Chapter 0057

Chapter 57: Zhao Wu Tian Cracks on the Spot!

“Be careful,” Mu Rong Ya said.

At her words, the four women swept away in a flash, leaving Zhou Tong alone with the empress.

Qian Miao Yu glanced around and felt nothing strange at all. Her respect for Zhou Tong rose again. [As expected of an Innate Supreme. His senses cover heaven and earth. I can’t compare at all.]

“Your Majesty!” came a familiar shout. Zhao Wu Tian was arriving.

“This is bad,” Qian Miao Yu whispered. “Zhao Wu Tian has seen your portrait. He will recognize you.”

If Zhou Tong got angry, all her effort would be wasted.

“It’s fine,” Zhou Tong said calmly. “Just introduce me normally. He won’t recognize me.”

“Really?” she asked, doubtful.

A breath later, Zhao Wu Tian dropped from the sky and landed before them.

“Your guard arrived late. I am guilty,” he said quickly, though his face held little respect.

“Thanks to the State Preceptor’s concern, I am safe and sound. Rise,” Qian Miao Yu said with a light courtesy.

Zhao Wu Tian’s eyes went straight to Zhou Tong. “Who are you,” he asked, frowning. The youth felt familiar somehow.

Zhou Tong didn’t speak. Qian Miao Yu stepped in and said: “Thanks to this sir, I escaped danger. From today on, I appoint him as my guest minister. State Preceptor, mind your manners.”

Zhao Wu Tian’s pupils narrowed. Qian Miao Yu was a domineering ruler who allowed no equal within the Empire. She had never appointed a guest minister. Why break that rule today?

“I greet the guest minister,” Zhao Wu Tian said, studying Zhou Tong. He could not read the youth’s cultivation at all, which annoyed him.

“Since you saved Her Majesty, you must be a top-tier expert. Forgive my boldness, but may I ask your current realm,” Zhao Wu Tian said.

Zhou Tong smiled and let his aura rise.

“Heart Unity Stage, first level,” Zhao Wu Tian judged. His face shifted, then cooled into disdain.

He hadn’t even crossed the Transcendent threshold. Just an ant.

“Your Majesty, this person’s strength is rather…,” he began, meaning that Zhou Tong did not deserve the guest-minister seat.

But Qian Miao Yu didn’t look down on Zhou Tong. Instead, her eyes shone with respect. [As expected of an Innate Supreme. He hides his realm so perfectly. What terrifying control.]

“Guest minister, you are truly heaven’s chosen,” she said warmly. “With you by my side, I have no worries.”

Zhao Wu Tian felt lost in the wind. Was she serious? Heart Unity Stage? Even Qian Miao Yu could pinch such a person to death with two fingers. What on earth was she admiring?

In the next instant, Zhao Wu Tian burst with pressure that rolled toward Zhou Tong. It was both a show of force and a test.

“State Preceptor, do not be rude,” Qian Miao Yu said, face changing. It was too late. Zhou Tong was already inside the pressure.

Yet he kept the same easy smile, as if he felt nothing at all.

“How is that possible,” Zhao Wu Tian thought, shocked. A mere Heart Unity Stage could not withstand his aura unless the youth had a secret treasure or was hiding his true realm.

“You are pretty good,” Zhou Tong said softly. He walked close under Zhao Wu Tian’s stunned gaze and patted his shoulder, then whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear: “Few people dare to toy with a Life Extinguishing Desolation Array.”

Zhao Wu Tian shuddered hard, horror filling his eyes. “How… how do you know,” he stammered, heart jumping into his throat.

No one knew his plan. He meant to use an auction to gather the world’s experts, then sacrifice them all with the Life Extinguishing Desolation Array to pave his Dao. Yet this youth had pierced the secret at a glance. Who was he?

“It’s a pity your array is only ninety percent complete. There is still great risk. If it could…,” Zhou Tong began.

Zhao Wu Tian listened with all his focus, but Zhou Tong cut off mid-sentence, leaving him hanging.

“Your Majesty, the State Preceptor seems busy,” Zhou Tong said mildly. “Why don’t we leave first.”

“Very well. Thieves are rampant lately. State Preceptor, take care. I will return to the palace,” Qian Miao Yu said.

They walked away shoulder to shoulder, heading for the Imperial Palace.

“Huff… huff…,” Zhao Wu Tian panted, dropping to the ground. In all his years at the top, it was the first time sweat soaked his inner robes like this.

The Life Extinguishing Desolation Array was his greatest secret. If it leaked, he would become the enemy of the world, no matter his strength. Even nine lives would not be enough.

“Who is that person? Why can’t I see through him,” he muttered, pacing in a daze. “Is he an old monster hiding in a boy’s body?”

“But from his tone, he didn’t seem set on exposing me. Maybe he is friend, not foe. Best not to provoke him.”

He still could not calm down. “No. I won’t sleep well until I learn his background. I need someone to test him.”

…

“Guest minister, how did you make him fail to recognize you,” Qian Miao Yu asked, full of curiosity.

“It’s simple,” Zhou Tong said with a smile. “I know his nature. He is both cautious and arrogant. Once he decides someone is his opponent, he uses every method to crush them. But if he looks down on someone, he stops caring. He won’t even bother to remember their face.”

“Clearly, he never put me in his heart.”

“As expected of the guest minister,” Qian Miao Yu said, praising without reserve. “You met him once and already saw through him. I am impressed.”

She did not know it was not that simple. Just now, Zhou Tong had used his spirit to fog Zhao Wu Tian’s recognition, splitting Zhou Tong and the “guest minister” into two figures in Zhao Wu Tian’s subconscious. From now on, even if Zhou Tong stood beside his own portrait, Zhao Wu Tian would notice nothing strange.

Back at the Imperial Palace, Qian Miao Yu put her majesty back on like armor, and Zhou Tong was placed in a luxurious guest-minister residence inside the palace, honored above all. Before one night passed, the news that Zhou Tong had become the empress’s guest minister would spread through the entire Imperial Capital.

…

Night fell at the State Preceptor’s manor. Zhao Wu Tian sat with an icy face. A young man knelt before him, clearly a Sky-Severing Realm expert.

“Kill this person,” Zhao Wu Tian said. “If you fail, then die.”

He handed over a portrait of Zhou Tong.