Chapter 750: Big Ruckus (1)
Multiple character fusion.
Su Yu had left, but he had left those words before leaving. Those words were akin to poison. A lot of people were convinced. After all, that was the only logical explanation for Shan Xiong's character. After all, that single character had too many abilities.
It allowed him to turn his body illusory, teleport, create vibration, hide in the shadows...
He had used at least six abilities during his battle with Su Yu. There might be more that the crowd did not notice. For example, the increase of his battle intent and some other supportive abilities that might not be too obvious.
Even the old dragon from Great Xia spoke, "Principal Zhou, is it really possible to fuse multiple characters into one?"
Was this pure curiosity? Or was this his way to turn this speculation into fact?
Zhou Polong glanced at the old dragon and asked, "Do you want to take a look?"
Did it matter what he said? Would they trust him? Nope. In that case, he couldn’t be bothered to explain. It was completely pointless. The more he explained, the more guilty he would seem.
The old dragon laughed, "There is no need for that. But this is truly surprising."
When the old dragon saw that Zhou Polong was staring at him, he stopped talking. Zhou Polong (Zhou Dragon Breaker), this was not a friendly name for the dragon race. He decided to not provoke this fellow. After all, this fellow was not necessarily weaker than Xia Longwu.Zhou Polong said nothing. His body slowly faded away. Right before vanishing, his voice rang out, "From today onward, the conflict between the single and multiple character factions is no longer related to the Zhou Family. Quit using our name. My personal issue with Ye Batian has ended."
As he uttered those words, his entire person seemed to have sublimated. Looking at his fading figure, Zhu Tiandao frowned slightly. Was this fellow here just to end this conflict? Was he doing this in preparation for his dao affirmation? What a deep schemer.
Perhaps the only thing that had surprised Zhou Polong today was Su Yu's boldness. Su Yu had not forgotten to manufacture a massive problem for them right before leaving. What a brazen kid. It didn't matter if that was a lie or the truth. Anyone else would worry that Zhou Polong would kill them out of anger.
"That kid is getting more and more brazen."
Zhu Tiandao lamented to himself. Prefect Shang was also looking pensive. He looked at Zhu Tiandao before looking at Shan Xiong. With a smile, his willpower incarnation faded into nothingness.
"Fuck!"
All these people sure were fast at running away. Zhu Tiandao couldn't help but curse.
He scanned the crowd and saw that some were still deep in thought. He said, "Did anyone hear that? From now on, the struggle between the single and multiple character factions are no longer related to Zhou Polong. Some people should consider giving up on using Ye Batian as an excuse to create trouble. If you continue doing so, don't blame me for not warning you when you find yourself facing death one day."
He added, "And Shan Xiong...is quite an amazing youngster."
He smiled at Shan Xiong and asked, "Shan Xiong, I have a granddaughter. Are you interested in joining Great Ming?"
"..."
Silence descended.
Shang Tianjiao's expression changed upon hearing that. Zhu Tiandao continued, "You have the potential to grow into an Invincible. I have high expectations for you. If you're tired of Great Zhou, you can consider coming to Great Ming. I'll get my old man to protect you."
"Great Shang can offer the same!" Shang Tianjiao finally lost her temper.
Zhu Tiandao sighed and said, "Your grandpa is quite a slimy one. He has been expecting this to happen. No wonder he doesn't seem to fear offending Great Ming. Your grandpa...has better eyes than me."
Shang Tianjiao didn't know what to say. Could she even say anything about her grandpa?
Zhu Tiandao said, "Forget it. What a pity. Don't forget that Great Ming's door will always be open for you. Shan Xiong, when the day comes for you to affirm your dao, my old man will be willing to become your dao protector. Consider this offer a seed of friendship. As for your conflict with Su Yu, that is merely a rivalry between gentlemen."
Shan Xiong said nothing. But Jiang Tao's expression kept changing. He did not sense any kindness whatsoever from those words. He only sensed deep malice. Since Zhou Polong had claimed that Su Yu had the potential to be an Invincible and was an even bigger genius than Zhou Polong and Xia Longwu, Zhu Tiandao had repaid them by confirming that Shan Xiong was a multiple character cultivator.
Jing Tao hurriedly said, "Thank you, Prefect Zhu for this. My Junior Brother isn't good with words. Also, I have to emphasize that he is a pure single character cultivator. His character only has so many abilities because it's unique..."
"Oh?" Zhu Tiandao smiled, "Sure, sure. I understand why you're saying that. By the way, Little Jiang, don't interfere so easily the next time your junior brother spars with someone. Look at what you did. You almost caused a war between Great Ming and Great Shang. That wasn't nice of you."
Jiang Tao blanked out upon hearing that. Zhu Tiandao said, "Don't worry, it's fine. You're the student of Brother Zhou. You were too anxious because you were worried about your junior brother. I understand why you don't want Su Yu to get his hands on Shan Xiong's character. After all, Su Yu is an expert in characters. But...what you did was inappropriate."
Jiang Tao said, "Thanks for the understanding, Prefect Zhu."
Fortunately, it didn't seem like Prefect Zhu was going to pursue that matter.
That thought had just crossed his mind when Niu Baidao cursed, "Damn it, why are you stepping on me?"
