhou Tong from the bones out. In their eyes he wasn’t even as good as a servant. Kneeling to him would be worse than death.

Mo Liu Su’s voice was cold as ice: “Forget the Seven-Star Azure Blood Lotus. It is the sect’s sacred item, the only one of its kind and priceless. You have no right to touch it. As for making them kneel to you, that is a favor you cannot bear. Change your condition.”

Zhou Tong laughed softly: “Do you think I am negotiating with you? Wrong. This is a notice and an order. You can only choose to do it or not do it. There has never been a ‘change the terms’ option.”

Mo Liu Su let danger leak from her like frost as she asked, each syllable sharp: “Are you threatening me?”

“Of course,” said Zhou Tong, not retreating an inch. His steel made hearts tremble. [It seems a deep grudge really can last forever.]

Ge Hong Qiu snapped, fury shaking her voice: “Beast, you think we can’t deal with you? I would kneel to a dog before I would bow to you.”

Zhou Tong answered lightly: “Then wait for your beloved junior brother to become a dead dog. I have plenty of time. He doesn’t.”

At that very moment, Tang Qi was in agony. His skin had split open everywhere until he looked like a man dipped in blood, barely clinging to life. But Zhou Tong knew the truth. [He won’t die that easily. In my last life he was favored by fate, and a powerful soul hid within him. He has many trump cards. But in public like this, he won’t use them unless he has no choice.]

Mo Liu Su’s expression twisted. “Do you think that if you cause Little Qi’s death, I will take you back as a disciple?”

Zhou Tong shot back without mercy: “Save it. Even if you kneel and beg me to be your disciple, I wouldn’t accept you now.”

Her eyes turned ruthless as she drew a long breath: “Fine. Since this is your choice, then do not regret it later.” She turned to her three disciples and said, voice flat: “I accept his condition.”

“Master,” cried Jiang Yu Yao and Ge Hong Qiu, faces draining of color, “are you really going to make us kneel to this piece of trash?”

Mo Liu Su’s gaze cut like a blade: “What, you are unwilling? Or do you want to watch Tang Qi die? So your feelings for him are only that shallow.”

Zhou Tong smiled at the side and added with a chuckle: “I see. You don’t want to do it.”

Jiang Yu Yao’s lips curled as she looked up at him with mocking eyes: “I get it now. You’re jealous of junior brother and want to see how far we will go for him. Then hear this. You are not even worth one hair of junior brother. Someone like you could die right now and we wouldn’t care. To save junior brother, we can throw away our pride.”

She finished her self-moving speech, then neatly knelt before Zhou Tong with a taunting smile. Ge Hong Qiu laughed coldly and knelt as if it were something glorious. Chen Ling’er followed, and even as her knees touched the ground she still acted superior, like she was rewarding Zhou Tong with the sight.

Zhou Tong looked at their twisted expressions, smiled oddly, and slowly raised his hand. The crisp sound rang out three times, one for each face: “Pa, pa, pa.”

The slaps didn’t hurt much, but the insult was heavy. He flicked his fingers and said, bored: “Put away those looks. You’re making me sick.”

Chen Ling’er’s eyes went wide as she gasped: “You hit me again, and that makes it twice now. How dare you.” She could not believe it. In her heart, she still thought Zhou Tong admired her; this must be a low way to get her attention. [I swear, I will never be nice to Zhou Tong again.]

“Pa,” said Zhou Tong as he slapped her once more without courtesy. “Ugly people love to make trouble.” He took out a handkerchief and wiped his hand like he had touched something dirty.

Chen Ling’er felt the greatest humiliation of her life, and she could not hold it in. A mouthful of blood sprayed from her lips.

Mo Liu Su’s voice cut in, cold as winter: “Have you made enough trouble?”

“Of course not,” said Zhou Tong, his tone light. “Hand over the Seven-Star Azure Blood Lotus. Don’t make me say it twice.”

Mo Liu Su snorted. This time she didn’t hesitate. With a wave of her hand, a seven-colored lotus appeared from thin air and drifted into the air before Zhou Tong.

Eyes widened all around, and more than a few people stared at the lotus with greedy faces, wishing they could snatch it away. This was a peerless sacred item. It could raise one’s cultivation and even bring flesh-and-bone back from the brink of death. Every petal was worth a city.

“What a fine treasure. It clears the mind,” said Zhou Tong with a pleased nod. He handed it to the little demoness and gave her a quick look.

The little demoness understood at once. She tucked the lotus into her Signet Ring and, without anyone noticing, quietly crushed a Jade Pendant.

Mo Liu Su urged him through clenched teeth: “Now can you repair the Array Arts?”

“That goes without saying,” said Zhou Tong.

Light flared from the center of his brows and fanned out as ripples you could see with the naked eye, spreading toward the high platform.

Ying Shao Xuan sucked in a breath: “That is spiritual power.” Around them, most faces stayed blank. The power looked calm, yet it was deep and long, hiding a force beyond words. Without great cultivation, you could not sense it at all.

The effect was clear at once. Under the wash of that spiritual light, the broken lines of the Array Arts healed at the same time, and the Heavenly Dao’s Eye above the sky returned to normal.

A boom rolled out. A moment later, grand Sword Dao ripples surged off Tang Qi’s body. He had taken a qualitative leap and broken through a limit.

He laughed in delight: “I did it.” As the Heavenly Dao’s Eye vanished, his wounds healed at once.

[Good. Worthy of being my disciple.] Mo Liu Su finally let out a long breath. Then she looked at Zhou Tong and the little demoness, and the air around them turned cold.

She said from on high, every word frosty: “Hand over the Seven-Star Azure Blood Lotus, and I can consider dealing with you lightly.”

Silence fell. Everyone understood. The Jade Purity Sect was about to go back on its word.