Severance · Severance! Liberation!

A light, flippant voice, indistinguishable as male or female, sounded by his ear, accompanied by a strange melody.

"I never make a sound, Fingers crossed I shut my mouth, Thoughts they're creeping through my teeth..."

"Counting Sheep" was Zhou Zhe's ringtone.

Caller ID: Zhou Yulin.

Zhou Zhe decisively hung up the phone and, without any hesitation, blocked the number.

Good fortune never comes singly...

But misfortune does!

His mentor, Lin Ye, was missing and presumed dead, and then Zhou Yulin called.

Did Zhou Zhe even know this guy?

If Zhou Yulin was calling for anything other than to get something, Zhou Zhe would commit suicide on the spot!

The problem was, Zhou Zhe wasn't an idiot, nor was he a saint who repaid harm with kindness. He had already decided to cut ties with Zhou Yulin before his duel, so how could he let him succeed?

For Zhou Zhe, who had harbored resentment since childhood, Zhou Yulin doing poorly was truly good news!

His phone vibrated slightly. A message from an unknown number arrived.

"Zhou Zhe! I'm your father, Zhou Yulin! You've grown wings and want to fly solo now? Let me tell you, that's impossible! I'm your father for life! With just this identity, I'll leech off you forever! As long as I'm alive, I'll stick to you and never leave! If you dare to disown me, you're unfilial! I swear I'll ruin your reputation!"

Zhou Zhe scanned the message and couldn't help but sneer.

How could someone with such shallow knowledge and narrow vision possibly comprehend the terrifying power of the "Dao"?

He had already figured out how to deal with the trouble Zhou Yulin brought.

He had originally planned to finish the handover of business at Swift Wind Pavilion before dealing with Zhou Yulin, but now that the man had shown up, it just meant bringing the matter forward a little.

With the female assistant leading the way, Zhou Zhe quickly entered the office and found an office chair to sit down. His gaze fell upon the Black Sword Shield Brand on the back of his hand.

"Wait a moment, I have something to take care of first," Zhou Zhe said calmly.

The assistant smiled brightly, displaying professionalism beyond the norm. She spoke clearly, "It's no problem. My duty is to lighten your unnecessary burdens."

"The previous pavilion master said that all actions will be based on your will."

Zhou Zhe nodded. Focusing slightly, a string of numbers appeared below the Black Sword Shield Brand on the back of his hand.

[88]

These were Duel Points.

This was the standard reward form the Dao gave to Cosmic Gladiators.

Direct rewards, like the Heart of Heavenly Tribulation, were relatively rare.

As long as one had enough Duel Points, they could achieve almost any wish through the Brand.

After apprenticing under Lin Ye, Zhou Zhe had also learned a lot of common knowledge about Cosmic Gladiators.

He knew that ordinary Cosmic Gladiators, if they survived, would typically receive around thirty Duel Points after a match.

Lin Ye was like that.

And Zhou Zhe, after almost every main event duel, had earned the equivalent of three matches for other Cosmic Gladiators!

Zhou Zhe's tone was cold and decisive: "I want to sever all ties with Zhou Yulin completely. I am willing to pay Duel Points to erase all my connections with him."

The Brand immediately responded.

[Your request can be fulfilled.]

[Specific execution steps: ① Memory alteration for 367,483 relevant Earth humans. ② Deletion of online data and historical document records. ③ Minor timeline distortion for the non-magical planet - Earth. ④ Utilization of the Great Archmage Empire's 'Athena' mainframe for calculations, selecting samples from China's gene bank, and performing gene modification on you under the premise of no external changes.]

[Total cost: 30 Duel Points.]

Just as Zhou Zhe was about to confirm the payment, his phone received a large batch of text messages.

They were all from Zhou Yulin.

"That deadbeat teacher of yours, Lin Ye, right? I saw on the betting sites that he's dead!"

"As his only disciple, you can totally find a way to inherit Swift Wind Pavilion! And get enough money to last a lifetime!"

"I just checked the valuation report for Swift Wind Pavilion. Damn it! The quarterly profit is almost 106 billion RMB! About the same as the Sprung Rolling Corporation! This is almost pure profit, right? The supernatural industry really makes money!"

"I don't want too much, just ninety percent! Give me 390 billion yuan annually, and I'll be satisfied!"

"In public, I can act like a loving father and son with you, announce I've quit gambling, and give you a good reputation!"

"Relax! Stop being so petty about past grievances!"

"I know, you think I killed your mother when I took her medical expenses for gambling, leaving you motherless from a young age."

"Honestly, how good could your mother have been to marry someone like me? She didn't exactly treat you well when you were little either, and you two didn't have much of a relationship."

"Everyone dies eventually, right? Does it matter if it's early or late? You can't really blame me for this, can you!"

"That's all I have to say, think about it carefully! My patience is always thin! Give me your answer within three days, or I'll go to the reporters!"

As soon as Zhou Zhe finished reading these messages, Zhou Yulin sent another one.

"Your 'Heart of Heavenly Tribulation' can be given to others, right? Your dad is old and not in good health, give it to me! When I become awesome, if anyone bullies you, I'll beat them back for you! I'll protect you!"

"Forget it! Three days is too long, I'll come find you right away!"

"Stay put at Swift Wind Pavilion, don't leave!"

Seeing this, Zhou Zhe snorted coldly: "Confirm consumption of Gladiator Points!"

He immediately received a reply from the Black Sword Shield Brand.

[Notice! This consumption will not help your strength grow! However, it will increase your overall level assessment and lower your survival rate!]

