The audiovisual room.
Hong's three-dimensional virtual projection stood in the middle of the room. Zhou Ze stared at him for a long while, then boiled a thousand words down to one sentence:
"Men comprehend life and death; women comprehend love. Hong, you're really something!"
With that, he hung up before Hong could say a word.
On the other end, Hong smiled faintly. His usually cold face softened, and his eyes brimmed with memories. It seemed he was thinking of the Great Nirvana Period, when he had just rescued her after she lost her parents.
Those big, watery eyes, that pitiful little expression, gazing up at him...
He admitted it: at that moment, his heart had nearly melted...
"I let my guard down..."
When it came to cultivating one's mind, men mainly faced the trials of life and death, while women faced tests of the heart.
No one could really help with that kind of thing. But after Hong had skillfully showered him with praise, he had agreed.
Of course, that was also because his cheat gave him confidence. No one else was to blame; it had been his choice.
"Men comprehend life and death; women comprehend love..."
"To put it plainly, she's either encountered a scumbag or never had the chance to. Hong protected her far too well."
"And to Yaorao, Hong was the only light in her life. From the very beginning, that light had been familial love."
Zhou Ze sighed, then couldn't help chuckling.
"Thunder God really has it rough... Hong must've 'scared' him."
Zhou Ze had never had children in either of his two lives, so he couldn't understand a father's feelings for his little girl. But even people like Hong and Thunder God were caught up in it, which said it all.
Better to keep a low profile. Those soft knives were much harder to deal with than the hard ones...
"Enough thinking. Time to train..."
Zhou Ze sat cross-legged in the Training Hall, put everything else aside, and immersed himself in cultivating his Psychic Power.
"Even if this cultivation method the No. 9 AI gave me is only basic, having it and not having it are worlds apart!"
The Golden-Horned Giant Beast was still a thorn in his side.
Before then, he wanted to improve his strength as much as possible. Zhou Ze hoped to reach the Planetary-level as soon as he could.
Time passed little by little.
Three months flew by.
Over those three months, Zhou Ze's reputation had soared, earning him the admiration of countless Elite Training Camp students. Ever since Chu Qiang had received his guidance, he had held first place steadily, leaving Renatus, Shi Jiang, and the other students who consistently ranked in the top five far behind.
This drove forces around the world into a frenzy once more. Once could be a fluke—Luo Feng's talent might explain it—but Janet alone was enough to prove how extraordinary Zhou Ze was.
And Chu Qiang's steady hold on first place proved everything.
The major powers and formidable warriors did everything they could to obtain a chance to receive Zhou Ze's guidance.
The Five Great Nations' military and political leaders, the HR Alliance's underground forces, and others were no exception.
Even many Councilors called him personally to ask or plead.
Fortunately, Zhou Ze had been prepared for this. Hong and Thunder God promptly issued a notice, and after the Two Great Dojos—the world's first and second—released a joint statement, Zhou Ze's life finally became a little "easier."
In a castle in the center of Paris Base City, Europe.
"Janet, my dear, what did Zhou Ze say?" asked the Head of Windsor Family, Janet's father, warmly.
He knew the chances weren't great, but he still held out some hope.
"Dad, how could Teacher Zhou agree just because I asked? He's turned down even the major nations and the Councilors." Janet pouted coquettishly.
Over this period, she had felt increasingly fortunate. If she hadn't listened to her grandfather back then and visited Zhou Ze with a Water of Life, she wouldn't have been able to seek his advice whenever she wanted. As far as the whole world was concerned, only she and Zhou Ze's disciple, Luo Feng, had that kind of opportunity.
Everyone else could rack their brains and still fail to get Zhou Ze's guidance. They could only apply through Hong and Thunder God's Elite Training Camps, and even then, the two camps had only two spots between them.
"Very well." The Head of Windsor Family sighed regretfully, then smiled knowingly. "Janet, you should make the most of this opportunity..."
"Oh, Dad! He's my teacher." Janet blushed, half embarrassed and half annoyed.
"Haha, Janet, he's not like Hong and Thunder God. They're devoted to martial arts and aren't interested in anything else. This is your chance..." her grandfather laughed.
As an old Chinese saying went, a woman pursuing a man was like a layer of gauze.
And he could clearly see that Janet not only wasn't opposed to the idea—she seemed to have feelings for Zhou Ze. It couldn't have worked out better. He wasn't some creature who cared only about politics.
He could be ruthless enough to send his own daughter away for the sake of profit.
"By the way, Janet, I've collected a lot of material about that sort of thing and sent it to your email. Go study it when you get back..." the Head of Windsor Family said with a straight face.
"What! Dad, you've gone too far!" Janet protested indignantly. "With your daughter's charm, do you really think I need that sort of thing?"
"Of course not. My darling is the most beautiful woman in the world." The Head of Windsor Family laughed.