Before Jiang Tao could react, a mournful scream rang out beside him. A large golden peng revealed itself. One of his wings had been torn off.
With the torn wing in hand, Niu Baidao said, "Why did you step on me for no reason? Do you think I'm a pushover? Why did you step on an elderly like me? Can you even afford to compensate me for the damage I might suffer from that?"
Zhu Tiandao berated him, "Old Niu, what are you doing?"
Niu Baidao furiously said, "That fellow stepped on me! Does he not realize how heavy he is?"
Meanwhile, the golden peng was still groaning in pain. He was a fifth-stage Sunmoon. Yet his wing had been torn off by Niu Baidao before he could do anything. His blood sprayed out, but the blood vanished right after leaving his body. Niu Baidao had collected his blood before keeping it alongside the torn wing into a storage ring.
Jiang Tao paled as a chill crept up his spine.
Zhu Tiandao frowned and scolded, "Piss off. What are you doing, Old Niu? Didn't I say that we won't be pursuing this matter? Why did you attack their mount? You're embarrassing me! When hitting a dog, you have to look at who the master is, right? How am I supposed to face Brother Zhou after this? You will have your salary deducted for a hundred years as punishment!"
"Nooo! Prefect, I apologize! Please don't!"
"Leave. Immediately. Lock yourself in a room and reflect."
Niu Baidao had a helpless expression as he muttered, "I'm as old as your old man. How can you treat me like this? Fine, fine. A hundred years. How am I supposed to go through the coming hundred years?"
Niu Baidao left with a pitiful and helpless expression.
Silence descended. Nobody said anything. What was that? A warning? Jiang Tao was Zhou Polong's first student, so Zhu Tiandao did nothing to him. As for the mount, so what if he was a fifth-stage Sunmoon?
They could do whatever they wanted to him. Would Jiang Tao even dare to protest that action?
Zhu Tiandao looked furious as he kept cursing at Niu Baidao. After Niu Baidao left, he sighed, "Little Jiang, I hope you can explain this to Brother Zhou on my behalf. Old Niu must have gone mad. So what if he was stepped on? He should just accept it. How dare he strike back? At his age, he should learn to see the big picture. Is the golden peng alright? Can he still fly with one wing missing? If he can't fly anymore, he can stay in Great Ming. We'll heal him up..."
Right after that offer was given, the golden peng returned to his human form. In this form, one of his arms was missing. Blood was still flowing from the stump. With a miserable and fearful expression, he rejected, "It's fine. Thanks for the offer, Prefect Zhu."
He was merely taking the punishment on behalf of someone else. He wasn't stupid. It would be inappropriate for them to do anything to Jiang Tao, but that wasn't the case for him. If he really agreed to stay, he would probably end up dying in Great Ming.
With a pale expression, Jiang Tao said, "Thanks, Prefect Zhu. There is no need to trouble you with a small wound like this. Age must be catching up with Senior Jin. That was why he accidentally stepped on Principal Niu. Allow me to apologize to Principal Niu on his behalf."
Even after losing a wing, they had to apologize. Zhou Polong was not there anymore. Otherwise, they would have more confidence. Without Zhou Polong around, they were left with no choice but to bow.
Things wouldn't end well for them if they further provoked Great Ming. It was in their interest to end this as soon as possible.
Zhu Tiandao sighed, "Fine. Old Niu was too excessive as well. I'll get him to compensate you guys. Perhaps he can produce some good food for this golden peng. I heard that the peng race enjoys eating ants. I'll get some people to deliver some ants over."
Jiang Tao said nothing. Ants? Sky devouring ants? Where were they going to deliver those ants? Great Zhou? He decided to not respond.
Zhu Tiandao did not mind the silence. He said, "Alright. This matter will end here. Old Niu is getting more and more petty as he grows older. I'll definitely give him a scolding after this."
He then looked at Shang Tianjiao and said, "Little girl, don't mess around in the future. It is inappropriate to interfere before an official spar ends. Also, snatching someone's spoils of war is taboo. The military hates this. If an expert from the military, such as Great Qin King, sees something like this, even your grandpa will end up slapped to death by him."
Shang Tianjiao was still shaken by the bloody scene she saw earlier, so her head was lowered in silence.
Shan Xiong softly said, "Lord Prefect, it's my fault. I hope you can forgive us for our transgressions."
"It's fine, it's fine. I'm only saying this much because we're family."
He then looked at the soldiers from Great Shang and said, "The little girl was ignorant due to her age. But don't tell me you guys are ignorant as well. Why did none of you advise her on the proper path of action? Why did you allow her to do such a thing? How audacious! If you're from Great Ming, I would have slapped you to death long ago. When she goes to the Allheaven Battlefield in the future and decides to take something she wants from an ally, are you guys going to encourage her as well? Garbage like you will remain servants forever!"
After saying that, he snorted at them. The sound waves reached the soldiers. They looked fine externally, but all their internal organs ruptured. Blood seeped out of their skin, but apart from a slight groan, none of them dared to say anything.
They did not dare to disagree with Prefect Zhu. Even if Prefect Shang was here, they still couldn't do anything if Zhu Tiandao wanted to punish them.