[The 'Athena' optical computer has provided you with two better solutions: ① Directly eliminate Zhou Yulin, which only requires the consumption of one Gladiator Point (minimum consumption is one point). ② Take action yourself and physically eliminate Zhou Yulin.]

"I do not accept your plan."

Zhou Zhe said expressionlessly: "Just erase all my connections to him."

During his childhood, he often went to convenience stores to watch TV.

Among all the movie and TV characters, the one Zhou Zhe admired most was not the idol Monkey King that other children adored, but Nezha played by Benny Chan in "Investiture of the Gods."

He still vividly remembered Nezha of Chentang Pass, who cut his bones to return them to his father and his flesh to return to his mother!

Zhou Zhe hated and loathed the genes passed down from Zhou Yulin, possessing Nezha's ferocity but lacking that level of self-cruelty.

After all, before obtaining the mysterious notebook, Zhou Zhe was just an ordinary person.

After Zhou Zhe confirmed the payment, the number on the Black Sword Shield Brand became 58, and it quickly responded.

[Foolish, inefficient, awkward, and self-destructive human...]

[Your wish has been granted.]

"Is that... it?"

Zhou Zhe scrolled through his phone and found no text messages or call records between him and Zhou Yulin.

"Help me look up this person, 'Zhou Yulin'!"

The female assistant next to him immediately took action: "I'll arrange it right away! If this person is a Chinese national, you'll have all his information within five minutes!"

"Good!"

Zhou Zhe nodded slightly.

The longest five minutes of his life passed.

The female assistant brought a stack of documents to Zhou Zhe: "This is all of Zhou Yulin's information from birth until now."

The moment Zhou Zhe saw the first page, his brows completely relaxed, and a smile bloomed on his face.

[Zhou Yulin, Male, Unmarried, No Children.]

"That's good..."

Zhou Zhe smiled brilliantly: "No children, that's good!"

He had originally worried that after severing ties with Zhou Yulin, due to timeline changes, the latter might have another alternate self.

If that were the case, regardless of whether Zhou Yulin's child was male or female, they would inevitably experience a painful and dark childhood.

Freed from his ties, Zhou Zhe, empathizing with that potential suffering, couldn't sit idly by with a clear conscience.

Trouble would naturally follow.

Fortunately!

The 30 Gladiator Points were not spent in vain!

The service was thorough, and the after-sales support was perfect!

Zhou Zhe felt refreshed, as if an invisible shackle had been lifted from his shoulders, and he was reborn!

Great!

Great!

Great!

"This Zhou Yulin..."

The female assistant, seeing Zhou Zhe so happy, frowned: "He's a degenerate gambler, addicted to alcohol, has no credit, is a habitual liar, owes a lot of money to loan sharks, has sold his house, deceives people for money, and spends his days hiding from creditors."

"I do not recommend you contact him."

"If he is a distant relative of yours, I can arrange for someone to discreetly handle his troubles and help him pay off his debts, ensuring he doesn't bother you."

Hearing this, Zhou Zhe's eyes widened slightly, and he said decisively: "Don't act on your own initiative!"

"Everyone must be responsible for their own actions."

"A person like him, ending up in this state, is something I'm happy to see, do you understand?"

Assistant Zhuang swallowed, feeling a chill run down her spine: "Understood! I'll tell the subordinates not to be too clever."

"Also, there's a video about Zhou Yulin here, would you like to watch it?"

Assistant Zhuang took out a business USB drive.

"Alright then."

Zhou Zhe nodded.

He plugged the USB drive into the computer, found the video file, and started playing it.

The opening was shocking!

In the video, Zhou Yulin's face was bruised and swollen. He lay in a pool of vomit, clutching his head, groveling and begging a group of burly men, "I was wrong! I was wrong! I'll pay you back! Give me six more months, and I'll definitely be able to pay you back!"

Then came three minutes of brutal beating.

"Pay us back, you motherfucker! You can't even pay us back by selling your kidney!"

Zhou Yulin knelt and begged, "Stop hitting me! Spare my life! I have three girlfriends outside, and they're all pregnant! As soon as they give birth, that'll be a fortune!"

"Bullshit! Trying to trick us again! When we came to collect last time, one of your whores was so scared she miscarried! Another one, knowing what kind of scumbag you are, decisively aborted! And the third one, hehehe... her child isn't even yours!"

"I can still have children!"

"Dr. Shi, remember him? The one you just had your check-up with. He said you're already useless. Because you were kicked too hard, your reproductive organs have completely necrotized, and you're infertile! You piece of shit, all you have is a big mouth! Brothers, cut out his tongue..."

Zhou Zhe turned off the video file with a look of disgust.

"Don't mention that person to me again," he said with a stern face. "No integrity, full of lies, a womanizer, spineless, weak on the inside and cruel on the outside..."

"Everything I hate most in this life, this person embodies it all!"

The female assistant felt her throat grow a little dry.

Why did she feel...

His eyes were smiling?

"Should we find someone to get rid of him?"

The female assistant transformed into a cunning advisor, skillfully proposing a rather dark suggestion.

Zhou Zhe gave her a meaningful look. "Swift Wind Pavilion is the mentor's property. It's involved in legitimate supernatural industries and has a good reputation."

"As an heir, even if I can't expand it, I mustn't tarnish Swift Wind Pavilion's name."

"Regarding Zhou Yulin, I'll say it again."

"No interference, no involvement."

"He has nothing to do with us."

Sometimes...

Death could be a form of release.

Ran Lengguang: 3300-word intermediate chapter, welcome to the group~

Group number: 1098288033

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