Chapter 0152

Chapter 152: Curtain Falls, Zhou Tong’s Mystery of Origins

Inside the Imperial Palace of the Ling Xiao Empire, Yi Yi gazed at Zhou Tong with soft eyes and said: “Little rascal, I can’t bear to leave you.”

The two Saints were returning to the Central Continent. You Jing Feng would take Yi Yi, and the Sword Saint would take Long Ling Yun. After all, Long Ling Yun had received the Sword Saint’s legacy. This trip would complete that legacy and could not be treated lightly.

Long Ling Yun pretended to cry and said: “Senior brother, I also can’t bear to leave you all,” while in her heart she cheered: [Finally I don’t have to study those awful characters every day.]

Zhou Tong curled his lip and said with a cold smile: “I’ll ask the Sword Saint to watch your studies. You must finish more than the daily work I assign. If not, the next time we meet, I’ll show you what true fear is.”

Long Ling Yun pulled a bitter face at once.

Mu Rong Ya laughed and said: “Alright, you two little brats. In a bit over a month the Hundred Sects Tournament will be held in the Central Continent. We will meet again soon.”

Yi Yi’s eyes lit up at once as she stared at Zhou Tong.

Zhou Tong spoke with firm calm: “I promised you I would win the Hundred Sects Tournament, and I will not break my word.”

Before Yi Yi could react, You Jing Feng jolted like a man struck by lightning and jumped to his feet as he shouted: “You… you plan to enter the Hundred Sects Tournament?”

Zhou Tong shrugged and asked: “Of course. Not only me. Senior sister and Holy Heart will also enter. Is there a problem?”

“There is a problem!” the old man almost roared.

He glared and demanded: “I remember the age limit is twenty-five. How old are the three of you?”

Zhou Tong answered with ease: “I just turned eighteen, why?”

In his heart he added: [Counting my past life, one thousand eight hundred.]

The old man’s eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Zhang Chu Qiao and asked: “And you?”

Zhang Chu Qiao said: “Twenty years old… plus three hundred sixty months. But my bone age is twenty, because I was frozen for thirty years.”

You Jing Feng drew a deep breath and barely stopped himself from coughing blood. Before he could ask more, Holy Heart hopped forward and declared: “You may not believe it, but I am only one year old!”

Zhou Tong could not help laughing as he thought: [If we count her past life, two thousand might not be enough.]

Facing these three monsters, You Jing Feng felt driven half mad. One was a Supreme Saint Slayer, one had the Yin Yang Dao Physique, and the last was a little girl he could not see through. With a lineup like this entering the Hundred Sects Tournament, was that not bullying honest people?

The Celestial Masters Clan had held the upper hand and had even gained that heaven-defying talisman art. They were the hot favorite to win. Now it all looked ruined. Fighting these three was like eggs against stone. He could only feel sad for disciples of the other sects.

He forced a sigh and muttered to comfort himself: “No storm, no rainbow. It’s fine for the young to suffer a few setbacks.”

Zhou Tong ignored him and looked at Yi Yi with great gentleness as he said: “With master and me both away, you must protect yourself. Take these.”

He pulled out over thirty talismans and stuffed them into Yi Yi’s hands all at once.

You Jing Feng forgot to breathe. He stared at the talismans until his hands and feet went numb. They were all grade-nine talismans, and a few even made his heart tremble. They were likely grade nine, tier four, second only to mystic talismans.

It did not end there. Mu Rong Ya and Zhang Chu Qiao came up as well and gave their farewell gifts: a set of colored beads. Using great power, Mu Rong Ya had fused Nine Color Glass Light with the Breath of Annihilation and then condensed them into beads. Any one bead, if it fully exploded, would hit as hard as a grade-nine talisman. Long Ling Yun received the same gift.

The two Saints felt dizzy. With these items on them, the two girls were walking arsenals. Even a Half Saint would steer clear. If pushed to full power, even a Saint would get a headache. It would be a blessing if they did not go bully other people.

Yi Yi’s face flushed as she said: “This time we really have to go.” She bent down and untied a red cord from her ankle. A tiny bell hung from one end. She held it out and said: “This is for you. Keep it safe.”

Her face turned even redder.

Zhou Tong asked: “What is it?”

She lifted her other foot to show a matching bell and said: “The Thousand-Mile Heart-Link Gu. They come in pairs. No matter how far apart they are, if one moves, the other will move too. If you miss me, shake the bell and I will feel your heart.”

Zhou Tong’s mouth curved up as he accepted the bell. He glanced, half smiling, at her small white feet.

Yi Yi stamped and said in a shy fury: “Little rascal, what are you looking at!” She punched him twice and huffed: “I soak my feet in heavenly-fragrance petals every day. They only smell nice. There’s nothing else on them!”

The Sword Saint stepped in and said with weight: “Enough. If you don’t leave now, you won’t want to leave. I will travel with them. After I swing by to rescue my wife, we will head to the Celestial Masters Clan together. With me guarding these two girls, you can rest easy.”

Zhou Tong cupped his hands and said: “Then I must trouble you, big brother.” He had found the Sword Saint on purpose to be their protector.

The Sword Saint clasped his hands back and said: “We meet again in the Central Continent.”

Two streaks of light cut across the sky, leaving a trace of sadness behind.

High in midair, Zhou Tong stood against the wind. At his side stood Mu Rong Ya, Zhang Chu Qiao, Holy Heart, and Lian Han Xing.

Mu Rong Ya broke the silence, stroked Zhou Tong’s hair, and said: “We should return to the Three Pure Domain. The Hundred Sects Tournament is close. We still need to prepare.”

Zhou Tong nodded and said: “Yes. It already feels like we have been away from Red Dust Mountain for a long time. After we say goodbye to the empress, we will…”

Before he finished, a sharp wind roared from the distance. A Saint’s aura returned.

Zhou Tong looked at the stern-faced You Jing Feng and asked in surprise: “Old man, did you forget something?”

The elder spoke straight to the point: “I did. It is important. Tell me, do you have parents?”

Zhou Tong said: “From the time I can remember, I have been alone. I do not know if they are alive.”

The old man’s face grew even heavier as he asked: “Are you really only eighteen? There is no mistake?”

Zhou Tong said calmly: “Bone age does not lie. If you doubt it, you can test me yourself.”

“There is no need,” the elder said after steadying his breath. “I came back to tell you one thing. In the Central Continent it is no secret. Fourteen years ago, the Li Clan was a household name as a forging family. But something happened. In the Eastern Continent, the patriarch and his wife were attacked. They were forced to leave behind their four-year-old child. When they returned to search, the child was gone.”

Zhou Tong’s brows tightened as his heart pounded. He asked: “What are you trying to say?”

The elder said: “You look seventy percent like that Li Clan Patriarch.”