"Hmph!" Janet shot her father a look and stopped paying attention to him.
Even so, once she returned to her room, Janet glanced all around as if she were doing something illicit. Then she opened her laptop and secretly logged into her email.
Elsewhere.
Zhou Ze was chatting with Hong in the audiovisual room.
"I never thought... I never thought..." Hong let out a long sigh.
He really hadn't expected Luo Feng to remain inside for three whole months.
"Why so pessimistic?" Zhou Ze asked with a faint smile, showing no concern at all.
"Since the translation software became available, the longest anyone took to come out was only a month and a half. Now it's been three months. Luo Feng probably..."
Leaning back against the sofa, Zhou Ze said lazily, "I'm not worried."
Seeing how unconcerned Zhou Ze looked, Hong could only choose to trust him. After all, if Luo Feng managed to make it through, he would set a record for the longest time inside—but Zhou Ze himself had set the record for the fastest.
Besides, Zhou Ze had said there were certain things he couldn't reveal.
"Hong, don't tell Luo Feng's family anything and make them worry. I'll talk to them."
Before hanging up, Zhou Ze gave Hong a heads-up.
Atop Huayao Peak, in a mountaintop villa in Jiangnan Landscape District, Jiangnan Base City.
Misty starlight enveloped the entire peak, and the roar of a waterfall could be heard nearby.
On the rooftop of the most luxurious villa, Li Yao wore a dark blue training outfit, his long hair loose. His cold face looked as if it had been carved from stone, and even with his eyes closed, he radiated a chill.
Just then, a figure hurried over, excitement in her eyes. "Yao, great news! Luo Feng hasn't come out of the No. 9 Ancient Civilization Ruins for three months."
"You know, since the translation software became available, the latest any God of War took to come out was only a month and a half."
Li Yao's mouth twitched. He suppressed his excitement and said, "Calm down. We don't have confirmation yet. We need to wait until we're absolutely certain Luo Feng is dead."
Vina calmed down. "Yes. Though I regret that we can't torture and kill Luo Feng with our own hands."
"But doesn't he have family too? He dared to kill our son. Once we confirm he's dead, we'll..."
"What about his teacher...?"
Vina furrowed her brows. Zhou Ze's reputation was simply too terrifying now. His almost miraculous ability to guide people had driven the whole world into a frenzy.
Even Hong and Thunder God, recognized across the world as the strongest and second strongest, had joined forces to issue a statement in his support.
If they harmed Luo Feng's family and Zhou Ze decided to hold them accountable, then...
A twisted smile spread across Li Yao's face. "What's there to fear? We have all the time and means we need."
"No matter how close Luo Feng and Zhou Ze are, they're only teacher and student. As Luo Feng's death sank in and time passed, even that bond would gradually fade..."
"Besides, we can use ordinary means to torment Luo Feng's family. We don't have to kill them outright. That would be far too easy on them."
Vina's face contorted with excitement. "That's right. We have all the time in the world. We can torment them endlessly without actually killing them..."
"We can hire professional psychologists to devise all sorts of specialized methods. And we can't let them reach their breaking point too soon, suffer a mental breakdown, or commit suicide. That would be far too easy on them."
"We should torment them for decades, then kill them all at once. We'll make them understand that this is all Luo Feng's fault, make them hate him, and ensure he can't rest in peace even in death..."
Vina lost herself in the beautiful fantasy, her lovely face growing increasingly warped.
"We can have people give them rotten vegetables when they go shopping. When they go out to hail a cab, they won't be able to get one for ages. And when they finally do, we can have the driver pick a fight with them..."
"We can get the people in their neighborhood to argue with them or ostracize them..."
"We can have someone run them over when they cross the street... No, they're all ordinary people. It wouldn't be much fun if they got killed. We could have a Spiritual Psychic do it more subtly and make them trip every so often as they walk along."
"Oh, I heard his younger brother used to be disabled, but he was cured. Haha! If that's the case, a disabled person ought to stay disabled for life..."
Li Yao was getting excited too. It was the result of years of repression, compounded by the despair of thinking he would never get revenge.
"That's a narrow way of thinking. I remember Luo Feng's younger brother, Luo Hua, has a pretty girlfriend. Naturally, we can't do that right away..."
"I remember the Sakura Country had some extremely sadistic methods of torture. I happen to know some people from there. Perhaps I can ask them for a few pointers..."
"We can also use our authority to investigate. He might have relatives on both his parents' sides..."
Vina's smile grew more and more twisted. "Yes! How did I not think of that? We can get a hold over all of Luo Feng's friends and family..."
Li Yao and his wife were truly deranged, lost in the beautiful fantasy they had woven for themselves.
They were vicious through and through. They intended to shake the yolk out of the egg and split a worm lengthwise.
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