Chapter 0027

Chapter 27: Heavenly Dao, Get Out Here!

The Vital Wind, also called the Wind of Life, is a gift from the Heavenly Dao to all living beings on the continent. Bathe in it, and stubborn illness fades, poison and filth are cleansed, cultivation grows, and insight opens. Each tide of the Vital Wind is a grand event. All celebrate it. But it happens only once every hundred years, and less than fifty years have passed since the last time.

Anxiety crept over Shang Guan Wu Hui’s face. Did his daughter have to wait fifty more years?

Spitting blood, Tang Qi stood with naked hatred in his eyes and sneered: “I thought you had real skill.”

He pointed and snarled: “You set an impossible condition to hide your weakness. You can’t do it at all.”

Many people nodded. Zhou Tong’s condition might as well have been no condition. If they had to wait for the Vital Wind, it would be too late.

Luo Yi spoke up, no longer pretending: “Upper Clarity Sect Master, in my view this brat is a fraud. Your daughter’s improvement is probably from Young Master Tang’s pill, and he just grabbed the credit.”

Tang Qi seized the excuse with bright eyes and crowed: “Yes, it was all thanks to me. This trash is only putting on an act.”

People looked at one another. Many believed Tang Qi’s nonsense. After all, Zhou Tong had seemed to do nothing. He only held Shang Guan Wu Gou for less than half a quarter hour, and the crisis eased. It was hard not to doubt.

Shang Guan Wu Hui roared: “Silence! If anyone has the ability, step out and clear my daughter’s poison. If you succeed, I will hand over the whole Upper Clarity Sect. If you cannot and still dare to make trouble, do not blame me for being ruthless.”

The crowd fell silent, blades seeming to ring inside his words.

Bowing again, Shang Guan Wu Hui asked with humility: “Sir, to save my little girl I am willing to pay any price. How do you instruct me?”

Zhou Tong spoke with crisp simplicity: “Raise an altar. The Wind Rite.”

Shang Guan Wu Hui shuddered. So did everyone else. The Vital Wind comes once a century. That is the law of the Heavenly Dao. Even if the sky cracked and the earth sank, it would not change. Who was Zhou Tong? At best, a peerless prodigy. How could flesh and blood force the Heavenly Dao to act? It sounded like a fairy tale.

Ignoring their doubts, Zhou Tong continued: “Outside Enforcement City, where the mountain meets the water, build a sacrificial altar on a foundation of stone carved with Heavenly Dao patterns. The altar has seven tiers. Each tier must be guarded by a Soul Turning Realm expert who obeys my command. When I step onto the altar to perform the Wind Rite, no one else is allowed within ten li of me. The wind will rise today, and after three days and three nights it will fall. Yes or no?”

Shang Guan Wu Hui answered without a second thought: “Yes. I will summon people right away.”

He sped off like a gust, leaving the crowd stunned.

Zhou Tong smiled in his heart and thought: [Fell into my lap without effort.] Now he could openly carry out Lightning Tempering to strengthen his body. Saving a life and training himself at the same time, he would miss nothing.

Chen Ling’er rushed up, scolding in a familiar tone: “You were too reckless, bragging about something impossible. Do you know what will happen if you fail?”

Zhou Tong snorted: “What does that have to do with you?”

She grabbed his wrist and insisted: “Stop being stubborn and come back to the sect with me. Only Master can protect you.”

A sword sheath whipped across her wrist with a crack, forcing her back. The little demoness stepped between them and said sharply: “If something happens, our Master will protect him. We don’t need your fake kindness.”

Chen Ling’er’s eyes misted as she cried: “You are hurting him. If you have any conscience, think of him and let him come with me.”

Zhou Tong called to her softly, as gentle as he used to be: “Chen Ling’er.”

She jerked her head up with a spark of hope: “I’m here, junior brother.”

His gaze turned cold: “You make me feel sick.”

Her expression shattered. She stammered: “Why… you weren’t like this before. You clearly said…”

He cut her off: “Listen well. I won’t turn back again. The years I lived with you are the biggest stain on my life. I wish you would all drop dead right now.”

She begged: “No, don’t be like this.”

She could not understand. She had only failed to answer his feelings. Their Master had only been strict. The junior sisters had only been a little naughty. How did it come to this? Zhou Tong had put up with them for years. Why couldn’t he step back one more step?

Tang Qi snarled as he tugged on Chen Ling’er’s arm: “Senior sister, don’t beg him. Just watch what happens when he fails.”

In his heart, he cursed with blood red eyes: [This damned woman still dares to think about getting back together. Just wait and see how I deal with you.]

But Chen Ling’er did not move. Fear rose on her face as she blurted: “You’re right. We must keep him safe. Send a message to Master and ask her to be ready to step in. No… I’ll do it myself.”

She ran off while crushing a Jade Pendant to transmit a message.

Tang Qi hissed after her: “Bitch.”

Outside Enforcement City, at the corner of Sky Islet Mountain by the Dikun River, less than two hours later a towering altar rose from the ground. Seven stone pillars stood around it, matching the seven stars of the Big Dipper in the sky.

Everything was ready. Only the Vital Wind was missing.

When Zhou Tong set foot on the altar, all unrelated people withdrew. Countless experts hung in the air, watching from afar with solemn faces. Tang Qi kept a cold look, but his heart pounded. He feared Zhou Tong might succeed and steal his thunder, making Mo Liu Su change her mind.

Unable to help himself, Tang Qi asked the soul within his Signet Ring: “Master, will that guy succeed?”

A deep old voice answered with total certainty: “Impossible. Absolutely impossible. No one can change the will of the Heavenly Dao.”

Tang Qi finally relaxed. His master had never been wrong.

At that moment, a quiet aura flowed around Zhou Tong. Time itself seemed to pause. He thought: [This is a good chance. I also have some questions I want answered.]

His unmatched mental power rushed into the clouds. Scarlet lightning burst from his body. The Joyous Union Lock rang with a hard, clear note and stabbed into the sky with him.

Boom. Vast ripples spread outward. No matter how far away they were, everyone could feel the endless majesty within them.

The little demoness gasped in shock and said: “It’s the fifth layer of the Joyous Union Heavenly Art, the Sky God Tongue. This pervy brat actually reached that level.”

Zhou Tong lifted his head to the heavens. His will rose with his spirit to the heights. No one could hear what he said, but his eyes were sharp as blades as he roared to the sky: “Heavenly Dao, get out here!”