Chapter 0040

Chapter 40: Zhou Tong: Isn’t justice whatever I say it is?

A massive earthquake struck the Three Purities Domain. The major sects joined hands and issued a public call to crusade, and the notice declared: “Zhou Tong has fallen into demonic ways. He has killed countless people and plundered countless treasures. All righteous heroes should rise up and strike him down. Whoever kills Zhou Tong may claim all the wealth in his hands.”

When the treasure list came out, many people went mad. It was like a mountain of gold had dropped from the sky. Whoever got it could soar in one step. If you lost, the price was only a cheap life, but if you won, you would stand at the peak.

The mob roared as they charged toward one place: “Kill, wipe out the Joyous Union Sect, destroy the demon!”

Far away, the Jade Purity Sect’s Vice Sect Master and the leaders of the five major sects watched with cold smiles, and they said with scorn: “A rabble like this is easy to use. With a small trick, they become our pawns.” [These ants are far too naive. Paint a pie in the sky and they think anyone can grab that fortune.]

One leader spoke with worry: “Making such a big move, is it really fine? If an enforcer steps in again…”

The Vice Sect Master answered with quiet confidence: “Relax. The Chief Enforcer has gone into seclusion. Until this is settled, no enforcer will interfere. Once most of that rabble dies, we will go avenge them. That is called a righteous cause.”

The other five nodded and praised him, but cold fear stirred in their hearts: [The older the ginger, the spicier. This old bastard is truly vicious.]

At Red Dust Mountain, before the gates of the Joyous Union Sect, Zhou Tong sat in a rocking chair and looked down at the crowd with a calm gaze. Greed and desire filled every eye that met his.

He asked with a light laugh: “Are you all here to kill me?”

Someone stepped out to shout back: “Yes. You act without restraint and slaughter innocents. The world has long despised you. For the sake of justice…”

A crisp snap rang out as Zhou Tong flicked his fingers, and that man’s head burst like a melon. The Ninth-Grade Grand Array killed without a trace. It was that domineering. The crowd fell silent.

Zhou Tong stood and looked down at them as he asked: “How much is your justice worth?”

Another agitator tried to rally the rest, yelling: “Do not be afraid. There are so many of us. He cannot fight all of us at once. For the sake of justice…”

Zhou Tong waved, dragged the man to his side, and spoke in a mild tone: “I asked you a question. How much is your justice worth?”

“I… I…” The man’s eyes bulged and his body shook. He was the mouthpiece of the five major sects, used to stirring people’s hearts. Now, facing death, he did not even dare to make a sound.

Zhou Tong sighed and said: “Disappointing. The tongue that preaches justice has turned into a stutter. What use are you?”

A heavy pressure slammed down with a boom and crushed the man into powder. The scene was not even that fast, but everyone else seemed frozen. Their hot blood went cold.

Zhou Tong spread his arms and walked forward as he said: “Let me tell you what justice is.”

He smiled and spoke like stating a fact: “To hold power, to see the truth, and to keep your sense of self, that is justice.”

His eyes swept the trembling crowd as he added: “You are only a bunch of weak puppet thralls. When you face me, I am justice.”

Bodies burst one after another, scaring everyone nearby out of their wits. Most of the dead were plants, spies sent by the Jade Purity Sect and the five major sects.

Someone finally came to their senses and muttered as he backed away: “Something is wrong. Very wrong. This brat is not someone we can provoke.”

Another shouted in panic: “The situation is bad. Fall back first!”

Zhou Tong snapped his fingers and laughed: “You come when you want and leave when you want. Do you think this is a public toilet?”

He wielded Array Arts with a wave and sealed off every path to escape.

Someone tried to sound bold and asked: “What do you want?”

Zhou Tong let a terrible aura rise behind him and answered in a lazy voice: “Kill you all. Any objections?”

Cries for mercy broke out at once: “Spare us. We were wrong!”

In a blink, nearly a hundred people dropped their weapons and surrendered. As the saying goes, a wise person knows the time to bend. These men could bend and stretch.

Zhou Tong asked in a flat tone: “Who sent you?”

A big man blurted out without thinking: “We came on our own, of course!”

Before he could finish, Zhou Tong’s killing intent cut him down and erased him on the spot. Zhou Tong clicked his tongue and said: “This man was not just. He deserved to die.”

Another man stammered as he raised both hands: “I… I remember now. The people from the Jade Purity Sect and the five major sects forced us to come. We are innocent.”

Zhou Tong nodded with approval: “Teachable.”

He swept his gaze across them and asked: “If you met enforcers, would you say the same thing?”

Voices answered together: “We can swear.”

“Good. Go atone with labor,” said Zhou Tong as he tossed out tools and ordered them to build the Joyous Union Sect’s city wall within one day.

Watching them shuffle away with hanging heads made him laugh. Then he looked toward the horizon and smiled coldly. His spiritual sense leaped a thousand thousand layers and locked onto his targets. He spoke in a mocking tone: “What a weak warm-up. If this is all you have, kneel and lick my boots one by one. If you please me, I might spare your lives someday.”

A raging voice answered from the distance: “Little bastard, do not regret it. Today is your death day!”

Zhou Tong’s eyes brightened with excitement: “The big fish finally bit. Using these people to test the array was perfect.”